Elementary School (K-5)

Longer nights have returned, so what better time to indulge with a gripping ghost story, or THREE!

If your family dares to read these three fantastic chapter books (suitable for most 9-10 year olds and older), you'll not only enjoy satisfying supernatural encounters, you'll also bravely face the uncomfortable truths revealed as past and present collide!

Titles are listed in order of both increasing length and thematic complexity.

If you heard that someone got stuck when trying to cross the border, would you think of San Ysidro, El Paso or maybe Laredo? I admit, I did. But this story takes place at the Canadian-American border. This graphic novel, illustrated by Natasha Donovan, is an adaptation of Thomas King's 1993 short story. A Blackfoot boy in Alberta tells how when he was about twelve years old, his seventeen year old sister moved to Salt Lake City. The tension between Laetitia and her mother feels very real.

On June 23, 2018 12 Thai boys and their soccer coach departed on what was to be an afternoon of cave exploration. However, due to sudden flooding rains, it became an ordeal for the team, their families, the rescuers and the people of Thailand. This ordeal lasted 17 days. Between the efforts of military members, civilians and volunteers from all over the globe, all 13 team members were rescued. It was a rescue that should not have been successful, but miraculously was.

Twelve topics related to Native Americans' experiences are represented in this picture book designed as a student information fair. The story starts in a classroom with students signing up for ten-minute long presentations. Topics range from assimilation and allotment to relocation, the Indian New Deal and language revival. In the subsequent pages, each topic receives a full spread illustration depicting the topic during the time period in which it took place, always ending with the words, "We are still here!"

Latin Grammy award-winner, Lucky Diaz, has written a tribute to his childhood LA neighborhood. On a hot summer day in LA, a young boy grabs his money and heads off down the street to find the Paletero Man, with his cart full of frozen treats, colorful paletas in so many flavors. Following the cart’s “Ring Ring,” the boy runs along, passing his friends’ food carts, the bike shop, the park and more, and treating readers to a beautiful day in his neighborhood. Alas, he is unaware that he is dropping his money along the way.

One cranky preschooler plus one desperate dad, a purple stroller and an urban landscape, equals a ride as exciting as any tilt-a-whirl. Strollercoaster is an invention created by Matt Ringler for his own daughter when the daily frustrations got to be too much, and an exciting distraction was just the ticket.

Part of a phenomenal new series of board and picture books, Storytelling Math, What Will Fit follows a little girl at a Farmer’s Market as she looks for the perfect item to fit into her basket. She tries a beet (too small), a zucchini (too tall), and a few other items before finding something that fits perfectly. This installment of the series focuses on spatial sense. Others focus on early geometry, patterns, and other math concepts.

Cuando Mónica va en bicicleta, es más rápida que el viento, pero lo que más más más le gusta del mundo es pintar. Pinta muchas cosas con todos los colores, pero nunca ha pintado un beso. Pinta con cada color para ver cual sea mejor para pintar un beso, y descubre algo de color arcoíris. Perfecto para compartir con niños de 3-6 años, y seguir con un proyecto de arte.  

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Shanti waves good bye to her village in India and hello to her new town in the United States. Life in her apartment with Ma and Baba feels much like life in her village, but outside, in town things are strange. Shanti goes back and forth, remembering her village, and learning her new town. Back and forth, again and again, In Between. Most of the time, Shanti goes from village to town with great joy, but sometimes it is hard.