The only way to hook children on reading for pleasure is to allow them to read for pleasure. That means permitting them to choose the books that interest them and then letting them to read at their own pace, without being asked to analyze every single sentence for inner meaning. This is the way kids learn to love to read at the Center for Teaching and Learning, an award-winning non-profit independent demonstration school in Maine that was founded in 1990 by educator Nancie Atwell, who last month was awarded the first $1 million Global Teacher Prize given by the Varkey Foundation.
The school has a national reputation for its research-based literacy methods, which focus on engaging and challenging students while fostering relationships between faculty and parents. A hallmark of the school are the collections of books, carefully selected by adults, from which students can choose. Afterward the children develop lists of books they found inspiring, an effort to help guide other young people looking for great books to read. The recommended book lists are on the school’s website and popular with teachers around the country.
Here is an introduction to the lists and the school’s reading philosophy, by Atwell, and following that are some of the books recommended by students from each grade. I am publishing this material — all of which you can find on the school’s website here — with permission.
By Nancie Atwell
The annual average number of books read by seventh and eighth grade readers at CTL is at least forty titles. In the lower grades, the numbers are similarly high. My K-6 colleagues and I make time every day for our students to curl up with good books and engage in the single activity that consistently correlates with high levels of performance on standardized tests of reading ability. That is frequent, voluminous, self-selected reading. A child sitting in a quiet room with a good book isn’t a flashy or marketable teaching method. It just happens to be the only way anyone ever became a reader.
Our goal is for every child to become a skilled, passionate, habitual, critical reader—as novelist Robertson Davies put it, to learn how to make of reading “a personal art.” Along the way, CTL teachers hope our students will become smarter, happier, more just, and more compassionate people because of the worlds they experience within those hundreds of thousands of lines of print.
We know that students need time to read, at school and home, every day. We understand that when particular children love their particular books, reading is more likely to happen during the time set aside for it. And we have learned that the only sure-fire way to induce a love of books is to invite students to select their own. CTL teachers buy the best children’s literature we can find, conduct booktalks and bookwalks, and help our students choose books, develop and refine literary criteria, and carve out identities for themselves as readers. We get that it’s essential for every child to be able to say These are my favorite books, authors, genres, and characters this year, and this is why. Personal preference is the foundation, walls, and ceiling in building a reader for a lifetime.
Starting in kindergarten, free choice of books is a child’s right, not a privilege granted by a kind teacher. Our students have demonstrated that opportunities to consider, select, and reconsider books make reading feel sensible and attractive to children right from the start-that they’ll read more books than we dreamed possible and more challenging books than we dreamed of assigning them.
We’ve also learned that students need access to a wide, up-to-date assortment of inviting titles. Instead of investing in class sets of novels or expensive basals or anthologies, we make classroom libraries of individual titles our budget priority. Teachers read a lot of the books that we hope our students will, so we can make knowledgeable recommendations. We offer help when readers need it, and we teach children, one at a time, about books and reading in the daily, quiet conversations in our reading workshops.
We understand that the only delivery system for reading comprehension is reading. When reading is meaning-filled, understanding cannot be separated from decoding. Reading comprehension is not a set of sub-skills or strategies that children need to be taught to bring to bear once they’ve learned to translate letters to sounds. When students are reading stories that are interesting to them, and when the books are written at their independent reading level, comprehension—the making of meaning—is direct, and kids understand.
Human beings are wired to understand. As reading theorist Frank Smith put it, “Children know how to comprehend, provided they are in a situation that has the possibility of making sense to them” (1997). Reading workshop is our best approximation of an instructional context that has the possibility of making sense to young readers: a child sits in a quiet, book-filled space, engrossed in a beloved book in the company of classmates who are reading and loving books, too, monitored by a teacher who knows about literature, reading, and his or her students’ tastes, strengths, and challenges.
