Me & My Mom

This week, I'm sharing chapter books for children featuring moms.  Here are a few of my favorite books . . .

This Would Make a Good Story Someday by Dana Alison Levy
Sara's summer plans are upended by a surprise cross-country train trip with her moms, her sisters, and her sister's boyfriend, an adventure shaped by a group of Texans, the diverse landscape, and her mom's book about the journey.

Bringing the Boy Home by N.A. Nelson
As two Takunami youths approach their thirteenth birthdays, Luka reaches the culmination of his mother's training for the tribe's manhood test while Tirio, raised in Miami, Florida, by his adoptive mother, feels called to begin preparations to prove himself during his upcoming visit to the Amazon rain forest where he was born.

The Glass Cafe by Gary Paulsen
When twelve-year-old Tony, a talented artist, begins sketching the dancers at the Kitty Kat Club where his mother is an exotic dancer, it sparks the attention of social services.

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
When their father invites a mail-order bride to come live with them in their prairie home, Caleb and Anna are captivated by their new mother and hope that she will stay.


More Books --
All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor
Confessions from the Principal's Kid by Robin Mellom
Digging Up Danger by Jacqueline West
The Door by the Staircase by Katherine Marsh
Fairy Mom and Me by Sophie Kinsella
Graylings Song by Karen Cushman
Jack and the Seven Deadly Giants by Sam Swope
Johnny Swanson by Eleanor Updale
The Kazillion Wish by Nick Place
More Perfect Than the Moon by Patricia MacLachlan
The Mummy's Mother by Tony Johnston
My Life Starring Mum by Chloe Rayban
Road Trip with Max and His Mom by Linda Urban


Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through June 7, 2019.

Best Books of 2018 - Chapter Books

This week, I'm sharing some of the best chapter books of 2018 for children.  Here are a few of my favorites . . .

Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier
In nineteenth-century England, after her father's disappearance Nan Sparrow, ten, works as a "climbing boy," aiding chimney sweeps, but when her most treasured possessions end up in a fireplace, she unwittingly creates a golem.

The Journey of Little Charlie by Christopher Paul Curtis
When his poor sharecropper father is killed in an accident and leaves the family in debt, twelve-year-old Little Charlie agrees to accompany fearsome plantation overseer Cap'n Buck north in pursuit of people who have stolen from him.

Inkling by Kenneth Oppel
When an inkblot, who can write, listen, learn, and draw, jumps out of Mr. Rylance's sketchbook, Ethan believes he may be the answer to their problems and names him Inkling.

My Father's Words by Patricia MacLachlan
Declan O'Brien always had a gentle word to share, odd phrases he liked to repeat, and songs to sing. His family loved him deeply and always knew they were loved in return, but a terrible accident one day changes their lives forever. What words are there to guide them through such overwhelming grief?


More Best Chapter Books --
The Boy, the Bird, and the Coffin Maker by Matilda Woods
Denis Ever After by Tony Abbott
The Key to Everything by Pat Schmatz
Louisiana's Way Home by Kate DiCamillo
The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
Samantha Spinner and the Super-Secret Plans by Russell Ginns
The Science of Breakable Things by Tae Keller
The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon
The Serpent's Secret by Sayantani Dasgupta
The Tale of Angelino Brown by David Almond
The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor
Very Rich by Polly Horvath

Check these and more books out on display at the Arnold Branch through January 11, 2019.

Books So Good . . . They Won an Award

The following books are considered some of the greatest children's books of all time.  They are all Newbery Award winners and several have won other awards as well.  Check them out!

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
The life of a ten-year-old boy in rural Virginia expands when he becomes friends with a newcomer who subsequently meets an untimely death trying to reach their hideaway, Terabithia, during a storm.

The Giver by Lois Lowry
Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives.

Holes by Louis Sachar
As further evidence of his family's bad fortune which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a hellish correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself.

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
When their father invites a mail-order bride to come live with them in their prairie home, Caleb and Anna are captivated by their new mother and hope that she will stay.

In Celebration of Grandparents!

Tomorrow is Grandparents' Day!  In celebration, read one of Patricia MacLachlan's wonderful stories of children with their grandparents.

The Truth of Me: About a Boy, His Grandmother, and a Very Good Dog
Robbie and his dog, Ellie, spend the summer at his grandmother Maddy's house, where Robbie learns many things about his emotionally distant parents and himself.

Kindred Souls
Ten year-old Jake shares a special bond with his grandfather, Billy, but when Billy asks Jake to build him a sod house, Jake is not sure he wants to do it.

Grandfather's Dance
As her family gathers for the wedding of her sister Anna, fourth-grader Cassie Whiting sees the many changes brought about by everyday life and finds comfort in the love of those around her, especially her grandfather.

Through Grandpa's Eyes
A young boy learns a different way of seeing the world from his blind grandfather.