I was an avid reader throughout school, and here’s what I really loved. There’s a ton of fiction, found family, emotional stuff, and magic in here. I still enjoy these books now, and I think you and your younger folk might too. If you have any older ...
Sections
3
Middle schoolers
5 and under- Read Aloud!
Childhood Classics / elementary school
Middle schoolers
I love and appreciate the book and the movie. They’re both fantastic in their own right. However, I would not recommend starting one after finishing the other.
The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale
This is my favorite Peter Pan retelling, hands down.
Peter and the Starcatchers, Book One
Still great
Peter and the Shadow Thieves (Starcatchers 2)
It’s a good series I swear
Peter and the Secret of Rundoon (Starcatchers 3)
I remember getting this from the library and it had the most creased spine and the most checkouts.
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson, Book 1)
I couldn’t put this brick of a book down as a kid. Honestly, I preferred it even to Percy Jackson!
The Red Pyramid (Kane Chronicles, Book 1)
I remember being a bit scared for the characters in this one.
The Anybodies by N E Bode
You should watch the dork diaries summary videos on YouTube- they’re kind of really funny
Dork Diaries 1: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
Very magical
Inkheart Trilogy by Cornelia Funke
How to Train Your Dragon could NEVER
Eragon: Book I by Christopher Paolini
Another I couldn’t put down. It wasn’t exactly like what the movie pictured the book in said movie to be, but more like the movie.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Honestly, one of my favorites. I loved Death personified, and it feels modern despite taking place in Germany during the Holocaust.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The main character was mostly lame, but everyone else was cool.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children ...
This one’ll do something to you.
Life of Pi: A Novel by Yann Martel
A very, Very good comic.
Watchmen
His Dark Materials got me onto this.
The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1) by Philip Pullman
Chocolate and caffeine and spies and harmonicas and lies
The Candymakers by Wendy Mass
So good. A found family magic road trip adventure.
Savvy by Ingrid Law, Paperback
Genius storytelling. Asexual main characters are really, really hard to come by.
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
Oh, to be a witch in a magical house and know how to sew…
Howl's Moving Castle (Howl's Moving Castle Series #1)
It’s so good, and so devastating, and so normalizing.
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper, Paperback
This one’s a bit strange, but aren’t we all.
13 Gifts by Wendy Mass
I love middle school superheroes who use their powers to make graffiti murals
The Ultra Violets by Sophie Bell
5 and under- Read Aloud!
My mom read this to me when I was little, sang the poem as a song, and I cried every single time. I still cry. It makes me feel loved and reminds me that I need to cherish her while I have her.
Love You Forever by Robert Munsch
This one was weird and funky so it stuck with me.
A Bad Case of Stripes
Anything by Richard Scarry was a guaranteed hit imo
Richard Scarry's Busy, Busy Town - Books
Paper collage was never the same again
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
This one is so funny
I Want My Hat Back
This got me into graphic design and typography as a kid.
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
My favorite read aloud books are silent- it can be a new story every time. The watercolor paintings are just gorgeous.
Tuesday by David Wiesner, Paperback
Childhood Classics / elementary school
This book made me feel very optimistic about life around me as a strange and unusual child.
The Secret Garden by Frances Burnett (1911)
Isabel of the Whales feels very magical and grounded at the same time. I loved to daydream using the author’s descriptions of daily life under the sea.
Isabel of the Whales #1
Just as magical as the first book; it was incredible to read.
Jessaloup's Song (Isabel of the Whales, #2) by Hester Velmans
Nerds and spies and superpowers and little doodles- I loved it.
NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense
I really enjoyed how the kids and grown ups were all on equal footing in this book. If a rule isn’t working, you can work with others to fix it, and maybe make some money and go on the news in the process.
Frindle: Andrew Clements
I loved the business breakdown in this book.
The Toothpaste Millionaire
Each character felt real and I was genuinely nervous for them.
The Girl Who Could Fly (Piper McCloud 1)
It’s good. Better than the movie, I’d say.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: Classic Fantasy
I’m beginning to think I like fantasy stories.
No Flying in the House
I think this book made me finally get over my fear of Toy Story as a child (the animation, really)
The Doll People
Please make sure it’s the original, unabriged version. I remember using the night light to read this until 2 am on school nights. This was my first step into learning about Native American culture.
Kaya: An American Girl 1764 (6 Vol Set)
Disney did this one justice.
Holes by Louis Sachar
Studio Ghibli’s Secret Life of Arrietty was based on this one.
The Borrowers by Diana Mary Norton
I wasn’t expecting anything, and I got the world. So sad.
A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass, Paperback
I felt like I was witnessing a legend in the making.
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli, Paperback
A classic.
Bridge to Terabithia
It was so so sweet
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy, Hardcover
The fox and the rose and the learning of love,,, read and then reread this. Please.
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Paperback
I was wondering why this comic felt so quiet until I realized that it was David Wiesner. The Little Mermaid in a fishtank.
Fish Girl: A Graphic Novel David Wiesner
I didn’t know what I was getting into, but I sure enjoyed the ride.
Ella Enchanted Gail Carson Levine
I love this mouse
The Tale of Despereaux: Story of a Mouse
The movie still looks too scary for me. I loved the ending.
