Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery is a children's novel by Deborah and James Howe, published in 1979. The story is set in the Monroe household and is narrated from the perspective of the family dog, Harold. The Monroes, who also have a cat named...

The Black Cauldron (published in 1965), the second installment in "The Chronicles of Prydain" series by Lloyd Alexander, is an absorbing blend of fantasy, adventure, and classic coming-of-age narrative. The story revolves around the young...

Doug TenNapel is a 56-year-old American writer, cartoonist, and animator whose works have been converted to video games and animated television programs. For instance, TenNapel is best known for his video game character, Earthworm Jim, who became...

Lunch Money, penned by Andrew Clements, is a captivating middle-grade novel that offers young readers a deep dive into entrepreneurship. The book's narrative centers around a sixth-grade student named Greg Kenton and his knack for making money....

Wonderstruck (published in 2011) is an innovative work of children's literature written and illustrated by Brian Selznick. The novel uniquely utilizes both text and detailed illustrations to weave together two parallel narratives set fifty years...

The Incredible Journey is a novel published by Sheila Burnford in 1961. Burnford was born in Scotland and lived there until 1951 when she immigrated to Ontario with her husband. Her first decade in her adopted homeland provided the background and...

Cynthia Rylant's Missing May (1992) tells the story of a young girl named Summer, whose aunt - and de facto caregiver - just died in her vast garden. This rocks Summer, who had just lost her parents several years prior, to her core. After her Aunt...

The Egypt Game (published in 1967) by Zilpha Keatley Snyder is a captivating children's novel that explores the power of imagination, friendship, and the process of coming of age through an elaborate game centered around ancient Egyptian culture....

The High King, written by Lloyd Alexander and published in 1968, concludes the Chronicles of Prydain series. This fantasy novel follows the adventures of Taran, the Assistant Pig-Keeper, as he leads his companions in a perilous quest to defeat the...

Writers are sometimes advised to write what they know. Author Kevin Powers, who served in the United States Army during the Iraq War, took that advice to heart. In one way or another, each of his novels has involved veterans. The same is true for...

Sea in Winter is a contemporary middle-grade novel written by Christine Day. It was published in 2021. Day's debut novel I Can Make This Promise (2019) garnered recognition as one of the best books that year. Continuing her streak of success, Day...

Boy, Everywhere is a novel written by A. M. Dassu, an English writer of fiction and non-fiction. The book was published in 2020 by Old Barn Books, and it tells the story of Sami, a thirteen-year-old boy from Damascus, Syria. Sami and his family...

Falling Short is a YA novel published by Ernesto Cisneros in 2022. The book is targeted toward readers aged ten to thirteen attending late elementary to middle school grades. This readership directly reflects the experience of the characters....

Efrén Divided is a Young Adult novel published by Ernesto Cisneros in 2020. The book is targeted toward a middle school readership that reflects the lives of its two protagonists. Isaac Castillo and Marco Honeymoon are just beginning middle school...

The Benefits of Being an Octopus (published in 2018) by Ann Braden looks into how poverty impacts the lives of children and families. It centers around a seventh-grade girl named Zoey, who lives with her family in a trailer park in Vermont....

Return to Sender (published in 2009) by Julia Alvarez unfolds on the Tyler family's dairy farm in Vermont, where the family, struggling after a series of unfortunate events, hires a group of undocumented Mexican workers to help keep their business...

Blended (2018) is Sharon M. Draper's novel about an eleven-year-old girl named Isabella. At the start of the novel, Isabella is still reeling from the recent news of her parent's divorce. Because of their divorce, Isabella also has to adjust to a...

Listen, Slowly (published in 2015) by Thanhha Lai is a coming-of-age tale that bridges the gap between two contrasting cultures. The narrative unfolds from the perspective of a young Vietnamese American girl named Mai, who prefers her American...

Goddess of Yesterday is a YA adult published by Caroline B. Cooney in 2002. The story is an example of historical fiction that reimagines a famous event from the perspective of a minor participant. In this case, the event is the Trojan War, and...

Steve Sheinkin's The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery (2010) is a biography about one of the most complex figures in American history: Benedict Arnold, the man who betrayed the United States. Sheinkin's...

The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts (2004) by Ricard Peck is a novel that begins with an unexpected line: "If your teacher has to die, August isn't a bad time of year for it." Set in 1904, The Teacher's Funeral follows a young man named...

Time Windows (published in 1991) by Kathryn Reiss is a historical fiction/paranormal mystery novel about 12-year-old Miranda, who moves into an old Victorian house in a small Massachusetts town with her parents. When Miranda finds a miniature...