School’s out for the summer – now what? 

You may have a toddler at home or in the thick of the teenage years, and in any case you can foster a love of reading in your child. By doing so, you will grant them one of the greatest gifts they will receive in their lifetime.

Maybe you yourself are not a book lover – that’s okay! There are still plenty of opportunities to engage your kids in reading for pleasure this summer.

Here are a few suggestions from Project Parenthood on great summer books for kids of all ages, and a few podcast episodes for you to enjoy!

Summer books for kids

May You Love and Be Loved by Cleo Wade, read by the author

May You Love and Be Loved features sound design and special effects to enhance your listening enjoyment. Listen out for the sounds of the ocean while being immersed in this beautiful poem. It is the tender and joyous audiobook from New York Times–bestselling author and poet Cleo Wade.

May you know fear but not be driven by it

May you know joy and follow it everywhere

May you know light and shine it every chance you get

From the bestselling author of What the Road Said, Cleo Wade’s next heartfelt and lyrical audiobook is a love letter to the infinite potential of the future, expressing the many hopes and dreams we hold for our children and ourselves. Filled to the brim with the author’s signature big-hearted emotions, this audiobook is an important reminder that, above all, what we wish for everyone’s precious life is that they can love and be loved.

A Macmillan Audio production from Feiwel & Friends.

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Your child’s sense of self-worth will be impacted by many things throughout life that you can’t control. However, you can control what you say and do. Dr. Nanika Coor explains how to prioritize love and acceptance, in moments of connection and conflict.

Listen in the player below:

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Coretta: The Autobiography of Coretta Scott King by Coretta Scott King, read by January LaVoy

“Music and sound effects are beautifully paired with January LaVoy’s inviting narration of this adaptation of Coretta Scott King’s autobiography.—AudioFile

“Music and sound effects are beautifully paired with January LaVoy’s inviting narration of this adaptation of Coretta Scott King’s autobiography for adults.”—The Children’s Book Review

“Narrator January LaVoy is a superb cipher, her gentle gravitas both intimate and respectful. An enhancing soundtrack underscores her performance…LaVoy’s impressive narration ensures a memorable standalone audiobook.”—School Library Journal

This audiobook features sound design and special effects to enhance your enjoyment of Coretta: The Autobiography of Mrs. Coretta Scott King. Listen out for the sounds or protest, change, and a life well lived.

Adapted from her adult memoir, this is the autobiography of Coretta Scott King—wife of Martin Luther King, Jr., founder of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (the King Center), and twentieth-century American civil and human rights activist.

A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt and Company.

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Black parents and other parents of color don’t have the privilege of not preparing their children for the experience of anti-Blackness and racism. Dr. Nanika Coor talks with psychologist Dr. Riana Elyse Anderson to get some tips for Black parents hoping to inoculate their children against racial bias, microaggressions, and harmful stereotypes. 

Listen to their interview in the player below: 

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From My Head to My Toes by Aly Raisman, read by the author

This audiobook features music and special effects. Listen along and enjoy the fun that is From My Head to My Toes.

A joyful ode to loving and caring for our bodies, from Olympic gold medalist and advocate Aly Raisman and bestselling artist Bea Jackson.

My body is my own.

My body is just right for me,

From my head to my toes

From My Head to My Toes gently introduces young listeners to the topics of consent and bodily autonomy in a positive way. Cheerful and informative, this story focuses on the powerful message of self-love. Aly’s inspiring words are paired with expert-vetted resources, giving adults the tools to begin having these essential conversations with kids from a young age.

A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt & Company.

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What can you do when you’re worried about your child’s weight? How does a parent avoid passing down intergenerational patterns of body shaming? In this episode, Dr. Nanika Coor responds to a parent who is struggling to support their child’s healthy body image.

Listen to that episode in the player below:

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The Investigators Audio Collection: Books 1 & 2  by John Patrick Green, read by the author and a full cast

This program is read by a full cast, including the author and Christopher Hastings, a coauthor of InvestiGators: Agents of S.U.I.T.S. It offers an immersive audio experience, fully sound designed to enhance your enjoyment. Listen out for the sounds of the Batter Down bakery, S.U.I.T. Headquarters, Crackerdile’s Lair, and the Robotics Lab at the Science Factory!

