Recommended Children’s Books

From the Marshall Memo #445

In this regular Reading Today feature, former teacher David Richardson recommends these children’s books:

• Penny and Her Song by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow, 2012), ages 4 and up – Penny the mouse creates a new song and wants to sing it for everyone, but everyone is busy.

• Step Gently Out by Helen Frost, photographs by Rick Lieder (Candlewick Press, 2012), 3 and up – A simple but elegant picture and poetry book.

• Gem by Holly Hobbie (Little Brown, 2012), 3 and up – A toad’s journey through several perilous adventures to find its way to the garden.

• Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton (Candlewick Press, 2012), 4 and up – George is a typical dog, and when his owner leaves him alone, what will tempt him?

• Wonder by R.J. Palacio (Knopf, 2012), 10 and up – Auggie Pullman was born with facial deformities and has been home-schooled, but now he’s going to a private middle school.

• The Obsidian Blade by Peter Hautman (Candlewick Press, 2012), 11 and up – A complicated time-travel adventure in which Tucker Feye goes in search of his missing parents and a strange girl with a gray cat, leading to different worlds – and danger.

• The Raft by S.A. Bodeen (Feiwel & Friends, 2012) – A fast-paced adventure: a cargo plane crashes into the Pacific Ocean and Robie is trapped in a lifeboat with a seriously injured co-pilot, a bag of candy, no water, and sharks circling. 

In addition, Richardson recommends the International Reading Association Children’s Choices: http://www.reading.org/Libraries/Awards/ChildrensChoices2012_web.pdf, and Young Adult: http://www.reading.org/Libraries/Awards/YoungAdultsChoices2012_web.pdf 

“Cool Reads for a Hot Summer” by David Richardson in Reading Today, June/July 2012 (Vol. 29, #6, p. 40-41), http://www.reading.org