book lists Archives - Look! We're Learning!

50 Fun Summer Books for Kids to Read

June 23, 2020 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

Summer reading is a great way to avoid the summer “slide” with your kids.

And there’s no better way to get them into a book than to choose one that’s summer-themed!

Today I’m featuring 50 summer books for kids that feature familiar characters, funny storylines, and gorgeous illustrations.

After all, when a story is engaging, kids are more likely to feel interested in what happens.

Plus, they’re more likely to reread them on their own – which is one of the best ways to build a love of reading.

These children’s books about summer make wonderful choices for an upcoming family road trip, book club, or summer reading program.

Read on to see the full list.

And, don’t miss our printable Summer Reading Challenge Bookmarks too!

50 Summer Books for Kids

This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.

1. To the Beach!

2. Pool

3. Summer Days and Nights

4. Should I Share My Ice Cream?

5. The Night Before Summer Vacation

6. Nate the Great and the Boring Beach Bag

7. Puppy Pool Party! An Underwater Dogs Adventure

8. Summer

9. Curious George and the Ice Cream Surprise

10. Penguin on Vacation

11. Bats at the Beach

12. The Whale in My Swimming Pool

13. I See Summer

14. Ice Cream: The Full Scoop

15. Peppa Pig and the Great Vacation

16. Beach House

17. McElligot’s Pool

18. Let It Shine

19. The Scoop on Ice Cream

20. The Night Before Summer Vacation

21. Daisy Dawson at the Beach

22. Down by the Cool of the Pool

23. Summer is Here

24. Ice Cream Soup

25. Arthur’s Family Vacation: An Arthur Adventure

26. Beach Bungle (Olive & Jay Book 1)

27. The Mystery of the Purple Pool (The Boxcar Children Mysteries #38)

28. A Fabumouse Vacation for Geronimo (Geronimo Stilton)

29. Mouse’s First Summer

30. Froggy Goes to Hawaii

31. Daniel’s Day at the Beach (Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood)

32. Pool Party Puzzler (Nancy Drew Clue Book)

33. How to (Almost) Ruin Your Summer

34. Ice Cream Summer

35. Pictures from Our Vacation

36. Corduroy Goes to the Beach

37. Leo Can Swim

38. One Crazy Summer

39. Summer Wonders

40. Last Day Blues (Mrs. Hartwell’s Classroom Adventures)

41. Dancing Dinos at the Beach

42. First Time at the Pool

43. Summer Treasure (Robin Hill School)

44. Wemberly’s Ice Cream Star

45. How I Spent My Summer Vacation

46. Biscuit’s First Beach Day

47. Martha Speaks: Pool Party

48. The Night Before Summer Camp

49. Mama, Is It Summer Yet?

50. The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Vacation

Get ready for more summer fun with these other learning ideas!

Learn about what sharks eat to live in this fun shark food chain file folder game!

These printable summer reading challenge bookmarks are a fun way to keep kids reading during summer!

20 Fun Lighthouse Books for Kids

May 26, 2020 by Selena Robinson 4 Comments

I grew up in Southern Georgia near Savannah, so I’ve been to Tybee Island many times in my life.

The Tybee Island Lighthouse always made me wonder about what it’s like to keep a lighthouse.

As a child, I thought it would be boring and lonely. Now that I’m older, I think I’d love the peace and quiet.

Having kids will do that to you.

But lighthouses are still fascinating structures for children to explore and these lighthouse books for kids are a great way to introduce them to young ones!

These children’s lighthouse books feature non-fiction selections, as well as learning activities and mystery stories that kids will love!

Read below to see the full list. And, for more fun beach reading picks, take a look at our list of beach books for kids too!

These books about lighthouses for kids make wonderful read alouds over the summer. Share some with young readers this year!

20 Fun Books about Lighthouses for Kids

(This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

1. The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge

2. The Lighthouse Family: The Storm

3. The Lighthouse Cat

4. North American Lighthouses Coloring Book

5. The Boxcar Children: The Lighthouse Mystery

6. The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch

7. Lighthouse Seeds

8. Lighthouses for Kids: History, Science, and Lore with 21 Activities

9. Safely to Shore: The Story of America’s Lighthouse

10. Abbie Against the Storm: The True Story of a Young Heroine and a Lighthouse

11. Lighthouse Dog to the Rescue

12. The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter

13. One Lighthouse, One Moon

14. Birdie’s Lighthouse

15. The Lighthouse of Souls

16. Hello Lighthouse

17. Lighthouses of North America

18. The Lost Lighthouse

19. One Lighthouse, One Moon

20. The Lighthouse

Get more ideas to explore beaches with your kids below!

