Picture Books
The Bookshop on Lemon Tree Lane
by Mike Lucas
A little boy and his grandpa have always loved visiting their cozy local bookshop with its nooks and crannies, old beloved stories, and cuddly dog at the back. But when the owners close the shop, pack the books, and take down the shelves, the boy worries that things won't ever be the same. After some remodeling, the new owners reopen the doors. The bookstore looks much different, the boy acknowledges. But different can be good. In fact, it can be its own special kind of "great."
This sweet rhyming story features the many emotions that grow when a child experiences change.
by Alice Melvin
Mouse begins his journey in the wintry snows of January to visit Squirrel. As the weather warms, he and Hedgehog welcome spring. In May, he enjoys a pleasant picnic among the bluebells with Mole. By June, he's picking fresh berries alongside Dormouse. As the year cools down in November, he gathers with friends around a campfire. The journey comes full circle in December, when Mouse takes shelter from the cold inside Fox's cozy caravan.
Each page of this seasonal story features a lift-the-flap-to-see-inside style picture of a different woodland house.
Inky the Octopus
by Erin Guendelsberger
Though he is well cared for by the aquarium staff, Inky the Octopus grows bored with his enclosed life and longs to explore the wonders of the vast, open ocean. One night, he notices that the lid of his tank has been left unlatched. Seizing the opportunity, he tries to convince his tank mate, Blotchy, to join him in a daring escape. But Blotchy prefers comfort and safety to danger and adventure. Undeterred, Inky uses his flexible body to slip out, slide across the aquarium floor, and squeeze himself down a narrow drainpipe. The pipe leads him straight out into the Pacific Ocean, where he finally achieves his dream of freedom.
This brightly illustrated rhyming book is loosely based on a real octopus who became an international sensation when he made a daring, aquatic escape from the National Aquarium of New Zealand in 2016.
When Alexander Graced the Table
by Alexander Smalls
Alexander loves to help his mother in the kitchen. He takes pride in peeling eggs for potato salad or shredding cheese for macaroni, all for the family's big Sunday dinner — a meal that includes everyone from grandma and grandpa to aunties, uncles, and cousins. With his mother's permission and encouragement, Alexander decides to bake a homemade lemon icebox pie with meringue from scratch for next Sunday's meal. He wants everyone to enjoy it, but he especially wants his father to be impressed.
When young readers finish turning the last page of this uniquely illustrated book, they can make a version of Alexander's pie using the recipe the author has included on the endpapers.
Leveled Readers
Shampoodle
by Joan Holub
It is picture day at the dog park, and the local pups need to look their absolute best. So they head over to the "Shampoodle" pet salon. The groomers begin washing, spinning, twirling, and scrubbing the bouncing dogs. Things spiral out of control when some curious, nosy kittens wander in. The dogs immediately break loose to chase them and go sliding across the floor in puddles of wet shampoo. Amidst the slipping and tripping, the groomers' curlers and clippers get tangled up, accidentally giving the pets wacky, wild new haircuts.
Because this Level 2 reader contains many difficult digraphs, I think it's more appropriate for Level 3 readers who need a fast-paced, easy-to-read story.
by Shelley Moore Thomas
In a faraway kingdom, a lonely, dutiful knight keeps watch from his crumbly tower. His quiet evening is interrupted when he hears a loud roar echoing from the nearby forest. Expecting a fearsome beast, the knight draws his sword and gallops off on his horse to investigate. Instead of a giant monster, he discovers a cave inhabited by three little, lonely dragons who are resisting sleep with childish delay tactics like asking for a drink of water and a bedtime story. The chivalrous and incredibly patient knight returns to the cave again and again to fulfill the little dragons' requests. Will they ever fall asleep? Will the knight be able to call it a night and get some rest himself?
This Level 2 reader flips the classic fantasy trope of a brave knight slaying a terrifying dragon, turning it into a gentle story about caretaking and patience that mirrors the real-life bedtime struggles of parents.
Illustrated Chapter Books
The House on Walenska Street
by Charlotte Herman
Following her father's recent death, eight-year-old Leah must step up to help her mother and younger sisters, Esther and Rose, manage their Russian household. To support the family, Mama bakes and sells bread and rents out a small corner of their cottage to a kindly local cobbler named Zimmel. As Jews, they are always on the lookout for soldiers who continually threaten to ransack their home.
A budding writer, Leah's favorite household responsibility is reading and answering letters from their cousins who have immigrated to America. Their correspondence inspires her to dream about a future where she and her family can emigrate to the United States, and never have to worry for their safety again.
This historical fiction about the misadventures of three Russian sisters is loosely based on the life of the author's grandmother.
Please note: In one scene, a girl calls a cantankerous, old woman a toad face, knowing full well she'll earn a spanking for her impudence.
