Picture Books

Cohen, Ron.   My Dad's Baseball.
A father tells his son about going to his first baseball game and getting a ball signed by Yogi Berra. E COH

Daly, Niki. The Boy on the Beach.
Reluctant to let the surf crash over him, Joe runs down the beach and has an adventure with an old boat. E DAL

De Paola, Tomie. Four Friends in Summer.
Four friends, Missy Cat, Mistress Pig, Master Dog, and Mister Frog, enjoy the warm and sunny days of spring and summer together. E DEP

Fleischman, Paul. Weslandia.
Wesley's garden produces a crop of huge, strange plants which provide him with clothing, shelter, food, and drink, thus helping him create his own civilization and changing his life. E FLE

Florian, Douglas.  A Summer Day.
A family takes a trip to the country and enjoys a summer day of relaxation and fun. E FLO

Frazee, Marla. A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever.
James and Eamon enjoy a wonderful week at the home of Eamon's grandparents during summer vacation. E FRA

George, Jean Craighead. Fishing at Long Pond.
While fishing for bass, Katie and her grandfather observe a deer, an osprey, a goose, and other pond visitors. E GEO  

George, Lindsay.  Around the Pond: Who’s Been Here?
While picking blueberries on a warm summer afternoon, Cammy and her brother see signs of unseen animals and their activities including footprints and more. E GEO

Gershwin, George. Summertime: From Porgy and Bess.
Paintings depict a family's routine one summer day earlier in this century. Includes the score of the song "Summertime". E 784.4 GER

Glaser, Linda. It’s Summer!
A child observes the coming of summer and its effects on the weather, animals, and plants. Includes suggestions for summertime activities to enjoy alone or with a parent. E GLA

Greenberg, Melanie Hope.  Mermaids on Parade.
A young girl participates in Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade to celebrate the opening of the ocean during the summer solstice. E GRE

Hall, Donald. Lucy's Summer.
For Lucy Wells, who lives on a farm in New Hampshire, the summer of 1910 is filled with helping her mother can fruits and vegetables, enjoying the Fourth of July celebration, and other activities. E HAL

Hammerstein, Oscar. A Real Nice Clambake.
Family and friends gather on a New England beach to savor the wonderful foods at a clambake.  Lyrics taken from Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical Carousel. E 782.421 HAM

Hirschi, Ron.  Summer.
Baby animals spend the summer growing, playing, and learning from their parents. E 508.2 HIR

Hughes, Susan. Earth to Audrey.
Everything about Audrey is a bit far-out so Ray decides she must be an alien. As the summer and their friendship progress, Audrey enables Ray to see the planet in a new way. E HUG

James, Simon.  Dear Mr. Blueberry.
A young girl and her teacher correspond about the whale she has discovered in her pond.  E JAM

Jessup, Harley.  Grandma Summer.
On a visit with Grandma to the old family summer house at the shore, Ben finds both the beach and the house filled with history and treasures waiting to be discovered. E JES

Kesselman, Wendy Ann.  Sand in My Shoes.
A young girl regretfully says goodbye to her beach house, the seashore, and the summer as she prepares to return to the city. E KES

Levine, Evan.  Not the Piano, Mrs. Medley!
After several false starts, Mrs. Medley, loaded with gear, sets out for the beach with her grandson Max and her dog Word. E LEV

London, Jonathan.  Froggy Learns to Swim.
Froggy is afraid of the water until his mother, along with his flippers, snorkle, and mask, help him learn to swim.  E LON

McCully, Emily Arnold.  Monk Camps Out.
A young mouse decides to spend the night camping out alone in his backyard, but his parents have other ideas. E MCC

McCully, Emily Arnold. Picnic.
A little mouse gets lost on the way to a family picnic.  E MCC

O'Donnell, Elizabeth Lee. Twelve Days of Summer.
A cumulative counting verse in which a girl enumerates what she sees at the beach, from one little purple sea anemone to twelve gulls a-gliding. E 811 ODO  

Oxenbury, Helen.  Tom and Pippo on the Beach.
Tom and his stuffed monkey Pippo trade sun hats when they go to the beach with Daddy. E OXE  

Parish, Herman.  Amelia Bedelia Makes a Splash.
Sent to an old-fashioned, all-girls sleepaway summer camp, Amelia looks for ways that her camp can cooperate with a high-tech computer camp across the lake. E PAR

