How to Beat Summer Boredom: Read Picture Books
And the Bay Area city with two of the best independent bookstores
No matter how old your kids are, reading picture books is a great way to beat summer boredom. When my kids (who are 8 and 11) complain there is nothing to do, I take out a stack of our favorite picture books. We love performing the characters and picking our favorite spreads, pointing out things we notice. It’s an opportunity for us to be present and connect over a shared love of stories.
If you’re looking for new picture books to read with your kids this summer, I wrote about some of our favorites for the San Francisco Chronicle.
The books
What If We… by Eugenia You and Vivienne Chang (2025)
Let’s Be Bees by Shawn Harris (2025)
Every Monday Mabel by Jashar Awan (2025)
Fireworks written by Matthew Burgess and illustrated by Cátia Chien (2025)
The Gathering Table written by Antwan Eady and illustrated by London Ladd (2025)
The Lone Wolf on Vacation written by Kiah Thomas and illustrated by K-Fai Steele (2025)
Bookstores aren’t boring
When I’m bored, I escape to the bookstore—and luckily, two of the best Bay Area bookstores are in Menlo Park: Kepler’s (new books) and Feldman’s (used books). For 65 years, Kepler’s has curated an amazing assortment of books, and its children’s section is huge! When I’m searching for an obscure book, I know Kepler’s will have it.
And just a quick five-minute walk from Kepler’s is Feldman’s, one of my favorite used bookstores. I love to spend hours digging through its old gems. Here are some of my finds:
The books
Oley, the Sea Monster by Marie Hall Ets (1947)
The Cantilever Rainbow (poems) by Ruth Krauss (1965) — Read Stories Are to Share: 5 Ruth Krauss Books
Ellen’s Lion: Twelve Stories by Crockett Johnson (1959) — Read Crockett Johnson: The Art of Imagination
Mr. Charlie’s Chicken House by Edith Thacher Hurd and Clement Hurd (1955)
Aesop’s Fables: A Giant Golden Book adapted and illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen (1967)
Arm in Arm by Remy Charlip (1969) — Read A picture book is a dance: Remy Charlip's radically playful & accessible art
Wheel on the Chimney written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Tibor Gergely (1954) — Read Margaret Wise Brown and the Art of Paying Attention
Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson (1950)
How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World written by Faith McNulty and illustrated by Marc Simont (1970)
Little Man, Little Man: A Story of Childhood written by James Baldwin and illustrated by Yoran Cazac (1976)
You Might As Well Live: The Life and Times of Dorothy Parker by John Keats (1971)
Ruminations by William Steig (1984)
The Annotated Alice: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll and edited by Martin Gardner (1960) — Read Curiouser & curiouser! The delightfully weird and wonderful worlds of “Chirri and Chirra” and “Alice in Wonderland”
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omg the whoop weee woohoo spread!!