Animal Inn: A Furry Fiasco
by Paul Dubois Jacobs
Animal Inn is a countryside pet resort and spa managed by the Tyler family. In addition to housing all of the Tylers' personal pets, the resort provides daycare, grooming, and luxury boarding for all kinds of creatures.
One day, the animals hear that a wizard is coming but find greater terror in the clarification that the wizard won't be the guest—the wizard's dragon will be. Fearing that a monstrous, fire-breathing beast is going to move in and devour them all, the resident pets, especially the narrator of the story, a spirited Macaw named Leopold, spiral into a state of panic.
It turns out that the animals were victims of a tragic game of telephone. They heard one of the tiny humans say "wizard," but what she was actually trying to say through her toddler lisp was "lizard."
This is the first in a five-book series about the mischievous capers of the pets at Animal Inn.
Please note: In Book 5, the animals believe the inn to be haunted.
Middle-Grade Novels
The Unlikely Intrusion of Adams Klein
by John Greco
The year is 2196. The world is under the absolute, totalitarian control of a paranoid ruler known as The Marshal. In this society, independent thought is punishable by death, and teenagers are trained to be soldiers while factual data is directly downloaded into their brains.
When The Marshal experiences a series of prophetic dreams warning him of a future assassin, he targets 14-year-old Adams Klein. To save his son's life, Adams' father, Grant, uses highly classified technology to send Adams and his dog, Jupiter, back in time. He leaves Adams with one crucial, strict rule: hide in isolation, keep a low profile, and do not change the course of history.
Adams materializes in small-town America in the year 2015. For a time, he successfully lives in secret to avoid creating historical anomalies that could alert the future regime. However, everything changes when he witnesses a girl his age fall through a patch of ice on a frozen lake.
Unable to watch her drown, Adams breaks his father's rule and intervenes to save her life. This act of bravery triggers an immediate ripple effect through time.
This is the first in The Timefall Trilogy, a squeaky-clean, fast-paced sci-fi/dystopian series about three unlikely friends who band together to take down a dictator.
Since learning of the inclusion of an LGBTQ+ character in book 9.5 of the popular middle-grade series Keeper of the Cities, numerous moms have asked me if I know of an agenda-free series that their sci-fi/dystopian loving tweens and young teens might enjoy. The Timefall Trilogy definitely fits the bill.
Please note: The near-drowned girl develops a mild crush on Adams and kisses him on the cheek when she thinks she will never get to see him again.
by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Middle schooler Cordy, her younger brother Geno, and their mother Casey are still paralyzed by grief after the tragic boating accident that killed their husband and father a few years ago.
Now cash-strapped, the family lives in a drafty, 100-year-old boathouse on the Oregon coast. In exchange for rent and utilities, Casey works long hours as an unpaid property manager for the wealthy owners.
One day, desperate to stop her mother from moving their family far away from their small coastal town, Cordy brainstorms ideas to help ease their financial strain. Instead of finding or earning money, she crosses paths with a muddy, hungry, stray dog with terrible breath.
The family adopts the dog and fittingly names him Lost. A trip to the local animal shelter reveals that Lost's halitosis problem is caused by severe dental issues requiring expensive surgery that the family cannot afford.
A kind veterinarian named Taj steps in to perform the surgery completely free of charge. This gesture kicks off a chain of events Cordy is not sure she will ever be ready for.
Please note: Two characters briefly discuss whether someone has "good luck" or "bad luck."
At one point, Geno mentions that he has dreams about Zombies.
One character believes humans are said to be the smartest "animals" on the planet.
The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester
by Barbara O'Connor
After his father loses his job, Owen's family moves into his ailing grandfather's home in the rural town of Carter, Georgia. Late one night, Owen hears a curious noise from a passing freight train near his new-to-him home. In the morning, he goes in search of the mysterious noisemaker and discovers that a two-person submarine had tumbled off the train and into the woods.
Owen and his friends, Travis and Stumpy, keep the sub hidden from adults, desperately scheming to transport the massive object through the thick brush to a nearby pond so they can operate it.
Moving a submarine is physically grueling. To succeed, the boys must put aside their pride and enlist the help of their "pesky" neighbor Viola, whose vast knowledge of engineering and physics proves absolutely vital to transport the machine.
This is the story of how one boy navigates a summer full of unexpected adventure, difficult choices, and unlikely friendships.
Please note: At the beginning of the book, Owen and his friends are mean to Viola simply because she is a girl.
The text includes a few uses of the word "dang" and one use of "dufus."
One character is said to have issued a "slew of curse words."
Baby Island
by Carol Ryrie Brink
Twelve-year-old Mary and ten-year-old Jean are motherless sisters traveling unaccompanied on an ocean liner from America to Australia to join their father at his ranch. When a ferocious storm disables the ship, the girls are inadvertently set adrift in a lifeboat with four babies belonging to their fellow passengers. After floating at sea, the lifeboat washes ashore on a seemingly uninhabited tropical island. Showing immense capability and dedication, Mary and Jean immediately set out to forage for food and make camp. Turns out, they are not alone on the island; instead, they meet a sneaky little monkey and a cranky bachelor who have hermitized themselves at sea. Will the girls and their toddler charges survive this Robinson Crusoe-type adventure? Moreover, will they ever make it back home?
