Now that it’s officially June, it’s time for summer reading. Not that summer reading should really be that different from any other kind of reading, but I’m attempting to take advantage of nature this time of year, and Sophia’s unequaled interest in bugs, animals, and even… wait for it… snakes. Feel my pain, people. I don’t like snakes, but my baby girl is very curious about them right now, so here we go. This week at the library I stocked up on some big books about snakes, reptiles, spiders, and other animals. We won’t read them in just a week. I plan to keep them for the next month or two, and take our time going over the different animals, before hitting the zoo sometime in July.

//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=ss_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=wepere0f-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=1604333448&asins=1604333448&linkId=ZLMSAGYCRJVZEZL7&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true
#1. Kids Meet the Reptiles by Paula Kovacs Ross and Andra Serlin Abramson
This is a spiral bound book with a ton of information. Each page spread focuses on a different reptile, and though there is a lot of information on each page spread, it’s easy enough to get through a few pages. You probably won’t sit down and read this book in one sitting–at least not unless you’re a much less tired parent with a more focused child. The pictures are great, and cut into the shapes of different reptiles.
My biggest problem with this book is the first person narrative. It feels awkward to try and read about reptiles apparently talking about themselves. I don’t know that I would notice if I was just reading to myself, but it felt unusual to read it aloud.

//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=ss_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=wepere0f-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=1604333030&asins=1604333030&linkId=2I5DXUNLYOKJZLYH&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true
#2. Kids Meet The Snakes by Andra Serlin Abramson
Y’all, this is quite possibly my least favorite book ever. Snakes, snakes, and more snakes, with paragraphs about snakes, cut out pages of snakes, and pleasant little tidbits about how enormous said snakes are. *Shudders*. Still, I’m actively reminding myself that there’s no need to pass my on phobias to my daughter, so we’re reading it. Through gritted teeth, but we’re reading it. This is the same series as the book about reptiles, and has the same good points and bad points. You know, if we’re going to ignore the fact that it’s about snakes…

//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=ss_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=wepere0f-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=0756691702&asins=0756691702&linkId=RQ56FNTCXS6XR6QI&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true
#3. Animals: A Visual Encyclopedia by DK Publishing
This book is really the end all on animals for the preschool/early elementary age. I imagine it will take us the entire summer to get through it, but it does have the common animals we’re likely to see in the wild here in North America, as well as the more exotic ones that we’ll most likely only see in the zoo.

//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=ss_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=wepere0f-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=0823942090&asins=0823942090&linkId=RG3TFYP4JKIKQDQU&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true
#4. Spiders Inside and Out by Gillian Houghton
This one might be a little advanced for Sophia right now, but she specifically requested something about spiders, similarly to the snake book situation, so here we are. It looks like a nice little book though, with plenty of detail and pictures. I think if we take it slow and don’t rush through it too quickly, Sophia will soak up some pretty solid information about spiders.

So, there you have it. These are the nonfiction kids books that will be keeping us busy for the next few weeks into summer. What are your kids reading this summer?