Unearth a Story: 2026 Summer Reading Children's Book List

he books are this list are to align with our 2026 summer reading slogan "unearth a Story". It was chosen to align with our high-interest theme of dinosaurs, paleontology, archaeology. This book list was created for kids ages 5 - 12. They include easy readers, fiction and nonfiction picture books as well as DVDs, and VOX audio books for school age children and are available at the Sussex County Library System.

Updated April 2, 2026
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Sussex County Library System (NJ)
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All about fossils : discovering dinosaurs and other clues to the past
Crane, Cody
Paper Book
What kinds of fossils exist, and where are they found? What are fossils and how do they form? This book answers this question and many more about the fascinating world of fossils. From the discovery of dinosaurs to the information fossils reveal about Earth's prehistoric past, everything readers...
Apex predators : the world's deadliest hunters, past and present
Jenkins, Steve
Paper Book
What does it take to be "top dog?" In this illustrated exploration of the animal kingdom, Caldecott Honor winner Steve Jenkins introduces readers to some of the most powerful predators in history, from the Tyrannosaurus rex to the African Siberian tiger. Using his signature cut...
Archaeologists on a dig
Fliess, Sue
Paper Book
Join a team of archaeologists onsite at Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Sam is an archaeologist. He and his team find and study ancient objects to learn more about the people who made and used them long ago. On this exciting dig, they carefully remove dirt layer by...
Big words for little paleontologists : the dino dictionary every little explorer needs
Gerry, Lisa M.
Paper Book
This stunningly illustrated picture book will inspire every budding paleontologist with the impressive words that dino-crazy little kids love to learn--and show off! Featuring more than 50 wow-worthy words, with definitions and phonetic pronunciation, this info...
Digging up dinosaurs
Aliki.
Paper Book
Briefly introduces various types of dinosaurs, explaining how scientists find, preserve, and reassemble the giant dinosaur skeletons seen in museums.
Dino poet
Angleberger, Tom
Paper Book
From New York Times bestselling author Tom Angleberger, creator of the Origami Yoda series, comes a hilarious young graphic novel adventure through the land of the dinosaurs. A Junior Library Guild Selection ***STARRED REVIEW*** "A standout...
Dino-earth day
Wheeler, Lisa
Paper Book
The world needs help to keep it clean. / It's Dino-Earth Day . . . let's go green! Upbeat rhyming verse from Lisa Wheeler and playful illustrations from Barry Gott present many different ways to take care of the planet. The dinos ride bikes and scooters, clean up a park, plant an urban...
Dinosaur & other prehistoric creatures atlas
Barker, Chris
Paper Book
Who's ready for a round-the-world trip of epic dinosaur proportions? Pack your bags, and let's go! On this adventure, you'll travel back in time to see more than 40 dinosaurs come to life! The geography book for kids explores each continent, revealing fossil sites and stories on...
Dinosaur atlas : when they roamed, how they lived, and where we find their fossils
Paper Book
More than 250 million years ago, our planet looked and felt a lot different from how it does now. The seven separate continents we have today hadn't yet taken shape. Instead, there was only one "supercontinent" called Pangaea. This was the beginning of the time of the dinosaurs. Journey...
The dinosaur book
Woodward, John
Paper Book
Find out everything you need to know about dinosaurs, pterosaurs, marine reptiles, and prehistoric mammals with this picture-packed encyclopedia of curiosities. Come face-to-face with some of the most incredible creatures ever to exist in this incredible book of dinosaurs and...
Dinosaur Day
Murray, Diana
Paper Book
Hooray! Hooray! It's Dino Day! From the best-selling creators of Unicorn Day comes a dino-mite celebration as all sorts of dinosaurs celebrate Dinosaur Day! On Dinosaur Day, dinosaurs love to stomp and chomp. But they like silly singing, rowdy swimming, and yummy desserts too. All this fun...
Dinosaur detectives
Chrisp, Peter.
Paper Book
Track dinosaurs with the earliest fossil hunters and modern-day geologists! Read about their amazing discoveries! These 48-page books about fascinating subjects like pirates, mummies, and volcanoes are for proficient readers who can understand a rich vocabulary and challenging sentence structure. In...
Dinosaur friends!
Curtis, Peter (Children's writer)
Paper Book
In association with the Smithsonian, this Level 1 Ready-to-Read introduces exciting dinosaur characters from The World of Dinosaur Roar! Meet Dinosaur Squeak, Dinosaur Honk, and Dinosaur Munch as they frolic in the forest! They hear a mysterious sound in the distance. Could it be...
