Summer is a time to vacation—and many times, that includes traveling! Enjoy these stories of travel and summer adventure for all ages as you take to the road or skies toward your own destination.
Picture Books
“Sunrise Summer”
by Matthew Swanson
“Sunrise Summer” is a picture book by writer Matthew Swanson and illustrator Robbi Behr that celebrates self-confidence and empowerment as a girl’s role changes in her family’s fishing expeditions. When a girl and her family travel 4,000 miles from home, it’s not your typical summer vacation. Everything is different on the Alaskan tundra—where the grizzly bears roam and the sockeye salmon swim—including the rules. She can do things she wouldn’t, and couldn’t, do at home. She can wake up at midnight to work with her mom on a fishing crew. She can learn what it means to be an essential part of a team. She can become a braver, stronger and ever-more capable version of herself. She can take her next big step. She’s ready for her first real sunrise.
“Natsumi’s Song of Summer”
by Robert Paul Weston and Misa Saburi
Two young cousins who are separated by language, continent and culture meet for the first time when Jill’s family travels from America to Japan to stay with Natsumi’s family during the summer holidays. Natsumi’s nervousness about meeting her cousin from across the sea quickly disappears when she discovers that her cousin is a lot like her: They both love summertime’s hot sandy beaches, cool refreshing watermelon, festivals and fireworks. Then, Jill asks Natsumi about the strange buzzing sound that comes from the nearby trees, and Natsumi is nervous once again. What if Jill is frightened of Natsumi’s cherished cicadas, the insects that sing the music of summertime?
Early Readers
“Seashell Key”
by Lourdes Heuer
Welcome to Seashell Key! Summer is here, and the diverse community of kids living in this cozy coastal town are ready to welcome visitors to their little oasis.
“Going to Ghana”
by Christine A. Platt
Papa is traveling to Ghana, and the family gets to go, too! Ana and Andrew love learning about Ghanaian culture and their ancestors in this early reader illustrated chapter book.
Middle Readers
“Continental Drifter”
by Kathy Macleod
A winner of the American Library Association’s Asian/Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature, this book is about belonging. With a Thai mother and an American father, Kathy lives in two different worlds. She spends most of the year in Bangkok, where she’s secretly counting the days till summer vacation in a tiny seaside town in Maine. Kathy is trying to find where she belongs, but is it America, Thailand or anywhere?
“Danger in Zion National Park”
by Aaron Johnson
Part of the National Park Mystery series, this book is available in print and as a Hoopla EBook.
While camping in Zion National Park, Jake Evans and his friends uncover a new set of cryptic clues hidden in his grandfather’s scrapbook. Battling unpredictable weather, unforeseen challenges and an elusive adversary, the three friends are forced to rely on their problem-solving skills, the power of their growing friendship and the courage to do the right thing.
Teen Books
“A Second Chance on Earth”
by Juan Vidal
When 16-year-old poet and b-baller Marcos travels to Cartagena, Colombia, to scatter his late father’s ashes, he brings his father’s favorite book, “One Hundred Years of Solitude.” In Colombia, he strikes up a friendship with Camilo, a boy around his age who works as a local taxi driver and shares Marcos’ love for the novel. “A Second Chance on Earth” is a novel in verse with themes of friendship, family and forgiveness woven through.
“Dashed”
by Amanda Quain
This lighthearted, modernized tale of the Dashwood sisters, from Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility,” follows Margaret Dashwood on an adventurous summer cruise, free from her drama-ridden sister Marianne. But when Marianne unexpectedly crashes the cruise, the last thing Margaret wants is a vacation ruined by her wailing and chaotic sister. So, Margaret enlists her family and a handsome crew member to find the perfect summer romance that will distract Marianne, but even the best laid plans can go off course.
These titles are thoughtfully selected by Frederick County Public Libraries. You can find these books and more by visiting fcpl.org.
