Top Children’s Books to Bring on Vacation: Drum Roll, Please for “The Library List”

Growing up, I loved, loved, loved the library. The crackle of the dust jackets. The smell of the pages, that distinctive eau de library from all the houses that the books had visited. I even had a soft spot for the librarian with the sweaty back who called up your mother to make sure it was fine if you checked out “Sybil” or “Go Ask Alice.” But more than anything, I recall the sublime, satisfying weight of a week’s worth of new reading against my arm.

Fast-forward a decade or three: upon starting this blog, I asked my mom friends what types of content they’d find helpful. One answer, in particular, kept cropping up: “Lists.” They wanted choices—fast, easy picks of great titles that didn’t necessarily require a lot of clicking or copy.

Put the two ideas together, add in the fact that a $16.99 hardcover can seem like a luxury these days, and you get our first “Library List.” This occasional feature is for the days when a leisurely browse through the shelves is about as realistic as a eucalyptus-leaf massage between play dates. It’s a quick, down-and-dirty, get-your-books-and-get-back-in-the-car-please catalog of stellar titles organized by age level/genre. My hope: you’ll print or download the list, take it with you and find something intriguing to bring home.

The picks will be eclectic in an effort to meet a variety of tastes. Some are brand-new buzz-makers; others are older favorites that I’ve pulled from my own collection, recommendations and awards lists. Bottom line: your local library should have at least some of these titles. On the (very) off chance that it doesn’t, almost all of the authors and illustrators are prolific and reliably good and likely have other works available.

I’ll also be tossing in one themed list to keep the mix unpredictable and, as appropriate, timely. This month’s is a no-brainer: picture books that celebrate the dwindling days of summer (which I experienced yesterday in the exuberantly crowded yet unnervingly warm waters of the wading pool on Boston Common).

Enjoy! And if there are favorites your family has checked out or a category you’d like to see included, do share in the comments section or drop me a line at apotter@tiac.net.

Summer’s-Not-Over-Yet Picture Books (ages 4 and up)

1. “That’s Papa’s Way” written by Kate Banks, illustrated by Lauren Castillo

2. “Lottie’s New Beach Towel” by Petra Mathers

3. “Flotsam” by David Wiesner

4. “A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever” by Marla Frazee

5. “The Great Blue House” written by Kate Banks, illustrated by Georg Hallensleben

6. “Wave” by Suzy Lee

7. “Grace for an Island Meal” written by Rachel Field, illustrated by Cynthia Jabar

8. “My Best Friend” written by Mary Ann Rodman, illustrated by E.B. Lewis

More Picture Books (ages 4 and up)

1. “Dahlia” by Barbara McClintock

2. “My People” written by Langston Hughes, photos by Charles R. Smith, Jr.

3. “The One and Only Marigold” written by Florence Parry Heide, illustrated by Jill McElmurry

4. “Birds” written by Kevin Henkes, illustrated by Laura Dronzek

5. “Bubble Trouble” written by Margaret Mahy, illustrated by Polly Dunbar

Easy Readers (ages 6 and up)

1. The “Toon” series by various authors

2. “Catwings” by Ursula K. Le Guin

3. “Daisy Dawson Is On Her Way” by Steve Voake

Verse (ages 4 and up)

1. “Father Fox’s Pennyrhymes” written by Clyde Watson, illustrated by Wendy Watson

2.     “A Foot in the Mouth: Poems to Speak, Sing and Shout” edited by Paul B. Janeczko,  illustrated by Chris Raschka [Note: this one's for ages 9 to 12]

3.     “Orangutan Tongs: Poems to Tangle Your Tongue” by Jon Agee

4.     “Button Up!: Wrinkled Rhymes” by Alice Schertle, illustrated by Petra Mathers

5.     “Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings” by Douglas Florian

Middle Grade (ages 9 to 12)

1. “Scat” by Carl Hiaasen

2. “Peace, Locomotion” by Jacqueline Woodson

3. “Probably the World’s Best Story About a Dog and the Girl Who Loved Me” by D. James Smith

4. “The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg” by Rodman Philbrick

5. “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” by Grace Lin

6. “Moxie Maxwell Does Not Like Practicing the Piano” by Peggy Gifford

7. “The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate” by Jacqueline Kelly

8. “T-Minus: The Race to the Moon” by Jim Ottoviani, Zander Cannon and Kevin Cannon

Young Adult (ages 12 and up)

1. “The Summer I Turned Pretty” by Jenny Han

2. “Inexcusable” by Chris Lynch

3. “The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks” by E. Lockhart

4. “Tales From Outer Suburbia” by Shaun Tan

5. “Wintergirls” by Laurie Halse Anderson

6. “An Abundance of Katherines” by John Green

7. “Madapple” by Christina Meldrum