Every educator knows it. So do most parents. Summer reading is essential for kids!
Reading experts note that most young readers suffer a backslide in reading skills during summer downtime. Sometimes more than two grade levels! But that needn’t be the case. Families can make reading a priority during the summer months, and children will learn that people never take a vacation from learning.
The Berkley High School Summer Reading List is divided into themes and grade levels 9th-12th grade.
npr has compiled a Summer Reading List for children made from suggestions by independent booksellers from around the country.
Reading is Fundamential.org offers some great tips for families on how to make reading an enticing summer pasttime.
A Top 10 Summer Reading list has been compiled below from a variety of educational sources from across the country. These reading lists of recommended children’s books and young adult books are generally organized by grade level. Many of the elementary children’s reading lists include children’s picture books. Many of the recommended reading lists for middle schoolers include a mix of children’s books and young adult books. You’ll find classics and recently published children’s books and young adult books on these 2009 summer reading lists for preschoolers to grade 12.
1. HAISLN 2009 Recommended Reading Lists
These annotated 2009 reading lists come from the Houston Area Independent Schools Library Network (HAISLN). Eight reading lists are available in pdf format: Preschool through Kindergarten, Grades 1 & 2, Grades 3 & 4, Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7 & 8, Grades 9 & 10, Grades 11 & 12. The carefully selected children’s books and young adult books on the reading lists include recent fiction and nonfiction.
2. 2009 Summer Library Program Reading Lists for Kids and Teens
The Collaborative Summer Library Program’s 2009 summer reading program themes are Be Creative @ Your Library (for children) and Express Yourself @ Your Library (for teens). Download the thematic 17-page annotated summer reading lists as a pdf file. The lists come from Sally Snyder, Coordinator of Children and Young Adult Library Services at the Nebraska Library Commission. They include fiction and nonfiction for young children through older teens.
3. 2009 Summer Reading List for Students Entering Grades K-6
The list, which is organized by grade level, includes cover art, a brief summary, the copyright date and the genre/themes of recommended books for children entering kindergarten through sixth grade. This reading list comes from the Parkway School District in Chesterfield, Missouri.
4. Summer Reading Lists for Boys Grades 1-8
The Town School for Boys in San Francisco provides annotated reading lists for boys entering grades 1-8. The lists of fiction and nonfiction are organized by grade level(s). According to the school, “Some of the books are quick, easy ‘beach reads,’ while others may offer more of a challenge.”
5. 2009 Middle School Summer Reading List
This recommended reading list, from the Parkway School District in Chesterfield, Missouri, includes cover art, a brief summary, the copyright date and the genre of books for students entering grade 6-9. This reading list includes fiction and some nonfiction, both in a variety of genres.
6. 2009 Notable Children’s Books
The annotated 2009 Notable Children’s Books reading list from the American Library Association (ALA) includes the current Newbery, Caldecott, Sibert, Geisel, and Batchelder Award winners and Honor books, among other award-winners. The reading list is divided into four categories: Younger Readers, Middle Readers, Older Readers, and All Ages. It includes both children’s books and young adult (YA) books.
7. 2009 Summer Reading List for Students Entering Grades 9-12
This recommended reading list of fiction and nonfiction is from the Parkway School District in Chesterfield, Missouri. It includes cover art, a brief summary, the copyright date and the genre of recommended books for teens entering grade 9-12.
8. Summer Reading List for Grades 6-12
This 21-page summer reading list is from Dana Hall School in Massachusetts. It includes required and recommended reading lists from the school’s English, science, and social studies departments. It includes books for students in grades 6-12. While written for Dana Hall students, it is an excellent list that includes the classics, contemporary fiction, historical fiction, mysteries, science fiction and fantasy, social studies books, and science books, among others.
9. Summer Reading List for Kids and Teens
This booklist from The Horn Book is annotated and includes six categories of recently published books: Picture Books, Younger Fiction, Intermediate Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Folklore, Poetry, and Nonfiction. Suggested grade levels and the number of pages in each book are included.
10. National Endowment for the Humanities: Summer Favorites Reading List
While this reading list of recommended children’s and young adult books for summer reading is not annotated, it contains the titles of a great many excellent books. The booklist “represents NEH’s long-standing effort to highlight classic literature for young people from kindergarten through high school.” The booklist is divided by grade level: Kindergarten to Grade 3, Grades 4 to 6, Grades 7 to 8, and Grades 9 to 12.
well that’s all fine and dandy for the kids who NEED it. And yes sure continuously learning is great. But what about the kids who do well in reading and just want a break? …when kids are in the “summer” mode they just don’t want to do it.