Summer Reading List for Tweens

This is especially important during the tween years when activities such as playing sports, attending summer camp and watching TV begin to compete more for your child’s free time. While all parents hope that their children will read for pleasure on their own, this is not always the case. To help give parents a list of books they can suggest to their kids this summer, below is a summer reading list for tweens in grades four through eight:

1.   Diary of a Wimpy Kid

2.   Harry Potter series

3.   Percy Jackson and the Olympians

4.   The Hunger Games series

5.   Charlotte’s Web

6.   Hatchet

7.   Charlie & the Chocolate Factory

8.   Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

9.   Holes

10. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

11. The Princess and the Page

12. The Warden’s Daughter

13. American Girl: Gabriela

14. Scar Island

15. Last Kids on Earth series

16. Wings of Fire series

17. Forget Me Not

18. Kat Greene Comes Clean

19. The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street

20. Skeleton Tree

For most parents of tweens, merely buying their children a book isn’t enough to get them reading. Here are five ways you can encourage your tween to read this summer:

1. Let Them Choose: Kids spend all year long reading books that are required as a part of their school’s curriculum. Summer is a great time for tweens to explore their interests and pick a book that they WANT to read instead of HAVE to read. Giving your tween the chance to choose what book he or she wants to read significantly helps keep your tween interested in reading.

2. Make it Social: Many parents of tweens said their child gets interested in reading a book because their friends are reading it. According to parents, the most popular genres among tweens are:

Humor (e.g. Diary of a Wimpy Kid)

Fantasy (e.g. Harry Potter series, Percy Jackson series)

Action Adventure (e.g. Holes, Hatchet)

Science Fiction (e.g. A Wrinkle in Time, 1984)

Books Made Into Movies (e.g. Divergent series, The Giver)

Many libraries and recreation clubs offer age-specific books clubs. If your community doesn’t have this option, you can join with other parents to create your own book club and give kids a chance to make friends and socialize while discussing the latest novel.

3. Set a Good Example: If your children see you reading for pleasure, they may be more likely to do so themselves. Take it one step further and read a book along with your tweens. Many popular tween and young adult novels have universal themes that both parents and children can relate to. You can discuss the latest chapter over dinner or on the way to soccer practice!

4. Offer Incentives: So many of today’s popular tween books are also movies, and offering kids a trip to the movies after they’ve completed the book