Take a Trip with a Book

One of the great things about books is that you can visit anywhere in the world just by reading.  Here are some great books that take in settings around the world.

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.

Calvin Coconut: Hero of Hawaii by Graham Salisbury
When a hurricane causes the river near his Hawaiian home to flood, a boy named Calvin Coconut makes a daring rescue.

Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
Sent with her governess to live with the dreadful Carter family in exotic Brazil in 1910, Maia endures many hardships before fulfilling her dream of exploring the Amazon River.

Sword of the Samurai: Adventure Stories from Japan by Eric Kimmel
Seven short stories about samurai warriors, their way of life, courage, wit, and foolishness.

The White Giraffe by Lauren St. John
After a fire kills her parents, eleven-year-old Martine must leave England to live with her grandmother on a wildlife game reserve in South Africa, where she befriends a mythical white giraffe.

School Days, School Days

Here are some more great school stories to celebrate the first day of school!

Can I Bring My Pterodactyl to School, Ms. Johnson? by Lois G. Grambling
A child offers many creative reasons for why it would be a good idea to bring a pterodactyl to school.

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
Chrysanthemum loves her name, until she starts going to school and the other children make fun of it.

Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio
When Grace discovers that there has never been a female U.S. president, she decides to run for school president.

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.

Mr. Tanen's Ties by Maryann Cocca-Leffler
Mr. Tanen, the principal at Lynnhurst Elementary School, is well known for his colorful and unusual ties, but he and his students are saddened when his boss orders him to stop wearing them.

Off to School

School is starting within the next week.  So here are some great school stories for your kids . . .

Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School by Herman Parish
A literal-minded first-grader's first day of school is filled with confusing adventures, much to her delight.

How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? by Jane Yolen
Illustrations and rhyming text depict dinosaurs as they ride the bus to school, jump on top of their desks, read their favorite books, and have fun on the playground with all of their friends.

I'm Not Ready! by Jonathan Allen
When Baby Owl doesn't feel ready to start school, he delays by picking up his toys, brushing his feathers, and taking care of Owly, his stuffed animal.

Mom, It's My First Day of Kindergarten! by Hyewon Yum
A five-year-old boy, ready and eager on his first day at "the big kids' school," must calm his very worried mother.

The Night Before Preschool by Natasha Wing
In rhyming text based on "The Night Before Christmas," Billy is too nervous to sleep the night before he begins preschool, but a kind teacher and new friends fill the day with fun.

Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes by Eric Litwin
Pete the cat wears his school shoes when visiting the library, the lunchroom, the playground, and more while singing his special song.

You Can't Go to School Naked by Dianne Billstrom
A little boy's parents warn him of the dangers of going to school naked, and he eventually agrees to wear clothes, but only if he can pick his outfits.

Have You Read . . .

How many of these classic picture books have you read?

Bedtime for Frances by Russell Hoban
Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
Doctor DeSoto by William Steig
Five Little Moneys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow
George and Martha by James Marshall
Goodnight, Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
The Hat by Jan Brett
Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh
No, David! by David Shannon
Rotten Ralph by Jack Gantos
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

The Story of Babar the Little Elephant by Jean de Brunhoff

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margarey Williams Bianco

Familiar Yet Strange . . .

I love reading retellings of famous stories and books.  I always find it interesting to see how an author can tell the same basic stories with a few major changes.  Try one of these retellings for teens . . .

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Retelling of Cinderella
Cinder, a gifted mechanic and a cyborg with a mysterious past, is blamed by her stepmother for her stepsister's illness while a deadly plague decimates the population of New Beijing, but when Cinder's life gets intertwined with Prince Kai's, she finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle.

Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman
Retelling of Romeo and Juliet
Seventeen-year-old Vince's life is constantly complicated by the fact that he is the son of a powerful Mafia boss, a relationship that threatens to destroy his romance with the daughter of an FBI agent.

Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Retelling of Don Quixote
In an attempt to find a cure after being diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob's (aka mad cow) disease, Cameron Smith, a disaffected sixteen-year-old boy, sets off on a road trip with a death-obsessed video gaming dwarf he meets in the hospital.

Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George
Retelling of Cinderella
In the midst of maneuverings to create political alliances through marriage, sixteen-year-old Poppy, one of the infamous twelve dancing princesses, becomes the target of a vengeful witch while Prince Christian tries to save her.

Avalon High by Meg Cabot
Retelling of King Arthur
Having moved to Annapolis, Maryland, with her medievalist parents, high school junior Ellie enrolls at Avalon High School where several students may or may not be reincarnations of King Arthur and his court.

Historical Fiction

I'm not usually a reader of historical fiction.  I would much rather read a fantasy or suspense story.  However, every once in a while I come across a historical fiction book that I read and absolutely love.  Here a few of them . . .

The Seer of Shadows by Avi
In New York City in 1872, fourteen-year-old Horace, a photographer's apprentice, becomes entangled in a plot to create fraudulent spirit photographs, but when Horace accidentally frees the real ghost of a dead girl bent on revenge, his life takes a frightening turn.

Margret and Flynn, 1875 by Kathleen Duey
In the Colorado Territory in 1875, orphan Margret and her older sister Libby are staying with the kind-hearted Mrs. Fredrickson when Margret finds an injured horse which she nurses back to health and wants to keep, while Libby is too mistrustful of people to think that they might possibly have found a home.

Counting on Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop
It's 1910 in Pownal, Vermont. At 12, Grace and her best friend Arthur must leave school to work in the mill. They write a secret letter to the Child Labor Board about children working in the mill. A few weeks later, Lewis Hine, a famous reformer, arrives to gather evidence. Grace meets him and appears in some of his photographs, changing her life forever.

The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson
Annika, a twelve-year-old foundling in late nineteenth-century Vienna, inherits a trunk of costume jewelry, and soon afterwards a woman claiming to be her aristocratic mother arrives and takes her to live in a strangely decrepit mansion in Germany.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
When twelve-year-old Hugo, an orphan living and repairing clocks within the walls of a Paris train station in 1931, meets a mysterious toyseller and his goddaughter, his undercover life and his biggest secret are jeopardized.

On Vacation . . .

I haven't posted for a few weeks as I was on vacation.  So in honor of my vacation, I'll tell you about some of my favorite books about being on vacation.

The Big Bad Wolf Goes on Vacation by Delphine Perret
When Bernard, the Big Bad Wolf, joins Louis and his grandfather on their annual trip to the beach, getting there is half the fun.

The House Takes a Vacation by Jacqueline Davies\
While the Petersons are away, their house decides to take a trip to the sea to watch the "Dance of the Sunlight," despite some groaning from the chimney and the basement's refusal to rise to the occasion.

Giggle, Giggle, Quack by Doreen Cronin
When Farmer Brown goes on vacation, leaving his brother Bob in charge, Duck makes trouble by changing all his instructions to notes the animals like much better.

Pictures from Our Vacation by Lynne Rae Perkins
Given a camera that takes and prints tiny pictures just before leaving for the family farm in Canada, a young girl records a vacation that gets off to a slow start, but winds up being a family reunion filled with good memories.

A Pork in New York by Catherine Stock
Monsieur Monmouton and his dog Cabot fly from France to New York City in pursuit of his farm animals, who are taking a vacation to see such sights as Blooming Dells and MOOMA.