The following is a list of suggested books.  It represents a range of reading levels and interests.  You and your child can determine which books he/she can read independently and which might be better enjoyed as read-alouds. In most cases, the titles are just a sampling of the many works produced by these authors.  Enjoy exploring more of their books.

You can find these books in the Youth Room under the  purple 4 sign. 
They will have purple stickers on the spine. 

Blaxland, Wendy                   
How Are They Made? series 
This series describes how many ordinary objects such as basketballs, guitars, and sweaters are designed and created.

Blume, Judy                           
Tales of a Fourth-Grade Nothing
Living with his little brother, Fudge, makes Peter Hatcher feel like a fourth grade nothing.  Fudge is a two-year-old terror who gets away with everything. When Fudge walks off with Dribble, Peter’s pet turtle, it’s the last straw.   How can he get his parents to pay attention to him for a change?

Bosch, Pseudonymous           
The Name of This Book Is Secret
Two eleven-year-old misfits try to solve the mystery of a dead magician and stop the evil Dr. L and Ms. Mauvais, who are searching for the secret of immortality.  Check out this site for more about the Pseudonymous Bosch books.  http://www.thenameofthiswebsiteissecret.com

Bryant, Annie                         
Beacon Street Girls series
These five girls are totally different and that’s what makes their friendship special. Together they are better than the sum of their parts.  BSG are BFF.  Check out this site for more about the Beacon Street Girls at www.beaconstreetgirls.com.

Burns, Laura J.                       
Wright and Wong Mysteries series   
Orville Wright has Asperger’s Syndrome.  That means he has an amazing eye for details but has trouble seeing the big picture.  Agatha Wong comes from a large family and understands people.   Working together they form the perfect team. 

Byng, Georgia                        
Molly Moon series
Unlucky and unloved, Molly Moon, living in a dreary orphanage in a small English town, discovers a hidden talent for hypnotism and embarks on a new and exciting life.  Check out this site for more about Molly Moon.  http://www.meetmollymoon.com

Cabot, Meg                            
Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls series
Nine-year-old Allie Finkle has rules for everything and is even writing her own rule book.  But sometimes she runs into problems that can’t be solved by following the rules.  Check out this site for more about Allie Finkle.  http://alliefinkle.scholastic.com/ 

Catling, Patrick                      
Chocolate Touch
A boy acquires a magical gift that turns everything his lips touch into chocolate.

Child, Lauren                         
Clarice Bean series
Clarice Bean has a list of things to worry about. How does she handle them all?

Christopher, Matt                   
Baseball Turnaround 
Sandy is drawn unknowingly into a shoplifting incident, but when his community service involves baseball he meets people who help him finally put the past behind him.

Cowell, Cressida                    
How To Train Your Dragon series
Chronicles the adventures and misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third.   Check out this site for more about Hiccup. http://www.howtotrainyourdragonbooks.com

Dahl, Roald                            
James and the Giant Peach
A young boy escapes from two wicked aunts and embarks on a series of adventures with six giant insects he meets inside a giant peach.

Davies, Jacqueline                  
Lemonade War
Evan and his younger sister, Jesse, react very differently to the news that they will be in the same class for fourth grade.  As the end of summer approaches, they battle it out through lemonade stands, each trying to be the first to earn 100 dollars. Includes mathematical calculations and tips for running a successful lemonade stand.

DiTerlizzi, Tony                  
Spiderwick Chronicles series
When the Grace children stay at their Great Aunt Lucinda’s worn Victorian house, they discover a field guide to fairies and other creatures and have some unusual experiences.

Dowd, Siobhan                      
London Eye Mystery
Ted, whose brain is “wired differently,” and his impatient sister Kat work together to solve the mystery of what happened to their cousin Salim, who disappears from the London Eye ferris wheel.

Fleischman, Sid                      
Escape: The Story of the Great Houdini
A biography of the magician, ghost chaser, aviator, and king of escape artists, whose amazing feats are remembered long after his death in 1926.

Fleming, Candace      
The Fabled Fifth Graders of Aesop Elementary School
Throughout their fifth-grade year, a group of rambunctious students learn fable-like lessons from extraordinary activities, singing hamsters, and eccentric teachers, led by the inimitable Mr. Jupiter.

Fritz, Jean                               
What’s the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?
A brief biography of the eighteenth-century printer, inventor, and statesman, who played an influential role in the early history of the United States.

Fusco, Kimberly                     
The Wonder of Charlie Anne
In a Massachusetts farm town torn by the Depression and racial tension, Charlie Anne and her black neighbor Phoebe form a friendship that transforms their community.

Giff, Patricia Reilly                
Eleven
When Sam, who can barely read, discovers an old newspaper clipping just before his eleventh birthday, it brings forth memories from his past.  With the help of a new friend at school and the castle they are building for a school project, his questions are eventually answered. 

Gifford, Peggy                       
Moxy Maxwell series
Moxy Maxwell is a procrastinator.  No matter what she needs to do, she can always find something else that is more fun, more important, or just different enough to distract her. 

