Read Across America with These 8 Children’s Books

Whether you’re hitting the road or staying closer to home this summer, these kid’s books will take you on a grand reading adventure across America!

Visit each stop on our map with your kids and discover amazing places and special landmarks—all without having to pack your bags. Make it even more interactive by printing out our free coloring page map at the bottom of this post and tracking your progress.

Let the adventure begin!

First stop: Alaska

Read: Molly’s Awesome Alaska Guide by WGBH Kids & Willa the Whale by Adrienne Palma

These picture books are full of fun facts about snowy Alaska, its capital, Denali, and the nearby sea creatures.

California

Read: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

This Newbery-Award-winner is a brilliantly crafted middle-grade novel based on a true story. It chronicles the survival story of a girl who lived on an uninhabited island off the coast of California for 18 years.

Idaho

Read: Good Night Idaho by Adam Gamble and Mark Jasper

Discover all the things that make Idaho special. Don’t miss out on the other 25 “Good Night” states books!

Kansas

Read: Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Read across America and back in time! Go on an exciting adventure with Laura Ingalls and discover how pioneers settled the region.

Note: Little House on the Prairie reflects the attitudes of its time and includes problematic depictions of Native Americans. It can be a valuable resource for talking with kids about historical context, stereotypes, and respectful representation.

Oklahoma

Read: Take Me Back to Oklahoma by Cody Burke

A fun, nostalgic book about realizing that visiting new cities and states may be fun, but home will always be the best. Residents of Oklahoma will appreciate this book.

Alabama

Read: Careful What You Hear by Helen Dunlap Newton

A fun middle-grade novel about a boy with a cochlear implant who becomes a spy and attends Space Camp at NASA!

Florida

Read: Murphy the Manatee by Adrienne Palma & See You Later Alligator by Rachael Freeman Long

Learn all about the amazing Manatees that swim in the waters near Florida. Murphy the Manatee even mentions the Manatee Conservation Center at ZooTampa at Lowry Park!

Then, travel over to the Everglades and learn all about alligators, swamps, and illegal poachers in Long’s exciting and adventurous early chapter book.

North Carolina

Read: Oliver the Otter, Piper the Brown Pelican, and Bella the Black Bear by Adrienne Palma

Visit Alligator River National Wildlife Center and the North Carolina coast in these educational and engaging picture books! Bonus: Piper the Brown Pelican even includes a fun, interactive “How to Draw a Pelican” activity at the end.

Illinois

Read: The Adventures of Lefty and Righty: The Windy City by Lori Orlinsky

Learn about Chicago, America’s “Windy City,” with a pair of silly socks as they take on an exciting adventure.

New York City

Read: City Shapes by Diana Murray

For extra young readers, explore the shapes that make cities special, especially big ones like New York City.

Washington D.C.

Read: Will Rogers and the Great White House Sleepover and Will Rogers and His Great Presidential Pals by Bart Taylor.

Learn all about our presidents and the capital of our country in these funny, informative, easy-to-read stories written by our very own official Will Rogers impersonator, Bart Taylor.

Finished reading across America?

Jump into new worlds full of magic and imagination in these fantasy books:

1. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
2. Shadow of Hope and Whisper of Fate by Molly Crowe (Young Adult)
3. The Mouse Who Couldn’t Eat Cheese by M. B. Mooney
4. Shield of the King by M. B. Mooney (Young Adult)
5. The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis

And for the caregivers who want their own “Read Across America” challenge, check out these places from your favorite books:

1. Discover interesting facts and genealogy along Missouri’s Moreau River in Beyond the Moreau and Moments on the Moreau by Jeremy Amick.
2. Explore the great Plains and the Oklahoma Territory in Finding Refuge by David Rollins.
3. Traverse the romantic Oklahoma frontier in Kissed by Mercy by Margaret Mendenhall.
4. Discover the Oklahoma-Book-Award-winning rags-to-riches tale set in Tulsa, Oklahoma with The Promise of Unbroken Straw by Ken Steele.
5. Experience the sweeping family saga of three generations of Oklahomans in Of Saints and Rivers by Jim Logan.
6. Find love and family in a coastal scene in The Sands of Roanoke Island by Adrienne Palma.

Wherever you go this summer, don’t forget to take your books with you!