I recently asked my kids what super power they would choose to have.  My daughter didn't hesitate before saying that she would want to be able to talk to animals.  Not surprising to hear from my little Nature Girl.  The nice coincidence is that I had recently purchased the book "Daisy Dawson Is On Her Way," by Steve Voake, in which the title character has the gift of communicating with animals.  I took advantage of the opportunity to introduce the book that night.  My daughter is now happily reading about a little girl a lot like her (loves animals, loves nature, is independent and likes a little adventure).  This is a nice chapter book that would work well both as a read-aloud or an independent read, depending on the child's reading level.  

For moms, I can recommend a light read that I grabbed randomly at the library.  As with many of the books I choose, I based my decision on the title and cover art.  "The Gerbil Farmer's Daughter: A Memoir" (see? catchy title), by Holly Robinson, is about, well, growing up as the daughter of a gerbil farmer.  The author was a Navy brat (dad went to the Naval Academy and retired as a commander) who had to contend with a stern father whose obsession with raising gerbils defined her adolescence.  Robinson's is not a "woe is me" tale, nor a morality tale (whew!).  It's simply the well-written and humorous story of a fairly ordinary family with enough quirks to constitute a good summer read.

I'd love to hear some more summer read recommendations both for kids and adults!