Skip to content

Book Blog

Children’s Book Blog: August 2025

To The Beach!

As August heats up, our book recommendations are headed to the beach.

Family vacations are said to strengthen bonds, improve cohesion and enhance communication. Plus, they provide opportunities for new experiences, cultural exposure and real-world learning. These are all benefits of reading together, too!  

So, whether you are going to salty, shady shores physically or in your mind – soak up your time together! 

Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson & Dan Santat 

Our family reads (and inevitably loves) anything written or illustrated by Dan Santat. 

After a laugh-out-loud first read, Don’t Trust Fish earned a permanent spot in our home library.  Now, we all have it memorized. 

The book begins with simple vertebrate classifications: what makes a bird a bird, an animal an animal, etc. Until we get to fish…who don’t seem to follow any rules. The “author” hilariously lays out all the reasons we can’t trust fish. Joanna & Connor especially liked the “author” reveal at the very end. 

Hot Dog by Doug Salati  

In a too loud, too crowded, too hot city, this dog has had enough.  A terribly relatable feeling, for kids and adults.  Hot Dog reminds us that a relaxing reset is not just a want, but a need – especially when you are overwhelmed (and overheated). 

Doug Salati deservingly won the 2023 Caldecott Medal AND Ezra Jack Keats Award for his illustrations. Hot Dog is picture book perfection. 

Swashby and the Sea by Beth Ferry & Juana Martinez-Neal

This book is just a delight – clever, charming & cute. It’s about friendship and coming out of your shell. 

The fiddling sea (who shines as an anthropomorphic character) provides new readers with spelling challenges.  You can take this concept and make it into a fun game at home, too!  

When reading, please give Swashby a proper pirate-like accent. 🙂

Our Blue Planet by Leisa Steward-Sharpe & Emily Dove

As a former zoologist, if Sir David Attenborough is involved – I am reading (or watching) it. 

I’ve found that some non-fiction reads – even those written for children – can be too dense, too overwhelming. Our Blue Planet introduces young readers to the wonders of the oceans in an accessible way. Like the Blue Planet series, its categorized by beautifully illustrated ocean habitats.  

Joanna and Connor really enjoyed the stories from each habitat.  We would read the stories and then watch the corresponding Blue Planet clips – this helped tremendously with their understanding and recall. 

The Princess in Black Takes a Vacation by Shannon Hale, Dean Hale & LeUyen Pham

We love The Princess in Black series. The kids like the humor, animal sidekicks and mild monster fighting (nothing too scary/violent!). And I appreciate the underlining message: you can be more than one thing – a monster fighting hero AND a tea party going princess.  

The series is best for ages 5-9 as a first chapter book for early readers or as a family read aloud. 

Vacation (Bat, Cat & Rat) by Ame Dyckman & Mark Teague 

Vacation, the second book in Dyckman and Teague’s Bat, Cat & Rat books, won the 2025 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award.  This award is given to authors and illustrators whose books excel at engaging beginning readers. 

This easy reader combines repetitive text and simple & complex words with humorously illustrated antics making it a favorite to read again and again. 

 

A note on this blog: Michelle Milford is the Office & Marketing Manager at Town Hall Library.  She has two young children – Joanna (7) and Connor (5).  All three have a deep love of books and voracious appetites for reading.  Here they’ll share their monthly book recommendations.