Quincy Public Schools

The Quincy Public Schools partner with Thomas Crane Public Library and the theme this summer features the idea of conservation. Conservation as a movement focuses on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protecting biological diversity. Read, Renew, Repeat makes for a wonderfully diversified summer reading program that encourages reading as a restorative method of self-improvement and self-preservation.

Below are reading suggestions for this summer.

Click here to visit the Thomas Crane Public Library and sign up for summer activities and Beanstack reading program.

Click here to register or replace a library eCard.

BEAR BUILDS A HOUSE BY MAXWELL EATON III

Cartoon illustrations depict all the steps Bear and his friends complete while building a functional house in the wilderness.

CAMILA THE RECORD-BREAKING STAR BY ALICIA SALAZAR

In this early chapter book series starter, Camila wants to become a star by breaking a world record. However, it turns out to be harder than it looks.

DAD BAKES BY KATIE YAMASAKI NORTON

Early in the morning, Dad goes to work at the bakery, and then he comes home to his daughter to play, read, and bake together.

EVERY DAY, CHEMISTRY BY JULIA SOOY

A day in the life of a young girl shows us that chemistry is all around us, from a toasting piece of bread for breakfast to the battery-powered flashlight used to read a bedtime story.

EVERY LITTLE KINDNESS BY MARTA BARTOLJ

This wordless picture book with muted colors explores all the ways that kindness is cyclical. Kindness begins when a woman loses her dog but helps another find food.

FIRST FRIEND: HOW DOGS EVOLVED FROM WOLVES TO BECOME OUR BEST FRIENDS BY KERSTEN HAMILTON

A picture book that spans thousands of years to look at how wolves became the dogs that we love.

HOW TO APOLOGIZE BY DAVID LAROCHELLE

This hilarious picture book guides readers with practical tips about how to say sorry to someone.

LIGHT FOR ALL BY MARGARITA ENGLE

This lyrical picture book pays tribute to the Statue of Liberty, reminding us of the hope, acceptance, and freedom it symbolizes for all.

THE LITTLE WOODEN ROBOT AND THE LOG PRINCESS BY TOM GAULD

An original fairy tale with adventure, a clever witch, helpful beetles, and the love of a brother and sister.

ORCA RESCUE! THE TRUE STORY OF AN ORPHANED ORCA NAMED SPRINGER BY DONNA SANDSTROM

A volunteer tells the story of reuniting a stranded orca calf with her family almost 300 miles away. Includes many resources for further exploration.

AVEN GREEN, SLEUTHING MACHINE BY DUSTI BOWLING

Aven Green may have been born without arms, but that doesn’t stop her from being on the case and finding out what happened to her teacher’s lunch and her great-grandma’s dog. This is the first book in a new series about Aven’s life.

THE BEATRYCE PROPHECY BY KATE DICAMILLO

A young girl appears at Brother Edik’s monastery, somehow befriends their most ornery goat, and changes not only the lives of the brothers at the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing but many others’ as well.

BEN YOKOYAMA AND THE COOKIE OF PERFECTION BY MATTHEW SWANSON

A fortune cookie that says “practice makes perfect” leads Ben to try to make his life, and everyone’s around him, perfect. Third book in a series.

IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AND I'M IN MY BATHING SUIT BY JUSTIN REYNOLDS

On the day of the highly anticipated Beach Bash, Eddie ends up grounded until he can get his clothes clean. While left home alone to do his laundry, the power goes out mid-cycle. With his first load of laundry soaking wet and the rest still filthy, Eddie sets out to explore the seemingly empty neighborhood in just his swim trunks and flip-flops.

EGG MARKS THE SPOT BY AMY TIMBERLAKE

Roommates Skunk and Badger set off for a weekend of camping and rock finding. Unfortunately, Badger’s cousin shows up with his rat accomplices to steal the amber-encased egg they’ve found hidden in a cave.

