Warm weather has been slow to arrive here in New England this spring, and I cannot wait for some sizzling summer heat to finally show up. I don’t know about you, but what I’m looking forward to most this summer is relaxing with a good book! My list of “summer reads” continues to grow – both professionally and recreationally.
Once the heat hits, I can’t wait to grab a lounge chair, a cool beverage, and a good professional book to enjoy some poolside PD. Here are a few suggestions to refresh and renew your passion for teaching just like a good dip in the pool can revive your body and soul.
American Kindergarten: Dispatches from the First Year of School by Susan Engel (2026 University Chicago Press)
I’ve already started this one and am finding it both well-written and compelling. Engel visited 29 kindergarten classrooms across 14 states spending several days in each room, observing closely. She paid close attention to the ways in which each classroom’s goals reflected its community and culture.
Across the two years of her visits, Engel identified five common “promises” that teachers make to their students: reading, order, thinking, identity, and love. Some of the descriptions had me cheering and others had my heart breaking for those rooms where the promises were broken. I can’t recommend this one highly enough. Little has been written about the importance of kindergarten and Engel will get you thinking about how important this first year of formal schooling is for every child.
Foundational Skills for Writing by Melanie Meehan & Maggie Beattie Roberts (February 24, 2026 Corwin)
If you are a fan of the Two Writing Teachers Blog and/or you are concerned about how writing instruction has received far less attention than reading in recent years (even though it is every bit as complex), then this book is for you.
Meehan and Roberts examine many skills and abilities that contribute to writing development including executive functioning, large and small motor skills, handwriting, spelling, and supporting meaning making. I am particularly excited to dig into their discussion of how verbal expression can strengthen writing across grade levels.
Reading with Purpose by Erika Dawes, Katie Egan Cunningham, Grace, Enriquez & Mary Ann Cappiello (2023 Teachers College Press)
The focus for our Summer Literacy Institute this year is on supporting students to comprehend texts at a deep level and we will be using this text – written by our colleagues at Lesley – as part of that work.
The authors emphasize the importance of careful and intentional text selection to engage and challenge our students. The text is full of innovative ideas on how to encourage purposeful reading by our students and for deepening their content knowledge by inviting them to: connect the past to the present; observe the world around them; cultivate critical consciousness; and care for themselves and one another.
7 Big Challenges In Early Literacy Instruction by Rachael Gabriel, Jen Barone, and Colleen Morello (publication date July 24, 2026 Teachers College Press)
This looks like another “must-read” for those who teach and support early childhood classrooms, grades K – 3. Full disclosure: I am a big fan of all of Rachael Gabriel’s writing and her robust research on the history of literacy education and education policy.
In this soon to be published text, Gabriel and colleagues keep the focus on (truly) evidence-based strategies that help teachers make informed instructional decisions based on students’ strengths and needs, regardless of the curriculum or materials they are required to use. Topics include research-based strategies to help you with: text selection; instructional grouping; effective scaffolding; skill integration (teaching for transfer); student agency; and purposeful assessment.
Supporting Emergent Literacy in the Early Years by Sinéad Harmey (Publication Date July 27, 2026 Routledge)
I had the pleasure of watching a conference session presented by Harmey at LitCon 2026 that was phenomenal and immediately added her forthcoming book to my reading list.
Harmey is a University of London professor in literacy education who combines her scholarship with practice-based research that is firmly grounded in the realities of the classroom. She takes a whole-child approach and focuses on writing, reading, and talk as interconnected aspects of supporting children on their journey to becoming literate. I especially cannot wait to learn more about Harmey’s findings on multi-modal learning, and the relationship of physical development and literacy.
In between these new professional texts, I will be sure to include a few mysteries and some historical fiction – two of my favorite genres – just for fun.
What’s on your summer reading list this year? Whether you’re reading by the pool, on the porch, or at the beach, I’d love to hear which professional texts are in your summer reading stack.