Because CTL is a non-profit demonstration school, a place where other teachers come to learn about innovative methods, we work hard to attract a student body that represents a diverse range of socioeconomic backgrounds and ability levels, and we fundraise twelve months a year so we can set a tuition rate that’s as low as possible. The goal is to attract a mix of students in whom visiting teachers can recognize their own.
And they do, because CTL students are regular kids. They suffer ADHD and such identified learning disabilities as nonverbal learning disorders, visual processing difficulties, and dyslexia. Some kids come from homes with packed bookshelves; others own only a few books. Maine is a rural state and a poor one, in the bottom third nationally in terms of per capita income. Only 66% of jobs here pay a livable wage, and our students’ parents work hard at all kinds of occupations: farmer, carpenter, house cleaner, store clerk, soldier, fisherman, gardener, postal worker, and housecleaner, as well as physician, minister, teacher, and small-business owner.
We do not believe that CTL students’ accomplishments as readers can be explained away as an anomaly. Ours is not a privileged population of students. This is what is possible for children as readers.
It’s also important to understand that reading workshop is not S.S.R. (Sustained Silent Reading). It’s not a study hall, where we watch the clock with one eye as we Drop Everything And Read. In reading workshop, we teach readers for a lifetime: introduce new books and old favorites, tell about authors and genres, read aloud, talk with kids about their reading rituals and plans, and present lessons about elements of fiction, how poems work, what efficient readers do—and don’t do—when they come across an unfamiliar word, how punctuation gives voice to reading, when to speed up or slow down, who won this year’s Newbery Award, how to keep a reading record, what a sequel is, what readers can glean from a copyright page, how to identify the narrative voice or tone of a novel and why it matters, how there are different purposes for reading that affect a reader’s style and pace, how to unpack a poem, how to distinguish between popular and literary fiction, how to tell if a book is too hard, too easy, or just right, and why the only way to become a strong, fluent reader is to read often and a lot.
Reading workshop is one of the simplest and hardest things we do. It’s also the most worthwhile. Students leave our school as literary, well-above-grade-level readers. But they also leave smarter about a diversity of words, ideas, events, people, and places. Books and stories bring the whole world to a tiny school in rural Maine. When the readers grow up and leave the school, they recognize the wide world they encounter out there because it is already lodged in the “chambers of their imaginations” (Spufford, 2002).
Sydney Jourard wrote, “The vicarious experience of reading can shape our essence, change us, just as firsthand experience can. Experience seems to be as transfusible as blood” (1971). For students who know reading as a personal art, every day is a transfusion. Every day they engage with literature that enables them to know things, feel things, imagine things, hope for things, become people they never could have dreamed without the transforming power of books, books, books.
Three times a year, the boys and girls at CTL help their teachers create master lists of the inviting, accessible books they love best. The “Kids Recommend” lists feature the titles our students name in response to this question: Which books do you love so much that you think they might convince a _____-grade girl/boy—someone who’s a lot like you, except that she/he doesn’t read much—that books are great? The answers are available to our students and their parents, as well as other teachers, their students, and the general public here on our website.
Students update the lists continuously, because the field of children’s literature changes so quickly. While a handful of titles do maintain their popularity—S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders (1968), the novel that virtually created the field of young adult literature, continues to speak to middle schoolers-—many drop off and are replaced over time.
We separated the lists of book titles for grades 3-8 into girls’ and boys’ choices because, in general, their tastes in books aren’t the same: at the middle-school level, the gender overlap in titles is only about twenty percent; in grades 3-4, it’s around seventeen percent. Gender is not a consideration in children’s book choices in grades K-2.
We hope that CTL’s book lists will set a trend. Our goal is a national network of websites of great titles, nominated by K-12 students from all kinds of school settings who choose their own books: favorite titles of a cross-section of American children as the go-to resource for teachers selecting literature for classroom libraries in diverse communities.
