Summer Reads

My 6 (almost 7 year old) and I are reading Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg by Gail Carson Levine. It is a fairy story and we are enjoying it because Summer is filled with the magic of Fairies :)—Connie

My 9 year old son enjoys the Eric Wilson books (he's a Canadian author) and the Arthur Ransome books (Swallows and Amazons).  We really enjoyed the talking book The Sister's Grimm on our vacation last year.  Travelling by car is so much more interesting with enjoyable talking books. As for an adult book, I've just finished Before I Wake by local Victoria author Robert Wiersema and really enjoyed it.—Shelley

Favourite summer read for my daughter, The Night Before Summer Vacation and for me, Summer Sisters—Jacquie

How about a summer RE-read (outloud!) for everyone! The Princess Bride by William Goldman! You would be surprised at how many people who loved the movie, have NOT read the book, or even know it exists! I waited 12 years to read it TO my daughter, keeping to the style of the book/movie by selectively picking the 'Good Parts' I would stop at each night - the death of Farm Boy, The Cliffs of Insanity, 'As you wish......', 'The Fire Swamp' etc. She could hardly wait for my next reading, and upon completion, immediately RE-READ the entire book! We then watched the movie AFTER she had read the 25th Anniversary 'sequel' together! Not including 'The Princess Bride' on a favourite summer read list… INCONCEIVABLE!—Greg

I asked my daughter what her favorite summer read was and she told me that it was the series of Sisterhood of the travellig Pants she is 14 and has read all 4 books and I guess a girl at that age can really relate to what these 4 friends are experiencing. She told me it was funny, sad, moving and just plain great!  Thank you—Wendy

Most summer holidays I re-read the entire Diana Gabaldon Outlander series.  What fantastic escapism these books are!!  The characters are like old friends. I enjoy discussing the books on the Facebook site, as well. The last two weeks I read the Alex Rider series, starting with Stormbreaker. They are teen novels, but a great read. My Grade Seven students inspired me to look into them this year. Cheers!—Deanne

My favorite summer read is any Harry Potter book. All these books are pure fantasy and take the reader away to another world that is absolutely magical, as any good summer read should.—Joanne

The Cat in the Hat. It is a favorite because it is interesting, shows off amusing animated characters that children love which makes it engaging—Tina

Our favourite summer read would have to be, Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle. We enjoy it because it is informative, takes place in the sea, which reminds us of summer, and is full of radiantly colourful pictures of seahorses and other father fish who look after their "children".—Donna and Lukas

My favorite summer read as a young girl was Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery. The story affirms that everyone is different and that even though you don't fit the mold there is someplace you will fit if you only have belief in yourself and your own abilities. As a young teen I read this book and it really made a difference to me in that it enabled me to understand that being an individual was more important that following the group.—Kelly

My all time favorite book (and not just for summer!) is a young adult fiction called On Fortune's Wheel by Cynthia Voigt. It is the second in a four book series about a fictional medieval land called The Kingdom. It's about the adventures of an innkeeper's daughter who follows the unattainable Lord that she loves. I just made it sound very sappy-romantic and swashbuckley, but it's not really... ;) I have been reading this book over and over for about 14 years. I also just read the last book in the Kingdom series this week, called Elske. It was so engrossing I couldn't put it down. I literally stayed up all night to read it! I am a fan of Cynthia Voigt's work; her "Homecoming" series is a must for young adults, as far as I'm concerned!—Julie

My daughter unfortunately is struggling with her reading a bit and doesn't always want to read. We have found that she does love the Berenstain Bears' books by Stan and Jan Berestain - The First Time Book Series though. Thank goodness. We enjoy them too.—Rhonda

I asked my son Reid (7) what his favorite book has been thus far, this summer.  He rattled off  a number of titles including: Once upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude, Ralph S. Mouse, Star Wars.  He did name off a few more titles.  It is because of this, that my pick for the best summer read is the summer reading program at all Victoria libraries. The program is called "Read All Over the Map". Each child recieves a reading record that looks a map/passport. It has plenty of room to write on. For each week completed they get to choose a sticker for the "passport" and they get a surprise prize. Wonderful incentives! And it's all free; what could be better?—Vicki and Reid

Our favourite this summer so far has been Geronimo Stilton—A Fabumouse Vacation for Geronimo. Very entertaining for kids & adults alike!—Lenora

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon. Probably the only book I will read this summer. It is from the perspective of a boy with autism in england—his factual and logical way (for him) of dealing with the crazy events of his life. His challenges and the way he structures his life and how he deals with his reality falling apart on him. A success story of an intrepid explorer over coming his challenges, and the support of his family. plus it was damn funny.—su

