Need some reading suggestions for your kids this summer? Here are the top 10 books our students rated 5 stars on Biblionasium this week.
Wonder
The book that inspired the Choose Kind movement.
I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.
August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face. WONDER, now a #1 New York Times bestseller and included on the Texas Bluebonnet Award master list, begins from Auggie’s point of view, but soon switches to include his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. These perspectives converge in a portrait of one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance.
New Shoes
by Susan Lynn Meyer and Eric Velasquez
Ever since she can remember, Ella Mae has worn her cousin Charlotte’s hand-me-down shoes. But today she is going to get a brand-new pair. In the shoe store, a girl with yellow pigtails is trying on a pair of pretty red Mary Janes. Because she’s black, Ella Mae isn’t allowed to try on shoes. Her mother traces Ella Mae’s feet on a piece of paper, and the salesman looks for a pair of shoes that will fit. Ella Mae is upset. But not for long. She and Charlotte have a plan to rectify this humiliating experience! Susan Lynn Meyer’s charming characters and the compelling situation, along with Eric Velasquez’s beautiful paintings, tell a deeply moving and thought-provoking story.
Big Max Book and Tape (I Can Read Book 2)
by Kin Platt and Robert Lopshire
“The world’s greatest detective” follows the clues that lead to the King of Pooka Pooka’s missing prize elephant. “The character of Big Max, a kind of miniature Sherlock Holmes, is well drawn in both words and pictures.” —SLJ.
Walk Two Moons
In her own singularly beautiful style, Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech intricately weaves together two tales, one funny, one bittersweet, to create a heartwarming, compelling, and utterly moving story of love, loss, and the complexity of human emotion.
Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle, proud of her country roots and the “Indian-ness in her blood,” travels from Ohio to Idaho with her eccentric grandparents. Along the way, she tells them of the story of Phoebe Winterbottom, who received mysterious messages, who met a “potential lunatic,” and whose mother disappeared.
As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe’s outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold—the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother.
Mr Gum and the Biscuit Billionaire
by Andy Stanton and David Tazzyman
Mr Gum is back in this second hilarious book and he’s as nasty as ever
Mr Gum is horrid—in fact, absolutely grimsters. But this book’s not just about him, it’s also about a gingerbread man named Alan Taylor who has electric muscles! Plus, all our favorite characters are back: the little girl called Polly, the evil butcher called Billy William The Third, and the very wise man, Friday O’Leary. And, who could forget loveable Jake the dog, or the angry fairy who lives in Mr Gum’s bathtub and whacks him on the head with a frying-pan? This book will have you crying with laughter!
Max’s Story: A Dog’s Purpose Puppy Tale
*New Release*
As soon as he sets eyes on CJ, Max knows that she’s his girl and quickly figures out his purpose: to show her how to navigate the big city. Being a native New Yorker, Max knows how to take charge, even though he’s the smallest dog at the park. At the same time, with CJ’s help, Max learns that he doesn’t always have to be ferocious―sometimes, he can be “gentle Max” and make friends.
Young fans of Ellie’s Story, Bailey’s Story, and Molly’s Story will love Max’s Story, the story of a little dog in the big city.
Just Mom and Me (American Girl)
by American Girl Editors
From quizzes and car games to recipes and story starters, this book is full of fun things for girls to do with their moms. They can tear out and share the notes and gift coupons. They can test their knowledge of each other with checklists made for two. And they can get to know each other even better with games and activities that are sure to leave them giggling.
Bonita (The Puppy Place #42)
by Ellen Miles
Charles and Lizzie Peterson love puppies. Their family fosters these young dogs, giving them love and proper care, until they can find the perfect forever home.
Lizzie is shocked to see that Aunt Amanda has returned home from her vacation to Puerto Rico with an injured puppy. Bonita is a street dog with a hurt leg. Lizzie and her friends decide to raise the money for the puppy’s operation. Will Lizzie be able to help this sweet dog?
Gotham Academy Vol. 2: Calamity
by Becky Cloonan and Brenden Fletcher
Gotham Academy is haunted!
At the beginning of the term, Olive Silverlock returned to Gotham Academy a shadow of her former self. But thanks to her new friendships and their Detective Club sleuthing, Olive was finally starting to feel whole again.
Then, abruptly, Olive’s mother died—or, she seemed to. In the weeks after the funeral, Olive begins seeing her mother around the school. An Arkham Asylum patient with a deadly dark side, Sybil Silverlock was a powerful and complicated woman. Could her spirit be reaching out from beyond the grave? And if so, is it motherly Sybil who haunts Olive—or her deadly alter ego Calamity?
1001 Cool Jokes
by Glen Singleton
From the rude to the ridiculous, they’ll make kids laugh.
Check out Biblionasium to find more book recommendations for kids!
