No matter how strongly I deny it or wish it weren’t so, summer is still three fast weeks away [cries into hands]. I have no plan, I have no nanny, and I certainly don’t have the six figure income it takes to send three kids to camp simultaneously for even one week. I do, however, have books…

READ ALOUDS 

summer read alouds

8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel/1 Dog = Chaos by Vivian Vande Velde (June)

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George (July/August)

DEVOTIONS

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Heart of a Competitor & Heart of an Athlete from Fellowship of Christian Athletes

Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing by Sally Llyod-Jones

WORKBOOKS

I’m hoping these will help keep summer brain rot at bay, and I love that they include a fitness assignment each day.

Summer skills workbooks

Summer Fit by Kelly Terrill

LANDON & EVAN

One of the perks of having boys only 13-months apart is that by the time they reach upper elementary school (now entering 4th and entering 5th), they can share the same summer reading list. They will read more than this (because I’ll be paying them to duh), but these are their required reads that I vetted through other mom’s blogs and Common Sense Media. All of these are available at the the library and, as you can see, we’re keeping it light and fun this year. Also, I’m not even making a list for Selah (entering second grade). There are plenty of  early-reader books at the library to keep her engaged, including all her favorites from Mo Willems.

If you are looking for more suggestions for younger kids, you can view my lists from previous years right here.

Summer reading list for entering fourth and fifth grade boys

Keeping Score by Linda Sue Park

Savvy by Ingrid Law

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity by Mac Barnett

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

Justin Case: Shells, Smells, and the Horrible Flip-Flops of Doom by Rachel Vail

Benjamin Franklinstein Lives by Matthew McElligott

Mudville by Kurtis Scaletta

Like Bug Juice on a Burger by Julie Sternberg

Children of the Red King #1: Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo

In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord

The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi

Magic Marks the Spot by Caroline Carlson

Holes by Louis Sachar

MY LIST

2015 Summer Reading list

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

The Antelope in the Living Room by Melanie Shankle

Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

The Sea of Tranquility by Katia Millay

Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner

Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor

Wearing God by Lauren Winner

Duties of Parents by J.C. Ryle

Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeleine L’Engle