If you are interested in learning more about how we teach reading at CTL, I have written a brief, practical book for teachers and parents entitled The Reading Zone: How to Help Kids Become Skilled, Passionate, Habitual, Critical Readers (Scholastic, 2007). and an overview of CTL’s entire program, Systems to Transform Your Classroom and School (Heinemann, 2014); and a third edition of In the Middle: A Lifetime of Learning about Writing, Reading, and Adolescents (Heinemann, 2015).
Here are some of the recommended books, from grades K-3. You can see all of the books, through Grade 6, on the school website here.
Kindergarten:
Bang, Molly When Sophie Gets Angry
Barrett, Judi Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Brett, Jan Annie and the Wild Animals, The First Dog, The Three Snow Bears, Hedgie’s Surprise, The Hat, The Mitten, Fritz and the Beautiful Horses, Christmas Trolls, Comet’s Nine Lives, The Wild Christmas Reindeer, and Cinders
Carle, Eric The Mixed-Up Chameleon, The Secret Birthday Message, The Tiny Seed, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Busy Spider, The Greedy Python, Pancakes, Pancakes, and The Very Quiet Cricket
Crews, Donald School Bus, Ten Black Dots, Truck, and any of his other titles
Cronin, Doreen Click, Clack, Moo … Cows That Type
De Beer, Hans Little Polar Bear
Dewdney, Anna Llama Llama Red Pajama
Donaldson, Julia/Axel Scheffler The Gruffalo
Elhert, Lois Feathers for Lunch, Nuts to You, Pie in the Sky, Snowballs, Top Cat, Wag a Tail, and Waiting for Wings
Emberley, Ed Go Away, Big Green Monster!
Falconer, Ian Olivia
Fleming, Denise Time to Sleep
Fox, Mem Boo to a Goose, Feathers and Fools, Harriet, You Drive Me Wild, Hattie and the Fox, Koala Lou, The Magic Hat, Night Noises, Shoes from Grandpa, Time for Bed, Tough Boris, Guess Who,and Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge
Henkes, Kevin Chester’s Way, Chrysanthemum, Julius, the Baby of the World, Lilly and the Purple Plastic Purse, Lilly’s Big Day, Lilly’s Chocolate Heart, Owen, Sheila Rae’s Peppermint Stick, A Weekend with Wendell, and Wemberly Worried
Hughes, Shirley Alfie Gets In First, Alfie Wins a Prize, Angel Mae, Dogger, Alfie and the Big Boys, Alfie’s Word, and Sally’s Secret
Keats, Ezra Jack The Snowy Day
Knudsen, Michelle Library Lion
Lies, Brian Bats at the Beach and Bats at the Library
Lionni, Leo Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse, The Alphabet Tree, An Extraordinary Egg, Fish Is Fish, Inch by Inch, It’s Mine,
Little Blue and Little Yellow, Six Crows, Tico and the Golden Wings, Geraldine and the Music Mouse,and Tillie and the Wall
Lobel, Arnold The Frog and Toad books, Mouse Soup, and Mouse Tales
Long, Melinda How I Became a Pirate
Marshall, Janet Look Once, Look Twice
Martin, Bill, Jr. Chicka-Chicka Boom-Boom
McAllister, Angela The Tortoise and the Hare
McPhail, David Edward and the Pirates
Munsch, Robert Thomas’ Snowsuit
Muntean, Michaela Do Not Open This Book
Myller, Rolf How Big Is a Foot?