One of my favorite reads is Where the Heart Is It is a great book about a young mom who makes good for her and her daughter. It makes me feel hope that any family can be a happy family even when things are tough.—Shelagh

It's very hard to recommend just one favourite book to read aloud with children. One of my perennial favourites is Wombat Stew by Marcia Vaughan, illustrated by Pamela Lofts. The daycare children love to repeat the song, remember the friends and what they have added to the "stew" and to hear about what some of the Aussie terms mean, ie, the "billabong" or a dingo. They are always excited and ready to listen when I'm going to read it. I think it's been one of our family favourites since our son first heard it told by Ruth the Librarian, in Storytime some 21 years ago. We have 2 copies of it as one is wearing out. It is great for ages infant to 9 and up. It encourages using different voices and dramatics and has wonderful alliteration, "Sssilly Dingo, he hissed. There are no fliesss in this ssstew."  The illustrations are delightful and expressive. The text is clear and easy to read. The ending is delightful. The story is based on an old folktale and seldom fails to hold children's attention. That about sums it up. Have a read and enjoy!—Louise

My favorite summer read is The Josephine Bonaparte Trilogy by Sandra Gulland. Josephine’s journal entries take us through a first person account of the events of the French Revolution and her life with Napoleon. Regardless of whether you are on a summer holiday or spending the summer in your backyard this historical fiction trilogy leaves you wanting more long after the last page is read… —Jocelin

My favourite book for my grandkids is Your Father Forever by Travis Griffith. It's a wonderful story for a father to read to little ones ( and even the older ones gather in to hear it again). I keep passing it along to all the special Fathers in my life!—Susan

One of our all time family favourite books is Piggy Wiglet by David L. Harrison. "Piggy Wiglet wiggled free, as happy as a pig could be…" This was my favourite book in the early 1970's and we still read it often now (children 4,6 and 8). It's about freedom and exploring on a sunny day.—Lois

My favourite summer reading book is Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road by Neil Peart (of rock band Rush fame). Even if I don't go anywhere, this book takes me on an emotional and spiritual road trip :)—Alison

We just bought The Sock Fairy by Bonnie Hinman. We had previously bought her book The Knot Fairy and really enjoyed it as well. These books are wonderful for kids - the rhyming story is very clever and funny, the illustrations are fantastic and it gives a fun answer to those questions we all have—where do our socks go and why do we wake up with such messy hair!  And they come with a CD with the author reading the story and singing a song about the fairy. Definitely our favourite summer read.—Tina

One of our favourite summer books is Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. I love the simple message of friendship and the life lessons that they learn as they grow up.  It is a happy and yet telling tale that most families can take a message from.—Jolan

Our children’s book would have to be Beezy and Funnybone—this is special to us because it’s my daughters FIRST library book that she picked & read all on her own—proud mama.—Lee-Ann

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts (adult literature). An epic that is gripping, gory and a great read. Hard to believe all this could happen to one person. We have just returned three months ago from a trip to India and the author describes Bombay perfectly! Even my mother-in-law who was born and raised there says so. A real page turner; action packed and a human story too.—Katherine

There are so many books to choose from, but my (current) favourite adult book is "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Phillipa Gregory.  I had to force myself to stop reading the book at night to get some sleep.  King Henry VIII's court came alive with rich period details and characters.  I was left wanting more. 
 
My husband and I are enjoying reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle with our one-year-old son. Summer is a great time to read this book, when all of the fresh fruit eaten by the caterpillar is coming into season and we are introducing it to our son.—Toni

My daughter is currently enjoying Magic Tree house and Magic school bus books—Cyndy

Mom's favourite summer adult read The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken: A Search for Food and Family by Laura Schenone. Laura Schenone takes her readers along with her on her personal search to find and learn to make an authentic, family ravioli recipe from Liguria, Italy. Her quest is inspiring and will appeal to anyone who values family history, food culture, biographies and homemade ravioli. I'm not of Italian heritage but I was fascinated to learn about the history of ravioli-making, Liguria, and the art and power of food and family recipes to link families and their cultures throughout the generations. This book inspires the reader to teach their children how to make special family recipes so traditions can continue to be shared.  I've already begun to teach my son how to make "Grandma's pancakes". 6-year-old Son's favourite summer read Any Jigsaw Jones Mystery books by James Preller. Jigsaw Jones is in Grade 2, has a big family and a dog named "Rags", and is a detective with his partner, Mila. My son says he enjoys these chapter books because he likes: a) guessing what's going to happen next in the stories; b) trying to solve the problem of who caused the mystery; c) learning about how secret messages work (there is a different one in every story). These are short chapter books, perfect for sharing an engaging read together. We both laugh-out-loud at some point during every story.  Intelligently written and funny.—Shannon and Keagan

