Summer picture book recommendation are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.
(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. The Retired School Librarian is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. These titles are available on my Amazon Storefront under Summer Picture Books– https://www.amazon.com/shop/mrs.ferraris/list/3R7J5JRIZERHB?ref_=aipsflist)
❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗
This is NOT my Lunch Box!
by Jennifer Dupuis (Author), Carol Schwartz (Illustrator)
Brief summary: In this narrative nonfiction picture book, a boy is on a camping trip. As he opens a different colored lunchbox each time, he discovers that it is full of food for creatures in the woods. These creatures include herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores. What will he find in his lunch box next?
Comments: The lunch box is located on the right-hand side of the double-page spread. Turning the page reveals the answer of the lunch box owner located on the left. Readers then have to guess who will eat the contents of the next lunch box. This pattern continues for about a dozen times. Very clever!
Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
The Bumblebee Garden
by Dawn Casey (Author), Stella Lim (Illustrator)
Brief summary: Ben and his grandpa spot a bumblebee in the garden. Grandpa educates his grandson about the bumblebee’s life cycle, explaining its activities in each season as the book unfolds.
Comments: There is a back section titled The Life Cycle of a Queen Bumblebee.
The illustrations were handcrafted using watercolor and colored pencils, finishing with digital methods.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
Grandma’s Roof Garden
by Tang Wei (Author), Kelly Zhang (Translator)
Brief summary: An elderly granny collects discarded vegetables at the market to feed her animals and for compost. She has planted a rooftop garden, where she teaches neighborhood children how to care for plants. She shares her harvest with family and friends by having a meal together and giving extras for them to take home.
Comments: This book was initially printed in China in 2019.
The Author’s Note explains the author’s personal inspiration for this story.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
Ride Beside Me
by Lucy Knisley (Author)
Brief summary: A young child and mother go bike riding in the city. They are soon joined by other bicyclists in the bike club of different backgrounds and various forms of bikes, all heading up the mountain and then back down.
Comments: The illustrations were created using gouache paint on paper.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
The Best Worst Camp Out Ever
by Joe Cepeda (Author, Illustrator)
Brief summary: At the end of the school year, a boy and his dad decide to go camping. However, upon arriving at a campsite, they discover it is full. They then find an alternate campsite, which is not as appealing. Despite facing a series of setbacks, they persist in overcoming each problem.
Comments: This humorous elementary graphic novel was created with Adobe Photoshop.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
Beach Bummer
by Ryan Higgins (author and illustrator)
Brief summary: It is a hot summer day in Soggy Hollow, and the mice want to turn the house into a beach resort, but they go to one instead. Bruce begrudgingly carries everything to the beach until it is time to return home.
Comments: The illustrations were created using scans of treated clayboard for texture, graphite, ink, and Photoshop.
This book is smaller–7.28″ x 7.28″.
Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
Firefly Galaxy
by Sarah Nelson (Author), Estrellita Caracol (Illustrator)
Brief summary: Sophie, Diego, and Lili excitedly wait until it is dark enough to catch fireflies and put them in a jar. Their parents go with them away from the house, where they can see the stars at night and the fireflies flashing off and on.
Comments: There is a section at the back called “Fascinating Firefly Facts” for more information about this insect.
The illustrations were created in paper collage.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
Summer is Here
by Renée Watson (Author), Bea Jackson (Illustrator)
Brief summary: A young girl wakes up on a sunny summer day and eats a breakfast of fruit. She then goes to play in the pool with her friends. Throughout the day, she also plays Double Dutch, goes on a picnic, throws water balloons, eats ice cream, and partakes in other activities. As the day comes to an end, she wishes that summer would stay.
Comments: Young readers will enjoy an action-packed summer day full of activities they can relate to.
The illustrations were created using a variety of pastel, oil paint, and watercolor brushes and Photoshopped.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
Summer’s Magic: An Indigenous Celebration of Nature
by Kaitlin B. Curtice (Author), Eduardo Marticorena (Illustrator)
Brief summary: Bo’s mom braids his hair into one long braid divided by three to represent the body, mind, and spirit. During the summer, he and his family celebrate by growing plants and visiting a river with their dog, Sam. They give thanks to the river before playing in it. However, as they prepare to leave, Bo notices people throwing their picnic trash into the river.
During the solstice, Bo goes to the river and asks the other kids to help him clean it up. In the evening, they have a big meal and their neighbors stop by. Bo shows the children his garden, and they catch and release fireflies.
Comments: Bo is a Potawatomi and shares his beliefs about Mother Nature throughout the story.
This could be shared not only as a summer solstice companion but with Earth Day, pollution ,and environmental unit of studies as well.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
Summer’s Child
by James Christopher Carroll (Author, Illustrator)
Brief summary: The forest animals gather around Bear to perform a play about the first day of summer. Child will be the narrator of this whimsical production.
Comments: This book’s illustrations are vibrant and filled with bright, appealing colors. This lighthearted and humorous story could serve as a great bedtime book or one to uplift a young reader.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
*I received a free copy of this book.
Garmann’s Summer
by Stian Hole (Author), Don Bartlett (Translator)
Brief summary: Garmann’s three elderly aunts come to visit just as the summer is about to end and school begins. The boy talks to his aunts and parents about what scares them. What scares Garmann?
Comments: This book is a translation from Norway, initially published in 2006.
I like this book’s candid humor about what scares us, death, and new beginnings.
The illustrations are collages of mixed media.
My students enjoyed these Garmann books and would read them together.
*I was sent a complimentary copy to give an honest review.
Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
The selected children’s books are chosen by a certified, retired elementary school librarian who passionately reads and recommends picture books to teachers, school librarians, parents, grandparents, and other book enthusiasts.
Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.