Read With Jenna Jr. is back! Jenna Bush Hager has hand-selected a line-up of 22 books for young readers across age ranges.
This continues a tradition Jenna started in 2023, when she released her first kid-friendly summer reading lineup, followed by another in 2024.
"We want all of your kids to do their summer reading with us!' Jenna says.
For Jenna and her kids, reading is a shared past time, just like it was for her growing up the daughter of a librarian.
“We read every night together as a family,” Jenna once told TODAY. “Teaching a kid or watching a kid learn how to read is evolutionarily one of the most beautiful things that can happen as a parent.”
Read on to see this year's selections.
Picture books (ages 4 to 8)
"The Book That Can Read Your Mind" by Marianna Coppo
Lady Rabbit will take kids through a magic trick within a book! Select one of the magician’s audience members and the book will be able to guess who it is. This book is an interactive read with multiple delightful outcomes.
"Princess and the Pea-tition" by Kim Nguyen
After passing a mysterious test that makes her the future ruler of her land, Princess is left stunned, believing that this isn’t the right way to select a leader. In a journey to spread democracy throughout her fairytale world, she changes the lives of all the people and creatures one vote at a time.
"Mama Hug" by Emma Straub
Follow along this Mama and baby’s day for a love-filled book full of rhymes. Paired with Steve Lewis’ warm and colorful illustrations, this book is perfect for bedtime snuggles with your littlest one.
"Cranky Makes A Friend" by Phuc Tran and Pete Oswald
In the second installment of Phuc Tran’s bestselling Cranky series, a new crane has arrived to the construction site. Meet Lefty — a charming, talkative, and silly crane who everyone seems to love and just so happens to be the complete opposite of Cranky. Follow this journey of self-acceptance and friendship.
"Wash Day Love" by Tanisia Moore and Raissa Figueroa
Tasha’s least favorite day of the week is wash day: where soap gets in her eyes and water goes everywhere. Celebrate Black hair, self-care and culture through this tender intergenerational story that goes beyond a weekly routine.
"So-Hee and Lowy" by Anna Kang
So-Hee is a lonely girl who wishes to have a pet that she can share cuddles with — but she just so happens to be allergic to almost everything! However, her life starts to change when she meets a snake named Lowy.
"Bored Panda" by Mike Bender
Panda is obsessed with all things tech, but what happens when the electricity goes out? Join him as he goes on a no-screen adventure through the great outdoors. Maybe being bored isn’t so boring after all.
"Kittybunkport" by Scott Rothman
Chowder and Crackers, two playful kitties, spend their days suntanning and catching lobster in their seaside town of Kittybunkport. One day, the town’s haunted lighthouse goes dark and Chowder and Crackers are sent to fix it. Will the two scaredy cats be able to save their city?
Middle grade (ages 8 to 12)
"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis
For the 75th anniversary of “The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe,” HarperCollins released a special paperback edition of the beloved fantasy novel. When four siblings venture through a wardrobe door, they end up in the magical land of Narnia where they find themselves on the adventure of a lifetime.
"Art Club" by Rashad Doucet
In Doucet’s graphic novel, gifted doodler Dale Donavan has been told his entire life that art will never make a suitable career. With his school defunding the art program and his family pushing him to focus on his studies, Dale decides to start an after-school art program. But if the club can’t raise enough money to prove its worthiness by the end of the semester, the art group — and Dale’s dreams of being an artist — will be whisked away as swift as the stroke of a paintbrush.
"When We Flew Away" by Alice Hoffman
Alice Hoffman, author of multiple adult bestsellers like “Practical Magic,” writes a wrenching story about one of history’s most famous figures: Anne Frank. This is the account of Frank’s life, before and after her Jewish family was forced to go into hiding when the Nazis invaded Amsterdam, written for readers Frank’s own age.
"Camp Famous" by Jennifer Blecher
Eleven-year-old Abby Herman is over the moon to be going away to summer camp for the first time ever. What she doesn’t realize is that she’s heading to Camp Famous, a ritzy summer camp for famous children to escape the spotlight. To fit in, Abby decides to conjure up a fake identity, but abandoning her true self proves more difficult than she imagined.
"The Girls of Skylark Lane" by Robin Benway
Twin sisters Jac and Aggie couldn’t be more different — and as they grow older, their differences just become more apparent. But when the two join the neighborhood softball team, they’re forced to come face to face with just how different they’ve become.
"Isle of Ever" by Jen Calonita
Everly “Benny” Benedict’s life might be about to change. She just learned she is the sole inheritor of a massive fortune from a mysterious ancestor. But there’s a catch: Benny has to win a game and track down an island using clues the ancestor laid out.
"J vs. K" by Kwame Alexander and Jerry Craft
Artist J and wordsmith K are the two most creative fifth graders in Dean Ashley Public School (DAPS). When the two find out that they must go head-to-head at an annual creative storytelling contest, things get heated. But their energetic rivalry may hold a powerful alliance.
"The Trouble with Heroes" by Kate Messner
After vandalizing a woman's grave, Finn Connelly has a chance to make it up to her daughter. He has to climb all forty-six Adirondack High Peaks with the late woman's dog. This is an adventure story and redemption tale wrapped up in one.
“The Wrong Way Home” by Kate O’Shaughnessy
A young girl has to completely rewrite her idea of the world after she and her mother flee the place where they were living — which turned out to be a cult.
Young Adult (ages 13 and up)
"Sunrise on the Reaping" by Suzanne Collins
In this prequal to Suzanne Collins’ wildly popular “Hunger Games” series, Haymitch Abernathy is called to enter the 50th annual Hunger Games. But this year is different, because in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes. Not only do readers see the beloved mentor fight for his life in the arena, but for his love that he hopes to reunite with back in District 12. "Sunrise on the Reaping" is set to become a movie.
"Skater Boy" by Anthony Nerada
Resident bad boy Wes Mackenzie isn’t doing so hot — he’s failing his classes, has friends with the wrong crowd and is far from on-track to graduate on time. But when his mom takes him to a performance of the Nutcracker against his will, he meets Tristan, the hunky lead who may just help him be the man he’s always wanted to be.
"The Art Thieves" by Andrea L. Rogers
Stevie Henry is a young Cherokee girl in the year 2052 desperately trying to save enough money to go to college through her job at a local museum. While she already has to deal with frequent climate disasters, she learns that things are about to get a whole lot worse when a mysterious boy from the future comes into the museum one day to warn her of what’s to come.
"Ten Blind Dates" by Ashley Elston
Sophie’s only Christmas wish is to get a little freedom from her parents (mainly to make out with her long-term boyfriend Griffin). But it turns out that he’s looking for a little space from her. With the magic of the holiday season in the air and a little push from her family, Sophie is set up on 10 different blind dates over the course of 10 days. In the end, will she choose Griffin, or has someone else stolen her heart?
"Red, White, and Whole" by Rajani LaRocca
Reha, the only Indian American student at her school, feels pulled between two worlds. At school, she feels like an outcast. At home, she feels like she can’t live up to her strict parents’ expectations. When she finds out that her mother has been diagnosed with leukemia, Reha is determined to be the perfect daughter by putting her dreams of becoming a doctor to use.
"Once a Queen" by Sarah Arthur
When 14-year-old Eva Joyce finds herself spending summer break at a mysterious manor house with her estranged grandmother, she assumes that her summer will be full of nothing but stale biscuits and bland tea. But when she stumbles in the gardens one night, she finds that the fairytales she was told as a child may have actually been true — and her reclusive grandmother was the queen in them.