Families are different and so are our relationships with our cousins. Cousins can be friends, foes, distant, or close. This list of middle grade and YA books highlight cousin relationships. Belle Prater’s Boy By: Ruth White When Woodrow’s mother suddenly disappears, he moves to his grandparents’ home in a […]
Middle Grade
Thematic Reading List: National I Love Horses Day
July 15th is National I Love Horses Day. To celebrate, we are revisiting 10 horse themed classics and soon to be classics. Misty of Chincoteague By: Marguerite Henry Two children from Chincoteague help in the annual roundup of wild horses on a nearby island. They work hard to raise money […]
Thematic Reading List: 25 Everything 4th of July Books
When we think about the 4th of July we not only think of America’s independence, but we also think of parades, fireworks, and picnics with family and friends. This reading list covers the meaning of Independence Day, the many types of things we do to celebrate the holiday, and a few chapter books with July 4th settings for our chapter book readers. […]
Thematic Reading List: Let’s go to Hawaii! National Hawaii Day is July 5th
Beautiful sandy beaches, luaus, and plenty of sun and culture provide a luxurious setting for these 10 stories with Hawaii as their settings. This list includes picture books for the younger readers and chapter books for older readers up to 16 years old To Hawaii, With Love By: Michael P. Spradlin […]
Thematic Reading List: National Father-Daughter Take a Walk Day- July 7
In honor of National Father-Daughter Take a Walk Day we are browsing through 14 books focused on father-daughter interactions and relationships. Includes picture and YA books. A Photo for Greta By: Anna Alter Greta’s father is a professional photographer who is often away from home, but when he and Greta are […]
Thematic Reading List: Hobbies
After a long stressful school year, children can use something fun. Doing something you like is a mood booster and hobbies are just that! Whether you are into indoor or outdoor hobbies, want to learn a new hobby or increase your skills in a current hobby, our reading list provides plenty of hobbies to choose from. […]
Thematic Reading List: To Become a Princess
Some women are born into royalty while others enter through marriage. Below are 12 books about real-life princesses that describe their lives, good and bad, and what it means to be a princess in various countries throughout history. To be a Princess: the fascinating lives of […]
Thematic Reading List- Life Through Art
The Frame-Up by Wendy McLeod MacKnight explores an art museum and paintings. Many books feature paintings and painters as main characters or themes and provide a wealth of opportunities for discussing the importance of art in one’s life. Our Life Through Art reading list provides a list of book options to choose from. […]
Thematic Reading List: If you like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, you might like…
Big Nate in a class by himself By: Lincoln Peirce Big Nate, a sixth grader, plans on finding a way to get out of taking a social studies test. I Funny: a middle school story By: James Patterson Resolving to become the world’s greatest stand-up comedian […]
Thematic Reading List: Imaginary Companions
Imaginary companions come in all shapes and sizes- monsters, animals, skeletons, and other humans. They come for many reasons too, but in most fiction imaginary companions come to help a child get through a difficult situation. Our Imaginary Companions reading list provides picture books and chapter books from the perspective of the child, and a […]
Thematic Reading List: Take Me Out to the Ballgame: 9 Books for Baseball Lovers
The smell of cut grass, hot dogs, peanuts, and nachos. No, we aren’t talking about your backyard barbeque. We’re talking about the baseball field. There are so many books dedicated to the great game of baseball that it was hard to choose only 9 for our list. From biographies to cookbooks, we’ve chosen 9 unique […]
Thematic Reading List: Saving Our Planet One Effort at a Time
One of the most motivational ways to show children the importance of saving our planet is through pictures and stories. This reading list tackles stories of recycling, water conservation, how to help keep our planet clean and how to participate in Earth Day. When Rivers Burned: the Earth Day story […]
Thematic List- The Luck of the Irish
We’ve all heard about the luck of the Irish. This week’s list includes many characters who desire a touch of luck. Books listed cover a variety of ages, from six to sixteen. A Big Dose of Lucky By: Marthe Jocelyn Sixteen-year-old Malou decides to uncover the circumstances […]
Thematic Reading List: Dogs- 15 Books About Dogs
Dog characters are no stranger to children’s literature- Biscuit, Clifford, Hank the Cowdog just to name a few. We have chosen a variety of books, suitable for ages 5 to 12, that show dogs in many distinct roles and situations. Many of the titles will provoke meaningful conversations about responsibility, loyalty, acceptance, and much more. […]
Award of the Week-Walter Dean Myers Awards
The Walter Dean Myers Award, also known as “The Walter,” is named for prolific children’s and young adult author Walter Dean Myers (1937-2014). Myers was the third National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, appointed in 2012 by the Library of Congress. He was a champion of diversity in children’s books. The Walter Awards honor Myers’ […]
Honoring the late Ursula K. Le Guin
To the average news follower author Ursula K. Le Guin was known as a science fiction and fantasy writer, but to her devoted fans she was an author who used the genre to spotlight topics that interested her, such as anthropology, environmentalism, psychology and sociology. Le Guin leaves behind a canon of award winning works […]
Thematic Reading List: Nancy Drew and Other Sleuths
The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew may have started the detective mystery for children’s reading, but many notable detectives have held their own throughout the years. The list of sleuths that follows is divided by the age of the sleuth, not by reading level. We were disappointed to find little diversity in modern publications, a […]
Thematic Reading List: Series books for Non-book Lover
According to several media outlets, the best-selling books for children in 2017 were books with funny themes, characters, or situations. You will find several series books that meet these criteria while other books present mysteries to be solved or situations that need to be resolved. If you find that the child is a non-book lover […]
Intriguing Book Covers- Begging you to pick up and read
Ever judge a book by its cover? What book covers tell us and what they tell about us. Mr. Tiger Goes Wild By: Peter Brown Bored with city life and the proper behavior it requires, Mr. Tiger has a wild idea that leads him to discover his true nature. […]
Thematic Reading List- Spooky Reads
This week we are sharing reviews of some spooky reads you might want to share with those who love scary stories, and a few not-as-scary Halloween reads. Steampunk: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein By: Mary Shelley Illustrated by: Zdenko Basic and Manuel Sumberac This original horror story begins and ends with […]
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