School is almost out. Kids are looking forward to the lazy days of summer, hanging out at the pool, going on vacation with the family, and hanging out with their friends. All of these are part of childhood, which I am all for. I feel that encouraging children to be creative, use their imaginations, build friendships and keeping active are very important. Equally as important, but often overlooked, is encouraging your child to read.
I’ve noticed that schools don’t have required reading and book reports during the summer months. They did when I was growing up. My kids also had to read over the summer for school. These days that requirement has disappeared.
Reading is not just a way to keep a child busy, it’s also very important for many other reasons.
1. Crushing the “Summer Slide”
Here is a scary thought. Researchers have found that students who don’t read over the summer can lose up to two to three months of reading proficiency by the time they head back to school. This is not necessarily something that goes away either. This learning loss compounds year after year which creates a gap that gets harder to close. When a child reads it keeps those cognitive gears turning and ensures they start the new school year off right.
2. Building Confidence and Vocabulary
When a child reads books they are exposed to new words, sentence structures, and ideas. This helps to increase their vocabulary and comprehension skills. This also helps a child better able to tackle grade-level texts because their “reading muscles” haven’t atrophied.
3. Fostering a Genuine Love for Books
Throughout the school year children are required to read textbooks and worksheets as part of what is being taught in the classroom, for homework and to study for tests.
The best part about summer reading is that is allows children to pick books they want to read, whether that’s graphic novels, fantasy series, books about animals, or sports stories. By allowing a child to choose what they want to read it helps to encourage a lifelong love of reading.
I hated doing summer book reports for school. I much rather read what “I” was interested in when I was growing up.
4. Supporting Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)
Schools are putting more emphasis on social-emotional learning (SEL) and books are a great way to help children learn that. Through books they can learn empathy, different perspectives, cultures, and emotions that are different from their own. Reading books can help children process their own feelings and navigate social dynamics in a safe, imaginative space.
5. Keeping Brains Active (Without a Screen)
There is A LOT of downtime during the summer. Parents often dread the words “I’m bored.” That often leads to children being allowed to waste hours mindlessly scrolling on their smartphones or tablets, or playing endless hours of games.
Reading a book is a better option. It exercises the brain’s focus and attention span in a way that no digital media can match.
You don’t have to force your child to read for hours at a time. Even 15-30 each day is enough. That’s as long as a single Spongebob Squarepants episode. I think most kids can handle that length of time.
If you are looking for some fun books to add to your child’s summer reading list, check out these titles. Some are old favorites and others might be your child’s new favorite.
Written by New York Times Best Selling Author Kate Beaton
When little shark girl gets caught in a fishing net she realized that human were also catching sea creatures they wouldn’t eat, which ended up killing them. After she was able to escape she came up with a plan to create a mutiny on the ship so the mean captain would stop fishing for innocent creatures. But will her plan work?
This is a interesting story. It’s not only fun to read but it also teaches children about sea life and how often creatures that humans don’t eat get caught up in nets and essentially killed. It also touches upon the idea of overfishing.
The illustrations are unique too. The characters are not “cutesy” either. When shark girl gets angry she’s kind of scary looking (ha ha).
Shark girl looks like a mermaid, but she’s really part shark.
Written by Kenard Pack
A young girl leaves her home and walks across open fields, exploring nature and all the signs of spring (rain, green grass, butterflies, flowers…). She greets everything with a “hello.”
This is a quick read and a simple book with lovely illustrations.
I like that this book reminds people to be more observant about the world around them and learn to appreciate the littlest things like shadows, rain clouds, and butterflies. It encourages you to be present in the moment.
I think this book would make a great bedtime story too.
Written by Lars Kenseth
I love this book. It’s so sweet.
Moby is a whale and he wants to make friends. He spots a ship and approaches it to make friends, but the people were not nice to him, especially the captain named Captain Ahab. He got angry at Moby and tried to “tickle” him with spears. Perhaps the people won’t make good friends after all.
I love the lesson of this book. It reminds you to be true to yourself, because when you are true to yourself you can make friends.
This is a much better read than Moby Dick (ha ha). It’s like the happy kid version of the classic story.
The illustrations are simple and cute. I especially liked Moby. He’s adorable.
Written by Deborah Diesen and illustrated by Dan Hanna
Did you know Pout Pout Fish was made into a movie? I haven’t seen it yet but I will when it comes out on digital (I believe it might already be available).
Poor Pout Pout Fish with the pouty face which spreads dreary wearies all over the place.
The sea creatures try to encourage him to smile but he simply can’t. That is just how his face is. It’s not until an unexpected kiss changes everything for him.
Super cute story. Adorable illustrations. Great rhyming too. This is a great story for kids. It’s no wonder if was made into a movie.
These books are from MacMillian Kids. You can purchase them at retailers such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books a Million and more.
For more information on these and other books, visit US.Macmillian.com. Be sure to follow them on social media to keep up to date on new book releases and more.
Kimberly
*I received free book samples in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.
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