Whether it’s a story with animals, fun facts about birds and beasts, or a wild and fascinating tome, you’ll find something to enjoy with our summer reading recommendations. Incorporating something for almost everyone in this list, kids who participate in reading during summer can boost learning, enjoy an exciting escape, or see themselves or others in a book. May your summer be long and your to-read pile be longer!
Enroll in the Summer Reading Program beginning May 15th. HEPL is proud to partner with the Humane Society for Hamilton County. Look for donation drop-off boxes in the library in June and July.
Babies and Toddlers
- Max Attacks by Kathi Appelt and Penelope Dullaghan
- Have You Seen Elephant? by David Barrow
- Peek-a-Boo Zoo! by Jane Cabrera
- Canta, Rana, Canta/Sing, Froggie, Sing, (Bilingual) by Carolyn Dee Flores
- How Are You? Como Estas? (Bilingual) by Angela Dominguez
- Stack the Cats by Susie Ghahremani
- Underwear! by Jenn Harney
- Don’t Wake Up the Tiger by Britta Teckentrup
- A Unicorn Named Sparkle by Amy Young
- Hooray for Hat by Brian Won
Picture Books
- Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: A West African Tale by Verna Aardama, Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon (Hoopla movie) (Hoopla audio)
- Norman: One Amazing Goldfish! by Kelly Bennett
- Lion and Mouse by Jairo Buitrago, Rafael Yockteng, Eliza Amedo
- Please Don’t Eat Me by Liz Climo
- Great, Now We’ve Got Barbarians! by Jason Carter Eaton and Mark Fearing
- Stubby: A True Story of Friendship by Michael Foreman
- Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist by Jess Keating (Hoopla movie)
- Everybody Says Meow by Constance Lombardo
- Mango, Abuela and Me by Meg Medina (English with Spanish words)
- The Book Hog by Greg Pizzoli
- ¡Vamos! Let’s Go to the Market by Raúl the Third (English with Spanish words)
- Truman by Jean Reidy and Lucy Ruth Cummins
- Packs: Strength in Numbers by Hannah Salyer
- Emergency Kittens by Jody Jensen Shaffer
For Early Readers
- The World According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney (#1 in series)
- Bad Kitty: Kitten Trouble by Nick Bruel (#15 in series)
- Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea by Ben Clanton (#1 in series)
- Eva’s Treetop Festival by Rebecca Eliott (#1 in series)
- What About Worms!? by Ryan Higgins and Mo Willems (#7 in series)
- The Great Pet Escape by Victoria Jamieson (#1 in series)
- Dewdrop by Katie O’Neill
- Hamster and Cheese by Colleen Venable (#1 in series)
- Harry the Homeless Puppy by Holly Webb and Sophy Williams (#5 in series)
- Duck, Duck, Porcupine! by Salina Yoon (#1 in series)
Middle Grade
- The Line Tender by Kate Allen
- You Want to Work with Animals?: Discover Fantastic Ways to Work with Animals, from Veterinary Science to Aquatic Biology by J.M. Bedell
- Lety Out Loud by Angela Cervantes (Libby Spanish ebook)
- Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo, Kate Campbell and K.G. Campbell
- Mountain Dog by Margarita Engle, Aleksey Ivanov and Olga Ivanov
- InvestiGators by John Patrick Green
- Wildlives: 50 Extraordinary Animals That Made History by Ben Lerwill and Sarah Walsh
- Rescue on the Oregon Trail by Kate Messner (#1 in series)
- War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
- A Wolf for a Spell by Karah Sutton
Books for Teens
- Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
- Wolves, Boys, and Other Things That Might Kill Me by Kristen Chandler
- Pet by Awaeke Emezi
- Beastars by Paru Itagaki (Vols. 1–7)
- A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass
- Blanca and Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore
- Some Kind of Animal by Maria Romasco Moore
- Ashlords by Scott Reintgen
- Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs by Yukiya Sakuragi (Vols. 1–8)
- How We Became Wicked by Alexander Yates
Don’t forget to Log Your Reading!
Enroll in the Tails and Tales Summer Reading Program through your Beanstack account with HEPL. If you already have an account you need only enroll. If you are new to Beanstack take a minute to create an account for yourself and the readers in your household. Reading logged between June 1 and July 31, 2021 will count toward the program and earn you a chance to win prizes.
* Ebook links are subject to change, so check back to see if a title has been added or removed.