Are your kids reading this summer? Even though school starts in Texas on August 22, there is plenty of time to keep the kids reading. This summer, JClub: A Catholic Place for Kids and their sister blog, PaulineKids launched a Catholic Kids Summer Reading List. With suggested titles for kids from First to Eighth Grade, there is a little something for almost every Catholic child in your life. After viewing the Summer Reading List, you can purchase the titles directly from Pauline Books & Media with just a few clicks. As an extra bonus, Pauline Books is having a Summer Sale with selected items 40% off until August 31st. If you haven’t visited JClub or PaulineKids Blog before, take a moment to introduce your children to the stories, activities, games and book information available on these sites for kids offered by the Daughters of St. Paul.

We’re really late to this party, but Aquinas and More launched their fifth annual sponsorship of the Catholic Summer Reading program in June. Aimed at helping a parish or Catholic bookstore to develop book clubs, the program presents 35 titles of “lighter fare,” a mix of fiction and non-fiction with predominantly Catholic content along with discussion guides. Individuals can participate online via message boards at CatholicBookDiscussion. The titles include books for young readers and teens.

Don’t miss the links for Additional Resources, including a list of 100 books that should be in every parish library and Catholic Kids Book Suggestions, listed by grade level!

Lisa and I always have at least three or four books started in various places around the house. All summer I’ve been savoring Hiking the Camino: 500 Miles with Jesus by Fr. Dave Pivonka about his month-long pilgrimage to the tomb of St. James the Apostle in Santiago, Spain. At one point I actually stopped reading it, literally because I didn’t want the book to end! After just a few chapters of the book, I turned to my husband and told him that I want to do this one day with him. This is officially the first (and only) thing on my “bucket list.”

I re-read the entire Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins after a friend near Asheville, NC began talking about the film crew in NC where they are filming the first movie. After being introduced to the first book The Hunger Games through my older daughter’s school reading list, we were hooked, plowing through Catching Fire and Mockingjay. The books, aimed at young adults, are a little too intense for my 8-year old, so we aren’t reading them around the kitchen table as a family book.

Spirituality You Can Live With: Stronger Faith in 30 Days by Chris Padgett is currently on my night table as my current book to be reviewed for the Catholic Company. I need to move this book to another reading spot, because lately I’ve been too tired to read anything thoughtful in the last thirty minutes before sleep. It’s especially been difficult with my husband chuckling and reading snippets to me from Rachel Balducci’s How do you Tuck in a Superhero that I bought for his iPad Kindle app.

What have been some of your favorite titles this summer? Are you participating in any fun summer reading? We’re always on the lookout for great new titles for our families and ourselves.