Big Problems with Mami, a Spectacular School Fair, and a Very Old Oak Tree: 6 Chapter Books We’re Loving This Summer

Juana & Lucas: Big Problemas, by Juana Medina
I’m so excited about Juana, who lives in the beautiful city of Bogotá with her two most favorite people in the world: her Mami and her dog, Lucas. When Mami gets a new hairdo and a new amigo named Luis, Juana enjoys learning about photography and jazz music from him, but she also misses the way things used to be. Especially now that Luis and Mami are getting married. This story is based on author-illustrator Medina’s own childhood in Colombia (Juana & Lucas). As a former single mom who started dating my now-husband when my daughter was in third grade, I wish we’d had a chapter book like this!

Bea Garcia: The Tree and Me, by Debora Zemke
Bea Garcia and her classmates are on a mission to save their school’s old oak tree (named Emily, after Bea and Judith’s favorite American poet) from being cut down! This is the fourth chapter book in this series about teamwork in the class and care for the environment. I love the dedication at the beginning: “This story was inspired by the campaign of Mrs. Schenker’s class at Grant School to save the oak tree outside their classroom window. It’s dedicated to all young authors, artists, and activists.”

Polly Diamond and the Super Stunning Spectacular Book Fair, by Alice Kuipers and Diana Toledano
This second in this chapter series is Ivy and Bean meets Amelia Bedelia. Polly loves reading books, making lists, and writing in her special book called Spell. Spell has magical powers and can communicate with Polly by writing back to her and making whatever she writes down come true. However, Spell takes everything Polly writes literally, which makes for some fun wordplay! A wonderful story featuring a smart, adventurous biracial protagonist.

Magic on the Map #1: Let’s Mooove!, by Courtney Sheinmel and Bianca Turetsky
“On the last day of second grade, Finn and Molly Parker came home to find a camper in their driveway….” That’s how this chapter book begins. Finn and Molly are twins who decide to check out the camper in the middle of the night and discover that it’s actually a magic transporter called Planet Earth Transporter (aka PET). This story, the first in a new series that will explore a different state in each book, is a mix of geography lessons, adventure, and mystery, including fun facts about Colorado.

Little Goddess Girls: Athena & The Magic Land, by Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams, and Yuyi Chen
Greek mythology meets The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as Athena gets carried away from home in a storm and lands  onMount Olympus. There are talking animals, magical sandals, and a dog who joins Athena for her adventure. The book includes a Word List at the end with definitions, and conversation-sparking questions, such as “If you were a goddess or a god, what would your magic power be?”

A is for Elizabeth, by Rachel Vail and Paige Kaiser
In a series that spins off of the Justin Case books, we meet Justin’s little sister, Elizabeth, who’s working hard in second grade. She sets out to make a poster of her name and learns some lessons about what’s fair and when to speak up. This is a good choice for fans of Judy Moody, Junie B. Jones, and Clementine.