Reading opens your imagination and introduces people to new worlds. With so many choices available, how do you know which book to choose for your child? To find out, we bypassed the publishing, the PR firms, and the mainstream media and went straight to the experts: Your Harris County Librarians!
Toddler (Ages 1-3)
This Little Chick
by John Lawrence
Most little chicks barely make a peep, but not this little chick! While his brothers and sisters nestle close to their mother hen, this little chick struts off on his own to make some new friends in the farmyard.
Peepsqueak!
by Leslie Ann Clark
A baby chick named Peepsqueak does not listen to the advice of Big Brown Cow, Big Sheep, Yellow Duck, and Baby Bunny, and tries again and again unsuccessfully to fly, until Old Gray Goose gets involved.
Noni the Pony
by Alison Lester
Introducing Noni, the friendliest, funniest, and friskiest pony you’ll ever meet! When she’s not racing and chasing with her best pals Dave Dog and Coco the Cat, she’s busy making sure they feel cozy and loved.
Picture Books (Pre K-K)
This Moose Belongs to Me
by Oliver Jeffers
This age-old tale of a boy and his moose teaches young Wilfred that moose do not always follow the rules of proper pet behavior. Sure to induce giggles.
Bedtime is Canceled
by Cece Meng, illustrated by Aurelie Neyret
Maggie and her brother write a note to get out of their bedtime, but things get out of control when the note ends up published in the newspaper and no one goes to sleep!
Delia’s Dull Day: an Incredibly Boring Story
by Andy Myer
A little girl complains that her life is boring, never realizing that amazing things are happening around her such as elephants marching through her house, a pirate sitting behind her on the school bus, or a submarine in her pool.
Early Readers (Grades 1-3)
The Poet Upstairs
by Judith Ortiz Cofer, illustrated by Oscar Ortiz
When a poet moves into the apartment above hers, young Juliana asks to meet her and together they write poems of tropical birds and a river that flows to the sea, typing out words that change the world, if only for a while.
Nora the Mind Reader
by Orit Gidali, illustrated by Aya Gordon-Noy
One day, Nora returns home from kindergarten upset because a boy in her class told her that she has the legs of a flamingo! When her mother gives her a magic wand to read people’s minds, a new and fascinating world opens for her. She discovers that people don’t always say what they think or think what they say.
The Tortoise’s Gift: a Story from Zambia
by Lari Don, illustrated by Melanie Williamson
One hot dry summer in Africa, the animals try to figure out how to get fruit from a magical tree.
Children’s Fiction (Grades 4-6)
A Smidgen of Sky
by Dianna Dorisi Winget
Whether she likes it or not, ten-year-old Piper Lee DeLuna is about to get a new family. Four years after the plane Piper’s daddy was flying disappeared, her mama is getting married again. The way Piper sees it, Mama’s being plain disloyal. Besides, who needs a stepdad or a bratty stepsister, for that matter, when she and Mama are just fine on their own? But when Piper Lee hatches a plan to get the wedding called off, everything spirals out of control.
What Came From the Stars
by Gary D. Schmidt
In a desperate attempt for survival, a peaceful civilization on a faraway planet besieged by a dark lord sends its most precious gift across the cosmos into the lunchbox of Tommy Pepper, sixth grader, of Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Almost Home
by Joan Bauer
When Sugar and her mother lose their home in Missouri and head to Chicago for a fresh start, they discover that fresh starts aren’t so easy to come by for the homeless. Nevertheless, Sugar’s mother has taught her to be grateful no matter what, so Sugar does her best. With the help of a rescue dog, Shush; a foster family; a supportive teacher; a love of poetry; and her own grace and good humor, Sugar comes to understand that while she can’t control the hand life deals her, she can control how she responds.
Teen Fiction and Nonfiction (Ages 12 & up)
Shadowfell
by Juliet Marillier
Fifteen-year-old Neryn is alone in the land of Alban, where the oppressive king has ordered anyone with magical strengths captured, but when she sets out for Shadowfell, a training ground for a rebel group, she meets a mysterious soldier and the Good Folk, who tell her that she, alone, can save Alban. First in a new trilogy that should appeal to fans of Tolkien.
The Darkest Minds
by Alexandra Bracken
When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control. An action-packed start to a trilogy with a sympathetic heroine and a heartbreaking cliffhanger.
Eve and Adam
by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate
In the beginning, there was an apple – And then there was a car crash, a horrible injury, and a hospital. But before Evening Spiker’s head clears a strange boy named Solo is rushing her to her mother’s research facility. There, under the best care available, Eve is left alone to heal. Just when Eve thinks she will die – not from her injuries, but from boredom – her mother gives her a special project: Create the perfect boy.
