perseverance

Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton

Katy and the Big Snow is pitch perfect as a kindergarten/early elementary age read aloud. Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton. HMH ...
Read More

*I Worked Hard on That! by Robyn Wall

Kiara the spider keeps trying to make a web that is beautiful, not just practical, and her efforts are repeatedly foiled. Playful language, lovely illustrations, ...
Read More

*The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

A wild robot explores an island and learns more than how to survive nature from the animals; she develops relationships and makes it home. A ...
Read More

*Granny Smith was Not an Apple by Sarah Glenn Fortson

A beautiful picture book chronicling the origin of the Granny Smith apple variety through the life of one determined woman. *Granny Smith was Not An ...
Read More

*One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome

One Big Open Sky fills a history gap with the story of black settlers heading west in wagon trains. *One Big Open Sky by Lesa ...
Read More

*William’s House by Ginger Howard

Wouldn't it make sense that a house built in the style of a home in England would work just as well in America? *William's House ...
Read More

Longitude by Dava Sobel

Longitude, a recommended book for our "Hope on the Horizon" summer reading challenge, is a classic true tale of persistence rewarded. Longitude: the True Story ...
Read More

*Nya's Long Walk: A Step at a Time

Nya faces tough choices when her little sister falls ill near the remote water hole. Nya's Long Walk: A Step at a Time by Linda ...
Read More

Captured by Alvin Townley

The ordeal of Jeremiah Denton in the “Hanoi Hilton” is not for the squeamish, but stands as a witness to courage and faith. Captured: an ...
Read More

Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille

What if God took the very instrument that caused your suffering and turned it into a tool of blessing for many? Six Dots: A Story ...
Read More

*Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larsen

Hattie Big Sky draws upon the experience of the author's own grandmother to create this enthralling story of hard-won optimism and frontier grit. a review from ...
Read More

*A Night Divided by Jennifer Nielsen

The building of the Berlin Wall pits lovers of freedom against an oppressive regime in this gripping novel for middle graders. *A Night Divided by ...
Read More

The Double Cross by Jackson Pearce

A 12-year-old spy trainee proves his calling in spite of obvious physical drawbacks, in this entertaining middle-grade adventure. The Double Cross, and Other Skills I ...
Read More

Reading Outside Your Preferred Genre

As a teacher, I’ve had various conversations with parents about how to get their children engaged in reading.  The flip side of that conversation comes ...
Read More

SIX by M. M. Vaughan

SIX by M. M. Vaughan. Simon & Shuster (Margaret K. Elderberry Books), 2015. 361 pages Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: Ages 10-14 ...
Read More

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

William Kamkwamba's own story of his efforts to bring reliable electrical power to his impoverished African village makes fascinating reading, especially for mechanically-minded middle-graders. The ...
Read More
tortoise and hare by jerry pinkney

The Tortoise and the Hare by Jerry Pinkney

The Tortoise and the Hare by Jerry Pinkney. Little, Brown, 2013. 40 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books, ages 4-8 Recommended For: All Ages Slow and ...
Read More

Fallout (Lois Lane) by Gwenda Bond

Fallout (Lois Lane) by Gwenda Bond. Capstone, 2015. 202 pages Reading Level: Young adults, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages 12 and up Bottom Line: Fallout ...
Read More

Wilder Boys by Brandon Wallace

Wilder Boys by Brandon Wallace. Aladdin, 2015. 220 pages Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-14 (especially boys) Bottom Line: Questionable premises ...
Read More

Good Night, Knight by Betsy Lewin

Good Night, Knight by Betsy Lewin. Holiday House, 2015. 24 pages. Reading Level: Easy Readers, Ages 4-8 Recommended For: Ages 4-8 Knight and his faithful ...
Read More

You Have a Brain by Ben Carson, M.D.