Plourde, Lynn.  Summer’s Vacation.
Despite reminders from Father Time and Mother Earth, Summer neglects her chores while she is on vacation. E PLO

Sis, Peter.  Ice Cream Summer.
A little boy writes a letter to his grandfather about all the reading and studying he is doing this summer--but all his activities revolve around ice cream. E SIS

Spinelli, Eileen. Heat Wave.
Abigail, Ralphie, and the other citizens of Lumberville struggle to endure a week-long heat wave. E SPI

Easy Readers  

Coxe, Molly. Hot Dog.
A dog tries to find a way to cool off on a hot summer day on a farm. E 428 EASY BOOKS COX

Krensky, Stephen. Lionel in the Summer.
Lionel enjoys the longest day of summer, celebrates the Fourth of july, has a lemonade stand, and travels on vacation with his family. E 428 KRE

Peters, Lisa Westberg.  The Hayloft.
Two sisters living on a farm enjoy many summer activities--especially spending the night in the hayloft. E 428 PET

Rau, Dana Meachen.  Flip Flop!
Rhyming text explores the many options that summer presents to two best friends, from swimming in a pool versus swimming in the sea, to wearing flip flops versus going barefoot.  E 428 EASY BKS RAU

Rylant, Cynthia.  Annie and Snowball and the Book Bugs Club.
Annie and Henry join the summer reading club at the library, and vow to be "Book Bugs" for life.  E 428 RYL

Rylant, Cynthia.  Henry and Mudge in the Green Time.
For Henry and his big dog Mudge, summer means going on a picnic in the park, taking a bath under the garden hose, and going to the top of the big green hill. E 428 RYL

Smith, Janice Lee. Wizard and Wart at Sea.
While trying to relax on the beach with his dog Wart, Wizard uses his magic to get rid of pesky seagulls but finds his solution to be just as bad as the original problem. E 428 SMI

Chapter Books

Beil, Michael.  Summer at Forsaken Lake.
Twelve-year-old Nicholas and his ten-year-old, twin sisters, Hetty and Haley, spend the summer with their Great-Uncle Nick at Forsaken Lake, where he and their new friend Charlie investigate the truth about an accident involving their families many years before. J-M BEI

Blume, Judy.  Fudge-a-Mania.
Pete describes the family vacation in Maine with the Tubmans, highlighted by the antics of his younger brother Fudge. J BLU , J-PBK BLU

Cameron, Ann. Julian's Glorious Summer.
When his best friend, Gloria, receives a new bike, seven-year-old Julian spends the summer avoiding her because of his fear of bikes. J CAM  

Christopher, Matt. The Kid Who Only Hit Homers.
A boy becomes a phenomenal baseball player one summer when a mysterious stranger resembling Babe Ruth befriends him. J CHR

Enright, Elizabeth.  Gone-Away Lake.
Julian and his cousin Portia found a hidden lake and deserted houses near their new summer home. J-PBK ENR

Gantos, Jack.  Dead End in Norvelt.
In the historic town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, twelve-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor. J-HF GAN

Hoffman, Alice. Aquamarine.
A love-struck mermaid named Aquamarine supplies adventure and insights to two twelve-year-old girls, life-long friends who are spending their last summer together before one of them moves away. J-PBK HOF

Kessler, Liz.  The Tail of Emily Windsnap.
After convincing her mother that she should take swimming lessons, Emily discovers a terrible and wonderful secret about herself that opens up a whole new world. J-FAN KES

Martin, Ann. Ten Good and Bad Things about My Life (so far).
Pearl writes an essay about her complicated summer during which her father lost his job, her sister was her camp counselor, and she had a fight with a nemesis. J MAR

Thaler, Mike.  The Summer Vacation from the Black Lagoon.
Hubie wonders what to do on the first day of summer vacation while all his friends are away at camp. J THA

Tripp, Valerie. Samantha Saves the Day: A Summer Story.
While spending the summer at Grandmary's summer home on Goose Lake, Samantha and her twin cousins decide to visit the island where Samantha's parents were drowned during a storm. J-HF TRI

Williams-Garcia.  One Crazy Summer.
In 1968, after traveling from Brooklyn to Oakland to spend a month with the mother they barely know, 11-year-old Delphine and her sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover their mother wants them to attend a Black Panther summer camp. J-HF WIL