Kids Summer Reading List

Summer break is right around the corner, and if you are like us, you are always looking for ways to keep your kids engaged, learning, and entertained…And what better way to do that than with a good book?! We’ve curated a list of books that promise to ignite imaginations, inspire curiosity, and hopefully foster a lifelong love for reading for kids 3-12 years old!

Keep Scrolling to see our picks!

Busy Betty & the Circus Surprise by Reese Witherspoon – For ages 2-6 years old

Busy Betty has always been busy. Every day she wakes up with a million questions and a billion ideas! And today she has an amazing idea: she’s throwing her mom a birthday party. Shhh . . . It’s a surprise! Then Betty and her best friend, Mae, have the best idea of all: What if they threw Mom a circus surprise party?! It will be the greatest day in the history of the universe! Everything is perfect until Betty realizes—oh, no!—Mom’s birthday isn’t today . . . it’s next month. Whatever will they do with their circus surprise now?

Just Because by Matthew McConaughey – For ages 3+ years old

Filled with his trademark humor and wisdom, Academy Award–winning actor and #1 New York Times bestselling author Matthew McConaughey has crafted a soulful and irreverent collection of life lessons that empowers readers, big and small, to celebrate how we are all full of possibility.

What If Everybody did that? By Ellen Javernick – For ages 3-6 years old

If you drop just one soda can out the window, it’s no big deal…right? But what if everybody did that? What if everybody broke the rules…and spoke during story time, didn’t wash up, or splashed too much at the pool? Then the world would be a mess. But what if everybody obeyed the rules so that the world would become a better place? Using humorous illustrations rendered in mixed media, these questions are answered in a child-friendly way and show the consequences of thoughtless behavior.

Just Try One Bite by Adam Mansback and Camila McConaughey – For ages 3-6 years old

These three kids are determined to get their parents to put down the ice cream, cake, and chicken fried steak to just try one bite of healthy whole foods. But it’s harder than it looks when these over-the-top gagging, picky parents refuse to give things like broccoli and kale a chance. Kids will love the jaunty rhyme that’s begging to be read aloud and the opportunity to be way smarter—and healthier—than their parents.

Ready, Set, Mars by Katie Jaffe and Jennifer Lawson – For ages 4-6 years old

Elementary schoolers Jet and Jordy live and breathe the world of space science, especially when it comes to understanding and constructing homemade working rovers and rockets. If there’s a challenge to be solved, this sister and brother figure it out, even if it means that Jet’s rover is destroyed by the rocket that Jordy accidentally sends crashing through her bedroom window! When they decide to combine their talents and work as a team, big things start to happen.

Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick – For ages 4-7 years old

In 1914, Harry Colebourn, a veterinarian on his way to tend horses in World War I, followed his heart and rescued a baby bear. He named her Winnie, after his hometown of Winnipeg, and he took the bear to war. Harry Colebourn’s real-life great-granddaughter tells the true story of a remarkable friendship and an even more remarkable journey–from the fields of Canada to a convoy across the ocean to an army base in England. And finally to the London Zoo, where Winnie made another new friend: a real boy named Christopher Robin.

The Secret Zoo by Bryan Chick – For ages 7-10 years old

Noah, his sister Megan, and their best friends, Richie and Ella, live next door to the zoo. Megan is the first to notice the puzzling behavior of some of the animals. One day Megan disappears, and her brother and their friends realize it’s up to them to find her. Their only choice is to follow a series of clues and sneak into the zoo. But once inside, they discover there’s much more to the Clarksville City Zoo than they could ever have guessed…

The Nocturnals: The Mysterious Abductions by Tracey Hecht– For ages 8-11 years old

Animals are disappearing without a trace—and it’s up to Dawn, a serious fox, Tobin, a sweet pangolin, and Bismark, a pint-sized sugar glider, to find out why. With the help of a gentle wombat, a jittery jerboa, a band of coyotes, and some silly bats, the Nocturnals journey to the depths of the earth and play a wacky, high-stakes game that will determine their survival.

When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller – For ages 9-11 years old

When Lily and her family move in with her sick grandmother, a magical tiger straight out of her halmoni’s Korean folktales arrives, prompting Lily to unravel a secret family history. Long, long ago, Halmoni stole something from the tigers. Now they want it back. And when one of the tigers approaches Lily with a deal–return what her grandmother stole in exchange for Halmoni’s health–Lily is tempted to agree. But deals with tigers are never what they seem! With the help of her sister and her new friend Ricky, Lily must find her voice…and the courage to face a tiger.

An Elephant in the Garden: Inspired by a True Story by Michael Morpurgo – For ages 9+ years old

Lizzie and Karl’s mother is a zoo keeper; the family has become attached to an orphaned elephant named Marlene, who will be destroyed as a precautionary measure so she and the other animals don’t run wild should the zoo be hit by bombs. The family persuades the zoo director to let Marlene stay in their garden instead. When the city is bombed, the family flees with thousands of others, but how can they walk the same route when they have an elephant in tow, and keep themselves safe? Along the way, they meet Peter, a Canadian navigator who risks his own capture to save the family.

Have another great book recommendation for us? Or read one of these books and loved it? Be sure and share it with us on the WOT Instagram or on Facebook!