Picture Books
by Daniel Miyares
Every time Papa goes to sea, Hope misses him. She doesn't just want to hear stories about his sailing adventures when he returns home; she wants to live them in real time. One day, she sneaks on board his ship. Later, discovered as a stowaway, she is put to work, loading and unloading important cargo at foreign ports. But when a storm lurks on the horizon, the entire crew must abandon the ship. Will Hope and her Papa make it home alive?
This book is an exciting look at 19th-century merchant vessels and the sailors who steered them.
Learning to Ski with Mr. Magee
by Chris Van Dusen
One winter morning, Mr. Magee and his trusty dog Dee venture to a nearby hill to learn to ski. In an unpleasant turn of events, they crash into a moose, which sends them flying through the air. The duo makes it to the bottom of the hill, but not exactly the way they originally planned. Their first skiing adventure is one to be remembered.
The simple rhyming text and exaggerated illustrations of this story will delight young readers and introduce them to some of the wonders of a northern winter.
by Patricia Polacco
Larnel gifts the widowed Mrs. Katz a kitten to keep her company. She names the furry friend Tush. The trio spends each afternoon getting to know one another and learning how much a Polish Jew and a black American have in common. Eventually, Mrs. Katz invites Larnel to a Passover Seder to teach him more about her heritage. In time, a special grandparent-grandchild bond grows between the two, lasting for years and eventually for generations.
This heartwarming story explores themes of neighborliness and intergenerational relationships while gently addressing the social struggles of minorities throughout American history.
by Emily Arnold McCully
Although Congress declared that all persons born or naturalized in the United States could vote, equestrian riding instructor Elizabeth Stanton could not. As a woman in 1880, she was not considered a "person." One day, choosing to ignore the status quo and desiring to teach one of her young female students about her own worth as a girl, Staton heads to the polls to vote in the presidential election. Not surprisingly, the men gathered around the ballot box laugh and dismiss Staton's demands. With unyielding resolve, she promises the girl that women will someday cast their ballots.
Based on the true story of Elizabeth Stanton's childhood and the impetus that caused her to rally for women's rights, this book will teach young readers about the beginnings of the suffrage movement in America.
Leveled Readers
by Cynthia Benjamin
When the winter wind blows, one creature stomps. Another scampers. Still another hops. All the animals of the woods head home.
With the exception of the first two introductory sentences, each simple and repetitive line of this beautifully illustrated Level 1 book reads, "Someone (insert a synonym for 'walks') home." Each page features a different woodland creature and its "walk."
by Deborah Hopkinson
A small cat makes friends with a sailor's dog and follows the mutt aboard a ship. Determined to be brave despite the unknown adventures ahead, Trim, as the captain dubs him, learns how to be the best feline sailor he can be. Along the way, he faces the perils of ship life--the tangle of ropes to be climbed, the grouchy parrot to befriend, and the swooping seagulls to be scared off.
This Level 3 book is the first in a four-part historical fiction series about a real cat aboard the HMS Investigator that, along with its owner, Captain Matthew Flinders, sailed around the continent of Australia in 1799.
Illustrated Chapter Books
by Tony DiTerlizzi
As a bunny who prefers books and make-believe over outdoor games and rowdy competitions, Kenny Rabbit doesn't have many friends. He's lonely. That is until he meets Grahame, a dragon who finds his way to the Rabbit family's farm. Unlike the dragons he's read about in stories, Kenny discovers this one is kind-hearted, well-mannered, and enjoys classic literature! With so many obvious similarities, the two become inseparable. Soon, word spreads around town about a "dangerous" dragon that must be exterminated. Kenny makes a plan to protect his new friend from mob brutality.
First, in a two-part series, this wholesome book about friendship and courage is reminiscent of the classic tale Winnie the Pooh. I have not read the sequel.
