Kids Summer Reads at the NLPL

This year, the TD Summer Reading Club's theme is "Dive In!" Explore a summer full of books at the library with these titles.

Updated June 19, 2026
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Ahoy!
Blackall, Sophie.
Paper Book
Join a child captain and parent first mate as they embark on a wild high seas adventure...all without leaving the living room! This imaginative romp of a picture book is filled with glorious illustrations from a beloved Caldecott Medalist and New York Times bestselling creator.
Axolotl : a first field guide to the amphibian that never grows up
Whited, Jessica LaMae, Dr.
Paper Book
An illustrated first guide to cute axolotls from expert Dr. Jessica LaMae Whited, featuring illustrations by Bethany Lord. You might know that axolotls are some of the most adorable animals around, but there's so much more to learn about these incredible creatures from Mexico!...
Barnacle Bay
Paper Book
Selected for the 2026 Little Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List A Best Graphic Novels for Children 2025 ALA Selection "Perfect for fans of the visual style and humor of Ben Clanton's Narwhal and Jelly, and also a useful introduction to marine...
Bye Land, Bye Sea
Paper Book
Two children from different backgrounds show that friendship has no language in this epic bilingual story about being lost and finding a friend who understands. I'm lost. Soy naufrago. A boy and a girl lost at sea run into each other on an...
Don't trust fish
Sharpson, Neil
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * An absurdly laugh-out-loud funny picture book about the villainy of fish, illustrated by National Book Award-winning creator Dan Santat "A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on." --Kirkus, starred review ONE OF...
Fish and Crab
Coppo, Marianna
Paper Book
A humorous and clever picture book about the importance of sharing big feelings with someone you trust. Fish and Crab are best friends, always there for each other. When it's time for bed, Crab is ready to go to sleep, but Fish is still wide awake, wondering: What...
The girl in the lake
Brown, India Hill
Paper Book
For fans of Small Spaces, Doll Bones, and Mary Downing Hahn, a truly chilling (and historically inspired) ghost story from the award-winning author of The Forgotten Girl. Celeste knows she should be excited to spend two weeks at her grandparents' lake house with her...
Growing Home
Ferry, Beth
Paper Book
An instant New York Times bestseller! "A meditative, charming delight." --School Library Journal (starred review) An unlikely team of talkative plants, a curious spider, and a grumpy goldfish use their newfound magical abilities to defend their...
The house that floated
Guojing
Paper Book
A stunningly beautiful picture book from a critically acclaimed artist that follows a family who lives in a house by the sea as water levels start to rise. A BOOKPAGE AND HORN BOOK BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR In this gorgeous, wordless story, a family makes...
If You Sailed on the Titanic
Patrick, Denise Lewis
Paper Book
What do you know about the sinking of the Titanic? What if you lived in a different time and place? What would you wear? What would you eat? How would your daily life be different? Scholastic's If You Lived... series answers all of kids' most important questions about events...
Look! Look!
Krishnaswami, Uma
Paper Book
A girl in India discovers an ancient step well in this companion book to the creators' much-loved Out of the Way! Out of the Way! When a girl discovers a slab of stone on a weedy patch of land, she calls to her friends, "Look! Look!" The children clear away the weeds and garbage and find...
Murray out of water
Tracy, Taylor.
Paper Book
Perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead, Natalie Lloyd, and Jasmine Warga, this beautiful novel in verse explores one girl's struggle to regain her magic after a hurricane forces her to move away from her beloved ocean that, she believes, has given her special powers. Bighearted...
A new friend
Lukoff, Kyle.
Paper Book
Vera and Beaker make a new friend when they meet a mantis shrimp, in this series perfect for beginning readers!Pick a book. Grow a Reader!This series is part of Scholastic's early reader line, Acorn, aimed at children who are learning to read. With easy-to-read text, a short-story format,...
No Matter the Distance
Baldwin, Cindy.
Paper Book
An unexpected animal companion helps a girl with cystic fibrosis learn to write her own story in this captivating novel in verse by award-winning author and disabled activist Cindy Baldwin. Penny Rooney has cystic fibrosis, which means she has to do breathing treatments to help her lungs...
Ocean meets sky
Fan, Terry.
Paper Book
"Young readers will be captivated." --The Washington Post From the creators of the gorgeous bestseller The Night Gardener comes a stunning new picture book about a young boy who sets sail to find a place his grandfather told him about...the spot where the ocean...
Our Pool
Cummins, Lucy Ruth
Paper Book
On a hot day, people come from all over the city to spend the day at the pool in this joyful picture book that's a love song to summer, the city, community, and staying cool! Today is a pool day in the city! The sun is shining, so what are you waiting for? Friends and family....
Spooky lakes : 25 strange and mysterious lakes that dot our planet
Rutherford, Geo
Paper Book
Dive into the most mysterious waters around the world (if you dare) in Spooky Lakes, an illustrated nonfiction book from TikTok star and educator Geo Rutherford Some of Earth's strangest--and creepiest--wonders lie deep below the surface. There's Lake Natron, a...
What Fish Are Saying : Strange Sounds in the Ocean
Pendreigh, Kirsten
Paper Book
Perfect for curious kids ages 4-8, parents, and educators seeking fun and educational reads! Did you know that fish grunt, shellfish crackle, and some sea creatures even burp and boop to communicate? Dive into a fascinating underwater adventure as one little shellfish guides...
What Goes in the Ocean? : A Seek-And-Find Book
Elys, Dori
Paper Book
Dive into various ocean habitats to find what should go in and what should stay out in this nonfiction board book sure to make a splash with curious young minds! Soaring manta rays wave hello. Schools of fish, clams, and grazing turtles. A puffer fish...
Zeke the Weather Geek: There's Mud in My Flood!
Axelrod-Contrada, Joan.
Paper Book
Zeke and his friends have 'spring fever' and are excited about the temperature rising, but Zeke's Mood Meter starts to wobble when he notices cracks in the river ice. If the ice melts too quickly, it could turn into a flood! When Zeke's favourite meteorologist, Freeze Jones, invites him to join his...

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