Jenna Bush Hager revealed her annual Read With Jenna Jr. summer reading list, featuring 29 books for children and young adults, on the Today show.
The list is something of a spinoff of her popular Read With Jenna book club, launched in 2019, which routinely sends her selections up the bestseller lists.
“We know that if kids read during the summer, they’re more prepared for next year,” Hager said on Today. “One of the things that we think about is, Oh, you should be reading this. No—ask your kids what they’re interested in, and listen. So if your kids like mysteries, we have some of those. If your kids are into true-life stories, we also have that.”
Hager’s list is divided into three sections: picture books, middle grade, and young adult. Featured picture books include My Thoughts Have Wings, written by Maggie Smith and illustrated by Leanne Hatch; Perla the Mighty Dog, written by Isabel Allende and illustrated by Sandy Rodríguez; and Floof, written and illustrated by Heidi McKinnon.
Hager’s middle grade picks include Chanel Miller’s Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All, Megan E. Freeman’s Alone, and Andrea Wang’s Summer at Squee, while her young adult selections include Tess Sharpe’s The Girls I’ve Been, Talia Tucker’s Rules for Rule Breaking, and Ali Hazelwood’s Check & Mate.
“Our list is diverse, it’s for boys and girls,” Hager said. “Put the smartphones away, take them out of their hands, put the iPads away, and put a book in their hands. We know it really matters when it comes to next year.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
