Adventure Begins at Your Library: Independent Readers

These are some books we recommend to elementary-aged readers who want to find adventure in a book this summer!

Updated May 2, 2024
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Explorers of the wild
Atkinson, Cale
Paper Book
Vibrant art shines in this sweet tale of outdoor adventure and unlikely friendship, from the illustrator of Night Night, Groot! Boy and Bear both love to explore the outdoors. There are so many neat things to see, and so many strange things to find. These...
Bad Kitty goes on vacation
Bruel, Nick
Paper Book
Bad Kitty gets a vacation in this full color graphic novel in Nick Bruel's New York Times bestselling series. Kitty's life is hard. Really, really hard. She's always being bothered, Puppy is always in her space (and drooling on her), and her plans for world domination...
The miraculous journey of Edward Tulane
DiCamillo, Kate.
Paper Book
A timeless tale by the incomparable Kate DiCamillo, complete with stunning full-color plates by Bagram Ibatoulline, honors the enduring power of love. Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and...
Big Bigfoot's secret vacation
Factor, Katherine
Paper Book
4th Bestselling Children's Book Series of all Time -The New Yorker Spend your spring vacation with the legendary Bigfoot, either camping in the mountains in the Pacific Northwest or surfing in Hawaii. Big Bigfoot's Secret Vacation takes you on a...
The hike
Farrell, Alison
Paper Book
Snacks, supplies, and a dog. What more do you need for an epic adventure? In this plucky, sweet story, three intrepid young female explorers set out to conquer their local forest. The well-written, empowering narrative takes us on a local quest across a river, through the trees, and up a mountain,...
Fortunately, the milk
Gaiman, Neil.
Paper Book
An absolute delight of a madcap story for the young (and young-at-heart) by New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, with equal parts pirates and piranhas, adventure and aliens, oddity and love. "I bought the milk," said my father. "I walked out of the corner shop...
The storm dragon
Harrison, Paula
Paper Book
A group of friends set out to save magical creatures from a cruel queen and her wicked soldiers in the first book in the brand-new Secret Rescuers chapter book series. When Sophy finds a little lost dragon named Cloudy, she knows he's in danger. It will take all the courage she...
Finding wild
Lloyd, Megan Wagner
Paper Book
A lovely, lyrical picture book with gorgeous illustrations that explores the ways the wild makes itself known to us and how much closer it is than we think. There are so many places that wild can exist, if only you know where to look! Can you find it? Two kids set off on an...
The ice cream machine
Rubin, Adam
Paper Book
Don't miss the #1 New York Times bestseller everyone is raving about! From the wild and wonderful imagination of the author of Dragons Love Tacos comes this hilarious, irresistible debut collection of six totally different stories with the same exact name. In these...
The map to everywhere
Ryan, Carrie.
Paper Book
Adventure, magic, and hilarity collide in New York Times bestselling author Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis's first book in a fantastical series. To Master Thief Fin, an orphan from the murky pirate world of the Khaznot Quay, the Map is the key to finding his mother. To...
Grounded : a novel
Saeed, Aisha
Paper Book
When a thunderstorm grounds all flights following a huge Muslim convention, four unlikely kids are thrown together. Feek is stuck babysitting his younger sister, but he'd rather be writing a poem that's good enough for his dad, a famous poet and rapper. Hanna is intent on finding a lost cat in the...
The adventures of Beekle : the unimaginary friend
Santat, Dan
Paper Book
Winner of the Caldecott Medal #1 New York Times bestselling and award-winning creator Dan Santat combines classic storytelling with breathtaking art in an unforgettable tale about friendship, imagination, and the courage to find one's place in...
Bessie the motorcycle queen
Smith, Charles R., Jr.
Paper Book
Hop on the bike with Bessie Stringfield, the motorcycle queen of Miami, in this powerful picture book from Coretta Scott King medalist Charles R. Smith, Jr. and debut picture book illustrator Charlot Kristensen. The folks they lined up to meet the Motorcycle Queen, seated...

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