Gutman, Dan                         
Get Rich Quick Club
Summer vacation in their small Maine town does not look too promising until twelve-year-old Gina and four of her friends make a pact to become millionaires before school starts in September.

Gutman, Dan                         
Baseball Card Adventure series
Joe Stoshack has a superpower.  Whenever he touches a baseball card or an old photograph of a player, he is sent back in time to where the player is.  Once there, he usually tries to prevent some disaster that is about to happen. 

Horvath, David                      
Ugly Guide series
The Uglydolls provide guides to their uglyverse and the world they live in. 

Howe, James                          
Bunnicula series
Harold the dog and Chester the cat are suspicious of the new pet rabbit, who seems to drain his vegetables of their juice.  Can the new bunny be a vampire? 

Jonell, Lynne                          
Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat
Emmy’s life is changed forever when she is bitten by a rat and suddenly finds she can understand everything rats say.  Will she ever live a normal life again?  Can she rid herself of her evil nanny Miss Barmy?

Kinney, Jeff                           
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
Greg records his sixth grade life in a middle school where he and his best friend are undersized weaklings amid boys who need to shave twice daily.  Can Greg and Rowley survive?  Read more about Greg and Rowley at www.wimpykid.com.

Klise, Kate                             
Regarding the …  series
A series of mysteries set in the Geyser Creek Middle School, told through letters, faxes, newspaper articles and cartoons.

Krensky, Stephen                   
Monster Chronicles series
Discusses how various monsters  are portrayed in history, literature and the movies.

Lawrence, Caroline                
Roman Mysteries series
In ancient Rome, children from different backgrounds work together to solve mysteries.

L’Engle, Madeline                 
A Wrinkle in Time
Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers during their search for Meg’s father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government.

Lisle, Janet Taylor                  
Highway Cats
A hard-bitten group of mangy highway cats is changed forever after the mysterious arrival of three kittens.

Lubar, David                          
Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie series
Tired of continually having his feelings hurt by popular students and bullies, fifth-grader Nathan agrees to try an experimental formula, Hurt-Be-Gone, and becomes a half-dead zombie, a condition which, he soon discovers, has some real advantages.

Lynch, Chris                          
Cyberia series
Zane lives in a completely wired world. Technology has progressed so that every pet has a microchip in it that allows the pet to talk.  When a strictly contraband wild animal, a mole, comes into his life, Zane learns that the pets aren’t actually saying what the chip is translating. In fact, they aren’t happy that all animals have been domesticated. So they enlist Zane to help them fight back and ensure their freedom. 

Macaulay, David                    
The New Way Things Work
Text and numerous detailed illustrations introduce and explain the scientific principles and workings of hundreds of machines.

McGhee, Alison                     
Julia Gillian series
Julia Gillian lives in Minneapolis with her parents and her St. Bernard, Bigfoot.  She is quirky, independent and endlessly curious about people and life.  

Montgomery, R. A                 
Choose Your Own Adventure series
Whether you sail on the Titanic or track the Abominable Snowman, you create your own adventure as you make choices and face the consequences.  

Paulsen, Gary                         
Liar, Liar
Fourteen-year-old Kevin is very good at lying and doing so makes life easier.  But when he finds himself in big trouble with his friends, family, and teachers, he must find a way to end his lies forever.

Peirce, Lincoln                       
Big Nate series
Supremely confident middle school student Nate Wright manages to make getting detention from every one of his teachers in the same day seem like an achievement.  Check out this site for more about Big Nate.  www.bignatebooks.com 

Reeve, Philip              
No Such Thing as Dragons
A young mute boy who is apprenticed to a dragon-slayer suspects that the winged beasts do not exist, until he and his master learn the truth.

Rupp, Rebecca           
Sarah Simpson’s Rules for Living|
In a journal, twelve-year old Sarah Simpson records important lists and the daily events of her life at home and in school, beginning one year after her father moved from Vermont to California to divorce her mother and marry someone else. 

Said, S. F.                     
Varjak Paw series
Guided by the spirit of his legendary Mesopotamian ancestor Jalal, Varjak Paw, a pure-bred cat, leaves his home and pampered existence and sets out to save his family from the evil Gentleman who took away their owner, the Contessa, and to find them a safe home. 

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

Silberberg, Alan         
Pond Scum
Ten-year-old Oliver enjoys pulling the wings off flies just to hear the little snap. His life takes a turn when his mom moves the family to a run-down old house in a small town. Their house seems to be guarded by the creatures from the nearby pond who don’t want Oliver and his family living there. One day Oliver falls through the roof and into the attic, where he finds a strange gem that has the power to turn him into any creature he touches.

Sobol, Richard                       
The Life of Rice
Rice is one of the most abundant and widely grown crops in the world today. In Thailand, rice is grown everywhere and it is almost always a part of every meal. Photographer Richard Sobol invites us on a journey to Thailand to explore the life of rice: from the beginning of the growing season at the Royal Plowing Ceremony, to the hard work of transplanting and harvesting the rice plants, and finally ending with a delicious dinner–of rice, of course!

