Best Furry Friends

Some of our best friends are furry!  Check out these chapter books about our furry animal friends . . . .

Absolutely Lucy by Ilene Cooper

Bobby is a shy boy until he gets a beagle puppy named Lucy, who helps him to make new friends.

The World According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney

Humphrey, a pet hamster at Longfellow School, learns that he has an important role to play in helping his classmates and teacher.

Bunnicula by Deborah Howe

Though scoffed at by Harold the dog, Chester the cat tries to warn his human family that their foundling baby bunny must be a vampire.



More Books --

A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold

Chancey of the Maury River by Gigi Amateau

The Great Pet Heist by Emily Ecton

The Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter by Aaron Reynolds

Jigsaw Pony by Jessie Haas

Just Gus by McCall Hoyle

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater

My Kingdom of Darkness by Susan Tan

Petlandia by Peter Hannon

Quack by Anna Humphrey

The Simple Art of Flying by Cory Leonardo

Wait . . . That's a Book?

So many books have been turned into movies over the years.  Often, the movies become more popular than the books.  Try reading one of these books that were turned into popular movies.  Here's a few of our favorites . . . .

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

Roz the robot discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island with no memory of where she is from or why she is there, and her only hope of survival is to try to learn about her new environment from the island's hostile inhabitants.

The Witches by Roald Dahl

A young boy and his Norwegian grandmother, who is an expert on witches, together foil a witches' plot to destroy the world's children by turning them into mice.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

When Coraline steps through a door to find another house strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem marvelous. But there's another mother there, and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go. Coraline will have to fight with all her wit and courage if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life.

More Books --

The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

The Iron Giant by Ted Hughes

Matilda by Roald Dahl

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Spine Chilling Tales for Teens

Get in the mood for Halloween with these Spine Chilling Tales for teens.  Here's a few of our favorites . . .

On the Day I Died by Candace Fleming

In a lonely Illinois cemetery one cold October night, teen ghosts recount the stories of their deaths in different time periods, from 1870 to the present, to sixteen-year-old Mike, who unknowingly picked up a phantom hitchhiker.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

For three years, seventeen-year-old Cas Lowood has carried on his father's work of dispatching the murderous dead, traveling with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat, but everything changes when he meets Anna, a girl unlike any ghost he has faced before.

Last Halloween, v.1: Children by Abby Howard

In a gothic adventure at the end of the world, a ten-year-old girl and a motley crew of ghouls must stop an invading horde of monsters on a fateful Halloween night.

More Books --

The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones

Dead Upon a Time by Elizabeth Paulson

The Fade by Demitria Lunetta

Find Him Where You Left Him Dead by Kristen Simmons

The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco

Horrid by Katrina Leno

Horror Hotel by Victoria Fulton

The House of Dead Maids by Clare B. Dunkle

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves

The Voice Upstairs by Laura E. Weymouth

Creepy Cryptids and Other Mysteries

Kids love to read about cryptids and other unsolved mysteries.  So this week, we're sharing some informational books on various cryptids and other creepy mysteries. 

Area 51, Lizard People, and More Conspiracy Theories About the Unexplained by Jose Cruz

Did an alien spacecraft crash near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947? Is the U.S. government hiding alien secrets at Area 51? Could lizard people be in positions of power around the world? Get details about different conspiracy theories to find out why people believe them and what experts say. 

Inside the Bermuda Triangle by Megan Harder

Disappearances and other strange phenomena in the Bermuda Triangle have long inspired speculation and theories. Theorists chalk it up to everything from bad weather to time warps. Explore this mysterious history.

The Magnificent Book of Monsters by Diana Ferguson

From the man-eating Manticore and the dastardly demon Beelzebub to the corpse-munching Aztec goddess Coatlicue and the southern African tokoloshe, monsters from across the globe and many different cultures are brought to life in this large-format volume bursting with detailed full-color images and fascinating facts.

