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All book cover images from Amazon
Adults tend to save their lighthearted, easy-to-read fiction for beach vacations while encouraging their kids to read more challenge books to stop the summer slide. But I suggest getting your young one a book that can do both. I’ve found a bunch of books centered on summer and sea that are so positive, fun and engaging, they might even coax your kid out of the pool to read.
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“Odder: An Otter’s Story” written by Katherine Applegate and illustrated by Charles Santoso, is the picture book adaptation of Applegate’s best-selling middle-grade novel about an orphaned otter that becomes a teacher to other rescued animals. Inspired by the Monterey Bay Aquarium program that pairs orphaned otter pups with surrogate mothers, Applegate once again tells a powerful story with hope in its heart. Ages 3–6.
“Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall” by award-winning local author and former “Bill Nye the Science Guy” writer Lynn Brunelle, explores the life-giving process of “whale fall,” the stages of decay through which a whale’s corpse passes as it sinks to the bottom of the sea. Jason Chin, the book’s Caldecott Medal–winning illustrator, has a new book, “Hurricane,” that will appeal to the same kids. Ages 4–8.
“Bibi Saves the Ocean” by Judith A. Ewa is the second in the “Preserve the Planet” picture book series for early readers. Nine-year-old Bibi is excited to play at the beach with her two best friends. But when she discovers it’s covered in garbage, she’s determined to clean up the beach, even if she has to recruit help. Ages 5–8.
“Lizard Boy 2: The Most Perfect Summer Ever” by Portland artist Jonathan Hill is not connected to the musical “Lizard Boy” by Seattle playwright Justin Huertas, but it does share its theme of finding one’s place as an outsider. In this second installment of Hill’s graphic novel series, our alien protagonist and his friends expect a perfect summer vacation when they find a tree house in the woods. But they find that even summer has its problems. Ages 8–12.
“Dive,” the three-book, middle-grade deep-sea survival series by Gordon Korman, has been rereleased in paperback, with new cover art, this year. In “The Discovery,” “The Deep” and “The Danger,” four friends improve their scuba skills as they deal with sharks, shipwreck and sunken treasure. Ages 9–12.
“Graciela in the Abyss” by Newberry Medal winner Meg Medina pairs sea ghost Graciela with human boy Jorge in a quest to keep evil spirits from wreaking havoc on both the living and the dead. To save the sea ghosts, Jorge will have to overcome his fear of the water. Ages 10–14.
“Float” by Kate Marchant features Waverly, who has been sent to spend the summer with her aunt in Florida. The Alaskan teen is not the beachy type — she can’t even swim — but her cute new neighbor, Blake, might change that. The 2022 novel has been made into a movie and is getting a graphic-novel adaptation this summer. Ages 12–14.
“Toxic Summer” by Eisner Award winner Derek Charm is a compilation of the first three issues of Charm’s comic series about best friends Ben and Leo, whose fun summer lifeguard jobs tank after a chemical spill spoils the beach and tentacled monsters start snatching people. Ages 13 and older.
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