Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
Beverly Cleary’s Henry Huggins series nicely captures the creative Henry through his upper elementary years, especially focusing on his innovation, his creativity as a kid, and the antics of his adopted stray dog, Ribsy. Although the series is dated, having been written beginning in the 1950s, Henry’s adventures show universal frustrations and difficulties that any
Beezus and Ramona is one of my favorite books by Beverly Cleary. First published in 1955, it give the perspective of the the familiar character of Beatrice Quimby (a recurring character in the Henry Huggins books), showing the universal frustrations of having a little sister. Through the course of the book, Beezus comes to understand
A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat (First Second, February 2023) is a middle grade graphic novel memoir of Dan’s experiences when he was 13 years old and had the opportunity to explore Europe. Set in 1989, a different era for traveling, the novel captures the essence of that time. The story revolves around
Billy Miller Makes a Wish by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow, April 2021) continues the story of the sweet boy from The Year of Billy Miller, a growing up book with realistic kid-appropriate situations to enjoy and possibly learn from. Once again, Billy Miller Makes a Wish manages to capture a child’s realistic thoughts about how his
In Nothing is Little by Carmella Van Vleet (Holiday House, 2022), middle schooler Felix begins to come to terms with himself, his place in his family, and his identity as a person. His story is driven by his own search for the identity of his absent father, with “detective work” he hides from his mother
I Would Teach You to Fly by Sarah Asper-Smith (Sasquatch Books, 2022) shows mother animals caring for and teaching their baby animals. I Would Teach You focuses on parents of all divisions of the animal kingdom, all of whom are teaching their young. In a sweet bedtime tone, I Would Teach You ends with the sweet
The twin sisters Clara and Hailey in Gemini by Sonya Mukherjee (Simon & Schuster, 2016) are not your average 17-year-old twins. As conjoined twins, they are attached at the base of the spinal cord, and as such have never been apart. Their personalities could not be more different, though. And although their life has been
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai (2011 National Book Award for Young People and Newbery Honor Award) is a novel in poetry about a young girl’s relocation to American from Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It is about the challenge of starting over and the pain of discrimination in a strange new country and
The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes is a realistic volume detailing the ordinary events in one second grader’s year. I loved how the most ordinary difficulties were the subject of Billy’s story. In this year, Billy learned overcome worries about his own abilities in school, dealing with the conflicts he feels with his young
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson is a poetic autobiographical reflection on the author’s childhood. The writing is sparse, written in free verse, and yet each poem packs a punch of emotion. Ms Woodson recalls her earliest of memories (fictionalizing events as necessary). Her early childhood is spent with her grandmother and grandfather in South
Born Reading by Jason Boog (Touchstone, September 2014) is the best go-to book for figuring out how to teach your child to love reading. I’ve read books before about encouraging your child’s literacy, and they have been great. But what Born Reading does is address the issue for the now generation: the generation of ipads
Kid Presidents by David Stabler and illustrated by Doogie Horner (Quirk Books, October 2014) is a delightful picture book with stories of the presidents as kids. But it is not a typical presidential childhood book. Rather than following the presidents in chronological order, Mr Stabler has focused on the presidents’s childhood hobbies, trouble-making, and childhood jobs.
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