Let's Get Spooky

As Halloween approaches, we often get asked for spooky stories for kids.  Here's a few of our favorite spooky picture books . . . .

Beware the Monster by Michael Escoffier

Advises the reader to avoid reading the book that contains a monster that is eating up everything in sight, until the monster spots the reader looking at it and it is too late.

The Monsters' Monster by Patrick McDonnell

Grouch, Grump, and little Gloom 'n' Doom spend much of their time arguing over who is the "biggest and baddest" until they build a monster together that turns out to be very different than what they expect.

When a Monster Is Born by Sean Taylor

Explores the options available to a monster from the time it is born, such as becoming the scary monster under someone's bed or playing on the school basketball team.

Bedtime for Monsters by Ed Vere

A hungry monster seeks a different type of bedtime snack.

More Books --

Are You a Monster? by Guilherme Karsten

Does Frankenstein Get Hungry? by John Solimine

Even Monsters Need Haircuts by Matthew McElligott

Fright Club by Ethan Long

I Want to Be in a Scary Book by Sean Taylor

It's Not Easy Being a Ghost by Marilyn Sadler

Jeepers Creepers by Laura Leuck

Jeremy Draws a Monster by Peter McCarty

Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems

Looking for a Jumbie by Tracey Baptiste

Love Monster by Rachel Bright

Monster Boogie by Laurie Berkner

Monsters Love Cupcakes by Mike Austin

My Monster and Me by Nadiya Hussain

My Monster Mama Loves Me So by Laura Leuck

Sally and the Something by George O'Connor

Skeleton for Dinner by Margery Cuyler

Skeleton Hiccups by Margery Cuyler

Travel Guide for Monsters by Lori Degman

The Ugliest Monster in the World by Luis Amavisca

Why Did the Monster Cross the Road? by R.L. Stine

Zombelina by Kristyn Crow

Award Winning Books for Teens

This week, I'm sharing some award winning books for teens.  Here's a few of my favorites . . . .

Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter

Maddie thought she and Logan would be friends forever. But when her dad is a Secret Service agent, and Logan's dad is the president, sometimes life has other plans. Before she knows it, Maddie's dad is dragging her to a cabin in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness. Maddie tells herself it's okay. Until Logan shows up six years later, and she wants to kill him. But before that can happen, an assailant appears out of nowhere, knocking Maddie off a cliff and dragging Logan to some unknown fate.

Dig by A.S. King

Only a generation removed from being Pennsylvania potato farmers, Gottfried and Marla Hemmings managed to trade digging spuds for developing subdivisions and now sit atop a seven-figure bank account, wealth they've declined to pass on to their adult children or their teenage grandchildren. As the rot just beneath the surface of the Hemmings' precious suburban respectability begins to spread, the far-flung grandchildren gradually find their ways back to one another, just in time to uncover the terrible cost of maintaining the family name.

The Unfortunates by Kim Liggett

After a fatal accident, 17-year-old Grant Tavish escapes punishment due to his senator father's connections. Grant plans to give himself justice by staging an accident during a caving trip and never returning. But the cave collapses, trapping him miles beneath the surface with four other teens. As they struggle to survive, they realize something else is with them.

More Books --

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

Eighth Grade Bites by Z. Brewer

Everything, Everything, Nicola Yoon

Famous Last Words by Katie Alender

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Heroine by Mindy McGinnis

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

Postcards from No Man's Land by Aidan Chambers

The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

To Catch a Killer by Sheryl Scarborough

We Are Okay by Nina Lacour

You'd Be Home by Kathleen Glasgow

Are You Prepared? Survival Stories

September is Disaster Preparedness Month.  So this week, we are sharing survival chapter books.  Here's a few of our favorites . . . .

The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder

After an October blizzard, Laura's family moves from the claim shanty into town for the winter, a winter that has been predicted will be seven months of bad weather.

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

In a series of poems, fifteen-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family's wheat farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl years of the Depression.

Storm Blown by Nick Courage

In San Juan, Puerto Rico, Alejandro worries about his great-uncle while helping guests at a resort, and in New Orleans, Emily worries about her sick brother, as a major hurricane rages, changing both their lives forever.

More Books --

Denali Storm by Michael Spradlin

Hurricane by Terry Trueman

Hurricane Child by Kacen Callender

Hurricane Katrina Rescue by Kate Messenger

Lacey's Story by W. Bruce Cameron

Me and Sam-Sam Handle the Apocalypse by Susan Vaught

Racing Storm Mountain by Trent Reedy

Skylark and Wallcreeper by Anne Carelli

The Storm Before Atlanta by Karen Schwabach

The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan

Survival in the Storm by Katelan Jenke

Tornado Hits by Hilde Lysiak

It's Boarding School -- Not Boring School!

With the start of the school year, we thought we would share some teen books set in boarding schools.  Here's a few of our favorites . . . .

Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster
A seventeen-year-old orphan is sent to an exclusive northeastern college for women by an anonymous benefactor in exchange for writing him regularly on her progress.

Carry On: The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow by Rainbow Rowell

Simon Snow just wants to relax and savor his last year at the Watford School of Magicks, but no one will let him. His girlfriend broke up with him, his best friend is a pest, and there are ghosts. And vampires. 

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

After the suspicious death of her mother in 1895, sixteen-year-old Gemma returns to England, after many years in India, to attend a finishing school where she becomes aware of her magical powers and ability to see into the spirit world.

