Picture Books
by Anna Crowley Redding
It all started from a tiny seed in the 1600s. It was planted in the ground and, in time, grew into a large apple tree. One day, as a young man named Isaac Newton reclined under its branches, the tree dropped an apple, inspiring the budding scientist to write a groundbreaking theory of gravity. From this mathematical equation, Newton would explain why the moon stayed in orbit. Years later, other scientists, including Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking, would visit and be inspired by the gravity tree. The seeds of its fruit would be planted to create more trees. Some of its branches would be made into gifts for important people. In that way, the tree, now quite old, would live on.
This is the true story of the tree that inspired Newton's laws of gravity.
Please note that the book includes a short section on Stephen Hawking, a renowned theoretical physicist and outspoken atheist. That said, it only mentions his brief encounter with the tree and how it fueled his own desire to learn more about the world. It omits any of his worldview or thoughts on religion.
by Kate Messner
A young girl and her grandma set out on the boardwalk through the Everglades, discussing the sounds and sights of the wetland. As they wander, they see animals like panthers, alligators, and red-bellied turtles, as well as the plants, insects, and frogs that make up the ecosystem.
Inspired by the wildlife of the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Florida, this new book in the Over and Under series introduces the hidden world above and below the water, highlighting the food web and the importance of wetland habitats.
by Philip C. Stead
As winter approaches, a sleepy bear has a story he wants to share. He visits his friends—Mouse, Duck, and Toad—but they are preoccupied. Mouse is gathering seeds, Duck is migrating south, and Toad is looking for a warm place to sleep. Bear kindly helps each friend with their tasks. After all his friends are settled, Bear tucks himself into his own den to hibernate. When he finally wakes up, he reunites with his friends, eager to finally tell his story. He gathers them all but suddenly realizes he has forgotten what he wanted to say.
This tied-end story finishes at the very place it begins, which will be a surprising delight to young readers.
by Scott Russell Sanders
When the Ward family moves to the Ohio woods from Connecticut, they endure a bitter first winter in a drafty log cabin. The children's clothes are tattered, and despite their best efforts to insulate their new home, they are always cold. Determined to provide warmth for her family, Betsy Ward uses a small cache of coins to buy eight bedraggled sheep. The sheep are meant to be the start of a flock that will provide wool. Betsy soon discovers that raising sheep in the wilderness is more difficult than she imagined. Despite these setbacks, Betsy perseveres. The original ewes give birth to lambs, which eventually have their own lambs, and the flock grows. Betsy works tirelessly, spinning the wool and clacking her loom to weave cloth. Eventually, she successfully cloaks her children from head to foot in warm woolen clothes.
Leveled Readers
by Jennifer Liberts
A mom and her two children drive in their car. Along their route, they have to stop for gas and a quick car wash. They see lots of other cars: fast cars, slow cars, new cars, old cars. All the cars go, go, go!
Each page of this Level 1 reader contains one short sentence of three to five words. The long O sound is emphasized throughout the story.
by Charlotte Pomerantz
Marisol lives with her grandfather in the hills of Puerto Rico. Their land is always full of stray dogs. Marisol wants one so badly, but Grandfather believes all dogs carry fleas and ticks. One day, a little mutt wanders up to their door and begins to beg. The girl falls in love.
Although Grandfather does not allow Marisol to bring the dog inside, he does give her permission to feed him scraps from dinner. In time, even Grandfather begins to love the dog. They name him Poncho and make room for him in their little family.
This Level 3 reader will gently introduce a few Spanish words to young readers.
Illustrated Chapter Books
by Nathaniel Philbrick
While working as a newspaper apprentice, young Benjamin Russel watches as the Boston militia grows into an organized army. Tension has been rising for quite some time, and Ben knows that the fighting will begin any day. Then on April 19, 1775, he hears that "the war's begun." He and his schoolyard friends rush out of Boston to follow the British troops, completely unaware that the entrances in and out of the city have been sealed up. The boys can't return home. Determined to be of some use to the patriotic cause, Ben signs on to be a clerk for General Israel Putnam and helps defend liberty at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
This is a beautifully illustrated narrative nonfiction account of the boyhood of famed American Journalist Benjamin Russell.
Cam Jansen: The Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds
by David A. Adler
The alarm at a local jewelry store goes off, and Cam Jansen and her friend Eric witness a man fleeing the scene. The police arrest the man, but because they find no stolen goods on him, they have to let him go. Cam, whose nickname is short for "camera," has a perfect memory. She remembers specific details from the incident that the police have overlooked. She and Eric realize the fleeing man was just a distraction. Together, the two friends figure out who the real thieves are and where the diamonds are hidden. But will the police believe them?
This is the first in a series of 34 illustrated chapter mysteries starring a red-headed girl with a photographic memory.
Middle-Grade Novels
by Wilson Rawls
Deep in the Oklahoma Ozarks, a circus train derails, releasing dozens of monkeys into the woods. Hearing of the promised reward money for anyone who returns the escaped animals, 14-year-old Jay Berry Lee determines to catch as many as he can. He's got his eye on a new pony and a .22 rifle, both of which will come in mighty handy for a boy in the late 1800s.
With his crippled sister Daisy watching on, Jay tries many different ways to catch the monkeys, but they outsmart him repeatedly, especially their clever leader, Jimbo. Will he finally succeed and round up the missing primates?
This is a heartwarming story about sacrifice, sibling love, and God's care. While not strictly "Christian" fiction, the characters exhibit faith and a morality grounded in biblical principles.
