Summer Reading Kickoff: How to Make This the Best Reading Summer Yet

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Summer is here, and with it comes long afternoons, bare feet on warm grass, and the glorious, unstructured kind of free time that childhood is made of. At Bourke's Books, we believe those lazy summer hours are perfect reading hours and we want to help your family make the most of them.

You don't need a rigid reading log or a reward chart (unless your kids love those — no judgement here!). What you do need is a stack of great books, a little intention, and the freedom to let children follow their curiosity. Here's how we like to think about building a summer full of stories.

Let Them Choose

This is the single most important thing we can say: let your child pick the book. Research consistently shows that when kids have autonomy over their reading choices, they read more and enjoy it more. That means it's okay if your seven-year-old wants to read the same Dav Pilkey Captain Underpants book for the third time. It's okay if they gravitate toward graphic novels, or joke books, or a non-fiction encyclopedia about sharks.

What matters is that the book feels like theirs. When a child is excited about what they're reading, the habits form naturally — and those habits last long after summer ends.

Build a "Summer Stack" Together

One of our favorite traditions is helping families build a summer book stack. We love to chat about what your child has enjoyed lately, and pull a mix of titles that feel both familiar and a little adventurous — books that stretch interests without being intimidating.

For younger readers, that might look like pairing a beloved author like Julia Donaldson (if they love The Gruffalo, we might introduce Zog or The Smeds and the Smoos) with something new and visually exciting, like Oliver Jeffers' Here We Are. For middle-grade readers, we might suggest Katherine Applegate's Odder or Lisa Fipps' verse novel Starfish — both are powerful, accessible, and utterly absorbing.

"The best summer reading list is the one your child actually wants to read. Our job is to help you find it."

Make Books Part of the Rhythm

Summer schedules are looser. Use that flexibility to weave reading into the day in low-pressure ways:

• Visit the bookshop regularly. A monthly trip to the bookstore gives kids something to look forward to and keeps the excitement alive. Our shelves are always changing, and there's always a new treasure waiting.

• Model reading yourself. Kids who see the adults in their lives reading for pleasure are far more likely to pick up a book on their own. Let them see you lost in a novel on the patio. It's powerful.

• Create a reading-friendly space. A cosy corner, a blanket fort, a hammock — wherever feels like a little escape. Pair it with a stack of books and let the magic happen.

Don't Worry About "Level"

We hear it all the time: "Is this book too easy for them?" or "Should they be reading something more challenging?" Our honest answer? The right book is the one your child wants to read. Reading below their "level" over the summer isn't a setback — it's a chance to build fluency, confidence, and pure enjoyment. The challenging stuff will come. Summer is for falling in love with stories.

Come See Us

We're here all summer with recommendations, new arrivals, and a genuine passion for matching the right book with the right reader. Whether your child is just discovering picture books or devouring chapter books faster than we can stock them, we'd love to help you build a summer your family will remember.

Here's to a summer full of great stories. 📚☀️

Visit us at Bourkesbooks to build your family's summer reading stack.
We're open all week — no appointment needed, just bring your curiosity!
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