With more than three million copies in print, John Patrick Green’s goofy graphic novel series is a colossal comics hit! Join super spy alligator duo MANGO and BRASH as they surf the sewers and fight the forces of evil.

BOOK 1: InvestiGators

With their Very Exciting Spy Technology and their tried-and-true, toilet-based travel techniques, the InvestiGators are undercover and on the case! And on their first mission together, they have not one but two mysteries to solve! Can Mango and Brash uncover the clues, crack their cases, and corral the crooks―or will the criminals wriggle out of their grasp?

BOOK 2: InvestiGators: Take the Plunge

Sewer-spelunking secret agents Mango and Brash make a big splash in this hilarious new mystery in John Patrick Green’s full-color, laugh-out-loud graphic novel series! Three million readers can’t be wrong—InvestiGators: Take the Plunge is a perfect comic for kid readers to dive into!

In their next big adventure, S.U.I.T. headquarters is under attack, and Mango and Brash are going undercover and underground disguised as city sewer workers to unclog a sticky situation. But when their search for the criminal Crackerdile backfires, the toilets they travel through get blocked and the InvestiGators take the blame for it!

Can Mango and Brash restore their good name and put the real culprit behind bars before the whole city is in deep water?

A Macmillan Audio production from Roaring Brook Press.

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Many parents will have signed their kids up for numerous camps and enrichment experiences by now, making sure that they won’t have to hear the dreaded “I’m bored!” refrain repeated endlessly. That makes sense since kids are often passive receivers – of entertainment that both their technology and many toys that are made for children provide. They are also often passive recipients of education. Most are required to go to a formal school setting whether or not they want to, where they tend to be externally motivated by systems of rewards and punishments to do what adults tell them to do and learn what they’re told to learn and when. 

This means that many kids these days don’t have or take as many opportunities to create their own fun or decide what to do with their time as they once did. Furthermore, high-pressure academic environments can leave kids feeling anxious and depressed about where they fall in grade rankings – or that their scores are worth more than they are. Rather than developing a love of learning, these kids can end up developing the false idea that how they “perform” their learning means more than the learning itself.

Listen in the player below:

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I Am Both by Kerisa Greene, read by Sura Siu

This audiobook features sound design and special effects to enhance your enjoyment of I Am Both: A Vietnamese Refugee Story. Listen out for the sounds of moped beeps and the slurps of eating Pho.

Inspired by the author’s family’s journey on the last flight out of Saigon, I Am Both is a compelling exploration of identity, immigration, and family.

We zip through the city listening to the music of the street.

I hear the swish swoosh of the baskets and the clink clank of the passing bikes.

For Hương, life in Saigon, Vietnam is mostly normal—at least, as normal as it can be while a war is going on. But when her family decides to take the last flight out of the country to build a new life in America, Hương worries about missing her home. Through new friends and old traditions, Hương learns that no matter where we go, the smell of home and the taste of love can be found anywhere, as long as we have our family.

In this timely and hopeful story of immigration, author Kerisa Greene captures the vibrancy of life in both Vietnam and America with wonderfully textured descriptions of the sights and sounds of each country. Fun and educational extras include the true story behind Hương’s journey and a glossary of Vietnamese terms.

A Macmillan Audio production from Feiwel & Friends.

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Multiracial children are often pressured to choose only one of their ethnic or racial identities with which to identify. Dr. Nanika Coor talks with psychologist Dr. Jennifer Noble to get some tips for parents hoping to raise their multiracial child to have a healthy racial identity that includes all of their family ancestries.

Listen in the player below:

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Homegrown by DeAnn Wiley, read by Erin Ruth Walker

“Walker’s loving, reassuring, childlike voice invitingly narrates over a soft rhythmic musical soundtrack. Her warm, clear pronunciation and careful, thoughtful pacing enable an easy-to-follow read-along with the printed book…” —School Library Journal

This audiobook features music and special effects. Listen along and enjoy the fun that is Homegrown.

A touching ode to the homes—and loved ones—that raise us, perfect for fans of Christian Robinson, Oge Mora, and Ekua Holmes.

While her mother puts the finishing touches on her twists, a young girl asks what it means to be “homegrown.” Touring precious memories and lively rooms warmed by family, Mama and Granny explain that home isn’t just a place, but rather a reflection of people who support and love one another.

Homegrown is a beautiful debut audiobook that reminds us to lift up the places—and people—we call home.

A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt & Company.