A World of Magic

This week, I'm sharing magical books for teens.  All of these books include magic within the story.  Check out these books . . . 

Witch Hat Atelier series by Kamome Shirahama
In a world where everyone takes wonders like magic spells and dragons for granted, Coco is a girl with a simple dream: She wants to be a witch. But everybody knows magicians are born, not made, and Coco was not born with a gift for magic. Resigned to her un-magical life, Coco is about to give up on her dream to become a witch...until the day she meets Qifrey, a mysterious, traveling magician.

Storm-Wake by Lucy Christopher

Moss lives alone with her magician father and a dog on a magical island, until a tempest sweeps a wild, not-quite-human boy, Callan, onto its beaches, and the two grow close, despite her father's worries--and then one day, a young man from the outside world is shipwrecked on her island, and after that nothing will be the same again.

The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell

In an alternate version of present-day Manhattan, magic is dying, and Esta, a Mageus with a talent for manipulating time, travels back to 1901 to stop the destruction of a book that can possibly restore magic, but in Old New York, Esta must navigate gangs, secret societies, and her feelings for another magician in order to save the future of magic.

Fairy Tail series by Hiro Mashima

Cute girl wizard Lucy wants to join the Fairy Tail, a club for the most powerful wizards. But instead, her ambitions land her in the clutches of a gang of unsavory pirates led by a devious magician. Her only hope is Natsu, a strange boy she happens to meet on her travels. Natsu's not your typical hero-he gets motion sickness, eats like a pig, and his best friend is a talking cat. With friends like this, is Lucy better off with her enemies?

More Magical Books -- 

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

Ancient Magus Bride series by Kore Yamazaki

Cruel Illusions by Margie Fuston

Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge

Delusionist by Don Calame

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust

Incredible Doom by Matthew Bogart

Iron Cast by Destiny Soria

Tarot Cafe series by Sang-Son Pak

Zatanna by Alys Arden

Short Stories for Winter Nights

 The Winter Solstice is fast approaching on December 21st.  As it is the shortest day of the year, it's a great time to read a short story.  Try one of these . . . .

Dragons at Crumbling Castle and other Tales by Terry Pratchett

An illustrated collection of fourteen short stories featuring "dragons and wizards, councilors and mayors, an adventurous tortoise and a monster in a lake, along with plenty of pointy hats and a few magic spells" written when the author was a teenaged newspaper reporter.

You Are Here: Connecting Flights by Ellen Oh

Twelve young Asians Americans cross paths, meeting challenges and victories, in a busy airport.

Super Puzzletastic Mysteries by Chris Grabenstein and the Mystery Writers of America

Author Chris Grabenstein and his all-star cast of contributing authors team up for Super Puzzletastic Mysteries, a group of interactive short stories that invite the reader to solve the mystery themselves.

More Short Story Collections --

1-2-3 Scream! by R.U. Ginns

The Cursed Carnival and Other Calamities by Rick Riordan

The Foundling and Other Stories of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander

Graven Images by Paul Fleischman

Guys Read: The Sports Pages by Jon Scieszka

Guys Read: Terrifying Tales by Jon Scieszka

The Hero Next Door by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich

Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling

Really Stupid Stories for Really Smart Kids by Alan Katz

The Spook's Story and Other Horrors by Joseph Delaney

Sword of the Samurai: Adventure Stories from Japan by Eric A. Kimmel

That's Ghosts for You: 13 Scary Stories by Mariane Carus

Celebrating Schools & Teachers

 This week, we are sharing picture books stories about schools and teachers.  Here's a few of our favorites . . . .

School's First Day of School by Adam Rex

It's the first day of school at Frederick Douglass Elementary and everyone's just a little bit nervous, especially the school itself.

Dinosaur vs. School by Bob Shea

Fearless Dinosaur takes on new challenges as he starts preschool, from meeting new friends to pasting glitter and googly eyes, but one task requires assistance from everyone.

Miss Nelson Is Missing! by Harry Allard

The kids in Room 207 take advantage of their teacher's good nature until she disappears and they are faced with a vile substitute.

Mr. S by Monica Arnaldo

It was the first day of school. But even the kindergarteners of room 2B could tell something was seriously wrong . . . Where was the teacher? Who left this sandwich on the desk? The only clue, written neatly on the chalkboard, was the name: Mr. S.

Moses Goes to School by Isaac Millman

Moses and his friends enjoy the first day of school at their special school for the deaf and hard of hearing, where they use sign language to talk to each other.

