Summer Reading with MOSS Kids Book Project
- Kara Cecchi
- 20 hours ago
- 18 min read
We're so excited to announce our new summer reading challenges, calendars filled with our favorite reading prompts & a bingo card to inspire our older readers to join! June is filled with library summer reading kickoffs & the excitement of summer break. But what happens when that initial excitement for reading begins to slow down & our kids are reluctant to pick up a book after the first week or two? You'll probably hear it's because (1) they don't know what books to read, or because (2) the tv & video games seem more interesting (we promise they aren't), & you know that (3) they have already forgot that those summer reading programs usually come with prizes.
We decided to help combat the reading slump with fun, interactive prompts to discover new books & make reading more enjoyable! Download our June, July, & August calendars and our new bingo below & take our prompts to your local library. Enjoy getting to browse the shelves with your child & encourage asking a librarian for their suggestions. You can browse your home bookshelves. Diving into what you already own is a fun way to reread a few classics, rediscover a book you love, or find a new book still waiting to be read. Or consider purchasing books off of our book lists that we've created just for this program featuring the suggestions we've listed on the calendars & a few more we love. Your purchases off of this list directly help us buy & gift brand new diverse & inclusive books to kids in underserved communities in rural NC.
Here's a few book suggestions for our JuNe prompts:
June 1: Read a book about olives for National Olive Day
It's National Olive Day! We suggest: My Olive Tree by Hazar Elbayya. This is a timely story to continue educating yourself & your kids on the genocide that is continuing to take place in Palestine. Try an olive tasting after reading. Talk about the different uses for olives like Salam's grandpa does in My Olive Tree. This would also be a great opportunity to talk about Congo & Sudan. We're not free until all of us are free.
June 2: Listen to an audiobook with a snack
Audiobooks are a great screen-free activity! We plan a snack-time quiet activity, like coloring sheets, to pair with an audiobook. This is the perfect opportunity to introduce kids to longer stories as they sit for a snack & activity. We like to use our Yoto Player & Libro.FM to get our audiobooks. A few of our favorites include: Matilda by Roald Dahl, Witchlings by Claribel A Ortega, & The Misfits by Lisa Yee.
June 4: Read a book with flowers on the cover
It's PRIDE month & we all know that icon Marsha P Johnson wore flowers in her hair. This new release, One Day in June by Tourmaline, celebrates the legacy of Marsha P. Johnson, a Black trans woman and activist who played an instrumental role during the Stonewall Riots that lead to PRIDE month. A beautiful biography, this teaches us all that we can sparkle, shimmer, shine – just like Marsha did. Tourmaline also wrote an adult biography for us to learn alongside with our kids, MARSHA.
June 7: Read a book for PRIDE & make a rainbow craft
Speaking of PRIDE, let's celebrate! The LGBTQIA+ community has always been resilient in the face of adversity. From Stonewall to the Supreme Court, we have united with our allies to secure the rights we all deserve. During Pride Month and beyond, we must keep in mind what is at stake. From defeating anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation in state houses to championing pro-equality elected officials, the future of our community is on the line. At the same time, we must celebrate the joy, resilience, and beauty that LGBTQIA+ people showcase every day. We have this beautiful rainbow craft that's easy to create & can help light the way in uncertain times. Let's teach our kids empathy & acceptance. Let's help queer kids become queer adults. Here's our massive list of our favorite LGBTQIA+ books.
June 10: Read a book with a recipe in the back
We hope you come together as a family to read & cook up something delicious. We suggest: The Spice Box by Meera Sriram. A father and son share family stories through a spice box, handed down from generation to generation. In the back matter of the book, you'll find information about the spices in an Indian spice box (which would make a great sensory extended learning activity) & Paati's Potato Curry recipe! We love trying new dishes in our home & this is a beautiful way to educate our youth about other countries & cultures.
June 11: Read a book about Puerto Rico
It's National Puerto Rican Day! This day is a celebration of Puerto Rican culture, history, and achievement. We want to recognize how Puerto Rican communities across the diaspora have established deep roots and positively contributed to their communities; locally, nationally and globally. We suggest: Across the Bay by Carlos Aponte. This book takes readers on a journey to the heart of Puerto Rico set in Old San Juan. Meet jolly piragüeros, mischievous cats, and costumed musicians that color this tale of love, family, and the true meaning of home. Here's our full book list to check out more books celebrating Puerto Rico!