Numeroff, Laura Joffe If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
Pelham, David A Is for Animals
Penn, Audrey The Kissing Hand
Pinkney, Jerry The Lion and the Mouse
Portis, Antoinette Kindergarten Diary
Sendak, Maurice Where the Wild Things Are
Shannon, David Alice the Fairy, David Gets in Trouble, No, David, and Too Many Toys
Slate, Joseph Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten
Stadler, John Wilson and Miss Lovely
Stevens, Janet Tops and Bottoms
Van Dusen, Chris If I Built a House, The Circus Ship, A Camping Spree
with Mr. Magee
Wells, Rosemary Max’s Chocolate Chicken, Max’s Dragon Shirt, Bunny Cakes,
Fritz and the Mess Fairy, Yoko, Bunny Money,and McDuff Goes to School
Willems, Mo Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay
Up Late, The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog, The Pigeon Wants a Puppy, I Broke My Trunk and My Friend Is Sad
Wood, Audrey Alphabet Mystery, King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub, Elbert’s Bad Word, The Little Mouse, the Red, Ripe Strawberry, and the Big, Hungry Bear, The Napping House, Jubal’s Wish, Heckedey Peg, The Scaredy Cats, Silly Sally, Weird Parents, Sweet Dream Pie, Twenty-Four Robbers and Tooth Fairy
Yolen, Jane Owl Moon, How Do Dinosaurs Go to School?
Gr. 1-2
Abbott, Tony The Secrets of Droon books
Ahlberg, Alan and Janet Each Peach, Pear, Plum and The Jolly Postman
Avi Poppy, Poppy and Rye, Poppy Returns, and Ereth’s Birthday
Bang-Campbell, Monika Little Rat Rides and Little Rat Sets Sail
Barrows, Annie The Ivy and Bean series
Benton, Jim The Franny K. Stein series
Blade, Adam The Beast Quest series
Brett, Jan The Hat, The Mitten, Town Mouse, Country Mouse,
Annie and the Wild Animals, and Gingerbread Baby
Brown, Jeff The Flat Stanley books
Brown, Margaret Wise The Important Book
Burton, Virginia The Little House and Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Cazet, Denys The Minnie and Moo books
Charlip, Remy Fortunately
Cleary, Beverly Ralph S. Mouse, Ramona’s World, Runaway Ralph, Henry Huggins, Henry and Ribsy, Henry and the Paper Route,
and Henry and the Clubhouse
Cook, Julia My Mouth is a Volcano!
Cowell, Cressida The How to Train Your Dragon series
Craft, K.V. Cinderella
Creech, Sharon Love That Dog, Hate That Cat, and Pleasing the Ghost
Dahl, Roald Giraffe, Pelly, and Me; The BFG;
Fantastic Mr. Fox; and The Enormous Crocodile
Daywalt, Drew The Day the Crayons Quit
De Paola, Tomie The Legend of the Bluebonnet, The Knight and the Dragon,
Strega Nona, The Art Lesson, and Pancakes for Breakfast
Doyle, Roddy The Meanwhile Adventures and Rover Saves Christmas
Fienberg, Anna and Gamble, Kim The Minton series
Gannett, Ruth Stiles The My Father’s Dragon series
Gibbons, Gail Frogs and her other nonfiction books
Gill, Peter Outside
Gutman, Dan The My Weird School series and Miss Small Is Off the Wall
Henkes, Kevin The Penny series, A Good Day, Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse, Lily’s
Big Dog, Owen, Weekend with Wendell, and Kitten’s First Full Moon
Howe, James The Pinky and Rex books
Jacobson, Jennifer Richard Truly Winnie and Winnie Dancing on Her Own
Jeffers, Oliver The Great Paper Caper, How to Catch a Star, The Book Eating Boy, Lost and Found, The Heart and the Bottle, and The Way Back Home
Jenkins, Emily Toys Go Out and Toy Dance Party
Johnson, Crockett Harold and the Purple Crayon
Joslin, Sesyle What Do You Do, Dear? and What Do You Say, Dear?
Kimmel, Eric Seven at One Blow
Kimpton, Diana The Pony-Crazed Princess series
King-Smith, Dick Martin’s Mice, A Mouse Called Wolf, and The Mouse Family
Robinson
The Kingfisher Treasuries: The Kingfisher Treasury of Dragon Stories, the Kingfisher Treasury of Pet Stories, the Kingfisher Treasury of Pirate Stories, the Kingfisher Treasury of Funny Stories, the Kingfisher Treasury of Animal Stories, the Kingfisher Treasury of Spooky Stories, the Kingfisher Treasury of Ghost Stories, the Kingfisher Treasury of Princess Stories, the Kingfisher Treasury of Stories for Seven-Year-Olds, the Kingfisher Treasury of Stories for Eight-Year-Olds, and the Kingfisher Treasury of Ballet Stories
Krauss, Robert Whose Mouse Are You?
