Recommended Children's Books by Age Range

These book recommendations come a variety of sources: reviews in Publisher's Weekly, Bookmarks, Pages, The Horn Book, and Mystery Scene magazines, and the M is for Mystery newsletter; and suggestions from readers of my blog. I am especially grateful to my friend Sara for the wonderful list of recommendations that she sent, and to my nieces from Westwood, MA. I haven't necessarily read all of the books, especially the books for younger kids, but the recommendations all come from people that I trust.

I've done my best to categorize the books by age range, but of course every child is different. The middle school category, in particular, is difficult to define (since standard age ranges for books are simply 9-12 and 13 and up). But there are a few books that I feel belong quintessentially to middle school kids, and I have categorized those as such.

• Picture Books (Baby/Preschool)
• Picture Books (First/Second Grade)
• Early Elementary School
• Later Elementary School (Middle Grade)
• Middle School
• High School

Picture Books (Baby/Preschool)

• Jez Alborough: Fix-It Duck. Kane/Miller (This is the American board book edition. It was originally published in Great Britian by HarperCollins in 2002). My review.
• Jez Alborough: Hug. Recommended by Sara.
• Jonathan Allen: "I'm Not Cute!" Highly, highly recommended by A Fuse #8 Production.
• Laurence Anholt, Catherine Anholt (Illustrator): Chimp and Zee (Action Packs). Recommended by Sara.
• Jan Brett: The Mitten. Recommended by Sara.
• Marc Brown: Scared Silly! : A Halloween Book for the Brave (Adventure Series). Recommended by Sara.
• Eve Bunting (ill. Judy Love): The Baby Shower. Charlesbridge. My review.
• Virginia Lee Burton: Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (Sandpiper books). Recommended by Sara.
• Eric Carle: The Very Busy Spider (Board Book) and Papa Please Get The Moon For Me (Classic Board Books). Both recommended by Sara.
• Lucille Colandro, Jared Lee (Illustrator): There Was A Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow. Recommended by Sara.
• Katie Davis: Who Hops?. I read about this book after reading an article about the author's school visits, and how she encourages kids to love books, and to want to write books. See her website at http://www.katiedavis.com/.
• Alexandra Day: The Carl the dog books: Good Dog, Carl : A Classic Board Book, Carl Goes Shopping (Carl), Carl's Afternoon in the Park, etc. (baby/preschool). Books without any words, in which a rottweiler is left in charge of a baby, and adventures ensue. Recommeded by Eileen.
• Diane deGroat and Shelley Rotner: Dogs Don't Brush Their Teeth! Orchard Books.
• Tomie DePaola: Strega Nona. Recommended by Sara.
• Joyce Dunbar: Where's My Sock"". Recommended by KidLit.
• Olivier Dunrea: Ollie the Stomper. Houghton-Mifflin. My review.
• Roger Duvoisin: Petunia. Recommended by Sara. (A nice quote from this book is "He who owns books and loves them is wise")
• Jules Feiffer: Bark, George. Recommended by Sara.
• Monique Felix: The Wind (Creative Editions), The Boat (Creative Editions), The Plane (Creative Editions), etc. (baby/pre-school). About a clever mouse escaping from the book, with great illustrations. Recommended by Eileen
• Elizabeth Ficocelli (ill. Glin Dibley): Kid Tea. Marshall Cavendish. My review.
• Eugene W. Field (ill. Giselle Potter): Wynken, Blynken, and Nod. Schwartz & Wade. My review.
• Robert Heidbreder (author) and Kady MacDonald Denton (illustrator): A Sea-Wishing Day. Kids Can Press. My review.
• Tad Hills: What's Up, Duck? A Book of Opposites (Board Book). Schwartz & Wade.
• Tera Johnson (ill. Tania Howells): Berkeley's Barn Owl Dance. Kids Can Press.
• Jolie Jones: Little Kisses (Julie Andrews Collection). Recommended by Ian Ybarra from Ferrazzi Greenlight.
• Karen Katz: Princess Baby. Schwartz & Wade. My review.
• Elisa Kleven: The Paper Princess. Recommended by Sara.
• Ruth Krauss and Crockett Johnson (illustrator): The Carrot Seed Board Book. From a list on Amazon by Wendy that caught my eye.
• Helen Lester (ill. Lynn M. Munsinger): Tacky the Penguin. Houghton Mifflin. My review.
• Leo Lionni: Fish is Fish. Recommended by Sara. Also
• Leo Lionni: Swimmy
• Jonathan London (ill. Viviana Garofoli): My Big Rig. Marshall Cavendish. My review.
• Deb Lund (ill. Robert Neubecker): Monsters on Machines. Harcourt Children's Books.
• Bill Martin, John Archambault, and Lois Ehlert (Illustrator): Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Recommended by Sara.
• Sam McBratney, Anita Jeram (Illustrator): Guess How Much I Love You (Guess How Much I Love You). Recommended by Sara.
• Robert McCloskey: Make Way for Ducklings. Recommended by Sara.
• Sebastian Meschenmoser: Learning to Fly. I haven't read this book yet, but I read a great review of it at the Big A little a blog. It's about a penguin trying to learn to fly. Kelly also has a collection of links to other rave reviews here.
• Eugenia and Vladimir Radunsky: Yucka Drucka Droni. Suggested by my friend Scott as "one we checked out from the library last year that our kids STILL talk about...
• Peggy Rathmann: Good Night, Gorilla board book. Recommended by Sara.
• Dian Curtis Regan (ill. Amanda Gulliver): Peek-A-Boo Zoo. Silver Caastle. My review.
• Janet Schulman: The 20th-Century Children's Book Treasury: Picture Books and Stories to Read Aloud. Recommended by Sara. This is a beautiful compilation that contains many stories - excellent for taking along on trips.
• Dr. Seuss: If I Ran the Zoo (Classic Seuss), The Lorax (Classic Seuss), and Hop on Pop (Beginner Books(R)). Recommended by Sara and by my oldest niece.
• Annette Simon: Mocking Birdies (picture book). Completed 2/18/06. My review.
• Joseph Slate, Ashley Wolff (Illustrator): Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten (Miss Bindergarten Books (Paperback)). Recommended by Sara.
• Esphyr Slobodkina: Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business. Recommended by Sara.
• John Stadler: Big and Little. Robin Corey Books (Random House). My review.
• William Steig: Pete's a Pizza Board Book. Recommended by Sara.
• Rachel Vail (ill. Matthew Cordell): Righty and Lefty: A Tale of Two Feet. Scholastic. My review.
• Sarah Weeks and Nadine Bernard Westcott (Illustrator): Mrs. McNosh Hangs Up Her Wash (Growing Tree). Recommended by Sara.
• Margaret Wild (ill. Janine Dawson): Bobbie Dazzler. Kane/Miller.
• Mo Willems: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz (ill. Elena Odriozola): The Story Blanket. Peachtree Publishers.

