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Summer Books and Activities for Kids

Builders and Buildings

Builders and building

How to explore this theme:

  1. Choose books and book-related activities
  2. Explore more hands-on activities
  3. Try some summer writing
  4. Dig deeper with these websites
  5. Play and learn with interactive mobile apps

#1: Choose books and book-related activities Reading Adventure Packs

Hands-on fun and learning centered around paired fiction and nonfiction books. In each themed reading adventure pack you’ll find great book suggestions plus three related activities to do together with your child. Just download and print the PDF.

Building family literacy bag
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#1: Choose kids' books and book-related activities Great Fiction & Nonfiction Books

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Alphabet Under Construction

Alphabet Under Construction

By: Denise Fleming | Illustrated by: Denise Fleming

Age Level: 3-6 years old | Reading Level: Beginning Reader

An appealing mouse (also seen in Lunch) creates active letters of the alphabet, beginning by "airbrushing" the A and all the way to the zipped Z. The mouse keeps a calendar of work accomplished which astute readers will note at the end.

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Building Our House

Building Our House

By: Jonathan Bean

Age Level: 3-6 years old | Reading Level: Beginning Reader

The oldest child narrates the family's move from the city to build their own house on farm land. How the family works together planning and building while living in a tiny trailer pays homage to the author's parents who are introduced in photographs and a note at the end.

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How a House Is Built

How a House Is Built

By: Gail Gibbons

Age Level: 3-6 years old | Reading Level: Beginning Reader

As readers quickly comprehend, building a house is a complex project requiring the cooperative efforts of many people. Beginning with the architect who draws the plans, readers meet the surveyors, equipment operators, carpenters, plumbers, and other people who produce a building. The book concludes with a family moving in, ready to make the house a home.

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Palazzo Inverso

Palazzo Inverso

By: D.B. Johnson | Illustrated by: D.B. Johnson

Age Level: 3-6 years old | Reading Level: Beginning Reader

The hero of the story is a young apprentice named Mauk. Like most kids, he loves to draw, but grownups like his Master will only let him sharpen the pencils. And when things go wrong, like most kids, he gets all the blame. One lucky circumstance saves our small hero: when Mauk turns the drawing of the palazzo right side up again, a magical thing happens — he alone can run on the ceiling of the Palazzo Inverso!

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Age Level: 6-9 years old

A House Is a House for Me

A House Is a House for Me

By: Mary Ann Hoberman | Illustrated by: Betty Fraser

Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Beginning Reader

A lively rhyming cadence introduces many different houses for various residents. From spiders to birds to stories, each has a place to live — but always, "a house is a house for me!"

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Amazing Buildings

Amazing Buildings

By: Kate Hayden

Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader

Have you ever heard of a hotel made of snow? How would you put a building in space? And who washes the windows on the tallest skyscrapers in the world? Find out about the world's most famous and unique structures, from the ancient Coliseum to eco-friendly stadiums and more. [Amazon review]

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Building on Nature: The Life of Antoni Gaudí

Building on Nature: The Life of Antoni Gaudí

By: Rachel Rodriguez | Illustrated by: Julie Paschkis

Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader

Short sentences tell of the architect's boyhood in Catalonia, his love of nature, and his early influences and inspiration. Gouache illustrations playfully re-create Casa Batlló, Casa Milá, and other structures. "For Gaudí, building is serious./Everything must function./But he isn't afraid to use/his imagination." Gaudí incorporated nature inside and outside his creations. [School Library Journal review]

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Even an Ostrich Needs a Nest: Where Birds Begin

Even an Ostrich Needs a Nest: Where Birds Begin

By: Irene Kelly

Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader

Birds live all over the world, but their nests come in many sizes, shapes, and some even borrow (or snitch) homes in which to lay and hatch their young. This lively introduction to various birds and their habits will likely absorb, inform, and inspire.

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If You Lived Here: Houses of the World

If You Lived Here: Houses of the World

By: Giles Laroche | Illustrated by: Giles Laroche

Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader

People all around have homes in which to live, but not all of them look alike. Dwellings old and new, in the U.S. and around the world, small and large, are presented in highly detailed, colorful collages and brief but informative text. A final map places the locations on a simple world map.

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Iggy Peck, Architect

Iggy Peck, Architect

By: Andrea Beaty | Illustrated by: David Roberts

Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader

Iggy has one passion: building. His parents are proud of his fabulous creations, though they’re sometimes surprised by his materials — who could forget the tower he built of dirty diapers? When his second-grade teacher declares her dislike of architecture, Iggy faces a challenge. He loves building too much to give it up! With irresistible rhyming text and puckish illustrations, this book will charm creative kids everywhere, and amuse their sometimes bewildered parents. [Amazon review]

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Let's Build a Clubhouse

Let's Build a Clubhouse

By: Marilyn Singer | Illustrated by: Timothy Bush

Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader

Short, snappy verses invite young readers to participate in the building of a clubhouse, from drawing a plan to brushing paint on the walls. In addition to the poem, there are facts on each spread about each tool and how to use it. Many of the tools will be familiar to children, such as the hammer and the wrench, but this book also introduces some less familiar tools, such as the plane, square and level. For the child who dreams about having a space of their own. {Amazon review]

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Monumental Verses

Monumental Verses

By: J. Patrick Lewis

Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader

Stunning color photographs and poems combine to pay homage to some of the "world's enduring man-made constructions" while introducing a range of poetic forms. The result is a memorable collection of visual art, information, and literary art sure to stand up to multiple examinations.