You have a Brain: a Teen’s Guide to THINK BIG by Ben Carson,M. D. (with Gregg and Deborah Lewis). Zondervan, 2015. 281 pages Reading Level: ...
Read More
cover of Silent Star

Silent Star by Bill Wise, illustrated by Adam Gustavson

Silent Star: The Story of Deaf Major Leaguer William Hoy by Bill Wise, illustrated by Adam Gustavson. Lee and Low, 2012. 40 pages. Reading Level: Picture ...
Read More
cover of Swing Sisters

Swing Sisters by Karen Deans, illustrated by Joe Cepeda

Swing Sisters: The Story of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm by Karen Deans, illustrated by Joe Cepeda. Holiday House, 2015. Reading Level: Picture Books, ages ...
Read More

Audacity by Melanie Crowder

Audacity by Melanie Crowder. Philomel, 2015. 389 pages, including historical notes. Reading Level: Young Adults, ages 12-15 Recommended for: Young Adults, ages 15-18 Bottom Line: ...
Read More

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen. Candlewick, 2014. 40 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books, ages 4-8 Recommended For: ages ...
Read More

*Faerie Gold edited by Kathryn Lindskoog and Ranelda Mack Hunsicker

*Faerie Gold: Treasures from the Lands of Enchantment edited by Kathryn Lindskoog and Ranelda Mack Hunsicker. P&R, 2005. 304 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages ...
Read More

How Long, O Lord? When Bibliotherapy Isn’t Enough

These are dark days. I received an email this week expressing familiar anguish over the haunting reports of 21 followers of Christ who were martyred ...
Read More

*The Green Ember by S. D. Smith

The Green Ember is animal fantasy at its best, filled with gripping action and heartwarming rabbits, all deeply informed by the Christian worldview of its ...
Read More

*Rise by Trip Lee

*Rise: Get Up and Live in God's Great Story by Trip Lee.  Thomas Nelson, 2014.  240 pages.  Reading Level: Young Adults, ages 12-15 and up Maturity ...
Read More

*Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (named Mary Anne) are just as beloved by today's generation of children as they were in the 1930s! Mike ...
Read More

*Choo Choo by Virgina Lee Burton

This book is a "Best of the Best" pick from ourWinter Book Fair. CLICK HERE to see more gift ideas! *Choo Choo: The Story of a Little ...
Read More

The Scavengers by Michael Perry

The Scavengers by Michael Perry. Harper, 2014, 322 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 4 (ages10-12) and up One-line Summary: The Scavengers ...
Read More
cover of Lulu and the Hedgehog in the Rain

Lulu and the Hedgehog in the Rain by Hilary McKay and illustrated by Priscilla Lamont

Lulu and the Hedgehog in the Rain by Hilary McKay and illustrated by Priscilla Lamont. Albert Whitman and Company, 2014. 112 pages. Reading Level: Chapter Books, ...
Read More
cover of The Great Turkey Walk

The Great Turkey Walk by Kathleen Karr

The Great Turkey Walk by Kathleen Karr. Square Fish, 2000 (reprint; original pub. date 1998). 208 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades (ages 10-12)Recommended for: Ages ...
Read More

Stay Where You Are And Then Leave by John Boyne

Stay Where You Are And Then Leave by John Boyne. Henry Holt, 2014. 245 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 5 (ages ...
Read More

Shackleton: Antarctic Odyssey by Nick Bertozzi

Shackleton: Antarctic Odyssey by Nick Bertozzi. First Second, 2014. 125 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 4 (ages 11-12) and up This ...
Read More

Flight School

Flight School by Lita Judge. Atheneum, 2014, 32 pages. Reading Level: picture books, Ages 0-4, Ages 4-8Recommended for: Ages 0-4, Ages 4-8 An ambitious penguin ...
Read More

*A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Melissa Sweet

*A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Knopf, 2013. 32 pages. Reading Level: ...
Read More

*Little Britches by Ralph Moody

*Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers by Ralph Moody. Bison Books, 1991. 260 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10, ages 10-12 and upRecommended ...
Read More

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

Tuesdays at the Castle, by Jessica Day George.  Bloomsbury, 2012, 225 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12. Recommended for: Ages 8-14 Whenever Castle Glower ...
Read More

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Gary Paulsen's classic survival novel Hatchet offers a realistic--as opposed to romantic-- view of nature and what it takes to survive in the wild. Hatchet ...
Read More

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys.  Penguin/Philomel, 2011, 338 pages. Reading Level: Young Adults, ages 12-15 Maturity Level: 6 (ages 15-18) and up  June ...
Read More
The Year We Were Famous by Carole Estby Dagg

*The Year We Were Famous by Carole Estby Dagg

*The Year We Were Famous by Carole Estby Dagg.  Clarion, 2011, 241 pages with author note. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: Ages ...
Read More
Peak by Roland Smith

Peak by Roland Smith

Peak by Roland Smith.  Harcourt: 2007, 246 pages.  Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: Ages 10-12 and up One-line summary: Fourteen-year-old Peak Marcello's ...
Read More