Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
The three narrators in the middle grade novel Absent by Rex Ogle (published 2026) have all missed school and received detention, but all three have a different reason for missing class. Manny doesn’t see a point after his favorite teacher leaves, Calvin has to take care of his brothers and so is always late, and
Mariam Hassan is the only Muslim girl in her new school — her new Catholic school. In Hail, Mariam by Huda Al-Marashi (published 2026), she comes to a new understanding about her religion and how she can relate to the world around her as she navigates a difficult situation. Although there are so many things
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
Beverly Cleary is best known for her Ramona Quimby stories and her Mouse and the Motorcycle books. But she has a repertoire of other stories. One two-book series that my daughter and I found begins with the story of Ellen Tebbits, a very good girl who finally finds a best friend. The sequel book is
Grace Goes to Washington by Kelly DiPucchio (illustrated by LeUyen Pham; Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2019) is a friendly picture book introduction to government. It begins with a school lesson about the branches of government, making correlations between the principal and the president as well as between the student council and the Congress.
In Still Sal by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow Books, October 2024), we read about Sal Miller’s difficulties in coming to terms with her own challenging start to the first grade. The Year of Billy Miller captured her brother Billy’s perspective in first grade, and here we have Sal’s own set of circumstances in dealing with a
It’s the first day of school at the new private school Curiosity Academy in Emma McKenna, Full Out by Kate Messner (Algonquin Young Readers, 2024), an early chapter book. Emma is an outgoing cheerleader wanting to be friends with everyone. This directly relates to her favorite animal, the capybara, who gets along with most other
Teach by Dennis DiNoia captures some basic ideas on, as the subtitle explains “creating independently responsible learners.” These concepts are essential to successful teaching. He begins by outlining some of the issues of traditional schooling set-ups and explains how the role for teachers should be that of “coach.” Our main goal in teaching children is
Dory Fantasmagory by Abby Hanlon (Dial Books, 2014) perfectly captures the thought process and imagination exaggeration of a super creative first grader. With a mix of text and comical illustrations, Hanlon puts together a fantasmagory (“a shifting melody of real or imagined characters”) of any imaginary play time. My very imaginative eight-year-old loved the mix
Gooney Bird Greene series by Lois Lowry introduces early chapter book readers to a spunky second-grader that is anything but average. Just like her unique name, Gooney Bird has a unique personalities that helps the kids in her class learn more from their teacher than they otherwise would. Some of the books we read from
We return to a magical world of music in The Midnight Orchestra: A Mystwick School Novel by Jessica Khoury (Clarion Books, June 2022; audiobook available from Audible Studios, January 2022), which takes place right where the first book (called The Mystwick School of Musicraft) left off. Amelia is officially recognized as a talented Composer after
Since my kids and I are well involved in the summer community swim team, I wanted to pick up the tween graphic novel Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas (Harper Alley, May 2022) to celebrate our summer season. I have to say, it left me quite disappointed. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what exactly
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