It’s officially summer, the perfect time for being outside and enjoying the sun with a good book. It also means that libraries nationwide are celebrating with summer reading challenges.
Summer reading is nothing new, dating back to the 1890s to encourage school children, particularly those in urban areas and not needed for farm work, to read during their summer vacation, use the library and develop the habit of reading. Today, summer reading challenges are a chance for readers of all ages to earn cool prizes for reading and attending library events. Libraries offer a variety of prizes from hats and tote bags to plants and books!
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If you’re looking to participate in summer reading and need some help creating your TBR, the American Library Association has you covered with some recommended reads. Check out a few lists below, including some spotlighted titles to get you started.
The 2026 Summer Reading Lists feature book titles and digital media options to keep children engaged in reading and exploring throughout the summer. Four lists are available for birth-preschool and grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-8.
- Birth – Preschool: “Your Forest” by Jon Klassen. This title joins “Your Farm” and “Your Island” as part of a sweet, comforting series of board books. With smooth, slow pacing, Klassen creates a world built just for you, for whenever you want to go there. Whimsical illustrations of common objects, all with eyes, allow a layer of humor to shine.
- Grades K-2: “Thread By Thread” by Alice Brière-Haquet. Oh no! The mouse family’s house is unraveling! After being chased over the water and into the unknown, how will they ever knit a new home? This book explores forced migration and displacement in a way children can understand.
- Grades 3-5: “Xolo” by Donna Barba Higuera. In this creation tale from Aztec mythology, Xolo, a dog-headed god of lightning, death, and misfortune is an unlikely hero. Illustrations in the style of the Codex Borgia, an ancient Mexican manuscript, are rich in color and capture the reader’s curiosity.
- Grades 6-8: “Blood In The Water” by Tiffany D. Jackson. When a popular local teen is found dead during her summer on Martha’s Vineyard, 12-year-old Kaylani turns amateur sleuth to uncover the truth in this gripping mystery.
Summer reading is for all ages, so adults can get in on the fun too! The Notable Book List includes 25 “very good, very readable, and at times very important fiction, nonfiction, and poetry books for the adult reader” from 1945 to 2026.
- Fiction: “The Lilac People” by Milo Todd. When the Allies liberate the camps and begin arresting the queer population, Bertie, a trans man, and his girlfriend and their friend escape to America to evade the Nazis.
- Non-Fiction: “One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This” by Omar El Akkad. The author unpacks his viral social media post pointing out the moral cowardice and hypocrisy of Western nations who preach humanitarian principles yet frequently betray these in practice.
- Poetry: “Gaza: The Poem Said Its Piece” by Nasser Rabah and translated from the Arabic by Ammiel Alcalay, Emna Zghal, and Khaled Al-Hilli. A bilingual Arabic-English collection by a prominent Palestinian poet featuring ethereal imagery and lyrical lines infused with longing.
If you prefer audiobooks, you can check out The Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration, which highlights outstanding audiobook titles that merit special attention by general adult listeners and the librarians who work with them.
- “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones. Narrated by Shane Ghostkeeper, Marin Ireland, and Owen Teale. When a professor delves into her Lutheran pastor ancestor’s journal, she discovers a transcription of Good Stab, a member of the Blackfeet tribe and unwilling vampire, and his methodical quest for revenge for the systematic slaughter of his people. The stellar narration and audio production along with the blend of western, horror, and mystery elements combine for a refreshingly original take on the vampire story.
- “The Everlasting” by Alix E. Harrow. Narrated by Moira Quirk and Sid Sagar. Disenchanted historian Owen Mallory is thrown back into the age of legend to record the life of Sir Una Everlasting, the knight who shaped his life from afar, only to fall for the woman behind the myth. He discovers she is bound to a cruel, unending cycle of time that he may not be able to break. Moira Quirk’s and Sid Sagar’s skillful narrations breathe life into the star-crossed lovers.
- “Promise Me Sunshine” by Cara Bastone. Narrated by Alex Finke. Lenny’s life is a mess after her best friend passes away from cancer. Miles, an unlikely friend, is ready to help Lenny with her “live again” list. “Promise Me Sunshine” is a beautiful story about love and the process of grief with earnest narration by Alex Finke. This slow-burn romance is not to be missed.
Good luck and happy reading!
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