MAIN Summer Vacation Summer Reading

Summer days in the garden, by the pool, on the beach or just hanging out with friends are a great time to catch up on the reading you're normally too busy to get to.

Put away the laptop, the cell phone and the to-do lists. With the leisure time that the longer days of summer bring, you can get to the end of a best-selling novel before you forget what happened in the beginning!

Reading is a great family activity and even the youngest children will enjoy looking at picture books if everyone else is having a good read. A trip to the library can help to fill a long summer afternoon with cool activities for kids out of school. Don't confuse reading books that you choose with the chore of assigned summer reading lists. Pick some titles that will capture your imagination from these collections and you'll soon remember how much fun reading really is during the lazy days of summer ...

Choices Booklists from the International Reading Association - There are new lists of top books in three categories chosen every year. In the books chosen by American kids you'll find a mix of 100 titles for kindergarten through 6th grade readers. Young adults chose 30 books that appeal to teenagers and teachers,while librarians and reading specialists add another list of 30 kids books. If you're 18 or under, you should be able to find a few in these lists to enjoy during the summer...

Summer Reading Lists - More than 30 lists from libraries, schools and other organization involved with kids and reading. The younger children will appreciate the list of Newberry Award winners, from 1922 to the present, from the American Library Association—always a good choice for early readers...

The Education World Summer Reading Lists - This site has collected lists from around the Web, mainly from school districts in the US and you can tell the "hot" books by the number of lists they appear on...

Teen Read - This site focuses on starting a summer teen reading program in your area. They include lists of great books for teens along with good resources for anyone interested in getting a group of teens together for having fun and talking books over the summer vacation.

Random House New Releases - This publisher's site annually lists their hot new books & bestsellers for the summer.

Writer's favorite beach reading - Find out what Scott Turow, Joyce Carol Oates, Michael Connelly, and other famous names bring to the shore to read for a lazy summer afternoon...

Oprah's Book Club - Keep up-to-date on what the world's biggest book club is reading right now. Includes a listing of Oprah's favorites and "Kids Reading List: Suggestions for the little readers in your life."

Summer Reading Resources - Family Education.com - Check out the great summer reading lists for kids, teens and adults or browse by category including boys, girls, classics, adventure and the book series.

What Can Families Do to Keep Children Reading During the Summer? - Tips and tricks for ways to keep kids reading during the summer in this archived article from Reading is FUNdamental.

also see in the How-To Library-> How to Learn to Speed Read