Krauss, Ruth The Carrot Seed
Krulik, Nancy Twelve Burps of Christmas, The Katie Kazoo Switcheroo series, the George Brown, Class Clown series, and the Magic Bone series
Levine, Gail Carson The Princess Tales
Lionni, Leo The Greentail Mouse, Mr. McMouse, On the Beach There Are
Many Pebbles, Flea Story, An Extraordinary Egg, Frederick, and It’s Mine!
Lobel, Arnold The Frog and Toad books, Mouse Soup, Mouse Tales, Small Pig,
Uncle Elephant, Fables, and Grasshopper on the Road
Maguire, Gregory Leaping Beauty and Other Animal Fairy Tales
Marshall, Edward Four by the Shore and Three by the Sea
Marshall, Edward and James The Fox books: Fox on Stage, Fox All Week, Fox Outfoxed, and Fox in Love
Mass, Wendy Space Taxi: Water Planet Rescue
McCarty, Peter First Snow
McCloskey, Robert Blueberries for Sal, Make Way for Ducklings, One Morning
in Maine, and Time of Wonder
McDonald, Megan The Judy Moody and Stink series
Miles, Ellen The Puppy Place series and the Taylor-Made Tales books
O’Ryan, Ray The Galaxy Zack series
Osborne, Mary Pope The Magic Tree House books
Parish, Peggy The Amelia Bedelia books
Perry, Sarah If
Portis, Antoinette Not a Stick, Not a Box and A Penguin Story
Provensen, Alice and Martin A Book of Seasons, Our Animal Friends at Maple
Hill Farm and The Year at Maple Hill Farm
Rinker, Sherri Dusky Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site and Steam Train, Dream Train
Rocco, John Blizzard
Roy, Ron A-Z Mysteries series
Rylant, Cynthia Cat Heaven, Dog Heaven, Gooseberry Park, The Mr. Putter and
Tabby series, the Henry and Mudge series, and the Poppleton series
Shannon, George Hands Say Love
Silverman, Erica Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa series
Steig, William Amos and Boris, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, Dr. DeSoto, and Spinky Sulks
Stevenson, James The Castaway, Quick, Turn the Page, Rolling Rose, Brrr!, Don’t Make Me Laugh, Fast Friends, and Worse than Willy
Stilton, Geronimo The Geronimo Stilton series
Stone, Rex The Dinosaur Cove books
Strauss, Linda Leopold A Fairy Called Hilary
Trine, Greg The Melvin Beederman series
The Usborne collection of fairy tales, folk tales, fiction, and nonfiction
White, E.B. Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan
Willems, Mo The Pigeon books, the Elephant and Piggie series, and Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs
Wilson, Karma Bear Snores On and the rest of the Bear books
Wojciechowski, Susan The Beany series
Gr. 3-4 Boys
Abbott, Tony The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet
Adams, Richard Watership Down
Avi The End of the Beginning, Ereth’s Birthday, The Good Dog, and the Poppy series
Banks, Kate The Magician’s Apprentice
Barker, Clive Abarat and Days of Magic, Nights of War
Barry, Dave The Peter and the Starcatchers series and Science Fair
Birdsall, Jeanne The Penderwicks
Bisson, Terry The Star Wars Boba Fett series
Blume, Judy Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, Superfudge, Fudge-a-mania, and Double Fudge
Beck, W.H. Malcolm at Midnight
Buckley, Michael The Nerds trilogy and the Sisters Grimm series
Byars, Betsy My Dog, My Hero
Cowell, Cressida The How to Train Your Dragon series
Creech, Sharon Love That Dog
Dahl, Roald James and the Giant Peach, The Witches, and The Twits
Delaney, Joseph The Last Apprentice series
Di Camillo, Kate Because of Winn-Dixie and The Tale of Despereaux
Doyle, Roddy The Giggler Treatment, The Meanwhile Adventures,
and Rover Saves Christmas
Eager, Edward Knight’s Castle
Evans, Lissa Horten’s Miraculous Mechanisms
Flanagan, John The Ranger’s Apprentice series
Funke, Cornelia Dragon Rider, Inkheart, Inkspell, The Thief Lord, and When Santa Fell to Earth
Gardiner, John Stone Fox
George, Jean Craighead My Side of the Mountain and There’s an Owl in the Shower
Goscinny, Rene The Nicholas series
Hawking, Lucy and Stephen George’s Cosmic Treasure Hunt series
Hiaasen, Carl Flush and Hoot
Howe, James The Bunnicula series
Hunter, Erin The Warriors series
Ibbotson, Eva Dial-a-Ghost, Island of the Aunts, Pleasing the Ghost, and Which Witch?