EVERYTHING AWESOME ABOUT SPACE AND OTHER GALACTIC FACTS! BY MIKE LOWERY

Playful illustrations and an amazing amount of information come together to give a fun and interesting view of our universe and our exploration of it. In a smelly and unsafe 1858, only one person can save London from its waste-filled river and cholera outbreaks—engineer Joseph Bazalgette.

THE HATMAKERS BY TAMZIN MERCHANT

Cordelia Hatmaker, who comes from a long and prestigious line of Hatmakers who weave magical enchantments into hats, sets out to find her missing father during a threat of war.

THE LEGEND OF GRAVITY: A TALL BASKETBALL TALE BY CHARLY PALMER

A modern, illustrated tall tale set on the blacktop courts of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the greatest basketball talent anyone has ever seen lace up his high tops helps bring his pickup team the championship they’ve always dreamed of.

THE LION OF MARS BY JENNIFER L. HOLM

Bell is just a regular kid who loves cake and is annoyed by his roommate’s snoring. But life on Mars is a bit different, and a mysterious illness that threatens the adults in their settlement causes the kids to band together in surprising ways.

STUNTBOY, IN THE MEANTIME BY JASON REYNOLDS

Portico Reeves, aka Stuntboy, lives in a huge apartment building that he considers his castle. With the help of his friendly neighbors, Stuntboy faces enemies, anxiety, and bickering parents in a series of illustrated episodes.

BOUNCE BACK BY MISAKO ROCKS

Lilico moves from Japan to the U.S. and, despite a bully, manages to make friends, play basketball, and get a magical talking cat in this light and easy read for fans of graphic novels and manga.

BOY, EVERYWHERE BY A. M. DASSU

When the Syrian civil war hits too close to home, 13-year-old Sami must flee his idyllic life in Damascus, after which he endures a harrowing journey to England, the guilt of putting his family’s lives in danger, and questions about his identity as a refugee.

THE DEADLIEST DISEASES THEN AND NOW BY DEBORAH HOPKINSON

From the Middle Ages to today, a fascinating look at plagues and pandemics, how each began, and how they impacted the world.

THE DIRE DAYS OF WILLOWWEEP MANOR BY SHAENON K. GARRITY

A fan of gothic romance novels finds herself in one, but there’s something a bit odd about the three handsome brothers, their manor, and its surroundings. A graphic novel with a humorous mix of romance and sci-fi.

DREAM, ANNIE, DREAM BY WAKA T. BROWN

Daughter of immigrants, Annie Inoue has big dreams to be a star. When she gets a lead role in The King and I, her classmates suggest she only got the part because of her race.

HOW TO CHANGE EVERYTHING: THE YOUNG HUMAN’S GUIDE TO PROTECTING THE PLANET AND EACH OTHER BY NAOMI KLEIN

An adaptation of earlier works for adults merged for a younger audience, this nonfiction title focuses mainly on climate change and the disastrous effects, but it also shines a light on what young people are doing to combat it.

A KIND OF SPARK BY ELLE MCNICOLL

Addie wants to memorialize the women once tried as witches in her small town, hoping to change the opinions people have of them, as well as the opinions they have about her autism.

LAST GAMER STANDING BY KATIE ZHAO

In the near future, Reyna Cheng studies at an elite academy dedicated to virtual reality gaming. Secretly playing under a tough male avatar to avoid misogynistic harassment, she attempts to win it all at the Junior Dayhold Tournament.

RACE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE EARTH: SURVIVING ANTARCTICA BY REBECCA E. F. BARONE

This gripping piece of nonfiction looks at two hazardous expeditions to the South Pole, adventures that take place a century apart, that each set records and risked lives.

RHINOS IN NEBRASKA: THE AMAZING DISCOVERY OF THE ASHFALL FOSSIL BEDS BY ALISON PEARCE STEVENS

A look at the Ashfall Fossil Beds in Nebraska, where fossils from twelve million years ago were found, when rhinos, elephants, and camels roamed North America.