If your kids are like mine they are excited to escape far from the confines of the classroom, working hard to forget almost everything they learned. At least you can help them avoid the dreaded brain dump this summer by keeping them reading all summer long. I’m already making plans for my kids for this summer and that includes a summer reading list that has many books about trees on it. Yes, I know I am partial to trees and I love trees. It is one of the reasons I work on a tree farm. There are some great books out there about trees for every age child.

One of my favorite quotes about reading is from Laura Bush, “As parents, the most important thing we can do is read to our children early and often. Reading is the path to success in school and life. When children learn to love books, they learn to love learning.” There are many benefits to reading to your kids. Some of those benefit include setting your children up to succeed, reading develops language skills, it exercising your child’s brain, enhances concentration, encourages a thirst for knowledge, a range of books teaches children about different topics (like trees), develops a child’s imagination and creativity, books are a form of entertainment and can be read anywhere ( like under a tree)and my most favorite reason why reading to child is so amazing, it helps create a bond. As a busy mom, it has always been a way for me to wind down with my son at night. I have always tried to remember, “Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” Emile Buchwald.

I asked some of our kids here at the Tree Farm whose parents work here, what some of their favorite tree books were and here are some of the answers I got. I think a lot of these books are great reads and I encourage you to read them with your kids.

The Lorax – Garrett, age 11
The Giving Tree – Chase, age 14
Chica Chica Boom Boom – Miles age 4
Go Dog Go – Natalie age 6
Winnie the Poo – Eve age 14
Secrets of the Apple Tree – Finley age 1
One Tree – River age 3
The Magic Maple Tree – Kaitlyn age 13
The Tree Lady – Grey age 12

I also love the idea of creating a Reading-Friendly Environment. Barnes and Noble explains, to keep kids reading, you need to remove as many barriers to reading as you can. That means having books at the ready for kids when they want one, and having a comfortable, quiet place where they can lose themselves in a book. As summer starts, you can work with them to create a little reading nook, with stacks of books and comfy pillows. You can also designate a night as a “screen free” night, in which everyone in the house (including you) must do an activity that doesn’t involve a screen. This took awhile for my kids to get use to but once we started the screen free activity night at our home, reading took off.

If you are looking for some great Tree book reading list, here are three places I recommend you go to find some great books to read.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/kids/8-books-about-trees-for-arbor-day/
https://www.longleaflumber.com/the-top-15-childrens-books-about-trees/
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Books-Childrens-Forest-Tree/zgbs/books/3270

Happy Reading…. Don’t forget the Tree Books….