- Home
- Departments
- Library
- Events
- Summer Reading Clubs
- Summer Reading List
2020 Summer Reading List
The Association of Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, has compiled a listing of exciting titles for youth to read in their Summer Reading Lists.
The lists contain book titles to keep youth engaged in reading through the summer. Title included on this list were selected by members of the ALSC’s Quicklist Consulting Committee, and designed as a resource for librarians to share with patrons. Feel free to look for these titles at your library and enjoy.
Choose a Grade Level Below for Suggested Titles
| ALL THE ANIMALS WHERE I LIVE | by: Philip C. Stead Call Number: E STEAD Summary: The author used to live in the busy city where there were buses and trains, and people waiting for buses and trains. Now he lives in the country and jubilantly takes us on a tour of his home, pointing out all the animals that share his space. |
| ALMA AND HOW SHE GOT HER NAME | by: Juana Martinez-Neal Call Number: E MARTINEZNEAL Summary: When Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela asks her father why she has so many names, she hears the story of her name and learns about her grandparents. |
| AUNTIE LUCE’S TALKING PAINTINGS | by: Francie Latour eBook on Hoopla Summary: A young girl explores her identity and culture through her aunt’s striking artwork. |
| CAMP TIGER | by: Susan Choi Call Number: E CHOI Summary: Every year, a boy and his family go camping at Mountain Pond. Usually, they see things like an eagle fishing for his dinner, a salamander with red spots on its back, and chipmunks that come to steal food while the family sits by the campfire. But this year is different. |
| DREAMERS | by: Yuyi Morales Call Number: J 92 MORALES Summary: An illustrated picture book autobiography in which award-winning author Yuyi Morales tells her own immigration story. |
| LLAMA DESTROYS THE WORLD | by: Jonathan Stutzman Call Number: E STUTZMAN Summary: A funny, silly llama eats too much cake, and the resulting silliness takes the reader on a rollicking journey through his wild adventures. |
| MIA MAYHEM IS A SUPERHERO | by: Kara West Call Number: J WEST Summary: Eight-year-old Mia Macarooney is delighted to learn she is from a family of superheroes, but her acceptance into the Program for In Training Superheroes requires she take a placement exam. |
| MY PAPI HAS A MOTORCYCLE | by: Isabel Quintero eContent Available on Hoopla Summary: Daisy and her papi take a spin on his motorcycle, taking in the sights and sounds of their beloved neighborhood. |
| THE PROUDEST BLUE: A STORY OF HIJAB AND FAMILY | by: Ibtihaj Muhammad Call Number: E MUHAMMAD Summary: Faizah relates how she feels on the first day her sister, sixth-grader Asiya, wears a hijab to school. |
| SATURDAY | by: Oge Mora Call Number: E MORA Summary: When all of their special Saturday plans go awry, Ava and her mother still find a way to appreciate one another and their time together. |
| WE ARE GRATEFUL: OTSALIHELIGA | by: Traci Sorrell eBook on Hoopla Summary: Following a full Cherokee year of celebrations and experiences, this book shares the contemporary life of the Cherokee people, highlighting their tradition of gratitude. |
| AQUICORN COVE | by: Katie O’Neill Call Number: J ONEILL Summary: Lana discovers the Aquicorns, magical sea-dwelling creatures who need her help to stop the overfishing that is destroying their home. |
| THE BOOK OF BOY | by: Catherine Gilbert Murdoch eBook on Hoopla Summary: In 1350, Boy, an orphaned servant, is hired to accompany a shadowy pilgrim on an action-filled quest across medieval Europe for the seven relics of St. Peter. |
| THE CARDBOARD KINGDOM | by: Chad Sell Call Number: J SELL Summary: Follows the adventures of a group of neighborhood children who create costumes from cardboard and use their imagination in adventures with knights, robots, and monsters. |
| CLAYTON BYRD GOES UNDERGROUND | by: Rita Williams-Garcia Call Number: J WILLIAMSGARCIA Summary: Clayton feels most alive when he’s playing music with his grandfather, Cool Papa Byrd, and the band of Bluesmen--he can’t wait to join them, just as soon as he has a blues song of his own. But then the unthinkable happens. Cool Papa Byrd dies, and Clayton’s mother forbids Clayton from playing the blues. And Clayton knows that’s no way to live. Armed with his grandfather’s brown porkpie hat and his harmonica, he runs away from home, in search of the Bluesmen, hoping he can join them on the road. But on the journey that takes him through the New York City subways and to Washington Square Park, Clayton learns some things about his family, and himself, that surprise him. |