Please note: At one point, Jimbo convinces Jay Berry and his dog Rowdy to drink some sour mash from a bootleg still, which in turn gets the two tipsy.
Daisy tells Jay Berry a story about Thor, the god of Thunder, but confesses that it is just a story like The Little Red Hen.
The family stumbles upon a ring of mushrooms that they believe is a fairy ring. They each make wishes inside the ring. Later, they admit that the wishes were really prayers that God answered.
Ben Washington is the Newbie on the Block
by Jasmine Mullen
Ben loves his life in Atlanta. He's surrounded by a big family, lots of friends, and neighbors who look just like him. But when his dad inherits a bookshop in Radnor Falls, Wisconsin, Ben's life is turned upside down. He moves with his family to the smallest, whitest town he's ever seen.
Ben dislikes everything about the move — the new house, the new neighborhood, and especially the new school, where everyone calls him LeBron, incorrectly assuming he can play basketball simply because he's black.
He eventually makes friends with an outlier named Kenny, and together they try to solve a mystery about a reclusive neighbor. Ultimately, Ben learns valuable lessons about being a good friend and about trusting God in challenging situations.
With themes of bullying and racism, this illustrated Christian fiction would be a good book for a struggling older reader who desires more mature content but needs fewer words per page.
Please note: Although they had never celebrated Halloween prior to moving to Wisconsin, Ben and his family attend a Trunk-or-Treat party at their new church.
At one point, Ben lies to his neighbor, but quickly recognizes the falsehood.
One scene has Ben and the class bully hurling insults at each other, including, "Talk to me when your teeth stop being too big for your face."
by E. Nesbit
While playing in a gravel pit near their new country home, five siblings accidentally uncover the Psammead, a magical creature that has been sleeping for centuries. The Psammead grudgingly agrees to grant the children one wish per day, with the caveat that the wishes will disappear at sunset.
Over the course of the summer, the children make a series of foolish wishes that end in disastrous ways. They soon learn a valuable lesson: getting what you want isn't always as wonderful as it seems.
This novel, originally published in 1902, is the first in the "Psammead Trilogy" and has been delighting children for over 100 years.
Please note: The final chapters include a few outdated and rather disparaging remarks about Native Americans. The children assume that all "red Indians" scalp people.
by Marie McSwigan
In 1940, the Nazis invade Norway, and the adults of the small village of Riswyk are determined to keep their national wealth—millions of dollars in gold bullion—out of enemy hands. The adults, led by twelve-year-old Peter Lundstrom's uncle Victor, a sea captain, and his father, a banker, devise a plan. A group of children, including Peter and his friends, will use their sleds to move the gold. The plan is to transport it brick by brick, from a hidden cave down the snowy mountainside, past German soldiers, to a fjord where Victor's ship, the Cleng Peerson, is waiting.
Will the enemy discover their plan? Will the children have to surrender the gold they've been helping to hide?
Parents, Be Aware
by Joan M. Lexau
One day, a large, hungry crocodile waits by the river for a juicy-looking hen to come for a drink. As the hen appears, the crocodile opens his mouth wide to eat her. Just before the crocodile can strike, the clever hen calmly says, "My brother, don't eat me". The unexpected statement startles the crocodile, who closes his mouth in confusion and lets the hen walk away unharmed. Baffled by the idea that he could be related to a hen and determined to get to the bottom of it, the crocodile decides to seek an explanation from a wiser animal. He's later told that he and the hen are "brother and sister" because they both lay eggs
Things to know: There are some animistic themes throughout this Bakongo Folktale that covertly oppose God's created order.
by M.G. Leonard
Darkus Cuttle's father, Dr. Bartholomew Cuttle, vanishes from a locked room at the Natural History Museum, leaving no trace. Grief-stricken, Darkus moves in with his eccentric Uncle Max and finds himself living next door to two quarrelsome cousins and their enormous beetle infestation. One of the beetles, a giant rhinoceros beetle named Baxter, becomes Darkus's loyal and intelligent companion.
Darkus soon realizes the beetles are not ordinary and are in danger from Lucretia Cutter, a wealthy and cruel fashion designer who wants to use the beetles for her "living jewelry." Darkus teams up with a few friends to investigate his father's disappearance and confront Cutter, who has a sinister plan involving the insects and his father.
Things to know: While the story is action-packed and full of intrigue, there is quite a lot of crass and mildly foul language, including "kissing his butt," "heck," "bloody h*ll," and "freakin'." While the book has been reprinted for an American audience, the audio recording contains the original UK text, which includes the word "d*mned." Additionally, some of the bully kids in Darkus' school smoke and rebelliously misbehave, rarely getting caught or punished.
Just for you, Mom
by Amanda Dykes
Robert and Roy Bliss are twin brothers living in Ansel-by-the-Sea, a tiny coastal town in Maine. When Roy is drafted into service during World War II and eventually dies, leaving a deep chasm of grief and unanswered questions, Robert puts an ad in the paper asking folks to send a rock in the post in honor of any of their lost loved ones. Hundreds of packages arrive from all around the country.
That one short advertisement will not only turn the tide of a family, but of an entire country.
Decades later, while caring for her aging great-uncle Robert, Annie Bliss finds a towering wall of boxes holding nothing but rocks. As she begins to unpack them, she unearths her family's past and the rift that tore the brothers apart. Determined to repair what still feels broken, she begins to finish what was started so many years ago, one rock at a time.
This dual-time historical fiction explores themes of hope, faith, grief, and healing.