The sun is out. The temperature is rising. Family time is plentiful. Celebrate the season with these fun summer reading ideas to keep everyone engaged with books.

Summer Reading Ideas for Families
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#1 Listen to an Audiobook While Traveling

Headed to the beach, Disney World, or the mountains? I’ve got an audiobook recommendation tailored to your destination.—->Audiobooks for Your Next Family Vacation
#2 Find an Indpendent Bookstore
If you are traveling, stop at a local independent bookstore and let everyone select a book to purchase read.
If you are spending the summer close to home, visit an independent bookstore in a neighboring town. Or, check out bookstores at some of your favorite summer destinations such as the zoo, art museum, or science center.
#3 Have a Family Dinner Book Club
We have oodles of Family Dinner Book Clubs in our archives and many are perfect for summer.
A Family Dinner Book Club involves reading a book together, having a themed dinner, conversation starters, and an activity.
Try these Family Dinner Book Clubs.
Summer Themed Family Dinner Book Club
#4 Read About Summer
Enjoy summer themed books. You can even join your public library’s reading program. Most have offerings for children and adults. Take one of these book lists to the library.

Books About Oceans and the Beach
#5 Try a Subscription Box
My kids love to get mail. We get or have gotten several subscription boxes delivered to us over the years. My all-time favorite book subscription boxes are KidArtLit for ages 3-8 and Crate Expectations for ages 8-12.—>See all my other recommended book subscriptions.
My kids also love the Universal Yums box which comes with sweet and savory snacks to try from a different country each time. Although there is no book associated with this box, you could easily pair it with books about a particular country or even a cookbook with cuisine from that country. Making this the perfect family activity.
#6 Picture Book With Recipes
There are several books that include a reference to a food and then share a recipe at the end of the book.
Here are a few of our recent favorites.
Memory Jars by Vera by Vera Brosgol includes a recipe for blueberry jam.
Nacho’s Nachos by Sandra Nickel includes (you guessed it) nachos.
For more books with recipes, check out our Books You Can Cook.
#7 Book and Movie
There are many many children’s books that have been turned into movies. In my opinion, 99% of the time the book is always better than the movie.
Read a book together as a family and then watch the movie.
A few of our recent tries have included Flora & Ulysses and Yes Day!
We actually have a full year of book/movie combos that we did for Family Dinner Book Club.—>Books and Movies Through the Decades
Enjoy spending time together reading this summer!
Related Resources
Outdoor Summer Alphabet Activities
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