What’s on your kids’ summer reading lists? Even when school is out of session, the learning never stops with a good book in hand. With no homework to get in the way, kids have more time to read than ever. With exciting stories full of fantasy, outer space, magical worlds, and family traditions, they’ll have no excuse not to. Check out some new book releases for July below!
Stories of Jedi and Sith (Star Wars) by Lucasfilm Press features original stories from 10 different authors about the fight between good and evil. Kids can read new takes on iconic Star Wars characters, including Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Maul, and more, complete with illustrations by Jake Bartok.
In Etta Invincible by Reese Eschmann, a girl with hearing loss and a boy adjusting to life in a new country connect through their love of comics. The boy’s dog runs away, onto a magical train that mysteriously arrived near Etta and Eleazar’s houses. The two kids must find their inner heroes to save the dog, discovering that each train car has its own magical world full of riddles and challenges that they must solve before they can reach the engine room and rescue the dog. The stakes get even higher when the train’s magic begins to malfunction and spread a purple smoke called “The Fear” through the city of Chicago. Etta and Eleazar must save the dog, the city, and each other.
Open Wide and Say Arrrgh! is the latest chronicle of The Bad Guys book series by Aaron Blabey. This illustrated series’ wannabe heroes may look like bad guys, but they are doing good deeds — whether you like it or not. Readers may see things like a chainsaw monster confronting a velociraptor who has eaten an elderly piranha, or a deranged dentist running amok with an oversized drill.
Nura and the Immortal Palace by M.T. Khan is a fantasy book in which the main character Nura longs for the simple things in life, but instead must spend her days earning money to help feed her three younger siblings. Nura works in a mine, where local rumor says there’s buried treasure. When the mines collapse and four kids go missing, Nura stumbles upon the entrance to a strange, opulent world called jinn, inhabited by the creatures from her mother’s cautionary tales. Nura is invited to a luxury jinn hotel full of riches, but when she crosses the owner’s son, she realizes there’s darkness lurking underneath … including the missing children from the mine. They must find a way to escape or they’ll be bound to work for the hotel forever.
Pink Is Not a Color by Lindsay Ward will teach kids how to appreciate their true selves. In the book, Pink loves her pink-filled world full of pink toy dinosaurs and her pet flamingo — until she sees the Primaries and Secondaries getting ready for the Rainbow Extravaganza and wonders why she isn’t in the rainbow. She begins to question whether she’s even a color at all, and becomes even more confused when she meets a group called the Tints. A friend shows her the many ways she spreads joy and reminds her that she is one of a kind, whether she’s in the rainbow or not.
Mum, Me, and the Mulberry Tree is a hardcover picture book written by Tanya Rosie and illustrated by Chuck Groenink. The story follows a mother-and-daughter duo as they enjoy their annual trip to the English countryside to pick mulberries and bake a delicious pie. This simple story will teach kids about honoring family traditions and spending quality time with someone you love.
All of these books will launch in July and are available on Amazon or Kindle. You can also look for them in your local bookstores! Happy summer reading!
