iREAD Kids Reading Lists

Summer Reading Program 2024

Read, Renew, Repeat

These reading suggestions are from www.ireadprogram.org and are all in our catalog!

Board Books

• No Two Alike by Keith Baker
• Change Starts with Us by Sophie Beer
• Woodland Dance! by Sandra Boynton
• Peek-a-Flap Who by Jaye Garnett
• Baby Botanist by Dr. Laura Gehl
• Baby Oceanographer by Dr. Laura Gehl
• The Little Gardener by Jan Gerardi
• Tree: A Peek-Through Board Book by Patricia Hegarty
• Sleepyheads by Sandra J. Howatt
• Conservation with Jane Goodall by Maureen McQuerry
• Here We Are: Book of Numbers by Oliver Jeffers
• Nerdy Babies: Insects by Emmy Kastner
• But First, We Nap by David Miles
• I Love the Earth by Todd Parr
• I Love You Like No Otter by Rose Rossner
• Baby Loves Green Energy! by Ruth Spiro

Picture Books

• The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
• My Life at the Bottom: The Story of a Lonesome Axolotl by Linda Bondestam
• Milk and Juice: A Recycling Romance by Meredith Crandall Brown
• Rocket Says Clean Up! by Nathan Bryon
• There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe by Jane Cabrera
• Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood by F. Isabel Campoy
• We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers by Lauren Child
• The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry
• One Little Bag: An Amazing Journey by Henry Cole
• The Night Walk by Marie Dorléans
• No More Plastic by Alma Fullerton
• Awesome Dawson by Chris Gall
• Butterflies Belong Here by Deborah Hopkinson
• Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth by Oliver Jeffers
• Forest by Brendan Kearney
• Stuff!: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle by Steven Kroll
• Pond by Jim LaMarche
• Scrap Metal Swan: A River Clean-Up Story by Joanne Linden
• We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom
• My Friend Earth by Patricia MacLachlan
• Does Earth Feel? by Marc Majewski
• Rainbow Weaver/Tejedora del Arcoíris by Linda Elovitz Marshall
• Zonia’s Rain Forest by Juana Martinez-Neal
• Dinosaur Woods by George McClements
• Listen by Holly M. McGhee
• We Are Better Together by Bill McKibben
• Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet by David McLimans
• This Is the Tree We Planted by Kate McMullan
• The Octonauts & the Great Ghost Reef by Meomi
• The Earth Book by Todd Parr
• Thank You, Earth: A Love Letter to Our Planet by April Pulley Sayre
• Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth by Mary McKenna Siddals
• One Earth by Eileen Spinelli
• Made by Maxine by Ruth Spiro
• Iqbal and His Ingenious Idea: How a Science Project Helps One Family and the Planet by Elizabeth Suneby
• Kenya’s Art by Linda Trice
• The Water Princess by Susan Verde
• Recycle Every Day! by Wallace, Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
• Gabby & Grandma Go Green by Monica Wellington
• Green on Green by Dianne White
• Here Comes the Garbage Barge! by Jonah Winter
• Baby Bear Sees Blue by Ashley Wolff

Early Readers

• Vivi Loves Science: Wind and Water by Kimberly Derting and Shelli R. Johannes
• Yasmin the Gardener by Saadia Faruqi
• Cooking with the Lorax by Sonali Fry
• Earth Day by Margaret McNamara
• Springtime Blossoms by Jerdine Nolen
• Fancy Nancy: Every Day Is Earth Day by Jane O’Connor

Juvenile Fiction

• Willodeen by Katherine Applegate
• Quest for Clean Water by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
• Consider the Octopus by Nora Raleigh Baskin and Gae Polisner
• The Light in the Lake by Sarah R. Baughman
• The Last Beekeeper by Pablo Cartaya
• Merhorses and Bubbles by Asia Citro
• Haven Jacobs Saves the Planet by Barbara Dee
• Turn the Tide by Elaine Dimopoulos
• The First Rule of Climate Club by Carrie Firestone
• The Last Bear by Hannah Gold
• Two Degrees by Alan Gratz
• Nowhere Better Than Here by Sarah Guillory
• Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
• One White Dolphin by Gill Lewis
• Project Go Green by Alyssa Milano
• Sadiq and the Clean Water Crew by Siman Nuurali
• Frank Einstein and the Bio-Action Gizmo by Jon Scieszka
• Front Country by Sara St. Antoine

