Summer Fun

D.J. spends the summer helping her father with their farm work, while also getting coerced into training the rival football team’s quarterback. D.J. is one of the best athletes in their small Wisconsin town, but her relationships — with her family, her best friend, and quarterback Brian — are making her life so complicated.

This book uses beautiful photographs to tell the history of this warm weather sport. While the pictures are beautiful, the writing is also strong.

Chad is a Jersey Shore native who decides that becoming a boardwalk dunk-tank bozo is the best way to release his stresses. Hilarity ensues, along with some poignant moments about the real man behind the bozo.

One of the four novellas in this King classic is The Body, which became the basis for the movie Stand by Me. Four young guys find out about a body on the train tracks and decide to go see it. Often cited as one of King’s finest works, this story has that “things will never be the same after this summer” feel to it.

This is the true, inspirational story of a teenage girl who had her arm bitten off by a shark. While this could understandably ruin her life, her attitude and her faith bring this young girl through the tragedy.

All Irene wants to do is hair, but when she is fired by her mother during her summer job at a salon, her life becomes less glamorous… for a minute. While babysitting the neighborhood kids, she becomes “friends” with Starla, the mysterious lifeguard, and is drawn into an intriguing love triangle. No one does “mean girls” like Adele Griffin!

The first of the Au-Pairs series sets the stage for a hot summer in the Hamptons. Eliza, who used to be rich but now has to be a nanny; Mara, a “regular” girl who just wants to work hard, and lovelorn, Brazilian Jacqui all work together as au-pairs for a wealthy family, but try to have some fun in the Hamptons at the same time.

Fourth-grader Kenny goes with his older brother Byron and his parents on a road trip from Flint, Michigan to the South, where Byron will be spending the summer with his grandparents, away from the temptations of city life. Curtis mixes humor with the volatility of the South in the summer of 1963.

Brit’s parents go on vacation, leaving her with her 85-year old grandmother. But Nannie has vacation plans of her own — she is going to her 65th college reunion, and she’s taking her classmates with her. As the “girls” head up Interstate 95, the plot expands to include everything from kidnapping to the rights of the elderly. This is a fast-paced and fun intergenerational adventure.

The first of a four-volume series, the story tells of four friends who share a pair of “magical” jeans over the course of a summer. When the girls go to visit distant relatives, work a summer job, or attend a summer soccer camp, the jeans are there to play witness. Each of the books in the series spans a single summer, but a new reader really does need to start with the original volume.

This book is part of a series of modern classics about the charming Penderwick family. In this book The Penderwick sisters busily discover the summertime magic of Arundel estate’s sprawling gardens, treasure-filled attic, tame rabbits, and the cook who makes the best gingerbread in Massachusetts. Best of all is Jeffrey Tifton, son of Arundel’s owner, the perfect companion for their adventures. Icy-hearted Mrs. Tifton is less pleased with the Penderwicks than Jeffrey, and warns the new friends to stay out of trouble. Is that any fun? For sure the summer will be unforgettable. 

Three female cousins share a summer home with their family in Maine and each has a summer romance. This beach read may bring a tear to the eye, and will definitely bring some sequels.

An introduction by baseball great Hank Aaron opens this riveting look at the history of the Negro League. A large format supports revealing portraits of League players and an absorbing narration revealed in nine innings. Endnotes and further readings conclude this memorable and accessible history.