Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
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 stray dog Bob finally got to tell his story in The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate (Storytide, 2020). Bob was the friend of the gorilla Ivan, who spent 27 years in a cage at an interstate exit mall, and a baby elephant named Ruby. As Bob talked about his early days, his
The Tangle-Coated Horse and Other Stories by Ella Young (published 1929) records the traditional Irish Fionna saga, which features the story of Fionn (pronounced “Finn”), a young son of a clan chief in ancient Ireland. In the forward, the author notes that this is one of the oldest sagas from Gaelic people, and yet so
When the titular character was first carved in the 1820s in Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field (published 1929), the world moved at a slow pace and horse and wagon was the method of transport. By the time the now-antique doll is “writing” her memoirs (in the 1920s), she can see airplanes out
In The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2018), our robotic friend from the first book has been refurbished and sent to work as a “normal” robot on a farm in a futuristic world. With all of her memories and abilities from her wild years, however, Roz is only
Runaway Papoose by Grace Moon (published 1928) is one of the early Newbery books that just by its title alone seems questionable and suggests irrelevance for young readers today. The book itself actually was better than the title suggests. Although the title first reminds a modern reader of the racist connotations connected to the perjorative
Evergreen by Matthew Cordell (Feiwel & Friends, February 2023) features a highly loveable but timid and scared squirrel sent on a journey to take Granny Oak an acorn full of soup. With this “Little Red Riding Hood”-esque story and Matthew Cordell’s striking ink and watercolor illustrations, Evergreen becomes a truly delightful story to read as
The bright, engaging middle grade nonfiction book How Does Chocolate Taste on Everest? by Leisa Stewart-Sharpe (Charlesbridge, September 2023) highlights the most extreme places around the world. With a vacation guide book feel, How Does Chocolate Taste? emphasizes what you see, smell, taste, hear, and touch when you visit the highest, best, deepest, hottest, and coldest
Bea Wolf (First Second, March 2023) is hands-down one of the most creative books I’ve read this year. It’s a fictional graphic novel that takes the classic Beowulf and gives it a modern-day twist, making it a thrilling and hilarious read for the reader, including older tweens, young adults, and any interested adults. Written by
In Julieta and the Diamond Enigma by Luisana Duarte Armendariz (Tu Books, 2020), nine-year-old Julieta is caught in a scandal when she and her father witness the Regent diamond being stolen. When Julieta accidentally lets the thief out of the building and she and her father are suspected, she is determined to free themselves from
In the book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin, Minli wants to change her family’s fortune, so she travels to Never-Ending Mountain to see the Old Man of the Moon. She wants to change her fortune so Fruitless Mountain will be green and her family will have more money. Telling stories is repeated, again
The Left Behinds series so far contains two different historical fiction novels with time travel adventures in which preteens must save the day. In The iPhone that Saved George Washington, three kids travel to 1776 to discover that George Washington has been shot. Can they reverse this alternate history before history is changed forever? In Abe
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