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.
Stories for a Safer Wakefield is a month-long community inquiry during May 2010, intended to provoke thought and discussion about violence and its deterrence. Beebe Library invites you to read from a selection of stories that draw awareness to the effects of violence in a community. Stories for a Safer Wakefield features forums and activities to better understand and mitigate violence in our lives. For more information on Stories for a Safer Wakefield: Brochure or Wakefield Alliance Against Violence.
Children and Youth Titles
Picture Books for Preschool~Grade 1
The Bully Blockers Club by Teresa Bateman~ Lotty Raccoon is bullied in school so much that it makes her feel sick. After several failed attempts to deal with the problem, she comes up with an idea that works.
No! by David McPhail~ Repeated only three times, “No!” is the only word spoken in this beautifully illustrated book about a boy who walks to the post office to deliver a letter to his President and witnesses the war raging around him. A good story dealing with bullying.
The Recess Queen by Alexis O’Neill~ Mean Jean is the biggest bully on the school playground until a new girl arrives and challenges Jean’s status as the Recess Queen.
Chapter Books for Children
Secret Identity by Wendelin Van Draanen~ Fifth-grader Nolan Byrd, tired of being called names by the class bully, has a secret identity- Shredderman!
CRAFT AND BOOK DISCUSSION: Friday, May 28; 4:00-5:30pm for grades 4 and up.
Super Emma by Sally Warner~ Third-grader Emma becomes a reluctant heroine when she defends a friend from the class bully.
CRAFT AND BOOK DISCUSSION: Saturday, May 8; 2:00-3:00pm for grades 2 and up.
Young Adult Novels
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson~ After making a 911 call at a party, popular Melinda finds herself abandoned by her friends and an outcast among her classmates.
TEEN MOVIE AND TRIVIA NIGHT: movie based on the novel starring Kristen Stewart. Tuesday, May 4; 7:00-9:00pm.
Crash by Jerry Spinelli~ Football star John “Crash” Coogan enjoys making touchdowns and rough-housing for fun. Not until his pranks have serious consequences does Crash begin to think of himself and his friend Mike as bullies.
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