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<\/a><\/figure>\nLet me begin by apologizing to those of you who follow me here, as my almost full-time work at the bookstore these days has meant that I am much less present on this platform that I used to be. As many of you know, I continue to be very active on Instagram (@thebookmommy), posting several reviews each week, but I know that many of you have moved away from social media, and I also understand that! I\u2019m not quite sure what the future of this blog will be, but I do know many of you have reached out asking if I would please at least continue to share my Summer Reading Guide and Holiday Gift Guides, and so here I am with the first installment of this year\u2019s Summer Reading Guide (better late than never?). My reviews won\u2019t be quite as long as in years\u2019 past, though I will link to longer reviews that I\u2019ve done so far on Instagram and pop in periodically to add links.<\/p>\n
My 2025 Summer Reading Guide is pretty close to the one that has already launched at Old Town Books\u2014and which I spearhead each year. I\u2019m fortunate to have amazing colleagues at the bookstore who help me read for the guides, and I\u2019ll often prioritize reading things that they\u2019ve loved. But I also can\u2019t get through everything, so there are some books on the shop\u2019s guide that are not in my personal guide, simply because I only ever recommend books that I have personally read (and loved, of course).<\/p>\n
This first installment highlights my favorite new short chapter books and early graphic novels for emerging readers. Note that these are all standalone titles or first in a series, but you should absolutely go back and read past guides<\/a> because many of those books now have sequels out!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Perfect for independent reading or reading aloud, Ratnip: Lose and Found in the City<\/a><\/em> is the first in a classic-vibing short chapter series (B&W art) with whimsy and mischief from the author of Good Dog<\/em>, about a city rat with pizza-named siblings who enjoys dumpster diving\u2013ahem, treasure hunting. With future installments publishing quickly, the second and third titles are already out!<\/p>\n In Detective Stanley and the Mystery at the Museum<\/a><\/em>, a canine curmudgeon comes out of retirement to solve an art heist in a delightfully erudite graphic novel that bursts with Agatha Christie & Sherlock Holmes references and presents clues for readers to solve in real time.<\/p>\n \u00a0At 272 pages and replete with elevated vocab and puns, this gorgeously greyscale illustrated story of friendship, magic, and cheese puffs, starring the most adorably grumpy goldfish of the year, will shine as a family read aloud. If you\u2019ve got a kindergartener, a first grader, and a third grader you\u2019re looking to entertain at the same time, Growing Home<\/a> <\/em>is your answer! Full review here<\/a>. <\/p>\n In Story Spinners<\/a><\/em>, incredible art accentuates this story-within-a-story graphic novel, where bickering sisters assuage their toddler brother with a jointly made up \u201ctale of danger, a princess, and her crew of lady pirates.\u201d As we move in and out of the story the two sisters are telling, we get a window, not only into the girls\u2019 hilariously different personalities, but into the creative process and the compromises of collaboration. <\/p>\n In Casey\u2019s Cases: The Mysterious New Girl<\/a><\/em>, an endearing and impulsive Dory Fantasmagory-esque heroine dives head first into mysteries inside and outside her classroom. This chuckle-a-minute graphic novel series opener also manages to fit in some lovely themes of friendship and acceptance. Full review here<\/a>. Next installment will be out this September!<\/p>\n Prepare for young readers to giggle their way through this outrageously fun short chapter series (B&W illustrations) starring a magic cat flap, jousting, Vikings, trolls, and some serious stink. The first title (Murray the Viking<\/a><\/em>) and second title (Murray the Knight<\/a><\/em>) released simultaneously and can be read in any order. Just know you\u2019re going to want the third one, out next January, because this feline-bunny duo is just too adorable!<\/p>\n Youngest siblings will feel seen in this brilliantly penned and visually enticing graphic novel combining jokes, shenanigans, and secret clubs. Steve Breen isn\u2019t a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist for nothing, and new readers are in seriously good hands with Sib Squad<\/a><\/em> (sequel out this fall!). Full review here<\/a>. <\/p>\n Nonfiction with a side of humor and comics? Yes please! I\u2019m a Dumbo Octopus<\/a><\/em> is a graphic novel guide to cephalopods, hosted by a conversational guru named Grimpy the Dumbo Octopus and packed with fascinating facts about his fellow cephalopods. (Honorary mention to another new ocean-themed nonfiction graphic novel for the same age set: Jana Curll\u2019s Barnacle Bay<\/a>.<\/em>)<\/p>\n Truth be told, I\u2019m not the biggest fan of Barbara Park\u2019s classic short chapter series starring Junie B. Jones. But this graphic novel adaptation by the great Colleen AF Venable (of Katie the Catsitter<\/em> fame)? It has all of the spiritedness with none of the brattiness and I\u2019m ALL IN. In the first title, Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus<\/a><\/em> (second out this fall), Junie B.