Celebrate the Great Outdoors!

When Summer Comes: Exploring Nature in our Warmest Season (When Seasons Come) 

by Aimée M Bissonette (Author) Erin Hourigan (Illustrator)

Reading Level: K − 1^st Grade

Series: When Seasons Come 

Poetic children's book celebrating nature and wildlife in the summer season.

Summer is the perfect season for families to embrace the outdoors. When Summer Comes celebrates playing and exploring in the wilderness during the summer months.

When summer comes,
and the sky soars blue above us,
and the days stretch long and warm before us,
some people head to ball games and outdoor markets.
Instead we gather our gear.
Binoculars.
Hiking poles.
Backpacks.
Butterfly nets.
Shovels and buckets for trips to the shore.
Summer's the season when we explore.

This follow-up to When Winter Comes is about the joy of being outdoors and discovering wildlife during the summer months.

Sandy Toes:  A Summer Adventure (Let's Play Outside!)

by Shauntay Grant (Author) Candice Bradley (Illustrator)

Reading Level: K − 1^st Grade

Series: Let's Play Outside! 

A celebration of Black joy and the simple pleasures of a day at the beach from acclaimed poet Shauntay Grant

Follow along as a young boy spends the day at the beach with his family in this spare and poetic picture book from award-winning poet and picture book author Shauntay Grant. With a simple story--and simply stunning illustrations from Candice Bradley--this book is an ode to celebrating summer's wonders, big and small.

Our Pool 

 by Lucy Ruth Cummins (Author) Lucy Ruth Cummins (Illustrator)

Reading Level: K − 1^st Grade

On a hot day, people come from all over the city to spend the day at the pool in this joyful picture book that's a love song to summer, the city, community and staying cool!

Today is a pool day in the city! The sun is shining, so what are you waiting for? Friends and family. Kids and grandparents. Big bodies and small bodies. Everybody is welcome at our pool! Get ready for swimming and splashing, zigzagging and dunking and racing and laughing.

Star Party

by Polly Carlson-Voiles (Author) Consie Powell (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2^nd − 3^rd Grade

When children and nature come together at the right moment, something magical happens. Join Nora and her grandparents as they gaze skyward and wonder: Who else is having a star party, just like us?

From a little cabin on the edge of the wilderness, Grandma and Grandpa invite Nora to her first Star Party. This mysterious celebration happens after dark. Nora wonders: Can I wear pajamas? Will there be snacks?

As Grandma leads the way on the forest trail, Nora discovers the wonders of the north woods at night. There are flying squirrels, calling loons and hooting owls. But when Nora and Grandpa step onto the dock, she finds that the most dazzling sight of all is the night sky. Billions of stars glow above and are reflected in the lake below. Gazing up, up, up, Nora ponders the mysteries of starlight and stardust. And she thinks about how the night sky unites stargazers all over the world.

In Star Party, Polly Carlson-Voiles relates the simple joys of summer starwatching in a tale informed by years of camping and cabin adventures. Detailed illustrations by artist Consie Powell feature many night-loving animals of sky, forest and lake, inviting readers to appreciate the vibrancy of the woods after dark. An author’s note highlights nocturnal creatures, constellations and tips for observing the night sky, encouraging readers to learn more about nearby stargazing opportunities—in dark sky sanctuaries where the deepest nights are filled with the brightest stars.

Come join the fun!

Izzy's Dog Days of Summer (Izzy)

by Caroline Adderson (Author) Kelly Collier (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2^nd − 3^rd Grade

Series: The Izzy 

In this heartwarming and hilarious title from award-winning author Caroline Adderson's delightful Izzy series, Isabel and Zoë are ready to have a big amount of fun at summer camp. But is summer camp ready for Izzy?

Isabel and Zoë are so excited to be starting Fun in the Sun Camp! It's too bad Isabel's dog, Rollo, isn't allowed, but the songs and sports, wiener roasts and crafts, swimming and storytelling will surely make up for that, right? Wrong! It turns out that the camp counselors do a big amount of saying no: NO singing your own song, NO running like a penguin, NO trading lunches (even when your sandwich bread is mushy from pickle juice!). Isabel wants to have her own Bigger Amount of Fun in the Sun Camp in the backyard, with Rollo, instead. But will Isabel's mom let her? And what will they do about Mr. Entwistle, their neighbor who lives on the grumpy side of the fence?

