2026 Summer Reading Guide: Books for the Whole Family
Summer is the best time for reading aloud. And when it comes to bedtime reading, no school wakeup means you can indulge requests for “just one more chapter.”
Blood in the Water by Tiffany D. Jackson
This buzzy middle grade mystery pulled me right in and I flew through it in two days. When Brooklyn teen Kehlani is sent to Martha’s Vineyard and a boy turns up dead, she teams up with his brother to uncover the truth. It was a quick read with a twist I did not see coming!
Code Name Kingfisher by Liz Kessler
I read this one aloud to my kids and we couldn’t put it down (we finished the last 25% in one sitting because we had to know how it ended)! Told in dual timelines, it follows a girl uncovering her grandmother’s past and a WWII story of sisters separated in Holland, with resistance, high stakes, and a more intense ending than I expected (I’d definitely go 10+ for this one!)
The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly
A friend in my neighborhood invited my 10 year old and me to join a mother/daughter book club and this Newbery winner was the first pick. Set in 1999, this clever coming-of-age story follows 12-year-old Michael, who is already anxious about Y2K, until a mysterious teen named Ridge arrives claiming to be a time traveler (not to mention he has a book detailing the next 20 years)!
The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli by Karina Yan Glaser
You probably know Karina Yan Glaser from her wildly-popular Vanderbeekers series and this one – a dual narration book set in 1930s New York City Chinatown and 700s China – just snagged a Newbery Honor. Especially fun if you have a New York City trip planned this summer!