Spinelli, Eileen           
The Dancing Pancake
Eleven-year-old Belinda “Bindi” Winkler and her family find their way through tough times with the love and support of the community that grows around their newly opened restaurant, “The Dancing Pancake.”

Spinelli, Jerry             
Crash
Seventh-grader John “Crash” Coogan has always been comfortable with his tough, aggressive behavior, until his relationship with an unusual Quaker boy and his grandfather’s stroke make him consider the meaning of friendship and the importance of family.

Stern, AJ                    
Frankly, Frannie series
Frannie is a girl who likes to manage things, but sometimes things seem unmanageable.

Stewart, Paul              
Edge Chronicles series
Thirteen-year-old Twig, having always looked and felt different from his woodtroll family, learns that he is adopted and travels out of his Deepwoods home to find the place where he belongs. He meets a collection of odd companions and travels to many new places along the way.

Sullivan, Michael       
Escapade Johnson series
Escapade Johnson chronicles his most boring adventures of the most boring kid in the most boring town in the most boring state in the country. 

Troupe, Thomas         
The Legend of the Vampire
Describes the legends of vampires, including how they started and what the legend says about the monster.

Various Authors         
The 39 Clues series
The plot centers around the Cahills – the most powerful family the world has ever known. The source of their power is a mystery that can only be unraveled by assembling 39 clues that have been hidden around the world throughout history.  Check out this site for more about the 39 Clues.  www.the39clues.com 

Vernon, Ursula           
Dragonbreath series
The zany adventures of Danny Dragonbreath and his friend Wendell the Iguana.

Wallace, Sandra         
Little Joe
Nine-year-old Eli raises his first bull calf and looks forward to showing it at the county fair.

Wheeler, Chase          
Speed Racer series
The adventures of expert race car driver, Speed Racer, and his friends as they battle the fiendish Racer X.

Wood, Maryrose        
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series
Fifteen-year-old Miss Penelope Lumley, a governess trained at the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, takes the three Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place to London, England, and learns they are under a curse.

Woodward, Chris      
Cool Stuff and How It Works
Diagrams, words and pictures on how a number of gadgets work.

The above list was compiled by Wakefield’s K-4 reading teachers
and the librarians of Lucius Beebe Memorial Library.

The following are suggestions for summer reading and read-alouds.  In most cases, the titles listed are just a sampling of the many works produced by these authors.  Enjoy exploring more of their books.

You can find these books in the Youth Room under the orange 1 sign. 
They will have orange stickers on the spine. 

Bottner, Barbara  
Miss Brooks Loves Books (and I Don’t)
A first-grade girl who does not like to read stubbornly resists her school librarian’s efforts to convince her to love books until she finds one that might change her mind.

Browne, Anthony         
Little Beauty
When a gorilla who knows sign language tells his keepers that he is lonely, they bring him a very special friend.

Cannon, Janell                        
Pinduli
Pinduli, a young striped hyena, is hurt by the unkind words of Dog, Lion, and Zebra, but her clever trick in return promotes her clan’s survival and spreads harmony throughout the savannah.

Carter, Don                            
Old MacDonald Drives a Tractor
Old MacDonald and his tractor can handle most of the work on the farm, from pulling a plow, to following a combine, to going home at night, in a rhyming tale reminiscent of the children’s song, Old MacDonald Had a Farm.

Child, Lauren                 
I Want to Be Much More Bigger Like You 
Lola is convinced that she is finally tall enough to ride the “Super Dooper Loop the Looper” at the fair. Her older brother Charlie gently tells her that she is still too short, but that there are many good things about being small.

Cohen, Miriam                   
Will I Have a Friend?
Jim’s anxieties on his first day of school are happily forgotten when he makes a new friend.

Christelow, Eileen                  
Five Little Monkeys Play Hide-and-Seek
The five little monkeys try to avoid going to bed by playing hide-and-seek with the babysitter.

Cronin, Doreen                      
Thump, Quack, Moo: A Wacky Adventure   
The annual Corn Maze Festival is coming.  Every day the chickens, cows, and Duck help Farmer Brown–with a few bribes–to create a special Statue of Liberty corn maze, and every night Duck works hard recreating his own surprise.

Cuyler, Margery                     
Princess Bess Gets Dressed
A fashionably dressed princess reveals her favorite clothes at the end of a busy day.

Ehlert,  Lois               
Oodles of Animals
Short, easy to read rhymes reveal what is unique about various animals, from ape to wolf.

Fine, Edith H.
Water, Weed, and Wait
Miss Marigold, the garden lady, visits Pepper Lane Elementary to help them transform a weedy, rocky patch of ground into a garden.

Foster, Kelli C.                        
Get Ready, Get Set, Read series
A series of very early readers that build stories around various letter families.                    

Grey, Mini                              
Traction Man Meets Turbodog
Traction Man, an action figure, teams up with the high-tech but not-so-bright Turbodog to rescue Scrubbing Brush, his missing sidekick, from the terrible underworld of the bin.

Guiberson, Brenda Z.            
Ice Bears
A year in the life of a mother polar bear and her two cubs.

Henkes, Kevin                                   
Birds
Fascinated by the colors, shapes, sounds, and movements of the many different birds she sees through her window, a little girl is happy to discover that she and they have something in common.

