Timeless Summer Children's Books

 When I was a kid, there was no summer bucket list. 

If I was in Finland, I knew I'd be picking berries, visiting a cabin in the woods, and running back and forth between the sauna and the ocean. 

If I was in Virginia, I knew I'd be at the pool six days a week, riding my bike to my best friend's house, and devouring a million Otter Pops on my cousin's front porch.

Every summer also included a curl-up with a book in a backyard hammock.

All these summer joys are timeless, don't you think? Do you read in a hammock?

Try these classics to soak up one more month of summer:

 

Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran, illustrated by Barbara Cooney, is my favorite. McLerran and Cooney capture the magic of imagination that turns a field of broken glass and stones into a lifelong memory of a beautiful society of neighborhood friends.

 

Amos and Boris by William Steig was just published in 2009, but the enduring tale of friendship and simply sweet illustrations will make it a classic. 

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahames was written as a lovely escape from Grahame's difficult life, and it is now a gift of fantasy to everyone who reads each adventurous chapter.

 P.S. last year's summer book picks

first two photos: my childhood

third photo: source