Christmas break is almost here! Librarians love holiday breaks for many reasons, but one of our favorite things about Christmastime is that it usually comes with lots of opportunities for down time and travel. Or, as we like to think of it, lots of chances to catch up on your reading!
Admit it—it's been a busy semester. Why not unwind with a book? If you aren't sure what to read over the next few weeks, allow your librarians to provide you with some suggestions.
Recommendations for ELA - 2nd grade from Mrs. Foster:
My Pet Book
by Bob Staake (picture book)
What would make the perfect pet? A book, of course! Author and illustrator Bob Staake delivers a lovable rhyming tale about a boy who chooses a book for a pet. After all, a book doesn’t have fleas and would never run away. So, what happens when the boy comes home from school one day to find that his pet book is missing? Read this story together to find out!
Help Me, Mr. Mutt!: Expert Answers for Dogs with People Problems
by Janet Stevens & Susan Stevens Crummel (picture book)
It’s not easy being a dog. Fortunately, help has arrived! Mr. Mutt, the “Dear Abby” of the canine world, has answers for common doggy dilemmas, such as humans putting the dog on a diet, making the dog sleep in a too-small doggy bed, and constantly dressing the dog up in ridiculous costumes. Adding insult to injury is the fact that the cat, also known as “The Queen” is never subjected to such treatment. Written as a series of letters between advice-seekers and the canine counselor Mr. Mutt, with rebuttals by “The Queen,” this book will have everyone chuckling. Included are helpful graphs, diagrams, and illustrations to help dogs minimize unfair treatment and maximize treats!
Wumbers
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, pictures by Tom Lichtenheld (picture book)
What do you get when you “cre8” words with numbers? Wumbers! Inspired by William Steig’s "C D B!," this clever book shows children playing in “4ts” and “10ts,” enjoying a picnic with “2na” salad, and learning to play the “2ba” by “tigh10ing” the mouth and “4cing” out the air!
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
by William Steig (Caldecott Medal picture book)
What if you could have anything your heart desired? What do you treasure? Sylvester the donkey learns the hard way that we must be careful what we wish for. He and his parents learn what is truly important in William Steig’s cherished tale, which won the Caldecott Medal in 1970.
Splat the Cat: Blow, Snow, Blow
by Amy Hsu Lin and Robert Eberz,
based on the books by Rob Scotton (“I Can Read” book, Level 1—Beginning Reading)
Lovable Splat the Cat can’t wait for it to snow so he can make the best snowcat ever! But he finds that the snow doesn’t come as quickly as he would like it to. He tries to take matters into his own hands but learns that sometimes you just have to be patient. And a great snow is worth the wait!
Recommendations for 3rd - 8th grade from Mrs. Overberg:
Fortunately, The Milk
by Neil Gaiman (Children's fiction)
Dad thinks he's just going to pop down to the corner shop for some milk. Little does he know that he's in for the adventure of a lifetime, complete with pirates, and aliens, and dinosaurs—oh my! This hilarious story would make a great read-aloud for the whole family this holiday season.
El Deafo
by Cece Bell (Children's graphic novel)
This best-selling graphic novel by children's author and illustrator Cece Bell is an autobiographical narrative about the experience of growing up as a deaf child. Filled with humor and heart, this will speak to any child who's ever struggled with feeling different. Recommended for grades 3 and up.
Same Sun Here
by Silas House & Neela Vaswani (Children's fiction)
Meena is a recent Indian immigrant living with her family in a crowded apartment in New York City. River is the son of a coal miner in Kentucky. As part of a school assignment, the two twelve-year-olds are assigned to be pen pals. Despite their obvious differences, Meena and River quickly learn that some experiences are universal, and their families have much more in common than they would have thought. Told through Meena's and River's letters, this is a powerful multicultural novel for children in grades 4 and up.
The Running Dream
by Wendelin Van Draanen (Young adult fiction)
Sixteen-year-old Jessica was the star of her high school's track team until she lost her leg in a tragic accident. Now, with the help of her friends and family, she is determined to learn to run again. Jessica's perseverance is inspirational, and her story is a great reminder for young readers to never take their health or their opportunities for granted. Recommended for grades 6 and up.