Kinney, Jeff Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
Kurzweil, Allen Leon and the Champion Chip and Leon and the Spitting Image
LaFevers, R.L. The Theodosia series
Lasky, Kathryn The Guardians of Ga’Hoole series: The Capture, The Journey,
The Rescue, etc. and the Wolves of the Beyond series
Lewis, C.S. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, etc.
Lin, Grace Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
London, Jack Call of the Wild
Lubar, David Invasion of the Road Weenies
MacHale, D.J. The Pendragon series
Maguire, Gregory Leaping Beauty
Martin, Ann A Dog’s Life: The Autobiography of a Stray
Mass, Wendy The Candymakers
McSwigan, Marie The Snow Treasure
Mull, Brandon The Fablehaven series and The Candy Shop War
Nimmo, Jenny Midnight for Charlie Bone and the other Charlie Bone books
Oliver, Lauren Leisel and Po
Paolini, Christopher Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr
Patterson, James Treasure Hunters
Paulsen, Gary Hatchet, The River, and Dogsong
Paver, Michelle Wolf Brother, Spirit Walker, and the rest of the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness
Pearson, Ridley The Kingdom Keepers series
Pinkwater, Daniel Five Novels, Four Fantastic Novels, The Neddiad, The Yggyssey, and Once Upon a Blue Moose
Prineas, Sarah The Magic Thief
Riordan, Rick The Lightning Thief, Sea of Monsters, and Titan’s Curse
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, etc.
Sachar, Louis Holes
Sage, Angie Flyte, Magyk, and Physik
Seidler, Tor The Wainscot Weasel
Selden, George A Cricket in Times Square and Harry Cat’s Pet Puppy
Selznick, Brian The Invention of Hugh Cabret
Smith, Jeff The Bone series
Smith, Robert Kimmel Chocolate Fever
Snicket, Lemony The Series of Unfortunate Events books
Soup, Dr. Cuthbert A Whole Nother Story
Sperry, Armstrong Call It Courage
Spinelli, Jerry Crash
Stein, Garth Racing in the Rain
Stewart, Trenton Lee The Mysterious Benedict Society series
Stone, Jeff The Five Ancestors series
Swope, Sam Jack and the Seven Deadly Giants
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King,and The Silmarillion
Wallace, Bill Snot Stew, Furball, Puppy, and Me, and Goosed!
