book recommendations

 
 

Read Alouds

Reading aloud every day to kids is a research-based way to motivate them to read on their own, to promote critical thinking and discussion, and to model what good reading sounds like. These listed below contain high-level, rich vocabulary; engaging plots; and illustrations that support and add to the story. 

  • Scaredy Squirrel (series)

    • By Melanie Watt

  • The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig

    • By Eugene Trivizas

  • The Three Little Javelinas (Read this one and the original version of The Three Little Pigs along with The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. Great to read and compare/contrast)

    • By Susan Lowell

  • The Most Magnificent Thing

    • By Ashley Spires

  • Toot and Puddle

    • By Holly Hobbie

  • Stellaluna

    • By Janell Cannon

  • Monkess the Homunculus

    • By Seth T. Hahne

  • The Relatives Came

    • By Cynthia Rylant

  • The Story of Holly and Ivy

    • By Rumer Godden

Tweens/Teens

For this age range (8-14), I look for excellent writing with vivid descriptions and realistic character development. I look for a story that hangs together, makes sense, and earns its ending, whether or not it is a “happily ever after.” I look for high level vocabulary, because kids need exposure to words like capacious, inexorably, and dissuade. Research shows that kids can and do learn words from wide reading of high-level literature. Parents: Do pre-read or read descriptions/reviews of books before you hand them to your tweens/teens to ensure appropriateness of the content.

(Note: In the publishing world, books for this age range are called Middle Grade. These books, while written at a high level, are appropriate in content for kids ages 8-14.)

  • Spell Sweeper

    • By Lee Edward Fodi

  • The Book of Chaos

    • By Jessica Renwick

  • The Dragon and the Girl series: True North (Book 1) and True Treasure* (Book 2) 

    • By Laura Findley Evans 

  • The Impossible Girl

    • By Ashley White

  • Beyond the Bright Sea

    • By Lauren Wolk

  • Wolf Hollow

    • By Lauren Wolk

  • Because of Winn Dixie

    • By Kate DiCamillo

  • Echo Mountain

    • By Lauren Wolk

  • Wonder

    • By R.J. Palacio

  • Tuck Everlasting

    • By Natalie Babbitt

  • The Graveyard Book

    • By Neil Gaiman

  • Beverly, Right Here

    • By Lauren Wolk

  • Hatchet 

    • By Gary Paulson

  • Holes

    • By Louis Sachar

  • The BFG

    • By Roald Dahl

  • Maniac McGee

    • By Jerry Spinelli

  • Harry Potter (series)

    • By JK Rowling

  • The Girl Who Drank the Moon 

    • By Kelly Barnhill

  • The Ogress and the Orphans

    • By Kelly Barnhill

  • Saving Winslow

    • Sharon Creech

  • Mo and Dale Mysteries (Three Times Lucky is the first of 4)

    • By Sheila Turnage 

  • The Horses of Oak Valley Ranch Series  

    • By Jane Smiley (Smiley is an incredible writer who turns her skills to this series. Be sure to read them in order)

Teens and Adults

Ah, how wide the variety of fiction easily available to us! From paperbacks, hardbacks, ebooks, and audiobooks, the range of genres is immense. The books I have recommended are my own taste, which may be vastly different from your own. And it’s a wonderful thing that there are books for everyone out there. I do want to suggest you take a look at the recommendations for tweens/teens, in addition to this list. You may find you enjoy them, as well. Of course, there is a shameless plug for my own books!

Literary

  • Cutting for Stone

    • By Abraham Verghese

  • All the Light We Cannot See

    • By Anthony Doerr

  • Olive Kitteridge

    • By Elizabeth Strout

  • The Murmur of Bees

    • By Sofia Segovia

  • Billy Summers 

    • By Stephen King 

  • Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine: A Novel

    • By Gail Honeyman

  • A Man Called Ove

    • By Fredrik Backman

  • Britt-Marie Was Here

    • By Fredrik Backman

  • Beartown

    • By Fredrik Backman

  • The One-in-a-Million Boy (sad, but really good)

    • By Monica Wood

  • The Martian: A Novel 

    • By Andy Weir

  • Project Hail Mary

    • By Andy Weir

  • Ordinary Grace

    • By William Kent Krueger

  • This Tender Land

    • By William Kent Kreuger

  • The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Read a bit before you give up on this one; I put it down more than once, but went back to it because so many people recommended it.  Really good!)

