Summer Reading Lists

ELEMENTARY READING LISTS

ONLINE RESOURCES FOR READING

• Scholastic Parent Support
• PBS Kids
• Free Games and Activities for Literacy
• Summer Challenge by Scholastic
• Parents Guide to Helping Your Child Be a Great Reader
• Help Your Child Read With Phonics
• Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program
• Newport News Public Library Summer Reading Program Information
• Earobics Game Goo
• Newport News Library Website
• Storyteller and Games

NNPS encourages all of its students to read during the summer for enjoyment, leisure, and learning. We have compiled a list of suggested books that are fun, engaging, mysterious, thought-provoking, informative, meaningful, inventive, inspiring, motivational, and more! The list includes award-winning books as well as others recognized by our faculty and various literary journals as meaningful reading for students of various ages. If you particularly enjoy reading a book that you think should be on the list, contact Terri McCaughan so that it can be considered for next year’s list. We appreciate your input!

INCOMING PRESCHOOLERS AND KINDERGARTENERS:

Read Aloud Books

ALL children can benefit from being read to. Any book lends itself to being a read aloud. Children love to hear adults read to them. It creates a special time between adult and child. Choose a book that is at least 2-3 grade levels above your child's reading level. Children can listen to language at a higher level than they can read. The grade levels here are suggestions - let your child's interests and maturity guide you in selecting an appropriate book. It only takes 20 minutes a day!

Try these titles from the Virginia Young Readers list.

• Chester by Melanie West
• Dog and Bear: Two Friends, Three Stories by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
• Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
• Hansel and Gretel by Rachel Isadora
• I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont
• I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry
• Katie Loves the Kittens by John Himmelman
• Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas
• Too Many Toys by David Shannon
• Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa by Jeanette Winter

INCOMING FIRST GRADERS:

Read Aloud Books

ALL children can benefit from being read to. Any book lends itself to being a read aloud. Please read fairy tales and folk tales to your children whenever possible. They are a rich and beneficial part of our literary heritage, and enhance the cultural literacy of our children. Children love to hear adults read to them. It creates a special time between adult and child. Choose a book that is at least 2-3 grade levels above your child's reading level. Children can listen to language at a higher level than they can read. The grade levels here are suggestions - let your child's interests and maturity guide you in selecting an appropriate book. It only takes 20 minutes a day!

Have Your Child Read to You

For children who are just learning to read, there are many excellent wordless books on the market also (such as the GOOD DOG, CARL series). Have your child "read" these to you by telling the story of the pictures. ABC and number books (such as ANNO'S ALPHABET and ALPHABATICS) are also excellent selections for this age group. Other children are already picking up books and reading them aloud to you. If this is your child, here are some book recommendations they may want to read to you.

• Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton
• Biscuit (other titles) by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
• City Dog by Karla Kuskin
• Freight Train by Donald Crews
• I Love Trucks! by Philemon Sturges
• If You Give a Moose a Muffin (other titles) by Laura Numeroff
• My Very First Mother Goose by Rosemary Wells and Iona Opie
• No David! (other titles) by David Shannon
• Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? (other titles) by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
• Sheep in a Jeep (other titles) by Nancy Shaw and Margot Apple
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
• Where’s Spot? (other titles) by Eric Hill
• The I CAN READ books by the following authors: Arnold Lobel, Kay Chorao, Majorie W. Sharmat, Doug Cushman, Clyde Bulla, Ida Luttrell

Try these titles from the Virginia Young Readers list.

• Chester by Melanie West
• Dog and Bear: Two Friends, Three Stories by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
• Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
• Hansel and Gretel by Rachel Isadora
• I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont
• I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry
• Katie Loves the Kittens by John Himmelman
• Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas
• Too Many Toys by David Shannon
• Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story From Africa by Jeanette Winter

  INCOMING SECOND GRADERS:

As a part of the first grade curriculum, the children have covered such topics as community helpers, families, life long ago, motion-moving objects, solids/liquids/gases, plant and animal life needs, weather, and social relationships. You may wish to encourage your child to read any nonfiction books in these areas.
Looking ahead to the second grade, you may select books about Indians, life long ago, China, Egypt (dress, food, customs, etc.), magnets, butterfly life cycle (metamorphosis), water cycle, and poetry (A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES by Robert Louis Stevenson.)

Read Aloud Books

ALL children can benefit from being read to. Any book lends itself to being a read aloud. Children love to hear adults read to them. It creates a special time between adult and child. Choose a book that is at least 2-3 grade levels above your child's reading level. Children can listen to language at a higher level than they can read. The grade levels here are suggestions - let your child's interests and maturity guide you in selecting an appropriate book. It only takes 20 minutes a day!

Independent Reading

The only way we get better at doing something is to practice. It is important that children have a regular time to read over the summer.  Here is a list of books that your child may be interested in reading. If they find a particular genre or author they like, check with your local library to get further book recommendations!

Try these titles from the Virginia Young Readers list.

