The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is a nonfiction title that informs, amazes, and inspires all readers, young and not so young. To call it another inspiring must-read doesn’t do it justice. Yes, it has all of the components of a heartfelt hometown hero story. An unlikely hero? Check. An against-all-odds situation? Check. Tragedy and … Read more
We all know that student who loves books — really, really loves books. Amy Anne Ollinger is just that student. Her favorite place in the whole world is her school library, and her favorite book is From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. You can imagine her shock when this book-loving girl finds … Read more
“A library doesn’t need windows… We have books, which are windows into worlds we never even dreamed possible.” Kyle Keeney loves games – especially those created by world-renowned game maker, Mr. Luigi Lemoncello. As luck would have it, Mr. Lemoncello has built a public library in Kyle’s hometown. Students in Kyle’s class are challenged to … Read more
Sometimes a chestnut from another generation can be just the right antidote for our times. So it may be with Jean Craighead George’s Newbery Honor book, My Side of the Mountain. While the modern world offers many conveniences like a weather report on your phone or groceries delivered to your doorstep, a life more closely … Read more
Melody Brooks is 11 years old. She has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. She cannot sit up by herself, walk, or talk. Yet her mind is filled with words, feelings, and ideas that she can’t express: “Words have always swirled around me like snowflakes – each one delicate and different, each one melting untouched … Read more
“You must be filled with expectancy. You must be awash in hope.” Kate DiCamillo, winner of two Newbery Awards for The Tale of Despereaux and Flora and Ulysses (and a Newbery Honor for Because of Winn-Dixie), offers us yet another special tale with the deeper markings of a classic, a book likely to be in … Read more
“My name is India Opal Buloni, and last summer my daddy, the preacher, sent me to the store for a box of macaroni-and-cheese, some white rice, and two tomatoes and I came back with a dog.” So begins Kate DiCamillo’s widely-loved, Newbery Honor Book, Because of Winn-Dixie. Opal has just moved to Florida with her … Read more
Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 is Christopher Paul Curtis’ Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Award winning novel of a family’s life in Flint, Michigan and their summer journey to Birmingham, Alabama. They take the trip in an effort to get the oldest child, Byron, to straighten up, hoping that a summer with Grandma … Read more
Bud, Not Buddy is the Newbery Award-winning follow-up to Christopher Paul Curtis’s acclaimed The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963. It tells the story of Bud (not Buddy), a ten-year-old African-American boy in search of his father in Depression-era Michigan. Bud’s mother has died, landing him in the Home, an orphanage in Flint. When he … Read more
“Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked two moons in his moccasins.” This familiar saying is the premise for Sharon Creech’s 1995 Newbery Medal winning Walk Two Moons. When we talk about books building empathy, this book is just what we are talking about. Creech masterfully weaves together three separate stories, each one compelling enough … Read more
“The sea, the sea, the sea. It rolled and rolled and called to me. Come in, it said, come in.” Prepare to set sail with thirteen-year-old Sophie as she voyages across the Atlantic Ocean from America to England to visit her grandfather, Bompie. She is accompanied by a motley crew of uncles and cousins, all … Read more
Rob Buyea’s debut novel, Because of Mr. Terupt, features a rookie teacher and seven students, each with their own unique quirks and personalities. The narration passes back and forth between the students – Peter, the class clown; Jessica, the new girl; Luke, the brainiac; Alexia, the manipulator; Jeffrey, the slacker; Danielle, the pushover; and Anna, … Read more
“The crate… soared through the air, spinning and glistening until it slammed down onto a tall shelf of rock. The crate was cracked and crumpled, but the robot inside was safe.” Here is a strange and wonderful tale from renowned (and Caldecott-winning) artist, Peter Brown. A novel about a robot marooned on a mysterious island … Read more
“We are history. This, right here, is all history ever has been: regular people living their regular lives, making things up as they go, hoping they get it right.” That’s what Caitlyn ultimately concludes about her new school. But it takes moving from New York to Vermont and going to a quirky new school to … Read more
El Deafo is a graphic novel that tells Cece Bell’s own story of growing up in Virginia in the 1970s. Students love graphic novels and they are a great way to hook even the most reluctant readers with their colorful illustrations which support the plot and illuminate the world of the story. El Deafo is … Read more
Can a classic written over 100 years ago still have something to share with modern readers? Yes, when the classic is L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, especially in this edition with black-and-white versions of W.W. Denslow’s whimsical illustrations. Come along with Dorothy on her journey from Kansas to Oz and back again, … Read more
Katherine Applegate invites you to listen to trees. “…if you find yourself standing near a particularly friendly-looking tree on a particularly lucky-feeling day, it can’t hurt to listen up. Trees can’t tell jokes. But we can certainly tell stories.” And so Red, a Wise Old Tree, invites us to listen to this story of a … Read more
The One and Only Ivan, winner of the 2013 Newbery medal, is a very special book. It’s the story of a silverback gorilla, forsaken as a shopping mall attraction. Ivan manages, thanks to an array of supporters, to survive and flourish and discover a new and better habitat. It’s a story told from Ivan’s perspective … Read more
Read to Them is excited to offer Finding Langston as an opportunity to explore a richly written story that weaves together The Great Migration, The Chicago Renaissance, the poetry of Langston Hughes, loss and grief, bullying, and the power of poetry in just over 100 pages. It’s a mystery as to how an author can … Read more
Zoe Washington is intrepid. She’s just turned 12, she wants to be a pastry chef, she’s interning at a local bakery, and she wants to audition for Food Network’s Kids Bake Off Challenge (and be the first Black girl to win). She’s also trying to navigate a rough patch with her longtime best friend, Trevor. … Read more
“But in a place like Eerie-on-Sea, legends can sometimes have a little more… bite.” This is a lesson that Herbert “Herbie” Lemon, Lost-and-Founder of the Grand Nautilus Hotel, quickly discovers when he learns about the fearsome Malamander – a half-fish, half-man – that’s kept the town of Eerie-on-Sea weary of misty evenings for generations. “Because … Read more
What would you do if you discovered your grandfather had turned into a 13-year-old wise-cracking kid? Grandpa Melvin is a scientist and he’s discovered a cure for aging. (It involves jellyfish.) He appears on his estranged daughter’s doorstep, looking for help breaking into his old lab and to recover his research. He ends up enrolled … Read more
“If you ever have to live in your car, you are going to have some problems with feet… Stinky dad feet. The Magic Marker smell of nail polish on your mom’s toes because she says she still wants to look nice so please just deal with it. Sister feet kicking you just as you’re falling … Read more
This edition of Malala’s story is 172 pages – ideal for elementary and upper elementary school shared reading. The story of Malala Yousafzai – the Afghan girl who defied the Taliban, was attacked and injured, and went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize – is deservedly well-known by adults. But each succeeding wave of … Read more
