Summer Book List

Every summer our kids fall in love with reading even more. Maybe it’s the extra free time, maybe it’s the warm air, maybe we will never know the reason but in summer, our family loves to read. We love bringing books on road trips, we love to read in the backyard and even on the couch on a rainy day. Here are a few newer titles we are adding to our collection in the summer from some of our favourite publishing companies starting with Crossway Books:

Exploring the Bible - This Bible reading plan for kids in book form is a great family tool or individual read. We will be using this as a family taking time to read a section of verses from the Bible each day and answering one question together. We love that the chapter and verses are all pre planned so you know exactly where you are reading with your kids each day. It encourages children to learn to read from the Bible and have engaging, thoughtful conversations after reading. Each week is laid out Monday- Saturday with a section of verses from the Bible and one question to answer. On Sunday, there is a longer story with a few more sermon note type spaces to fill which you could use as a family devotion.

Meeting with Jesus - This daily bible reading plan book is similar to the exploring the Bible book but this one focuses on Jesus’s life. It has a daily verse/section from the Bible to read and then one question to respond to. We love that this daily bible reading guide explores concepts that Jesus taught about and how we are to treat others and live in this world.

The Holy Spirit - A board book so even the tiniest of hands can enjoy this story. This book covers big words and explains them in a kid friendly way to help children grasp an understanding of the Holy Spirit. Each page has big beautiful illustrations that focus on the concept being explained to give the children a visual to remember.

Lucy and the Saturday Surprise - We have already read this story in our home and our kids love it. Sometimes big topics like envy and greed are hard to explain to children and this book covers the topic in a beautiful, child friendly way. The story is well written and deals with a little girl feeling envious or jealous of something her sibling got. It has a great message and a beautiful hard cover so it is one you can read over and over again.

The King and the Dragon - Immediately our boys were intereseted in this story because of the cover and title. The well written book is a story of a battle but ultimately parallels the story of Jesus and how he gave his life up for us. It is engaging and has rhyme throughout the story making it an easy read and one your family will love.

From Canadian publisher Manda Group:

In the Garden and In the Tide Pool - this is a newer series to us and we love it. The hard pages and beautiful illustrations with pop ups make each title engaging and fun for little hands. In the Tide Pool and In the Garden go with the summer theme well as our kids love exploring the tide pools on the coast and are always looking for creatures in the garden. These would make a great summer birthday gift or are perfect for a family road trip.

National Parks Sticker and Log Book - If you family loves to adventure and visit National parks this is a must have. In this book, there is space to record your visits to all of the National parks with information about each one and even a unique sticker badge to add to the page as you visit. What a fun way to record your travels and to remember some of your favourite moments and memories.

A few titles we love from Raincoast

A few new titles from local publishing company Raincoast Books. All of these books can be found at your local Indigo, amazon or other local retailers.

Disney Princess Sticker Book Treasury - If you are planning on traveling this summer one of our favourite ideas is to bring along sticker books in the car. The Disney Princess sticker book has over 350 stickers and children can create scenes, dress characters and enjoy their time in the car on a long road trip.

Why a Daughter needs a Dad - This is an adorable story about a bear cub and the cub’s dad in a sweet rhyming pattern. The illustrations of different animals are adorable and this would make a great Father’s Day, birthday or Christmas gift for any young one!

How to Catch a Daddysaurus - If you have a dinosaur lover in your home this is a great find. The book talks about all the different ways dads help kids on a daily basis in a rhyming beat as well. The illustrations are engaging and this would also be a cute Father’s Day gift. At the end of the book there is a space for your kids to draw a picture or write a note to their dad as well.

Animals of the USA Activity Book - We love activity books all year round but fin them especially helpful in the summer on long road trip, ferry rides or any type of travel. This activity book features animals from all the different states of the USA with a variety of activities such as crosswords, color by number, word scrambles etc.