Picture Books
by Caroline McAlister
Jack and his older brother Waren had wonderful imaginations. As children, they spent most of their days creating stories about brave knights, powerful steamships, and make-believe lands. But, when their mother dies, they are sent off to boarding school, and their stories are set aside. Years later, as war wages all around them, Jack, the youngest of the two, sets out to write down some of the childhood adventures that are still swirling in his memory.
This is the true life story of beloved author C.S. Lewis, known to his friends and family as Jack.
by Emily Jenkins
"Four centuries. Four families. One delicious dessert." This beautifully illustrated book follows four different parent-child sets through four different centuries, 1710, 1810, 1910, and 2010, as they use the tools available to them to make the exact same dessert: Blackberry Fool. Readers will peek into the past and learn that though clothing, home decor, and food prep have changed over time, beloved family recipes have not. The final page includes the ingredients and steps for making "a fine dessert.
by Kate Messner
Grandpa rides to remember Joe and Tom, two friends who never returned. I ride for Uncle Zach, who's currently flying planes. We join dozens and dozens of other riders along the Potomac River and snake our way through Washington, D.C., honoring fallen heroes. At the end of our journey, we stand before a memorial wall, looking at all the names and remembering.
This picture book, told in verse, is narrated by a young boy who describes how he and his grandfather, a Vietnam vet, ride a motorcycle in a great cavalcade to show their respects to the men and women who've lost their lives serving our country.
by Craig Brown
Every day, Anthony and his pack of trusty mules make their way from one end of the Grand Canyon to the other. In snow, rain, or sleet, they zigzag down tight switchbacks and steep slopes. Nothing will stop them. Their job is too important. They're carrying the mail!
This is a look at the modern-day mule train postmen who deliver mail to the village of Supai, located on the Havsupai Indian Reservation at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
Leveled Readers
by Margaret Wise Brown
Big fish. Little fish. Old fish. Young fish. I like fish. Whether in the pond, the stream, or the sea, I can always find a fish to like. Similar to the repetition of a Dr. Seuss book, each 3-5 word sentence of this Level 1 reader contains the words “fish” and “a fish in the…” The pictures feature children from a variety of ethnicities.
Aaron and the Green Mountain Boys
by Patricia Lee Gauch
When he declared his desire to help in the war effort, nine-year-old Aaron Robinson assumed he'd be able to join the Green Mountain Boys of Vermont with his father. Instead, he was forced to stay behind at the inn with Grandfather and Mother and deliver bread to neighbors and soldiers.
Based on a true story, this Level 3 book will give young readers an exciting peek at the formation of a homegrown Revolutionary War militia.
Illustrated Chapter Books
by Leslea Newman
Each morning, Japanese Professor Ueno takes the train to the university and arrives home again at exactly 3 o'clock. His loyal Akita-ken named Hachi, waits obediently on the train platform for his return. Through the years, daily passengers grow fond of the trusty dog and greet him as they enter and exit the station. One day, the professor doesn't return. Unbeknownst to Hachi, his master has died.
For the next ten years, the dog waits for the 3 o'clock return of the Professor. Townsfolk and train employees band together to care for the faithful dog. Word spreads throughout Japan and, eventually, the world, and a statue is erected commemorating Hachi's unwavering devotion.
This is the true story of a dog's love for its owner.
Please note: While explaining Hachi's death to a boy, the station master says that the dog has boarded a train to heaven and will meet the professor there.
by Eric A. Kimmel
To help his mother pay for rent, seven-year-old Louis works for a Jewish family at their junkyard. Every day, he rides a wagon around New Orleans collecting discarded junk. Like most people in the city, Louis loves Jazz. He dreams of one day playing the trumpet just like the legendary Joe Oliver. For now, however, he must be content with a toy tin horn. That is, until he's invited to celebrate Hanukkah with his boss, who gives Louis a special gift.
This narrative non-fiction about the early childhood years of famed jazz musician Louis Armstrong includes fantastic charcoal drawings that make the story leap from the page.
Please note: To get to work, Louis cuts through the town cemetery. The text mentions that, unlike his friends, he's not afraid of ghosts. He yells out, "G'morning spooks!" Additionally, when he hears Louis playing a horn in the street, one passerby says, "Lady Luck must be smiling on this dude."
Middle-Grade Novels
by Avi
Seeking adventure and a life of his own, 4-month-old country mouse, Ragweed hops on a train bound for the city. He is ill-prepared for the sights, sounds, and cats of big metro living. F.E.A.R (Felines Enraged About Rodents), a gang of outraged cats has taken over one end of town and is determined to rid the streets of mice. Fortunately, Clutch, a worldly-wise guitar-playing mouse, and her bandmates of the Cheese Squeeze Club take Ragweed under their wing and teach him how to stay alive. But is survival enough? Ragweed is forced to decide between staying in the bustling city or returning to the slow pace of country living.
This is the first in a 7-part series about the mice of Dimwood Forest.
by Jean Craighead George
Armed with a penknife, a length of cord, an ax, flint and steel, and a small handful of cash, young Sam Gribley leaves his posh New York City life and heads to his family's ancestral land in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. He has no experience "roughing it" in the woods but is determined to live independently off the land. He finds a hollowed-out tree and settles in with a falcon and a weasel. Over days and months, it's Sam against the world. Despite his lack of skills, tools, and even mentorship, will he endure?
