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
How many people get a do-over on life? Can a leopard change its spots? After a fall off the roof lands Chase in a coma, he regains consciousness with a concussion and amnesia. The concussion keeps the all-county running back temporarily off the football team. But the real challenge is the amnesia. Chase has to … Read more
Iron resolve. Ferocious courage. And a healthy dose of insanity. In Marion Jensen’s Almost Super, each of these attributes is as important to members of the Bailey family as are the superpowers they receive on the leap year after they turn twelve. But for brothers Rafter and Benny, those coveted superpowers may just look a … Read more
“On the outside, happy and sad often look the same.” What is it like to try to read when the letters seem to move on the page? What is like to be in the room full of people – and still feel all alone? Meet Ally. She’s dyslexic, but she doesn’t know there’s an actual … Read more
What do the toys do when you are away? It is a perennial question that has inspired stories from Raggedy Ann to Winnie the Pooh to Toy Story. In Toys Go Out, Emily Jenkins takes the baton from Johnny Gruelle, A.A. Milne, and Pixar and delivers a fresh take on this timeless concept. Jenkins makes it clear that her toys have their … Read more
There are different ways to tell a dragon story. Tony DiTerlizzi knows this. Looking for knights and armor and fair maidens? Fire-breathing and flying? Medieval tales of derring-do? Kenny and the Dragon has a little of this. But it is really about something else… It’s a story about friendship. It’s about confounding expectations. And it’s about … 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
Read to Them is proud to feature Roald Dahl’s very first chapter book for children – James and the Giant Peach. Return, if you will, to where the magic and mystery and (yes) the macabre all started. The story of a boy abruptly orphaned, sentenced to live with two cartoonishly horrible aunts, and then saved … Read more
The BFG is one of many fantastic novels written for children by Roald Dahl, the beloved author of imaginative tales told in accessible, reader-friendly prose. If you’ve only read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and/or James and the Giant Peach, it’s time to introduce The BFG to your students and your families The BFG tells the … 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
Newbery Award-winning author Sharon Creech blends the ingredients for a soulful story just like an old Italian grandmother blends the ingredients for soup. In a brisk 134 pages, Creech’s Granny Torrelli Makes Soup is a perfect spoonful of narrative prose for students and their families. It offers the simple premise that best friends are timeless … Read more
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher is a mystical, magical, compelling story of the deep friendship between a boy and a dragon, with a delightful supporting cast that includes Jeremy’s parents, his nemesis-turned-partner Mary Lou Hutton, and the ever mysterious librarian Miss Hyacinth Priest. Bruce Coville’s sprightly pacing keeps the story going right from its quick start … Read more
A Story About Art, Inspiration, and the Meaning of Home What is a home? Is it a large house? Can it be a cage? The toe of a worn old boot? A nest in a matchbox? A shirt pocket? Or can it be found, instead, in the heart of a friend? Celeste is a mouse … Read more
“Sometimes the things we want and the things we love get tangled up in our hearts like bramble when we try to do what’s right.” This poetic notion encapsulates the adventures in the novel, Brambleheart, written and illustrated by Henry Cole. Sometimes it is hard to choose between the things we want and the things … Read more
It sure is hard to be a dog. If only his Humans knew the struggle. Phew! Fenway and Hattie is the story of a dog and his Humans, their understandings and misunderstandings. It is a charming tale of true dedication and friendship. Fenway and his favorite Short Human, Hattie, find a way to better relate … Read more
“Keith, the boy in the rumpled shorts and shirt, did not know he was being watched as he entered room 215 of the Mountain View Inn.” Ralph, a young mouse, lives with his family in a knothole at the Mountain View Inn. He isn’t like other mice, though – he’s constantly on the lookout for … 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
Lola Levine is a confident 2nd grader with lots of winning qualities. She loves soccer, jumping on her bed, writing in her diary, painting, kittens, and eating all the delicious foods from her mixed heritage. She also loves writing notes to her friends, family, and teachers, and those notes are key to this heartwarming story. … 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
A masterpiece is “a painting that can be seen in a hundred different ways.” A boy, a beetle, and a masterpiece all come together for a story that is part art history lesson, part art heist, and all about the power of an unexpected friendship. Marvin is the beetle. He lives with his family in … Read more
Meet Aven Green. She’s a completely typical middle schooler. She goes to school, plays soccer, strums the guitar, and eats peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. But Aven does have one small difference…she was born without arms. “Growing up, I could do most everything everyone else with arms could do: eating cereal, brushing my … Read more
The first spinoff to Betty Birney’s Humphrey series – one that has been wildly popular with Read to Them schools and families. Let’s let Humphrey tell you about it… Hey, there. So nice to see you all! All I can say is SQUEAK-SQUEAK-SQUEAK. It just makes me so happy to see so many of you … Read more
School Days According to Humphrey returns readers to Mrs. Brisbane’s classroom, Room 26 of Longfellow School. Students identify and relate more directly when authors connect with recognizable aspects of their daily classroom environment, things that are funny along with things that are annoying or emotionally challenging. It’s what the Humphrey series is really about. In … Read more
