The Wild Robot Escapes

Book cover for the Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown

“But I am not safe here. If any human ever learns who I really am, they will have me destroyed. And that is why, when the time is right, I will try to escape.”   After living on a remote island and learning to speak the language of the animals, Roz the robot is facing a … Read more

Malcolm at Midnight

Book cover for Malcolm at Midnight by W. H. Beck

“A lot happens in a school when the teachers aren’t looking.”  So closes an anonymous letter left for Mr. Binney, fifth grade teacher at McKenna School. The letter is attached to a manuscript that tells a remarkable story of Malcolm and his noble quest to protect the school from the evil plan of Snip, a … Read more

Just Harriet

Book cover image for Elana K. Arnold's Just Harriet

“There are some things you should know about me before I tell you everything else.  Let’s start with the worst things first.  Sometimes I lie. I don’t know why I lie, and it’s usually about dumb things that people figure out   right away, or really soon.  It’s embarrassing, if you want to know the truth.”  … Read more

Stella Díaz Never Gives Up

Cover for Stella Díaz Has Something to Say by Angela Dominguez

The girl who charmed you in Stella Díaz Has Something to Say is back for more heartwarming fun. And you don’t have to read the first book to appreciate the second book of this series.   If only I could do something big this summer, too.   It’s the beginning of summer vacation and Stella is dejected. … Read more

The Islanders

Cover for The Islanders by Mary Alice Monroe

This was going to be the worst summer ever!  So says Jake as he waits for the ferry to take him to stay with his grandmother, Honey, on Dewees Island in the Lowcountry of South Carolina – very much against his will. No friends. No Wi-Fi. And, minutes after the ferry leaves the dock, no … Read more

The Pet War

The Pet War - Allan Woodrow

“Little Miss Perfect” takes on “Mr. Good-Enough” in Allan Woodrow’s tale of sibling-rivalry with an entrepreneurial twist. A resourceful, yet tired single mom wants nothing to do with umpiring her kids’ argument about getting a family pet.  After hearing Lexi’s boardroom-worthy presentation for a cat, and Otto’s desperate pleas for a dog, Mom decides to … Read more

The Trumpet of the Swan

The Trumpet of the Swan - Fred Marcellino

E.B. White wrote three novels for children. You probably know Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little. Now is the time to discover or re-visit the equally special The Trumpet of the Swan. The book starts with the young Sam Beaver, a budding naturalist who witnesses a pair of Trumpeter Swans, nesting by a little pond in … Read more

Stuart Little

Stuart Little - E.B. White

E.B. White wrote three novels for children and all of them are classics: Stuart Little (1945); Charlotte’s Web (1953); and The Trumpet of the Swan (1970). “When Mrs. Frederick C. Little’s second son arrived, everybody noticed that he was not much bigger than a mouse. The truth of the matter was, the baby looked very much … Read more

Charlotte’s Web

Charlotte's Web - E.B. White

Read to Them is proud to offer E.B. White’s classic Charlotte’s Web. An entire community reading about Farmer Zuckerman’s barn – from kindergarteners to 5th graders, from parents to administrators, from teachers to bus drivers – will give your school an experience that is nothing less than “TERRIFIC.” Whether you are an older sibling who … Read more

8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel ÷ 1 Dog = Chaos

8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel / 1 Dog = Chaos - Vivian Vande Velde

Move over Humphrey, there’s a new class pet in town! Well, actually there are 8 of them. And a squirrel. And a dog. And together they do indeed create chaos. This fast-paced adventure from Vivian Vande Velde is one wild ride that your students are sure to enjoy. First, they’ll meet Twitch, the schoolyard squirrel, … Read more

Appleblossom the Possum

Appleblossom the Possum - Holly Goldberg Sloan

Appleblossom is the smallest of her mama’s first batch of babies, so she and her siblings all have A names – Abdul, Alisa, Augusta, Atticus and so on. Mama Possum is busy teaching her babies the finer points of a life on the stage, complete with Shakespearean dialogue and courtly dancing. Consider this scene as … Read more

The Cricket in Times Square

The Cricket in Times Square - George Selden

“Rejoice, Oh New Yorkers—for a musical miracle has come to pass in our city!… Ah, music lovers, you will never guess. It was a cricket! A simple cricket…that is able to chirp operatic, symphonic, and popular music. … You will find him in the newsstand run by the Bellini family in the subway station in … Read more

