Summer Reading Fun with Good Housekeeping Book Editor Karen Cicero and the Coolest Summer Book Ideas
- July 2, 2026
- By Alice Knisley Matthias
School is out, the sun is shining and there are plenty of stories and adventures waiting for you in the pages of new book titles that are perfect for summer reading and the lazy, hazy days of summer!
Kids Discover got to talk with Good Housekeeping Book Editor Karen Cicero to get her suggestions for books that are perfect for reading in a quiet spot in the house or taking along to the beach.
Cicero is the go-to book person for summer reading suggestions since she has run a Kids’ Book Award program for more than 15 years with many happy kid readers giving a round of applause for her choices year after year. Take a look through these ideas for summer books and you will find pages of fun and adventures that include lemonade stands, a cooking contest, surfing the high waves, our country’s historic July birthday, everyone’s favorite wimpy kid and graphic novels.
Summer reading means kids can read at their own pace and find a rhythm for enjoying reading for pleasure.
“Some kids can go through books like lightning and understand them,” says Cicero. “The important idea is that any book that gets a kid excited to read is a win!”
Young readers should be encouraged to explore the category of graphic novels according to Cicero.There are plenty of topics of interest like kids in new schools, some who are dealing with the discomfort of braces and a spin on the classic novel Anne of Green Gables.
“You can open doors to the classics with a graphic novel version of a book. Give it a try,” says Cicero. “Read the graphic novel and compare it to the OG!”
I LOVE Strawberries!
Credit: Feeding Minds Press
A book about a summer garden feels like summer and one about strawberries sounds delicious! This book is a winner of a 2022 Good Housekeeping Kids’ Book Award and includes diary entries about a young girl who wants to convince her parents she is mature enough to grow strawberries all on her own!
Ages 6-10
The Shark Prince
Also Consider
Credit: Penguin Workshop
Surf’s up and this book features a seventh-grader with his eye on the prize for a contest of the waves and a family curse that can transform him into a shark! Get lost in a story of action and suspense for a summer book that also includes a mystery.
Ages 8-12
The Lemonade War Graphic Novel
Also Consider
Credit: Clarion Books
Who doesn’t want a glass of cold lemonade on a hot day? A brother and sister try to figure out how much lemonade needs to be sold to thirsty customers to see who comes out on top in a “winner takes all” contest. Ages 8-12
My Bicentennial Summer: True Adventures from the Most Epic Family Road Trip of All Time
Also Consider
Credit: Candlewick
Happy Birthday America! In 1976, this author was 8 years old when he went on a seven-week road trip across 26 states with his family. See photos from the actual trip and talk about your own summer car adventures.
Ages 8 and up.
Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All
Also Consider
Credit: Philomel Books
Sock detectives are hard at work in this book returning missing socks from a laundry business to their owners. Their work takes them through New York City and readers can have fun with an added twist to doing laundry!
Ages 7-10
Diary of a Wimpy Kid #19: Hot Mess
Also Consider
Credit: Harry N. Abrams
Everyone’s favorite wimpy kid is at a beach house and hijinks include a cooler that gets swept away and restaurant misadventures that make for plenty of laughs. There is plenty of wacky action with grandma’s meatballs topping them all!
Ages 7 and up
New Kid by Jerry Craft
Credit: Quill Tree Books
Seventh-grader Jordan Banks, one of the few students of color at his new school, finds himself torn between two worlds and feels like an outsider. Class Act and School Trip, the three-book boxed set won a 2024 Good Housekeeping Kids’ Book Award.
Ages 8-12
The Cartoonists Club by Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud
A group of students start their own comics club at school and readers get tips on how to tell a story along with tips for drawing illustrations. A Good Housekeeping Kids’ Book Award winner will inspire the creative juices in the reader.
Ages 8–12
Measuring Up by Lily LaMotte
Credit: HarperAlley
Let’s get cooking with a 12-year-old who enters a cooking contest so she can buy her Taiwanese grandmother a plane ticket to visit her with the prize money. Follow along as the young chef gains cooking skills and confidence.
Ages 8-12
Smile by Raina Telgemeier
Credit: Graphix
Sometimes losing teeth doesn’t mean a visit from the tooth fairy and some money under the pillow. The author focuses on how she lost her two front teeth in an accident when she was 12 and kids with braces can relate.
Ages 8-12
Anne of Green Gables: A Graphic Novel adapted by Mariah Mardsen, illustrated by Brenna Thummler
Credit: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Think of a graphic novel as an introduction to a classic, like this book that features a spirited redhead and her adventures growing up. Lovely illustrations bring another element of imagination to this well-known story.
Ages 8-11
Happy summer reading!