This survival story is the first in a three-part series set in the late 1950s, which explains some of Sam's outdated and slightly unethical wilderness practices. Please note: The subsequent titles were written three decades after the original and have a slightly different tone. After reading the book, middle graders might enjoy watching the 1969 movie adaptation.
by Marian Halahmy
Jack is a Messenger tasked with running important papers around London during the Blitz of 1940. Deaf in one ear, Jack has always felt like an outsider. This job has given him purpose. While on a route one day, he finds a stray dog. Like Jack, the mutt has an injured ear, earning him the name Rip. The two make an instant connection and become inseparable. Jack soon learns that Rip is not just any dog, he's a rescue hero and can find lost people under the rubble and ash of bombed-out buildings.
The pair become a useful team to the Warden and begin to make friends with kids around the neighborhood. There are only three problems:
1. Jack is not old enough to be a Messenger. He lied on his application in order to get the job.
2. Jack's parents don't know that he's been roaming the streets each day helping with the recovery effort.
3. As the bombing continues for months, Jack's dad, an amputee vet of The Great War, becomes increasingly angry. All that anger seems to be pointed at Jack.
When a bomb rips through their home, Jack has a chance to prove what he and Rip can do.
Please note: There are a handful of replacement swear words like "bloomin'," "flippin'," and "hellhole," and crass name callings like "twerp" and "jerk" throughout the story. Jack gets into confrontations with a pair of bullies, and there is a subtle crush between a young boy and a girl. Most noteworthy, Jack's dad is not kind to him in the first three-fourths of the book. Although he's never diagnosed, he is clearly suffering from PTSD and is masking his fear with anger. He becomes verbally abusive at times to Jack, even yelling that he wishes Jack had never been born. That said, the story is otherwise quite clean and full of redemption, forgiveness, and the kind of raw honesty that older middle-grade readers are craving. While the publisher has deemed this book appropriate for kids ages 8-12, I recommend it for 10+.
by Kathryn Butler
Can life get any harder for 12-year-old Lily? Her father has just died, her grandmother is losing her memory, her mother is forced to work long hours at the hospital, and the class bully, Adam, is more relentless than ever. It's a good thing she has such a vivid imagination to divert her attention from her current circumstances.
One day, however, she finds herself transported to another world where the images she's only dreamed of seem to have come to life, including a small, albeit courageous, dragon named Cedric. Lily has been brought to this new realm to help rescue it from the evil clutches of a dark dragon named Eymah. She's surprised to learn that, like her father before her, she is a member of a long line of keepers charged with protecting special pendants that can turn dreams and nightmares into reality.
First in a fantastic four-part fantasy series with faith-based themes, this book incorporates characters from the classic tales of King Arthur.
Parents, Be Aware
Detective Duck: The Case of the Strange Splash
by Henry Winkler & Lin Oliver
Willow Feathers is the adopted daughter duck of Beaver McBeaver. Curious and caring, she wants to be a detective. And lucky her, a strange round object has just landed in the neighborhood pond. It's rubber, has a tread, and seems to have come off a giant metal object from the road. Could it be from aliens? Willow joins forces with her forest friends to uncover the origins of this odd contraption and remove it from the water before it hurts the fish.
Things to know: According to the other animals, Weasel is the forest bully, so they yell and throw objects at him. While, at one point, he does end up stealing a bag of trail mix from a human, Weasel doesn't do or say anything that would warrant the ire of the others in the woods. One of the characters speaks of "ghost stories" but doesn't actually tell any. Additionally, there is one mention of seagull poop in the text.
by Linda Sue Park
Fascinated with the craft of pottery, Tree-ear, a young 12th-century Korean orphan, takes a job doing menial tasks for once-famed potter Min. Min is aged and quite curmudgeonly, but Tree-ear faithfully serves him with no complaint, hoping to learn what it takes to be a master craftsman someday.
Min wants to earn a royal commission and sends Tree-ear to the palace with a Celadon vase. Along the way, the pot is shattered, and Tree-ear can only present a single shard of the completed masterpiece at the palace court.
Things to know: This compelling, coming-of-age novel will introduce tween readers to a different time and a different place. That said, it does mention the afterlife beliefs of the Buddhist faith. Additionally, Tree-ear recalls a tale of many women jumping off a cliff together to avoid being taken captive by an invading army. The story, which is obviously about a mass suicide, receives only a minor mention and may not be fully understood by some readers.
Just for you, Mom
by Cathy LaGrow
In 1928, while at a church picnic in the woods, 16-year-old Minka is brutally attacked. She later discovers that she's pregnant. To protect her from public shame, her mother sends her to a group home many states away. Minka delivers a healthy baby girl but is forced to give it up for adoption. She then spends the next eight decades pining for her child. With only a black-and-white photo and a few memories to go on, she begins to pray that God would allow her to meet her daughter before she dies.
This is a haunting but true account of a mother's unrelenting love for her long-lost child and how God finally brings them together.