Get Serious About Summer Reading

When it comes to summer, reading may not be the first thing—or even in the top 10 things—kids have in mind! But reading can be the ideal summer activity. It’s fun, portable, can involve the whole family, and will help your child academically. Use these resources to launch a summer of reading.

Summer Reading: What the Research Says

• The Importance of Summer Reading, a research brief on summer reading and public library summer reading programs
• The Summer Reading Imperative, Kids and Family Reading Report from Scholastic
• Summer Reading: English Language Learners at the Library
• Summer Reading and the Rich/Poor Achievement Gap

Summer Reading and Summer Activity Resources

• Head to Start with a Book for free themed toolkits featuring 5 days of reading and learning fun with dozens of carefully chosen fiction and nonfiction book recommendations, hands-on activities, writing ideas, and apps and websites to deepen learning.
• Sign up for Camp Wonderoplis, the free online summer-learning destination that's full of fun, interactive STEM and literacy-building topics boosted by Maker experiments.
• Check out Summer of Possibilities from PBS KIDS for Parents.
• Join Reading Is Fundamental on a summer reading road trip and spend the summer visiting new and exciting places through books.

Ways to Challenge Kids to Read this Summer

• Visit your local library to find out about summer reading programs in your community.
• Teachers and librarians can register kids for the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge so they can earn digital rewards for summer reading.
• When kids complete a summer reading journal for the Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program, they earn a free book after reading eight books.
• Do some Summer Reading Together with Learning Ally and win prizes.
• Sign up for Pizza Hut’s Camp BOOK IT! and reward reading all summer long.

Summer Reading Recommendations for Kids

• Summer booklists from Reading Rockets for ages 0-12
• We Need Diverse Books “If you liked…read this next” summer reading series for diverse books
• We Are Kid Lit Collective Summer Reading List promotes books by Indigenous and People of Color (IPOC).
• Summer Reading roundup of recommended reading from summer reading programs from TeachingBooks
• Summer Reading booklists for birth-8th grade from the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)
• 30 Books Starring Girls Who Love the Great Outdoors 

Reading Tips

• Summer reading tips to go from Start with a Book
• How to introduce toddlers and babies to books from Zero to Three
• "Parents of Young Children: Put Down Your Smartphones" from the American Academy of Pediatrics
• Guide for selecting anti-bias children’s books from Social Justice Books.
• Biracial Bookworms: Raising Readers, Activists, and Leaders
• Ten tips for reading aloud to a blind child from the National Braille Press
• Reading tips for parents from NEA
• Reading Aloud with Children Twelve & Older from the Bank Street College of Education Children’s Book Committee.
• Find free books for kids and for the classroom from NEA

Great Web Resources to Help Raise Readers

• AdLit.org supports the parents and educators of struggling adolescent readers and writers with multimedia information and resources.
• Colorín Colorado provides resources for educators and families of English language learners (ELLs) in grades PreK-12.
• NAEYC for Families helps parents understand how children ages 0-8 learn and offers creative learning ideas to try at home.
• National Summer Learning Association focuses on closing the achievement gap through high-quality summer learning for all children and youth.
• Reading Rockets offers strategies, lessons, activities and ideas designed to help young children learn to read.
• ReadWriteThink provides access to the highest quality practices and resources in reading and language arts instruction.
• Understood helps the millions of parents whose children, ages 3–20, are struggling with learning.