June 15: Read a book about dads, granddads, or uncles
It's Father's Day -- this is a great opportunity to diversify your bookshelves. Remember that the best way to raise kind kids is to introduce them to different perspectives, different cultures, and to family structures that differ from their own. Allow them to ask questions and use these books as tools to encourage their curiosity, acceptance, and understanding of others. Here's our full book list to celebrate dads, granddads, uncles, & dad-like caregivers!
June 17: Get your friends together for a MOSS Kids Book Club meeting -- here's a sneak peak of June's pick
Want to join in on our MOSS Kids Book Club? Sign up here to receive our blog post & an exclusive storytime read aloud of our monthly pick right to your inbox. We'll be providing read aloud videos for summer reading! Grab some friends & start your own monthly play date/book club where you listen to our story of the month, craft together, & get to know your community. June's MOSS Kids Book Club pick is... And Then Came You by Christina Shawn. Families grow and change, but what if you like things just the way they are? What if you aren't ready to welcome in a new parent, a messy pet, or a baby sister who cries a lot and is leaking goo?! Change can be scary, but even a full heart has room to grow.
June 19: Read a book to celebrate & educate Juneteenth
Celebrate & educate Juneteenth and be sure to join your local community celebrations. Use this book list as an opportunity to learn together. These books are an invitation to begin conversations with your kids about Juneteenth and Black history. Here's a brand new release by Anne Wynter, So Many Years, which acknowledges the history of slavery in the US as well as the astonishing Black resilience that has led to an enduring legacy of Black joy.
June 21: It’s summer! Read a book about summer solstice
Woo! Summer is here. We're ready for popsicles, pools, & parties! Be sure to make time for days of rest & reading. You're on the right track with this summer reading challenge. Set up opportunities to read around your house, visit the public library & little free libraries in your area, & try to maintain the fun of reading. As we transition into a new season of longer days & warmer weather, we suggest this new release: Goodbye Spring, Hello Summer! by Kenard Pak. Join a young girl as she roams grassy plains and shady forests, greeting all the signs of the coming season.
June 25: Read a book celebrating Caribbean American Heritage
June celebrates the contributions and achievements of Caribbean immigrants and their descendants in the U.S. as we aim to educate and promote awareness of Caribbean American culture, history, and impact on American society. We suggest: A Song of Frutas by Margarita Engle. Join a little girl visiting her grandfather who is a pregonero—a singing street vendor in Cuba—and helping him sell his frutas. This is such a fun book to include a taste testing of all the different fruits! Here's our full booklist celebrating Caribbean American Heritage Month.
June 28: Read a Stonewall Honors Book
June 28, 1969 marks the beginning of the Stonewall Uprising, a series of events between police and LGBTQIA+ protesters which stretched over six days. It was not the first time police raided a gay bar, and it was not the first time LGBTQIA+ people fought back, but the events that would unfold over the next six days would fundamentally change the discourse surrounding LGBTQIA+ activism in the United States. We're encouraging you to celebrate queer voices & educate on Stonewall through Stonewall Honors books. The Stonewall Book Award is a set of three literary awards that annually recognize exceptional merit relating to the queer experience. This prompt encourages kids to look for the award stickers on books! Here's a list of Stonewall Award Winners.
Here's our full June Summer Reading book list with even more suggestions:
Here's A Few book suggestions for our july prompts:
July 1: Read a book about postal workers & make them a card
National Postal Worker Day recognizes postal workers all across the nation and encourages us to show our appreciation. Thank the numerous men and women who work consistently and diligently to deliver all of our mail. The Fantastic Bureau of Imagination by Brad & Kristi Montague is one of our favorite books depicting the magic of being a mail person! Every year we make cards of appreciation & bring them to our local post office with baked treats and the gratitude of being acknowledged is something we hope our kids take with them as they grow & continue every year.
July 2: Read a book for BIPOC mental health month
Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Mental Health Month is celebrated to raise awareness of the unique mental health challenges faced by historically oppressed racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Black, Indigenous, and other people of color experience a broad spectrum of discrimination, oppression, and systemic racism which creates the conditions for both collective and individual traumas within their communities. All I Need to Be by Rachel Ricketts guides children in heart-centered and mindfulness-based practices in the face of fear, anxiety, and racial injustice.
July 9: Be love & make art after reading a book on social justice
Be Love Day, learn more here, is on July 9th this year. BE LOVE is a growing movement of courageous acts to achieve justice, which we define based on these words from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.” The Artivist by Nikkolas Smith is the perfect book to introduce social justice & the power of protest through art. Have kids make their own art based on what they're passionate about & hope to change.
