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Classic Summer Reading

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There is great juvenile literature published every year. With so many choices, it is easy to forget older publications.  However, some of my favorite children book recommendations today are the ones that I read over and over again as a child. If you are looking for some new-but-old summer reading choices, take a look at the list below. Whether you are school aged or an adult, these are great reads (or re-reads) for the summer. All of the books were originally published over twenty years ago. Many of the titles may be ones you remember reading while growing up, but there might be something unfamiliar. What was your favorite childhood chapter book? Please add a comment with your favorite!

** I tried to avoid duplicating titles I have on the “Read-Alike” and “Style-Alike” posts, so be sure to check out those articles too. I also included a suggested grade range.

Historical Fiction

  • All-of-a-Kind Family by Taylor (3rd/4th grade)
  • Celia Garth by Bristow (6th grade and up)
  • I am Rosemarie by Moskin (5th grade and up)
  • Island of the Blue Dolpins by O’Dell (5th grade and up)
  • Snow Treasure by McSwigan (4th grade and up)
  • When the Legends Die by Borland (7th grade and up)
  • The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Speare (6th grade and up)

Animal

  • The Cricket in Times Square by Selden (3rd/4th grade)
  • The Incredible Journey by Burnford (5th/6th grade)
  • Julie of the Wolves by George (4th grade and up)
  • Kavik the Wolf Dog by Morey (4th grade and up)
  • Stone Fox by Gardiner (3rd/4th grade)
  • Where the Red Fern Grows by Rawls (6th/7th grade)
  • The Yearling by Rawlings (6th grade and up– difficult language, dialect)

Fantasy

  • The Borrowers by Norton (5th grade and up)
  • Castle in the Attic by Winthrop (3rd grade and up)
  • Gift of Magic by Duncan (5th grade and up)
  • Half Magic by Eager (3rd/4th grade)
  • Indian in the Cupboard by Banks (4th grade and up)
  • The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Edwards (4th grade and up)
  • Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by MacDonald (1st to 3rd grade)

Realistic Fiction

  • The Hundred Dresses by Estes (3rd/4th grade)
  • The Saturdays by Enright (4th/5th grade)
  • The Secret Garden by Burnett (4th grade and up)
  • A Summer to Die by Lowry (6th grade and up)
  • Wheel on the School by DeJong (5th grade and up)

Adventure

  • The Boxcar Children by Warner (1st to 3rd grade)
  • My Side of the Mountain by George (4th grade and up)
  • Original Nancy Drew Mysteries by Keene (3rd grade and up)

Road Trip Audio Books

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My children and I will be starting our annual road trip to see family in a few weeks. We spend a little over two weeks in the car and cover many miles. My car does not have a DVD player, and I am doing my best to keep it that way. We started using audio books two summers ago, and it is holding the backseat passengers’ attention for now.  We have learned that a great read aloud at home may not be a good audio book.  It all depends on the narrator.  Here is a list of a few we loved… and some we did not.

Everybody Liked:

  • Magic Treehouse (any in the series) read by the author, Mary Pope Osborne.
  • The Boxcar Children read by Phyllis Newman.
  • Little House in the Big Woods (or any Little House book) read by Cherry Jones.
  • Frindle read by John Fleming.
  • Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing read by the author, Judy Blume.
  • The BFG read by Natasha Richardson.
  • The Cricket in Times Square read by Tony Shalhoub.
  • Lunch Money read by John H. Mayer. added 7/2012
  • Hotel for Dogs read by Katherine Kellgren. added 7/2012
  • Abby Cornelia’s One & Only Magical Power read by the author, David Pogue. added 7/2012

My Children Liked; I Did Not:

  • Junie B. Jones read by Lana Quintal. (My children thought these were hysterical.  But, what comes across as silly when read at bedtime in our house seemed so obnoxious through the voice of Lana Quintal.  I wanted to spank Junie B!)
  • The Secret of the Old Mill read by Bill Irwin. (This is a Hardy Boys mystery. The reader was too slow for me, but my children loved the sound effects.) added 7/2012

Nobody Liked:

  • A Series of Unfortunate Events read by the author, Lemony Snicket.  (This was probably a bad choice on my part.  Not only was the author’s voice very nasal, the book is much darker read aloud, and the content was too old for my children’s ages.)

I need new selections for our upcoming trip.  Any thoughts?  I am looking for titles that will be appropriate and enjoyable for a 7-year old, a 5-year old, and a 40-year old.

Author Letters

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There is nothing like getting personal author letters to peak interest in a book.  Many of my students wrote to various favorite book authors and received replies this year.  Overall, we had about a 50% success rate and learned a few things along the way. (To download the lesson plan for free, visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store.)

author letters

Newer authors have websites with an e-mail address and are more likely to send a personal reply.  We e-mailed Annie Barrows, Jewell Parker Rhodes, Kate Klimo, Jody Feldman, Jonathan Auxier, Tracy Barrett, Erica Kirov, and a few others.  In most cases, we received replies within three days.  The replies were unique and specifically responded to the letter written by the students.  Some authors even gave new book suggestions, which built excitement among the students to pick up an unfamiliar book.

author letters

Other authors provide a snail mail address on their website. These replies take longer– sometimes up to three months, so be patient. Kate Klise wrote us back twice and each letter contained different content.

Mega authors like J.K. Rowling are overloaded with letters and are less likely to reply to fanmail. But Rowling and other popular authors like Sharon Creech will send a generic reply if you include a self-addressed stamped envelope with your letter.

If you can’t find contact information on the author website, locate a mailing address for the author’s publishing company.  Mail a letter to the author c/o the publisher.  Publishers will forward all mail to the author.  We mailed a letter to John Christopher via his publisher.  We did not realize that the author had passed away, and his daughter actually replied to our letter several months later!

No matter how you try to contact an author, it will encourage a child to reach for that next book and establish a personal connection with a writer. To read more tips for contacting book authors, check out THIS POST by author Annabelle Fisher.