Hoban, Tana                           
I Read Signs
Signs and symbols frequently seen along the street challenge children to recognize what they mean.

Hoberman, Mary Ann
You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You series
Using rhyme, rhythm, and repetition, the text of these books invites young children to read along with an adult.

Keller, Laurie                         
Do unto Otters: A Book about Manners
Mr. Rabbit wonders if he will be able to get along with his new neighbors, who are otters, until he is reminded of the golden rule.

Lester, Julius
Sam and the Tigers  
Young Sam outwits a bunch of tigers intent on eating him.

Lin, Grace                              
Ling & Ting
Ling and Ting are identical twins that people think are exactly the same, but time and again they prove to be different.

MacDonald, Ross 
Achoo, Bang, Crash
Letters in the alphabet make their own distinct sounds.

McDonald, Megan
Hen Hears Gossip
When Hen overhears some news on the farm, she runs to tell Duck, who tells another animal, and as the gossip is repeated from one animal to the next, it becomes unrecognizable.

Monroe, Chris   
Monkey with a Tool Belt
Clever monkey Chico Bon Bon builds lots of things with his many tools, and when he is captured by an organ grinder, he uses them to help him escape and get back home.

O’Connor, Jane
Fancy Nancy series
This popular series features a young girl who loves fancy things and has an even fancier vocabulary.

O’Malley, Kevin                    
Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude
Cooperatively writing a fairy tale for school, a girl imagines a beautiful princess whose beloved ponies are being stolen by a giant, and a boy conjures up the muscular biker who will guard the last pony in exchange for gold.

O’Neill, Alexis  
The Recess Queen
Mean Jean is the biggest bully on the school playground until a new girl arrives and challenges Jean’s status as the Recess Queen.

Pallotta, Jerry
Ocean Counting
A number demonstration featuring creatures, ranging from one striped bass to 50 blue sharks.

Pelletier, Andrew  T.              
Amazing Adventures of Bathman
Bathman saves Rubber Ducky from the evil Cap’n Squeegee.

Pinkney, Jerry
The Lion and the Mouse
In this wordless retelling of an Aesop fable, an adventuresome mouse rescues the King of the Jungle, proving that even small creatures are capable of great deeds.

Preller, James 
A Pirate’s Guide to First Grade
A young pirate and his crew embark on a grand adventure when they board the bus for the first day of first grade.

Raschka, Chris
Talk to Me about the Alphabet
Illustrations and simple text for each letter of the alphabet demonstrate the sounds made by that letter.

Rau, Dana
Benchmark  Rebus  series    
A series of easy readers with rebuses that explore various subjects from butterflies to police officers.

Saltzberg. Barney                   
Beautiful Oops
Demonstrates the many ways that torn, crinkled, and smudged bits of paper can be transformed into various shapes and images.

Schwartz, David
Where in the Wild?
Animals and their camouflage are expressed in poetry. 

Seuss, Dr.                               
Horton Hears a Who
A city of Whos on a speck of dust are threatened with destruction until the smallest Who of all helps convince Horton’s friends that Whos really exist.

Shields, Carol Diggory          
Martian Rock
A group of Martians looking for life on different planets in the solar system make a surprising discovery just as they are about to give up.

Sierra, Judy                            
Ballyhoo Bay
Mira Bella mobilizes her art students, from grandmothers to children, and crabs to seagulls, to stop a dastardly plan for turning the beach at Ballyhoo Bay into an exclusive resort, and offers an alternative–leave the beach as it is.

Stein, David
Interrupting Chicken
Little Red Chicken wants Papa to read her a bedtime story, but interrupts him almost as soon as he begins each tale.

Stuve-Bodeen, Stephanie
Elizabeti’s Doll
When a young Tanzanian girl gets a new baby brother, she finds a rock, which she names Eva, and makes it her baby doll.

Thong, Roseanne
Red Is a Dragon
A young girl introduces colors though dragons, noodles, incense, and other objects commonly occurring in her Asian culture. 

Various                                   
Flip-a-Word  series
Humorous illustrations and die-cut pages introduce short vowel sounds, consonant blends, and word families in these Flip-a-Word books.

Various                                   
Rookie Readers (Level A and Level B)  series
This series features a variety of titles, fiction and non-fiction.  There is a vocabulary review in each book.

Various                                   
We Both Read  (Level K-1) series
This series features a unique format where adults and children take turns reading.  This allows an emerging reader to both practice reading and listen to fluent reading.

Various                                   
Wonder Books series            
Simple texts that feature the sounds of letters introduce readers to the different sounds made by letters and combinations of letters.  There are books for consonants, long and short vowels, and the consonant blends.

Waddell, Martin                       
It’s Quacking Time
A duckling and all his family happily await the hatching of his parents’ new egg.

Ward, Jennifer                                   
There Was an Old Monkey Who Swallowed a Frog
Set in the jungle, this variation on the traditional, cumulative rhyme looks at the consequences of a monkey’s strange diet.

Willems, Mo
Elephant and Piggie series
Gerald the elephant and Piggie have very silly adventures. 