• Chester by Melanie West
• Dog and Bear: Two Friends, Three Stories by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
• Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
• Hansel and Gretel by Rachel Isadora
• I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont
• I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry
• Katie Loves the Kittens by John Himmelman
• Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas
• Too Many Toys by David Shannon
• Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa by Jeanette Winter

 
INCOMING THIRD GRADERS :

As a part of the second grade curriculum, the children have covered such topics as Indians, China and Egypt, magnets, butterfly life cycle (metamorphosis), and water cycle .You may wish to encourage your child to read a nonfiction book in these areas as well to reinforce what they have learned.

The third grade teachers suggest that incoming students read about explorers, Greece and Rome, biographies of famous Americans, food chains, food webs, simple machines, phases of the moon, animal adaptations/habitats, as well as folk and fairy tales from Europe, Asia and Africa.

Read Aloud Books

ALL children can benefit from being read to. Any book lends itself to being a read aloud. Children love to hear adults read to them. It creates a special time between adult and child. Choose a book that is at least 2-3 grade levels above your child's reading level. Children can listen to language at a higher level than they can read. The grade levels here are suggestions - let your child's interests and maturity guide you in selecting an appropriate book. It only takes 20 minutes a day!

Independent Reading

The only way we get better at doing something is to practice. It is important that children have a regular time to read over the summer.  Here is a list of books that your child may be interested in reading. If they find a particular genre or author they like, check with your local library to get further book recommendations!

Try these titles from the Virginia Young Readers list.

• Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things  by Lenore Look
• Blown Away by Joan Hiatt Harlow
• Chicken Feathers by Joy Cowley
• The Dragon in the Sock Drawer by Kate Klimo
• The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman
• Gully’s Travels by Tor Seidler
• Lady Liberty: A Biography by Doreen Rappaport
• The Magic Half by Annie Barrows
• Martina the Beautiful Cockroach by Carmen Agra Deedy
• Masterpiece by Elise Broach

 
INCOMING FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADERS:

Incoming fourth graders should read the following:

• biographies of George Washington, Patrick Henry and other famous Virginians
• books on the 13 colonies and life in the colonial times
• books on Virginia
• Earth, moon, sun
• phases of the moon
• electricity
• plant parts

Incoming fifth graders should read the following:

• biographies of famous Americans such as Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dolly Madison, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, etc.
• books on the history of the United States (historical fiction and non-fiction)
• books on the geographic regions of the United States
• folk tales of other cultures
• classifications (vertebrate/non-vertebrates)
• ocean communities
• rock cycle
• effects of weathering
• light and sound

Independent Reading

The only way we get better at doing something is to practice. It is important that children have a regular time to read over the summer.  Here is a list of books that your child may be interested in reading. If they find a particular genre or author they like, check with your local library to get further book recommendations!

Try these titles from the Virginia Young Readers list.

• Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things  by Lenore Look
• Blown Away by Joan Hiatt Harlow
• Chicken Feathers by Joy Cowley
• The Dragon in the Sock Drawer by Kate Klimo
• The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman
• Gully’s Travels by Tor Seidler
• Lady Liberty: A Biography by Doreen Rappaport
• The Magic Half by Annie Barrows
• Martina the Beautiful Cockroach by Carmen Agra Deedy
• Masterpiece by Elise Broach

 
MORE INFORMATION

MORE INFORMATION
Famous Folks' Favorite Books
This is just a sampling of the celebrity book picks. You can find the complete list at: http://www.nea.org/grants/29508.htm

• Steven Spielberg and Charlton Heston - Treasure Island
• Bette Midler and Attorney General Janet Reno - The Wind in the Willows
• Tim Allen - Curious George by Margret and H.A. Rey
• Judy Blume - Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
• Stephen Breyer, U.S. Supreme Court Justice - Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Kate Capshaw - Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers
• Bill Clinton - Dick and Jane readers
• Katie Couric - Light a Single Candle by Beverly Butler
• Courtney Cox - The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco
• Paula Danziger - The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
• Kirk Douglas - The Bobbsey Twins series by Laura Lee Hope
• Gloria Estefan - Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
• Marshall Faulk, Donovan McNabb and Faith Hill - Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
• Janet Jackson - The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
• Kristine Lilly - Oh, The Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss
• Lucy Liu - The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
• Mandy Moore – A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith
• Paul Newman - Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
• Angela Perez Baraquio, reigning Miss America - Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
• Connie Stevens - Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
• Barbara Walters - The Little Prince by Antonine De Saint-Exupery

NEA Teachers' Picks

• Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
• The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
• Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
• The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
• Love You Forever by Robert N. Nunsch
• The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
• Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
• The Mitten by Jan Brett

Children listed these books as their favorites:

• Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
• Goosebumps series by R. L. Stine
• Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
• The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
• Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
• Arthur series by Marc Brown
• Shiloh trilogy by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
• Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
• Holes by Louis Sachar
• The Giver by Lois Lowry

Children's Choices (A Project of the International Reading Association and The Children's Book Council)
Beginning Readers (Grades K-2)

