Sizzlin' Summer Reads

The pool is cool when summer comes calling. But don’t overlook an afternoon at the library, a sweet destination. There the hushed, calm environment beckons like an enticing aroma drawing you in, inviting you to meet characters and accompany them on adventures in faraway places or your own backyard.

This month Clover’s suggesting some “Sizzlin’ Summer Reads” certain to keep young readers glued to the page. Journey to a farm where life abounds, joy in the flash of fireflies, and take a memorable road trip with a boy and his gramps. Each July Pick is handpicked just for you, Buzzers and Buzzettes, to enjoy to the fullest. Page On!

The Community Literacy Foundation, in partnership with Neighborhood Reads, and with support from its sponsors, provides these books at no cost to 38 schools in Washington, Union, Pacific, St. Clair and surrounding communities and to the Washington Public Library. Learn more at CommunityLiteracyFoundation.org.

Youngest Read

Most picture books are best read aloud—especially cumulative tales that build on themselves with repeated phrases. A just-published example of this type of story is “Where the Deer Slip Through,” by the late author Katey Howes, a book advocate and library lover. It’s music to our ears, the simple narrative gently rhythmic and hypnotic.

The book is set on a peaceful farm surrounded by an old stone wall that’s seen a lot of winters, making it vulnerable to creatures more than eager to enter the farm’s boundaries.

“This is the gap where the deer slip through when the sky is still more pink than blue …. This is the hollow the rabbits squeeze through to a patch of grass where the dandelions bloom, down by the gap where the deer slip through.”

As pages slip through our fingers, more animals enter the grounds of the farm within, bunnies “tumble and twist, and frolic and race” while a child turns somersaults in the shade of a tree. Human life unfolds in perfect partnership with nature as the story evolves offering peace on display in a simple, admirable world.

Scratchboard, watercolor illustrations by Beth Krommes are the perfect accompaniment to a book destined to garner honors and great praise from readers certain to be captivated by its beauty.

Buy the book at Neighborhood Reads

Middle Read

July arrives, and suddenly the night sky is alight with fireflies. Welcome them with “Firefly Song” an eye-catching new book by Colleen Paeff about a miraculous discovery.

Kids have special places, for Julia it was the Great Smokey Mountains where she spent summers in Elmont, located in a green river valley. Besides having a great swimming hole, the area had abundant fireflies. The

Elmont fireflies were special. They were synchronistic, their lights all went on at the same time, “Blink! Shine! Twinkle! Pop! Flash! Spark!” A wow of a display that drew people to watch the feat—the best fireworks show ever.

Elmont became sacred to Julia, so when she found out that the Great Smokey Mountains National Park cabins at Elmont were going to be razed, she was shocked and saddened. Julia was determined to present a reason for the cabins and area to be preserved. As the years commenced, her goal became to prove to the world that synchronistic fireflies existed in the Western Hemisphere, and in the process, save the area she’d so grown to love.

In this moving book, Julia’s passion to preserve the firefly’s home comes to brilliant life in wonderous illustrations by Korean artist Ji-Hyuk Kim.

Buy the book at Neighborhood Reads

Oldest Read

Gonzalo Alberto Sánchez Garcia won’t be spending much time at home in the summer. He’s being forced by Veronica, his mom, to accompany his grandfather on a road trip from California to Miami to promote the final book in Alberto’s fantasy series for middle schoolers.

“A Hero’s Guide to Summer Vacation,” by Pablo Cartaya, details the adventures and personal growth Gonzalo and Alberto experience while tooling across America in a dated, sky-blue Pontiac. Gonzalo tries to make the hours pass quickly by drawing pictures, dark, depressing images that worry his family.

Gonzalo finds his grandfather grumpy, and Alberto doesn’t think his grandson is very pleasant either. Both are suffering emotionally, causing them to take their pain out on each other. Gonzalo’s father died the year before, and Alberto has never made peace with losing his wife when his daughter Veronica was just 12, the same age Gonzalo was when his dad passed.

Alberto has suffered other losses. As a boy of 10, he tried to escape Cuba and his mother drowned. He was sent back to Cuba, a country in a fractious state where citizen’s rights were threatened. Eventually Alberto made it to the United States. His journey inspired his fantasy series, the main character a hero popular with young readers. Excerpts from his series make for side journeys in the book.

When Gonzalo and Alberto have a disagreement, the two suddenly have a third person along for the ride. Veronica handles promotions for her father’s books, and is constantly working, which is an issue for Gonzalo, who remember when his mom was fun to be around.

“A Hero’s Guide to Summer Vacation,” is an entertaining book that combines a realistic story with a fantastical one, a unique, creative combination.

Buy the book at Neighborhood Reads

Written by Chris Stuckenschneider.

Copyright 2025, Community Literacy Foundation.