Winters, Kay
This School Year Will Be the Best
When a teacher asks her students on the first day of school what they wish for in the coming year, the answers range from having a good school picture to receiving a perfect report card.

Woodson, Jacqueline
The Other Side
Two girls, one white and one black, gradually get to know each other as they sit on the fence that divides their town.

Zemach, Kaethe                     
Ms. McCaw Learns to Draw
Dudley Ellington struggles to learn anything at school, but when his very patient teacher Mrs. McGraw is unable to draw a face on the board, he helps her figure out how to do it.

The above list was compiled by Wakefield’s K-4 reading teachers
and the librarians of Lucius Beebe Memorial Library.

The following are suggestions for summer reading and read-alouds.  In most cases, the titles listed are just a sampling of the many works produced by these authors.  Enjoy exploring more of their books.

You can find these books in the Youth Room under the green 3 sign. 
They will have green stickers on the spine. 

Adler, David
Cam Jansen series
A fifth-grader with a photographic memory solves mysteries.

Barnholdt, Lauren
Hailey Twitch series
The hilarious adventures of second grader Hailey Twitch and her friend Maybelle who just happens to be a 200 year old sprite that only Hailey can see.

Barrows, Annie
Ivy and Bean series
Second graders Ivy and Bean live next door to each other.  Together they can handle whatever challenges come their way. Check out this site for more about Ivy and Bean: www.anniebarrows.com/ivyandbean/ 

Base, Graeme
Enigma
When Bertie the badger visits his grandfather at a retirement home for magicians, he learns that his grandfather’s rabbit, Enigma, has disappeared along with everyone’s magical things. Readers are invited to help break a code to find the items hidden throughout the book.

Blume, Judy
The Pain & the Great One series
First-grader Jake “the Pain” and his sister, third-grader Abigail “the Great One.”   

Bruchac, Joseph
Jim Thorpe’s Bright Path
A biography of Native American athlete Jim Thorpe, focusing on how his boyhood education set the stage for the athletic achievements that gained him international fame and Olympic gold medals. Author’s note details Thorpe’s life after college.

Cleary, Beverly
Ramona series
This humorous series follows the life of Ramona Quimby and her family and friends as Ramona grows up.

Clements, Andrew
Jake Drake series
Jake is a typical kid. Why does he always seem to be in trouble?

Collard, Sneed B.
Wings
Discusses the animals that have wings, various types of wings, and how they are used.

Dahl, Roald
The Enormous Crocodile
The enormous crocodile devises secret plans and a few clever tricks to secure his lunch only to be foiled by his neighbors.

Danziger, Paula
Amber Brown series
Spunky Amber Brown deals with what life brings her with humor and determination. 

DiCamillo, Kate
Bink & Gollie
Two roller-skating best friends, one tiny and one tall, share three comical adventures involving outrageously bright socks, an impromptu trek to the Andes, and a most unlikely marvelous companion.

Draper, Sharon
Sassy series 
It’s hard to get respect when you’re only nine, the youngest in your family and everyone calls you Little Sister instead of Sassy.  But Sassy has imagination and style and finds that whatever problem comes her way, she has just the thing needed to solve it in her marvelous Sassy Sack.

Friedman, Laurie
Mallory series
The tales of eight year old Mallory McDonald, a lively character with a penchant for jokes and creative situations that have comical yet mixed results. Readers will relate to her thoughts and experiences from girlfriend activities to sibling issues to the rewards of friendship.

Funke, Cornelia
Ghosthunters series
Timid nine-year-old Tom Tomsky and  professional ghosthunter Hetty Camomile.

Granderson, Curtis     
All You Can Be
The Detroit Tigers Centerfielder writes about baseball and his life.  The book is illustrated with drawings by fourth graders in Michigan.

Hicks, Betty
Gym Shorts series
Action-filled sports books that pack the energy of the gym into short novels.

Hillman, Ben
How Big Is It? 
How deep was the ice above New York in the ice ages?  How long is a giant squid?  Who is taller, a polar bear or a basketball player?  Once you read one of these books, you will want to know more.   

Hopping, Lorraine
Wild Weather: Tornadoes!
Describes the work of two people who study tornadoes in the Midwest by discovering and following them.

Hurwitz, Johanna
Monty series
Montgomery Gerald Morris may be small and shy, but he’s also a mighty smart kid who, despite his asthma, always finds his own way of doing things.

Janeczko, Paul
A Foot in the Mouth.  Poems to Speak, Sing, and Shout
A varied collection of lively rhymes, tricky tongue twisters, poems for more than one voice, bilingual poems, and many others.

Katz, Susan
Mrs. Brown on Exhibit
Poems about what the students in Mrs. Brown’s class see and do during their school field trips to a variety of museums.

Keene, Carolyn
Nancy Drew Notebooks series
The first in a series that features Nancy Drew in her first cases, when she was in third grade.

Keene, Carolyn
Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew series
Nancy Drew, girl detective, and her friends George and Beth solve mysteries and crimes. 

Kerrin, Jessica
Martin Bridge series
Third-grader Martin Bridge usually has a scheme or project underway.

