Every year my boys and I sit down and make a summer reading list for them, with both books of their choosing and books of my choosing.
My 5-year-old is a great reader. He excelled in his first year of school this year, and I knew that he was ready to be challenged a bit with his reading list. He is still a very early reader and was hesitant to pick up chapter books. He wanted to keep his list to picture books. So I told him we could pick a couple of picture books, but he should try some more difficult reads, because I knew he could do it.
And then I put one of Mary Pope Osborne’s Magic Tree House books in his hand, and I’ve lost him to Magic Tree House for the rest of the summer. Not really, but he loves those books, and he’s chosen to populate his section of his summer reading list with Magic Tree House.
I chose a few more difficult reads for him this summer, just to challenge him. I chose:
1. A Light in the Attic, by Shel Silverstein
2. Dinosaurs Before Dark, by Mary Pope Osborne
3. Little Bear collection (for early readers)
4. Frog and Toad collection (for early readers)
5. The Knight at Dawn, by Mary Pope Osborne
6. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, by Kate DiCamillo
7. Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon, by Ruth Stiles Gannett
8. Fantastic Mr. Fox, by Roald Dahl
Some of these might seem a little advanced for a 5-year-old, but he’s also a kid who perseveres. He tries hard at everything he does, and I know that he’ll be able to get through his list before the end of the summer. In fact, he’s already done with four of these.
I wanted to take a minute to say that summer reading is so important for kids. They get out of school, and it’s all great to have free play and to spend some time outside, but there should also be a time, every day, when they’re sitting down to read. Reading is so great for the expansion of a mind, to give kids something to think about, to help them gain perspective and, also, learn the art of story. In our house, we block off one hour every afternoon for silent reading time, and then another fifteen minutes every night for silent reading.
Silent Reading may not happen easily without days and days of practice—because it’s taken us quite a while to get where we are—but it will happen if you’re willing to put in the practice. We’ve been practicing so long now that even our infant pulls out his books when the announcement comes that it’s time for Silent Reading.
And it’s definitely worth it, because not only are my kids broadening their minds and practicing the skill of reading, but I also get a chance to read. I’m always thankful for every moment I get to pull out a book and get lost in the pages.
I hope you enjoyed this look at my 5-year-old’s summer reading list. Be sure to pick up a free book from my starter library and visit my recommends page to see some of my favorite books. If you have any books that must go on my summer reading list, contact me. I always enjoy adding to my list.
*The books mentioned above have affiliate links attached to them, which means I’ll get a small kick-back if you click on them and purchase. But I only recommend books I enjoy reading myself. Actually, I don’t even talk about books I didn’t enjoy. I’d rather forget I ever wasted time reading them.
