Most of my life summer was a time for reading. Sure I did a lot of swimming and water balloon fighting and camping too but what I remember most was reading.

Books at the beach.

Books by the campfire.

Books on the dock at the lake.

Books late into the night.

This summer I want to get back to that.

I want to spend the summer relaxing, enjoying my kids, swimming in cool water, and doing a lot of summer reading.

This means I am going to be posting a lot less on the blog this summer. I hope you’ll forgive the laziness. To make up for it, I am sharing with you my list of books. I even made a printable version alphabetical by author to make bookstore and library trips easier.

Below you will find 100+ children’s books to read this summer.

My summer reading goal is to read 100 with my kids which includes a combo of picture books and early chapter books and some middle grade with my kids. I have provided some suggestions for board books through middle grade below.

Note: I’m also planning on making time to dive into my To Be Read adult pile as well. If you want to follow along with those, check out my GoodReads page or my stories on Instagram. 

In the spirit of A Read A Day, feel free to continue your goal of one book a day, or whatever else suits your life right now.

A few notes:

• Like usual, you will be able to find our favorites on Instagram and #aReadaDay all summer.
• I created a new hashtag #aReadaDaySummer to celebrate this special summer reading challenge.
• If you want to do your own challenge – feel free to set your reading goal at whatever you want and then tag your books to #aReadaDaySummer as well.

Even if it isn’t summer right now in your corner of the world I hope you’ll join me in diving into a huge stack of books. It’s always a good time to catch up on amazing new books!

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100+ Books to Read This Summer

I wanted this list to work for everyone, so there are over 100 books but they are divided into categories that will hopefully help you find what is the best fit for your family right now.

Download Printable: 100+ Books for Summer Reading

When making the list I limited myself to books published in 2017 and 2018 so you can catch up on the best of what authors and illustrators are offering right now.

A caveat – this list is my taste and the things that I have either LOVED so far in 2017 or 2018 or the things that sound great to me that I haven’t read yet. This is not necessarily the “best” books of 2017 or 2018. You will find it heavy on the picture book side because that’s what we read a lot of in my house right now.

That being said, if you think I’m missing something awesome please let me know in the comments!

Happy Reading!

Board Books

1. What Does Baby Want? by Tupera Tupera
2. I Just Want to Say Good Night by Rachel Isadora
3. Llamaphones by Janik White
4. TouchThinkLearn: Wild Animals by Xavier Deneus
5. Where’s the Giraffe? by Ingela P. Arrhenius
6. Whoever You Are by Mem Fox, Illustrated by Leslie Staub
7. Baby Goes to Market by Atinuke, illustrated by Angela Brooksbank
8. Hush-a-Bye Bunny by Holly Suplice
9. Two is for Twins by Wendy Cheyette Lewison
10. Black Bird Yellow Sun by Steve Light

Picture Books – Fiction

1. The Giant Jumperee by Julia Donaldson & Helen Oxenbury
2. Big Cat, Little Cat by Elisha Cooper
3. Accident by Andrea Tsurumi
4. His Royal Highness, King Baby by Sally Lloyd-Jones
5. Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon James
6. Waiting for Pumpsie by Barry Wittenstein, illustrated by London Ladd
7. After the Fall by Dan Santat
8. Baabwaa & Wooliam by David Elliot, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
9. Antoinette by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Christian Robinson
10. Silent Days, Silent Dreams by Allen Say
11. Lola Gets a Cat by Anna McQuinn
12. When a Wolf is Hungry by Christine Naumann-Villemin, illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo
13. The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Adam Rex
14. Hattie Peck: The Journey Home by Emma Levey
15. You Can’t be Too Careful by Roger Mello
16. Lola Dutch by Kenneth and Sara Jane Wright
17. The Little Red Cat Who Ran Away and Learned His ABC’s the Hard Way by Patrick McDonnell
18. La Princesa and the Pea by Susan Middleton Elya, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal
19. All Around Us by Xelena Gonzalez, illustrated by Adriana M. Garcia
20. Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall
21. Festival of Colors by Kabir SEhgal & Surishtha Sehgal
22. A Different Pond by Bao Phi, illustrated by Thi Bui
23. Mama Lion Wins the Race by Jon J Muth
24. The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet! by Carmen Agra Deedy, illustrated by Eugene Yelchin
25. This is It by Daria Peoples-Riley
26. When’s My Birthday by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Christian Robinson
27. Noisy Night by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Brian Biggs
28. The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen
29. Hattie and Hudson by Chris Van Dusen
30. We’re All Wonders by R. J. Palacio
31. Laundry Day by Jessixa Bagley
32. Love by Matt de la Pena
33. Elmore by Holly Hobbie
34. Tiny and the Big Dig by Sherri Duskey Rinker
35. The Word Collector by Peter H. Reynolds
36. A Stone for Sascha by Aaron Becker
37. Wordy Birdy by Tammi Sauer
38. What Are You Wearing Today? by Janik Coat
39. 3, 2, 1, Go! by Virginie Morgand
40. Julian Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
41. Yours Sincerely Giraffe by Megumi Iwasa, illustrated by Jun Takabatke
42. They Say Blue by Jillian Tamaki
43. Neema’s Reason to Smile by Patricia Newman, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini
44. Ladybug Girl and the Rescue Dogs by David Soman and Jacky Davis
45. The Little Red Fort by Brenda Maier, Illustrated by Sonia Sanchez
46. Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings
47. Florette by Anna Walker
48. Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal
49. I Walk with Vanessa: A Story about a Simple Act of Kindness by Kerascoeet
50. Llama Llama Loves to Read an Anna Dewdney Book.
51. The Fox on the Swing by Evelina Daciute, illustrated by Ausra Kiudlaite (due out June 19)

