June 8, 2016 CL Teaching Strategies Notice & Note, CL Seasonal Activities Summer, ELA K-5, ELA Focus - Reading, ELA Seasonal - Summer, Core Literacy
By: Erin Lynch
While it may be tempting to spend the summer at the beach or by the pool, it's important that emerging readers practice their reading skills over the summer. Picking a few books from a 1st grade summer reading list can help kids keep their reading skills in tip-top shape.
Below are a list of books you may want to order online, download onto a mobile device, or check out from the local library. These books range from easy to more difficult. If your emerging reader finds one particular book on the list challenging to read alone, read it aloud together!
1st Grade Summer Reading List Recommendations
Amos & Boris by William Steig
Amos the mouse and Boris the whale: a devoted pair of friends with nothing at all in common, except good hearts and a willingness to help their fellow mammal. They meet after Amos sets out to sail the sea and finds himself in extreme need of rescue. And there will come a day, long after Boris has gone back to a life at sea and Amos has gone back to life on dry land, when the tiny mouse must find a way to rescue the great whale. Amos & Boris is a 1971 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year, Notable Children's Book of the Year, and Outstanding Book of the Year.
Scraminals by Jack Prelutsky
Scranimal Island is where you will find the fragrant Rhinocerose, the cunning Broccolions, and if you are really, really lucky and very, very quiet, you will spot the gentle, shy Pandaffodil. So put on your pith helmet and prepare to explore a wilderness of puns and rhymes where birds, beasts, vegetables, and flowers have been mysteriously scrambled together to create creatures you've never seen before –– and are unlikely to meet again! Your guides –– Jack Prelutsky, poet laureate of the elementary school set, and two–time Caldecott Honor artist Peter Sis – invite you to join them on an adventure you will never forget!
The Cloud Spinner by Michael Catchpool, Alison Jay
One small boy has a special gift—he can weave cloth from the clouds: gold in the early morning with the rising sun, white in the afternoon, and crimson in the evening. He spins just enough cloth for a warm scarf. But when the king sees the boy's magnificent cloth, he demands cloaks and gowns galore. "It would not be wise," the boy protests. "Your majesty does not need them!" But spin he must—and soon the world around him begins to change. From author Michael Catchpool and illustrator Alison Jay comes a magical tale about the beauty and fragility of our natural world, and the wisdom and courage needed to protect it.
Swimmy by Leo Lionni
Deep in the sea there lives a happy school of little fish. Their watery world is full of wonders, but there is also danger, and the little fish are afraid to come out of hiding . . . until Swimmy comes along. Swimmy shows his friends how—with ingenuity and team work—they can overcome any danger. With its graceful text and stunning artwork, this Caldecott Honor Book deserves a place on every child’s shelf.
Under Alaska's Midnight Sun by Deb Vanasse
In the far northern parts of the world, near and above the Arctic Circle, summer days are very long. In Barrow, Alaska, for example, the sun rises in May and sets 83 days later, in early August. During this time, the sun shines all through the night. People call it the midnight sun. When the midnight sun is shining, people and animals stay active even at night. This sweet poetic narrative, illustrated by award-winner Jeremiah Trammell, showcases the many pleasures of this unique time as a little girl dances, fishes, plays games, watches moose and fox, and communes with family and nature.
Franklin and the Thunderstorm by Paulette Bourgeois
In this Franklin Classic Storybook, Franklin is afraid of thunderstorms. When a storm approaches while he is playing at Fox's house, a flash of lightning sends Franklin into his shell. He refuses to come out -- even for snacks -- until his friends make him laugh with their tall tales about what causes storms. And when Beaver explains what really causes thunder and lightning, Franklin begins to feel much safer.
The Night Before Summer Vacation by Natasha Wing
A little girl and her family are getting ready to go on vacation—or at least, they're trying to! In the rush to pack everything they'll need, they're bound to overlook something…and the very thing they forget provides a funny ending to this meter-perfect twist on "The Night Before Christmas." This book makes the perfect read aloud and is a great way to introduce kids to rhyming.
A World of Wonders: Geographic Travels in Verse and Rhyme by J. Patrick Lewis
Could anyone somersault across the San Andreas fault? Why was Hawaii named after a Sandwich? Of longitude and latitude, which has more "flatitude"? You'll travel the globe (and some of the sky) discovering answers to these and other questions you never knew to ask! There are all sorts of amazing things to know about thousands of "spaces and places to be" within the fantastical world of GE-OG-RA-PHY. Dive in, come aboard, zip along, take it slow-traveling by book is a great way to go!
Fancy Nancy Series: Sand Castles and Sand Palaces by Jane O’Connor
Mom takes Fancy Nancy, JoJo, Bree, Freddy, and Frenchy to the beach! They spend the whole day building the most magnificent sand palace imaginable, but when the tide comes in, what will happen to their beautiful creation? Join Nancy as she discovers that the beach is full of spectacular surprises. Comes complete with a fabulous set of stickers! Fans of Fancy Nancy will delight in Nancy's sparkling creativity and imagination.
Secret Agent Jack Stalwart Series by Elizabeth Singer Hunt
In The Escape of the Deadly Dinosaur, Jack zooms to the city that never sleeps to try to solve the mystery of the missing Allosaurus toe. Starting at the Natural History Museum, Jack's detection takes him to a competitive grade-schooler determined to win the science fair with his experiment crossing his own dog with the DNA from the bone of a dangerous, carnivorous dinosaur. Soon the gargantuan creature is terrorizing New Yorkers and Jack must stop him before he devours the animals in the Central Park zoo!
Now that you have your 1st grade summer reading list recommendations, download a printable Summer Reading Strategies Bookmark for kids.