Picture Books (Preschool/First/Second Grade)

• Felice Arena: Sally and Dave, a Slug Story. Kane/Miller. My review.
• Dianna Aston and Sylvia Long. An Egg is Quiet. Chronicle Books. My review.
• Dianna Hutts Aston (Author) and Sylvia Long (Illustrator): A Seed is Sleepy. Chronicle Books. My review.
• Dianna Hutts Aston (ill. Frank W. Dormer): Not So Tall for Six. Charlesbridge. My review.
• Jim Aylesworth and Stephen Gammell (illustrator) Old Black Fly (An Owlet Book) (ages 4 to 8). Recommended by Eileen.
• Andrea Beaty (ill. Pascal Lemaitre): Doctor Ted. Margaret K. McElderry. My review.
• Judi Barrett, Ron Barrett (illustrator): Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. Recommended by Sara.
• Gene Barretta: Jack the Tripper. Harcourt. My review.
• Bonny Becker (ill. Kady Macdonald Denton): A Visitor for Bear. Candlewick.
• Suzy Becker: Manny's Cows: The Niagara Falls Tale. Recommended by A Fuse #8 Production.
• Kate Bernheimer (ill. Nicoletta Ceccoli): The Girl in the Castle Inside the Museum. Schwartz & Wade. My review.
• Anette Bley: And What Comes After a Thousand? Kane/Miller (translated edition, originally published in Germany).
• Susan Taylor Brown: Oliver's Must-Do List. Completed 5/13/06. My review.
• Janell Cannon: Stellaluna. Recommended by Sara.
• Eileen Christelow: Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. Recommended by Sara.
• Eileen Christelow: Five Little Monkeys Go Shopping. Clarion. My review.
• Helen Cooper: Pumpkin Soup. Recommended by Sara.
• Carolyn Crimi and John Manders (illustrator). Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies. I added this after reading a review on the Kid Lit blog, maintained by Tasha Saecker, the director of the Caestecker Public Library in Green Lake, WI. The book is about a pirate bunny who is a bookworm, and eventually saves the day through his book knowledge.
• Doreen Cronin, Betsy Lewin (Illustrator): Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. Recommended by Sara. Also the sequel Giggle, Giggle, Quack. Also (with HARRY BLISS as illustrator) Diary of a Spider and Diary of a Worm
• Jacqueline Davies (ill. Lee White): The House Takes a Vacation. Marshall Cavendish. My review.
• Tim Egan: The Pink Refrigerator. Houghton Mifflin. My review.
• Nate Evans, Tim Bowers, Laura Joffe Numeroff: Sherman Crunchley. Recommended by Sara.
• Ian Falconer: Olivia and Olivia Saves the Circus. Recommended by Sara.
• Kate Feiffer: Double Pink. First book by daughter of Jules Feiffer, about a little girl who loves pink. I read a nice interview with the author , and it had great reviews on Amazon. Since all the little girls I know had a pink phase, I added it to the list.
• Jennifer Fosberry (ill. Mike Litwin): My Name Is Not Isabella. Monkey Barrel Press. My review.
• Vivian French (ill. Jackie Morris): Singing to the Sun: A Fairy Tale. Kane/Miller Book Publishers.
• Stacey Gabel (ill. Richard Neuman): The New Blue Tractor. Dog Ear Publishing. My review.
• Mini Grey: The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon. Recommended by A Fuse #8 Production.
• Janet Halfmann (ill. Laurie Allen Klein): Little Skink's Tale. Sylvan Dell. My review.
• Charise Mericle Harper: When Randolph Turned Rotten. Alfred A. Knopf. My review.
• Kevin Henkes: Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse 10th Anniversary Edition. Recommended by Sara. Lilly's Big Day is due out April 1, 2006, and got a starred review by Publisher's Weekly.
• Tad Hills: Duck and Goose. I've seen several reviews of this new picture book, most recently at Kids Lit, and it looks like a lot of fun. Duck and Goose find a ball and think that it's an egg, with lots of jokes for kids to get.
• John Himmelman: Chickens to the Rescue. Recommended by A Fuse #8 Production.
• Shirley Hughes: The Afie Books. Starting with Alfie Gets in First. Recommended by Kelly at Big A little a.
• Alison Jackson, Judith Byron Schachner (Illustrator): I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie. Recommended by Sara.
• Norton Juster and Chris Raschka (illus.): The Hello, Goodbye Window. This won the 2006 Caldecott Medal.
• Laurie Keller: The Scrambled States of America. Recommended by Sara.
• Eric A. Kimmel (ill. Stephen Gilpin): The Three Cabritos. Marshall Cavendish. My review.
• Vincent X. Kirsch: Natalie & Naughtily. Bloomsbury USA Children's Books. My review.
• Timothy Knapman (ill. Gwen Millward): Guess What I Found in Dragon Wood?. Bloomsbury. My review.
• Michelle Knudsen (Author) and Kevin Hawkes (Illustrator): Library Lion. Candlewick.
• Kathleen Krull, David Diaz (Illustrator): Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman. Recommended by Sara.
• Andrew Larsen (ill. Irene Luxbacher): The Imaginary Garden. Kids Can Press. My review.
• Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery (ill. Jean Cassels): Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricann Katrina, Friendship, and Survival. Walker. My review.
• Jack Lechner (ill. Bob Staake): Mary Had a Little Lamp. Bloomsbury. My review.
• Barbara Lehman: Rainstorm. Houghton Mifflin. My review.
• Barbara Lehman: Trainstop. Houghton Mifflin. My review.
• Kevin Lewis: My Truck is Stuck!. Recommended by Susan.
• Brian Lies: Bats at the Library. Houghton Mifflin. My review.
• Liz Lofthouse (ill. Robert Ingpen): Ziba Came on a Boat. Kane/Miller. My review.
• Scott Magoon: Hugo & Miles in I've Painted Everything!. Houghton Mifflin. My review.
• Pooja Makhijani (ill. Elena Gomez): Mama's Saris. Little, Brown. My review.
• Alice B. McGinty (ill. Nancy Speir): Eliza's Kindergarten Surprise. Marshall Cavendish. My review.
• Bruce McMillan: The Problem With Chickens (New York Times Best Illustrated Books (Awards)). Top 10 list of 2005 by NY Times and Publishers Weekly, and recommended by Parents Magazine. About two old women in Iceland who get chickens to lay eggs, but have a problem when the chickens stop laying eggs. Artwork is an artist from Iceland.
• Cece Meng (author) and Janet Pedersen (illustrator): The Wonderful Thing About Hiccups. Clarion. My review.
• Jessica Meserve: Small Sister. Clarion. My review.
• Kyle Mewburn (ill. Ali Teo & John O'Reilly): Kiss! Kiss! Yuck! Yuck! Peachtree Publishers. My review.
• Chris Monroe: Monkey with a Tool Belt. Carolrhoda Books. Completed March 1, 2008. My review.
• Tim Myers (ill. Robert McGuire): The Furry-Legged Teapot. Marshall Cavendish.
• Michaela Muntean: Do Not Open This Book. Starred review from publisher's weekly. Funny book with reverse psychology (why are you reading this, I told you not to open it). Good for read-aloud.
• Jon J. Muth: Zen Shorts. Scholastic Press.
• Tim Myers (ill. Ariel Ya-Wen Pang): The Outfoxed Fox. Marshall Cavendish.
• Daniel Pinkwater (ill. Jill Pinkwater): Sleepeover Larry. Marshall Cavendish.
• Lynn Plourde (ill. Mitch Vance): A Mountain of Mittens. Charlesbridge. My review.
• Marjorie Priceman: How to Make a Cherry Pie and See the U.S.A. Knopf Books for Young Readers. My review.
• Robin Pulver, illustrated by Chuck Richards: Author Day for Room 3T. My review.
• Robin Pulver, illustrated by Layne Johnson: Christmas for a Kitten. My review.
• Alison Randall (ill. Bill Farnsworth): The Wheat Doll. Peachtree Publishers. My review.
• Margaret and H. A. Rey: The Complete Adventures of Curious George
• Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury (illustrator): We're Going On A Bear Hunt. Recommended by Sara.
• Charles Santore: The Silk Princess. Random House. My review.
• Jon Scieszka: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
• Jon Scieszka (ill. David Shannon, Loren Long, and David Gordon): Smash! Crash! (Trucktown): Simon & Schuster. My review.
• Maurice Sendak: Where the Wild Things Are. Recommended by Joel, and also one of my all-time favorites.
• Josh Schneider: You'll Be Sorry. Clarion. My review.
• Roni Schotter: The Boy Who Loved Words. Recommended by Big A little a.
• Judy Sierra: Thelonius Monster's Sky-High Fly-Pie. A funny poetry book, recommended by Big A little a, that seems like it would especially please small boys.
• Annette Simon: This Book Is For All Kids, But Especially My Sister, Libby. Libby Died. (picture book). Completed 2/18/06. My review.
• Lane Smith: Madam President. Hyperion. My review.
• Bob Staake: The Donut Chef. Golden Books (Random House). My review.
• Elizabeth Van Steenwyk (ill. Michael Montgomery): First Dog Fala. Peachtree Publishers. My review.
• Judith Viorst, Ray Cruz (Illustrator): Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Recommended by Sara.
• Nancy Elizabeth Wallace: Shells! Shells! Shells! Marshall Cavendish. My review.
• Vivian Walsh and J. Otto Seibold: Gluey: A Snail Tale. Recommended by Sara.
• Vivian Walsh (ill. J. Otto Seibold): Olive, the Other Reindeer. Chronicle Books. My review.
• Melanie Watt: Scaredy Squirrel. Kids Can Press. This book won the Cybils award for fiction picture books. My review. Also Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend. My review. Also Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach.
• Melanie Watt: Chester's Back. Kids Can Press. My review.
• David Wiesner: Flotsam. Recommended by A Fuse #8 Production. See also my review.
• Leah Wilcox, Lydia Monks (Illustrator): Falling for Rapunzel. Recommended by Sara.
• Sallie Wolf (ill. Andy Robert Davies): Truck Stuck. Charlesbridge. My review.

