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Summer Reading Guide 2023

Summer is a time to explore. Not only do books travel with you, they also let you explore from the comfort of your home. Visit an underwater ecosystem, travel with a turtle on a 25,000-mile journey, visit Paris, stop in a Chicago airport, or go outside at night to see stars. We hope you’ll have fun exploring!

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Summer Reading Guide 2024

Summer is a time of exploration and outdoor fun. If you’re planting a garden on a farm or in the city, building an outdoor fort, making art, or camping in the wilderness or by the ocean, take time to look around and see the world with fresh eyes. Wherever you go, whatever you do, take a book — great fiction and nonfiction (like the selections here!) give kids a chance to visit places they haven’t been, learn about the natural world, and explore other lives and times.

One Is a Snail, Ten Is a Crab: A Counting by Feet Book

Summer Stories

Those lazy, hazy days of summer have arrived. Whether you plan to spend them at the beach, the pool, or in a tent, bring along one of these summertime favorites to share with the entire family! Enjoy these recommended books for kids ages 0-9.

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It’s Summer Vacation

Summer fun, summer sun. What will you do this summer? The list of possibilities is as long as the days in this selection of recommended books for kids ages 0-9. Whether it’s taking trips, visiting family, or hanging out at home, wherever you go and whatever you do, be sure to take along a book or two to share together or enjoy alone.

Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride

Take Flight!

There’s something for everyone in this booklist: flights of fact and fantasy, traditional aviation from the air and with one foot on the ground; daredevil flights and flights of fancy; flyers both funny and brave.

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Take Me Out to the Ball Park

What is better on a warm summer afternoon than a game of baseball? It is the great American pastime, after all! Meet baseball players whose passion broke various barriers and find out about the history of the game.

The Day Gogo Went to Vote

Tales from South Africa

All eyes looked to South Africa for the World Cup in 2010. From folktales to soccer stories to Nelson Mandela’s childhood, these books offer a wonderful introduction to South Africa’s people and natural environment. Many of the books also address the long struggle to overcome apartheid, gently opening the discussion for young readers with stories that are both realistic and hopeful.

American Tall Tales

Tall Tales

You probably know Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, John Henry, and Davy Crockett — characters whose larger-than-life stories are part of America’s Old West tall tales. But did you know there are also tall tales about women and that other countries have tall tales, too? Share their enduring stories with kids ages 0-9 in these recommended books about great strength, big adventures, and powerful and steadfast friends! (The EDsitement website has a good lesson on tall tales).

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Teaching Reading

Find books about the foundations and science of reading instruction — print awareness, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and assessment. We’ve also included books about how to help children with reading disabilities become successful readers.

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Teaching Writing

Learn about research-based strategies for teaching all phases of the writing process, from brainstorming and goal-setting to revising and publishing. Find out about the use of digital tools, connecting reading and writing instruction, teaching students with writing difficulties, and using assessment to inform instruction.

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Teachers Are Terrific!

Teachers must be brave, patient, creative, and downright stalwart people. In these books, you’ll meet some extraordinary teachers and the children they teach. You’ll encounter teachers who know their students so well that they can overlook small indiscretions, help them write original tales, and deal with all the issues the students bring to the classroom. Laugh with them, admire them, and have fun with the teachers and children. And be sure to say thanks to the teachers you know!

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Ten Bedtime Stories

The right book can make bedtime a magical moment of the day. Try one — or more — of the books on this list of recommended bedtime stories for kids ages 0-9.

The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System

Ten Books About Space

Here are ten recommended books about space that children ages 0-9 will enjoy. Whether you’re reading stories about aliens or learning facts about the planets, your young astronauts will be transported to another world!

Witch and a giant pumpkin

Ten Books for Halloween

Halloween was made for ghost stories…and pumpkin stories…and witch stories…and more! From the slightly spooky to the simply silly, here are ten recommended books for kids ages 0-9 that are guaranteed Halloween hits.

Mud Flat April Fool

Ten Books for Spring

Count down to spring with an animal counting book, help a mother duck find her mischievous missing duckling, or learn how to plant a butterfly garden – it’s all in this list of recommended books for children ages 0-9.

Carter G. Woodson: The Father of Black History

Ten Unforgettable Biographies

A good biography helps children make discoveries about history, opens their minds to other perspectives, and teaches them that one person can make a difference. These recommended books just may inspire children to make their own mark on the world.

Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangara Maathai

Thanks for the Dreamers

Children sometimes need reminders that big changes in our world often start with the small actions of just one person. Meet people whose passion for art or science or helping others just may inspire others. And who knows what special dreamers may read a book today!

I Stink!

That’s So Gross!

From bugs to smelly trash to bad ideas, the world is full of really gross stuff! But just because it’s gross doesn’t mean it can’t be funny too. These books share gross tales the whole family is sure to enjoy.

Delicious! A Pumpkin Soup Story

That’s So Gross! — Take II

What is wonderful to one may be gross to another. Take Duck, for example. He thinks pink soup is gross while his friends think it’s just grand. And while Oscar the wiener-dog thinks his costume is ghastly, his human feels it’s fabulous. Are pirates in need of an orthodontist endearing or icky? What about eating up a bad day — literally? You decide what is wonderful, wonky, or just plain gross as you read about things real and fantastic.

Alphabet Trucks

On the Go!

How do things move from one place to another? Lots of things — including people — travel by boat, airplane, truck, bus or train. We’re always on the go! So take a look at these books to laugh or learn about the way people and other things travel.

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The Best of Shel Silverstein

Say the name “Shel Silverstein” aloud and adults and children alike think of clever, sometimes subversive, poems with comic line drawings and lots of laughs. You know that when you pick up a book by this writer and poet you’re in good hands. Find familiar and less familiar books on this list — and celebrate language, poetry, and an astute creator of books for children of all ages.

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The Cognitive Science of Reading

Learn from neuropsychologists and linguists on what we know (and are still learning) about how the brain learns to read — and how to use the science to improve literacy instruction. Authors also explore what is happening to the reading brain as it changes to adapt to new digital mediums.

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The People’s House

U.S. Presidents have lived at a mansion at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. since it was rebuilt after it was burned by the British during the War of 1812. It is important to remember that it is voters who elect the President and their congressional representatives. Even before women could vote, they had a positive impact on the new nation. Find out a bit about the White House, voting, and some of the people who helped grow this country.

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