Mom says to stay indoors today.
She thinks it’s too hot to play outside. Or it’s raining too hard, or you have to stay in because she said. No worries, you got this. You have things to do because indoor days are great days for spending time with good books like these….
When Karena’s teacher tells the class to share “magic” words, Karena is excited to repeat the words her Mami says. So what if they’re not in the dictionary? As in the new book “Mami’s Magic Words” by Kiara Valdez, illustrated by Richy Sanchez Ayala (Viking, $18.99), these are the words that make Karena warm inside. This is an adorable book for kids who love language, and for 3-to-5-year-olds who live in a bilingual home, or who visit one often.
No doubt about it, you love making art, drawing, and painting. In “Kiki and the Can” by John Leguizamo and John “Crash” Matos (Orchard Books, $19.99), Kiki is a graffiti artist who sees the beauty and legend in the color and designs that surround him in his neighborhood. He loves making art all his own, too, until his friends and family challenge him to dig deeper into his love of color and painting. The illustrations in this book are fantastic; they’re great for a responsible 5-to-9-year-old who’s noticed graffiti here or there, but be sure you talk this story through as you’re reading it.
The child who has bad dreams may appreciate reading “Stronger Than” by Nikki Grimes and Stacy Wells, illustrations by E.B. Lewis (HarperCollins Heartdrum, $19.99). Dante is a smart boy. He’s strong and capable and not afraid of anything – except nightmares, and he has those all the time. His mother knew that Dante needed help, so she introduced him to a few of his Choctaw ancestors, and then she sent him on a quest to learn about them, and about himself. This is a good book for a 5-to-9-year-old who’s searching for his place in the world, or a kid who wants to know where he came from.
Immigration has been a hot topic this year and you can’t help but notice, right? So read “Copland: A Story About America” by Veronica Mang (Viking, $18.99) and get an introduction to Aaron Copland, who was born in Brooklyn more than a century ago. He and his family lived in a neighborhood full of immigrants and he eagerly saw how they changed America. Aaron loved music then – he loved it all his life – and his sense of style and the music he made fits in with this story of differences and similarities. Kids ages 6-to-9 will enjoy it.
On that same note, kids who love their tunes will want to own “Everything is Music” by Mirian Park (Blue Dot, $19.95). Read this book, then ask your child for silence and listen.
And if these aren’t enough reading material for your summer, check with your favorite librarian or bookseller. They’ve got other great stories for you, for indoor days, outside days, nighttime or any time.
Kids Summer Reads by various authors and illustrators
c.2026, various publishers
$18.99 – $19.99
various page counts