Early Elementary School

• Tony Abbott: The Secrets of Droon Series
• David Adler: The Cam Jansen mystery series by . Recommended by Sara.
• Harry Allard, James Marshall (Illustrator): Miss Nelson Is Missing!. Recommended by Sara.
• Brian Anderson (ill. Doug Holgate): The Adventures of Commander Zack Proton and the Red Giant. Aladdin. Reviewed here (all three books together)
• Brian Anderson (ill. Doug Holgate): The Adventures of Commander Zack Proton and the Warlords of Nibblecheese. Aladdin.
• Brian Anderson (ill. Doug Holgate): The Adventures of Commander Zack Proton and the Wrong Planet. Aladdin.
• The American Girl series (various authors). Recommended by Sara and by my second-oldest niece.
• Frank Asch: Star Jumper: Journal of a Cardboard Genius. Completed 4/1/06. Reviewed on my blog 4/2/06. My review.
• Frank Asch: Gravity Buster: Journal #2 of a Cardboard Genius. Kids Can Press. My review.
• Annie Barrows, illustrated by Sophie Blackall. Ivy and Bean Break the Fossil Record. My review.
• Fiona Bayrock (ill. Carolyn Conahan): Bubble Homes and Fish Farts. Charlesbridge. My review.
• Bonny Becker and Abby Carter (illustrator): Holbrook: A Lizard's Tale. Due out November 13th, 2006. (My review)
• Holly Black and Tony Diterlizzi: The Spiderwick Chronicles (Boxed Set) : The Field Guide; The Seeing Stone; Lucinda's Secret; The Ironwood Tree; The Wrath of Mulgrath (Spiderwick Chronicles) (ages 7 to 12). Recommended by Alex.
• Walter R. Brooks, Kurt Wiese (Illustrator): Freddy the Detective. Recommended by Sara.
• Jeff Brown: Flat Stanley : Three Books in One. Recommended by Sara.
• F. H. Burnett: The Secret Garden (on MP3), A Little Princess (on MP3)
• Dia Calhoun: The Return of the Light: A Christmas Tale. Marshall Cavendish. My review.
• Jay Lynch and Frank Cammuso: Otto's Orange Day. Toon Books. This is a graphic novel for younger kids, ages 4 to 8.
• Beverly Cleary: Ramona Boxed Set (4 Volumes) and The Ralph Mouse Collection
• Andrew Clements: Frindle. Recommended by Sara, and by my oldest niece (who recommends anything by Andrew Clements). Also The School Story, highly recommended a couple of years ago by a young friend in Austin, TX.
• Debbie Dadey et. al.: The Bailey School Kids Series
• Roald Dahl: The Magic Finger. Recommended by Sara. Also Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Puffin Novels) and Matilda
• The Dear America Series
• Stacia Deutsch & Rhody Cohon: Blast to the Past #6: Ben Franklin's Fame. My review.
• Stacia Deutsch and Rhody Cohon (ill. Guy Francis): Betsy Ross's Star (Blast to the Past). Aladdin. Completed December 2, 2007. My review.
• Frances O'Roark Dowell: Phineas L. MacGuire . . . Erupts! : The First Experiment. Recommended by A Fuse #8 Production.
• P. D. Eastman: Are You My Mother? (recommended by Sara) and The Best Nest (Beginner Books(R)) (recommended by my oldest niece).
• Edward Eager: Half Magic and Knight's Castle. Much homage to E. Nesbit in these books.
• Michelle Edwards: Pa Lia's First Day: A Jackson Friends Book. Harcourt. My review.
• Tim Egan: Dodsworth in New York. Houghton Mifflin. A very early reader, and sequel to the wonderful picture book The Pink Refrigerator. My review.
• Tim Egan: Dodsworth in Paris. Houghton Mifflin. My review.
• Eleanor Estes: The Moffats. Recommended by Sara.
• Jules Feiffer: A Room with a Zoo
• Gail Gauthier: A Girl, A Boy, and a Monster Cat. Putnam. My review.
• Gail Gauthier: A Girl, A Boy, and Three Robbers. Putnam. My review.
• Peggy Gifford (ill. Valorie Fisher). Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little and Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Writing Thank-You Notes (review). Schwartz & Wade.
• Kenneth Grahame: The Wind in the Willows (on MP3)
• Charise Mericle Harper: Just Grace. Hougton Mifflin. My review.
• Syd Hoff: Danny and the Dinosaur. Recommended by Sara.
• Elsa Holmelund Minarik, Maurice Sendak (Illustrator): Little Bear (An I Can Read Book). Recommended by Sara.
• Kimberly Willis Holt (ill. Christine Davenier): Piper Reed: Navy Brat and Piper Reed: The Great Gypsy (my review). Henry Holt.
• David A. Kelly (ill. Tim Jessell): Babe Ruth and the Baseball Curse. Random House Books for Young Readers. My review.
• Amy Goldman Koss, Laura Bryant (Illustrator): Where Fish Go In Winter (Easy-to-Read, Puffin). Recommended by Sara.
• Natalie Kinsey-Warnock and James Bernardin (illustrator): Lumber Camp Library (ages 4-8). Frontier story about a young girl in difficult family circumstances who finds her path by teaching loggers how to read. Recommended by my oldest niece.
• Suzy Kline, Frank Remkiewicz (Illustrator): The Horrible Harry Books
• Neal Layton: The Mammoth Academy. Henry Holt. My review.
• Arnold Lobel: The Frog and Toad Collection (I Can Read Book 2). Recommended by Sara, with everything else by Arnold Lobel!
• David Macaulay: The Way Things Work (ages 8 and up). Recommended by Eileen.
• Patricia Martin: Lulu Atlantis and the Quest for True Blue Love. Schwartz & Wade. My review.
• A. A. Milne and Ernest H. Shepard (illus.): The Complete Tales and Poems of Winnie-the-Pooh
• Shirley Mozelle, James Watts (Illustrator): Zack's Alligator (An I Can Read Book) and Zack's Alligator Goes to School. Recommended by Sara.
• Darrel & Sally Odgers: Jack Russell: Dog Detective: Dog Den Mystery. My review.
• Mary Pope Osborne: The Magic Treehouse Books. Recommended by Sara, and by my oldest niece.
• Peggy Parish And Fritz Siebel (Illustrator): Amelia Bedelia (I Can Read Book 2)
• Barbara Park: The Junie B. Jones books. Recommended by my oldest niece.
• Sara Pennypacker (ill. Marla Frazee): Clementine. Hyperion. My review.
• Sara Pennypacker (ill. Marla Frazee): The Talented Clementine. Hyperion. My review.
• Sara Pennypacker (ill. Marla Frazee): Clementine's Letter. Hyperion. My review.
• Mitali Perkins: Rickshaw Girl. Charlesbridge. My review.
• Ron Roy: The A to Z Mystery Series
• Cynthia Rylant and Sucie Stevenson (Illustrator): Henry And Mudge First Book. Henry and Mudge and the Great Grandpas . This book won the 2006 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award.
• Cynthia Rylant (ill. Arthur Howard): The Putter and Tabby books (e.g. Putter and Tabby Write the Book)
• Louis Sachar: The Wayside School Series
• Marilyn Sadler and Roger Bollen (illustrator): P.J. Funnybunny series, including P.J. Funnybunny's Bag of Tricks and others. Recommended by Susan.
• Michael Sandler: Manny Ramirez and the Boston Red Sox. Bearport Publishing. My review.
• Michael Sandler: Pararescuemen. Bearport Publishing. (A picture book, but more suitable for older kids). My review.
• Jill Santopolo: The Nina, the Pinta, and the Vanishing Treasure (Alec Flint, Super Sleuth). Orchard Books. My review.
• Alexander McCall Smith (ill. Laura Rankin): The Five Lost Aunts of Harriet Bean. Bloomsbury USA. My review.
• Justine Smith (ill. Jan Lewis): How To Be A Spy In 7 Days Or Less. Kingfisher. My review.
• George E. Stanley: The Third Grade Detective Series. Recommended by Sara.
• George Selden: The Cricket in Times Square
• Shel Silverstein: Where the Sidewalk Ends 30th Anniversary Edition : Poems and Drawings, A Light in the Attic, and The Giving Tree. Huge favortites of my oldest niece, and also books that my grandmother loved late in her life.
• Vandana Singh: Younguncle Comes to Town. About a Pippi Longstocking-ish young uncle who comes to live with a family in India (imported from India, and re-published in the US). Recommended by A Fuse #8 Production.
• Dick King-Smith: The School Mouse. Recommended by Sara.
• Eric Wight: Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom. Simon & Schuster. My review.
• Laura Ingalls Wilder: Little House (9 Books, Boxed Set). Recommended by Sara.
• B. Wiseman: Morris the Moose (I Can Read Book 1). Recommended by Sara.