July 12: Read a book that takes place in a different country
Reading stories set in different countries not only allows children to experience & explore, but to learn & grow. These books can be funny folktales & stories of innovation. They can discuss more difficult topics of migration & immigration. And they can also discuss the seeds of hope, despite the historical & continued erasure of a peoples. This prompt is a beautiful opportunity for connection & celebration. For education & understanding. This is what picture books can do. We suggest: The City of Jasmine by Nadine Presley (Damascus, Syria).
July 14: Read a book with a nonbinary character
International Non-Binary People's Day is aimed at raising awareness and organizing around the issues faced by non-binary people around the world. Marley's Pride by Joëlle Retener features Marley a nonbinary child preparing themselves for their first Pride. Fun Fact: Marley's Pride is a Stonewall Award Winner! Pride Month was in June but this is your reminder that we should be reading queer stories all year long. Adults this is your reminder to diversify your bookshelves to include stories with nonbinary characters!
July 18: Read a book for Disability Pride Month
Disability Pride Month is a time for all of us to come together, uplift, and amplify the disability community's voices, listen & be heard. Disability pride is accepting and honoring each person’s uniqueness and seeing it as a natural and beautiful part of human diversity. We suggest: This is How We Talk by Jessica Slice & Caroline Cupp. We sign, write, clap! We tap, stim, scream! So many ways to talk and joke, play and learn and dream. This joyful read-aloud, with an empowering refrain demystifies and respects how disabled people and their families use different forms of communication to connect and show love. Check out our full book list for Disability Pride Month here.
July 20: Start off Shark Week with a book featuring sharks
Shark Week! One of our favorites of the year. We suggest reading marine biologist, Melissa Cristina Márquez's book, Mother Of Sharks. This moving story explores Melissa's personal journey from inquisitive ocean-loving child in Puerto Rico to becoming the Mother of Sharks. Pair this with her newest book: Sea of Constellations. Meet Maren, the whale shark & journey to bring back the light in this Rainbow Fish-esqe story. Here's our full list of books celebrating sharks!
July 22: Have afternoon tea with a book
We have afternoon tea every Tuesday in the summer. Grab some fruity, herbal tea so you can make hot or iced. Or maybe try your hand at making chai. Make some cucumber tea sammies or grab some cookies & enjoy! We suggest: Chaiwala! by Priti Birla Maheshwari. Inspired by the author's childhood visits to India, Chaiwala! celebrates the pleasures of taking time for food, family, and tradition--even for a brief moment.
July 26: Read a book celebrating aunts & uncles
It's national aunt & uncle day! These incredible people, whether by blood or found family, help shape our children, becoming someone our kids can turn to throughout their lives. It takes a village. We suggest: Fierce Aunties by Laurel Goodluck. Who do you go to for advice and support? Or when you want an adventure and a little extra courage? Or when you need to find that warrior spirit inside you? Fierce aunties! This would be a great opportunity to have kids make a card for their loved ones & if able, video chat them to read the story with them. What a beautiful gift to share.
July 31: Read a book about nature
We're all about preservation & bringing awareness to those in need. We suggest reading Peter Brown's newest picture book adapted from his middle grade series, The Wild Robot on the Island. Roz is not where she's supposed to be. You see, the robot wasn't designed to live in the wilderness. But when she washes up on an island, she must learn from the animal inhabitants and adapt to her new, natural surroundings, and before long, the island begins to feel like home. Perfect story to pair with the new movie, The Wild Robot.
Here's our full July Summer Reading book list with even more suggestions:
Here's A Few book suggestions for our August prompts:
August 1: Visit & support a Black-owned business AND read a book by a Black author
August is Black Business Month & the perfect opportunity to discuss with our youth the importance of supporting Black-owned businesses. And we all know that being an author, is a business!! You have to sell books to make money. So besides taking a trip out to visit & support a Black-owned business, we're encouraging families to purchase a book by a Black author & read it this day!! Here's a few of our favorite books by Black authors. We'll be reading: The Gathering Table by Antwan Eady about how a Southern family gathers around a special table for year-round celebrations that highlight the importance of family, community, and coming together.
August 2: Celebrate James Baldwin’s bday (101!)
Birthdays are the best days -- but 101 birthdays are even better. Before James Baldwin was a celebrated novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and activist, he was a boy who fell in love with stories. Words opened up new worlds for young Jimmy, who read and wrote at every opportunity. He ultimately realized his dreams of becoming an author and giving voice to his community, and in doing so he showed the world the fullness of Black American life. Celebrate with this new Baldwin picture book biography -- Go Tell It: How James Baldwin Became a Writer by Quartez Harris.
