The 2026 TCF Summer Reading Guide
Or, just give them a book.
Summer reading — it needs no introduction, am I right? It’s taken on an almost mythic quality amongst Millennials, we who are admittedly prone to waxing nostalgic about the library reading programs, neighborhood book clubs, and personal pan pizza rewards of yore.
While I can get a little side-eye-y about anything that becomes too precious, I suppose I’ll make an exception for kids getting lost in books. And so, my contribution: I present to you TCF’s 2026 Summer Reading Guide (first annual, I hope!). I’ve limited myself to five-ish books or series per age group, and since this is our first rodeo, you’ll have to forgive that there are more blockbusters than deep cuts on this list. (That being said, I’m routinely surprised by how books with all-star status in our home can be utterly unknown to friends, even if they’re voracious readers.1 So I’m confident you’ll find something new to love here!)
Here’s what you’ll find below:
There are five age groupings: 0-2, 3-4, kindergarten & first grade, second & third grade, and fourth & fifth grade.
For the elementary school years, I’ve made separate recommendations for boys and girls, though you can absolutely mix and match between them — just a way to get a little more variety and, honestly, include more books 😀 Of course, the age recommendations are just suggestions, too. Feel free to adjust for your readers!
Each category has 5-7 selections, all curated by me and my three helpers (ages 10, 7, and 4).
To make library visits easy, I’ve included a printable list with all the books below!
Let’s get into it!!