Parents, Be Aware
by Harry Woodgate
Every summer, a young girl visits her grandfather at his seaside cottage. Grandad shares photo albums and happy stories of traveling across places with his late partner, Gramps. Since Gramps passed away, Grandad has stopped traveling. Wanting to help him heal, his granddaughter encourages him to dust off and repair his old pink camper. Together, they fix the van and set off on a new trip to honor Gramps and celebrate his life.
Things to know: This story was awarded the Stonewall Honor for its obvious LGBTQ+ inclusions.
by Kyle Lukoff
Eleven-year-old Bug and her single mother are reeling from the recent death of Bug's beloved Uncle Roderick. Roderick, a former drag queen, lived with them in their large, old, slightly eerie house. Bug’s best friend, Moira, decides the two must spend the summer preparing to be "cool girls" in middle school. Moira throws herself into makeup, nail polish, fashion, and gossiping about boys. Bug, however, feels deep, unspoken discomfort with these activities and has zero interest in learning "how to be a girl." This creates an agonizing distance between the lifelong friends.
Bug's house has always had benign, historical spirits, but a new, aggressive ghostly presence begins targeting Bug. This spirit slams doors, shatters things, and manipulates rooms. Bug realizes this ghost is desperately trying to send a specific message. She assumes the ghost is Uncle Roderick. However, as Bug follows the clues left by the spirit, she realizes the haunting is actually a mirror to her own internal reality. The ghost isn't trying to scare her; it is pushing her to look past her confusion, helping her to recognize her gender dysphoria, and giving her the courage to transition into a boy.
Things to know: Along with garnering a Newberry Honor and a National Book Award, this title won the Stonewall Award for LGBTQ+ inclusion.
In addition to describing a poltergeist in action, Bug uses a Ouija board to contact the dead.
The text includes the following words: sucks, hell.
Just for you, Mom
Theo of Golden
by Allen Levi
Theo arrives alone in Golden right before Easter, keeping his past, his surname, and his reasons for visiting a complete mystery. He moves into an apartment overlooking the river and establishes a daily routine at a local coffee shop called The Chalice.
At the coffee shop, Theo discovers 92 lifelike pencil portraits of local townspeople drawn by a struggling local artist named Asher Glissen. Deeply moved by how the artwork captures the raw humanity of each subject, Theo decides to buy the portraits one by one and distribute them to their rightful owners — the subjects. In exchange for each drawing, he asks only to hear the recipient's personal story.
This is one of the very best examples of Christian fiction I have ever read. That said, it's not a "Christian" book and was not published by a Christian publisher. But it was written by a Christian who clearly understands the depravity of man as well as the redemption of God. He did not sugarcoat the brokenness of this world but instead painted anyone without Jesus as they are: lost and in need of saving.
Please note: There is quite a bit of colorful language in the book. No F-bombs, mind you, but many examples of other four-letter expletives. However, in the same way that CS Lewis needed the darkness of the witch and her minions in Narnia in order to show the stark contrast between the evil found in them and the good found in Aslan, Allen Levi needed to show the sins of a sinner in order to also show the glorious hope of redemption. In other words, the language has a point. It is not superfluous or thrown in simply for the sake of language, as in so many other popular books. In this case, the language helps to create 3-dimensional characters who obviously need Jesus.
Best in Show
Buffalo Bill and the Pony Express
by Eleanor Coerr
This Level 3 reader is a historical fiction based on the legendary life of William Frederick Cody, more commonly known as Buffalo Bill, who at the age of 15 joined the rough-and-tumble riders of the Pony Express. While on the trail, Cody outruns wild animals, savage storms, and even a few outlaws.
Crispin: The Cross of Lead
by Avi
What could be worse than being orphaned and poverty-stricken? Being orphaned, poverty-stricken, and hunted for a crime you did not commit. To escape the evil clutches of John Aycliffe, the Steward of Stromford, Asta's son leaves the only home he's ever known. With the help of Bear, a traveling minstrel with a chip on his shoulder, the boy is determined to prove his innocence and learn why Aycliffe wants to arrest him. But in doing so, will he learn too much?
Please note: While not necessarily graphic or overtly violent, this story is about a manhunt and may be difficult for sensitive kids. Further, when the boy discovers his true identity, it's clear (although not explicitly mentioned) that he was conceived out of wedlock. In keeping with historical accuracy, the text includes several mentions of the superstitions and state religious practices of 14th-century England. For these reasons, Crispin and its sequels are more suitable for older middle-grade readers and young teens.