Children’s Book Marketing: Reaching Parents During Summer Break

by Penny Sansevieri | Aug 14, 2025 | Podcast for Authors

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Summer Challenges and Opportunities for Authors

As summer vacation kicks into full gear, parents everywhere face the same challenge: keeping their children engaged, entertained, and preferably, not glued to screens all day. This presents a golden opportunity for authors of children’s and young adult books to connect with an audience that’s actively seeking solutions.

Parents Value Books Over Screens

Jennifer Garner recently shared her parenting approach to screen time, telling her children they can have social media access once they provide articles proving it’s beneficial for kids—a brilliant strategy that resonates with parents who understand that books offer a healthier alternative to digital entertainment. Despite technological advancements, parents still value reading as a fundamental activity for their children’s development and summer enjoyment. This parental mindset creates a market that’s particularly receptive to book recommendations during these long summer months.

Positioning Your Book for Summer Success

For authors, the timing couldn’t be better to promote your work, regardless of when it was published. The key is positioning your book as the perfect solution for summer entertainment. Parents are making decisions about how to keep their children occupied, and they want those decisions to be easy ones. By clearly communicating why your book will captivate young readers and provide value during summer break, you’re offering harried parents exactly what they need—a simple “yes” decision that solves multiple problems at once.

Children’s Book Marketing Strategies for the Season

Marketing strategies can include temporary price discounts (especially during the first weeks of summer), reaching out to parent bloggers and social media influencers who are actively compiling summer activity lists, updating Amazon book descriptions to highlight your book as an ideal summer read, and utilizing targeted advertising on platforms like BookBub and Goodreads. These platforms allow you to specifically target parents looking for summer entertainment options, making your children’s book marketing dollars more effective during this seasonal opportunity.

Leveraging Local Community Events

Don’t overlook local opportunities, either. Summer is filled with community events, library programs, camps, and recreational activities where children spend significant time. Consider approaching these venues about book signings, readings, or simply leaving signed copies for sale. Places where kids experience downtime—like gymnastics centers, YMCAs, or even hair salons—can be perfect spots to introduce your book to captive audiences. When a child begins reading your book during a break and asks their parent to purchase it upon pickup, you’ve achieved marketing gold.

The Power of Series in Children’s Book Marketing

Remember that children, particularly elementary-age readers, are drawn to series books. They develop attachments to characters and worlds, making them eager to continue reading through a collection. If you’ve written multiple books or a series, summer break provides the perfect opportunity for young readers to dive deep into your literary universe without the time constraints of school-year schedules. Parents appreciate series too, as they solve the “what’s next” question when a child finishes a book and wants more.