The Ultimate Summer Reading List For Elementary Students

Summer is here and we have the ultimate summer reading list for your elementary learners. This carefully curated list of books has been personally recommended by Sonlight families as the best of the best! Take a look at the titles and get some tips for keeping your kids reading all summer long.

The Ultimate Summer Reading List For Elementary Students

As part of our literature spotlight this year, we asked Sonlight families to share their very best recommendations for summer books. The following titles were crowdsourced directly from other like-minded parents. As always, please be sure to examine the books yourself to ensure they are appropriate for your family's individual needs.

Take a look at all the amazing books we have on our list and download a printable PDF copy below!

Titles that are part of a series are indicated with an asterik (*). See below for the complete list of series recommended by Sonlight families.

Sonlight Titles Recommended By Parents For Summer Reading

We were thrilled to see that many of the parent-sourced titles are books that we recommend and study as part of our literature-based curriculum. These 25 recommended titles are among the very best for elementary-aged readers and many are recommended in our curriculum packages.

• A Summer of Sundays
• B is for Betsy*
• Boxcar Children*
• Charlotte's Web
• Children of Noisy Village
• Dog Diaries #1: A Middle School Story*
• Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library*
• Frog and Toad*
• Frindle
• Ginger Pye*
• Gooney Bird Greene
• Harold and the Purple Crayon
• Heartwood Hotel (New to Sonlight? Take a FREE test drive with Heartwood Hotel!)
• In Grandma’s Attic*
• Little House in the Big Woods*
• Mr. Popper's Penguins
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh*
• Sarah, Plain and Tall*
• The Bad Guys*
• The Cricket in Times Square*
• The Great Brain*
• The Penderwicks
• The Sign of the Beaver
• The Unteachables
• The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
• The World According to Humphrey*
• Thimble Summer
• Tom Sawyer
• Tuesdays at the Castle*
• Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
  
  

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh took our family by storm—we could not put it down! The heroism! Oh, we loved it. My children, 9,7, and 6, were all as absorbed as I was. Absolutely perfect for a summer read! — B. Family Sonlighters

The Top Books Recommended By Parents Of Elementary Readers

In addition, these elementary-age books were repeatedly recommended by Sonlight parents.

• 85 Days on an Island*
• A Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events)*
• All of a Kind Family*
• A Mostly Made Up Montana Memoir
• A Place to Hang the Moon
• Azmina the Gold Glitter Dragon*
• Betsy’s Play School
• Brighty of the Grand Canyon
• Bunnicula*
• Clementine*
• Cobble Street Cousins: In Aunt Lucy’s Kitchen*
• Crenshaw
• Fablehaven*
• Finding Langston*
• Freddy the Detective*
• Gloria's Way
• I Survived the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941*
• James Herriot’s Treasury for Children
• Key to the Treasure
• Little Pilgrim's Progress
• My Side of the Mountain
• Nim's Island
• Old Mother West Wind
• Prairie Dog Town
• Princess and the Kiss
• Princess in Black*
• Rainbow Garden*
• Raining Pigs and Noodles
• Ramona the Pest
• Ronia, the Robber's Daughter
• Save Me a Seat
• Shiloh*
• Sing a Song of Popcorn
• Sophie Mouse: Winter’s No Time to Sleep*
• Some Summer
• Spirit Fighter*
• The Bark of the Bog Owl*
• The BFG
• The Black Star of Kingston*
• The Candy Shop War*
• The Genius Under the Table
• The Indian in the Cupboard*
• The Last Archer*
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
• The Little Lamb
• The Mandie Collection, Vol. 1*
• The Marvelous Inventions of Alvin Fernald
• The Mice of the Herringbone*
• The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
• The Mysterious Signal*
• The No.1 Car Spotter
• The Reluctant Dragon
• The Rose Legacy*
• The Saturdays*
• The School for Cats
• The Seven Wonders of Sassafrass Springs
• The Smell of Summer*
• The Story of the Treasure Seekers
• The Tale of Despereaux
• The Trumpet of the Swan
• The Wreck & Rise of Whitson Mariner*
• Tikki Tikki Tembo
• Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom*
• Where the Red Fern Grows
• Where the Sidewalk Ends
• Winnie the Pooh

I just absolutely love The Miraculous journey of Edward Tulane. It makes me cry every time. — M. Family Sonlighters

Top Book Series For Elementary Students 

It's wonderful when your child finds an author they love. This is a list of the top multi-book series recommended by parents for sensational summer reading.

• A Series of Unfortunate Events (13 book series)
• Accidental Detectives (16 book series)
• According to Humphrey the Hamster Series Collection (12 book series)
• All-of-a-Kind Family (5 book series)
• Ashtown Burials (3 book series)
• Betsy (4 book series)
• Bunnicula and Friends (7 book series)
• Candy Shop War (3 book series)
• Chester Cricket and His Friends (7 book series)
• Chronicles of Narnia (7 book series)
• Clementine (7 book series)
• Cobble Street Cousins (6 books)
• Cul-de-Sac Kids Collection (4 book series)
• Diary of a Pug (10 book series)
• Dog Diaries (7 book series)
• Dr. KittyCat (10 book series)
• Dragon Girls (12 book series)
• Dragon Masters (25 book series)
• Fablehaven (5 book series)
• Freddy the Pig (26 book series)
• Freedom Seekers (6 book series)
• Geronimo Stilton (82 book series)
• Gooseberry Park (2 books)
• Grandma's Attic (4 book series)
• Green Ember Archer (3 book series)
• Grimmtastic Girls (8 book series)
• Hank the Cowdog (77 book series)
• Horse Diaries series (16 book series)
• I Survived Series Complete Books Set (21 Books)
• Island of the Blue Dolphins (2 book series)
• Little House on the Prairie (9 book series)
• Mandie Collection (11 book series)
• Melendy Quartet (4 book series)
• Mercy Watson Boxed Set: Adventures of a Porcine Wonder: Books 1-6
• Mr. Lemoncello's Library (5 book series)
• Mr. Putter & Tabby (25 books)
• Ms. Rapscott's Girls (2 book series)
• New Jungle Book Adventures (2 book series)
• Owl Diaries (19 book series)
• Poppy (7 book series)
• Princess Academy (3 book series)
• Princess in Black (10 book series)
• Ranger in Time (12 book series)
• Rats of NIMH (3 book series)
• Rose Legacy (3 book series)
• Sarah, Plain and Tall Saga (5 book series)
• Shiloh (4 book series)
• Smells of the Seasons (2 books)
• Son of Angels, Jonah Stone (4 book series)
• Tales of Magic (7 book series)
• Tales of Old Natalia (3 book series)
• The Adventures of Sophie Mouse (20 book series)
• The Akimbo Series
• The Boxcar Children Mysteries Boxed Sets (4 book series)
• The Bad Guys (18 book series)
• The Dead Sea Squirrels (11 book series)
• The Enchanted Sketchbook (3 book series)
• The Finding Langston Trilogy (3 book series)
• The Great Brain (8 book series)
• The Hardy Boys (115 book series)
• The Indian In The Cupboard (5 book series)
• The Masterpiece Adventures (5 book series)
• The Moffats Series (4 book series)
• The Pyes (2 book series)
• The Vanderbeekers (7 book series)
• The Wilderking Trilogy (3 book series)
• Thea Stilton Graphic Novels (35 book series)
• Tuesdays at the Castle (5 book series)
• Wayside School (4 book series)
• Who Would Win Series (Palotta)
• Wild Robot (3 book series)

And the #1 most recommended books/series...

Dream Keeper Saga (3 book series)	Green Ember Series (4 book series)
The Wingfeather Saga (4 book series)	I Survived Series Complete Books Set (21 Books)

(Looking for Summer Reading Lists for older readers? Check out our Middle School and High School Guides.)

Keeping Your Children Interested In Reading Throughout The Summer

Here are some ideas to help keep your child engaged and reading all summer long:

• Set a reading goal. This might be a specific number of books, a number of pages, or even just a target amount of time to read each day.
• Make it fun. Make your family's approach to summer reading something enjoyable and fun. Going to the library, a special trip to the bookstore, or even reading aloud together can turn reading into a special event for your little one.
• Create a habit of reading. One of best ways to keep your child reading is to make it automatic. Encourage your child to read every single day, even if it's just for a few minutes. Or, you may also set aside some time each day for family reading time.
• Follow your child's interests. Finding books that correlate to your child's interests makes them that much more engaging.
• Offer fun rewards. Small tokens of progress towards reading goals or special trips taken after finishing a book are a great way to encourage summer reading. For example, one Sonlight family went to visit the beach after reading a Who Would Win book about aquatic creatures.

By following these tips, you can help your child keep reading all summer long. Track your summer reading progress with Sonlight's FREE Summer Reading Challenge Kit too!