Step Into Summer With Our Guides To Travel, Movies, Music And More

Plus, how to help your kids play independently and dive into reading

View this email online by Christopher Dean Hopkins Getaways Are Back! Children play with beach towels on a windy May day in Belmar, N.J.  Wayne Parry/AP With coronavirus case numbers diving in most — but not all — of the world, summer vacations are poised to return to our lives. Europe is opening up to American tourists again, airlines have been adding flights and routes (but keeping mask rules in place) and 7 in 10 U.S. families are planning a trip. But those plans are running headlong into serious shortages — rental cars, resort and restaurant staff, and even pool chemicals are in short supply. Here are some safety considerations and other things to think about as you set out on your 2021 summer journey. (And wherever you go, wear your sunscreen! Here's how to find the best one for you.) Newsletter continues after sponsor message For The Kids LA Johnson/NPR Summer camps are back this year, too — and for older, vaccinated kids, they won’t even require masks. For younger kids, masks and other precautions still will be needed for all the indoor craft time and singalongs. With any luck the biggest issue summer camps face will be back to … parents themselves. For the long lazy days that children might be spending at home, we’ve got guides on how to help your kids learn to play independently (listen here or read here) and how to make them voracious summer readers. And if they need story suggestions, these titles suggested to us by readers last summer are a great place to start. Blockbusters, Beach Reads And More Electronic artist Flume performs at Lollapalooza in 2016.  Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Samsung Cool theaters and sweltering concert grounds have the green light to get packed again in many places this summer. Big screen offerings will include long-delayed Marvel movie Black Widow, the latest Fast & Furious installment and a cinematic adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s other musical, In The Heights. The Pop Culture Happy Hour crew highlighted some of their top picks for the season. Listen to them here. Looking for at-home entertainment options? On It’s Been A Minute, Sam Sanders and his guests suggest some summer reads, while NPR Music has compiled another perfect Roséwave summer soundtrack for your listening pleasure. Or catch up on the best music released so far in 2021. Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station). Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Daily News, Politics, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Best of NPR emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy