Has parents we are our children's first and most important teachers, and our role as their teachers is to motivate our children to read during the summer months. There are many strategies that we might employ as parents to encourage summertime reading:

 

Combine activities with books, in which you and your children could read a book about going to the park, attending a baseball game, or swimming at the pool before going to those places. This would provide your children with the opportunity to have an open discussion and share their thoughts about these activities and others.

 

Visit the local library is another great way to encourage your children to read during the summertime. They have a wide selection of books to borrow, as well as many libraries have fun, child-friendly summer reading programs.

 

Leading by example is just picking up a morning newspaper, reading a magazine while at the doctors office , or just relaxing with one of your favorite books. This helps our children understand that literature can be a fun and important part of their summer days just by seeing us as adults reading often.

 

Have plenty of reading material around that includes newspapers, magazines, and informational material on hand that might spark the interest of our young readers.

 

Read aloud with your children by having enthusiastic read-alouds, no matter what their age, and improvise different voices or wear silly clothes to make the story more interesting.

 

Pleas share your thoughts and ideas on how we could keep our children interested in reading over the summer.

 

 

BUT NOT THE HIPPOPOTAMUS
By Sandra Boynton

ONE DUCK STUCK
By Phyllis Root; Illustrated by Jane Chapman
FREIGHT TRAIN
By Donald Crews

OWL BABIES
By Martin Waddell

By Bill Martin Jr.

BLUEBERRIES FOR SAL
By Robert McCloskey

HERE A CHICK, THERE A CHICK
By Bruce McMillan

 

FOR LAUGHING OUT LOUD: POEMS TO TICKLE YOUR FUNNYBONE
Selected by Jack Prelutsky; Illustrated by Marjorie Priceman

KITE FLYING
By Grace Lin

DEAR ZOO
By Rod Campbell
MORE SPAGHETTI, I SAY!
By Rita Golden Gelman; Illustrated by Mort Gerberg

HOOPS WITH SWOOPES
By Susan Kuklin with Sheryl Swoopes

THE MUNSCHWORKS GRAND TREASURY: STORIES
By Robert Munsch

THE VERY KIND RICH LADY AND HER ONE HUNDRED DOGS
By Chinlun Lee

MICE AND BEANS
By Pan Munoz; Illustrated by Joe Cepeda

THE RELATIVES CAME
By Cynthia Rylant; Illustrated by Stephen Gammell

SILLY SALLY
By Audrey Wood

McBROOM TELLS A LIE
By Sid Fleischman

ELVIS THE TURNIP ... AND ME (THE ZACK FILES)
By Dan Greenburg

DANITRA BROWN LEAVES TOWN
By Nikki Grimes; Illustrated by Floyd Cooper

WE THE KIDS: THE PREAMBLE TO THE CONSTITUTION
By David Catrow

By Philip D. Eastman

 

MR. POPPER'S PENGUINS
By Richard and Florence Atwater; Illustrations by Robert Lawson

ELLA ENCHANTED
By Gail Carson Levine

STUART LITTLE
By E.B. White; Illustrated by Garth Williams

A LONG WAY FROM CHICAGO
By Richard Peck

THE BFG
By Roald Dahl

SUMMER READING IS KILLING ME! (THE TIME WARP TRIO)
By Jon Scieszka; Illustrations By Lane Smith

THE GREAT BRAIN
By John D. Fitzgerald; Illustrated By Mercer Mayer