75+ Summer Reading Books for Kids Entering First Grade

An extensive summer reading list for kids going into first grade—print out this list and be ready for your summer library trips!

This post is part of an ongoing Summer Reading for Kids series. Click HERE to find ideas for reading activities, reading lists, and reading incentives…and keep checking back for more!

Summer reading is one of my very favorite things—and while I love a good read while sitting on the beach, that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m passionate about making sure my kids read enough books in the summer to keep their reading skills fresh for the next school year.

New readers—like the kids that have just graduated from Kindergarten—are more at risk for the summer slide than older kids. It’s super important that your rising first grader practices reading during the summer so that they don’t fall behind before school even starts.

I’ve compiled a book list for first grade readers that contains books of all types—classics, newer books, funny books, historical books, serious books, etc. I am certain you’ll be able to find plenty of books on this list that your first grader will love!

I also have a first grade reading list pdf available for download. Click here to print out the list and put it into your library bag so you and your first grader are ready for some wonderful summer reading!

Consider purchasing a few favorites every year. Having lots of reading material available in the home is so important to raise kids who love reading!

Summer Reading Book List for First Graders

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1. A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams

2. A New Coat for Anna by Harriet Ziefert

3. Alexander and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

4. All in a Day by Cynthia Rylant

5. Annie Rose is My Little Sister by Shirley Hughes

6. Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair by Patricia Polacco

7. Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson

8. Bedtime for Frances by Russell Hoban

9. Big Bug Surprise by Julia Gran

10. Big Shark, Little Shark by Anna Membrino

11. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See by Eric Carle

12. Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys, and Their Monkey Business by Esphyr Slobodkina

13. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault

14. Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

15. Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French

16. Diary of a Worm by Doreen Kronin

17. Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin

18. Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert

19. Edward and the Pirates by David McPhail

20. Emily’s First 100 Days of School by Rosemary Wells

21. First Grade, Here I Come! by Nancy Carlson

22. Fix-it Duck by Jez Albrough

23. Flotsam by David Wiesner

24. Franklin Rides a Bike by Paulette Bourgeois

25. Frog and Toad (series) by Arnold Lobel

26. Hair of Zoe Fleefenbacher Goes to School by Laurie Halse Anderson

27. Henry and Mudge (series) by Cynthia Rylant

28. High Five by Adam Rubin

29. Hot Hot Hot by Neal Layton

30. How to Clean a Hippopotamus by Robin Page

31. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff

32. Is a Worry Worrying You by Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz

33. Jazz by Walter Dean Myers

34. Louella Mae, She’s Run Away! by Karen Beaumont Alarcon

35. M is for Music by Kathleen Krull

36. Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

37. Margaret and Margarita: Margarita y Margaret by Lynn Reiser

38. Max’s Words by Kate Banks

39. Molly Goes Shopping by Eva Eriksson

40. Mouse’s First Summer by Lauren Thompson

41. Oops by Alan Katz

42. Pete the Cat (series) by James Dean

43. Pigsty by Mark Teague

44. Princess Posey and the First Grade Parade by Stephanie Green

45. Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood

46. Sally and the Some-Thing by George O’Connor

47. Sam and the Firefly by PD Eastman

48. Secret Pizza Party by Adam Rubin

49. Splash by Ann Jonas

50. Summertime in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

51. Superworm by Julia Donaldson

52. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig

53. Ten Apples Up on Top! by Theodore LeSieg (Dr. Seuss)

54. The Apple Pie that Papa Baked by Lauren Thompson

55. The Book With a Hole by Herve Tullet

56. The Boy Who Loved Words by Ronnie Schotter

57. The Empty Pot by Demi

58. The Girl in the Castle Inside the Museum by Kate Bernheimer

59. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes

60. The Icky Bug Counting Book by Jerry Pallotta

61. The Listening Walk by Paul Showers

62. The New Girl…and Me by Jaqui Robbins

63. The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

64. The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant

65. The Retired Kid by John Agee

66. The Snow Leopard by Jackie Morris

67. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

68. There is a Bird on Your Head by Mo Willems

69. There’s an Alligator Under My Bed by Mercer Mayer

70. Three Cheers for Catherine the Great by Cari Best

71. Two Crazy Pigs by Karen Berman Nagel

72. What I Saw in the Teacher’s Lounge by Jerry Pallotta

73. While We Were Out by Ho Baek Lee

74. Widget by Lyn Rossiter McFarland

75. Z Was Zapped by Chris Van Allsburg

Is your soon-to-be first grader a more advanced reader that is ready to try chapter books? Try some of these easier chapter books this summer:

1. Andy Shane and the Barn Sale Mystery by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

2. Dory Fantasmagory by Abby Hanlon

3. Freckle Juice by Judy Blume

4. Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows

5. Owl Diaries by Rebecca Elliott

6. The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey

7. The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale

For even more easy chapter books for early readers, be sure to check out this list: Easy Chapter Book Series for First Graders

And don’t forget to print out this summer reading list for first graders by entering your name and email into the form below:

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