$Learn about the science of beaches plus get fun math, language, and geography practice in this printable beach unit study!$

Get more ideas for learning about lighthouses from these educators!

Visiting the Point Arena Lighthouse with Children from Crafty Mama in ME

Lighthouse Printable Number Sequencing Puzzle for Preschool from Schooling a Monkey

Cupcake Liner Lighthouse Craft from Play Dough & Popsicles

Marblehead Lighthouse Marblehead, OH from Something 2 Offer

Lighthouse Word Search from Tales of Education at Home

20 Kid-Friendly Lighthouse Hikes around the World from FrogMom

25 Awesome Books about the Solar System

June 17, 2019 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

We just posted a fun solar system unit study a couple of weeks back, so while there are a few weeks of summer left, I thought I’d share some wonderful books about the solar system for kids of all ages!

I love videos and technology, but there is just nothing like turning the pages of a book with your child. It’s indescribable. 🙂

So, when it comes to learning, I will always come back to books, which is why I love these solar system books for kids.

These solar system stories are filled with gorgeous illustrations, fun facts, and awesome activities that kids will love! They’d make a wonderful addition to a space or solar system unit.

Read on to get the full list. And for more ways to learn about outer space, take a look at All About the Solar System – a printable science unit for elementary grades!

25 Awesome Books about the Solar System for Kids

This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.

1. National Geographic Kids: First Big Book of Space

2. There’s No Place Like Space: All About Our Solar System (The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library)

3. Space Encyclopedia: A Tour of Our Solar System and Beyond (National Geographic Kids)

4. Hello, World!: Solar System

5. Smithsonian: The Planets (DK Books)

6. Solar System Scratch and Sketch: An Activity Book for Inquisitive Artists and Astronauts of All Ages

7. Chasing Space: Young Readers’ Edition

8. Let’s Explore the Solar System (Planets)

9. The Planets in Our Solar System (Let’s Read and Find Out Science)

10. What’s Out There?: A Book about Space

11. The Magic School Bus 3-D: A Journey Through the Solar System

12. The Everything Kids’ Astronomy Book: Blast Into Outer Space with Stellar Facts

13. Astronomy: The Solar System (Super Smart Science)

14. A Journey Through Space

15. Exploring the Solar System: A History with 22 Activities

16. 13 Planets: The Latest View of the Solar System (National Geographic Kids)

17. Scholastic Reader Level 2: Solar System

18. Our Solar System: Revised Edition

19. Smart Kids Space: For Kids Who Really Love Space!

20. Let’s Explore the Solar System (Planets)

21. Astronomy for Kids: How to Explore Outer Space with Binoculars, a Telescope, or Just Your Eyes!

22. A Trip Into Space: An Adventure to the International Space Station

23. Basher Basics: Space Exploration

24. First Space Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to Our Galaxy and Beyond

25. Space Kids: An Introduction for Young Explorers

After sharing these amazing books about the solar system with your family, don’t miss these other planetary posts!

Want more great book lists for kids? Check out my Reading for Kids board on Pinterest!

20 Fun Books about Ice Cream for Kids

May 8, 2019 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

We’ve been featuring a lot of summer fun lately – and what says “Summer” better than ice cream?

Nothing.

Nothing says “Summer” better than ice cream.

It’s true that ice cream is a favorite with kids everywhere, but it’s also an opportunity to learn! It’s just a super fun subject to learn about.

To make your summer reading a blast, check out our list of books about ice cream for kids to find some great ice cream-themed stories to read with your children!

These are so fun for summer reading!

Turn ice cream into an educational opportunity with our printable ice cream shape sorting activity!

And for more ways to make this summer an awesome one with the kids, try this list of 50 summer crafts you can make!

20 Fun Books about Ice Cream for Kids

This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.