Later Elementary School (Middle Grade)

• Chris Abouzeid: Anatopsis. My review.
• Joan Aiken: The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (The Wolves Chronicles) I liked this book a lot. It's very over-the-top, with the doings of the bad guys ludicrously exaggerated (reminiscent of Roald Dahl). The immediate bond of loyalty between the two little girls is heart-warming, as are the little kindnesses of the loving parents and aunt.
• Louisa May Alcott: Little Women (Unabridged Classics). Recommended by my oldest niece.
• Jennifer Allison: Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator. (My review)
• Jennifer Allison: Gilda Joyce: The Ladies of the Lake. Penguin Sleuth.
• Kathi Appelt: The Underneath. Atheneum. My review.
• Linda Buckley Archer: The Time Travelers (Book 1 in the Gideon Trilogy) and The Time Thief (Book 2 in the Gideon Trilogy). My review.
• Avi: Crispin: The Cross of Lead (my review) and Crispin: At the Edge of the World (my review). First two of planned historical trilogy. The first one won the 2003 Newbery Award.
• Natalie Babbitt: Tuck Everlasting
• Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson: Peter and the Starcatchers (prequel to Peter Pan)
• Ruth McNally Barshaw: Ellie McDoodle: New Kid in School. Bloomsbury. My review.
• Andrea Beaty: Cicada Summer. Amulet. My review.
• John Bellairs: The House With a Clock In Its Walls (Lewis Barnavelt)
• Eric Berlin: The Puzzling World of Winston Breen. Putnam Juvenile. My review.
• Jeanne Birdsall: The Penderwicks : A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy (National Book Award for Young People's Literature (Awards)). My review.
• Jeanne Birdsall: The Penderwicks on Gardam Street. Knopf Books for Young Readers. My review.
• Terence Blacker: The Angel Factory. Aladdin.
• Elise Broach: Masterpiece. Henry Holt and Co. My review.
• Lesley M. M. Blume: Tennyson. Knopf Books for Young Readers. My review.
• Susan Taylor Brown: Hugging the Rock. My review.
• Pseudonymous Bosch: The Name of this Book is Secret. Little Brown. My review.
• Michael Buckley: The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy-Tale Detectives - Book #1. My review. The Sisters Grimm: The Unusual Suspects - Book #2. My review.
• Betsy Byars: The Pinballs (Apple Paperbacks). The story of three foster kids, "pinballs" bouncing around, who end up in a foster home together. A favorite of my second-oldest niece, and one that I loved as an early teenager.
• Eleanor Cameron: The Court of Stone Children.
• John Christopher: The Prince in Waiting. Macmillan. My review.
• John Christopher: Beyond the Burning Lands. Simon Pulse. My review.
• John Christopher: Sword of the Spirits. Simon Pulse. My review.
• Eoin Colfer: The Wish List (standalone), recommended by Kim. Also the standalone (but hopefully first of a series) Half-Moon Investigations. This is about a kid who is a private detective in Ireland.
• Suzanne Collins: Gregor The Overlander (Underland Chronicles, Book 1). Gregor The Overlander And The Prophecy Of Bane (Underland Chronicles). Gregor And The Curse Of The Warmbloods (Underland Chronicles). My review. Gregor and the Marks of Secret (Underland Chronicles). My review. Gregor and the Code of Claw (Underland Chronicles, Book 5). Scholastic. My review.
• Sue Corbett: Free Baseball. My review.
• Zizou Corder: Lionboy (on MP3). First book in a series about a boy with missing parents, and a circus. Lionboy: Lionboy: The Chase (on MP3). This was better than the first one, the character is growing up a bit, and the mangy cat Sergey is a lot of fun.
• Roscoe Cooper And Carolyn Croll (illustrator): The Great Pyramid: An Interactive Book. Recommended by Eileen.
• Susan Cooper: The Dark Is Rising Sequence: Silver on the Tree; The Grey King; Greenwitch; The Dark Is Rising; and Over Sea, Under Stone. Also King of Shadows. My review.
• Sharon Creech: Ruby Holler. Completed June 17, 2006. My review
• Anna Dale: Dawn Undercover. I read a great review of it at the Big A little a blog.
• Jacqueline Davies: Where the Ground Meets the Sky. Recommended by my oldest niece, who met the author.
• Karen Day: No Cream Puffs. Wendy Lamb Books. My review.
• Ernest Drake and Dugald Steer: Dragonology : The Complete Book of Dragons (Ologies). Recommended by my oldest niece.
• Terry Deary: The Fire Thief and Flight of the Fire Thief (The Fire Thief).
• Kate Dicamillo: Because of Winn-Dixie. Recommended by Joel's family.
• Siobhan Dowd: The London Eye Mystery. David Fickling Books. My review.
• Jeanne Duprau: The City of Ember. Post-apocalypse people live in an underground city, and don't know that there's any other world outside. The People of Sparks. Sequel to Ember, about a group of people who grew up in an underground city, but escaped (at the end of the last book). In this book, they adjust to the outside world. Also The Prophet of Yonwood (Book of Ember), which is a prequel to the other two books. My review.
• Jeanne DuPrau: The Diamond of Darkhold (The Fourth Book of Ember). Random House. My review.
• Elizabeth Enright: The Saturdays. My review. Also The Four-Story Mistake, Then There Were Five, and Spiderweb for Two
• Louise Erdrich: The Birchbark House. Listened on MP3. Completed 4/25/06. My review.
• John Fardell: The 7 Professors of the Far North. My review.
• Brenda A. Ferber: Julia's Kitchen. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. My review.
• Greg Fishbone: The Penguins of Doom (From the Desk of Septina Nash). Blooming Tree Press. My review.
• Esther Forbes: Johnny Tremain (Yearling Newbery)
• Cornelia Funke: Inkheart. Recommended by my bookloving niece. I think that the sequel, Inkspell, is even better. The third book, Inkdeath, is due out in October of 2008. (My review.)Dragon Rider was also a big hit with my friends in Austin. Also The Thief Lord. A prizewinning tale of about thieving children on their own in Venice, surrounded by colorful characters. Recommended by my oldest niece.
• Neil Gaiman: The Graveyard Book. HarperCollins.
• Gail Gauthier: Happy Kid!. My review.
• Maurice Gee: The Fire-Raiser. Hougton-Mifflin. My review.
• Patricia Reilly Giff: Eleven. Wendy Lamb Books. My review.
• Anne Yvonne Gilbert, John Howe, Tomislav Tomic, Helen Ward, and Dugald Steer: Wizardology : The Book of the Secrets of Merlin (Ologies). Recommended by my oldest niece.
• Chris Grabenstein: The Crossroads. Random House. My review.
• Margaret Peterson Haddix: Running Out of Time. Aladdin. My review.
• Margaret Peterson Haddix: Turnabout. (My review). Also the Among the Hidden series.
• Margaret Peterson Haddix: Found (the Missing). Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing. My review.
• Mary Downing Hahn: All the Lovely Bad Ones. Clarion Books. My review.
• Mary Downing Hahn: Closed for the Season. Clarion. My review.
• Nadja Halilbegovich: My Childhood Under Fire: A Sarajevo Diary. Completed 4/16/06 (review copy from Raab Associates/Kids Can Press). My review.
• Katherine Hannigan: Ida B: . . . and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World. HarperTrophy. Completed December 27, 2007. My review.
• Danette Haworth: Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning. Walker. My review.
• Patricia Hermes: Salem Witch (My Side of the Story). (My review)
• Carl Hiaasen: Hoot.
• Jennifer Holm: Penny from Heaven. (My review)
• Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm: Babymouse: Queen of the World! (Babymouse (Graphic Novels)) and Babymouse: Our Hero (Babymouse (Graphic Novels)). Good reviews of these graphic novels are all over the place, including The Horn Book Magazine and the Book Moot website. Also Babymouse: Beach Babe. My review. Babymouse: Heartbreaker (my review). Babymouse: Puppy Love (my review).
• Eva Ibbotson: The Secret of Platform 13, Island of the Aunts and The Star of Kazan (My review)
• Eva Ibbotson: The Dragonfly Pool. Dutton Juvenile. Completed December 16, 2008.
• Norton Juster: The Phantom Tollbooth. Recommended by Scott, Joel, and my cousin Peter.
• Cynthia Kadohata: Weedflower. On the 2006 Cybils MG shortlist. My review.
• P. B. Kerr: The Akhenaten Adventure (Children of the Lamp series). My review.
• Marlane Kennedy: Me and the Pumpkin Queen. Greenwillow. My review.
• Alexander Key: The Forgotten Door. Scholastic. My review.
• Alexander Key: Escape to Witch Mountain. Pocket Books.
• Jeff Kinney: Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw. Amulet. My review.
• Ellen Klages: The Green Glass Sea. Viking Juvenile.
• Ellen Klages. White Sands, Red Menace. Viking Juvenile. My review.
