Reading Rockets offers a wealth of reading strategies, lessons, and activities designed to help young children learn how to read and read better. Our reading resources assist parents, teachers, and other educators in working with struggling readers who require additional help in reading fundamentals and comprehension skills development.
Recommended Kids Books by Theme
Just added!
Check out our new recommended books for summer before your next vacation!
One of the best ways to turn kids on to reading is to tap into what interests them. If it's Barbie, for example, share a book about princesses with your child. If it's Harry Potter, find books about wizards and fantasy. Sometimes it takes just one fabulous book to turn a kid into a reader!
The lists below are comprised of books organized by theme. The books were selected by our children's literature expert Maria Salvadore, formerly of the American Library Association's Notable Children's Books committee. They're for kids ages 0-9, focus on new titles, share a common theme, and emphasize quality. Happy reading!
Choose a book list
Creatures
Events and special days
Favorite books
- Comforting Classics
- Favorite Books Favorite Authors
- Old Friends for the New Year
- Personal Favorites
- Prized Books for the New Year
- When You Can't Read Just One
Feelings
- Being Brave
- Blankies and Other Favorite Things
- Books to Help Children Heal
- Moving On, Moving Away, Moving In
- Ten Books That Say 'I Love You'
Friends and family
- Best Friends
- Brothers & Sisters, Sisters & Brothers
- Fabulous Fathers
- Great Books About Grandparents
- Mothers and More: Books About Families
- Somebody's Getting Married
Fun and funny
- Field Trips and Other Adventures
- For Laughing Out Loud
- Great Goofy Stuff to Read, Eat, and Do
- Lots of Laughs
- That's So Gross!
- That’s So Gross! – Take II
Genres
- Around the World
- Arts and Crafts and Summer Fun!
- Beyond Harry Potter
- Cooking Up Fun
- Graphic Novels
- Latino and Spanish-language Favorites
- Native American Stories
- Nursery Rhymes
- Poetry for All Ages
- Tall Tales
- Ten Unforgettable Biographies
- Tricky Tricksters
- World Folktales
- World Travel
- Young Detectives
Holiday Buying Guides
Holidays
- Let's Give Thanks
- Ten Books for Halloween
- Ten Books for the Holiday Season
- Ten Books for Thanksgiving
Interests
- Books About Art
- Monster Madness
- Music Makers
- Princesses
- Things to Do When There's Nothing to Do
- Winning Books About the Olympics and Fun Summer Sports
Reading and language arts
- Beyond Books? Reading Alternatives
- Books About Kids Who Find Reading Hard
- Listen to This! Audio Books
- Listen up! More Audio Books
- Play With Your Words
Me and my days
Science and math
- Aliens! (And Other Strange Creatures)
- Count It Out
- My Mother Earth
- Secrets of Science
- Ten Books About Space
Seasons
- April Delights
- Books for the Beach!
- Change is in the Air
- It's Summer Vacation
- Let It Snow
- Summer Stuff
- Ten Books for Spring
- Welcome Summer
Social studies
Taking action
Other theme-based book lists
- Kids' Books With Lessons for Life (NPR)
- Reading With Dad Book List (MN Humanities Commission)
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Reading Rockets is a national multimedia project that offers research-based and best-practice information on teaching kids to read and helping those who struggle. It is an educational service of public television station WETA in Washington, D.C.
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© Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. Reading Rockets is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. Reading Rockets® is a registered trademark of WETA.
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