Give Kids a Summer Worth Reading About

Somewhere along the way, reading started to sound like schoolwork.

It became a score, a level, a benchmark, a worksheet, a test. Parents began hearing about fluency, comprehension, grade level expectations, learning loss, and reading gaps. Those things matter, of course. But if we only talk about reading as an academic skill, we may miss something much more beautiful.

Reading is one of the ways children learn to wonder.

A child opens a book and suddenly the living room gets bigger. A bedroom becomes a castle. A rainy afternoon becomes a mystery. A child who has never crossed an ocean can meet missionaries, explorers, inventors, kings, shepherds, poets, and prophets. A child who has never faced a lion or a bear can still begin to understand courage through David’s story.

That is why the current reading crisis deserves our attention. Recent reports have raised serious concerns about declining reading scores and fewer children reading for pleasure. At the same time, many schools have increased the use of devices, sometimes beginning with very young children. Digital tools can be useful, but research continues to suggest that reading printed material often builds deeper comprehension than reading digitally. Many parents already sense this. A screen invites clicking, skimming, jumping, reacting, and moving on. A book invites a child to stay.

That staying matters.

Dr. Kathy Koch often reminds parents and educators that education is not merely the transfer of information. It is formation. What children read and whether they learn to love reading all shape the heart, mind, imagination, and soul. Reading teaches children to slow down long enough to notice. It strengthens concentration. It builds memory. It expands vocabulary. It awakens empathy because children step into lives that are not their own. It gives children the ability to connect ideas, follow a story, understand cause and effect, and imagine possibilities beyond what they already know.

Reading also gives children emotional experiences they could not otherwise have. They can feel fear with a character, joy in a rescue, sadness in loss, courage in danger, and hope in restoration. They can encounter both noble and foolish choices. They can see consequences unfold. They can learn wisdom without having to personally experience every mistake. A good book allows a child to practice discernment in the safety of imagination.

This matters spiritually, too. Children who learn to read deeply are better prepared to read Scripture deeply. They can follow a narrative. They can sit with poetry. They can notice repetition, tension, beauty, command, promise, and grace. They can begin to see that the Bible is not a collection of disconnected verses but the great story of God’s creation, humanity’s fall, Christ’s redemption, and the restoration still to come.

Wayne made an important connection in the podcast: reading builds a kind of cultural literacy. Children who read stories begin to understand that life has links. Characters have histories. Actions have consequences. People grow through struggle. Stories have beginnings, conflicts, turning points, and resolutions. That matters because children are living inside a story, too. They need to know where they came from, who they are, what is true, and where God is leading history.

This is one reason reading has always mattered to families, churches, and civilizations. In Ezra’s day, after exile and spiritual drift, God’s people gathered while Ezra publicly read the Law. The people listened attentively as Scripture was read and explained. They wept because they realized what had been forgotten. Reading helped restore memory, worship, identity, and a sense of belonging. The Word of God anchored the people again.

That scene feels almost unimaginable in a distracted world. People stood for hours to hear truth read aloud. They were not scrolling. They were not skimming. They were not reacting to fragments. They were receiving truth with attention. That kind of attention is increasingly rare, which means parents must be increasingly intentional.

If we want children to love books, we may need to make books feel lovable again.

That can start with simple family rhythms. Read aloud after dinner. Keep good books in visible places. Let children see Mom and Dad reading. Visit the library and let kids wander the shelves. Create a summer reading basket. Read Scripture out loud with expression. Ask wonder questions after a story instead of turning every book into a quiz. Talk about favorite characters. Ask what surprised them. Ask what they would have done differently. Let books become conversation, not just assignments.

Dr. Kathy also reminds parents that wonder can be practiced everywhere. We can ask better questions in the car, at the park, around the table, and while looking at the sky. “I wonder why God made clouds that way.” “I wonder how Moses felt standing at the Red Sea.” “I wonder what courage felt like for Esther.” “I wonder what I would have done if I were there.” Wonder trains children to think beyond the obvious and engage life with curiosity.

Summer can be a powerful time to rebuild that. It does not have to be complicated. Choose a longer book and read it together. Pick one missionary biography, one adventure story, one book of the Bible, one poetry collection, or one history book that stretches the family. Let kids read outside. Let them read in hammocks. Let them read on rainy days. Let reading become part of rest, imagination, and relationship.

Parents may need to reduce device time so reading has room to grow. That may create resistance at first. But if screens dominate every quiet moment, children may never discover the joy of being absorbed by a story. Sometimes the first step toward loving books is simply allowing boredom to last long enough for curiosity to wake up.

This is not about creating perfect readers. It is about forming children who can attend, imagine, reflect, understand, and receive truth. It is about helping children become people who can listen deeply, think carefully, and love what is good.

And perhaps this summer, the most powerful thing a parent can say is not, “You need to read because it will help your test scores.”

Maybe it is this: “Let’s read because there is more to discover.”

Helping Kids Love Reading Through the 8 Great Smarts

Word Smart: Read aloud together, create family story nights, let children write their own stories, memorize Scripture, or keep a summer reading journal.

Logic Smart: Choose mysteries, biographies, science books, or problem-solving stories. Ask questions like, “Why do you think that happened?” or “What would have been a wiser choice?”

Picture Smart: Let children draw scenes from books, create maps of story settings, design book covers, or imagine what a biblical event may have looked like.

Music Smart: Read poetry, Psalms, hymns, or books connected to music. Let children create a soundtrack for a story or talk about how music helps them feel what a character may feel.

Body Smart: Act out scenes, build forts for reading spaces, read outside, or connect books to hands-on projects like cooking, building, hiking, or creating.

Nature Smart: Read books about animals, creation, weather, gardening, exploration, or outdoor adventure. Let children read under trees, beside lakes, or after noticing something in nature.

People Smart: Start a family book club, let siblings read to each other, discuss characters’ choices, or invite grandparents to share favorite childhood books.

Self Smart: Give children quiet reading spaces, invite them to reflect on what a story stirred in them, and ask, “What did this book help you understand about yourself, God, or others?”

Remember: Reading is not just an academic task. It is one of the ways children learn to wonder, connect, imagine, discern, and grow. When parents make room for books, they make room for formation. And in a loud world, a child who can sit with truth, story, beauty, and Scripture may be far more prepared to stand with wisdom.