My book recommendation is a toddlers book called Kiss Goodnight Sam by Amy Hest. All of her Sam books are amazing, but I love this one for the words she uses and the rhythm of the story. And at the end you get to kiss your baby 5 times! And the book has the most rich and engaging illustrations by Anita Jeram.—Tammara

Our all time favorite summer read is Charlotte's Web. When I was a little girl in Grade 3, my teacher would read to us in class every day and she would make up different voices for Charlotte, Templeton, etc… Now That I have 4 children of my own, I like to make the different voices for the characters of Charlotte's Web, and it makes my children love to read and listen to me read all the more fun!—Sandra

Our favourite children’s read of the summer is Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner. He is a Siamese cat who thinks he is  a Chihuahua. The story is fun to read for parents and is interspersed with Spanish words. It has a few songs in it and the pictures are very detailed—my son is always finding new things in them. It is a book that can be read over and over without getting boring.—Rhonda

The Guardians of Ga'hoole series, by Kathryn Lasky, kept my 9-year-old son busy last year. It's a story about a magical kingdom of owls with threatened peace and a battle for supremacy. Bonus: kids learn about all the different kinds of owls! My 7-year-old son likes the Asterix and Tintin series. They're colourful, easy to read, take them on world-wide adventures and teach a bit of history along the way. The great thing about series is that if the child likes the first one, they just keep reading! I've been reading some non-fiction books this summer. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer about a young man who graduates from college but rejects his upper middle-class upbringing and parents and heads for the wilds of Alaska. It's a tragic story but very interesting. Also, reading a hilarious book called Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar, by Cathcart and Klein. It's a book that tries to explain philosophical theories and terms through jokes. I'm enjoying it immensely. Bonus: slightly-larger-than-pocketsize, interesting variation of type and colour, and short chapters broken up with jokes throughout the book make it easy to read at the beach or park.—MaryLou

My favourite summer read is My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Amazing read! My favourite summer read for my baby is Beach Babies Wear Shades by Michelle Sinclair Colman. This is THE best book. My daughter just loves it!—Ladena

My favorite read —summertime or anytime—is Can You Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella. You'll be laughing out loud on the beach!—Carina

Our favorite summer read my 15 year old daughter and I have been the Stephanie Meyers series Eclipse, Twilight, New Moon we are eagerly waiting to read the 4th and final book Breaking Dawn. My daughter is getting a copy for her birthday tomorrow and I was tempted to read it first but I resisted.—Sharon

Our favourite summer read is Waiting for the Whales, by Sheryl McFarlane. This is a great story about the bond between young and old and it depicts westcoast living. It also has great illustrations by Ron Lightburn.—Mike

Seaweed Soup by Stuart J. Murphy, illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz (who has illustrated the Animal Crackers cookie box) This book is a favourite read after a day at the beach. My children enjoy the story of Turtle who insists on sharing his thick, gooey, slimy Seaweed soup with all of his friends who would rather not eat it. Turtle does not have enough sets of bowls, spoons, cups & napkins that match for each guest so he improvises place settings with found items.  Turtle's friends end up liking the slimy seaweed soup so much they eat it all and then feel bad when they realize there is none left for Turtle… good thing Turtle had more soup on the stove to share. Seaweed Soup is  funny and includes the ideas of sharing, kindness and being resourceful; the bonus, it's a math book in disguise, it presents the concept of matching sets.  When my family visits the beach we sometimes play out the story with our sand buckets and shovels and beach finds such as sea-shells and sticks. A funny and smart summer time read for young children. Hope your family enjoys it as much as mine.—Claudia

Favourtie Summer Read: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, it's an old read—but there is something fun about it since after every read "roaming around the back yard on a summer night"—brings out the best "monsters" in all of us—young and old.—Justin

Our favourite summer read is anything my 3 1/2 year-old daughter picks up and hands to us! Sometimes it's a Little Golden Book—Cookie Monster and the Cookie Tree seems to be in the front right now —other times it's Dora's Scavenger Hunt. Whatever she wants to read, we read with her. As for me, when I find time to read, it doesn't matter what season it is, I'll read anything. I just finished Edward Rutherfurd's The Rebels of Ireland (second in the series) and I'm waiting for the new Harry Potter spin-off book Tales of Beedle the Bard to come out.—Mary