Summer Reading 2026

Summer is a great time to unwind and relax with a good book each day. When my own children were little, I set aside an hour each afternoon when each of us would grab a book, sit on the porch, and read. This unplugged time gave us an opportunity to relax and get lost in a story. My children are in college now, and their reading habits have continued. I always see them sitting by the pool, or at the beach, phones away- reading. Bella and I will sit and read together all the time; she chose the book in this picture: "Bad Dogs Have More Fun."

Many times, students will tell me that they don't like to read. My response to them is that it's not that they don't like to read- it's just that they haven't found the right book yet. (J.K. Rowling)

Here are some suggestions from the American Library Association and from the Smithtown Public Library for good summer reading books!

Have a great summer and don't forget to READ!

~Mrs. Jakubowsky 📖

Our Smithtown Public Library teen librarian, Mrs. Navins, visited GH to speak to our 6th graders. Here are some bibliographies from the Smithtown Public Library to help guide you with your summer reading selections! Books are appropriate for Grades 6 and up. Click on the buttons below to get the PDF of each book list. Don't forget to check Overdrive/Sora, in your Classlink account, if you see a book you like and you can't get to the public library!

Click the link above and the links below to get reading lists from the public library!

All students at GH have access to Sora/Overdrive through ClassLink. Sora is the same as the public library's Libby- it's a collection of e-books, magazines, cookbooks, and audiobooks that are available to our students 24/7, 365 days a year! Sora has a special collection of extra books that they call, "Sora Sweet Reads" which are available to all students until August 24. This year they have added a special collection for America 250! Please check it out!

(Middle school students have access to middle school and elementary collections. They do not have access to the high school titles through Sora.) If there's anything your child would like me to purchase through Overdrive/Sora, please email the title/author to me, and I can order it for them.

Did you ever read a novel in verse? The entire book is written in verse, instead of in long paragraphs and chapters, so it's usually a quick read. This is one of my favorite formats and students really enjoy reading them. Novels in verse are written in all genres from romance to adventure to realistic and historical fiction. Take a look at the slideshow to see some of the novels that we featured during the school year. Each book has a link to the book trailer and to the author's personal website.

CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW!

I am so excited to sit by the pool, or at the beach, and read this summer! I have ordered so many good books for the library that I can't wait to dive into reading. Some of the books I will be reading are our new novels in verse: Deer Run Home, The Weight of Water, Planet Middle School, The Places We Sleep and Shark Girl. All of these books will be available to borrow in September- stop by the library and ask me to borrow one!