I keep seeing articles about how to encourage children to read throughout the summer. All of the articles make the same basic suggestions. Set a daily reading time. Establish a specific amount of time to read each day. Get involved in a reading incentive program at a local library or bookstore, and provide good book choices.
Ultimately, if your child/student likes to read, he or she will continue to read in the summer as long as there are books available. If you do not have a child who is an avid reader then you (or another adult) have to support the reading habits if you want any reading to happen. You will need to provide reading material or opportunities to choose reading material; model reading (that means read yourself); read together, and have book discussions. Even though we often think of reading as an independent activity for older kids, a child will develop better reading habits if reading is treated like a group activity, and all participate.
I wish there was a pill to magically make a child a reader but there is not. If you need a little kick-start finding a book to help your child get over the reading-when-not-at-school hump, try a book that takes place during the summer when the characters in the story are also not attending school.
Upper Elementary (~3rd grade to 6th grade)
- The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies
- Under the Egg by Laura Max Fitzgerald
- My Life as a Book by Janet Tashjian
- Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
- Summer Pony by Jean Slaughter Doty
- Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
- The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop by Kate Saunders
- Hound Dog True by Linda Urban
- Justin Case: Shells, Smells, and Horrible Flip-Flops of Doom by Rachel Vail
- The Secret Tree by Natalie Standiford
- Ten Good and Bad Things About My Life (So Far) by Ann M. Martin
- The Bread Winner by Arvella Whitmore
- The Baby-Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin
- The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
- Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech
- The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
- Kavik the Wolf Dog by Walt Morey
Middle School (7th grade+)
- Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Green
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
- The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
- The Summer of the Swans Betsy Byars
For younger readers, try The Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner specifically #2 in the series. I could not remember for sure, but I think some of the Ivy and Bean books by Barrow take place during the summer as well as some of the Judy Moody by McDonald. Now that Mr. Star Wars and Miss Priss are beyond the early chapter books (sniff), my radar is not as good for these younger titles.