1.Ice Cream: The Full Scoop by Gail Gibbons

2.Ice Cream Summer by Peter Sis

3.Splat the Cat: I Scream for Ice Cream by Rob Scotton

4.Should I Share My Ice Cream? (An Elephant and Piggie Book) by Mo Willems

5.Stick Dog Dreams of Ice Cream by Tom Watson

6.Curious George and the Ice Cream Surprise by H.A. Rey

7.The Ice Cream King by Steve Metzger

8.Ice Cream for Breakfast (Richard Scarry’s Great Big Schoolhouse) by Erica Farber and Huck Scarry

9.Wemberly’s Ice Cream Star by Kevin Henkes

10.Curious About Ice Cream by Smithsonian

11. Isaac’s Ice Cream Tree by Angela Henderson

12. Wemberly’s Ice Cream Star by Kevin Henkes

13. Milk to Ice Cream (Rookie Read-About Science) by Lisa M. Herrington

14. The Scoop About Ice Cream (History of Fun Stuff) by Bonnie Williams

15. The Ice Cream Shop: A Steve and Wessley Reader by Jennifer E. Morris

16. Ice Cream Cones for Sale by Elaine Greenstein

17. The Ice Cream Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries) by Gertrude Chandler Warner

18. Gorilla Loves Vanilla! by Chae Strathie

19. Is It Warm Enough for Ice Cream? by DK Publishing/a>

20. Dragons Love Ice Cream by Brett Fowler

Did you love these fun books about ice cream for kids? Don’t miss these other ice cream activities!

For more tips to make your kids into readers, check out my Reading for Kids board on Pinterest!

This post is part of The Massive Guide to Homeschool Reading Lists by iHomeschool Network! Click over to read tons of awesome booklists shared by my fellow homeschooling bloggers!

31 Beautiful African American Story Books for Kids

January 29, 2018 by Selena Robinson 4 Comments

As a mom to four African American children, I’ve been hard pressed to find great kids’ books that feature black characters (at least in our local library). They’re there, but it’s hard to find them, unless you have a few author names to start with.

I strongly feel it’s important for my kids to “see” themselves in what they read, especially when it comes to reading about history or receiving positive messages about themselves.

So – without further ado – here are 31 African American story books for you and your kids to explore this school year! The books are geared toward kids aged 3 to 12 and include fiction, historical fiction, and nonfiction selections.

If you enjoy these stories, check out our list of must-read black history books for kids!

31 African American Story Books for Kids

Affiliate links provided below. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.

1. The Toothpaste Millionaire by Jean Merrill

2. The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles

3. Tommy Traveler in the World of Black History by Eloise Greenfield

4. Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra by Andrea Davis Pinkney

5. The Colors of Us by Karen Katz

6. Lola at the Library by Anna McQuinn

7. I Love My Hair! by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley

8. Julian’s Glorious Summer by Ann Cameron

9. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

10. Miami Jackson Gets It Straight by Patricia McKissack

11. The Buried Bones Mystery by Sharon M. Draper

12. Moja Means One: Swahili Counting Book by Muriel and Tom Feelings

13. STAT: Standing Tall and Talented #1 by Amar’e Stoudemire

14. Donovan’s Word Jar by Monalisa Degross

15. I’m a Pretty Little Black Girl! by Betty K. Bynum

Pages: 1 2

Cozy Bedtime Books for Toddlers

December 14, 2017 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

We have a very active little one in our family. She’s running around learning everything she possibly can. But, because she’s so excited about what’s she learning to do, getting her to settle down for bed has become a bit of problem. Every time I walk her into her room at night, she says “I want to get up in the morning, Mama.” Every. Single. Time. 🙂

So I thought I’d look for some bedtime books that would help her settle down and get ready for sleep. Today, I’m sharing a roundup of adorable bedtime books for toddlers!

If you and your little one enjoy these stories, be sure to check out my list of the absolute best picture books for three-year-olds!

Bedtime Books for Toddlers

This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.

1. The Going-to-Bed Book by Sandra Boynton

2. The Goodnight Train by June Sobel

3. Kiss Good Night by Amy Hest

4. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

5. Time for Bed by Mem Fox

6. A Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na

7. Clifford’s Bedtime by Norman Bridewell

8. Bedtime in the Meadow by Stephanie Shaw

9. If Animals Kissed Good Night by Ann Whitford Paul

10. Snuggle Up, Sleepy Ones by Claire Freedman

See even more cozy bedtime stories for toddlers on the next page!

Pages: 1 2

15 Beautiful Children’s Books about Harvest

September 25, 2017 by Selena Robinson 5 Comments

We’re getting well into the harvest season and it’s a perfect time to read about this time of year with the kids!

We’ve already featured a harvest unit study, but I wanted to share a few more children’s books about harvest that feature picking apples, pumpkins, corn, and all kinds of fall produce.

There are even books that talk about the harvest moon, which is a great way to talk about lunar cycles.

