Book Club: Suggested Reading
What makes a great Book Club selection? A good story, well told! Here are our picks, ranging from books for the very youngest listeners to the pickiest teens.
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Louie gets into mischief with the whistle Grandfather brings him from Paris. "I liked the whistle noises and learning the French words," said one reviewer. Ages 3 to 5.
This "round-the-world counting rhyme" follows Granny as she buys different things from each of the countries she visits on her magic carpet. Ages 3 to 5.
Timely and moving book that tells the true story of an Iraqi librarian who tries to rescue thousands of books from her library before it is destroyed. Ages 3 to 5.
Michael and his dog are washed up on a Pacific island where they meet a castaway from Japan. Ages 6 to 11.
Liyana moves to Palestine and learns about her Arab heritage. Ages 6 to 11.
In India, young Anand returns a mystical shell to its rightful home. "A great book full of magic and surprises," said one reviewer. Ages 6 to 11.
If you saved your favorite books from childhood, this classic might well be among them. Milo is bored and doesn't know what to do with himself, when a mysterious tollbooth appears in his room. A great adventure for all ages, brilliant wordplay, and fantastic illustrations by cartoonist Jules Feiffer. Ages 9 to 12.
Archer is one of seven wizards who control a small English town. When he dispatches his goon to Howard Sykes' home, young Howard is launched on a magical, mysterious adventure to save his family and his village. Ages 9 to 12.
There is an evil in the universe and a 5-year-old named Charles Wallace Murry and his sister Meg are the only ones who can stop it. Charles and Meg must learn to travel through space and time to a faraway planet, where they confront the evil force and save their father, who is trapped there. Ages 9 to 12.
Stanley Yelnats is overweight and suffering under a family curse that leads him to be unfairly sentenced to months of detention at Camp Green Lake, where he's forced to dig a hole in the rock-hard desert soil every day. Stanley soon gets involved in the mystery of why the warden is interested in anything "special" the boys find in the soil. In the end he rescues his friend Zero, discovers what the warden is desperately looking for, and breaks the Yelnats family curse. Ages 9 to 12.
Just as they are enjoying a day at the beach, the three Baudelaire children receive some bad news. Their parents have died in a fire that also burned down the family mansion. Now orphaned, the Baudelaires are packed off to their new guardian -- creepy Count Olaf, who seems only to want to get his hands on their fortune. Or does he? Find out, as you read this exciting and humorous tale of mystery. Ages 9 to 12.
Set in Australia, this lively book centers on the rivalry between two schools and the lives of students on both sides. "Really fast-paced and enjoyable," said one of our reviewers. Ages 12 and up.
The story of a Japanese-American family and their struggles as they to the South in the 1950s. Ages 12 and up.
