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Best Summer Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Summer is here at last, and if your kids are looking for something fun to do during the summer months, you can’t go wrong with these classic summer reads. These books will get your kids excited about the summer months to come and help them ring in the new summer season. These books are great for learning all about the new summer season, as well as get them excited for days at the beach and catching fireflies in the night sky. Perfect for toddlers and preschoolers, you and they will find something fun to read in these books for summer reading with tots.

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Summer Reads for Toddlers and Preschoolers

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We have put together our favourite summer themed books for you and your tots to enjoy.

Summer

Sale
Summer (Seasons board books)
  • Used Book in Good Condition
  • Muller, Gerda (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 12 Pages – 10/15/1994 (Publication Date) – Floris Books (Publisher)

If you only add one book to your summer book basket from this list then this is the one we recommend. Summer by Gerda Muller is part of a series of 4 beautifully illustrated wordless picture books that depict family life during the seasons. Full of classic activities, old fashioned pictures of the countryside and family life it’s lovely to make up stories, explore the pictures and learn about summer with your tots.

And Then Comes Summer

Sale
And Then Comes Summer
  • Brenner, Tom (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 32 Pages – 04/20/2021 (Publication Date) – Candlewick (Publisher)

And Then Comes Summer, an adorable story shows the anticipation and joy as the summer months finally start to approach.

Ferdinand Fox’s First Summer

Ferdinand Fox’s First Summer (Arbordale Collection)
  • Used Book in Good Condition
  • Mary Holland (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 32 Pages – 03/03/2013 (Publication Date) – Arbordale Publishing (Publisher)

Follow along in this photographic journal, Ferdinand Fox’s First Summer, of a young fox as he explores the summer months.

I See Summer

Sale
I See Summer
  • Ghigna, Charles (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 24 Pages – 07/31/2011 (Publication Date) – Picture Window Books (Publisher)

From ice-cold lemonade to picnics in the park, this fun story, I See Summer, shows us how summer is all around us, perfect for reading and making your own Family Summer Bucket List of activities that you may want to do.

Summer Days and Nights

Sale
Summer Days and Nights
  • Hardcover Book
  • Yee, Wong Herbert (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 32 Pages – 04/10/2012 (Publication Date) – Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) (Publisher)

Follow the story of a young girl as she explores the days and nights of summer in the beautifully illustrated book Summer Days and Nights.

Pete The Cat: Pete at the Beach

Sale
Pete the Cat: Pete at the Beach (My First I Can Read)
  • Dean, James (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 32 Pages – 05/21/2013 (Publication Date) – HarperCollins (Publisher)

If you tots are fans of Pete the Cat then, James Dean brings the classic story of Pete the Cat as he catches some rays in the sun at the beach in the book Pete the Cat: Pete at the Beach.

The Night Before Summer Vacation

Sale
The Night Before Summer Vacation
  • Wing, Natasha (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 32 Pages – 04/29/2002 (Publication Date) – Grosset & Dunlap (Publisher)

Are you heading away with your little ones for the first time this summer, then this story about a little girl and her family preparing for a summer vacation is a wonderful story to get your kids excited about an upcoming trip or summer break. Inspired by the classic Night Before Christmas book, The Night Before Summer Vacation is a fun take on the tale.

Check out our FREE Printable Summer Count and Clip Cards for some printable learning with your kids!

My Awesome Summer by P. Mantis

My Awesome Summer by P. Mantis (A Nature Diary)
  • Meisel, Paul (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 40 Pages – 05/08/2018 (Publication Date) – Holiday House (Publisher)

Get a bug’s eye view of summer and the life cycle of a praying mantis up close in this summer read of My Awesome Summer by P. Mantis.

Biscuit’s First Beach Day

Biscuit’s First Beach Day
  • Capucilli, Alyssa Satin (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 24 Pages – 06/29/2010 (Publication Date) – HarperFestival (Publisher)

In Biscuit’s First Beach Day you can follow biscuit as he goes to the beach for the first time.

Summer is Here

Summer is Here
  • Gray, Heidi Pross (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 34 Pages – 07/15/2013 (Publication Date) – CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (Publisher)

Explore nature as it starts to burst at the seams in this fun informational read, Summer is Here, all about the amazing things that happen during this season.

Summer in the Forest

Sale
Summer In The Forest Deluxe Lift-a-Flap & Pop-Up Seasons Children’s Board Book (Pop-Up Surprise)
  • Look for the Lift-a-Flap Surprise! It’s a Lift-a-Flap and pop-up all in one book! |Interactive beautifully illustrated board book with lots to explore ideal for keeping toddlers entertained and engaged. Great summer book for preschoolers to enjoy|Perfectly sized for little hands and fingers to open and close the flaps. Sturdy board pages and thick durable flaps are extra strong and designed to withstand traditional wear and tear from curious little babies toddlers and preschoolers|Lifting the interactive flaps encourages sensory exploration and helps support the development of fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination in developing children. The content-rich text builds vocabulary.|Collect all four books in the SEASONS Lift-a-Flap Surprise series!
  • Rusty Finch (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 10 Pages – 04/15/2019 (Publication Date) – Cottage Door Press (Publisher)

Summer in the Forest is an interactive board book and the perfect way for your little ones to learn all about warm summer days.

Summer Activities for your Tots

After reading why not do some fun summer activities with your little tots this summer.

Easy Tin Can Lanterns to Make with Kids, a picture of a tin can which has been punched with holes in the shape of a butterfly, you can see this because of the candle inside which is alight and showing the light through
ice paints exploring melting with kids
Simple sunflower coffee filter craft for toddlers and preschoolers

More Great Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers to Read this Summer

Although we have picked our favourite summer books you can always add some of the books for this summer themes to your book basket this summer as well.

sea turtle images with text overlay reading sea turtle books for toddlers and preschoolers
Dig down, grab a magnifying glass and go on a bug hunt with these Bug and Butterfly books for your junior naturalists - aimed at Toddlers and Preschoolers.
Explore under the sea with your toddlers and preschoolers as a marine biologist and teachers shares her favourite ocean books to read together.

Sea Turtle Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Bug and Butterfly Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Ocean Books for Toddler and Preschoolers

The Best Summer Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers Cover Collage from Rainy Day Mum
Author
Cerys Parker

Cerys is a marine biologist, environmental educator, teacher, mum, and home educator from the UK. She loves getting creative, whether it is with simple and easy crafts and ideas, activities to make learning fun, or delicious recipes that you and your kids can cook together you'll find them all shared here on Rainy Day Mum.

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