    • By Annie Barrows, Mary Ann Shaffer

  • The Help

    • By Kathryn Stockett

  • Peace Like a River

    • By Leif Enger

  • Cold Sassy Tree

    • By Olive Ann Burns

  • Pachinko

    • By Min Jin Lee

  • Interior Chinatown

    • By Charles Yu

  • The Lincoln Highway

    • By Amor Towles

Mystery Series

  • Louise Penny Books: The first 3 are: Still Live, A Fatal Grace, The Cruelest Month (About Chief Inspector Gamache of the Surete du Quebec - lots of French scattered throughout - several more books in the series, all great)

  • Donna Leon Books: The first 3 are:  Death at La Fenice, Death in a Strange Country, Dressed for Death (about Commissario Brunetti of Venice)

  • All the Elvis Cole books by Robert Crais

  • The Cormoran Strike novels - https://robert-galbraith.com/writing/  Written by “Robert Galbraith.” Aka J.K. Rowling - for adults

  • James Lee Burke novels (Dave Robicheaux series)

  • Longmire Mystery series (By Craig Johnson) 

  • Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly

Fun Reads

  • Playing for Pizza

    • By John Grisham

Very Funny, Yet Poignant

  • Eat Cake: A Novel

    • By Jeanne Ray

  • Julie and Romeo

    • By Jeanne Ray 

  • Julie and Romeo Get Lucky

    • By Jeanne Ray

  • Step-Ball-Change

    • By Jeanne Ray

  • No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (first in a series)

    • By Alexander McCall Smith 

  • How to Find Love in a Bookshop

    • By Veronica Henry

  • The Lager Queen of Minnesota (features “older” women who do amazing things)

    • By J. Ryan Stradal 

  • Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

    • By Helen Simonson

Non-Fiction Worth a Read

  • L’Appart: The Delights and Disasters of Making My Paris Home 

    • By David Lebovitz  (hilarious)

  • The Boys in the Boat

    • By Daniel James Brown

  • The Splendid and the Vile

    • By Daniel James Brown

Classics

  • To Kill a Mockingbird (You have to get past the few couple of chapters to understand why this is my all time favorite book!)  

    • By Harper Lee 

Post Apocalyptic (These are both fairly recent novels that are interesting reads, although both fell apart a little at the end. Still worth the read.)

  • Hollow Kingdom

    • By Kira Jane Buxton

  • A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World

    • By C.A. Fletcher

Middle Grade Fiction (Teens and Tweens)

These books, while written at a high level, are appropriate in content for kids ages 8-14. Additionally, adults will enjoy these, as well.

  • The Dragon and the Girl series: True North & True Treasure 

    • By Laura Findley Evans 

  • Beyond the Bright Sea

    • By Lauren Wolk

  • Wolf Hollow

    • By Lauren Wolk

  • Because of Winn Dixie

    • By Kate DiCamillo

  • Echo Mountain

    • By Lauren Wolk

  • Wonder

    • By R.J. Palacio

  • Tuck Everlasting

    • By Natalie Babbitt

  • The Graveyard Book

    • By Neil Gaiman

  • Beverly, Right Here

    • By Lauren Wolk

  • Hatchet

    • By Gary Paulson

  • Holes

    • By Louis Sachar

  • The BFG

    • By Roald Dahl

  • Maniac McGee

    • By Jerry Spinelli

  • Harry Potter (series)

    • By JK Rowling

  • The Girl Who Drank the Moon 

    • By Kelly Barnhill

  • The Ogress and the Orphans

    • By Kelly Barnhill

  • Saving Winslow

    • Sharon Creech

  • Mo and Dale Mysteries (Three Times Lucky is the first of 4)

    • By Sheila Turnage 

  • The Horses of Oak Valley Ranch Series  

    • By Jane Smiley (Smiley is an incredible writer who turns her skills to this series. Be sure to read them in order)