Ender's Game
by Orson Scott Card (Young adult fiction)
Ender Wiggin is an exceptional child. At only six years of age, he is recruited to Battle School, where he will spend his childhood years learning military tactics and strategies that may someday be needed to save Earth from alien invasion. Ender's training is competitive, ruthless, and often dangerous. If he can survive, Ender might just grow up to be the commander that the whole world has been waiting for. This classic book is a must-read for science fiction fans in grades 7 and up.
Recommendations for Upper School from Mrs. Holmes:
The Christmas Box
by Richard Paul Evans (Adult fiction)
A favorite Christmas story of mine that is unforgettable and will touch your heart forever.
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
by Gabrielle Zevin (Adult fiction)
In this feel-good story, an unhappy bookseller receives a mysterious package that turns his life upside down.
The Invention of Wings
by Sue Monk Kidd (Adult fiction)
If you like audiobooks, I recommend listening to this book as opposed to reading it. The narrator does a fantastic job switching between two main characters. One is a wealthy teenager whose family owns a plantation. The other is a young female slave who lives on the plantation. Through their eyes, the reader gets a glimpse into life on a plantation from two very different perspectives.
Wish You Well
by David Baldacci (Adult fiction)
A feel-good coming of age story that will keeping you laughing one minute and then crying the next for the unfortunate circumstances faced by its endearing characters.
Killing Kennedy
by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard (Nonfiction)
I enjoyed reading this after visiting the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas,TX. O'Reilly and Dugard detail events that led up to and came after JFK's assassination. I was amazed at some of the coincidences that the authors pointed out between Lincoln's and JFK's murders. I couldn't put this one down.
Recommendations for Upper School from Ms. Hall:
The Rosie Project
by Graeme Simison (Adult fiction)
Don Tillman is a socially inept professor of genetics who’s decided it’s time he found a wife. He designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner. Rosie Jarman possesses all these qualities, and an unlikely relationship develops as they collaborate together on their scientific endeavors. The lovely realization they come to find is: you don’t find love, it finds you.
Landline
by Rainbow Rowell (Adult fiction)
This is a romance through and through. It's about a woman who needs to make a tough decision to save her marriage. It's a story that so many will be able to relate to. Juggling between a career and home life is never easy and, often, sacrifices need to be made so some dreams can give way to real love. There's also a quirky paranormal kick to it that keeps the plot interesting and funny.
In Real Life
by Cory Doctorow (Young adult graphic novel)
Anda loves "Coarsegold Online," the massively-multiplayer role playing game that she spends most of her free time on. Gaming is a place where she can meet people from all over the world, and make friends. Anda befriends a poor Chinese kid whose avatar in the game illegally collects valuable objects and then sells them to players from developed countries, which is strictly against the rules in "Coarsegold," but Anda soon comes to realize that questions of right and wrong are a lot less straightforward when a real person's real livelihood is at stake.
A Girl Called Fearless
by Catherine Linka (Young adult fiction)
Avie Reveare is a privileged teen growing up in L.A., in a society where most of society's women have died due to an infection in the food stores. Since then, fathers still fear for their daughters’ safety, and the Paternalist Movement, to "protect" young women, is taking over the choices they make. Avie's dad "contracts" her to marry a rich, older man to raise money to save his struggling company; her life suddenly narrows to two choices: be trapped in a marriage with a controlling politician, or run. This book is about fighting for the most important things in life—freedom and love.
We Were Liars
by E. Lockhart (Young adult fiction)
Cadence Easton visits her extended family at Cape Cod every summer, and Cadence and her cousins, "the Liars" have been inseparable since they were little. During their fifteenth summer however, Cadence suffers a mysterious accident. She spends the next two years in a cloud of amnesia and migraines, trying to piece together what happened. This story focuses on dysfunctional family drama, a romance, and the mystery surrounding the accident. The surprise ending is one that will definitely leave readers with their mouths hanging open.