| GRANTED | by: John David Anderson Call Number: J ANDERSON Summary: Young fairy Ophelia gets her first wish granting assignment and discovers that, although the fate of the fairy world rests on her completing her task, the job of granting a human’s wish is anything but easy. |
| INDIAN NO MORE | by: Charlene Willing McManis Call Number: J MCMANIS Summary: When Regina’s Umpqua tribe is legally terminated and her family must relocate from Oregon to Los Angeles, she goes on a quest to understand her identity as an Indian despite being so far from home. |
| KNIGHTS VS. DINOSAURS | by: Matt Phelan Call Number: J PHELAN Summary: With the realm at peace and few dragons about, the Knights of the Round Table are bored, so Merlin sends them to face the most terrible lizards of all--dinosaurs. |
| THE LAST LAST-DAY-OF-SUMMER | by: Lamar Giles Call Number: J GILES Summary: When adventurous cousins Otto and Sheed Alston accidentally extend the last day of summer by freezing time, they find the secrets between the unmoving seconds are not as much fun as they expected. |
| THE LOST GIRL | by: Anne Ursu Call Number: J URSU Summary: Twins Iris and Lark are challenged by their first school year in separate classrooms, as well as a mystery involving crows, missing belongings, and a strange new shop in their town. |
| MANANALAND | by: Pam Munoz Ryan Call Number: J RYAN Summary: In this magical story, Maximiliano Córdoba goes on a dangerous journey armed only with a compass, a mysterious stone rubbing, and the legends Buelo told about traveling mythical gatekeepers. |
| THE PARKER INHERITANCE | by: Varian Johnson Call Number: J JOHNSON Summary: Candice would rather be home in Atlanta with her friends this summer, instead of where she is, in her grandmother’s small town of Lambert, South Carolina. But the discovery of clues to an intricate puzzle entwined in the town’s complicated history could lead to a hidden fortune. |
| ROCKET TO THE MOON! | by Don Brown Call Number: J 629.454 BRO Summary: Taking readers through the history of rocket building, this title explores the people and technology that made the moon landing possible. First in a series. |
| STANLEY WILL BE FINE | by: Sally J. Pla eBook on Hoopla Summary: Stanley struggles to fit in, so he creates an imaginary superhero named John Lockdown who helps him compete in Trivia Quest, a comics-trivia scavenger hunt. |
| SWEEPING UP THE HEART | by: Kevin Henkes Call Number: J HENKES Summary: Amelia is disappointed to be stuck at home for spring break, but when she meets a new friend at a local art studio who claims to see the spirit of her dead mother, the week takes an exciting turn. |
| TWINCHANTMENT | by: Elise Allen Call Number: J ALLEN Summary: Princesses Flissa and Sara are even closer than most twins. In fact, most of the kingdom thinks they’re the same person. When magic was outlawed in Kaloon generations ago, twins, black cats, and other potentially-magical beings were outlawed, too. |
| BE PREPARED | by: Vera Brosgol Call Number: J BROSGOL Summary: A misfit girl and her brother attend summer camp, where they struggle with primitive plumbing, snobby tent-mates, and boys-versus-girls competitions. |
| BEVERLY, RIGHT HERE | by: Kate DiCamillo Call Number: J DICAMILLO Summary: After the unbearable loss of her dog, Beverly Tapinski runs away from her troubled home to a small Florida beach town where a quirky cast of characters helps her pick up the pieces of her heart. |
| THE BRIDGE HOME | by: Padma Venkatraman Call Number: J VENTKATRAMAN Summary: Runaway sisters Viji and Rukku end up living on the streets of Chennai, where they find a new family of friends who help them to survive by scavenging the city’s mountains of rubbish. |
| CATERPILLAR SUMMER | by: Gillian McDunn Call Number: J MCDUNN Summary: An unexpected change in plans leaves Caterpillar to navigate an adventurous summer with her brother, who is autistic. |
| DISSENTER ON THE BENCH | by: Victoria Ortiz eAudiobook on Hoopla Summary: This biography provides highlights from the iconic Supreme Court justice’s life and career and will inspire young readers to change the world. |
