Open a Book, Unlock a World: Summer Reading Lists for TK–12 Scholars

There’s something magical about summer—long, unhurried days where imaginations roam free and the mind is ripe for discovery. At John Adams Academy, we believe summer is not a pause in learning, but an invitation to explore deeper, dream bigger, and grow in wisdom and wonder.

Whether your scholar is just beginning to recognize letters or confidently navigating the great works of literature, this is the perfect season to cultivate a lifelong love of reading. Our thoughtfully curated reading lists—spanning from TK to 12th grade—are designed to prevent the “summer slide,” fuel curiosity, and nurture the character and intellect of servant leaders.

These timeless stories, rich in virtue and imagination, are more than just entertainment. They’re stepping stones in a young scholar’s journey toward truth, beauty, and goodness.

So grab a blanket, head outside, and let the pages turn. The adventure awaits.

TK–Kindergarten

• Blueberries for Sal – Robert McCloskey

• Little Bear – Else Holmelund Minarik

• The Legend of Jumping Mouse – John Steptoe

• Brave Irene – William Steig

• The Book of Mistakes – Corinna Luyken

• The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear – Audrey Wood

• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom – Bill Martin

• Petunia – Roger Duvoisin

• Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile – Bernard Waber

• The House on East 88th Street – Bernard Waber

1st–2nd Grade

• The Hat – Jan Brett

• The Cabin Faced West – Jean Fritz

• Warm and Joyful Tales (selections) – James Herriot

• Pippi Longstocking – Astrid Lindgren

• Grasshopper on the Road – Arnold Lobel

• Amelia Bedelia – Peggy Parish

• Ira Says Goodbye – Bernard Waber

• The Happy Prince – Oscar Wilde

• Rapunzel – Paul O. Zelinsky

• Rumpelstiltskin – Paul O. Zelinsky

3rd–5th Grade

• The Boxcar Children – Gertrude Chandler Warner

• The Mouse and the Motorcycle – Beverly Cleary

• Hank the Cowdog – John R. Erickson

• Ginger Pye – Eleanor Estes

• Lassie (series) – Eric Knight

• Danny, the Champion of the World – Roald Dahl

• The Saturdays – Elizabeth Enright

• The Black Stallion – Walter Farley

• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – Ian Fleming

• Call It Courage – Armstrong Sperry

6th–8th Grade

• A Message to Garcia – Elbert Hubbard

• The Phantom Tollbooth – Norton Juster

• The Magician's Nephew – C.S. Lewis

• The Call of the Wild – Jack London

• Man of the Family – Ralph Moody

• Cyrano de Bergerac – Edmond Rostand

• The Family Under the Bridge – Natalie Savage Carlson

• Freckles – Gene Stratton-Porter

• Ballet Shoes – Noel Streatfeild

• Journey to the Center of the Earth – Jules Verne

9th–10th Grade

• As a Man Thinketh – James Allen

• Beauty and the Beast – Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve

• Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury

• The Red Badge of Courage – Stephen Crane

• The Screwtape Letters – C.S. Lewis

• A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court – Mark Twain

• Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde – Robert Louis Stevenson

• War of the Worlds – H.G. Wells

• Twelfth Night – William Shakespeare

• The Importance of Being Earnest – Oscar Wilde

11th–12th Grade

• Persuasion – Jane Austen

• Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë

• The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas

• Silas Marner – George Eliot

• The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde

• 1984 – George Orwell

• Apology – Plato

• Henry V – William Shakespeare

• Frankenstein – Mary Shelley

• Journey to the Center of the Earth – Jules Verne