More Books --

Again Again by E. Lockhart

Breaking by Danielle Rollins

The Castle School (for Troubled Girls) by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

Don't Breathe a Word by Jordyn Taylor

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

Even in Paradise by Chelsey Philpot

The Forgotten Book by Mechthild Glaser

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter
The Ivies by Alex Donne

Killing November by Adriana Mather

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

Looking for Alaska by John Green

My Dearest Darkest by Kayla Cottingham

The Similars by Rebecca Hanover

This May End Badly by Samantha Markum

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

Youngblood by Sasha Laurens

A Few of My Favorite Things (Books)

 This week, I'm sharing some of my favorite chapter books for kids . . . .

Bo at Ballard Creek by Kirkpatrick Hill

It's the 1920s, and Bo was headed for an Alaska orphanage when she won the hearts of two tough gold miners who set out to raise her, enthusiastically helped by all the kind people of the nearby Eskimo village.

The Spoon in the Bathroom Wall by Tony Johnston

Living in the boiler room of the school where her father is janitor seems normal to fourth grader Martha Snapdragon, until she has experiences reminiscent of the Arthurian legends.

The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler

Zita, cast aside by her father and raised as a kitchen maid, learns when she is nearly twelve that she is a princess and that her twelve sisters love her, and so when she discovers they are victims of an evil enchantment, she desperately tries to save them.

The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright

A mysterious dollhouse and dolls that move on their own lead Amy, twelve, and her mentally-disabled sister Louann, eleven, to investigate the mystery surrounding grisly murders that occured years before.

More Books --

Below by Meg McKinlay

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Can of Worms by Kathy Mackel

Dial-A-Ghost by Eva Ibbotson

Fairy Tale Comics by Chris Duffy

The Floods: Good Neighbors by Colin Thompson

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny: Detectives Extraordinaire by Polly Horvath

The Snow Spider by Jenny Nimmo

This Would Make a Good Story Some Day by Dana Alison Levy

Up and Down Scratchy Mountain by Laurel Snyder

Don't BUG Me! I'm Reading!

 This week, we're sharing picture books about insects and spiders.  Here's a few of our favorites . . . .

The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Trapani

The itsy-bitsy spider encounters a fan, a mouse, a cat, and a rocking chair as she makes her way to the top of a tree to spin her web.

Twig by Aura Parker

Heidi, a tall, twig-like stick insect, does everything she can to make friends on her first day at Bug School, but even her teacher, Miss Orb, fails to notice her.

Yoo-Hoo, Ladybug! by Mem Fox

This book invites the reader to search for Ladybug, who loves to hide.

Hank's Big Day: The Story of a Bug by Evan Kuhlman

Hank is a pill bug whose daily routine involves nibbling a dead leaf, climbing up a long stick, avoiding a skateboarder, and playing pretend with his best friend, a human girl named Amelia.

Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert

Illustrates the life cycle of four common butterflies by featuring butterfly and flower facts, butterfly identification tips, and a guide to creating a butterfly garden.

More Books --

A Beetle Is Shy by Dianna Hutts Aston

Bug in a Vacuum by Melanie Watt

Bugs Galore by Peter Stein

Bugs in My Hair by David Shannon

Bye-Bye Big Bad Bullybug by Ed Emberley

Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas

Caterpillar Dreams by Clive McFarland

The Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin

Dreamweaver by Jonathan London

Fly! by Karl Edwards

Goodnight Butterfly by Ross Burach

How to Ride a Dragonfly by Kitty Donohoe

I'm Trying to Love Spiders by Bethany Barton

Kaia and the Bees by Maribeth Boelts

Luigi, the Spider Who Wanted to Be a Kitten by Michelle Knudsen

Miss Spider's Tea Party by David Kirk

Old Cricket by Lisa Wheeler

One Hundred Hungry Ants by Elinor Pinczes

The Perfect Pet by Margie Palatini 

Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian by Margarita Engle

Swarm of Bees by Lemony Snicket

Sylvie by Jean Reidy

Ten Little Caterpillars by Bill Martin 

The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle

Hi! My Name Is Sara.

 This week's booklist features teen books with characters named Sara (or Sarah, or Serah, etc).  Here's a few of our favorites . . . .

I Woke Up Dead at the Mall by Judy Sheehan

Sixteen-year-old Sarah wakes up dead at the Mall of America only to find she was murdered, and she must work with a group of dead teenagers to finish up the unresolved business of their former lives while preventing her murderer from killing again.

Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly

Uncovering an ancient evil, Serafina, a mermaid of the Mediterranean Sea, searches for five other mermaid heroines who are scattered across the six seas, to save their hidden world.

Girl in Blue by Ann Rinaldi

To escape an abusive father and an arranged marriage, Sarah, dressed as a boy, leaves her Michigan home to enlist in the Union Army, and becomes a soldier on the battlefields of Virginia as well as a Union spy working in the house of Confederate sympathizer Rose O'Neal Greenhow in Washington, D.C.

More Books --

Belly Up by Eva Darrows

Burn by Patrick Ness

The Cerulean by Amy Ewing

The Chandler Legacies by Abdi Nazemian

Darkwater by Catherine Fisher

Devil, Darling, Spy by Matt Killeen

The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

Illegal by Francisco X. Stork

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

A Secret Princess by Margaret Stohl

That's Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger

Violet Ghosts by Leah Thomas