Kline, Suzy
Horrible Harry series
The humorous adventures Horrible Harry of classroom 2B and his friends.

Krulik, Nancy
Katie Kazoo Switcheroo series
Katie Carew is an ordinary girl with an unusual problem.  She keeps turning into other things.  Check out this site for more about Katie Kazoo. www.katiekazoo.com

Labatt, Mary
Sam, Dog Detective series
Superdog sleuth Sam and his human friends solve mysteries.

Landon, Lucinda
Meg Mackintosh series
Detective Meg Mackintosh solves a series of mysteries.  The reader is encouraged to solve the mystery along with Meg. 

Le Guin, Ursula
Catwings series
Four young cats just happen to be able to fly. 

Look, Lenore
Ruby Lu series
Amost-eight-year-old Ruby Lu spends time with her baby brother, goes to Chinese school, performs magic tricks and learns to drive on the mean streets of New York. 

Look, Lenore
Alvin Ho series
A young boy in Concord, Massachusetts, who loves superheroes and comes from a long line of brave Chinese farmer-warriors, wants to make friends, but first he must overcome his fear of everything.

Ludwig, Trudy
Confessions of a Former Bully
Nine-year-old Katie’s punishment for bullying classmates includes making up for the hurt she has caused, and so she decides to write a book about bullying, why it is not okay, and how to start being a better friend.

McCall-Smith, Alexander
Harriet Bean series
Harriet Bean loves a good mystery and she and her five extraordinary aunts are always ready for a new case.

McDonald, Megan
Judy Moody series
Third grader Judy Moody has a mood to fit every occasion and a special face to go with it. 

McDonald, Megan
Stink series
More raucous adventures follow with Judy Moody’s little brother, Stink. 

Meadows, Daisy
Rainbow Magic Fairies series
Jack Frost and his goblins are always trying to cause trouble for the Rainbow Magic Fairies.  

Miles, Ellen
Puppy Place series
The Petersons are a foster family for young dogs. They have a puppy of their own, Buddy, but they love to help find the perfect owners for dogs in need.

Mills, Claudia
How Oliver Olson Changed the World
Afraid he will always be an outsider like ex-planet Pluto, nine-year-old Oliver finally shows his extremely overprotective parents that he is capable of doing great things without their help while his class is studying the solar system.

Montgomery, Lewis
Milo & Jazz series
Detectives-in-training Milo and Jazz join forces to tackle cases.

Napoli, Donna Jo
Sly the Sleuth series
Sly the Sleuth, also known as Sylvia, solves mysteries for her friends and neighbors through her detective agency, Sleuth for Hire.

O’Brien, Patrick
You Are the First Kid on Mars
Using the most up-to-date designs and theories of what it will take to establish a base on Mars, you are off on an incredible journey, over 35 million miles to the red planet.

Osborne, Mary Pope
Magic Tree House Research Guides
Nonfiction companions to the Magic Tree House series.

Payne, Nina
Four in All
This simple 56 word poem encapsulates a child’s world, from the up close and personal (“eyes ears nose mouth”) to its far-reaching corners (“east west north south”) on their hands.

Pennypacker, Sara
Clementine series
Third grader Clementine and her best friend Margaret are always in the middle of another adventure. 

Polacco, Patricia
Ginger and Petunia
When her beloved Ginger, a piano-playing socialite and very snappy dresser, makes a last-minute trip to London not knowing her housesitter has cancelled, Petunia the pig does more than fend for herself.  She becomes Ginger.

Prelutsky, Jack
Be Glad Your Nose Is on Your Face and Other Poems
An illustrated collection of humorous poems on a variety of topics.

Raczka, Bob
Guyku
Bob Raczka and Peter Reynolds present a humorous haiku collection perfect for guys (big and small) that celebrates outdoor fun throughout the seasons.

Roy, Ron
Capital Mysteries series
KC Corcoran and her friend Marshall Li live in Washington, D.C.  They often find themselves solving mysteries at the White House, The Smithsonian, and other famous sites.  Sometimes their friend, President Zachary Thornton helps them.  

Salisbury, Graham
Calvin Coconut series
Nine-year-old Calvin lives in Hawaii with his mom and little sister.  He’s a good kid, but somehow he always finds himself in trouble. 

St. George, Judith
Stand Tall, Abraham Lincoln
Growing up poor in the backwoods of Kentucky and Indiana, Abraham Lincoln lost his mother before he was ten. But Sally Johnston, who married Abe’s father a year later, brought a library of books to their log cabin home and turned young Abe’s life around.

Scieszka, Jon
Time Warp Trio series
With the help of a magic book, Joe, Sam and Fred are able to travel through time.

Silverstein, Shel
Where the Sidewalk Ends
A boy who turns into a TV set and a girl who eats a whale are only two of the characters in a collection of humorous poetry illustrated with the author’s own drawings.

Stewart, Melissa
Tell Me Why, Tell Me How Series
This series answers basic questions about complex topics such as how fish breathe underwater and how chameleons change colors.