Please note: While looking for information about how best to protect Grahame, Kenny lists off some of the books in his home library. In passing, he mentions one about "witches and wizards." Additionally, in Wizard of Oz-like fashion, Kenny's dad dresses up like a wizard to pretend to "slay" the dragon. He casts a make-believe spell on a pitchfork that he claims will make the dragon powerless. The characters involved in the make-believe scheme are all fully aware that both the wizard and wizardry are fake and later reveal the truth to the on-looking audience.
by Alice Dalgliesh
The year is 1707. Eight-year-old Sarah Noble travels with her father into the wilderness of western Connecticut to build a new home for their family. When the cabin is finally completed, her father returns to the original homestead to gather her Mother and siblings and bring them to the woods. He leaves Sarah behind to keep watch over their new land. With the help and care of Tall John, a local Native American, Sarah faces her fears and makes her father proud.
This is the true story of one young girl's bravery in 18th-century America and her experiences with the native Schaghticoke, who helped her survive the wilds of the woods.
Middle-Grade Novels
by Ruta Sepetys
With their mother, Willa, missing and presumed to have deserted and turned de facto on the British government, the Novis siblings are adrift. 19-year-old Jakob Novis thinks his younger sister Lizzie should return to America to live with their prim and exacting Gran. But headstrong Lizzie is determined to stay in England and prove not only that their mother is innocent but also that she's still alive.
Gifted in math and problem-solving, the pair are commissioned by the top-secret codebreakers of Bletchley Park to help crack the Nazi's Enigma cipher. However, when encrypted letters arrive at their apartment, addressed specifically to them, Jakob and Lizzie's talents are tested.
Please note: To evade a voyage to America, Lizzie sneaks away from her chaperone and disembarks a ship without him. Later, she is accidentally given an alcoholic drink but doesn't realize the mistake until after taking a few sips. The Lord's name is used in vain at least twice, one character refers to Hitler as being "d*mned," and Lizzie admits to having a crush on a boy that she befriends. Nothing comes of the crush, however. She only acknowledges her feelings out loud.
This fast-paced spy thriller, based on the true WWII Enigma codebreakers of Bletchley Park, has been slotted as a middle-grade by the publisher. That said, its complex storyline and complicated political/social dynamics would probably be best understood and appreciated by older tweens and young teens.
by Jean Van Leeuwen
Mary Ellen Todd is only nine when she joins her family in a wagon facing West. As the oldest of the three Todd girls, she feels a keen sense of responsibility for her younger siblings. Little does she know that in their six-month trek along the Oregon Trail, her family will face cholera, raging rivers, impassable mountains, wild animals, and so much more. Will they make it to their new land before winter, or will they, like so many others, succumb to the harsh conditions and have to turn back?
Fans of Little House on the Prairie will enjoy this historical fiction, based on the true story of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln's niece, Mary Ellen, whose father uprooted his family from their comfortable life in Arkansas to stake a claim in Oregon Territory.
Please note: One of the other fathers in the wagon train refers to enslaved black people as "n*ggers." Pa Todd quickly corrects the man and reiterates to his children that slavery is wrong, citing that all men and women are created in God's image. Additionally, the Todd family comes upon an encampment of dead Native Americans. The bodies are described as being stacked up like logs. While not a "Christian" book, the text references Scripture and prayer, and Pa repeatedly points his family to biblical principles.
By Michael Morpurgo
When war ravages his small community, Omar leaves Afghanistan and boards a ship headed to England to seek asylum. Alone. His widowed mother promises to join him later when she, too, can book safe passage. But his boat capsizes and sends the young boy into the ocean. He washes ashore on a small island inhabited by the Lilliputians. These little people remember a giant, much like Omar, who lived among them generations before. His name was Gulliver. They quickly assume this enormous boy is Gulliver's long-awaited son.
For the next three years, Omar and the tiny people learn to live with mutual respect and love. He helps them work and protect their land. And they help him grow up. But the Boy Giant misses his mother. Can he possibly find her? Is he willing to leave his friends behind to try?
This modern spin on Jonathan Swift's 18th-century classic, Gulliver's Travels, is a sweet, timeless story about the power of friendship and hope. Although the main character is a war refugee, it does not include political or activist tones.
by Natalie Babbitt
Nothing ever happens to Winifred "Winnie" Foster. Her mother and grandmother insist she stay inside, keep clean, and act like a lady. But Winnie wants adventure. She wants to leave sleepy, little Treegap and see the world! One day, while exploring the woods, she meets a peculiar boy drinking from a spring. Jesse Tuck, the youngest of the Tuck family, explains that the spring is a fountain of youth and warns her never to drink from it. Its waters will curse any drinkers by preventing them from aging, he explains. How could living forever be a curse? Winnie wanders. It sounds so exciting! Adventurous, even. She follows Jesse deeper into the woods to meet his family and learn the truth about the fantastical spring.
Unbeknownst to Jesse and Winnie, someone else has followed them home--a sinister man determined to find and sell the live-forever water.
If you have seen Disney's 2002 screen adaption, you may be wary of allowing an 8 to 12-year-old to read this book. Please note: the movie producer aged Winnie by five years and included several romantic and scary scenes that do not appear in the book.
Parents, Be Aware
Mac B. Kid Spy: Mac Undercover
by Mac Barnett
Today, Mac Barnett is an author, but when he was a kid, he had an even better job! He was a spy. And not just any spy. He was hired by Queen Elizabeth herself to find a missing piece of the crown jewels, a beloved silver spoon. With special permission to skip school, he traveled to England, determined to find the thief and return the treasured family heirloom to its rightful owner. Though all signs pointed to the KGB, the spoon turned up in the hands of none other than...
Reluctant readers will love the humorous illustrations and witty text of this "autobiographical" book, most of which is a first-person monologue and all of which is fictitious. Because of the many clues and inferences hidden in the pictures and because of the often terse sentences, Mac B. Kid Spy is best presented as a read-alone instead of a read-aloud.
This is the first in a six-book series about Mac B., an international kid-spy turned writer.
Things to know: Mac's mom has a boyfriend named Craig. One sentence describes how Craig thinks Mac needs to spend more time wrestling and proceeds to pin him down and laugh. Later, Mom and Craig are said to have argued late into the night, only to decide to send Mac off to summer camp the next morning, implying that Craig slept over and/or lives with Mac and his mom.
Additionally, there is one illustration of the Venus de Milo, a partially nude statue currently on display at the Louvre in Paris. Since all the pictures are done in rough, monochromatic sketches, the "nudity" may not be obvious to most kids. Two crescent-shaped "bumps" are drawn on the torso where the breasts should be.
by James R. Hannibal
13-year-old American Jack Buckles gets lost in London while looking for his younger sister, who is looking for their missing dad, and somehow wanders into the Lost Property Office. What appears to be a run-of-the-mill lost and found with an eccentric curator is actually the headquarters of a secret society known as The Ministry of Trackers. Jack learns that his father, who was presumed dead, was a tracker who was last scene hunting down the notorious Clockmaker. Now Jack, the "unlucky 13" as the Ministry calls him, must use his newly discovered "sparking" power to see fragmented visions of the past, recover the Ember that is believed to have caused the Great Fire of 1666, and prove that his dad is still alive before it's too late.
First, in the Section 13 trilogy, this is an action-packed spy thriller. I have not read the other two books in the series.
Things to know: Jack plays a video game featuring goblins and wizards. However, the game is only casually mentioned. Additionally, whenever Jack "sparks," he has visions that he believes to be ghosts (also called specters and vapers at different times throughout the story). He eventually learns that the images are actually just scenes from the past and that mental time travel is part of his "gift" as a tracker. Jack's female friend kisses him on the cheek.
Just for you, Mom
by Sarah Miller
Concord, Massachucettes, 1861. With her husband miles away, aiding the Union soldiers, Margaret March must put on a brave face for her four spirited girls. Money is scarce, and hope seems even scarcer. Ever the optimist, Marmee, as she's affectionately called, is determined to bring love and community to the downtrodden all around her.
One day, she receives a grim telegram from the front, demanding her immediate arrival. Her husband is ill and may not recover. With a few short words, Margaret's life turns upside down.
Marmee is a delightful rewrite of the beloved American classic Little Women, told through the thoughtful journal entries of a mother. Readers will enjoy seeing how much the original story changes when given an adult's perspective.
The author took some literary license to share Mr. and Mrs. March's backstory, including some marital struggles they overcame before and after the war.