Books to Go for Kids: Get Instant Summer Reading Gratification

Posted on June 4, 2024 at 6:00 am

By Sheri Boggs

When it comes to keeping kids entertained during the summer, we know the best way to do it is with books. But not just any book.

Books to Go for kids are high-interest titles that would normally have a long holds queue. However, Books to Go can’t be placed on hold. Instead, when you come into any of our ten libraries or visit LINC, our mobile library, it could be your lucky day for finding one of these titles waiting for you!

Finding them is easy. Each library has a dedicated Books to Go display in the kids’ section, featuring multiple copies of crowd-pleasing graphic novels, adventure, humor, mystery, science fiction, fantasy, animal books, realistic fiction, and even nonfiction.

This approach is a little like a display table in a bookstore with stacks of the best stuff, all displayed together for easy access.

Our Kids’ Books to Go selections are perfect for school-age kids and cover a range of interests and reading abilities.

This summer our Kids’ Books to Go collection includes two new Bluey books for early middle-grade readers (ages 7–10), loads of Garfield titles, and a new Choose Your Own Adventure book.

Based on staff feedback about what our customers are asking for, this summer, we also have contemporary classics, including Charlotte’s Web, Hatchet, and Matilda. You can find the first books in popular series, such as Wings of Fire, The Bad Guys, Dog Man, I Survived, Harry Potter, and the Chronicles of Narnia as well. Nonfiction includes a great, new Draw with Art for Kids Hub Animals book and the National Geographic Kids Almanac for 2025.

Once a title has been in our Kids’ Books to Go collection for six months or longer, it goes into our regular collection or is set aside for outreach projects, making room for new Books to Go.

So, you can expect to see the titles already mentioned and more coming to our libraries throughout the summer. Many of these are also available in other formats in our regular collection—ready for your holds—including books on CD, digital audio, eBook, and read-along books.

Although you can’t place holds on copies designated for Kids’ Books to Go, you can view the summer list in our catalog to see if your nearest library has any available copies. Simply click on the title that interests you, and click the “Where is it?” link in the boxed area with the “Books to Go” button (see image below). This will show you which libraries have available copies.

And finally, kids shouldn’t be the only ones having fun with summer reading. Be sure to check out our Adults’ Books to Go collection at an SCLD library near you!

Sheri Boggs is the Youth Collection Development Librarian for Spokane County Library District. In her free time, she’s most likely writing stories, drinking wine, knitting sweaters for her dogs, or some combination of those three.

Tags: books, Books to Go, kids, lucky day books, tweens