Award-winning author Caroline Adderson is a master at telling stories that keep early-chapter-book readers engaged, amused and laughing out loud. This series about the lovable Izzy delivers kid-perfect subjects, lovable characters, loads of humor - and a dog! This title works for both independent reading and reading aloud, with just enough fun-filled illustrations by Kelly Collier - one on nearly every spread - to keep the pages accessible. The side story about the older Mr. Entwistle touches on the theme of death in an accepting and respectful way and supports social-emotional learning and character education lessons on empathy.

My Bunkmate Hates Puppies (Camp Lil Vills)

 by Sam Hay (Author)

Reading Level: 2^nd − 3^rd Grade

Series: Camp Lil Vills 

Disney Villains are known for causing trouble. But what about before they were all grown up? When young Cruella gets to this most magical summer camp, things get hairy!

Bloom loves welcoming new campers to the enchanting Camp Lil' Vills. But there's something off about her fancy new bunkmate, Cruella, who seems to hate nature but is very interested in the rare fuzzy nerbit in their creature-care class. Almost too interested. Could this leopard (or Dalmatian) have changed its spots? Or does Cruella have something sinister up her perfect sleeve?

Catch all the Camp Lil' Vills chapter books!

My Bunkmate Hates Puppies

My Teammate is a Hot Head

There's a Sea Witch in my Swim Class

Second Chance Summer 

by Sarah Kapit (Author)

Reading Level: 4^th – 5^th Grade

Breaking up is hard to do, especially when it's with your best friend. Can these two ex-besties survive summer camp together?

Maddie and Chloe have always been best friends, until last year, when Chloe's popularity and budding fame as an actor left Maddie in the dust one too many times. Their friendship is over, and they're both ready to move on.

But when the girls arrive at summer camp, they discover that the universe isn't ready to let go of this friendship just yet: They're cabinmates, and each of them has to spend the summer with her ex-best friend. Is it time to try again, or are they doomed to drift apart for good?

A Sky of Paper Stars

by Susie Yi (Author) Susie Yi (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 4^th – 5^th Grade

A Sky of Paper Stars is a heartrending middle-grade graphic novel by Susie Yi about a girl's ill-fated wish to fit in, perfect for readers of Stargazing and Pashmina.

All Yuna wants is to belong. She wants to go to sleepovers, have a smartphone, and go to summer camp--just like her friends in middle school. Furious at her Umma for never packing her a "normal" American lunch, they get into yet another fight. Out of options and miserable, Yuna remembers a legend that her grandma, Halmoni, told her. If you fold 1,000 paper stars, you will be granted one wish.

When she reaches 1,000 paper stars, Yuna wishes for her family to move back to Korea, where she can finally be normal. Seconds later: a knock at her door. It's her sister with devastating news. Halmoni has died and they must go back to Korea to attend the funeral. Yuna knows this is all her fault. As her guilt builds, her body begins to turn into paper. Yuna realizes she must undo her wish and bring her Halmoni back--or turn into paper forever.

Wholly heartbreaking and with light touches of magic realism, A Sky of Paper Stars is a captivating graphic novel about identity, family, and the love that can bridge generations.

The Jake Show 

by Joshua S Levy (Author)

Reading Level: 4^th – 5^th Grade

In Joshua S. Levy's hilarious and charming middle-grade novel, a Jewish seventh-grade boy is caught between the worlds of his divorced parents--with an orthodox mother and secular father, Jake must concoct a web of lies to go to a summer camp with his friends. Perfect for fans of Gordon Korman and Erin Entrada Kelly.

A Junior Library Guild Selection!

For TV-obsessed Jake Lightman, his parents' divorce is like his favorite show getting canceled: The worst. Now he's stuck between playing the role of "Yaakov" for his mother and "Jacob" for his father.

On Jake's first day at a new school, Caleb and Tehilla barrel into his life. Suddenly, he has two friends who seem to like the real Jake. And when they invite him to Camp Gershoni for the summer, Jake knows he has to go--even if his parents won't let him.

With help from Caleb and Tehilla, Jake concocts a web of lies to get to camp. But he struggles to keep up the ruse--and be a good friend at the same time. As the cost of lying grows, he must decide what's truly important or risk losing the people he cares about the most.