• E. L. Konigsburg: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place. Completed June 17, 2006. My review. Recommended by Sara.
• R. L. LaFevers: Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos. Houghton Mifflin. My review.
• R. L. LaFevers: Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris. Houghton Mifflin. My review.
• Jane Langton: The Diamond in the Window (The Hall Family Chronicles), The Swing in the Summerhouse (Hall Family Chronicles, Book 2), The Astonishing Stereoscope (Hall Family Chronicles, Book 3), The Fledgling (Hall Family Chronicles), The Fragile Flag (Hall Family Chronicles),  The Time Bike (The Hall Family Chronicles), and The Mysterious Circus (Hall Family Chronicles). Loved the earlier books in this series as a child (the last two are much newer), and look forward to revisiting them again one day. They were recently recommended by my friend Alex.
• Madeleine L'Engle: A Wrinkle in Time. Recommended by Scott, and one of my own all time favorites.
• Debbie Levy: Underwater. Darby Creek Publishing. My review.
• C. S. Lewis: The Chronicles of Narnia
• Ann Clare LeZotte: T4: A Novel. Houghton Mifflin. My review.
• Astrid Lindgren: Pippi Longstocking (Seafarer Book). Recommended by my oldest niece, and also one of my all-time favorites. I especially liked Pippi in the South Seas.
• Robin Lister: The Odyssey retold. Recommended by my oldest niece.
• Cynthia Lord: Rules. My review.
• Lois Lowry: The Willoughbys. Houghton Mifflin. My review.
• Mike Lupica: Travel Team.
• Mike Lupica: Heat. My review.
• MAC: Anna Smudge: Professional Shrink. Toasted Coconut Media. Completed July 2, 2008. My review.
• Walter Macken: The Flight of the Doves. A classic story of two children who run away across Ireland to reach their grandmother.
• Nick McCarty and Victor Ambrus (illustrator): The Iliad, retold. Recommended by my oldest niece.
• D. J. MacHale: Pendragon series, The Merchant of Death (Pendragon Series #1), The Lost City of Faar (Pendragon Series #2), The Never War (Pendragon Series #3), The Reality Bug (Pendragon Series #4), Black Water (Pendragon, Book 5)
• Kerry Madden: Gentle's Holler. Louisiana's Song. Jessie's Mountain. See my review of all three Maggie Valley books.
• Leslie Margolis: Boys are Dogs. Bloomsbury. My review.
• Scott Mebus: Gods of Manhattan. Dutton. My review.
• Kate Messner: The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. Walker Books for Young Readers.
• Sarah Miller: Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller. Atheneum. My review.
• E. Nesbit: The Enchanted Castle (Puffin Classics). Written about 100 years ago, about children who find a castle and a magic ring, and have a series of adventures. The Railway Children
• Jenny Nimmo: Midnight for Charlie Bone (The Children of the Red King, Book 1), Charlie Bone and the Time Twister (The Children of the Red King, Book 2), Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy (The Children of the Red King, Book 3), and Charlie Bone And The Castle Of Mirrors (Charlie Bone Book 4). Charlie Bone And The Hidden King (Book 5). Charlie Bone and the Beast (Children of the Red King, Book 6). Orchard Books. Completed November 27, 2007. About children with unusual gifts (like being able to hear the conversation of people in pictures, or fly), attending a school run by people who are evil.
• Mary Norton: The Borrowers
• Robert C. O'Brien: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh (Aladdin Fantasy)
• Scott O'Dell: Island of the Blue Dolphins. What fascinated me about this book (about a young Indian girl who, through circumstances, ends up spending years alone on an island) is that it is based on a true story. Imagine being a child, and having to totally fend for yourself, and being alone for 18 years!
• Rosanne Parry: Heart of a Shepherd. Random House. My review.
• Katherine Paterson: Bridge to Terabithia. Also The Great Gilly Hopkins (ages 9-12). A Newberry Honor Book about a girl struggling with the foster care system. Recommended by my oldest niece. Also Bread and Roses, Too.
• Lynne Rae Perkins: Criss Cross (this won the 2006 Newberry)
• Allan Peterkin (ill. Mike Shiell): Chill: Discover the Cool (and Creative) Side of Your Fridge. Kids Can Press. My review.
• Ellen Potter (ill. Peter H. Reynolds): Olivia Kidney. Penguin. My review.
• James Preller: Six Innings. Feiwel & Friends. My review.
• Sarah Prineas (ill. Antonio Javier Caparo): The Magic Thief. HarperCollins. My review.
• Sarah Prineas (ill. Antonio Javier Caparo): The Magic Thief: Lost. HarperCollins. My review.
• Arthur Ransome: Swallows and Amazons. My review.
• Ellen Raskin: The Westing Game. A classic children's mystery that I don't remember ever reading. Completed 4/12/06. My review.
• Dian Curtis Regan: Princess Nevermore. Darby Creek Publishing. Completed March 27, 2007. My review.
• Justin Richards: Invisible Detective: Double Life. First book in the Invisible Detective series. My review. Also Invisible Detective: Shadow Beast (Book 2). My review.
• Rick Riordan: The 39 Clues (The Maze of Bones, Book 1). Scholastic Press.
• J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter Paperback Boxed Set (Books 1-5) and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
• Jennifer Roy: Yellow Star. My review.
• Nick Ruth (author) and Sue Concannon (illustrator): The Dark Dreamweaver (The Remin Chronicles). My review.
• Louis Sachar: Holes (Yearling Newbery)
• Angie Sage: Septimus Heap, Book One: Magyk (Septimus Heap)
• Angie Sage: Flyte. HarperTrophy.
• Angie Sage: Physik (Septimus Heap, Book 3). Katherine Tegan Books.
• Emily Sands, Nick Harris, Helen Ward, Ian Andrew, and Dugald Steer: Egyptology. Recommended by my two oldest nieces.
• Laura Amy Schlitz: A Drowned Maiden's Hair: A Melodrama. The Cybils winner Middle Grade Fiction. My review.
• Gary D. Schmidt: Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. My review.
• Jon Sczieska: Time Warp Trio Gift Set, Books 1-4 (Knights of the Kitchen Table; The Not-So-Jolly Rodger; The Good, the Bad, and the Goofy; Your Mother Was a Neanderthal). Recommended by my oldest niece.
• Jon Scieszka: Knucklehead.
• Alan Silberberg: Pond Scum (a prize that I won from Susan at Chicken Spaghetti). Completed 3/11/06. My review.
• Lemony Snicket: The Trouble Begins: A Box of Unfortunate Events, Books 1-3 (The Bad Beginning; The Reptile Room; The Wide Window) and The Miserable Mill (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 4).
• Laurel Snyder: Any Which Wall. Random House Books for Young Readers. My review.
• Zilpha Keatley Snyder: The Velvet Room (my review). The Changeling. My review of Velvet Room and Changeling.
• Zilpha Keatley Snyder: The Treasures of Weatherby. Atheneum. My review.
• Zilpha Keatley Snyder: The Green Sky Trilogy. My review.
• Zilpha Keatley Snyder: The Ghosts of Rathburn Park. Yearling. My review.
• Jordan Sonnenblick: Dodger and Me. Feiwel & Friends. My review.
• Jordan Sonnenblick: Dodger for President. Feiwel & Friends. My review.
• Nancy Speck: Freedom Trail Mystery : Going to Boston. Best friends solve a modern-day mystery involving Revolutionary War artifacts in Boston. Recommended by my oldest niece.
• Jerry Spinelli: Crash. About the evolution of a jock bully, from his own perspective. Recommended by my oldest niece.
• Donald J. Sobol: Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective (Encyclopedia Brown) (and the others in the series). Recommended by Scott.
• Elizabeth George Speare: The Witch of Blackbird Pond
• Trenton Lee Stewart (ill. Carson Ellis): The Mysterious Benedict Society. Little, Brown. My review.
• Trenton Lee Stewart (ill. Diana Sudyka): The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey. Little, Brown Young Readers. My review.
• Linda Urban: A Crooked Kind of Perfect. Harcourt. My review.
• David Ward: Escape the Mask. Amulet. My review.
• David Ward: Beneath the Mask. Amulet. My review.
• E. B. White: Stuart Little. Recommended by my oldest niece. Also Charlotte's Web (Trophy Newbery)
• Howard Whitehouse: Strictest School in the World, The: Being the Tale of a Clever Girl, a Rubber Boy and a Collection of Flying Machines, Mostly Broken (Mad Misadventures of Emmaline and Rubberbones, The).
• Howard Whitehouse: Faceless Fiend, The: Being the Tale of a Criminal Mastermind, (Mad Misadventures of Emmaline and Rubberbones). Kids Can Press.
• N. D. Wilson: 100 Cupboards. Random House. My review.
• N. D. Wilson: Leepike Ridge. Random House. My review.
• Jane Yolen: The Devil's Arithmetic. My review.

