5 summer read-alouds for young children

Summer vacation brings with it a joy-filled and bustling house of children. Between park outings and summer camps, carve out some time to bond over stories with the children you love. Making meaningful connections over literature is a beautiful way to build family culture and create lasting memories for your family. While just reading a picture book is great, finding unique ways to bring a story to life even more with relevant snacks and activities is an extra special way to relate to the story and remember that wonderful time spent together as a family. 

From books about America to stories about the beach, a curated summertime reading list is sure to delight children of all ages. Read along for suggestions to find at your local library or add to your personal bookshelf, paired with activities and snacks for maximum enjoyment.

1. Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall

It is no surprise that this book is a Caldecott-Medal winner. With vibrant, circular watercolor illustrations, Hello Lighthouse immerses the reader into the day-to-day life of a lighthouse keeper and his family on a remote island. The family weathers storms, changing seasons, sickness, and ultimately modernization, but still the lighthouse stands firm against the waves and tides of change. 

Relate and remember: 

Snack on goldfish while enjoying the story and then get to work crafting your own lighthouses out of toilet paper rolls and disposable plates. If your travels will bring you to the seaside this summer, take an excursion to tour a real lighthouse. 

2. Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

Blueberries for Sal follows Sal and a baby bear who both get separated from their mothers while picking blueberries on a sunny hillside. With a frolicking and repetitive narrative that features the natural world, childlike curiosity, and the bond between mother and child, Blueberries for Sal is a classic for a reason. 

Relate and remember: 

If you can’t go berry picking to hear your own buckets sound, “Kerplink, kerplank, kerplunk” then head to the market for blueberries and supplies to make Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake, blueberry cobbler, or blueberry crumb bars. Blueberries for Sal is also quite fun to act out with children. Many little ones will find great delight in pretending to collect their own blueberries, acting as a baby bear, and pretending to be lost. This story also offers a great conversation starter to discuss your family’s safety protocol in case a child gets separated from a parent. 

3. Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco 

Thunder booms and rattles Grandma’s old farmhouse. A little girl is scared and grandmother helps her overcome her fear of thunder in the most delightful way possible – baking a cake! The cake must get into the oven before the storm arrives for it to be a real thunder cake, but can they find all of the ingredients in time? Packed with vivid, folk-style illustrations and a heartwarming story based on the author’s childhood, this book is good to have on hand for the next summer storm. 

Relate and remember:

Make sure to have the ingredients on hand for your own thunder cake! When a summer storm comes, read the book aloud, count the seconds between thunder claps, and bake the delicious chocolate thunder cake (recipe is included in the book!). 

4. The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear by Don Wood

A little mouse will do anything he can to protect his beloved strawberry from the Big, Hungry Bear. The bear loves strawberries, but so does the mouse! How will the mouse stop the bear from eating his red, ripe strawberry? He may have to share it with the reader! 

Relate & remember:

Take a trip to a strawberry patch and pick your own, or head to the market and get some red, ripe strawberries. Enjoy strawberries and cream, a strawberry galette, or strawberry bread while you read the story aloud. Make mouse and bear puppets to act out the story! 

5. Brambly Hedge Summer Story by Jill Barklem

A summer wedding has Brambly Hedge bustling as they prepare to celebrate the nuptials of Dusty Dogwood and Poppy Eyebright. The celebrations take an adventurous turn when the raft hosting the ceremony floats downstream. 

Relate and remember:

Create your own popsicle stick raft! Take it to a local stream (or backyard baby pool) and let the raft float along while you share stories from your own wedding or the wedding of a loved one.

Honorable mention titles

• Only One Woof by James Herriot 
• Farmhouse by Sophia Blackall
• The Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco 
• Hot Dog by Doug Salati