I hope your kids are enjoying their summer vacation, but never let them take a vacation from reading. Reading to them and taking them to the library to let them pick out books are excellent ways to help them become lifelong lovers of books and reading. Children who read at least 20 minutes per day are exposed to almost two million words per year. Kids who read for 20 minutes a day are also likely to score higher than 90% of their peers on standardized tests. Offer your kids a wide variety of reading materials and watch their world expand. Here are our July suggestions:

The Eagle and the Wren by Jane Goodall – Goodall shares a favorite childhood story about birds trying to see who could fly the highest. As the birds drop out of the competition, it seems only the eagle is left until a wren hiding in the eagle’s feathers emerges and soars higher. The wise owl praises the wren’s accomplishment as a testament to the power of teamwork because together the birds managed to reach heights neither could have accomplished alone. The moral of the story is the world will always need “eagles” and the wisdom to work together to help us achieve our greatest potential. For ages 3-5

Llama Llama Loves Camping by Anna Dewdney – based on an episode of the new Netflix series about Llama Llama – Llama Llama is excited, but a little scared to take his first camping trip. Llama Llama learns a valuable lesson – doing new things can seem scary, but it can also end up being lots of fun! For ages 4-6

National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Animals by Catherine D. Hughes – Kids are introduced to the world of wildlife and learn about 32 different animals or insects in this book. This book features more than 150 National Geographic photos and interesting facts about each animals’ size, diet, home, and more. For ages 4-6

Shark Lady by Jess Keating – Kids will enjoy this true story about Eugenie Clark. As a child, Eugenie became fascinated with sharks, but she quickly learned society did not support the idea of women in science and or the idea that sharks were anything but predatory monsters to be feared and despised. Eugenie devoted her life to learning about sharks and proving that women make great scientists. For ages 4-8

Waffles the Chicken in The Kitchen by Ken Matthews – Even though chickens don’t eat sandwiches, Waffles the Chicken goes to the farmer’s kitchen to make a sandwich for a hungry friend. In this book series, kids will love Waffles and learn important lessons about doing things for others without expecting anything in return. For ages 4-8

Nonni’s Moon by Julia Inserro – Beanie is sad being so far away from her grandmother until she learns the moon shines over both she and her Nonni which will always keep them connected. For ages 4-9

Seeds and Trees by Brandon Walden – This is a story about the power of words. Words are used as a metaphor for seeds. A young prince travels his kingdom collecting and planting seeds. Though he lovingly plants and waters every seed, the trees that grow from some seeds begin to harm the other trees around them until he meets a new friend, and she shows him how to cut down and replace the harmful trees with healthy seeds. It’s not your traditional fairy tale about princes saving damsels in distress and instead of her saving him, she teaches him how to save himself. For ages 6-12

The Magic and Mystery of Trees by Jen Green – Kids learn about the natural science of trees and their importance to our environment including the animals who depend on them for food and shelter. There’s also a section on how to plant and care for their own tree. For ages 7-9

P.S. Be Eleven by Rita Williams-Garcia – This is the second book in the trilogy about 3 black sisters growing up in the turbulent 60s. Delphine, Vonetta and Fern are back home after spending the summer with their mother in California learning about the work of the Black Panthers. Their father has a new girlfriend and Uncle Darnell is home from Vietnam, but he’s not the same. Their grandmother is struggling to understand that the world is changing fast, and the sisters are growing up and becoming more independent. Eleven-year-old Delphine tries to be all things to all people, and she must learn to accept her mother’s advice about not growing up too fast and remembering to sometimes just be eleven. For ages 8-12

Legend of the Star Runner: A Solve-Them-Yourself Mysteries Adventure by J.I. Wagner – Timmi Tobbson and his friends race to find a long-lost pirate ship filled with treasure to save a dear friend’s home from foreclosure. The adventure is divided into 31 chapters with a puzzle to solve at the end of each hidden with the colorful illustrations of the book. For ages 8-12

Sources for this article:

https://comfyliving.net/reading-statistics/