The Best Summer Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers
As a 90s kid there was nothing I loved more than getting a new summer reading log from the library or working my way towards my next Book It Reward from Pizza Hut. As an adult, I still love the feeling of a long summer stretched out ahead of me where I can read whatever I want. I want my kids to love the feeling of summer reading as well, so I took them on a big “kick off to summer” library trip where we picked out a ton of books to read for the summer. Here are the best books we found for summer reading for toddlers and preschoolers- ones we will go back to for many summers to come.
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Summertime Board Books for Toddlers
Baby Loves Summer
We love the Karen Katz books to introudce the seasons! Take your toddler (or baby!) on the journey of finding all sorts of summer-themed items, including sun hats, ice cream, swimming tubes, and eventually, Mommy with the water hose.
This book does a great job of capturing the fun vibes of summer for the littlest ones. While my kids enjoyed this more as babies and toddlers, even my oldest still comes back to it every summer because it’s just so cute and fun.
It’s available on Amazon here.
The Very Hungry Caterpillars’ First Summer
If I’m being honest- the Very Hunger Caterpillar books of the first seasons are also marketed for babies and I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY. You know who does enjoy looking for the caterpillar who is hiding on every page? Toddlers and preschoolers!
Done in the classic Eric Carle style of artwork, this book features how nature changes in the summer. Your little one will love finding the caterpillar on each page and preschoolers might even love trying to create their own style of Eric Carle artwork. (There’s instructions here from Eric Carle’s website and we did this activity as a part of our “Summer Sensory Activities.” It was one of my preschooler’s favorite summer activities this year.)
It’s available on Amazon here.
Curious George: Curious About Summer
We seriously can’t get enough of Curious George in our house. These tabbed books with fun poems are such a fun addition to each season. In this one, George experiences all the best parts of summer- flying a kite, swimming, eating watermelon, stargazing, you name it.
This was a book we especially enjoyed at the beginning of summer as a sort of checklist for what we also wanted to do during the summer.
It’s available on Amazon here.
Picture Books For Summer Reading
Summertime in the Big Woods
We love the Little House on the Prairie picture books for each season. Summertime in the Big Woods has rich, engaging pictures depicting all of the bounties that summer brought the Ingalls family- abundant sunshine, milk and cheese, fresh vegetables, and time for families to visit.
My daughter and I love talking about how are summers look similar to the Ingalls family’s summers and how they’re different now.
It’s available on Amazon here.
Good Night, Good Beach
You can’t have summer reading without at least one good beach book, right? This book was new to us this year, and we absolutely fell in love with it. The soft watercolor illustrations, the cool-toned colors, and the gentle rhymes are so peaceful.
Reading this book almost feels as peaceful as actually being at the beach.
It’s available on Amazon here.
And if you’re looking for more beach book ideas, check out my post here!
Hello World: Ocean Life
If you’re looking to bring in some nonfiction into your preschooler’s summer reading, Ocean Life is a great option! (The Hello World series is just fantastic all the way around.) This is a short and sweet introduction to some of the ocean’s coolest animals.
And a bonus- the illustrations are highly engaging while the text is both accessible and informative.
It’s available on Amazon here.
Summer Days and Nights
Apart of a four part series featuring the same family in each season, Summer Days and Nights follows a little girl’s day of bug catching and drinking lemonade. At night she and her dad explore all of the different nocturnal animals that she can hear on a warm summer’s night.
It’s sweet and simple- just like the best summer days and nights should be.
It’s available on Amazon here.
Penguin on Vacation
We love the Penguin books by Salina Yoo. There’s something about them that’s a little bit quirky- and that quirkiness makes them really funny.
In this book, Penguin decides he needs a vacation (and really- what is summer without a little vacation somewhere?). He ventures up to the beach for a vacation and then realizes that he has absolutely no idea how to have fun at the beach. Luckily for him- his new friend Crab shows him how.
It’s funny for kids and adults alike- which honestly- can be a bit of a rare find sometimes. (And let’s face it- if I’m going to have to read the same book out loud at least 87 times, I’m going to need it to be funny.)
It’s available on Amazon here.
Easy Readers/Chapter Books For Preschoolers
All three of these books are a part of some of the series that I recommend most to introduce your preschooler to chapter books. Here’s the summer ones we read:
Emma Everyday: Lemonade Stand
The Emma Everyday books are FANTASTIC early readers to start off with. Emma and her friend decide to start a lemonade stand in the summer. At first it’s going great, but fatigue, heat, and poor luck set in.
It’s a super relatable story of things not always panning out exactly the way you envisioned it, while still making the most of the situation.
It’s available on Amazon here.
Sophie Mouse: Lightning Bug Light Show
Sophie and her friends are so excited that a firefly troupe is visiting their town and is putting on a performance. While the troupe is visiting they make friends with a young firefly, Rory, and learn what it’s like to live on the road and be homeschooled.
At the end, they all get to watch the firefly show.
As watching fireflies is definitely one of my favorite summertime activities, I loved that this book went along with that theme for my daughter.
It’s available on Amazon here.
Heartwood Hotel: Home Again
I’ll admit- this wasn’t my favorite Heartwood Hotel book. It was a little bit stressful. It’s the dry season and a forest fire is threatening the hotel. But what I did love was the lesson that family can come in all sorts of different varieties and home is where you build a community. Plus, my daughter was really proud to finish an entire series.
And once we wrapped it up, she was ready to start all over again with the fall iteration of the Heartwood Hotel. (And isn’t that the hallmark of a great series? One that once you finish you want to start all over again? I mean that’s definitely how I’ve watched Parks and Recreation straight through so many times.)
Home Again is available on Amazon here.
Closing Thoughts
So here’s to a long, stretched out summer full of great summer reading for you and your preschooler. I hope there’s something on this list that grabs you!
And when you’re needing a break from reading, check out my post for EASY summer sensory activities to keep your little ones busy!
