2025 Summer Reading Program: Grades K-2

Updated January 22, 2025
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
The book that almost rhymed
Abed, Omar
Paper Book
Every great adventure needs a hero--or two! This playful take on storytelling and equity proves that two tellers can make a rhyming tale twice as nice. What do you do with an interrupting sibling? Especially when she's stepping all over your story with wild ideas that don...
Don't swap your sweater for a dog
Applegate, Katherine.
Paper Book
A trophy for Roscoe? It seems like everyone has an award of some kind. Except Roscoe. But a pet-trick contest is coming up, and first prize is a big, shiny trophy. Roscoe really wants that trophy--would he even borrow someone else's dog to win?
What a map can do
Balkan, Gabrielle
Paper Book
An accessible and humorous introduction to maps for budding navigators. A raccoon narrator embarks on a big adventure in this exciting exploration of maps for the youngest readers. Traditional maps of cities, roads, and parks are joined by some less conventional ones such as...
My light
Bang, Molly.
Paper Book
Caldecott Honor artist Molly Bang celebrates the many wonders of the sun, with radiant words and images that illuminate the myriad ways in which the sun gives us energy and power from its light.Often taken for granted, the sun gives us more than its light. Here, acclaimed author and illustrator...
Scorch, hedgehog of doom
Berry, Cate
Paper Book
Scorch the hedgehog is determined to be ferocious. The doomsy-est, most menacing class pet ever known. She's not just Scorch, she's... Scorch, Hedgehog of Doom! There's just one problem--Scorch is kind of adorable. So adorable, in fact, that it's all anyone ever notices. With each swirl of her cloak...
Astrid & Apollo and the cutest canine contest
Bidania, V. T.
Paper Book
Eight-year-old Hmong American twins Astrid and Apollo decide to enter their dog Luna in the Cutest Canine Contest. After all, she's the cutest dog they know! But they discover that teaching Luna the tricks needed to compete in the contest might be "trickier" than they thought! With the help of a...
The most perfect persimmon
Chung, Hannah
Paper Book
In this charming author-illustrator debut, a Korean American girl harvests a perfectly ripe persimmon that she can't wait to share with Grandma. When Joo Hong harvests a beautiful persimmon from her mom's garden, she can't wait to give it to her grandma who is visiting from far...
Ra Pu Zel and the stinky tofu
Compestine, Ying Chang
Paper Book
A playful, feminist retelling of Rapunzel with a Chinese-cuisine twist The story of Rapunzel where she's being locked in a tower by a witch is a good one--but it's not totally the truth. The real story is about a young princess in China...
The storm whale
Davies, Benji
Paper Book
Every day, in a house by the sea, a little boy watches his father leave for a long day's work. One night, a great storm washes a small whale onto the beach. The boy discovers the whale is a good listener. The father discovers the boy is lonely. Together, they return the whale to the sea. And from...
Tiny creatures : the world of microbes
Davies, Nicola
Paper Book
Find out how the smallest things on the planet do some of the biggest jobs in this intriguing introduction to the world of microbes. All around the world -- in the sea, in the soil, in the air, and in your body -- there are living things so tiny that millions could fit on an ant...
Knight Owl
Denise, Christopher
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * CALDECOTT HONOR AWARD WINNER * USA TODAY BESTSELLER A determined Owl builds strength and confidence in this medieval picture book about the real mettle of a hero: wits, humor, and heart. ...
A star shines through
Desnitskaya, Anna
Paper Book
Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Books About Families List (2024) "Straightforward, heartfelt words and thin-lined, fully imagined drawings from Desnitskaya (On the Edge of the World) give tender voice to one child's refugee experience." -- Publishers...
This land
Fairbanks, Ashley
Paper Book
This engaging story about native landsinvites kids to trace history and explore their communities. "An adorable primer on the history of land."--PEOPLE.com Before my family lived in this house, a different family did, and before them, another family, and another...
Lailah's lunchbox : a Ramadan story
Faruqi, Reem
Paper Book
Lailah solves her problem with help from the school librarian and her teacher and in doing so learns that she can make new friends who respect her beliefs. This gentle, moving story from first-time author Reem Faruqi comes to life in Lea Lyon's vibrant illustrations. Lyon uses decorative...
Two wheels
Gibb, David (Musician)
Paper Book
When you're the youngest child in a bike-loving family, two wheels are the prize in this jaunty story with special appeal for kids just learning to ride a bike. Tricycles have three wheels and training bikes have four, but what this little boy wants most of all is a bike with two...
Bottle tops : the art of El Anatsui
Goldberg, Alison
Paper Book
The inspiring biography of Ghanaian artist El Anatsui whose handmade sculptures, created from discarded bottle tops, have received international acclaim and been showcased around the world. 'If you touch something, you leave a charge on it and anybody else touching it connects with you, in a way.' -...