Stilton, Geronimo
Geronimo Stilton series
Geronimo Stilton is the mild-mannered editor of The Rodent’s Gazette, the largest newspaper on Mouse Island.

Stone, Rex
Dinosaur Cove series
Tom and Jamie can’t believe their luck when they find a secret entrance to a prehistoric world filled with dinosaurs.   You are sure to find your favorite dinosaur in Dinosaur Cove, but you might wish you hadn’t!  Check out this site for more about Dinosaur Cove.www.scholastic.com/dinosaurcove/

Various
Disney Fairies series 
Tinker Bell and the other Never Fairies live in a great old maple tree in Neverland. Each fairy has her own talents and together they work to solve mysteries.   

Various
Extreme Machines series      
From race cars to military tanks, from the Goodyear blimp to toilet cleaners, these books give facts and figures on extreme machines and the jobs they help us do.

Various
Flat Stanley series
After a bulletin board falls on Stanley, he finds that being flat has its advantages.

Warner, Sally
Super Emma
Third-grader Emma becomes a reluctant heroine when she defends a friend from the class bully.

The above list was compiled by Wakefield’s K-4 reading teachers
and the librarians of Lucius Beebe Memorial Library.

The following are suggestions for summer reading and read-alouds.  In most cases, the titles listed are just a sampling of the many works produced by these authors.  Enjoy exploring more of their books.

You can find these books in the Youth Room under the yellow 2 sign. 
They will have yellow stickers on the spine. 

Adler, David A.                                 
Young Cam Jansen series
Cam Jansen uses her photographic memory to collect clues and solve mysteries and crimes.

Banks, Kate
Monkeys and the Universe
Max and his older brother Pete learn about stars, planets, and galaxies when their father takes them to an astronomical observatory.

Brett, Jan
The Three Snow Bears
Retells the story of Goldilocks, set in an Inuit village and featuring a family of polar bears. 

Carlson, Nancy                                  
Start Saving Henry
When Henry the mouse wants to buy a Super Robot Dude, he discovers how hard it is to save money.

Danziger, Paula      
A Is for Amber series
Irrepressible and zany Amber Brown struggles with school, divorce, school teachers, and fellow classmates. 

Demi
One Grain of Rice
A reward of one grain of rice doubles day by day into millions of grains of rice when a selfish raja is outwitted by a clever village girl.

DiCamillo, Kate
Mercy Watson series
Mercy the pig’s love of buttered toast leads her to all kinds of hilarious adventures.  Check out this site for more about Mercy Watson.  http://mercywatson.com/ 

Fox, Mem
Where the Giant Sleeps
Illustrations and rhyming text portray the different residents of fairyland and where each one goes to sleep.

Gantos, Jack            
Rotten Ralph series
Ralph is a nasty cat who enjoys playing practical jokes on his family.

Gaspar, Joe
Baseball’s MVPs series         
These short biographies discuss the lives, careers, and accomplishments of various baseball players.

Gibbons, Gail
Behold the Unicorns
A look at notions about unicorns throughout time and across many cultures.

Grimes, Nikki                                     
Oh, Brother!
Xavier is unhappy when his mother remarries and he suddenly has a new stepbrother, as well as a stepfather, in his home.

Hoff, Syd
Littlest Leaguer
Littlest of all the little leaguers, Harold has a hard time finding some way to really help his team.

Hort, Lenny                         
Did Dinosaurs Eat Pizza?
What did dinosaurs eat?  How did they live?  How did we learn about them?

Khan, Rukhsana                                 
Ruler of the Courtyard
After confronting what she believes to be a snake in the bathhouse, Saba finds the courage to overcome her fear of the chickens in the courtyard.

Komiya, Teruyuki                              
Life-Size Zoo
See life-size photographs of various animals, with fold-out pages and charts of interesting facts.

Krensky, Stephen                               
Big Bad Wolves at School
Rufus, a young wolf, has a hard time fitting in at the Big Bad Wolf Academy where he has been sent to learn to huff and puff - until the day he uses his true talent.

Krull, Kathleen                                  
M Is for Music
An alphabet book introducing musical terms, from allegro to zarzuela.

Lobel, Anita                                       
Hello, Day!
Various animals greet the sunrise in their own unique voices, except for the owl who welcomes the night.

Jacobson, Jennifer                              
Andy Shane series
Gentle Andy Shane lives with Granny Webb.  Bossy Delores Starbuckle lives next door with her family.  Andy and Delores are very different people, but together they make a terrific team.  There is never a dull moment with these two.

Marshall, James                                  
George and Martha  series
Relates several episodes in the friendship of two hippopotamuses.

McCarthy, Meghan                            
Astronaut Handbook
Discusses the requirements for becoming an astronaut.

McClements, George                         
Baron von Baddie and the Ice Ray Incident
What will the evil genius Baron von Baddie do next, now that he has frozen the superhero Captain Kapow inside a block of ice?

McCloskey, Robert                            
Blueberries for Sal
Little Sal and Little Bear both lose their mothers while eating blueberries and almost end up with the other’s mother.

McPhail, David                                  
Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore!
Pigs galore invade a house and have a wonderful party.

