2018 Summer Reading Suggestions

Do your children have a favorite spot to read in the summer? Somewhere they can get away from it all? As a child, I loved hiding behind the couch with my stuffed animals, my cat and a book. Hidden away, I could get lost in a story for hours.


During the school year, all of our children are learning and growing. It's important to keep reading during the summer to keep those reading skills active and strong! Studies show that kids who don’t read over the summer come back reading at lower levels than when they left school in the spring. It often takes weeks to recover. Families can make a huge difference by encouraging children to read over the summer.

• Read aloud with your children.
• Make reading joyful.
• Let children's interests drive reading choices.
• A little every day makes more difference than a lot all at once.
• Create some some screen-free time--it makes a difference!

We are sharing summer reading lists with families from the Berkeley School Libraries. We've geared them for kids who are just finishing that year. So kids who have just finished 2nd grade might pick up our 2nd grade list.

click to download PDFs for easy printing
* TK * K * 1st * 2nd * 3rd * 4th * 5th/6th * 7th/8th

We've grouped our reading suggestions taking into account reading level and kids' interests. From their report cards, kids and parents know their current reading level using the Fountas & Pinnell system. This can help kids choose books that are just right for them. The bands of reading levels help kids look at a range of books.

2018 Summer Reading for Preschool and TK from Mary Ann Scheuer

2018 Summer Reading for Kindergarten from Mary Ann Scheuer

2018 Summer Reading for 1st grade from Mary Ann Scheuer

2018 Summer Reading for 2nd grade from Mary Ann Scheuer

2018 Summer Reading for 3rd grade from Mary Ann Scheuer

2018 Summer Reading for 4th grade from Mary Ann Scheuer

2018 Summer Reading for 5th graders from Mary Ann Scheuer

2018 Summer Reading for 7th & 8th graders from Mary Ann Scheuer

Many thanks to all of my colleagues in Berkeley schools, especially Eric Silverberg, teacher librarian. Eric helped update three of these lists and his contributions were immensely valuable.

Please feel free to download these, print them and share with your friends. Most of all, try to make summer reading time a fun, relaxing part of your summer!


June 2018, Mary Ann Scheuer
Great Kid Books & Berkeley Unified School District