Oakville Public Library
Oakville Public Library's Summer Reading Challenge remains one of our community's most sought-after annual programs. Like previous years, OPL organized two challenges this summer - one for kids and another for teens and adults through an online tracking app, Beanstack, which has a series of fun tasks to complete a bingo card. Both the challenges, which run until August 31, are available for all, including those who don't have a library card.
For broader reach in the community, the summer reading challenge activities are incorporated through the library on the Go OPL Book Bikes. So don't be surprised if you spot the library staff at any special event or pop-ups at public parks this summer; apart from picking books for the summer reading challenge, you can also participate in storytimes, crafts and hands-on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities with the bikes.
"Summer reading programs, and other literacy-based programs offered during the summer months, are designed to help reduce 'the summer slide,' which is a tendency for students to lose some of the achievement gains they've made during the previous school year," Shannon Piccoli, OPL's Manager of Program Development shared. She added that studies have shown that kids who keep reading during the summer do better when they return to school because they've kept those critical thinking and creative skills engaged.
"For teens and adults, our reading challenges encourage participants to venture outside of their typical reading pursuits and to discover a new series, topic or genre with the aims of reading more broadly," Piccoli pointed out, adding that the program is gaining popularity over the years.
OPL encourages the residents to visit its branches to learn more about its offerings. You can always ask the staff for recommendations or help discover new reading materials, such as through its personalized OPL Picks for You.
Meanwhile, check the list of OPL recommendations for top summer reads to enrich your sunny days!
Summer Fiction Reads Kids
- The Ice Cream Machine by Adam Rubin
- Fibbed by Elizabeth Agyemang
- My Kingdom of Darkness by Susan Tan
- Absolutely Nat by Maria Scrivan
- Tristan Strong Punches A Hole in the Sky, The Graphic Novel by Robert Venditti
- If You Read This by Kereen Getten
- Holler of the Fireflies by David Barclay Moore
- Falling Short by Ernesto Cisneros
- Bad Luck Lola by Keka Novales
- Ghostlight by Kenneth Oppel
- Agent 9 Mind Control! by James Burks
- Iveliz Explains It All by Andrea Beatriz Arango
- Diary of a Roblox Pro, Obby Challenge by Ari Avatar
Summer Non-Fiction Reads for Kids
- How Was That Built? The Stories Behind Awesome Structures by Roma Agrawal
- Just Help! How to Build A Better World by Sonia Sotomayor
- Our World in Numbers, An Encyclopedia of Fantastic Facts by Clive Gifford
- 21 Things to Do With A Tree, An Outdoor Activity Book by Jane Wilsher
- The Travel Book, A Journey Through Every Country in the World by Malcolm Croft
- The story of Ukraine, An anthem of glory and freedom by Olena Kharchenko
- Cook It! The Dr. Seuss Cookbook for Kid Chefs by Daniel Gercke
- Some Bodies by Sophie Kennen
- Big Stuff Dozer, Excavator, Mixer & More! by Joan Holub
- Backyard Birding for Kids, An Introduction to Ornithology: Field Guide, Projects and More! by Erika Zambello
- Little People Big Dreams, Terry Fox by Ma Isabel Sánchez Vegara
Summer Fiction Reads - Teen
- All the Dead Lie Down by Kyrie McCauley
- A Magic Steeped in Poison By Judy I. Lin
- The King Is Dead by Benjamin Dean
- Decoding Dot Grey by Nicola Davison
- Someone You Loved by Robin Constantine
- Plus One by Kelsey Rodkey
- I Am Not Starfire By Mariko Tamaki
- House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig
- One of Us Is Back by Karen M. McManus
- Best Vacation Ever by Jessica Cunsolo
- The Melancholy of Summer by Louisa Onomé
- Wrong Side of the Court By H. N. Khan
- The Legacies by Jessica Goodman
- The Broken Hearts Club by Susan Bishop Crispell
- Blue Beetle, Graduation Day by Josh Trujillo
Summer Non-Fiction Reads – Adult
- The Creative Act, A Way of Being by Rick Rubin
- The Antiracist Kitchen, 21 Stories (and Recipes) by Nadia L. Hohn
- The Secret Lives of Numbers, An Unauthorized History of Mathematics by Tomoko Kitagawa
- Outlive, The Science & Art of Longevity by Peter Attia
- Between, A Guide for Parents of Eight- to Thirteen-year-olds by Sarah Ockwell-Smith
- Pageboy A Memoir by Elliot Page
- Truth Telling, Seven Conversations About Indigenous Life in Canada by Michelle Good
- The Great Nowitzki, Basketball and the Meaning of Life by Thomas Pletzinger
- Half-bads in White Regalia A Memoir by Cody Caetano
- Spare by Harry
- The Myth of Normal, Trauma, Illness & Healing in A Toxic Culture by Gabor Maté
- My Thali, A Simple Indian Kitchen by Joe Thottungal
- Ultra-processed People, Why We Can't Stop Eating Food That Isn't Food by Chris van Tulleken
- Rising, From A Mud Hut to the Boardroom -- and Back Again: A Memoir by Graci Harkema
- Someone You Know, An Unforgettable Collection of Canadian True Crime Stories by Catherine Fogarty
Summer Fiction Reads – Adult
- Happy Place by Emily Henry
- Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
- The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
- Never Never by Colleen Hoover
- The Whispers by Ashley Audrain
- Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See
- Zero Days by Ruth Ware
- Homecoming by Kate Morton
- Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
- Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
- The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende
- Flags on the Bayou by James Lee Burke
- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
- Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead
- Everyone Here Is Lying by Shari Lapena
- The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt
- Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni
- Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
- Standing in the Shadows by Peter Robinson
- The Lie Maker by Linwood Barclay
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