August 3: Read a book about Palestine & fly a kite for the kids #freepalestine
Over 56,000 people have been murdered in Palestine. Let that number sink in. Fifty-six THOUSAND. Last year when we wrote this prompt, it was 39,000. This is a genocide. Call it what it is. And we need to be talking about with our kids. Children their age & under have been murdered there. Have been left without a family. It's our job to make sure our children are educated appropriately on this. We are encouraging you to read a book about Palestine today & to fly a kite in honor & remembrance of these beautiful, innocent children. Here's our full book list.
August 4: Read an orange-covered book
We love scanning bookshelves for color-specific books. You can scan your home bookshelves and re-discover a book (or a few) that you haven't read in a while. Or head to your local library, scan the shelves & find a few with orange reads. If you're like me & don't love the spontaneity of this prompt, here's a book list of our favorite orange-covered books!
August 10: Read a book about incarceration for prisoner’s justice day
August 10 is recognized internationally as Prisoners’ Justice Day (PJD), a day of solidarity and organizing with the incarcerated and remembrance of those who died behind bars, living in inhumane conditions. The US has a racial disparity in prisons, with Black people incarcerated at a rate that is six times higher than white people. This is a problem. We need to divest from the prison industrial complex by moving resources and people away from criminal justice systems and into community-centered safety and justice. Learn more here. We suggest: Prisons Must Fall by Mariame Kaba & Jane Ball. A powerful book showing the harm that prisons cause and exploring alternatives.
August 13: Read a story about heading back to school
Did the first day of school sneak back up on you too? We're heading into second grade & homeschooling preschool. And we're not ready. It can be a difficult transition back into school after a fun, adventure-filled summer. We're hoping these books can help. We suggest: Butterflies on the First Day of School by Annie Silvestro. Here's an easy craft to prepare everyone (including parents) for the first day of school. Draw & cut out butterflies on colored construction paper. On a few of the butterflies, talk about what worries your kid has going into the school year & write those worries on the butterflies. Adults participate too! This is a great way to ease those anxious butterflies heading into a new school year. On the rest of the butterflies, talk about what your kids are most looking forward to in the coming school year & write those excitements on the butterflies. Hang the butterflies up to know it's okay to feel both. Check out our full back to school booklist.
August 13: Read a book about celebrating all bodies for Fat Liberation Month
All bodies deserves love, care, and respect. For people of larger size, that is not the current reality. Very few laws exist that specifically outlaw discrimination based on body size. In 2019 alone, body size discrimination harmed 34 million Americans. This discrimination denies people necessary—even life-saving—medical treatment, contributes to financial inequality, and creates serious mental health challenges. People suffer even more because this injustice is intertwined with systemic racism, sexism, and other efforts to deny our humanity. Today is a great day to talk about bodies with your kids! We suggest: Everybelly by Thao Lam. As Maddie dances, swims and makes the long climb up to the diving board, Thao Lam's celebrated cut-paper collage portrays bellies and bodies of all shapes and sizes -- bellies with scars, tattooed bellies, growing bellies, growling bellies, bellies with six-packs, stretch marks, insulin monitors, freckles and more -- proving that every belly deserves its place in the sun. Here's our booklist for Fat Liberation Month.
August 17: Donate a book off our MOSS Kids Wishlist to support on Nonprofit Day
It's National Nonprofit Day & guess what? MOSS Kids Book Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in need of YOUR help. We're working diligently to bring diverse & inclusive books to rural communities in book deserts. Right now we are working to create our diverse bookmobile & mobile youth community center. Keep our free libraries stocked. Bring authors/illustrators to our area. And improve literacy rates in both Edgecombe & Nash counties. Please consider donating a book off of our wishlist today & also sharing our nonprofit with your friends & family. PS -- because we are a nonprofit you can write off your donations on your taxes, just saying.
August 26: Read a book about women’s rights & equality
Women's Equality Day is celebrated on August 26th to commemorate the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which was ratified in 1920 and gave women the right to vote. It's important to note: many white-led suffrage organizations in New York and elsewhere usually excluded Black women and sometimes told them to march at the back of parades. After the 19th amendment passed, Black women did vote and run for office in New York, as opposed to many states that passed state and local laws disenfranchising them. But Native American women and Asian American women were barred from voting due to other federal citizenship laws: Native women until 1924 and some Asian women until the 1950s. The more you know. We suggest: Finish the Fight! by Veronica Chambers which reveals untold stories of diverse heroines who fought for the 19th amendment—celebrate the historic win for women’s rights and voting rights that changed the fabric of America.