• Bandit by Karen Rostoker-Gruber
• Bats at the Library by Brian Lies
• Cottonball Colin by Jeanne Willis
• Doctor Meow’s Big Emergency by Sam Lloyd
• Don’t Worry Bear by Greg Foley
• The Donut Chef by Bob Staake
• Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody by Michael Rex
• I’m the Best Artist in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry
• Katie Loves the Kittens by John Himmelman
• A Kittle Tale by Eric Rohmann
• Maybe a Bear Ate It! by Robie Harris
• No Hugs Till Saturday by Julie Downing
• The Pigeon Wants a Puppy by Mo Willems
• Princess Baby by Karen Katz
• Red Truck by Kersten Hamilton
• Sally and the Purple Socks by Lisze Bechtold
• The Sandman by Ralph Fletcher
• Sort It Out! by Barbara Mariconda
• Those Darn Squirrels! by Adam Rubin
• ‘Twas the Day Before Zoo Day by Catherine Ipcizade
• Twelve Terrible Things by Marty Kelley
• Twenty-Six Princesses by Dave Horowitz
• The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers
• We’re Going on a Lion Hunt by Margery Cuyler
• What a Trip! by Arthur Yorkins
• What Does Mrs. Claus Do? by Kate Wharton
• Where’s My Mummy? by Carolyn Crimi
• Who Ate All the Cookie Dough? by Karen Beaumont
• You Can’t Go to School Naked! by Diane Billstrom

 Young Readers (Grades 3-4)

• Babymouse #8: Puppy Love by Jennifer and Matthew Holm
• Babymouse #9: Monster Mash by Jennifer and Matthew Holm
• The Big Little Book of Happy Sadness by Colin Thompson
• Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman by Marc Tyler Nobleman
• Car Science: An Under-the-Hodd, Behind-the-Dash Look at How Cars Work by Richard Hammond
• Dr. Frankenstein’s Human Body Book by Richard Walker
• Easy Earth-Friendly Crafts in 5 Steps by Anna Llimos
• Florida Panthers: Struggle for Survival by William Caper
• How Strong Is It? A Mighty Book All About Strength by Ben Hillman
• How to Speak Cat! by Sarah Whitehead
• How to Speak Dog! by Sarah Whitehead
• I, Vivaldi by Janice Shefelman
• Magic Tree House #40: Eve of the Emperor Penguin by Mary Pope Osborne
• Manny Ramirez and the Boston Red Sox: 2004 World Series by Michael Sandler
• One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference by Katie Smith Milway
• One Million Things: A Visual Encyclopedia
• Pararescuemen in Action by Michael Sandler
• Puppy Power by Judy Cox
• Singing to the Sun: A Fairy Tale by Vivian French
• Sir Reginald’s Logbook by Matt Hammill
• Spooky Cemeteries by Dinah Williams
• Southern Sea Otters: Fur-tastrophe Avoided by Jeanette Leardi
• Stuck in the Mud by Jane Clarke
• Titanicat by Marty Crisp
• Tom Brady and the New England Patriots: Super Bowl XXXVIII by Michael Sandler
• Toy Dance Party by Emily Jenkins
• Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival by Kirby Larson and Marty Nethery
• Underwear: What We Wear Under There by Ruther Freeman Swain
• Welcome to Kit’s World, 1934: Growing Up During American’s Great Depression by Harriet Brown
• Willow by Denise Brennan-Nelson and Rosemarie Brennan
• The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook (Junior Edition) by David Borgenicht and Robin Epstein

Advanced Readers (Grades 5-6)

• 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan
• 100 Most Dangerous Things on the Planet: What to Do If It Happens To You by Anna Claybourne
• Amulet, Book One: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi
• As If Being 13 ½ Isn’t Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running For President by Donna Gephart
• Barnaby Grimes: Curse of the Night Wolf by Paul Stewart
• The Big Field by Mike Lupica
• Bronte’s Book Club by Kristiana Gregory
• Dance: No Matter What Kind of Dance You Like to Do, This Book Is for You by Apryl Lundsten
• Duel! Burr and Hamilton’s Deadly War of Words by Dennis Brindell Fradin
• The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein
• The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau
• Gods of Manhattan by Scott Mebus
• It’s Only Temporary by Sally Warner
• Jimmy’s Stars by Mary Ann Rodman
• The Magician (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel) by Michael Scott
• My Letter to the World and Other Poems by Emily Dickinson
• My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath
• The Mystery of the Fool and the Vanisher by David and Ruth Ellwand
• Peeled by Joan Bauer
• Pigling: A Cinderella Story by Dan Jolley
• The Savage by David Almond
• Sir Fartsalot Hunts the Booger by Kevin Bolger
• Stolen Children by Peg Kehret
• Swords: An Artist’s Devotion by Ben Boos
• Thirteen by Lauren Myracle
• A Thousand Never Evers by Shana Burg
• Totally Crushed (Candy Apply #7) by Eliza Willard
• The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry
• Winning Words: Sports Stories and Photographs by Charles Smith Jr.
• Zorgamazoo by Robert Paul Weston

Most books can be found at a public library located near you!