More Books --

Author Day for Room 3T by Robin Pulver

Back to School, Backpack! by Simon Rich

Bear's School Day by Stella Blackstone

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

Dad's First Day by Mike Wohnoutka

Field Trip to the Moon by John Hare

First Day Critter Jitters by Jory John

I Am Absolutely Too Small for School by Lauren Child

If I Built a School by Chris Van Dusen

The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes

Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat, Are You Going to School? by Bill Martin

Little Rabbit Goes to School by Harry Horse

Miss Fox's Class Gets It Wrong by Eileen Spinelli

Mission: Back to School: Top Secret Info by Morag Hood

Monsters Love School by Mike Austen

My Teacher Is a Monster! (No, I Am Not) by Peter Brown

Ninja Boy Goes to School by Nathan D. Wilson

Once Upon an Ordinary School Day by Colin McNaughton

Our Classroom Rules! by Kallie George

Picture Day Perfection by Deborah Diesen

The Pigeon Has to Go to School! by Mo Willems

School Is Wherever I Am by Ellie Peterson

Stanley's School by William Bee

Superhero vs. School by Ethan Long

Take Your Octopus to School Day by Audrey Vernick

The Teachers from the Black Lagoon and Other Stories by Mike Thaler

This Is a School by John Schu

We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins

Holiday Baking & Crafts for Kids

The holidays are quickly approaching.  Check out one of these books for your holiday baking and crafting preparations . . . .

Super Good Cookies for Kids by Duff Goldman

The book teaches budding young bakers how to make dozens of crazy delicious concoctions--from confetti snickerdoodles to unicorn cupcakes to amazing dessert pizzas.

Easy Origami Decorations by Christopher L. Harbo

Handcrafted decorations are just a few folds away! Learn how to turn origami butterflies, swans, and tulips into locker magnets, table decorations, and more.

Kids Can Bake: Recipes for Budding Bakers by Laura Paton

A collection of 30 beautifully illustrated step-by-step recipes which show children how to bake delicious cakes, biscuits, pies, puddings and tarts.

More Books --

Christmas Crafts by Fay Robinson

Creative Christmas Crafts by Karin Andersson

David Atherton's Baking Book of Kids by David Atherton

Delectable Cupcakes with a Side of Science by M.M. Eboch

Disney Princess Tea Parties by Sarah W. Caron

Kids Bake! 100+ Savory and Sweet Recipes by Good Housekeeping

Paper Crafts for Christmas by Randel McGee

Paper Crafts for Thanksgiving by Randel McGee

Super Good: Baking for Kids by Duff Goldman

National Adoption Month: A Teen Fiction Booklist

The month of November is celebrated as National Adoption Month.  So we're sharing books for teens featuring adopted characters.  Here's a few of our favorites . . . .

Yotsuba&! series by Kiyohiko Azuma

The curious and curiouser Yotsuba moves to a new town with her dad. In the process of moving in, Yotsuba encounters things like swingsets and broken door handles, which all bring about a never-ending torrent of questions and shrieks of amazement.

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

Jessica, adopted and raised in Pennsylvania, learns that she is descended from a royal line of Romanian vampires and that she is betrothed to a vampire prince, who poses as a foreign exchange student while courting her.

The Possible by Tara Altebrando

A podcaster stirs up seventeen-year-old Kaylee's memories of her birth mother, who is infamous for alleged telekinetic ability and for murdering her own son.

More Books --

The Blood Between Us by Z. Brewer

Chaos and Flame by Tessa Gratton
The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

The Dysasters by P.C. Cast

Forward Me Back to You by Mitali Perkins

The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be by Shannon Gibney

The How and Why by Cynthia Hand

The Last Wish of Sasha Cade by Cheyanne Young

The Lovely and the Lost by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

More Than We Can Tell by Brigid Kemmerer

The Name She Gave Me by Betty Culley

Nameless by Lili St. Crow

Seriously Wicked by Tiny Connolly

Spy Family series by Tatsuya Enyo

Haunted Stories for Teens

Would you dare to stay the night in a haunted house?  This week, we're sharing some haunted house stories for teens.  Here's a few of our favorites . . . .

Agony House by Cheri Priest

Denise Farber, her mom, and her stepfather are moving back to New Orleans, into the Argonne house, which her mother plans to turn into a bed-and-breakfast--but old houses have histories, and sometimes ghosts, and a mysterious old comic book that Denise finds in the attic may hold the answer to a crime and the terrifying things that keep happening in what she thinks of as the "Agony" house.

Creepy Cat by Valent Cotton

Flora moves into a mysterious mansion and finds it inhabited by a strange creature -Creepy Cat! Thus begins her strange and sometimes dangerous life with a feline roommate.

Summer's Edge by Dana Mele

When five estranged friends return to a summer lake house on the anniversary of their friend's death, unexplainable events begin happening, old betrayals rise to the surface, and the group suspects a killer among them is intent on revenge.

More Books --

The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington

Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury

Gallant by Victoria Schwab

Harvest House by Cynthia Leitich Smith

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

The Tenth Girl by Sara Faring

There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall

Thirteen Chairs by Dave Shelton

Tigers Not Daughters by Samantha Mabry

White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

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