Dinosaur lady : the daring discoveries of Mary Anning, the first paleontologist
Skeers, Linda
Paper Book
A beautifully illustrated picture book biography of Mary Anning that will enlighten children about the discovery of the dinosaurs and the importance of female scientists, perfect for fans of The Girl Who Thought in Pictures Mary Anning loved scouring the beach near her home in England for...
Dinosaur Pie
Wallace, Jen
Paper Book
Featured in the Children's Book Council's 2025 Building a Home Library list A hilarious and heart-warming story about a boy with ADHD who is transformed into a dinosaur. Rory is having a weird week. A really weird week. He has been...
Dinosaurs : 400 words for budding paleontologists
Lamm, Ellen-Thérèse
Paper Book
Learn 400 words dinosaur scientists--or paleontologists--use, and learn how to talk like a dinosaur expert! Do you know what pieces of fossilized dinosaur poop are called? (Answer: Coprolites.) How about the large collar at the back of a Triceratops's skull? (Answer: Frill.) Take a deep...
Dinosaurs : exploring prehistoric life and geological time
Ignotofsky, Rachel
Paper Book
Dinosaurs is an entertaining, educational, and strikingly illustrated guide to Earth's prehistoric eras and animals, from the New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of Women in Science. With an exciting blend of vivid artwork and astonishing...
Dinosaurs before dark
Laird, Jenny
Paper Book
The #1 bestselling chapter book is now a graphic novel! Magic. Mystery. Time-travel. Get whisked back in time in the magic tree house with Jack and Annie! Where did the tree house come from?      Before Jack and Annie can find out, the mysterious...
The doomsday detectives : how Walter and Luis Alvarez solved the mystery of dinosaur extinction
Jenson-Elliott, Cynthia L.
Paper Book
Father-son scientists Luis and Walter Alvarez piece together one of the greatest mysteries of all time: What really happened to the dinosaurs? Dive into this fun and informative middle grade nonfiction book, which outlines the many important scientific discoveries that aided the Alvarezes in...
Eggasaurus
Wagh, Jennifer
Paper Book
In this funny and winsome epistolary picture book, a young boy who orders a dinosaur egg ends up with more than he--or his dad--bargained for! All Maximus wants is a pet dinosaur--is that really too much to ask? But when his dad tells him he must send the egg back to where it...
The fossil whisperer : how Wendy Sloboda discovered a dinosaur
Becker, Helaine
Paper Book
Wendy has an eye for the unusual and is skilled at finding things that others don't see. On a middle school field trip, she spots one of those unusual things - it's fossilized coral 100 million years old! Wendy's thrilled! And soon, she gets hooked on hunting fossils. She decides to turn her passion...
Free the dinosaurs!
Behling, Steve
Based on the Netflix series, Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, this Step into Reading Step 3 Comic Reader explores a world filled with dangerous dinosaurs! While trying to help their buddy Darius uncover why he is being followed, Sammy and Ben discover a roadside attraction...
Here we go digging for dinosaur bones : sung to the tune of "here we go round the mulberry bush"
Lendroth, Susan
Paper Book
"This is a perfect book for a dinosaur storytime."-School Library Journal This STEM-friendly musical fossil dig will have dinosaur lovers singing along as they learn the science behindpaleontology. Set to the tune of "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush," Here We...
A history of dinosaurs in 50 fossils
Barrett, Paul M. (Paleontologist)
Paper Book
A beautifully illustrated and definitive crash course on dinosaur fossils, from the Allosaurus that use their teeth and jaws to dismember prey to the Sinosauropteryx specimen that confirmed the existence of feathered dinosaurs For natural history buffs and...
How dinosaurs went extinct : a safety guide
Dyckman, Ame
Paper Book
From author Ame Dyckman and illustrator Jenn Harney comes a hilarious faux-cautionary tale featuring dad jokes and tantrum-throwing dinosaurs!   In this outrageous "safety guide," a child in a museum asks their parents how the dinosaurs all became extinct. Well,...
How do dinosaurs say good night?
Yolen, Jane
Paper Book
Perfect for bedtime reading, children love the laugh-aloud antics of playful dinosaur children who stomp and fuss and jump on the bed in this award-winning New York Times bestseller! How do dinosaurs say good night? Brimming with humor and familiar good-night...
How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?
Yolen, Jane
Paper Book
How do dinosaurs say good night?
Yolen, Jane.
Paper Book
Perfect for bedtime reading, children love the laugh-aloud antics of playful dinosaur children who stomp and fuss and jump on the bed in this award-winning New York Times bestseller! How do dinosaurs say good night? Brimming with humor and familiar good-night...
Iamasaurus
Ylvisaker, Anne
Paper Book
Iamasaurus. I am noodlevorous. One of the genus Ridiculorous. Mothers abhor us. Babies adore us. We romp and we stomp and we chomp on the floras. Turns out kids are not unlike T. rexes. Did you know both creatures share many of the same body parts-maxillae, mandibles, clavicles, ribs....
