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6 Super Summer Reading Books for Kindergarteners & Primary Schoolers

cis summer reading books elementary school library alive week
LearnPost Category - LearnLearn - Post Category - SchoolsSchools

Need some summer reading inspo? Three Primary School librarians at CIS share their fave books for ages 3 to 12

Sharing stories is a human superpower and reading with your children can build strong connections that last a lifetime. The fabulous Primary Teacher Librarians at Canadian International School have come up with a few summer reading recommendations of their favorite kids books to get you started…

cis summer reading books

Ms Marjan recommends…

In our CIS library we always say that good picture books are for all ages. Here are two that I like a lot because there is something in them for everyone.

Drawn Together by Minh Lê, illustrated by Dan Santat

summer reading books drawn togetherPublisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
This beautiful book strikingly shows how two worlds – the world of a boy and his grandfather who don’t speak the same language – can come together by the power of drawing and storytelling. Art connects gaps in age, background and language. Stories can be told and shared in pictures. A wonderful and powerful book for all of us living in the global village of our current times.

Carl and the Meaning of Life by Deborah Freedman

summer reading books picture booksPublisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Carl does his thing as an earthworm but wants to find out why he does. He leaves his fluffy earth to ask other creatures if they have the answer. In the end he discovers that he himself plays a very important part in keeping the earth alive! The artwork by Deborah Freedman splashes off the pages, following Carl on his quest to find the meaning of life, and the role he plays in it.

Ms. Stojana recommends…

I am a huge picture book fan and it would have been very hard for me to recommend only two! I found it just a little bit easier to recommend these two wonderful early chapter books, by my two favourite authors – both great storytellers – Kate DiCamillo and Roald Dahl…

The Mercy Watson series by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen

summer reading books mercy watsonPublisher: Candlewick Press; Reprint edition
The Mercy Watson chapter book series is a great choice for readers who love humorous stories filled with mischief. Mercy is a charming and cheerful pig who has human parents. She is a big fan of toast with lots of butter on it and she loves snuggles. Each story is exciting and captivating for early chapter book readers. Readers will also enjoy the bright and colourful illustrations! Click here for more on book 1 in the series, Mercy Watson to the Rescue!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake

summer reading books roald dahlPublisher: Puffin Books; Reissue edition
This book is a children’s classic. It is a delightful story about a poor boy named Charlie Bucket and his adventures in the mysterious chocolate factory run by the world’s most famous chocolate maker, Mr. Willy Wanka. If your child is into adventure and humour and loves chocolate, this would be the sweetest book to read.

Miss Fong recommends…

I truly believe it’s never been a better time to be a reader in primary school, with an abundance of well-written books on topics students genuinely relate to. Here are two of my recent favourite books for grades 4-7, and lucky for us, they both have equally entertaining sequels!

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

summer reading books wild robotPublisher: Piccadilly Press
Roz is a robot who is the sole survivor of the cargo of shipwrecked robots on an uninhabited island. She learns to adapt to her natural surroundings with the help of some intriguing animal characters, but her real connections and story begin when she adopts a gosling.

This tale of a robot who ends up stranded on a remote island is a great introduction to the science fiction genre. It interweaves themes of friendship, ecosystems, sustainability, parenthood, and technology. Readers will want to follow up with its sequel, The Wild Robot Escapes.

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

summer reading books cactusPublisher: Sterling Children’s Books
Holy character development, Batman! Protagonist Aven Green was born without arms, was adopted, and now her parents are struggling financially. Then she leaves her friends to start at a new school. And that’s just the beginning of the book! Aven is a heroine who will engage young readers with her humour and optimism despite the maelstrom of adversity she faces. The sequel to this is Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus, where Aven faces the fear of every middle schooler – high school!

The important role of reading at CIS

cis summer reading books library students

As a leading international school in Singapore with two campuses, CIS prides itself on offering a rigorous kindergarten and primary school curriculum, delivered within the PYP framework. One of their key aims in Kindergarten and primary school isn’t just to help students learn to read, but to ensure they develop a strong passion for reading. And of course there are plenty of additional benefits to this, such as helping kids improve their vocabulary and attention span, and inspiring a lifelong thirst for knowledge and learning.

Throughout the year CIS students enjoy a huge range of initiatives to celebrate books and reading, such as author visits, books fairs with local bookstores, poetry writing, Book Character Day, reading challenges, mother tongue readings, and a “Book Bistro” where students get the change to “taste” something new.

To find out more about CIS and their Kindergarten and Primary School programme, click here or contact their Admissions Team on (+65) 6734 8088.

www.cis.edu.sg

Brought to you in partnership with Canadian International School

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