A delicious way to celebrate reading
Read and Taste: Seasonal Fruits as Story Starters
The summer season is full of sunshine, sweet fruits, and special moments with your children. It’s the perfect time to bring books to life through nature and food! Young children thrive when learning is hands-on and connected to the world around them. A simple and joyful way to build early literacy is to combine summer reading with outdoor play and the natural delight of seasonal fruits
Summer fruits like strawberries, peaches, blueberries, and watermelon are not only healthy and good treats, they’re also full of sensory experiences that spark language learning.
Here’s how families can celebrate summer reading through nature and food while building language, vocabulary, and family memories.
Let’s explore: Bring fruit into your reading time!
After reading a book like Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey or The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli, enjoy the real fruit together. Talk about how it feels, tastes, and smells.
“What does this fruit remind you of?”
“How would you describe its color or texture?”
These conversations build descriptive language and vocabulary in a fun, natural way.
Let’s Adventure: Outdoor Story Picnics
Take your story time to a local park, backyard, or garden. Pack a blanket, a basket of books, and some fresh fruit snacks. Let your child help choose the books and snacks, it gives them experience and excitement. Create themed picnics!
Read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and snack on all the fruits the caterpillar eats.
Read Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert while trying different fruits from A to Z.
Let’s Create: Create “Fruit & Fun” Summer Journal
Encourage your child to draw pictures or write about the fruits they try or outdoor adventures they go on after reading. You can even glue in fruit stickers, wrappers, or leaves to make it interactive.
This type of journaling combines reading, writing, and reflecting—all essential parts of early literacy.
Let’s Celebrate Together: Summer Reading Fruit Party
At the end of the summer, celebrate your reading adventures by hosting a small “Fruit & Story Celebration.” Invite friends or family to share their favorite summer books and fruits. Let kids tell their favorite stories, sing songs, or act out parts of books.
It doesn’t have to be big—just a fun way to wrap up a season full of learning and laughter!
Let’s celebrate Summer Reading 2025. Join the Yolo County Library Summer Reading Program!
Summer reading is more than finishing a book list; it’s about creating joyful, real-world experiences that bring stories to life. When families read together, enjoy seasonal fruits, and explore the outdoors, children build strong literacy foundations in meaningful and memorable ways.
The Summer Reading Program at Yolo County Library helps promote literacy for people of all ages by providing incentives to grow and sustain a lifelong reading habit. Join us for our Summer Reading Program, June 1 – August 15.
Earn books and prizes! Click on the link to learn more https://yolocountylibrary.org/summer/
Grab a book, slice some watermelon, and head outside; the sweetest stories are waiting to be told.
