On Your Mark, Get Set, Read! Picture Book List for Summer Reading 2016

The CSLP theme for this summer focuses on fitness and wellness. This list of picture books related to the theme is divided into four categories: Sports, Play and Exercise, Healthy Habits, and Bodies and Movement.

Sports

Miss Nelson Has a Field Day by Harry Allard and James Marshall

When the football team at Horace B. Smedley Elementary School has trouble winning games, Miss Viola Swamp appears on the scene to whip the players into shape.

Poem Runs: Baseball Poems and Paintings by Douglas Florian
In his signature style marked by fun turns of phrase, Douglas Florian evokes all the emotions associated with playing baseball.

Clothesline Clues to Sports People Play by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook, illustrated by Andy Robert Davies
Using clothing and equipment as clues, readers are invited to guess which sports different people play.

Fall Ball by Peter McCarty
At the end of the school day, before it gets dark, a group of friends and a dog gather to play football.

Mouse Practice by Emily Arnold McCully
A little mouse who wants to play baseball practices long and hard to prove himself to the older mice.

Niño Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales
A young boy name Nino happily wrestles any opponent who will face him.

The Greatest Gymnast of All by Stuart J. Murphy and Cynthia Jabar
This story about Zoe, a great gymnast, is also a lesson about opposites.

The Boys by Jeff Newman
A group of caring elderly men help a new boy in town work up the courage to play ball with the neighborhood kids. (Read my review of this title here.)

Randy Riley's Really Big Hit by Chris Van Dusen
Randy may not be the best baseball player, but he has a great mind that will cleverly save the earth from the fireball heading its way.

Play & Exercise

Samantha on a Roll by Linda Ashman, illustrated by Christine Davenier
While her mother takes a phone call, Samantha slips on her skates and goes out for a roll.

Get Up and Go! by Nancy Carlson
Bright colors and an exuberant pig invite preschoolers to have fun with exercise.

Play With Me by Marie Hall Ets 
A little girl seeks out animal playmates in a meadow.

Jump! by Steve Lavis
Young readers are invited to move as the animals do.

A Child's Day: An Alphabet of Play by Ida Pearle
Presents a different way to play for every letter of the alphabet.

Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bicycle by Chris Raschka
A little girl's dad walks her through the process of learning to ride a bike.

Duck on a Bike by David Shannon
The barnyard animals scoff when Duck rides a bike until they have a chance to join in.

Healthy Habits

I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child
Big brother Charlie convinces picky little sister Lola to eat her vegetables by giving them new names.

Reading Makes You Feel Good by Todd Parr 
In his signature bold illustrations, Todd Parr celebrates the benefits of books.

Rah Rah Radishes by April Pulley Sayre 
An enthusiastic chant, accompanied by photos, which celebrates the many types of vegetables.

Gregory the Terrible Eater by Mitchell Sharmat, illustrated by José Aruego and Ariane Dewey
Despite his parents' insistence that he eat like a proper goat, Gregory only has a taste for fruits and veggies.

We Are What We Eat! by Sally Smallwood
Photos of diverse children show off the different things kids love to eat.

The Gulps by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Marc Brown
A family learns about healthy eating habits when they realize their family car can no longer hold their weight.

Bodies & Movement

All of Baby, Nose to Toes by Victoria Adler, illustrated by Hiroe Nakata

A poem about each part of the body celebrates the sweetness of babies from head to toe.

Incredible Me! by Kathi Appelt, illustrated by G. Brian Karas
A demonstration of all the things the human body can do.

Can You Cuddle Like a Koala? by John Butler 
Young children are invited to move like the animals, then curl up for a nap.

If You're Happy and You Know It by Jane Cabrera
Illustrations of jungle animals liven up this version of the popular children's action song.

From Head to Toe by Eric Carle
A series of diverse children copy the movements of zoo animals.

Dancing Feet by Lindsay Craig, illustrated by Marc Brown
When animals dance, their feet make different sounds, which are clues for the reader to each animal's identity.

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
Many babies from disparate backgrounds all have one thing in common: ten fingers and ten toes.

Henry's Heart by Charise Mericle Harper
Explores the physical and emotional responses of Henry's heart to the events of his daily life.

Pretend You're a Cat by Jean Marzollo, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
Young children are invited to move and behave like animals.

How Can You Dance? by Rick Walton, illustrated by Ana Lopez-Escriva
This introduction to dance shows kids ways to move their bodies.