Kid's Books Adults Should Read
Alexander - The Iron Ring (Tamar loses everything in a dice game - his kingdom and even the right to call his life his own. On his journey to make good on his debt he meets a most memorable cast of characters. Full of adventure, humor and magic). Read others by this author!
Almond - Skellig (Michael discovers a creature in his garage - man, owl or angel? Warm, lyrical, and hopeful)
Avi - Poppy (Poppy and her mouse family live under the protection of Ocax, the owl, but how real is his "protection")
Avi - Nothing But the Truth (Philip hums the national anthem in school and becomes the object of misinformation and twisted national media attention)
Babbit - Tuck Everlasting
(What would you do if you could live forever?)
Balliet - Chasing Vermeer (Da Vinci code for kids)
Bauer – Hope Was Here
(16-year old Hope and her diner cook aunt Addie settle in Wisconsin for some
warm friendships, good eating, a little romance, and some political intrigue)
Blackwood – Shakespeare Stealer (Orphaned Widge is trained to write in a secret shorthand and thus steal a copy of Hamlet)
Codell - Sahara Special (5th grader, Sahara, gets a fresh start from a new and unique teacher who supports her writing talents and the individuality of each of her classmates)
Creech - Walk Two Moons (While journeying with Gram and Gramps to find her mother, 13 year old Sal tells the story of Phoebe, whose mother disappears and then returns. Eventually, Sal realizes that underneath Phoebe's story lies her own
Cushman - Catherine, Called Birdy (Set in 1420 England, 14 year old Birdy must learn to be a lady and a bride). Read others by this author!
Curtis - Watson's Go to
Birmingham, 1963 (a Midwestern black family visits Birmingham Alabama during the
Civil Rights movement). Also read, Bud Not Buddy.
DiCamillo – Because of
Winn-Dixie (Because of Winn-Dixie, a big, ugly dog, Opal learns things about her
long-gone mother, makes new friends among the somewhat unusual residents of her
new hometown in Florida, and finds her place in the world).
Dickinson - Eva (A victim of a severe auto accident, Eva awakens to find her brain has been transplanted into the body of a chimpanzee)
Farmer - The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm (2194 Zimbabwe and three children of the military ruler take off on a quest only to be kidnapped by their father's political enemies. Three detectives with unusual powers are sent out to find them). Read others by this author!
Fletcher - Shadow Spinner
(Wonderful re-telling of Shaharazad and 1001 nights in which orphaned and
crippled Marjan becomes the source of the famous stories)
Haddix – Among the
Hidden (Set in a time when no family is allowed more than two children)
Horvath – Everything on a waffle (Good-natured, hopeful Primrose refuses to believe her parents have been lost at sea. Full of witty observations, memorable characters and recipes)
Juster - Phantom Tollbooth (Word play has never been so much fun)
L'Engle - Wrinkle in Time (a perfect blend of science fiction and fantasy)
Lewis - Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (what kids will read after Harry Potter)
Lowry - The Giver (a future society that chooses sameness over conflict). Also read, Gathering Blue and Messenger.
Merrill - Pushcart War (New York City pushcarts are becoming the victims of the big trucks. Armed with peashooters, they declare war on the big guys. Power to the little people!)
Peck - A Long Way From Chicago (Each summer, Joey and Mary Alice visit the most memorable grandmother you will ever meet). Also read, A Year Down Yonder.
Pullman - The Golden Compass series
(Accompanied by her daemon, Lyra
sets out to prevent her best friend and other kidnapped children from becoming the subject of gruesome experiments
in the Far North)
Rowling - Harry Potter series (You've got to read them to understand what all the fuss is about)
Sachar - Holes (Stanley Yelnats is wrongly convicted of a crime and sent to a correctional camp in the Texas desert. He discovers his personal strength, true friendship and the secret behind the holes being dug at the warden's insistence)
Saint-Exupéry - The Little Prince (A little man from a small planet describes his adventures in the universe, seeking the secret of what is really important in life)
Spinelli - Wringer (Palmer dreads his 10th birthday when he mush become a "wringer" - one of the boys who wrings the necks of wounded pigeons at the annual Pigeon Day shoot. How does he save face and stand behind his principles)
Taylor - Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Cassie and her family struggle to keep their home while facing night-riders and burnings. Set in the South during the Depression)
White - Charlotte's Web (Everyone should read this as an adult)
Wrede - Dealing with Dragons (Princess Climorene runs away from home and ends up volunteering to work for the dragon Kazul, who allows her to do such improper things as studying Latin, learning magic spells and making cherries jubilee. Very funny)