from the Maintaining Motherhood Blog
Need some great books for your First Grader to read and enjoy this summer? Look no further! Get your First Grade Summer Reading Book List here!
Are you participating in summer reading programs this year? Need some great books to read? I have poured over book list after book list to perfect the summer reading lists for my own kids this year. The book lists I have compiled are sorted by grade. This is our First Grade Summer Reading Book List!
Why a Reading List?
We love to read and participate in Summer Reading Programs. There was one summer where I found my kids were consistently checking out books that just weren’t my favorite! Many of these books contained some language and disrespectful attitudes that I didn’t love. In order to help them find more uplifting and thought provoking literature, I ventured to create these book lists.
How I Compiled the Lists
I have to preface this by saying that we are DEFINITELY a family of readers. These reading lists are composed of books that my kids have generally been reading by the listed grade level. Some are easier and some are harder than the grade listed. These books are all age appropriate and have been enjoyable for my kids to read.
Even if a child is in an older grade, I won’t discourage them from reading an easier book. I usually encourage the older kids to read to the younger kids. This helps them practice fluency, and also fosters a great relationship between siblings.
We live near a smaller Library. Every one of these books is found at our little Library, so the hope is that they are books that are found everywhere. Unfortunately, many books didn’t make the cut simply because our Library didn’t have them. The list I was able to come up with seems pretty comprehensive though. I have read many of the books on these lists, but not every single one! Please offer suggestions as to other books your kids love near the same level so we can expand our list!
First Grade Reading List
I felt like First Grade was the hardest list of all to write. Kids at this age are usually transitioning from picture books to early chapter books. No matter how captivating the story, if the page is full of words rather than pictures, my kids will lose attention quickly.
I did include a few picture books, but they are only the more wordy picture books.
Generally speaking, you can’t go wrong with a picture book. It’s the great chapter books that we desperately needed a list of! The best part about first grade books, is that most of them come in a series. I have found with these authors, if you like one, you will like them all!
Also, to make your search easier, I have put a star by our absolute favorites!
How We are Using the List
Each kid receives the reading list for the grade they will be starting at the end of the summer. They are encouraged to read 10 books from the list. If they read all those and want to keep reading, they will have a great list of other books to read. The older kids will choose their favorite books to write a report on.
I also love that this list gives me a good range of books to choose from when purchasing books for my kids. We have been slowly trying to weed out the books that just aren’t super great that we own, to be in line with my own simplification process. Many of the books that we have chosen to keep make an appearance on these lists. The rest I hope to purchase over time.
Here is the checklist for your First Grader to keep track of what they have read over the summer!
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