Wells, H.G. The Time Machine
Westerfield, Scott The Leviathan trilogy
Gr. 3-4 Girls
Adams, Richard Watership Down
Appelt, Kathi The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp
Avi Ereth’s Birthday, The End of the Beginning, and the Poppy series
Barker, Clive Abarat and Days of Magic, Nights of War
Barry, Dave Peter and the Starcatchers and Science Fair
Bauer, Joan Almost Home
Blume, Judy Blubber, Double Fudge, and Superfudge
Bode, N.E. The Anybody series
Bond, Michael The Paddington series
Buckley, Michael The Nerds trilogy and the Sisters Grimm series
Byars, Betsy My Dog, My Hero
Carmen, Patrick Floors
Cleary, Beverly Ribsy and the Ramona series
Clements, Andrew Lunch Money
Colfer, Eoin Artemis Fowl and Half Moon Investigations
Coville, Bruce Jennifer Murdley’s Toad and Juliet Dove, Queen of Love
Cowley, Joy Chicken Feathers
Creech, Sharon Hate That Cat, Love That Dog, Granny Torelli Makes Soup, and Pleasing the Ghost
Dahl, Roald George’s Marvelous Medicine, The Witches, and The Twits
Delaney, Joseph The Last Apprentice series
Di Camillo, Kate Because of Winn-Dixie, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, and The Tale of Despereaux
Doyle, Roddy The Giggler Treatment and Rover Saves Christmas
Eager, Edward Knight’s Castle
Epstein, Adam Jay The Familiars series
Estes, Eleanor The Moffets, Ginger Pye, and Pinky Pye
Evans, Lissa Horten’s Miraculous Mechanisms
Farran, Christopher Animals to the Rescue: True Stories of Animal Heroes
Fitzhugh, Louise Harriet the Spy
Funke, Cornelia Dragon Rider, Inkheart, Inkspell, and The Thief Lord
Hawking, Lucy and Stephen George’s Cosmic Treasure Hunt
Herlong, M.H. Buddy
Hesse, Karen The Music of the Dolphins
Hiaasen, Carl Flush and Hoot
Hoberman, Mary Ann Strawberry Hill
Howe, James The Bunnicula series
Ibbotson, Eva Dial-a-Ghost and Which Witch?
Jacobson, Jennifer Richard Truly Winnie
Jenkins, Emily Toys Go Out
Keene, Carolyn The Nancy Drew series
Kelly, Lynne Chained
Kessler, Liz The Tail of Emily Windsnap
Kilse, Kate Letters from Camp and Regarding the Fountain
King-Smith, Dick The Cat Lady
Kinney, Jeff Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
Laiz, Jana The Twelfth Stone
Lasky, Kathryn The Guardians of Ga’hoole series and the Wolves of the Beyond series
Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and The Magician’s Nephew
Lin, Grace Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Year of the Dog, and Year of the Rat
London, Jack Call of the Wild
Lord, Cynthia Rules
Lowry, Lois Number the Stars
Lovelace, Maud Hart The Betsy-Tacy series
Maguire, Gregory Leaping Beauty
Martin, Ann The Doll People, The Runaway Dolls, and The Meanest Doll in the World
Mass, Wendy The Candymakers
Matson, Nancy The Boy Trap
Mills, Claudia 7 x 9 = Trouble
Mlynowski, Sarah The Whatever After series
Mull, Brandon The Fablehaven series and The Candy Shop War
Myracle, Lauren The Winnie Years series
Oliver, Lauren Leisel and Po
Paolini, Christopher Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr
Paterson, Katherine Bridge to Terabithia
Rhodes, Jewel Parker Sugar
Riordan, Rick The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, etc.
Sachar, Louis Holes
Sage, Angie Flyte, Magyk, and Physik
Schndback, Mindy Princess from Another Planet
Seidler, Tor Toes and The Wainscot Weasel
Selznick, Brian The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Smith, Robert Kimmel Chocolate Fever
Snicket, Lemony The Bad Beginning and the rest of the Series of Unfortunate Events books.
Soup, Cuthbert A Whole Nother Story
Spinelli, Jerry Fourth Grade Rats
Sutherland, Tui The Wings of Fire series
Telgemeier, Raina Smile and Sisters
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring
Van Cleve, Kathleen Drizzle
Voigt, Cynthia Angus and Sadie
Wallace, Bill Snot Stew and Furball, Puppy, and Me
Wells, H.G. The Time Machine
West, Jacqueline The Books of Elsewhere series