Gooseberry Park and the Master Plan

Gooseberry Park and the Master Plan - Cynthia Ryland and Arthur Howard

The Gooseberry Gang is back – and they’re stronger in number, spirit, and love. The beloved hermit crab, Gwendolyn, and the loyal Labrador, Kona, strive to save the Gooseberry Park residents from a devastating drought. This effort requires the cooperation and kindness of an entire menagerie of animals, each of whom demonstrates strengths and gifts … Read more

Gooseberry Park

Gooseberry Park - Cynthia Rylant

What do a lumbering Labrador, a wise-cracking bat, a Caribbean crab, and a squirrel mother of triplets have in common? They are the best of friends, of course! Gooseberry Park is the endearing story of true friendship and selflessness at its best. Kona, the loyal Labrador, is willing to risk it all to help his best … Read more

Riding Freedom

Riding Freedom - Pam Munoz Ryan

Riding Freedom, by Pam Muñoz Ryan, is a fictionalized account of Charlotte Parkhurst – the little known, but very real, self-made “man.” It is also a rich story, beautifully told. The plan is elegantly simple. If a girl can’t be as free as a boy in the mid-19th century, then  Charlotte would become a boy. … Read more

Summer of the Monkeys

Summer of the Monkeys - Wilson Rawls

Wilson Rawls is perhaps most famous for his heart-warming tearjerker, Where the Red Fern Grows (1961). But it is his second novel, Summer of the Monkeys (1976), that was made into a Disney movie. Skip the movie. Read the book. Rawls grew up in Indian Territory of the Ozark Mountains (which encompass four states west … Read more

Nim’s Island

Nim's Island - Wendy Orr

A rich, modern, and now classic fable. Nim’s Island takes us to the idyllic spot in the Pacific where a young girl, Nim, lives with her scientist father. They are self-sufficient in their paradise, complete with solar powered computer batteries and a satellite dish. This isn’t a standard stranded-on-a-desert-island story. We spend all our time with … Read more

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

Mrs. Risby and the Rats of Nimh - Robert C. Obrien

Robert C. O’Brien’s Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH is a Newbery-winning novel that sports an array of attractions. An intrepid mouse trying to save her family. A family farm with an array of creatures like Dragon, the cat. A wise owl living in the great tree in the forest. The mysterious rats from … Read more

Shiloh *

Shiloh - Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

“…because there isn’t anything as humble or patient or loving or loyal as the dog I have in my arms right now.” Marty Preston lives in a rural town in West Virginia where one of his favorite activities is exploring the land. Marty’s life is changed when he finds a thin, skittish beagle he names … Read more

Rescue on the Oregon Trail

Ranger in Time - Rescue on the Oregon Trail

Go west, readers, with Ranger in Time, Rescue on the Oregon Trail, a tale of determination, danger, and loyalty that will keep you on the edge of your wagon seat! Ranger is a golden retriever who has been trained as a search-and-rescue dog, but he can’t pass the test because of his love for chasing squirrels. … Read more

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon - Grace Lin

“Our house is bare and our rice hardly fills our bowls, but we have plenty of stories.” Minli lives in the Valley of the Fruitless Mountain where she and her parents work tirelessly to put food on their table. Each night, Minli finds herself nourished by her father’s tales – especially the story of the … Read more

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis

“Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy…”  So begins C.S. Lewis’s timeless classic, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The Pevensie siblings are sent away from London amid the air-raids of World War II to stay with a Professor in his country-side home. It’s quite by accident that … Read more

The Adventures of a South Pole Pig

The Adventures of a South Pole Pig - Chris Kurtz

Chris Kurtz has created Flora, the pig with passion! She has “a heart born for adventure and hooves stuck in a pen.” When Luna the farm cat warns her not to go looking for trouble, Flora responds, “But I don’t want to stay out of trouble! I want something to happen around here!” One day, … Read more

The Water Horse

The Water Horse - Dick King-Smith

Dick King-Smith is probably best known as the author of Babe: The Gallant Pig, the story that went on to be a Hollywood movie. But, he has a large canon of delightful books with animals – real and fantastical. The Water Horse isa mischievous romp and another animal lovers’ delight. King-Smith is a natural story teller, and this … Read more