Summer Reading List for Catholic Children

Summer Reading for Catholic Children

By Judith Costello and family

Kids need to flex their literacy muscles over the summer! Reading strengthens the mind and imagination. But the content of this material is important too. So we have developed a special list of Catholic books for children.

From the 12,000 books in our house (my husband, Jurgen, is a bibliophile!) I asked 13-year-old Brigit to pick out the most inspirational and best! She and her 16-year-ld brother, Peter, have read the following books over and over. They recommend them highly to other young people.

Some of these books are old classics. My kids ate up the Hardy Boys books when they received them at the right time…they are mysteries–so much better and more wholesome than the stuff kids see on TV.

Some of these authors–especially C.S. Lewis, Lois Lowry and Lloyd Alexander—are especially good at grabbing kids and taking them along on journeys of courage, perseverance and godly wisdom.

All Ages
The Tale of Three Trees	Angela Elwell Hunt	Awesome and inspirational. Get the illustrated version. This is a real keeper.
Kindergarten -1st Grade
Happy Birthday Moon	Frank Asch	The bear wants to give the moon a present. It’s a cute story about sharing! And God rewards a cheerful giver!
2nd Grade
Friendship with Jesus: Pope Benedict XVI Speaks to Children on their First Holy Communion	Amy Wellborn	This beautiful picture book helps kids connect to the Pope and prepare for their sacraments.
3rd Grade
The Boxcar Children	Gertrude Chandler Warner	Beginning in 1924,  the first book is especially wonderful as 4 orphans make a home in an old boxcar.
The Weight of a Mass: A Tale of Faith	Josephine Nobisso	A poor window says she will offer a Mass in exchange for a piece of bread. The baker and others laugh at her until they found out the true value of faith. Based on a true story!
4th-5th Grade
All – Nancy Drew and All Hardy Boys	Mildred Benson / Edward Stratemeyer	I read every single hardy boy’s I could get my hands on and I am now trying to read all the Nancy Drew’s as well. They are all really fun to read and keep the action moving!)
The Christy books	Catherine Marshall	This series tells of a Christian teacher who travels to a remote Appalachian village to work with poor families.
The Chronicles of Narnia	C.S. Lewis	The books are better than the movies.
Island of the Blue Dolphin	Scott O’Dell	Read anything by this author.
The Day No Pigs Would Die, A Part of the Sky	Robert Newton Peck	All of RNP’s  books are amazing. I couldn’t put these two down though..not until I was finished and then I wished for a third.–Brigit
The Trumpet of the Swan	E.B. White
6th Grade
Esperanza Rising	Pam Muñoz Ryan	This is a book that never gets old. I read it about 5 times in the past two years. It’s a great read about faith and about being the best you can be. –Brigit
Hatchet	Gary Paulsen	Write about courage and character. These are authors to follow, especially good for boys.–Peter
The Black Cauldron	Lloyd Alexander	Write about courage and character. These are authors to follow, especially good for boys.–Peter
Number the Stars	Lois Lowry	This is another book I can’t read just once. I have read it a good six times. It’s an amazing book of friendship, hope, and courage. It has a lot of history but it’s a great novel too. –Brigit
Jacob Have I Loved	Katherine Paterson
The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs	Betty G. Birney	This is a book about finding the miracles that are happening all around us. It led me to write my own book on the Wonders of Brigit!
Freedom Train	Evelyn Coleman
7th Grade
The Giver	Lois Lowry
Holes	Louis Sachar
Where the Red Fern Grows	Wilson Rawls
And recommended by Mom for grown-ups
Father Elijah	Michael D. O’Brien’s	…his book is a powerful apocalyptic novel. Michael is a Catholic artist and novelist.
Rediscover Catholicism	Matthew Kelly	Great faith renewal book by. It’s nonfiction but easy to read.