The Mixed-Up Chameleon

by Eric Carle


A chameleon can be anything it wants to be, and this little chameleon tries to be many different things before finding the best choice: Herself

Audience:
Little children through about second grade.  Once they are old enough to read chapter books they won't want this

What I Love:
The illustrations are so simple yet so fascinating

Cautions:
This is for young kids

The Grouchy Ladybug

by Eric Carle

There's always a bigger bully out there.  The grouchy ladybug tries to be the biggest, meanest thing in the neighborhood.  Unfortunately she's a bit small.  You need to be a friend to have a friend, and she learns that by the end

Audience:
Toddlers through 2nd grade

What I Love:
It's Eric Carle.  It looks great and the story is sweet.

Cautions:
This is a little kids book

The Very Quiet Cricket.

by Eric Carle

Just because you don't sound like everyone else, you shouldn't hold back what you have.  The Quiet Cricket learns to embrace his individuality

Audience:
Toddlers through second graders will enjoy this.  Older grades will feel like they are being talked down to.

What I Love:
The illustrations are beautiful (it's Eric Carle) and the message is very timely

Cautions:
This is a little kids book

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

by Eric Carle

This is one of the first books I ever read, and I still love it now.  It's about a caterpillar that eats and eats and eats until the day it makes itself a Christlike and becomes a butterfly

Audience
I've seen this one in a board book for toddlers, and I think anyone through second grade would love it.

What I Love:
The pictures are all gorgeous, and I love the hidden lesson about nutrition.  When the caterpilar eats healthy, he feels good.  When he eats junk, he feels miserable.

Cautions:
It's written for young children.  This one doesn't have the All Ages tag

James and the Giant Peach

by Roald Dahl

James lived a happy life until he was about 5.  Then his parents were killed by a stampeding rhinoceros and he had to live with his Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker, who hate him.  They lived together for another 5 years until James was given something to make his "dreams come true."  Not understanding how to use it, he accidentally spends the magic wish making a Giant Peach on the Aunt's tree.  It doesn't take him long to recognize the peach as an escape, or to recognize that he isn't alone in the peach-the bugs are bigger too, just like the peach.  For the first time in his life, James has friends.  Together they cross the ocean, conquer all manner of challenges, and form life-long friendships.

Audience
I read it in 4th grade and that was a bit young.  I'd give it to 5th up to middle school.  I read it with some of my students and I love it even more as an adult

What I Love
It's funny and insightful.  The characters are easily lovable and all the problems are pretty funny.

Cautions
The grown-ups are the bad guys, as with everything Roald Dahl writes.  The problems are very fantasy oriented and suspension of disbelief will be hard if you're not prepared to swallow everything.

Castle in the Attic

by Elizabeth Winthrop

It's been a lot of years since I read this one, so I'm copying and pasting the summary from wikipedia, but I loved this book as a kid.  As soon as the reserve comes in from the library I'm reading it again.

William is given a realistic model of a castle by the housekeeper, Mrs. Philips, who tells him that it has been in her family for many many years and that its silver knight is said to be under a spell. The silver knight, Sir Simon, comes to life and tells William stories about olden times and an evil wizard who is ruling his kingdom. Desperate to stop Mrs. Philips from going away, William has Sir Simon shrink her with a magic token he stole from the wizard, Alastor. However, William and Sir Simon lack the ability to return Mrs. Philips to her true size as the half of the token that can do so is with Alastor, and Mrs. Philips falls into a depression. Learning of a legend that states that when there is a lady, a knight, and a squire, a quest can be undertaken to stop Alastor, William decides to become a squire to undo his mistake. As he will be shrunk willingly, he will return to his world at the exact moment he left, but Mrs. Philips will lose all the time she spent in the castle until William enters. William has Sir Simon shrink him and he enters the castle to join his two friends.

Audience
I think once you are a fluent reader you can read this (3rd grade or so)

What I Love:
This all makes sense!  There's a reason William is so good at medieval skills, and the magic is even logical.  It's easy to believe and the characters are all endearingly flawed.  I can barely remember the story, but I remember well how much I love Sir Simon.  This is one of those books everyone tells me gets better when you read 

Caution:
This is heavy medieval fantasy.  If it's not your cup of tea move on

Brotherband Chronicles

by John Flanagan


Ahh memories, memories.  This is a continuation of the series that inspired this book.  Honestly, I love the Rangers Apprentice Series and I love this one even more.  It's about a group of boys in Scandia coming together for the Brotherband Games.  In Scandia this is how boys are trained for the tasks they will assume as Vikings (I mean Scandians.)  The main character, Hal, is half Araluen and half Scandian.  He rallies the misfits of the age bracket and figures out how to make them an unbreakable team.

Audience
These are written for middle grades (6-8) and should appeal to anyone ages 11-16.

What I Love:
These characters are so heartwarming and crazy at the same time.  I love that the boys are all different and have to work to overcome conflict.  Erak is a frequent character, and the adults of this series are as charming as the children.  I laugh out loud at some of the dialogue and I'm frequently holding my breath hoping the characters will make the right choice.  The writing in these is much improved from the Rangers Apprentice

Cautions:
The female characters, where they exist, are pretty minor.  The romance-don't read for that.  Read for fun and adventure.

Series
The Outcasts
The Hunters
The Invaders
More to Come...