| EACH TINY SPARK | by: Pablo Cartaya Call Number: CARTAYA Summary: Sixth-grader Emilia Torres struggles with ADHD, her controlling abuela, her mother’s work commitments, her father’s distance after returning from deployment, evolving friendships, and a conflict over school redistricting. |
| I CAN MAKE THIS PROMISE | by: Christine Day eBook on Hoopla Summary: Edie discovers a mysterious box in the attic, filled with pictures of a woman who looks just like her. The discovery is the beginning of a journey to uncover her family’s secrets and find her own Native American identity. |
| IVY ABERDEEN’S LETTER TO THE WORLD | by: Ashley Herring Blake Call Number: J BLAKE Summary: Twelve-year-old Ivy Aberdeen’s house is destroyed in a tornado, and in the aftermath of the storm, she begins to develop feelings for another girl at school. |
| JUST JAIME | by: Terri Libenson eAudiobook on Hoopla Summary: The last day of seventh grade has Jaime and Maya wondering who their real friends are: What do you do when it feels like you’re drifting apart from your best friend? How can you tell who is a true friend? |
| NEW KID | by: Jerry Craft Call Number: J CRAFT Summary: Seventh-grader Jordan Banks navigates a new private school lauded for its academics. The school is lacking in both diversity and art, making the transition difficult for art-loving African American Jordan. |
| THE NIGHT DIARY | by: Veera Hiranandani Call Number: J HIRANANDANI Summary: Shy twelve-year-old Nisha, forced to flee her home with her Hindu family during the 1947 partition of India, tries to find her voice and make sense of the world falling apart around her by writing to her deceased Muslim mother in the pages of her diary. |
| NOWHERE BOY | by: Katherine Marsh eAudiobook on Hoopla Summary: When Max finds Ahmed, a Syrian refugee, hiding alone in his basement in Belgium, Max decides to help Ahmed by keeping him secret and safe. |
| PAY ATTENTION, CARTER JONES | by: Gary Schmidt Call Number: J SCHMIDT Summary: Sixth-grader Carter must adjust to the unwelcome presence of a know-it-all butler who is determined to help him become a gentleman, and also to deal with burdens from the past. |
| PEASPROUT CHEN, FUTURE LEGEND OF SKATE AND SWORD | by: Henry Lien eAudiobook on Hoopla Summary: Peasprout and her brother, Cricket, are accepted into Pearl Famous Academy of Skate and Sword to study wu liu, martial arts figure skating. High-stakes competition, political intrigue, and more await them. |
| THE REMARKABLE JOURNEY OF COYOTE SUNRISE | by: Dan Gemeinhart Call Number: J GEMEINHART Summary: Coyote Sunrise and her dad travel the country in their school bus. Along the way, they meet new friends who help them see their world in a new way and heal from the tragedy that hit their family five years earlier. |
| SAL & GABI BREAK THE UNIVERSE | by: Carlos Hernandez Call Number: J HERNANDEZ Summary: Cuban culture is woven through this zany sci-fi story told by 13-year-old Sal, an aspiring magician who can rip holes in the fabric of the universe. |
| SCI-FU | by: Yehudi Mercado Call Number: J MERCADO Summary: It’s 1980s Brooklyn, and Wax just scratched the perfect beat, attracting the attention of an evil alien robot who transports his family, best friend, and crush to the planet Discopia, where Wax must master the art of sci-fu if he wants to fight the bad guys, save the universe, and get back to Earth. |
| THE SEASON OF STYX MALONE | by: Kekla Magoon Call Number: J MAGOON Summary: An ordinary summer is upended with a splash when Styx Malone, who is sixteen and oozes cool, moves to town and befriends brothers Caleb and Bobby. |
| SONG FOR A WHALE | by: Lynne Kelly Call Number: J KELLY Summary: Iris, who struggles to communicate with others because she is deaf, feels a kinship with a whale in a similar situation thousands of miles away and tries to make a connection. |
| THE STARS BENEATH OUR FEET | by: David Barclay Moore Call Number: J MOORE Summary: In the wake of his brother’s death, a gift of LEGOs sets 12-year-old Lolly on a journey to find himself and a community in his Harlem neighborhood. |
| US, IN PROGRESS | by: Lulu Delacre eBook on Hoopla Summary: A collection of short stories offering refreshing and nuanced depictions of young Latinx boys and girls growing up in the United States. |