Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
Middle grade novel Big Tree by Brian Selznick (published 2023) tells the story of two sycamore tree seeds (Merwin and Louise) using a mix of illustration and text. In their journey from seed to tree, they encounter dangers as well as other creatures, including a butterfly, small microscopic creatures in a seashell, a seaweed, ferns,
The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth (published 1930) is a short illustrated children’s book about a painter who has been commissioned to paint a reverent painting of the death of Buddha and the gathering of the animals that attended him. Although I found little to like about the plot of the story,
The middle grade novel Peacemaker by Joseph Bruchac (published 2021) tells the legend of the mysterious man who, with Hiawatha, spread peace throughout the Iroquoian nations many hundreds of years ago. Prior to his coming, the various Iroquois people violent raided and kidnapped each other. In the novel, young Okwaho faces the reality of his
Maizy faces a lot of new things during her summer in Last Chance, Minnesota, in the middle grade novel Maizy Chen’s Last Chance by Lisa Yee (published 2022). It’s hard to pinpoint just what her most influential learning moments are. Almost-twelve-year-old Maizy goes with her mom to help her grandfather during his illness, and she
The Doll family has an island adventure in the early Newbery Honor book Floating Island by Ann Parrish (published 1930). Mr. Doll, Mrs. Doll, their three children, their doll house, and Dinah (their Black cook) are shipwrecked as they are enroute to a child. With the shipwreck, sister Annabel and Dinah have been separated from
The first-person poetic middle grade novella All the Blues in the Sky by Renee Watson (published 2025) captures the essence of grief in the aftermath of the sudden death of a friend. Thirteen-year-old Sage learns to deal with the pain of losing her friend as well as dealing with guilt as she meets with a
Ly-Lan and the New Class Mix-Up by Ha Dinh (Zonderkidz, 2025) is the first in the early chapter book Ly-Lan Finds a Way series, which features a spunky third grader who has a strong sense of right and wrong. Our main character faces ordinary kid challenges and seeks solutions through a Christian perspective. In this
As the subtitle indicates, A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez by María Dolores Águila (published 2025) tells the story of a young person, in a poetry-in-verse format, who stood up for civil rights in 1930s San Diego. In this middle grade historical fiction novel, the young Mexican-American Roberto narrates his story
Medieval China and 1931 Chinatown echo each other in The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli by Karina Van Glaser (published 2025). Both of the child protagonists face financial struggles and a challenge of their own, and their related stories nicely complement each other. Chinese culture and traditions are a unique part of their lives,
The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman (published 2025) tells the story of Clare, the fox who is an Usher for dead animals to the afterlife, and his search for meaning in his undead existence. Clare had a very brief life, and now he has spent six years in between life and death
The nonfiction picture book Zero! The Number that Almost Wasn’t by Sarah Albee (illustrated by Chris Hsu; Charlesbridge, 2025) captures the interesting history of the concept of nothing in mathematics. Although it’s a nonfiction book about a real concept (or non-concept as the case was for a long time), it reads smoothly and clearly like
Max in the Land of Lies by Adam Gidwitz (published 2025) is a continuation of Max in the House of Spies. Now Max must fulfill his spy mission in Berlin while also secretly searching for his parents. His story is surprisingly partially educational but foremost it is an action-packed historical fiction story about a clever
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