Summer Reading Suggestions – Lower Elementary

Reading aloud with your child every day is a great way to build literacy, imagination, and a love of books. Here are a few suggestions for children ages 6-9 to get you started on some summer reading! We’ve hyperlinked the title with a link to purchase.

Beginning Chapter Books

These books are great for newly independent readers — typically shorter and still have some illustrations.

Mercy Watson series: To the Rescue by: Kate DiCamillo

To Mr. and Mrs. Watson, Mercy is not just a pig — she’s a porcine wonder. And to the portly and good-natured Mercy, the Watsons are an excellent source of buttered toast, not to mention that buttery-toasty feeling she gets when she snuggles into bed with them. This is not, however, so good for the Watsons’ bed. BOOM! CRACK! As the bed and its occupants slowly sink through the floor, Mercy escapes in a flash to seek help…or does she?

Magic Tree House series: Dinosaurs Before Dark by: Mary Pope Osborne

Eight-year-old Jack and his younger sister Annie find a magic tree house, which whisks them to the prehistoric past. Now they have to figure out how to get home. Can they do it before dark…or will they become a dinosaur’s dinner?

Zach and Zoe Mysteries series: Half-Court Hero by: Mike Lupica

There’s nothing eight-year-old twins Zach and Zoe Walker love more than playing sports and solving mysteries. When the twins start a summer basketball league at their local park, they notice the once rundown court is getting freshened up with each passing day. But who’s behind it? Zach and Zoe are on the case!

EllRay Jakes series: Is Not a Chicken by: Sally Warner

Eight-year-old EllRay Jakes is sick of getting picked on. But every time he tries to defend himself against class bully Jared Matthews, EllRay is the one who winds up in trouble. It’s just not fair! Then his dad offers him a deal: If EllRay can stay out of trouble for a week, they’ll go to Disneyland! But being good for one whole week is not so easy…

Chapter Books

These are great for independent readers and/or family read alouds!

The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail by: Richard Peck

The smallest mouse in London’s Royal Mews is such a little mystery that he hasn’t even a name. And who were his parents? His Aunt Marigold, Head Needlemouse, sews him a uniform and sends him off to be educated at the Royal Mews Mouse Academy. There he’s called “Mouse Minor” (though it’s not quite a name), and he doesn’t make a success of school. Soon he’s running for his life, looking high and low through the grand precincts of Buckingham Palace to find out who he is and who he might become.

Sideways Stories From Wayside School by: Louis Sachar

Accidentally built sideways and standing thirty stories high (the builder said he was very sorry for the mistake), Wayside School has some of the wackiest classes in town, especially on the thirtieth floor. That’s where you’ll meet Bebe, the fastest draw in art class; John, who only reads upside down; Myron, the best class president, ever.

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by: Chris Grabenstein

Kyle Keeley is the class clown and a huge fan of all games–board games, word games, and particularly video games. His hero, Luigi Lemoncello, the most notorious and creative game maker in the world, just so happens to be the genius behind the construction of the new town library. Lucky Kyle wins a coveted spot as one of twelve kids invited for an overnight sleepover in the library, hosted by Mr. Lemoncello and riddled with lots and lots of games!

Summaries provided by publishers.

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