2026 Summer Reading 3rd -5th Grade Guide
I’m hoping you all love this summer reading guide! It took me a good amount of time to pull together, but I am so proud of how this one turned out! I think it’s important for kids, especially in the 3rd – 5th grade range to really be excited about reading. I don’t want to see kids get comfortable reading fluently, but then get turned off from the idea of reading because they are forced to do so much for school. It can also think it can be really difficult to find the right books for this age group as well because they’re usually a wider range of reading levels and are getting more individualized interests, which means you have to really help this age group find the best books that speak to them.
Book Suggestions
And that’s what I’m hoping comes out of this 2026 Summer Reading 3rd-5th Grade Guide. I’m hoping that kids can sift through these suggestions and find books that resonate with them and expand reading beyond the book to reading logs, book reviews, and other fun summer activities. I’ve included over 40 book suggestions across a wide variety of genres and formats and across a wide variety of reading levels, in the hopes that kids will again, find something they’ll love.
Reading Logs, Reviews, & Activities
Beyond the curated book list, this 40+ page guide also includes a few different options for logging book titles, a few different options for writing book reviews, and a number of activities and challenges that you can do over the summer. Some of my favorites include book bingo and the rainbow challenge (reading books with different colors on the covers). I’ve also included a couple of helpful resources like definitions on formats and genres to help kids find the books that interest them and a “how-to” guide for when kids need help looking for a book at the library or the bookstore!
If you haven’t had a chance to review the PreK Guide or the Kindergarten – 2nd Grade Guide, you should definitely check out those curated book lists too! And remember, kids don’t have to read from a specific list because they’re in a specific grade, kids should be encouraged to read whatever they want and if they’re enjoying themselves, then that’s the most important part! And check back in the next few weeks to see the middle school reading guide and the high school reading guide coming soon.