The iguanodon's horn : how artists and scientists put a dinosaur back together again and again ... and again
Rubin, Sean
Paper Book
Highlighting the role of artists in the scientific process, this crowd-pleasing look at dinosaurs explores how new discoveries deepen our understanding of the world. AN ALA NOTABLE CHILDREN'S BOOK A GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 2024 KID'S BOOK AWARD WINNER A HORN BOOK FANFARE TITLE ...
I know dino! : amazing breakthroughs, mega mistakes, and unsolved mysteries in dinosaur science
Ricci, Sabrina
Paper Book
Get the deets on dinos and find out how we know what we know about them, from the hosts of the popular podcast I Know Dino! Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years, but the world of dinosaur science has never been more alive! Over the last few decades, amazing...
The magic school bus : in the time of the dinosaurs
Cole, Joanna.
Paper Book
To celebrate its 20th anniversary, Scholastic is re-releasing the ten original Magic School Bus titles in paperback. With updated scientific information, the bestselling science series ever is back!The classroom is decorated as Dinosaur Land, but Ms. Frizzle-inspired by an archeological dig-craves a...
Mary Anning
Sánchez Vegara, Ma Isabel; Matigot, Popy
Paper Book
Discover the life of Mary Anning, the first paleontologist and daring fossil hunter.
My Dinosaur Shoes
Tassopoulos Wehner, Eleni
★"A strong addition from a neurodivergent author and illustrator that will resonate with many children and families" - School Library Journal, starred review "Through simple narrative, gentle modeling, and expressive character design, the...
Peter Lee's notes from the field
Ahn, Angela
Paper Book
Eleven-year-old Peter Lee has one goal in life: to become a paleontologist. But in one summer, that all falls apart. Told in short, accessible journal entries and combining the humor of Timmy Failure with the poignant family dynamics of Lynda Mullaly Hunt, Peter Lee will win readers' hearts....
Sam & Dave dig a hole
Barnett, Mac
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! A 2015 Caldecott Honor Book With perfect pacing, the multi-award-winning, New York Times best-selling team of Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen dig down for a deadpan tale full of visual humor. Sam and Dave are...
Santiago's dinosaurios
Ri?os Rami?rez, Mariana
Paper Book
2023 International Latino Book Awards SILVER, The Mariposa Award (Best debut author) 2023 Best Books for Kids & Teens starred selection, The Canadian Children's Book Centre Santiago finds a way to connect to his classmates--through...
Sinclair, the velociraptor who thought he was a chicken
Rees, Douglas
Paper Book
An action-packed and hilarious picture book about a family of chickens with one member who is a little different from the rest. Edna the very first chicken is hatching her very first eggs! With long, sharp teeth and claws, one of her chicks, Sinclair, is an...
We dig fossils
Agostini, Alliah L.
Paper Book
Get out your shovels and fossil brushes for this delightful Step 2 reader following a family's search for fossils! A SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Ava loves rocks! But what she really really loves are fossils! Ava and her family are on a mission...
We're All Gonna Die-Nosaur!
Tan, Kon
Paper Book
A 2026 Kids Favorite Pterry the pterodactyl has lots of nightmares--and they always come true! Can Pterry face his fear of flying? If not . . . we're all gonna DIE-nosaur!!! With exciting black-and-white illustrations on every page, this subversively hilarious chapter...
We're All Gonna Die-Nosaur!: Escape of the Apes
Tan, Kon
Paper Book
Pterry the pterodactyl has lots of nightmares--and they always come true! Can Pterry face his fear of monkeys? If not . . . we're all gonna DIE-nosaur!!! With black-and-white comic illustrations on every page, this subversively hilarious chapter book series is perfect for young fans...
What is an archaeologist?
Romero, Libby
Paper Book
In this Level 3 reader, you can learn all about how archaeologists unearth history, from Egyptian pyramids to Incan roads, and everything in between. Travel around the world and back in time to learn about one of the coolest careers. Discover what archaeologists do, from digging...
What was the age of the dinosaurs?
Stine, Megan
Paper Book
Travel back to the time when the mighty dinosaurs ruled the earth. The Age of Dinosaurs began about 250 million years ago. In the beginning they were quite small but over time they evolved into the varied and fascinating creatures that captivate our imaginations today. What we...
Who Would Win?: Dinosaur Destruction
Pallotta, Jerry
Discover prehistoric animal battles in this exciting bindup featuring four action-packed Who Would Win? books! Which prehistoric creatures would win in a head-to-head battle? What if there was a dinosaur tournament? Which pterosaur will be the champion? Find out all this and more in this...

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