KidLit Crafts and Activities for Summer

It’s Summertime!

Have some Summer Fun READING Books

and MAKING summer-themed Crafts!

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WATCH Paul Meisel’s Read Out Loud!
About the Book

Get a bug’s-eye-view on the life cycle of the praying mantis, in this hilarious, scientifically accurate Nature Diary following an insect through her whole summer.

Finalist for the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books

This is the diary of P. Mantis, one of 150 brothers and sisters born on a garden bush. P. Mantis is an amazing bug: she can make herself look like a stick to hide from predators, she can swivel her head all the way around, and when she’s grown up she’ll even be able to fly!

Washington Children’s Choice Book Award 2019 Nominee
A New York Public Library Staff Pick for Children

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About the Book

A joyful, sun-drenched tribute to the anticipation and adventures of the warmest season of the year.

When the days stretch out like a slow yawn, and the cheerful faces of Johnny-jump-ups jump up . . . then it’s time to get ready for summer! From flip-flops and hide-and-seek to fireworks and ice-cream trucks, from lemonade stands and late bedtimes to swimming in the lake and toasting marshmallows, there’s something for everyone in this bright and buoyant celebration of the sunny season.

Tom Brenner’s lovely, lyrical ode to summers spent outdoors will strike a chord with anyone who’s ever counted down the days until school gets out, and Jaime Kim’s jubilant, nostalgia-soaked illustrations leave little doubt that summer is indeed a time unlike any other.

MAKE Paper Plate Ice Cream

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The Boy and the Sea: Andros, Camille, Bates, Amy June: 9781419749407: Amazon.com: Books

About the Book

A picture book meditation on curiosity, wonder, and finding one’s way

In this lyrical picture book, readers follow one boy through his life as he returns to the seashore beside his home. The boy likes to think, and his thoughts turn into questions. He brings these questions to the sea. At times, he thinks he can hear the sea whisper to him: Dream. Love. Be. So he does. He dreams—a young boy imagining all that he might do. He loves—a teenager, reaching out from a lonely place to make friends. He allows himself to just be—now grown, sharing the seashore with his daughter.

A celebration of quiet curiosity, The Boy and the Sea invites readers to ask questions and live their way into the answers.

MAKE a Rocky Shore Small World with Ocean Playdough

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About the Book

Hilarious and scientifically accurate, this Nature Diary gives readers a bug’s-eye-view of the life cycle of a stinkbug.

Told in diary form, My Stinky Summer by S. Bug introduces readers to the stinkbug’s life cycle and survival habits.

From the day he is born, S. Bug hears the same refrain–“Ew! Stinkbug!” The stinkbug’s odor is powerful protection against from predators. Perhaps too powerful. Readers will also learn about the challenges that arise when an ecosystem is pushed off-balance.

Children will love poring over the bright, highly detailed illustrations and pondering ideas about ecosystems and nature.

The book includes a glossary and further information in the back of the book. Both art and text have been vetted for accuracy by an expert.

PLAY the Sense of Smell Activity Game 

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About the Book

MAKE a Paper Plate Carousel

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Grandpa Across the Ocean: Yum, Hyewon, Yum, Hyewon: 9781419742255: Amazon.com: Books

About the Book

Though separated by language, age, and an ocean, a child and grandparent find common ground in this warm, witty picture book

Grandpa lives on the other side of the ocean.
He takes naps all the time. He eats different foods. He speaks an unfamiliar language. His house is the most boring place on Earth!

Or is it? A little time together just might reveal that Grandpa is also a great singer, an energetic sandcastle builder, and a troublemaker . . . just like his grandson!

With her signature warmth and humor, award-winning author-illustrator Hyewon Yum shares the challenges and joys of having a relative who lives far away—proving that even from across the ocean, the grandparent-grandchild relationship is a very special one.

MAKE a Sandcastle Craft

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sandcastle craft

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About the Book

Sunrise Summer is a picture book by writer Matthew Swanson and illustrator Robbi Behr that celebrates self-confidence and empowerment, as a girl’s role changes in her family’s fishing expeditions.

When a girl and her family travel four thousand miles from home, it’s not your typical summer vacation. Everything is different on the Alaskan tundra—where the grizzly bears roam and the sockeye salmon swim—including the rules. A girl can do things she wouldn’t, and couldn’t, do at home.

She can wake up at midnight to work with her mom on a fishing crew. She can learn what it means to be an essential part of a team. She can become a braver, stronger, and ever-more capable version of herself. She can take her next big step.

She’s ready for her first real sunrise.

MAKE and PLAY a Fishing Game

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Fish game: fish with hook and rod

MEGAN CAHILL-ASSENZA – is from Northport, NY, and a recent Children’s Literature Fellow from Stony Brook University. A writer, filmmaker, and animal lover, Megan is pursuing a career in children’s literature. She currently works in the Academic Tutoring Center at Suffolk County Community College.
Connect with Megan!  Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

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