\u2019s start to kindergarten goes hilariously, endearingly wrong (before all works out!).<\/p>\n Tiny dino, big problems! This series starter graphic novel (B&W art), We\u2019re All Gonna Die-Nosaur<\/a><\/em> (second out this October!), delivers in spades for those seeking absurd humor and plenty of hijinks. Pterry the Pterodactyl may be paranoid, but it\u2019s also true that his worst-case scenarios keep coming true! Perfect for your Bad Guys<\/em> fans.<\/p>\n Iron Man teams up with Dr. Strange in an original graphic novel set in New York City by an all-star duo (yes, that\u2019s Dean Hale of The Princess in Black<\/em> fame!). While a different creative team, it\u2019s in line with a past favorite, Mike Maihack\u2019s Spider-Man: Animals Assemble<\/em>, and it\u2019s so nice to see Marvel content getting such fresh, easy-on-the-eye treatment for newly independent readers!<\/p>\n I\u2019ve never seen a short chapter series fly off the shelves quite like this explosion of girliness has, but I guess that\u2019s what a human girl attending a magical unicorn academy will do! The first (Learning to Fly<\/a><\/em>) and second (A Magical Birthday<\/a><\/em>) are out now in this import from Spain, each with a different accent color scheme, with the third releasing in July.<\/p>\n Readers can earn ten badges in this long-form, intricately illustrated picture book (plus bonus mini handbook!) on their journey to becoming an expert at spotting fairies in the wild! It\u2019s from the same creator as The Secret Unicorn Club<\/em>, which was one of my most popular Gift Guide picks a few years ago.<\/p>\n Have you enjoyed this post? Make sure you don\u2019t miss others! Enter your email on the right hand side of my homepage. Plus, follow me on Instagram<\/a> (@thebookmommy), where I\u2019m most active these days, posting reviews and updates on what my kids are reading<\/em>.<\/p>\n All opinions are my own. Links support the beautiful Old Town Books<\/a><\/em>, where I am the children\u2019s and teen buyer.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nRatnip<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>
<\/em>by Cam Higgins & Alison Steinfelld
<\/em>Ages 6-9 (128 pages)<\/h3>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n
\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nDetective Stanley and the Mystery at the Museum<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>
<\/em>by Hannah Tunnicliffe & Erica Harrison
<\/em>Ages 5-9 (64 pages)<\/h3>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n
\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nGrowing Home<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>
<\/em>by Beth Ferry & The Fan Brothers
<\/em>Ages 6-10 (272 pages)<\/h3>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n
\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nStory Spinners<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>
<\/em>by Cassandra Federman
<\/em>Ages 6-10 (208 pages)<\/h3>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n
\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nCasey\u2019s Cases<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>
<\/em>by Kay Healy
<\/em>Ages 6-10 (160 pages)<\/h3>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n
\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nMurray and Bun!<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>
<\/em>by Adam Stower
<\/em>Ages 6-9 (192 pages)<\/h3>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n
\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nSib Squad<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>
<\/em>by Steve Breen
<\/em>Ages 5-8 (192 pages)<\/h3>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n
\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nI\u2019m a Dumbo Octopus! A Graphic Guide to <\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>Cephalopods
<\/em>by Anne Lambelet
<\/em>Ages 7-10 (72 oversized pages)<\/h3>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n
\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nJunie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>
<\/em>by Barbara Park; adapted by Colleen AF Venable & Honie Beam
<\/em>Ages 5-8 (160 pages)<\/h3>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n
\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nWe\u2019re All Gonna Die-Nosaur!<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>
<\/em>by Kon Tan
<\/em>Ages 5-8 (160 pages)<\/h3>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n
\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nIron Man: Something Strange<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>
<\/em>by Dean Hale & Douglas Holgate
<\/em>Ages 5-9 (96 pages)<\/h3>\n
\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nUnicornia<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>
<\/em>by Ana Punset & Diana Vicedo
<\/em>Ages 5-8 (128 pages)<\/h3>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n
\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThe Secret Fairy Club<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>
<\/em>by Emma Roberts & Raahat Kaduji
<\/em>Ages 5-7 (24 large pages)<\/h3>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n
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