Read Also: 10 Story Times for Summer

Picture Books – Non-Fiction

1. The Doctor With an Eye for Eyes by Julia Finley Mosca, Illustrated by Daniel Rieley
2. How Animals Build by Moira Butterfield
3. Her Right Foot by Dave Effers, illustrated by Shawn Harris
4. Grand Canyon by Jason Chin
5. Semicolons, Cupcakes and Cucumbers by Steve Newberry
6. How to Survive as a Shark by Kristen Foote, illustrated by Erica Salcedo
7. Soldier Song: A True Story of the Civil War by Debbie Levy, illustrated by Gilbert Ford
8. Mae Among the Starts by Roda Ahmed
9. The World Is Not a Rectangle by Jeanette Winter
10. Robins! How They Grow Up by Eileen Christelow
11. If Sharks Disappeared by Lily Williams
12. Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years by Stacy McAnulty, Illustrated by David Litchfield
13. How to Be an Elephant by Katerine Roy
14. Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library by Carole Boston Weatherford
15. Maya Lin: Artist – Architect of Light and Lines by Jeanne Walker Harvey, illustrated by Dow Phumiruk
16. No Truth Without Ruth: The Life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Kathleen Krull
17. Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome
18. Adventures to School: Real-Life Journeys of Students from Around the World by Miranda Paul and Baptiste Paul, illustrated by Isabel Munoz
19. A Place to Start a Family: Poems about Creatures that Build by David L. Harrison, illustrated by Giles Laroche
20. How to Code a Sandcastle by Josh Funk
21. Who Am I? An Animal Guessing Game by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
22. The Boo-Boos That Changed the World: A True Story About an Accidental Invention (Really!) by Barry Wittenstein and Chris Hsu
23. The Big Book of the Blue by Yuval Zommer (due out July 24)
24. The Boy and the Whale by Mordicai Gerstein

Easy Readers & Early Chapter Books

1. Bad Kitty Camp Daze by Nick Bruel
2. Charlie & Mouse by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Emily Hughes
3. I See a Cat by Paul Meisel
4. Science Comics: Dogs: From Predator to Protector by Andy Hirsch
5. The Pod and the Bog (newest in the Zoey & Sassafras series) by Asia Citro, illustrated by Marion Lindsay
6. King & Kayla and the Case of the Missing Dog Treats by Dori Hillestad Butler, illustrated by Nancy Meyers
7. Eugenia Lincoln and the Unexpected Package (latest in the Tales from Deckawoo Drive series) by Kate DiCamillo
8. Hi, Jack! by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Greg Pizzoli

Also Read: 10+ Wonderful Illustrated Early Chapter Books

Middle Grade Chapter Books

1. The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser – new one coming in the Fall!
2. I’m Just No Good at Rhyming and Other Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown Ups by Chris Harris, illustrated by Lane Smith
3. One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
4. All’s Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson
5. Big and Little Questions According to Wren Jo Byrd by Julie Bowe
6. Bronze and Sunflower by Cao Wenxuan
7. The Doorman’s Repose by Chris Raschka
8. The Glass Town Game by Catherynne M. Valente
9. The Lotterys Plus One by Emma Donoghue, illustrated by Caroline Hadilaksono
10. Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder
11. Can I Touch Your Hair?: Poems of Race, Mistakes and Friendship by Irene Latham, illustrated by Charles Waters, Sean Qualls, and Selina Alko
12. Princess Cora and the Crocodile by Laura Amy Schlitz, illustrated by Brian Floca
13. Refugee by Alan Gratz
14. The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore
15. Brave by Svetlana Chmakova
16. 5 Worlds: The Sand Warrior by Mark Siegel and Alexis Siegel
17. Amina’s Voice by Hena Kahn
18. Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker by Shelley Johannes
19. Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk
20. The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Saenz
21. Greetings from Witness Protection by Jake Burt
22. Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire by John August
23. Wishtree by Katerine Applegate
24. A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold
25. Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly
26. The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole by Michelle Cuevas
27. Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin
28. Warden’s Daughter by Jerry Spinelli
29. Out of Left Field by Ellen Klages
30. Breakout by Kate Messner (due out June 5)

Download Printable: 100+ Books for Summer Reading

Again, the printable is alphabetical by author to help if you are browsing at the library or a bookstore. I hope this helps fill your home with great books this Summer. Happy Reading! xo Erin

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