Middle School

• Peter Abrahms: Down the Rabbit Hole : An Echo Falls Mystery (Echo Falls). Curious 13-year-old girl investigates death of old rich woman in her small town. Author mostly writes adult mysteries, but has 4 children. On MP3 from Audible. Completed 2/3/06. My review. Behind the Curtain : An Echo Falls Mystery. My review.
• Paul Acampora: Defining Dulcie.
• Richard Adams: Watership Down
• Laurie Halse Anderson: Chains. Simon & Schuster. My review.
• Jennifer Armstrong and Nancy Butcher: Fire-Us Trilogy: Fire-us #1: The Kindling (Fire-us). Post-apocalypse books in a world where a virus has killed off the adults, only a few kids are left, managing on their own, trying to remember things from before. (Fire-us #2: The Keepers of the Flame (Fire-us), Fire-us #3: The Kiln (Fire-us).
• Frank Cottrell Boyce: Framed. My review.
• Robin Brande: Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature. Knopf. My review.
• Ann Brashares: Three Willows: The Sisterhood Grows. Delacorte Books for Young Readers. A new series set in the world of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books, but featuring three new, younger friends. My review.
• Elise Broach: Shakespeare's Secret. My review.
• Annie Bryant: The Beacon Street Girls books, Worst Enemies/Best Friends and Lake Rescue. My review. Also Maeve on the Red Carpet. My review.
• Meg Cabot: All-American Girl. Recommended by my book-loving niece.
• Dia Calhoun: The Phoenix Dance. My review.
• Andrew Clements: Things Not Seen.
• Penny Colman: Thanksgiving: The True Story. Henry Holt. My review.
• Bonnie Dobkin: Neptune's Children. Walker Books for Young Readers. My review.
• Diane Duane: Wizard series (most recently read Wizard's Holiday : The Seventh Book in the Young Wizards Series (Young Wizards Series)). Wizards at War (my review). I love these books. The interpersonal dynamics take them several notches above being just books about magic.
• Michael Ende: The Neverending Story. My review.
• Brenda Ferber: Jemma Hartman, Camper Extraordinaire. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. My review.
• Sally Gardner: I, Coriander (historical with magic). This book won the Nestlé Children's Book Prize in December 2005. Writing books is a big achievement for her because she is dyslexic, and was sent to a school for troubled kids when she was a child.  My review.
• John Green: An Abundance of Katherines.
• Mary Downing Hahn: Deep and Dark and Dangerous. Clarion Books. My review
• Shannon Hale: The Goose Girl. My review.
• Jenny Han: Shug. An excellent read for new middle schoolers. (My review)
• Karen Hesse: Brooklyn Bridge. Feiwel & Friends. My review.
• Sara Lewis Holmes: Letters from Rapunzel. Harper Collins. My review.
• P. J. Hoover: The Emerald Tablet. Blooming Tree Press. My review.
• John Hulme and Michael Wexler: The Seems: The Glitch in Sleep. Bloomsbury USA Children's Books.
• P. G. Kain: The Social Experiements of Dorie Dilts: Dumped by Popular Demand. Aladdin. My review.
• P. G. Kain: The Social Experiments of Dorie Dilts: The School for Cool. Aladdin. My review.
• Rose Kent: Kimchi & Calamari. HarperCollins. My review.
• Watt Key: Alabama Moon. Square Fish. ALABAMA MOON won the 2007 E.B. White Read-Aloud Award. My review.
• Elizabeth Cody Kimmel: Suddenly Supernatural: School Spirit. Little, Brown. My review.
• Kirby Larson: Hattie Big Sky. (My review.)
• Ingrid Law: Savvy. Dial. My review.
• Wendy Lichtman: Do the Math: Secrets, Lies and Algebra. HarperTeen.
• E. Lockhart: The Boyfriend List. Delacorte. My review.
• Tim Lott: Fearless. ARC from Candlewick, a dystopian fable about girls imprisoned in a hopeless school. My review.
• Wendy Mass: Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life. Little, Brown. My review. My review.
• Hilary McKay: Saffy's Angel. Aladdin. My review.
• Kirsten Miller: Kiki Strike. My review.
• Kirsten Miller: Kiki Strike: The Empress's Tomb. Bloomsbury.
• L. M. Montgomery: Complete Anne of Green Gable Boxed Set (Anne of Green Gables, Anne of the Island, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne's House of Dreams, Anne of Ingleside, Rainbow Valley, Rilla of Ingleside)
• Jenny Moss: Winnie's War. Walker Books for Young Readers. My review.
• Robert C. O'Brien: Z for Zachariah. Simon Pulse. Completed July 26, 2007.
• Christopher Paolini: Eragon (Inheritance, Book 1) and Eldest (Inheritance, Book 2)
• Ridley Pearson: The Kingdom Keepers. First in new series about keepers of the Magic Kingdom. Fun after hours stuff about Disney, decent characters. Has potential as a series.
• Ridley Pearson: Steel Trapp: The Challenge. Disney. My review.
• Mitali Perkins: First Daughter: Extreme American Makeover. Dutton Juvenile. My review.
• Rick Riordan: The Lightning Thief. I loved this book. My review. Also Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters - Book Two amd The Titan's Curse (book 3). Miramax. The Battle of the Labyrinth (Book 4, Percy Jackson and the Olympians). My review. The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson, Book 5). Hyperion.
• Marilyn Sachs: Lost in America. My review.
• Gary Schmidt: The Wednesday Wars. Clarion.
• Michael Scott: The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (my review). Also The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (my review). Delacorte Books for Young Readers.
• Polly Shulman: Enthusiasm.
• Neal Shusterman: Everlost. Simon Pulse.
• Neal Shusterman: The Dark Side of Nowhere. Starscape.
• Matthew Skelton: Endymion Spring. Delacorte Books for Young Readers.
• Fran Cannon Slayton: When the Whistle Blows. Philomel. My review.
• Jordan Sonnenblick: Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie. My review.
• Nancy Springer: The Case of the Missing Marquess: An Enola Holmes Mystery. My review.
• Greg Taylor: Killer Pizza. Feiwel & Friends. My review.
• Amy Timberlake: That Girl Lucy Moon. Hyperion.
• Terry Trueman: Hurricane. HarperCollins. My review.
• Megan Whalen Turner: The Thief. (My review)
• Cynthia Voigt: Homecoming (Tillerman Series)
• Melissa Walker: Violet on the Runway. Berkley Trade. My review.
• Sarah Weeks: Jumping the Scratch. (My review)
• F. Paul Wilson: Jack: Secret Histories. Tor Teen. My review.
• Joan M. Wolf: Someone Named Eva. Clarion. My review.
• Maryrose Wood: Sex Kittens and Horn Dawgs Fall in Love. My review
• Maryrose Wood: My Life: The Musical. Delacorte Books for Young Readers. Completed November 18, 2007. (To be released March 2008). My review.
• Emma Young: STORM: The Infinity Code. Dial. My review.

