No Camp? No Problem! Holiday House Summer Camp

Consider this website your summer camp home base, where you can return to week after week to discover new activities to do at home, to learn about fun summer reading books to peruse, and to enjoy visits from author speakers.

Even though we may be far away, our online camp community will bring us together for adventures filled with laughter and wonderful reads.

And just like that, it’s the last week of August! How crazy is it that time just flew by this summer? What was your favorite memory of the summer? More importantly, what was your favorite book that you read this summer?!

We hope that you enjoyed Holiday House camp this summer and that it helped make your summer a little sweeter!

Now that school is beginning again, we have another special treat for you! We will be sharing a another web page full of different resources to help you and entertain you while you are remote learning. Check back soon!

We have created a summer reading log to help you keep track of how many books you finish this summer, and when you complete your reading log, you can send it to us to receive a prize!

Need help planning out your reading time this summer? Check out these handy calendars to get you started.

Spice up your reading list! Play Summer Reading Bingo by downloading this Bingo card. Each space has a different genre or type of book that you can try out to help vary your reading selections. Win Bingo, and you can send us your Bingo card to win a prize!

Check out our complete list of activity sheets and kits here! Some of our favorites are listed below.

• Jane Cabrera Storytime Event Kit
• Let’s Go to Taekwondo! A Story about Persistance, Bravery, and Breaking Boards Activity Kit
• Dreamers Event Kit in English and in Spanish
• Noodleheads Event Kit
• Dear Beast Activity Kit
• Smile, Breathe, and Go Slowly: Slumby the Sloth Goes to School Activity Kit
• Carlton Crumple Creature Catcher #1: Catch the Munchies! Activity Kit

• Ra the Mighty Word Search, Board Game, Coloring Pages
• Ra the Mighty Origami Activity

Draw Your Own Haunted Bicycle, Inspired by The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle

Make Your Own Sign for Change, Inspired by The Colossus of Roads

Send these postcards all over the world!

Bear Goes Sugaring Postcard

Dear Beast Postcard

Dive In: Swim with Sea Creatures at Their Actual Size Postcard

The Thank You Letter Postcard

Even wonder how authors “write” wordless picture books? Author and illustrator John Hare is here to help!

John Hare
• FIELD TRIP TO THE OCEAN DEEP behind-the-book

And learn to write different kinds of stories with our author guests!

Dianne Salerni
• ELEANOR, ALICE, AND THE ROOSEVELT GHOSTS—Writing Spooky Stories with Author Dianne K. Salerni 

Richard Fairgray
• BLACK SAND BEACH—How to Write Horror Stories

Karen Gray Ruelle
• PETER’S WAR and SURPRISING SPIES—How to Write Nonfiction

Hannah West
• THE NISSERA CHRONICLES and THE BITTERWINE OATH—Writing Prompts for Writing Fantasy

Now that baseball season is back, let’s celebrate with this poignant young adult journey guaranteed to spark some essential conversations.

For as long as she can remember, sixteen-year-old Alex Kirtridge has known two things about herself: She’s a stellar baseball player. She’s adopted.

Alex has had a comfortable childhood in Madison, Wisconsin. Despite some teasing, being a biracial girl in a wealthy white family hasn’t been that big a deal. What mattered was that she was a star on the diamond, where her father, a former Major Leaguer, coached her hard and counted on her to make him proud. But now, things are changing: she meets Reggie, the first black guy who’s wanted to get to know her; she discovers the letters from her biological father that her adoptive parents have kept from her; and her changing body starts to affect her game.

Suddenly, Alex begins to question who she really is. She’s always dreamed of playing pro baseball just like her father, but can she really do it? Does she truly fit in with her white family? Who were her biological parents? What does it mean to be black? If she’s going to find answers, Alex has to come to terms with her adoption, her race, and the dreams she thought would always guide her.