Ahhh Summer, what would I be without you?? Summer, for me, brings so much happiness to every aspect of my life. This joy seeps into all I do, including when it comes to what I read during the Summer months. I have quite a few books that I am always sure to reach for during the summer, and only during the summer, and I thought I’d share those today 🙂
The Chronicles of Narnia. MY ABSOLUTE FAV BOOKS TO COME TO DURING SUMMERTIME. Since I was very young, I have long associated Summer with this special series (& the films too). I grab all seven of these magical stories and take them with me on our annual, summer, week-long trip to the Coast. (Talking all about that in my next post hehe.) C. S. Lewis and his magic. My goodness. He created a world of such beauty, love, and adventure, and I am forever grateful to him for it.
[It] all began with a picture of a faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood…and then Aslan came bounding in.”
C.S. Lewis
I’m so glad this image was stuck in Lewis’ head for years and years and that he finally got around to writing such wonderful stories.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve read these books every summer, and I have usually done so during that trip I just mentioned. It’s been a while since I’ve actually managed to finish all seven within that five to seven-day time frame, but I have done so before! As the years go by, we find more & more to do during our week there, and that means less & less time for reading. This year, I only managed to get to book four, Prince Caspian, and I was so sure I would actually get to finish them all this year, especially as we added an extra day to our trip :’)
Johnny Tremain. I adore this childhood-read. This was in our homeschool library for years, and I didn’t actually get around to reading it until I was about 12 or 13, and I think I was supposed to read it in the 4th or 5th grade. (We would order all of the books, and sometimes the curriculum didn’t require each and every single one; this happened with quite a few other titles as well. No complaints about that though! That just means we have more books and often discover absolute GEMS years later.)
This is the story of a young, charming, arrogant, and talented silversmith apprentice living in colonial Boston. He thinks highly of himself, but his bright future—owning his own shop one day, apprenticing under Paul Revere, and living a comfortable life—all comes crashing down when he has a tragic accident that impairs his abilities. This is the story of his journey from boyhood to manhood, learning how to live and thrive with his impairment, losing teenage arrogance and becoming a more humble young man, and his own transition from being a subject of the Crown to a proud American in a very young United States.
The saga of childhood books continues with this captivating duo. Detectives and Togas & Mystery of the Roman Ransom have been some of my favourites since I first had to read them in the second or third grade. Both are easy-to-follow whodunits that follow a group of young Roman friends who have to work fast to save a friend from great danger. Each of these characters are so unique, and they have distinct personality traits that are very endearing. You root for these boys, and you’re on the edge of your seat until the wild, madcap adventures are at a resolution.
Now, I haven’t read this one in a while, but every summer, I’d read Anne Frank’s Diary of Young Girl. I think it’s fairly obvious by now that I’m a huge fan of World War 2 History, from documentaries to historical fiction
novels. I read this when I was about 13, and I have loved it ever since. There
is no better look into a young girl’s mind and emotions than through the words she writes herself. Anne’s last couple of years, her ups and downs in her journey from adolescence to young womanhood is all documented from her very own point of view. It always strikes me how positive and hopeful her last entry was, only days before her family was betrayed.
lol can you tell how well-loved & well-read these books are??? COUNTLESS TIMES THEY’VE BEEN READ, LET ME TELL U (tho that was fairly obvious huh)
Those are all the books I read every summer! When writing this up, I couldn’t remember if I missed any, so this is my traditional summer round-up. I unashamedly read some of my childhood favourites because they’ll always be GEMS. I can’t wait to introduce these to my own kids one day :’) Do you have any books that you always read during a certain time of year?? I’d love to hear them in the comments!