High School

• Sherman Alexie: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Little, Brown Young Readers. Completed January 15, 2007.
• Laurie Halse Anderson: Speak. Penguin. My review.
• Laurie Halse Anderson: Twisted. Viking Juvenile.
• Laurie Halse Anderson: Wintergirls. Viking. My review.
• Jay Asher: 13 Reasons Why. ARC from Razorbill, about a boy who receives 13 audiotapes from a girl he had a crush on, who committed suicide. My review.
• Catherine Banner: The Eyes of a King. Random House. My review.
• Jennifer Lynn Barnes: The Squad: Perfect Cover. Laurel Leaf. My review
• Jennifer Lynn Barnes: The Squad: Killer Spirit. Laurel Leaf. My review
• Robin Benway: Audrey, Wait! Razorbill. My review.
• Julie Bertagna: Exodus. Walker Books for Young Readers. My review.
• Julie Bertagna: Zenith. Walker Books for Young Readers. My review.
• S. A. Bodeen: The Compound. Feiwel & Friends. My review.
• Jennifer Bradbury: Shift. Atheneum. My review.
• Cylin Busby and John Busby: The Year We Disappeared. Bloomsbury USA. My review.
• Libba Bray: A Great and Terrible Beauty.
• Meg Cabot / Jenny Carroll: #1 When Lightning Strikes (1-800-Where-R-You) (1-800-Where-R-You series originally written as Jenny Carroll). #2 Code Name Cassandra (1-800-Where-R-You). Safe House (1-800-Where-R-You). Sanctuary (1-800-Where-R-You). Shadowland (The Mediator, Book 1), Ninth Key (The Mediator, Book 2), Reunion (Mediator book 3), Darkest Hour (The Mediator, Book 4). Haunted (The Mediator, Book 5). Twilight (The Mediator, Book 6). How to Be Popular (my review).
• Orson Scott Card: Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1)
• Kristin Cashore: Graceling. Harcourt. My review.
• Cecil Castellucci: Boy Proof. Candlewick. My review.
• Cecil Castellucci: Beige. Candlewick. My review.
• Cassandra Clare: The Mortal Instruments series. McElderry Books. My review.
• Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games. Scholastic. My review.
• Suzanne Collins: Catching Fire (sequel to The Hunger Games). Scholastic. My early thoughts (not a full review).
• Caroline B. Cooney: If the Witness Lied. Delacorte Books for Young Readers. My review.
• Nancy Crocker: Billie Standish Was Here. Simon & Schuster.
• Rachel Cohn: Shrimp. Simon & Schuster, second book in the series that started with Gingerbread, about a rebellious teen living in San Francisco.
• Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. Knopf. My review.
• Tanita S. Davis. A La Carte. Knopf.
• Tanita S. Davis: Mare's War. Knopf Books for Young Readers. My review.
• Cory Doctorow: Little Brother. Tor Teen. My review.
• Jenny Downham: Before I Die. David Fickling Books.
• Nancy Farmer: The House of the Scorpion. A bit bleak, but fascinating. About a boy who is the clone of a vicious and powerful old man, in a futuristic society of opium growers.
• Christine Fletcher: Tallulah Falls. Bloomsbury USA Children's Books. My review.
• Christine Fletcher: Ten Cents A Dance. Bloomsbury. My review.
• Garret Freymann-Weyr: After the Moment. Houghton Mifflin. My review.
• Garret Freymann-Weyr: Stay With Me. My review.
• Cecilia Galante: The Patron Saint of Butterflies. Bloomsbury USA. My review.
• Jeannine Garsee: Before, After, and Somebody in Between. Bloomsbury.
• Linda Gerber: Death by Bikini. Sleuth.
• Marley Gibson: Ghost Huntress. Sandpiper. My review.
• Marley Gibson: Ghost Huntress, Book 2: The Guidance. Graphia. My review.
• Gail Giles: Right Behind You. Little Brown.
• Gail Giles: What Happened to Cass McBride. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
• Anna Godbersen: The Luxe. HarperCollins. My review.
• Anna Godbersen: Rumors: A Luxe Novel. HarperCollins. Completed February 5, 2009.
• Allegra Goodman: The Other Side of the Island. Razorbill. My review.
• Michael Grant: Gone. HarperTeen. My review.
• John Green: Paper Towns. Dutton Juvenile. My review.
• Michele Dominguez Green: Chasing the Jaguar. My review.
• Judy Gregerson: Bad Girls Club. Blooming Tree Press. My review.
• Pete Hautman: Rash. My review.
• S. A. Harazin: Blood Brothers. Delacorte Books for Young Readers. Completed November 11, 2007. My review.
• Justina Chen Headley: Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies). Little, Brown and Company. My review.
• Justina Chen Headley: Girl Overboard. Little, Brown Young Readers. My review.
• Justina Chen Headley: North of Beautiful. Little, Brown Young Readers. My review.
• Charlie Higson: Blood Fever (The Young James Bond, Book 2). Miramax.
• Brian James: Zombie Blondes. Feiwel & Friends. My review.
• A. M. Jenkins: Repossessed: A Novel. Harper Teen. A Printz Honor book. My review.
• Carrie Jones: Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend. Flux.
• Carrie Jones: Love and Other Uses for Duct Tape. Flux.
• Jacqueline Kelly: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. Henry Holt and Co. My review.
• A. S. King: The Dust of 100 Dogs. Flux. Due out February 2009. My review.
• Steve Kluger: My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, & Fenway Park. Dial Books. My review.
• Jo Knowles: Lessons from a Dead Girl. ARC from Candlewick, about what a girl has learned from her former best friend and tormentor. My review.
• Justine Larbalestier: Magic or Madness. My review.
• E. Lockhart: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. Hyperion.
• Lois Lowry: The Giver, Gathering Blue (Readers Circle) (companion volume to the Giver, a different futuristic community that has mainly regressed, and what happens to children born there with artistic gifts. Messenger = third book in loose series. I didn't like Messenger as much - it didn't pull me in in the same way as the other two. But it was nice to see how Jonas and Kira ended up.
• April Lurie: The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine. Delacorte Books for Young Readers.
• Barry Lyga: The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl. (My review)
• Barry Lyga: Boy Toy. Houghton Mifflin.
• Chris Lynch: Inexcusable. My review.
• Gemma Malley: The Declaration. Bloomsbury USA. My review.
• Gemma Malley: The Resistance. Bloomsbury. My review.
