25 of the Best Books You’ll Want for Sneaky Summer Learning
We all want to have a blast this summer, but we definitely don’t want our kids to forget everything they’ve learning this school year. Enter: Sneaky Summer Learning!
This week on Instagram, I’m teaming up with four other mamas who want to encourage learning this summer. Monday through Friday, we’re sharing our favorite books for sneaky summer learning, each day with a different subject.
Below I’ve linked up all my favorites and will be adding to it each day. You’ll also want to go follow on Instagram for a chance to win a stack of books for yourself at the end of the week!
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Sneaky Summer Learning: Math Books
- Clocks and More Clocks by Pat Hutchins | Do kids even learn how to tell time on an analog clock anymore?! Read this book with a plastic clock like this and practice telling time.
- The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle | Another fabulous book for telling time.
- 1 is One by Tasha Tudor | I love this book for little ones learning how to count. The pages count all the way up to 20, opposed to the usual 10. And the illustrations are the best!
- The Wompananny Witches Make One Mean Pizza by Jennie Palmer | Some zany witch sisters make a pizza and things get a little out of hand. Includes recipe to make your own pizza, so the lessons are endless–practice fractions while slicing the pizza too!
- Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag | Great book for littles and elementary kids learning about the value of numbers: hundreds, thousands, millions, billions…
Science + Nature Books
- Steve Jenkins animal books: Eye to Eye and Actual Size | These books are so cool because they put animals that you’ll probably never be able to be close to right in your hands. So fun!
- The Seashore Book by Charlotte Zolotow | This book reminds me of living in NC. It’s a beautiful book, but it’s also a really actually telling of a day by the sea. Detailed descriptions of shells and seashore animals.
- Butterfly House by Eve Bunting | This book will be perfect if you’re planning on growing caterpillars into butterflies this summer! The book takes you through the story of a girl and her grandfather finding a caterpillar, feeding it, and watching it grow to a Painted Lady butterfly.
- The Story of Science by Anna Claybourne and Adam Larkum | A great book for paging through and reading a little bit at a time. This book includes lots of short stories about tons of different scientists, inventions, and more.
- The Life and Times of the Apple by Charles Micucci | I love this book! It covers everything from cross-pollination to apple blossoms and the parts of a flower to honeybees. Such a great book for summer learning!
History + Geography
- The Royal Princess Diaries | Sadly, some of these books are out of print, but you can find them if you look at used book sales. We love this series and there are lots of them! Each book covers a real princess and is written in diary form. The diary walks through usually some pivotal years and she gives her opinion of the goings on. Great take on historical fiction! The back of these books have maps, family trees and more info on the girl featured.
- The Lost Colony of Roanoke by Jean Fritz | This book is all about the mystery of history–The Lost Colony of Roanoke. I love Fritz’ telling of the story. It’s a longer picture book. You might want to read it over breakfast a few days in a row.
- Ancient Greece (and more!) Modern Rhymes About Ancient Times | This is a great series on ancient times. The poems are all on different aspects of the time period they’re covering: battles, leaders, daily life.
- The World of Capt. John Smith by Genevieve Foster | I really love these books by Foster. I warn you: they are long. We’ve been reading this one forever. But it’s fun to pick it up, read a few chapters, and keep it going for a long time. These are wonderful because they really do cover the world during the time of the featured person. Starting at birth, she tells stories in a pleasing way about what is happening in other parts of the world.
- This is How We Do It | I adore this picture book! At the beginning, it introduces several different families from around the world. Through the book, it leads us through their day. They show what they wear, what they eat, what school looks like and more. So fun! And great illustrations!
Fine Arts Summer Learning Library
- Beautiful Oops | A wonderful story if you have a perfectionist child! Each page gives an example of an “oops,” and how it can be beautiful!
- You are My Work of Art | A board book that will introduce your child to a famous work of art, plus a loving affirmation on each page.
- Poetry for Young People | A series you must start collecting if you are wanting to read more poetry with your kids!
- Lives of the Writers | Full of short biographies of famous writers, each chapter tells sides of these stories you may not have heard before.
- The Story Orchestra | If the illustrations in this book don’t suck you in, the beautiful snippets of music on each page definitely will! There’s several in the series:
Living Books on Character + Faith
- Mrs. Muddle;s Holidays | The woman we should all aspire to be–bringer of joy, and constantly celebrating each and every day. Mrs. Muddle shakes up her neighborhood for the good!
- Benjamin Franklin | This bio of Franklin teaches us to work hard and be persistently striving to be better.
- Frederick’s Journey | A wonderful biography about Fredrick Douglass. His courage is something we can all learn from.
- Fables by Arnold Lobel | Such a different book of fables than I’ve ever read. Short and sweet and filled with wisdom.
- Helen’s Big World | This is a very real and open story about Helen Keller. We can learn so much from her.
