The Summer of Great Family Reads

For Everything, There is a Season

There are patterns in Scripture of both the Lord and his people resting from their labors.

Summer is such a time for contemporary students and teachers. After working hard during the school year, minds and bodies need a break whether they were in a traditional classroom all winter or studying diligently at home. Summer is also a time for families to re-connect.

The Summer of Great Family Reads

To that end, instead of a Summer Reading Challenge this summer like we’ve done in the past, we are focusing broadly on great family reads: books with wide age appeal, boy and girl appeal, and occasionally with a summer setting. Some will be current, and some will be older titles that you’re more likely to find in audio format for long road trips or beach-friendly used paperbacks. Look for these from Memorial Day through the end of July.

Sounds Awesome, But I Can’t Wait!

If you can’t wait until Memorial Day, though, here’s a short list of great reads to get you started. In general, age recommendations below reflect listening level/complexity, but we encourage you to read the review itself:

• Tuesdays at the Castle (middle grades fantasy series; ages 7 and up)
• Running for My Life (nonfiction; ages 16 and up)
• Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (middle grades fantasy; ages 7 and up)
• I Don’t Know How the Story Ends (middle grades historical fiction; ages 10 and up)
• Six (middle grades science fiction; ages 10 and up)
• Encyclopedia Brown Series (chapter book mysteries; ages 6 and up)
• Fly Guy Series (easy readers; ages 4-8)
• Anna Hibiscus Series (chapter book series; ages 4 and up)
• Lulu and the Dog from the Sea (chapter book series; ages 4 and up)
• The Trouble with Chickens (a J. J. Tully mystery) (chapter book mystery; ages 5 and up)
• The Penderwicks (middle grades realistic fiction series; ages 9 and up)
• Ashtown Burials Series (middle grades fantasy series; ages 12 and up)
• The Warden and the Wolf King (middle grades fantasy series; ages 10 and up; this is the last of a series–read review for other titles)
• True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp (middle grades animal fantasy; ages 8 and up)
• Justin Case: Shells, Smells, and the Horrible Flip Flops of Doom (realistic fiction chapter book; ages 7 and up)

For picture books, simply browse the picture book category. You can also pick one of our most popular earlier Summer Reading Challenges to do as a family (see below), check out our 30 Great New Books List, or simply browse all books with “summer” somewhere in the title/post.

• 2013 Summer Reading Challenge
  • 100 Great Adventure Books for Kids (Extension List)
• 2014 Summer Reading Challenge
  • SRC Extension List for Younger Readers