• John Marsden: Tomorrow, When the War Began (Book 1). Houghton Mifflin. See my review of the entire series.
• John Marsden: The Dead of Night (Tomorrow #2). Houghton Mifflin.
• John Marsden: A Killing Frost (Tomorrow #3). Houghton Mifflin.
• John Marsden: Darkness, Be My Friend (Book 4, Tomorrow series). Scholastic.
• John Marsden: Burning for Revenge (Book 5, Tomorrow series). Scholastic.
• John Marsden: Night is for Hunting (Book 6, Tomorrow series). Scholastic.
• John Marsden: The Other Side of Dawn (Book 7, Tomorrow series). Scholastic.
• Wendy Mass: Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall. Little, Brown.
• Patricia McCormick: Sold. My review.
• Lisa McMann: Wake. Simon Pulse. My review.
• Lisa McMann: Fade. Simon Pulse. My review.
• Stephanie Meyer: Twilight. My review. Also sequel New Moon. My review.
• Stephenie Meyer: Eclipse. Little, Brown. My review.
• Stephenie Meyer: Breaking Dawn. Little Brown. My review.
• Catherine Murdock: Dairy Queen. Houghton Mifflin. My review. Also sequel The Off Season. My review. And book 3, Front and Center. My review.
• Patrick Ness: The Knife of Never Letting Go. Candlewick. My review.
• Garth Nix: Sabriel (The Abhorsen Trilogy), Lirael: Daughter of the Clayr, and Abhorsen (The Abhorsen Trilogy). Highly compelling trilogy.
• Kenneth Oppel: Airborn. My review.
• Kenneth Oppel: Skybreaker. Eos Publishing.
• Kenneth Oppel: Starclimber. HarperCollins. My review.
• James Patterson: Maximum Ride : The Angel Experiment. First in series about six kids who are the result of a genetic experiment, and have 2% bird DNA (with associated skills, like the ability to fly). Not high literature, but a fun, fast-paced read. My review.
• Mary E. Pearson: A Room on Lorelei Street. My review.
• Mary E. Pearson: The Adoration of Jenna Fox. Henry Holt. My review.
• Mitali Perkins: Monsoon Summer. My review.
• Mitali Perkins: Secret Keeper. Delacorte Press. My review.
• Susan Beth Pfeffer: Life As We Knew It. Harcourt Children's Books. My review.
• Susan Beth Pfeffer: The Dead & the Gone. Harcourt. Completed November 17, 2007. (Will be released June 2008). My review.
• Carol Plum-Ucci: Streams of Babel. Harcourt. My review.
• Philip Pullman:His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass). I consider these books to be just barely children's books, dealing with adult themes such as original sin, betrayal, and good vs. evil. I don't find the third quite as engaging as the first two, probably because the third features many viewpoint shifts, making it harder to stay focused. But overall, the MP3 series is a great production, one of the few books I've read that uses a full cast, and some music. Pullman himself is the narrator (which doesn't work at all with some authors), and does an excellent job.
• Margo Rabb: Cures for Heartbreak. My review.
• Janette Rallison: Just One Wish. Putnam Juvenile. My review.
• Dana Reinhardt: A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life. My review.
• Dana Reinhardt: How to Build a House. Wendy Lamb Books. My review.
• Celia Rees: Pirates!. My review.
• Laura Resau: Red Glass. Delacorte Books for Young Readers.
• Malcolm Rose: Double Check. Kingfisher. My review.
• Malcolm Rose: Blood Brother (Traces). Kingfisher. My review.
• Meg Rosoff: How I Live Now
• John van de Ruit. Spud. ARC from Razorbill, about a young boy attending private school for the first time, in 1990 South Africa.
• Carrie Ryan: The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Delacorte Books for Young Readers. My review.
• Barbara Shoup: Everything You Want. Flux. My review.
• Neal Shusterman: Unwind. Simon & Schuster. My review.
• Michael Simmons: Finding Lubchenko. My review.
• Janni Lee Simner: Bones of Faerie. Random House.
• Linda Singleton: Dead Girl Walking. Flux. My review.
• Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch: Daughter of War. Fitzhenry and Whiteside. My review.
• Jordan Sonnenblick: Notes from the Midnight Driver. My review.
• J. M. Steele: The Market. Hyperion. Completed November 18, 2007. (To be released April 2008). My review.
• Maggie Stiefvater: Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception. Flux. My review.
• Tanya Lee Stone: A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl. My review.
• Francisco X. Stork: Behind the Eyes. My review.
• Laini Taylor: Faeries of Dreamdark (Book 1): Blackbringer. Putnam. My review.
• Laini Taylor: Dreamdark (Book 2): Silksinger. Putnam. Completed April 25, 2009. Published September 2009. My review.
• Susan Vaught: Trigger. Bloomsbury. My review.
• Denise Vega: Fact of Life #31. Knopf Book for Young Readers. My review.
• Ned Vizzini: It's Kind of a Funny Story. My review.
• Heather Waldorf: Grist. My review.
• Robin Wasserman: Skinned. Simon Pulse. My review.
• Catherine Webb: The Extraordinary and Unusual Adventures of Horatio Lyle.
• Nancy Werlin: Double Helix. Puffin Sleuth. My review.
• Scott Westerfeld: Uglies. See my review here. Young adult. My review. Pretties (second book in series from above). My review. Specials (Uglies Trilogy). My review.
• Scott Westerfeld: Extras (Book 4 in Uglies Trilogy). Simon Pulse. Completed October 20, 2007. My review.
• Ellen Emerson White: Long May She Reign. Feiwel & Friends. My review.
• Carol Lynch Williams: The Chosen One. Griffin. My review.
• Rick Yancey: The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp (on MP3). Completed 2/8/06. My review.
• Rick Yancey: Alfred Kropp: The Seal of Solomon. Bloosmbury. Completed September 17, 2007. My review.
• Sara Zarr: Story of a Girl. Little, Brown. My review.
• Sara Zarr: Sweethearts. Little, Brown. My review.
• Gabrielle Zevin: Elsewhere (on MP3). My review.
• Gabrielle Zevin: Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Publication date August 21, 2007.
• Jennifer Ziegler: How Not To Be Popular. Delacorte Books for Young Readers. My review.
• Paul Zindel: The Pigman. HarperTeen. Recommended by my cousin Aidan. My review.
• Markus Zusak: The Book Thief. This is one of the best books that I've ever read. I highly recommend it. My review. Also I Am the Messenger, which won the Printz award.

© 2009 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved.