Picture Books
Nine for California
by Sonia Levitin
It'll take twenty-one days to get there. That's a long time to travel by stagecoach. But Amanda, her mother, and four siblings climb aboard the rattle-trap wagon in hopes of making it to Californ-y to meet Pa whose been there mining for gold. They're joined by a cowboy, a banker, and a school teacher, none of whom are thrilled to be traveling with a bunch of young'uns. Thank goodness for Ma and her satchel full of treasures. Every time the westward-bound troupe is faced with an obstacle--like a herd of stampeding buffalo or a torrential downpour--Ma pulls a trinket from her bag of tricks that somehow saves the day!
Nora's Chicks
by Patricia MacLachlan
The American prairie is a long way from Nora's homeland of Russia. Since immigrating here with her family, she's missed running up and down the rolling hills. She's missed seeing trees spread out in every direction. And she's missed living in a house of color. On the prairie, everything seems brown, and drab, and lonely. When her Papa brings home a flock of chicks, Nora begins to find a new normal. The little brood follows her everywhere, providing a welcome companionship. Little does she know that a runaway chick will lead to the kind of real-life friend she's been longing for.
Blizzard
by John Rocco
Loosely based on the author's weeklong adventure during the New England blizzard of '78, this is the story of how a lively boy spent his time during a snow-in. The entire town was buried under 40 feet of flakes, the snow plows couldn't make it through, and the neighbors were running out of food. With a set of tennis rackets strapped to his shoes and a rickety sled trailing behind him, the boy rescues his neighborhood!
Readers will enjoy the pull-out map that shows the town-wide trek of the author's ten-year-old self.
The Rag Coat
by Lauren Mills
As the daughter of a coal miner, Minna is used to living with less. She can't even go to school because she doesn't own enough clothes to keep out the cold on the long walk to the schoolhouse. But when Papa dies in a mining accident, the women in her community band together to sew Minna a scrap coat. Arriving at school, she's saddened to hear the kids making fun of her. "Rag Coat!" they call her. Minna is devastated. Eventually, however, her classmates come to realize that Minna's coat isn't just made of rags, it is made of memories...their memories.
Leveled Readers
Follow Me, Mittens
by Lola M. Schaefer
Mittens is a good cat. He follows Nick wherever he goes. But then one day, Mittens decides to wander and gets lost. He can't find Nick anywhere. In the end, the little kitten learns a valuable lesson in obedience.
While this is a cute story with only one to two sentences featured on each page, many of the words are multisyllabic and include complicated phonetics. This Level 1 book is more suitable for a Level 2+ reader, in my opinion.
George Washington and the General's Dog
by Frank Murphy
Most people know that George Washington was a heroic military leader who commanded the colonial troops. They also know that he was a brilliant president who led a fledgling America. But what they don't know is that he loved dogs. History records that he owned 36 of them throughout his lifetime.
This book tells a little-known story of his honor and honesty. When he discovers a stray dog wandering through an abandoned battlefield, Washington learns that its master is none other than General William Howe, commander of the British forces. He has to make a choice. Does he keep the dog as a spoil of war or cross into enemy territory to return the hound to its rightful owner?
Illustrated Chapter Books
The Adventures of Miss Petitfour
by Anne Michaels
This is the story of Miss Petitfour and her sixteen cats. On any given day, you'll find them all clinging to the end of a tablecloth, catching the wind to float off on a high-flying adventure--from a neighborhood jumble sale to a Festooning Festival to a birthday picnic in the park.
The charming illustrations and whimsical vocabulary will delight fans of Mary Poppins and Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. Each chapter of this book is a stand-alone story and can be read as such.
Please note: While the content is more than appropriate for the average illustrated chapter book reader (6-9-year-olds), its 124-page length may feel too robust for some young kids to read solo.
Sydney & Taylor Explore the Whole Wide World
by Jacqueline Davies
Armed with only a map, best friends Sydney the Skunk and Taylor the Hedgehog leave the comfort and safety of Miss Nancy's yard to explore places unknown. If everything goes as planned, this will be an epic expedition. Except nothing goes as planned and the pair end up meeting one disaster after another. Just when they think all hope is lost, Miss Nancy comes to the rescue!
This full-color illustrated chapter book is one of a fun series of three!
Parents, Be Aware
Ivy + Bean
by Annie Barrows
At first blush, Ivy and Bernice (or Bean as her family calls her) have nothing in common. Each one thinks the other is weird. Consequently, despite their mothers' protests, they refuse to get to know one another. That is until Bean decides to play a sinister trick on her older sister and needs help escaping the punishment. Ivy quickly comes to the rescue and the two realize that it's their differences that make their budding friendship so magical.
This is the first in a 12-book series about the misadventures of two precocious neighbors who become best friends. I have not read the subsequent titles.
Things to know: Bean and her older sister, Nancy, have a very volatile relationship. They call each other spiteful names like "pain," "pest," "booger head," "burp face," and "dork" and threaten to physically harm one another. The entire premise of the book is based on Bean's desire to play an unkind trick on Nancy. Bean lies repeatedly to her parents, her sister, and her neighbors, never showing any remorse for her deception. She weighs her actions against how severe the consequences will be, often deciding that the thrill of her choice is worth the punishment she'll receive afterward.
Additionally, Ivy is studying to be a witch. As their friendship begins to grow, Bean helps her design a wand and encourages her to cast a spell on Nancy. At one point, one of the girls pretends to be a ghost and wraps her hands around the neck of the other to cause a scare. The girls join forces to outsmart the adults in the neighborhood.
Just for you, Mom
The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip
by Sara Brunsvold
Cub reporter, Aidyn Kelley knows she was made for more than just fact-finding missions for other journalists. She wants to write articles that matter. When she's assigned to draft the obit of a dying cancer patient, she assumes it is yet another fluff piece--a 200-word summary about an elderly woman of no consequence--but a stepping stone to something bigger and better. She never expects to meet Mrs. Kip, a spitfire whose self-proclaimed uneventful life helped to change the future of an entire community of Laos refugees. Through her death, Mrs. Kip teaches Aidyn what it means to truly live.
This is a powerful book that I almost put down. To be honest, the beginning was sugar-coated with "Christian-ese" which always rubs me the wrong way. But I'm so glad I stuck it out. It was an incredibly unique story with a play-on-words ending I wasn't expecting. Reading it was not only a crash course in a part of world history I was embarrassingly unfamiliar with, but it was also a sobering reminder that nothing done in Jesus' name is ever wasted.