Juvenile Nonfiction and Biography

• Red Alert! Endangered Animals Around the World by Catherine Barr
• The Wolves of Yellowstone: A Rewilding Story by Catherine Barr
• The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver by Gene Barretta
• You Can Change the World: The Kids’ Guide to a Better Planet by Lucy Bell
• Animals Lost & Found: Stories of Extinction, Conservation & Survival by Jason Bittel
• Brains On! Presents…Earth Friend Forever by Molly Bloom, Marc Sanchez, and Sanden Totten
• One Turtle’s Last Straw: The Real-Life Rescue That Sparked a Sea Change by Elisa Boxer
• Coral Reefs in Danger by Samantha Brooke
• Lesser Spotted Animals: The Coolest Creatures You’ve Never Heard Of by Martin Brown
• Chernobyl Explosion: How a Deadly Nuclear Accident Frightened the World by Michael Burgan
• Exxon Valdez: How a Massive Oil Spill Triggered an Environmental Catastrophe by Michael Burgan
• If You Take Away the Otter by Susannah Buhrman-Deever
• The Wolves and Moose of Isle Royale: Restoring an Island Ecosystem by Nancy F. Castaldo
• Fresh Air, Clean Water: Our Right to a Healthy Environment by Megan Clendenan
• Don’t Let Them Disappear: 12 Endangered Species Across the Globe by Chelsea Clinton
• Start Now!: You Can Make a Difference by Chelsea Clinton
• Seed by Seed: The Legend and Legacy of John “Appleseed” Chapman by Esmé Raji Codell
• What Can You Do with a Paper Bag? by Judith Cressy
• The Wild World Handbook: How Adventurers, Artists, Scientists— and You—Can Protect Earth’s Habitats by Andrea Debbink
• Kids Fight Plastic: How to Be a #2minute Superhero by Martin Dorey
• Crossings: Extraordinary Structures for Extraordinary Animals by Katy S. Duffield
• Recycled Science: Cool Plastic Bottle and Milk Jug Science by Tammy Enz and Jodi Wheeler-Toppen
• 10-Minute Upcycled Projects by Tammy Enz
• Operation Pangolin: Saving the World’s Only Scaled Mammal by Suzi Eszterhas
• What a Waste: Trash, Recycling, and Protecting Our Planet by Jess French
• Forest Fighter: The Story of Chico Mendes by Anita Ganeri
• Water!: Why Every Drop Counts and How You Can Start Making Waves to Protect It by Lisa M. Gerry
• An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming by Al Gore
• Secrets of the Sea: The Story of Jeanne Power, Revolutionary Marine Scientist by Evan Griffith
• Conservation Canines: How Dogs Work for the Environment by Isabelle Groc
• Recycle This Book: 100 Top Children’s Book Authors Tell You How to Go Green edited by Dan Gutman
• Unstoppable Us: How Humans Took Over the World by Yuval Noah Harari
• Animal Atlas by Derek Harvey
• Earth Hour: A Lights-Out Event for Our Planet by Nanette Heffernan
• The Last Straw: Kids vs. Plastics by Susan Hood
• Planting Peace: The Story of Wangari Maathai by Gwendolyn Hooks
• The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever by H. Joseph Hopkins
• Palm Trees at the North Pole: The Hot Truth About Climate Change by Marc ter Horst
• The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle by Alison Inches
• Almost Gone: The World’s Rarest Animals by Steve Jenkins
• Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace by Jen Cullerton Johnson
• Not Your Typical Book About the Environment by Elin Kelsey
• Saving American Beach: The Biography of African American Environmentalist MaVynee Betsch by Heidi Tyline King
• Old Enough to Save the Planet by Loll Kirby
• Rhino in the House: The True Story of Saving Samia by Daniel Kirk
• How to Change Everything: The Young Human’s Guide to Protecting the Planet and Each Other by Naomi Klein and Rebecca Stefoff
• What Was Hurricane Katrina? by Robin Koontz
• Bugs in Danger: Our Vanishing Bees, Butterflies, and Beetles by Mark Kurlansky
• World Without Fish by Mark Kurlansky
• Our Green City by Tanya Lloyd Kyi and Colleen Larmour
