Five of our favourite summer reads for kids so far and a few fun gift ideas for any science lovers!

Amazing Athletes: An incredible book for any sports enthusiast for all ages. Any boy or girl would love this book. It would be perfect for studying different athletes or simply learning about a variety of athletes from all over the world. The book shares a few interesting facts for each athlete as well as a short timeline of their history in athletics. Usain Bolt, Simone Biles, Madge Syers and Michael Phelps are just a few of the athletes mentioned in this one.

Little People Big Dreams: One of our favourite series, which began with creating books about inspiring women, has added an inspiring men line as well. Their newest title is about Jesse Owens - the well known track star! It is a beautiful story and if you are looking for more titles, there are more books in the series about inspiring men including Muhammad Ali, David Bowie and a few others.

Itzhak: A Boy Who Loved the Violin - What a stunning story based on the biography of famous violinist, Itzhark Perlman. The story captures so many beautiful colours and shares a unique perspective on the young boy’s life as he grew up. As a music teacher, this would be a wonderful story to share with a class to combine art with music. The book also goes through a few musical terms in a way that children can easily understand.

You’re the Hero: Jungle Adventure: My favourite book from this new bunch is this “create your own jungle story” picture book. Remember those choose your own adventure chapter books from when we were kids? Well, this is like a younger kids, picture book version. Your child chooses what happens on every page, creating a new story every time you read it. The illustrations are vibrant and inviting and there are few other themes in the series!

Finally, if you have any science lovers in your house I have found the perfect rain day activity, birthday present or summer activity. My oldest son is constantly asking to do science experiments and these science kits from SmartLab Toys are amazing. There are a few different themes and each kit comes with all of the tools needed and a step by step instruction book. Most of the experiments use things you can easily find in your home and I love that my kids can create independently.