Kidsmomo

Okay, we know not everyone spends their summer at the beach. But whether you’re hanging out by the pool, at camp, in the park, or in the city, one of the greatest things about summer vacation is getting a break from required reading and relaxing with an easy breezy book of your own choosing. That’s what we’re calling beach reads — and here are some suggestions (in no particular order):

Summer Tales and Lighthearted Stories:

1. The Pink Hotel by Carol Ryrie Brink (Karen’s pick)
2. The Summer Before (The Baby-Sitters Club prequel) by Ann M. Martin (Nancy’s pick)
3. Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen
4. The Millie Trili by Lisa Yee: Millicent Min, Girl Genius; Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time; So Totally Emily Ebers
5. My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath
6. The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
7. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
8. Half Magic by Edward Eager (plus the rest of his books!)
9. The Summer of Moonlight Secrets by Danette Haworth
10. Any Which Wall by Laurel Snyder

Series You Might Not Know:

1. Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
2. Theodosia Throckmorton by R.L. LaFevers
3. Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
4. Oz series by L. Frank Baum
5. Freddy the Pig by Walter R. Brooks
6. Katie Kazoo Switcheroo by Nancy E. Krulik
7. The Keys to the Kingdom by Garth Nix
8. Sammy Keyes by Wendelin Van Draanen
9. Haunting of Derek Stone by Tony Abbott
10. Amelia Rules (graphic novel series) by Jimmy Gownley

And don’t forget our list of LOL-Hilarious books!

If you’ve read any of these, send in your book review. Or send in a review of your favorite beach read. We’ll feature the best kid-submitted reviews in our next podcast!

UPDATE 7/13/10: We revealed the answer to our Beach Reads Mystery Book Theater in the “Just Beachy” Podcast, so take a listen if you want to know the answer. Or just tune in if you want to hear Nancy’s evil supervillain laugh. (It’s worth it!)