Summer Reading Toolkit:  Prevent "Summer Slide"

Barnett Shoals Library wants you to keep reading.  Scroll on down!  This page contains information about reading programs, resources and reading lists. 

Barnett Shoals Library Program: 
Choose a Summer Reading Program below, or design your own using this generic reading log. Set goals, encourage your child, read with them! Learn more at the bottom of this page about the importance of summer reading and how you can do it!

EARN REWARDS! Bring any completed 2025 summer reading log to the Library by Wednesday, August 13th.⭐ SO SAVE your LOGS and show them to Mr. Webber at the start of school! *Because our school library will host a special event for summer readers who show their summer reader logs.

• Athens Public Library  "Color Our World" Summer Reading Program! Get your reading log and get a free book.  Return for more books and ongoing prizes. Check out the fun library events happening including their ⭐⭐⭐FAMILY FUN DAY on May 31st! ⭐⭐⭐

• Play Homebase    From May 9th through September 12th, kids can visit the summer zone in Scholastic Home Base, a completely free digital destination which offers stories, characters, games, and a community of readers. Home Base is moderated for safety 24/7.  See the Parents Info Page and help your kids set up an account. Download the game to most devices for the best experience.

• Free Summer Reading Programs - Lots of choices compiled by Imagination Soup Blog!

• Reading Adventure Packs for Families - Reading Rockets encourages hands-on fun, creativity, and learning centered around paired fiction and nonfiction books.

• Get Georgia Reading - Get Georgia Reading Campaign partners rally people, organizations, and communities to apply a framework for action so that all children in Georgia become proficient readers by the end of third grade.

•  PlayCard  ⭐⭐⭐ Every CCSD student has a free Public Library PlayCard to checkout books and digital access to platforms such as eReadKids and Audiobooks in Libby. (⭐HOW to LOGIN)  

•    Sora Sweet Reads for Summer has Popular eBooks selected just for you!  Use your PlayCard to check one out on your device.  

• BSES Online Resources Site can point you to great reading and listening sites! 

Mr. Webber highly recommends Reading For Fun!  Research shows that kids will most likely read and enjoy books they choose themselves.  Also, Mr. Webber highly encourages reading anything, including billboards and signs when you're driving around or Comments on YouTube videos (etc.). 

But lists can be helpful and are a great way to get started on a reading path. The lists below are recommended by our librarian, Mr. Webber.   

• ALA 2025 Summer Reading Lists for birth through 8th grade

• ⭐ Georgia Children's Book Award Finalists for 2026  (Grade K-4, and Grade 4-8 lists)

• How to Beat Summer Slide  a concise article with tips!  Read 20 minutes every day.

• ⭐ Summer Reading Tips for Parents  This article from Reading Rockets gets right to the point.   Here's a more complete page for you too. 

• ⭐ Imagination Soup is an awesome mom's blog dedicated to all things Reading & Books. Please take a look and browse around. Melissa Taylor is a superhero!

• Scholastic's Kids and Family Reading Report    This easy to read and understand report includes startling data shown in simple graphs.  

• A critical look at "Summer Learning Loss"   Do kids really "lose" what they've learned?  Yet, there's no doubt that at home learning (including Summer Daily Reading) helps all kids!