Mr. Pei's perfect shapes : the story of architect I. M. Pei
Leung, Julie
Paper Book
In this stunning picture book about renowned architect I. M. Pei, award-winning author Julie Leung and captivating illustrator Yifan Wu unite to tell the story of the man who changed architecture forever with his forward-thinking shapes. As a boy in Shanghai, Ioeh Ming Pei was awestruck by...
There's no such thing as vegetables
Lukoff, Kyle
Paper Book
A hilarious new picture book that exposes vegetables for what they truly are--leaves, roots, flowers, and stalks--by National Book Award Finalist and Newbery Honor winner Kyle Lukoff, perfect for fans of the Our Universe series. Chester plans to have a salad for lunch, but in...
Noodles on a bicycle
Maclear, Kyo
Paper Book
A vibrant historical picture book about Tokyo's bicycle food deliverers, or demae, who balanced towering trays of steaming hot noodles on their shoulders while navigating crowded city streets. A CALDECOTT HONOR BOOK * A Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book * A BOOKPAGE, KIRKUS REVIEWS,<...
Emergency quarters
Matias, Carlos
Paper Book
An Ezra Jack Keats Award Honor Book Author Carlos Matias and Ezra Jack Keats Award-winning illustrator Gracey Zhang deliver a stunning picture book based on a finalist in the New York Times Metropolitan Diary "Best of the Year," about a young boy in the city who tries his best to avoid...
Milk to ice cream
Neuenfeldt, Elizabeth
Paper Book
Whether it is served on a cone or in a dish, ice cream can't be beat. But how does milk become this creamy, cool treat? Beginning on the farm and ending in the freezer section, early readers will learn how this favorite sweet is made. In addition to engaging text and bright photos, this book...
It's a round, round world!
Peterson, Ellie
Paper Book
We all know the earth is round. But HOW do we know? Join intrepid young scientist-adventurer Joulia Copernicus in this engaging picture book as she takes readers on a STEM historical journey through time and space. What would happen if you tried to walk tothe edge of the earth?...
Pizza! : a slice of history
Pizzoli, Greg
Paper Book
From Geisel Award-winning author Greg Pizzoli comes a hilarious and mouth-watering history of pizza. Do YOU like PIZZA? Because right now, somewhere in the world, someone is eating it. Did you know that in the United States we eat 350 slices of pizza every second? Or that in...
Baby elephants
Rathburn, Betsy
Paper Book
Elephant calves have a special bond with their mom. They stay with her for an average of 16 years! This title for young readers uses simple, leveled text and crisp photos to show these big babies eating, playing, and growing up with their herd. A list of sight words helps readers spot familiar words...
Fish and Wave
Ruzzier, Sergio
Paper Book
Let's read comics! I Can Read Comics is an early reader line that familiarizes children with the world of graphic novel storytelling and encourages visual literacy in emerging readers. When a tiny wave grows bigger and bigger, what's a fish to do Fish and Wave...
Hello, puddle!
Sanchez, Anita
Paper Book
A nonfiction picture book exploring a deceptively simple but unexpectedly crucial resource for wildlife: puddles! This lyrical, gorgeously illustrated nonfiction picture book is perfect for young science learners and nature lovers. Hello, puddle! Who's here...
111 trees : how one village celebrates the birth of every girl
Singh, Rina
Paper Book
This is the story of Sundar Paliwal, from a small Indian village ruled by ancient customs. As he grows to be a man, Sundar suffers much heartbreak and decides it is time for change to come to his village. Sundar is determined to live in a place where girls are valued as much as boys and where the...
Fox versus fox
Tabor, Corey R.
Paper Book
A GEISEL HONOR BOOK School Library Journal Best Books of 2024 The clever and hilarious star of the Geisel Award winners Fox at Night, Fox the Tiger, and Fox Has a Problem is back in another I Can Read adventure. There's only one Fox . . . except when there are two! ...
Born naughty : my childhood in China
Wang, Jin (Yoga instructor)
Paper Book
Share in the joyful, adventure-filled shenanigans of a child growing up in a small mud hut in Inner Mongolia in this charming, illustrated memoir for young middle grade readers. A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Growing up in Inner Mongolia, Jin Wang was...
Up, up, ever up! : Junko Tabei : a life in the mountains
Yasuda, Anita
Paper Book
**A CALDECOTT HONOR BOOK!** **A New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year!** Anita Yasuda's evocative picture book biography about Junko Tabei, the first woman to summit Everest, is equal parts grit and grace. Dazzlingly illustrated by...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.