Waves of fun children's books for summer reading

Turn to tales of island ponies, a girl who dares a wave or a very sad fish if you're looking to avoid the summer reading slump for your kids. Add these to your I-wish-they'd-read list when you head to the beach:

"Wave" by Suzy Lee (Chronicle Books, $15.99, 4-up). Stunning in its wordless simplicity, artist Lee uses just two shades of watercolor (cyan and black) against the white of her long-format pages to pour energy and glee into a playful wave and a young girl who arrives at the shore with her mother.

"The Pout-Pout Fish" by Deborah Diesen and illustrated by Dan Hanna (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $16, 4-6). He's a "pout-pout" fish with a pout-pout face who spreads the "dreary-wearies all over the place" in this rhyming debut for both author and illustrator. The bright-blue, bug-eyed depressive is told to cheer up by all manner of ocean life that he bums out daily, but he feels helpless to change. Then a mysterious, shimmery visitor shows up on the ocean floor. Playful repetition lends itself to read-alouds.

"My Chincoteague Pony" by Susan Jeffers (Disney Book Group, $16.99, 4-8). Inspired by true acts of generosity at the wild pony auction on Virginia's Chincoteague Island each summer, Jeffers poignantly brings to life the beauty and history of the horses through the eyes of a young farm girl. She yearns for a filly she spots in the pens and receives unexpected help when she comes up short at auction time, making a special promise after her Painted Dream is home.

"Carl's Summer Vacation" by Alexandra Day (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $12.95, 4-8). The lovable — and safety-conscious — Rottweiler takes his young charge Madeleine for a ride in a canoe and a romp in a blackberry patch when the two are supposed to be napping at the Harris family's summer cabin. The dog brings her home in one piece as he always does in this series featuring the beloved four-legged baby-sitter.

"Fabulous Fishes" by Susan Stockdale (Peachtree, $15.95 4-8). Simple text strung together in rhyme is saved by boldly patterned and colored acrylic renderings of spotted fish, striped fish, spiny fish and those that are speckled, flat, catty, round and shiny. Stockdale offers further details on the fish she chose in a kid-friendly glossary for budding oceanographers.

"Beach Bugs" by David A. Carter (Simon & Schuster, $11.99, 3-up). The latest in Carter's "Bugs" series packs a wallop for the younger set with boogie board bug shooting a curl and ice cream bug peeking out from under five scoops and a cherry on top. There are even some twinkling firefly bugs that really light up in this pop-up celebration that shouts hooray for summer!