Summer Reading for 2024 is June 1 – Aug. 31
Summer reading is for everyone — early learners, kids, teens and adults — and it begins June 1 throughout Bellingham and runs through August 31.
This year Bellingham Public Library has Summer Reading activity cards for early learners, kids, teens and adults. Pick up your Summer Reading Activity Cards at any BPL branch, or print them at home by clicking on the appropriate buttons below. Then, fill out the activity cards and return them for prizes between June 1 – Aug. 31. All children ages birth – teen will receive a free book. We will celebrate early learners with a special prize, kids will receive a mystery coupon from a local business, and there will be prize drawings for teens and adults! Plus, all ages will receive a Summer Reading Superstar yard or window sign.
Thank you to our Summer Reading sponsor the Friends of the Bellingham Public Library.
Summer Reading Activity Cards
Print your own Summer Reading Activity Cards at home. Choose from the following lists:
Early Literacy Summer Reading Cards (recommended for birth through 5 years)
Kids Summer Reading Cards (ages 5 – 12)
Teen Summer Reading Cards (ages 12 – 19)
Adult Summer Reading Cards (ages 18+)
Summer Reading and Outdoor Adventure Staff Recommendations
Summer is a great time for a little fun in the sun and for reading and relaxing! Bellingham Public Library staff have some great reading lists and book recommendations to get you started filling in the squares on your Summer Reading activity cards.
Visit our Staff Picks page anytime of year to view ALL of the booklists our Librarians have created with reading recommendations on a wide variety of categories for all ages. Many of the books you’ll find there can be used to fill in the squares on your Summer Reading activity cards. Click HERE to visit our Staff Picks page!
For some folks, Summer Reading means books about the great outdoors. Whether you’re looking for exciting outdoor adventure stories, books on local hiking or fun yard games, or cookbooks with the best backyard BBQ recipes and more, our Fun in the Sun Outdoor Adventures booklist is for you.
Individual Staff Recommendations for Adults
“New Perspective” square
Library Assistant, Andrea Jo, recommends:
“I loved the perspectives of these two women working in a dangerous area that no one thought they should be in. This adventure story made me nostalgic for my home in the western desert and the extraordinary plant life that live there. I am ready for my next river adventure!” Adult Nonfiction
“Your Home State” square
Community Relations Specialist, Jenni, recommends:
Beer Hiking Pacific Northwest by Brandon Fralic
“This book combines two of my most favorite activities, hiking around the beautiful Pacific Northwest and drinking great local beers! What I love most about this book is that it includes a wide variety of hiking experiences from easy to very challenging and offers a tasty reward to enjoy at the conclusion of each one.” Adult Nonfiction
“Start a New Series” square
Public Services Clerk, Lorena, recommends:
His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
“Sure, it can be fun to read regency romances, or tales of naval battles during the Napoleonic wars, but what if there were dragons? Each book can stand on its’ own, but they all fit together in one delightful arc of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad road trips.” Adult Fiction
The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
“An interdimensional librarian hops between worlds to steal rare books and solve interdepartmental crimes. This is an absolute roller coaster of a series, with dragons, fae, serial killers, dire secrets, famous detectives, and of course the existential dread of an ever-growing TBR pile.” Adult Fiction
“Outside of the U.S.” square
Public Services Clerk, Karen, recommends:
Wormwood Forest: A Natural History of Chernobyl by Mary Mycio
“The exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear plant is 1600 square miles, once given up for dead. This book about it includes plenty of chemistry and physics, as expected, but it’s also a story about the resurgence of wild things in a very strange place. Lynx, wolves, elk, red deer, golden eagles and countless other plants and animals have been flourishing there, in spite of the radiation.” Adult Nonfiction
The Wise Hours: A Journey Into the Wild and Secret World of Owls by Miriam Darlington
“The Wise Hours is a very personal story of the author’s travels in search of the ancient and mysterious birds she loves. Biology, folklore, history and poetry – it’s all in this beautiful book.” Adult Nonfiction
“Cozy Reads” square
Public Services Clerk, Lorena, recommends:
A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers
“Everyone and everything in this story is so soft and caring. Even the world itself is soft and kind, built around taking care of everyone and the environment. It’s about taking time to rest, finding fulfillment, and being kind to yourself. It’s SO cozy!” Adult Fiction (also available as a downloadable audiobook)
Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree.
“The dungeons and dragons coffee shop you didn’t know you needed but will probably enjoy. It’s going to make you want a cinnamon roll really badly.” Adult Fiction (also on audiobook)
“Audiobook” square
Public Services Clerk, Lorena, recommends:
The Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells
“I love Murderbot for the high levels of snark and sarcasm, and the audiobook reader, Kevin R. Free, totally nails the tone of this series. Murderbot is bored, and fed up with corporate intergalactic apathy, and also deeply cares about everyone one around them, and all of this shines in the audiobook.” Adult downloadable audiobook
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
“What starts out as the story of a whiny, self-centered, emotionally-damaged rich boy on his ‘grand tour’ quickly turns into a paranormal chase across the continent. On top of an absolute wild ride of a story, the reader for the audiobook is perfect.” Teen book on cd & downloadable audiobook
The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
“A heartfelt romance about a marriage in trouble. By turns hilarious and emotional, with a spot-on audiobook reading.” Adult downloadable audiobook
“Recommendations” square
Library Events Coordinator, Miranda, recommends:
Circe, A Novel by Madeline Miller
“This book came highly recommended by members of my book club. It’s a fantastic summer read! I was fascinated by Greek and Roman mythology in my youth, and this book pulled me right in. It felt like I already knew the characters! And as you might imagine, this book provides them with dimension and personality that my old copy of D’Aulaire’s left out.” Adult Fiction
Individual Staff Recommendations for Children
“Animals” square
Public Services Clerk, James, recommends:
Meet the Megafauna by Gabrielle Balkan
“Get to know 20 of the largest animals to ever roam the Earth! This awesome book has fold outs and facts of Super Croc, Giant Shark, Giant Ground Sloth, Giant Ape, Wooly Mammoth and more!” Recommended for ages 7 and up
“Wordless” square
Public Services Clerk, Lorena, recommends:
“A beautifully drawn story about a child flying to visit their grandmother, and about connecting with family.” Children’s Graphic Novel
“An imaginative adventure through a fantasy land, told through absolutely gorgeous and incredibly detailed illustrations. A perfect book to take a picture walk through.” Children’s Picture Book
“A fun seek-and-find through a series of intricately crafted scenes.” Children’s Picture Book
“One Tuesday night, frogs start riding flying lily pads through town. I love all the hijinks that the frogs get up to, and the detail of the illustrations.” Children’s Picture Book
“Nonfiction” square
Public Services Clerk, Lorena, recommends:
“A gorgeous compilation of everything in nature that creates its’ own light, from algae, to glowworms, to fungi! Each illustration is done in an array of dayglow colors that practically glow on their own.”
“Make a Postcard” square
Public Services Clerk, Lorena, recommends:
The Postcard Project by Maggie Lauren Brown
“A sweet story about why you might send a postcard, and also a variety of ways you could make one. I got so many good ideas from this story!” Children’s Picture Book