Once you read a couple of these books, be sure to take the kids pumpkin picking, apple picking, or running through a corn maze. You might even want to make an apple pie with your kids!

By the way, if you can make an apple pie successfully, please explain it to me. I’m terrified of attempting to make a pie from scratch.

If you love these books, don’t miss our roundup of 50 Fall Books for Kids or our list of Children’s Books about Farms!

15 Beautiful Children’s Books about Harvest

This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.

1. Possum’s Harvest Moon – Anne Hunter

2. Strega Nona’s Harvest – Tomie dePaola

3. We Gather Together: Celebrating the Harvest Season – Wendy Pfeffer

4. Pick a Circle, Gather Squares: A Fall Harvest of Shapes – Felicia Sanzari Chernesky

5. Hello, Harvest Moon – Ralph Fletcher

6. Fall Harvests: Bringing In Food – Martha E. H. Rustad

7. It’s Harvest Time! – Jean McElroy

8. Curious George: Apple Harvest – H.A. Rey

9. Apples, Apples Everywhere!: Learning about Apple Harvests – Robin Koontz

10. By the Light of the Harvest Moon – Harriet Ziefert

11. Tractor Mac: Harvest Time by Billy Steers

12. Harvest Time: Celebrate Fall! by Erika L. Shores

13. Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills

14. Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie (Picture the Seasons) by Jill Esbaum

15. Bitsy’s Harvest Party by Melody Carlson

Don’t miss these other book lists for kids!

For more tips to make your kids into readers, check out my Reading for Kids board on Pinterest!

This post is part of The Massive Guide to Homeschool Reading Lists by iHomeschool Network! Click over to read tons of awesome booklists shared by my fellow homeschooling bloggers!

Must-Read Black History Books for Kids

January 10, 2017 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

In our family, black history is history. We teach it along with every other topic. We’ve covered African history, civil rights, and even jazz history with our children over the years. But we’ve also enjoyed sharing African-American storybooks that help them “see” themselves in stories.

As part of learning about history, we’ve read some wonderful black history books for kids over the years. Today I’m sharing some of the selections that I consider “must-read” books! If I missed any of your favorites, feel free to share your suggestions in the comments!

Image c/o: Brainsil / depositphotos

Must-Read Black History Books for Kids

(Affiliate links provided here for convenience. For more, see our Disclosure Policy.)

1. 100 African-Americans Who Shaped American History by Chrisanne Beckner (If you only get one, make it this one.)

2. Rosa by Nikki Giovanni

3. When the Beat was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip-Hop by Laban Carrick Hill

4. My Name is Truth: The Life of Sojourner Truth by Ann Turner

5. Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America

6. Fly High: The Story of Bessie Coleman by Louise Borden

7. Firebird by Misty Copeland

8. Salt in His Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream by Deloris Jordan

9. Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad

10. A Weed is a Flower: The Life of George Washington Carver by Aliki

11. Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky by Faith Ringgold

12. Black Cowboys by Ryan P. Randolph

13. Fifty Cents and a Dream: Young Booker T. Washington by Jabari Asim

14. The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles (Check out our Ruby Bridges unit study!)

15. Alvin Ailey by Andrea Davis Pinkney

16. Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker by Patricia Hruby Powell

17. 28 Days: Moments in Black History That Changed the World by Charles R. Smith, Jr.

18. Fort Mose: And the Story of the Man Who Built the First Free Black Settlement in Colonial America by Glennette Tiley Turner

19. Molly, By Golly!: The Legend of Molly Williams, America’s First Female Firefighter

20. Nelson Mandela by Kadir Nelson (Don’t miss our Nelson Mandela unit!)

21. Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman by Kathleen Krull

22. Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra by Andrea Davis Pinkney

23. Tommy Traveler in the World of Black History by Tom Feelings (This is a tough one to find, but it is so worth it.)

24. The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch by Chris Barton

25. What Color is My World?: The Lost History of African-American Inventors by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

26. Mister and Lady Day: Billie Holiday and the Dog Who Loved Her by Amy Novesky

27. Jump Back, Paul: The Life and Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar by Sally Derby

28. Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X by Ilyasah Shabazz

29. Rhythm Ride: A Road Trip Through the Motown Sound by Andrea Davis Pinkney

30. Stealing Home: The Story of Jackie Robinson by Barry Denenberg

31. When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson by Pam Munoz Ryan

32. Nothing But Trouble: The Story of Althea Gibson by Sue Stauffacher

33. Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins by Carole Boston Weatherford

34. We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson

Check out these other black history posts!

