Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
The Boy Who Was by Grace Hallock (published 1928) is a uniquely organized story about the history of the Bay of Naples through the ages, each chapter using the same young goat boy (who has eternal life as a young man) as a key character. The prologue introduces the boy, named Nino, in the present
Unicorns prepare to take over earth in the picture book Invasion of the Unicorns by David Biedrzycki (Charlesbridge, 2021). The story follows the daily journal-like report from one particular unicorn, who is conveniently similar to a stuffed animal, as it reports back to its home planet about what earth life is like. The unicorn complains
I’m always excited to find picture books that would work well as writing prompts for elementary school kids, so I was extra excited to find Ten-Word Tiny Tales: To Inspire and Unsettle by Joseph Coelho (Candlewick, 2023). This volume has stories that are each, as the title suggests, just ten-words long. With a variety of
The premise of Nicholas: A Manhattan Christmas Story by Anne Carroll Moore (published 1924) sounds so promising. An eight-inch sprite-elf-boy (not sure exactly what he is) comes to Manhattan from the Netherlands for a Christmas to remember! After doing all sorts of Christmas shopping and visiting, he has a midnight party in the library, where
Middle grade readers will find themselves in for a fantastic and magical “backyard” adventure when they read Elf Dog and Owl Head by M.T. Anderson (illustrated by Junyi Wu; Candlewick 2023). This novel’s summary threw me off, because it sounded like it would be about a boy dealing with the annoyance of remaining home during
The Lost Library, a middle grade novel co-authored by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass (Feiwel & Friends, August 2023) is a magical mystery that celebrates the power of books. Evan loves books, so he eagerly takes two from the new “Little Free Library” that was built in front of the town’s history museum. The books
One girl goes on a very unique trip to Grandma’s house in The Bus Ride by Marianne Dubac (Kids Can Press, 2015). At first, as she boards a bus with her mother’s watchful eye, the reader may believe she is just any kid traveling to Grandmother’s house. To the reader’s surprise, this girl enters a
I love retellings of traditional stories because I can often recognize familiar characters and storylines, but sometimes these stereotypes from our childhood are drastically turned on their heads. This is the case in Red: The (Fairly) True Tale of Red Riding Hood, by Liesl Shurtliff (Yearling, 2017). While we think we know the story of
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
Bears Make the Best Reading Buddies by Carmen Oliver is a book about a girl and her unusual friend that helps her to enjoy her reading time. The pictures depict this reading buddy as a bear, and Adelaide describes how her bear is such a good buddy. Yet the book as a whole seems to be
We recently listened to an amazing audiobook that surprised me by its depth and language. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin is a Newbery Honor book for good reason. By weaving Chinese traditional folktale into a modern story about a girl living in poverty, Ms Lin creates a fairy tale odyssey that
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