More Books:

Behind the Legend: The Loch Ness Monster by Erin Peabody

Chasing the Chupacabra by Anna Anderhagen

Crop Circles by Kyla Steinkraus

Encountering Chupacabra and Other Cryptids by Megan Cooley Peterson

Mysterious Disappearances by Louise Spilsbury

Mythical Monsters by Jen Breach

Sea Serpents by Thomas Kingsley Troupe

Vampires by Xina M. Uhl

What Do We Know About Yeti? by Ben Hubbard

The Young Investigator's Guide to Ancient Aliens by The History Channel

Award Winning Picture Books

Check out these award-winning picture books.  Here's a few of our favorites . . . .

Where Is the Dragon? by Leo Timmers

The king can't sleep until the dragon is found. Luckily, the three knights know everything about dragons and are armed to the teeth! Now they just have to find him. They set out into the night with a candle in hand. Soon they find something that looks very much like a dragon . . .

Odd Dog Out by Rob Biddulph

It's lonely being the odd dog out, when all she wants to do is find her place in the world. She's willing to go to the other side of the world to look for it. However, it might take a different kind of journey for her to discover that maybe where she's meant to be is right back where she started . . . 

Memoirs of a Goldfish by Devin Scillian

When assorted intruders invade his personal space and bowl, Goldfish is put out, to say the least. He wants none of it, preferring his former peace and quiet and solitude. But time away from his new companions gives him a chance to rethink the pros and cons of a solitary life. And discover what he's been missing.

Moo! by David LaRochelle

When Cow gets her hooves on the farmer’s car, she takes it for a wild ride through the country. Moooo! But a bump in the road brings this joy ride to a troublesome end. 

More Books --

Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet Sarg

A Bear, A Bee, and a Honey Tree by Daniel Bernstrom

A Butterfly Is Patient by Dianna Hutts Aston

Don't Hug Doug by Carrie Finison

Don't Worry, Little Crab by Chris Haughton

Hello Sun by Julie Downing

Hudson and Tallulah Take Sides by Anna Kang

Leap by Jonarno Lawson

Let's Play Monsters by Lucy Cousins

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

Off to See the Sea by Nikki Grimes

The Problem with Problems by Rachel Rooney

Pumpkin Heads by Wendell Minor

Saturday by Oge Mora

Tiny T. Rex and the Impossible Hug by Jonathan Stutzman

Turtle Walk by Matt Phelan

Family Friendly Classics

Today, I'm sharing classic stories that can be read by the whole family.  Here are a few of my favorites . . .

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Headed for Canada to visit his father for the first time since his parents' divorce, thirteen-year-old Brian is the sole survivor of a plane crash, with only the clothes he has on and a hatchet to help him live in the wilderness.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

No case is too tricky for the world's most famous sleuth and his incredible powers of deduction, in a collection of mystery stories for young readers.

More Books --

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling

Hans Brinker by Mary Mapes Dodge

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle

The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain

Stuart Little by E.B. White

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

White Fang by Jack London

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Back to School!

School has started for most children in the area.  Check out one of these great school stories.  Here's a few of our favorites . . . .

Matilda by Roald Dahl
Matilda applies her untapped mental powers to rid the school of the evil, child-hating headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, and restore her nice teacher, Miss Honey, to financial security.

School Spirit by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

Like her mother, a professional medium, Kat has been able to see dead people since turning thirteen, and although they would prefer to be normal, Kat and her best friend come to terms with their own talents while helping free the spirit of a girl trapped at their middle school.

The School Mouse by Dick King-Smith

Flora, the world's most educated mouse, saves her family during a crisis.

More Books --

In Honor of Broken Things by Paul Acampora

Lights, Camera, Middle School by Jennifer L. Holm

Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs by Katherine Applegate

The New Kid at School by Kate McMullan
Restart by Gordon Korman

Scary School by Derek Kent

School Daze by Nick Bruel

The School for Whatnots by Margaret Peterson Haddix

The School Is Alive by Jack Chabert
School of the Dead by Avi

Spy School by Stuart Gibbs
Zoo School by Laurie Miller Hornik