Plus, grab our ebook “We Got Jazz” for 120 pages of unit studies and activities about jazz greats, including Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and more!

Follow my Living History for Kids board on Pinterest for more history teaching ideas!

This post is part of the “Must-Read Books” linkup from iHomeschool Network! Stop by to read more awesome book lists from my fellow bloggers!

50 Winter Books for Kids

October 28, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

It takes a while for cold weather to reach us all the way down here in the South. But once it comes, it tends to stay for the rest of the season. Around the middle of November, we pull out our coats and we typically wear them without a break until April. 🙂

Last year, I shared plenty of free winter printables for kids and this year I wanted to follow up with a fun book list: Winter Books for Kids! I hope you love these stories! There are beautiful board books, cozy stories, and even a few nonfiction books to help kids learn more about this season!

50 Winter Books for Kids

1. Bright Baby Touch-and-Feel Winter by Roger Priddy

2. Animals in Winter (Let’s Read and Find Out Science) by Henrietta Bancroft

3. Winter is Coming by Tony Johnston

4. Winter Walk by Virginia Snow

5. The Mitten by Jan Brett

6. The Berenstain Bears’ Winter Wonderland by Jan & Mike Berenstain

7. The Storm Whale in Winter by Benji Davies

8. Winter Woes by Marty Kelley

9. The First Day of Winter by Denise Fleming

10. Daniel’s Winter Adventure (Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood) by Becky Friedman

11. Winter: A Pop-Up Book by David Carter

12. Let It Snow by Maryann Cocca-Leffler

13. The Animals’ Winter Sleep by Lynda Graham-Barber

14. Before Morning by Joyce Sidman

15. A Warm Winter Tail by Carrie A. Pearson

16. Winter Lullaby by Barbara Seuling

17. Mouse’s First Snow by Lauren Thompson

18. It’s Winter! (Celebrate the Seasons!) by Susan Swan

19. Ride the Big Machines in Winter: My Big Machines by Carmen Mok

20. Bugs and Bugsicles: Insects in the Winter by Amy S. Hansen

21. Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen

22. All About Animals in Winter by Martha E. H. Rustad

23. No Two Alike by Keith Baker

24. A Winter’s Tale (Peter Rabbit) by Beatrix Potter

25. Winter by Gerda Muller

26. Winter, Awake! by Linda Kroll

27. Winter Pony by Jean Slaughter Doty

28. One Winter’s Day by M. Christina Butler

29. How Do You Know It’s Winter (Rookie Read-About Science) by Lisa M. Herrington

30. A Bed for the Winter, Level 1 by Karen Wallace

31. Little Critter: Just a Snowman by Mercer Mayer

32. Winter is Here! by Heidi Pross Gray

33. Winter Eyes by Douglas Florian

34. Guess How Much I Love You in the Winter: Deluxe Paper-Cut Edition by Sam McBratney

35. Winter on the Farm (Little House Picture Book) by Laura Ingalls Wilder

36. Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold by Joyce Sidman

37. The Science of Snow: The Story of Winter’s Wonder by Mark Cassino

38. Winter, Winter, Cold and Snow by Sharon Gibson Palermo

39. Lemonade in Winter: A Book about Two Kids Counting Money by Emily Jenkins

40. Winter’s Tale by Robert Sabuda

41. Winter Friends by Carl R. Sams II

42. When Winter Comes by Nancy Van Laan

43. The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Snow by Joanna Cole

44. Waiting for Winter by Sebastian Meschenmoser

45. One Winter’s Night by Claire Freedman

46. Winter Snow by Liesbet Slegers

47. The Winter Visitors by Karel Hayes

48. I See Winter by Charles Ghigna

49. Waiting Through Winter by Jason Farley

50. Baby Loves Winter: A Karen Katz Lift-the-Flap Book

Love these cold weather stories? Grab more of our winter learning resources!

$Paper Snowflake 2nd Grade Math Factors Craft$

Need more winter activity inspiration? Follow my Winter Activities for Kids board on Pinterest!

20 Adorable Bear Books for Kids to Read

October 26, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

When I think of fall, I start picturing taking a long, long nap.

Hey, a mother of four can dream, right?

But for some animals, hibernation is a necessary part of life and that includes bears!

At the library recently, our preschooler found several books about bears that were just downright adorable and that got me searching for fun and educational, not to mention cute, bear books for kids.