August 27: Read a book about names
As we head back to school, it's a nice reminder for ourselves & our children about the beauty of names and the importance of pronouncing them correctly. There are so many incredible books celebrating names & discussing the importance of correcting people when they mispronounce your name. Check out this post featuring this story -- That's Not My Name by Anoosha Syed -- and a craft to go with it. Here's our full book list celebrating the importance of names.
August 30: Read a book about grief & talk about emotions
National Grief Awareness Day is designed to raise awareness for the experience of grief, which can encompass a complex range of emotions. We all grieve every single day. It is of the utmost importance that we continue to have conversations with our youth surrounding these difficult, important concepts. Especially, in the state of our current climate in the US. A couple years ago, we collaborated with author Kim Dungey on booklists -- picture books & middle grade/young adult books -- & a guide on how to talk to kids about grief. Check those posts & our full book list. This year, we suggest: Together We Remember. by Jackie Morera. In this tender debut picture book about finding joy despite grief, a little girl wishes to make Father’s Day even better by using imagination to honor and remember their happiest memories with a lost loved one.
Here's our full August Summer Reading book list with even more suggestions:
You didn't think we'd leave out our older readers, did you?
The societal consensus lately is that our older children don't read. That they would rather have their faces glued to their phones, scrolling TikTok, or playing video games, determined to slouch on the couch for the summer. And maybe some kids are planning to spend their days doing just that. And maybe reading specific books over the summer sounds a heck of a lot like homework. So instead, let's make it a challenge. Let's make it a game. Let's encourage them to do different things this summer that don't involve reading specific books but give them the creativity & freedom to do bookish things. We've decided that summer reading programs need to include older readers & encourage our tweens & teens to get more involved in the bookish community by supporting them with prompts they can choose. We suggest that you create a prize for your kid. You can gift a prize for their first bingo. You can gift an even bigger prize if they complete the whole board. We wanted to leave the gifting to the adults in their life because you know your kids best & you know what will encourage them to compete.
We've created a BINGO card for kids to work to complete this summer. You'll find reading prompts; reading outside and reading for 30 mins straight. You'll find bookish prompts; making a book-related craft and making a playlist to listen to while reading. But you'll also find prompts that encourage communty; asking a librarian for a book recommendation and silently reading with friends. And of course, we made prompts for kids to choose a book based on specific parameters, here's a few suggestions for those:
Read a graphic novel:
we suggest Witches of Brooklyn or Gamerville (mg) & We Could Be Magic or Low Orbit (ya)
Read a book set in the future or in the past:
we suggest The Girl and the Robot or What Fell From the Sky (mg) & They Bloom At Night or Run Away With Me (ya)
Read a novel-in-verse:
we suggest Kareem Between or Radiant (mg) & Me (Moth) or An Impossible Thing to Say (ya)
Read a book set in a different country:
we suggest Amal Unbound or Lotería (mg) & Patron Saints of Nothing or Never Thought I'd End Up Here (ya)
Read a book by an Indigenous author:
we suggest Eagle Drums or Buffalo Dreamer (mg) & Warrior Girl Unearthed or A Constellation of Minor Bears (ya)
Download our Summer Reading Calendars here:
Download our summer reading bingo here:
That's our summer reading challenge! We hope you'll enjoy mixing it up this summer & utilizing your local library (& your own shelves) to find different books to read that you may not have known about. We hope this encourages & excites your kids to actually look forward to picking up a book & reading. Follow along on our socials this summer as we share our suggestions & what we're reading for each prompt. But, we want to see what YOU choose. Tag us on Instagram so we can see what you're reading & so we can share with our community to encourage others to pick up your recommendations too. You may get featured on our page! BIG thanks for reading this far & we hope you take some time to read yourself this summer too. The best way to get your kids reading is to model the behavior. We know it can be hard to find time to read with work, keeping up the house, watching the kids, & it's all so exhausting. Here's a tip: set a timer for you & your kids to read, even if it's just for 20 mins. Set your kids who can't read up with a basket of books to look through, we love giving nonfiction books for this. Show them the timer & sit back for 20 mins to read for you or pop in your headphones for an audiobook. It's important for kids to see us reading & making time to rest for ourselves too. Enjoy your summer, time flies!