Nivola, Claire                                     
Planting the Trees of Kenya
The true story of Wangari Maathai, founder of Kenya’s Green Belt Movement, who taught the Kenyan people to restore trees and greenery to the land. 

Parish, Peggy                                     
Amelia Bedelia series
A literal-minded housekeeper causes a ruckus in the household when she attempts to make sense of some instructions.

Park, Barbara                                     
Junie B. Jones series
The high-spirited Junie B. engages in a number of madcap adventures with her family and classmates.  Check out this site for more about Junie B. Jones.  http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/junieb/ 

Pinkwater, Daniel                              
Irving and Muktuk Stories series
Irving and Muktuk, two bad polar bears, are always blamed for missing blueberry muffins in their general area.  But they never take them.  

Polacco, Patricia
Emma Kate
Emma Kate and her best friend, a toy elephant, share many activities, such as homework and soccer practice, and even have their tonsils out at the same time!

Prelutsky, Jack
My Dog May Be a Genius: Poems
Have you ever encountered an underwater marching band, a pig in a bathing suit, a pet orangutan, or a witch in a hardware store? You will have, once you’ve read this collection of poems.

Provensen, Alice
A Day in the Life of Murphy
Murphy, a farm terrier, describes a day in his life as he gets fed in the kitchen, hunts mice, goes to the vet, returns for dinner, investigates a noise outside, and retires to the barn to sleep.

Rathmann, Peggy
Officer Buckle and Gloria
The children at Napville Elementary School always ignore Officer Buckle’s safety tips, until a police dog named Gloria accompanies him when he gives his safety speeches.

Rau, Dana Meachen
Surprising Science series                  
A discussion about the basic scientific principles and historical context of various fascinating monsters and machines.

Rookie Reader
Read-About Science series              
These colorful books answer questions that students have about their world, and the tools that scientists use to explore it. 

Rylant, Cynthia
Annie and Snowball series
Annie and her rabbit Snowball share many adventures with Annie’s cousin Henry and his big dog, Mudge.

Spradlin, Michael
Baseball from A to Z
From a pitching ace to a strike zone, this energetic alphabet book covers all the bases of America’s favorite pastime. Lively, action-packed illustrations will take readers right into the stands to root, root, root for the home team.

Stead, Philip
A Sick Day for Amos McGee
Amos McGee, a friendly zookeeper, always made time to visit his good friends the elephant, the tortoise, the penguin, the rhinoceros, and the owl. But one day, he wakes with the sniffles and the sneezes. Though he didn’t make it into the zoo that day, he does receive some unexpected guests.

Van Allsburg, Chris
Zathura
Left on their own for an evening, two boisterous brothers find more excitement than they bargain for in a mysterious and mystical space adventure board game.

Various
My Community series
A nonfiction series about topics such as dinosaur museums and zoos.

Various
National Geographic Readers series
Glossy, close-up pictures and simple text explain a variety of topics such as frogs and volcanoes, and engage children interested in science.

Various
Real Kids Readers series (Level 2 and 3)
This series reinforces phonics and vocabulary in short engaging stories illustrated with photographs of real kids. 

Various
We Both Read series (Level 2 and up)
A unique series that pairs younger and older readers.  The format gives readers a more relaxed structure and offers the chance to read and to listen.

Various
Welcome Books series
Photographs and simple text describe a variety of people, concepts and machines that people encounter in everyday life. 

Willems, Mo
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
An unflinching and hilarious look at a child’s potential for mischief. In a plain palette, with childishly elemental line drawings, Willems has captured the essence of unreasonableness in the very young.

Winter, Judy
Pebble Jokes series   
A series for kids who can’t get enough jokes.  The series includes a book on knock-knock jokes, a book of monster jokes, and a book on sports jokes. 

Woodson, Jacqueline
Show Way
The making of show ways, or quilts which once served as secret maps for freedom-seeking slaves, is a tradition passed from mother to daughter in the author’s family.

The above list was compiled by Wakefield’s K-4 reading teachers
and the librarians of Lucius Beebe Memorial Library.

Click on the titles below to search the catalog

Arthurson, Wayne. Fall from grace. [MYSTERY]
Gambling Canadian journalist

Baldacci, David. The sixth man. [SUSPENSE]
After alleged serial killer Edgar Roy is apprehended and locked away in a psychiatric unit, private investigators Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are
called in by Roy’s lawyer–an old friend of Sean King–to look into the case.
But en route to their first meeting with the lawyer, King and Maxwell discover his dead body.

Berg, Elizabeth. Once upon a time, there was you. Continue »

If you’ve been out in the garden but are feeling uninspired this Spring, or you’re ready to start gardening for the first time and you’re not sure where to turn for ideas, Beebe Library has what you need to revive your wilting aspirations. Just inside the Avon Street door is a display of gardening books and DVDs as well as a free fact sheet full of gardening websites and blogs. Continue »

Tuesday, May 17 at 6pm, kids in grades 5 & up are invited to a Quiz Show party at the library! A professional Quiz Master will be here with a game show set to put your trivia knowledge to the test! Compete with your friends and answer questions about sports, television, music, movies, and more!