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Skyscrapers! Super Structures to Design and Build

Skyscrapers! Super Structures to Design and Build

By: Carol A. Johmann | Illustrated by: Michael P. Kline

Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader

From Chicago's Montauk Block, built in 1881, to the Millennium Tower in Tokyo, still in the planning stages, this lively text describes the history and structure of the world's tallest buildings and offers some facts and enticing projects. Activities include laying a concrete floor with sand, cornstarch, and two Popsicle sticks; testing a building frame made from toothpicks and marshmallows; and building an elevator with a small cardboard box and an empty thread spool. [School Library Journal review]

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The 13-Story Treehouse

The 13-Story Treehouse

By: Andy Griffiths

Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader

Terry and Andy are friends who live in a huge tree house complete with a bowling alley, game room, laboratory, and much more all of which lead to fantastic, funny adventures. Comic cartoon illustrations vary the format which ranges from traditional to comic book.

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The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale

The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale

By: Steven Guarnaccia | Illustrated by: Steven Guarnaccia

Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader

In this quirky, retelling of “The Three Little Pigs,” the pigs and their homes are nods to three famous architects — Frank Gehry, Phillip Johnson, and Frank Lloyd Wright — and their signature homes. Each house is filled with clever details, including furnishings by the architects and their contemporaries. Of course, not all the houses are going to protect the pigs from the wolf’s huffing and puffing. Which one will? The wolf, and readers, are in for a clever surprise ending. [Amazon review]

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Age Level: 9-12 years old

Amazing Buildings

Amazing Buildings

By: Philip Wilkinson | Illustrated by: Paolo Donati

Age Level: 9-12 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader

Full-color artwork, including cutaway illustrations and exploded views, explores some of the world's most famous architectural landmarks, including the Paris Opera, the Taj Mahal, and Grand Central Station. [Amazon review]

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Building (Eyewitness Books)

Building (Eyewitness Books)

By: Philip Wilkinson

Age Level: 9-12 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader

Discover the history of buildings — why they were built and the techniques used in their construction. Color photographs offer a unique view of buildings from the ground up. See incredible stone gargoyles, learn how stained glass is made, learn how medieval tiles were made, and discover what the three Greek "orders" were and how houses are built on mountainsides. [Amazon review]

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Building Big

Building Big

By: David Macaulay | Illustrated by: David Macaulay

Age Level: 9-12 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader

Why this shape and not that? Why steel instead of concrete or stone? Why put it here and not over there? These questions take [readers] back to the basic process of design from which all structures begin, from the realization of a need for the structure to the struggles of the engineers and designers to map out and create the final construction. The author engages readers’ imaginations and gets them thinking about structures they see and use every day — bridges, tunnels, skyscrapers, domes, and dams. [Amazon review]

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Built to Last

Built to Last

By: David Macaulay

Age Level: 9-12 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader

Three books, each a sophisticated examination at how structures were built — a cathedral, castle, and mosque — have been revised, refreshed with current information, and put in one volume. The author/illustrator's work is complex but will intrigue young readers especially if shared with an adult.

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The Art of Construction: Projects and Principles for Beginning Engineers and Architects

The Art of Construction: Projects and Principles for Beginning Engineers and Architects

By: Mario Salvadori

Age Level: 9-12 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader

Students discover the basic principles necessary to build all types of structures used in everyday life including bridges, skyscrapers, and other architectural gems. Line art illustrations help to explain projects that demonstrate how these principles keep structures solid. Perfect for kids who wonder why, and love to figure things out! All projects are easily done with materials found around-the-house. [Amazon review]

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Reading Tip of the Day!

Family board game night
Set up a family board game night where a different game is played each week. Have each member of the family involved in reading instructions and game cards and keeping score.
Noche de juegos de mesa familiar
Realicen una noche de juegos de mesa familiar realizando un juego diferente cada semana. Que cada miembro de la familia participe en la lectura de las instrucciones y de las tarjetas del juego, y en llevar el puntaje.
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More great summer resources for parents from Reading Rockets

Read Aloud Tips

Read Aloud Tips

Read aloud every day with your child and talk about what you're reading. These two simple activities help build your child's vocabulary and comprehension skills.

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Downloadables

Downloadables

Download these colorful ready-to-print lunch box notes, play date cards, and door hangers for the kids in your life.

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