The NPR Summer Reader Poll Returns: Tell Us About Your Favorite Books For Young Kids

A long, long summer is stretching ahead of us — many summer camps and programs are closed, kids are restless and parents and caregivers are stretched thin. But story time is always a little moment of escape.

So this year, we want to hear all about your very favorite books for the littlest readers, specifically picture books and very easy chapter books. Is it something you loved as a kid? Something the kids in your life demand at Every. Single. Bedtime? Something they love to read by themselves? Something you gift to every kid you know? Tell us about it!

And, of course, there are always those weird books, the ones not necessarily written for kids but that you or a kid you know glommed onto, something that obsessed or transformed you. When I was 6, my favorite book was Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care (I was a weird kid). I loved it so much that my parents bought me my own copy so I'd stop stealing theirs. So if there's a book like that in your life, let us know!

Our panel of esteemed judges will take your picks and use them to curate a final list of 100 favorites guaranteed to keep the kids in your life entertained ... at least for a day or two.

What can you nominate?

Series books: We're considering series books as a single entry, so something like Mo Willems' Elephant & Piggie books would count as one entry.

Picture books and easy chapter books: We're looking for books appropriate for very young readers — anything ranging from picture books, like This Is Not My Hat, to books for slightly more advanced readers, like Frog and Toad are Friends.

Maaaybe-not-really-for-kids books: Was it something written for adults that you found transformative or simply fascinating as a child? I'm betting not every 6-year-old is a Dr. Spock fangirl but I'm also betting there are other examples out there.

Limit yourself to 5 choices

You only get five picks, but don't hesitate to nominate something you know other people already voted for — we count everything up, and our expert panelists pay attention to what's popular. And if you have just one or two picks, that's fine, too.

Don't limit yourself otherwise

You can absolutely vote for anything on the kids shelf at your local bookstore or library — and even the occasional grown-up book if you loved it or it changed your life as a kid. Just don't be too sad if your favorite doesn't make the final 100.

Vote for up to five books using the form below — just click "submit form" when you're done:

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