• Oil Spill!: Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico by Elaine Landau
• Fun Things to Do with Egg Cartons by Kara L. Laughlin
• Fun Things to Do With Paper Cups and Plates by Kara L. Laughlin
• Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World by Laurie Lawlor
• Breaking the Mold: Changing the Face of Climate Science by Dana Alison Levy
• It’s Up to Us: Building a Brighter Future for Nature, People & Planet by Christopher Lloyd
• The Vast Wonder of the World: Biologist Ernest Everett Just by Mélina Mangal
• The Great Shark Rescue: Saving the Whale Sharks by Sandra Markle
• Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
• Ocean!: Waves for All by Stacy McAnulty
• Our Planet!: There’s No Place Like Earth by Stacy McAnulty
• All That Trash: The Story of the 1987 Garbage Barge and Our Problem With Stuff by Meghan McCarthy
• Anna & Samia: The True Story of Saving a Black Rhino by Paul Meisel
• The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World’s Coral Reefs: The Story of Ken Nedimyer and the Coral Restoration Foundation by Kate Messner
• No World Too Big: Young People Fighting Global Climate Change by Lindsay H. Metcalf, Keila V. Dawson, and Jeanette Bradley
• The Bee Book by Charlotte Milner
• Our World Out of Balance by Andrea Minoglio
• A Planet Like Ours by Frank Murphy and Charnaie Gordon
• Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle by Claire A. Nivola
• She Persisted: Wangari Maathai by Eucabeth Odhiambo
• Fighting for the Forest: How FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps Helped Save America by P. O’Connell Pearson
• The Secret Life of the Sea Otter by Laurence Pringle
• A Boy and a Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz
• The Water Walker by Joanne Robertson
• The Forest in the Sea: Seaweed Solutions to Planetary Problems by Anita Sanchez
• Girl Warriors: How 25 Young Activists Are Saving the Earth by Rachel Sarah
• Being Frog by April Pulley Sayre
• Feel the Fog by April Pulley Sayre
• Raindrops Roll by April Pulley Sayre
• Because of an Acorn by Lola M. Schaefer
• 10-Minute Paper Projects by Sarah L. Schuette
• Rebel Girls Climate Warriors: 25 Tales of Women Who Protect the Earth by Abby Sher, et. al.
• This Book Will Save the Planet: A Climate-Justice Primer for Activists and Changemakers by Dany Sigwalt
• Climate Action: What Happened and What We Can Do by Seymour Simon
• A Plastic Bottle’s Journey by Suzanne Slade
• Fukushima Disaster: How a Tsunami Unleashed Nuclear Destruction by Danielle Smith-Llera
• To Change a Planet by Christina Soontornvat
• Rewilding: Bringing Wildlife Back Where It Belongs by David A. Steen
• No Monkeys, No Chocolate by Melissa Stewart and Allen Young
• You Are the Earth: Know Your World So You Can Help Make It Better by David Suzuki and Kathy Vanderlinden
• How to Make a Better World: For Every Kid Who Wants to Make a Difference by Keilly Swift
• If a Tree Falls: The Global Impact of Deforestation by Nikki Tate
• Fashionopolis: The Secrets Behind the Clothes We Wear by Dana Thomas
• Oceanarium by Loveday Trinick
• Young Water Protectors: …A Story About Standing Rock by Aslan Tudor and Kelly Tudor
• Fun Things to Do With Cardboard Tubes by Marne Ventura
• Wilds of the United States: The Animals’ Survival Field Guide by Alexander Vidal
• Marjory Saves the Everglades: The Story of Marjory Stoneman Douglas by Sandra Neil Wallace
• Wild Vet Adventures: Saving Animals Around the World with Dr. Gabby Wild by Gabby Wild
• If Bees Disappeared by Lily Williams
• If Elephants Disappeared by Lily Williams
• If Polar Bears Disappeared by Lily Williams
• If Sharks Disappeared by Lily Williams
• If Tigers Disappeared by Lily Williams
• Our Future: How Kids Are Taking Action by Janet Wilson