Middle People's (and some adult) Books: - Authors “N-Z”
[This
list is constantly expanding, as our newest generation has entered this level
of maturity. The age designations I have
chosen are influenced by the fact that we have an “early reader”. Don’t assume all books on this list are
“recommended”; please read the notes for each book; a few are on here because I
do NOT recommend them.]
Donna Jo Napoli –
(fiction)
o
Daughter
of Venice - In 1592 a young noble girl lives a very
protected life in Venice. She decides
disguise herself and have some adventures; her life is changed. Fairly good; for older children it gives a
glimpse into the life of young people in an early era. [10-12+
yrs]
Scott O'Dell –
o
Island
of the Blue Dolphins - (fictionalized story of an actual woman about whom we know
almost nothing. She lived on one of the
Channel Islands off the coast of CA for 18 years by herself) - beautiful book! [9+ yrs, her people were all slaughtered] [Newbery Medal, 1961]
Katherine Paterson - (fiction)
o
Bridge
to Terabithia – story of two fifth
grade friends’ lives and their adventures in a make believe world they call
Terabithia. To quote the back of the
book, “then one morning a terrible tragedy occurs.” For this reason the book should wait for a
degree of emotional maturity on the part of the reader. [10+ yrs]
Mary Pope
Osborne and Sal Murdocca –
o
The
Magic Tree House series (mystery -
beginner) [5+ yrs]
Eleanor H. Porter – (fiction) I loved these books as a child. [8+ yrs]
o
Pollyanna - orphan
with a good attitude is sent to live with her grumpy Aunt and spreads sunshine
all over the place.
o
Pollyanna
Grows Up - she maintains her great attitude through
life’s challenges.
Wilson Rawls –
o
Where
the Red Fern Grows -
a boy and his hounds in the Ozarks early 20th century – tragedy pushes it
upwards in years. [10+ yrs]
Seymour Reit
o
Guns
for General Washington - A Story of the American Revolution - (history) An account of Henry Knox and his brother
Will's courageous hauling of guns for several hundred miles in mid-winter from
Ft. Ticonderoga to Boston area, thus quite probably enabling the creation of
our great nation! Factual details, well written into a story, interesting
enough for any grown-up who would like to know the story. Ft. Knox is
named for this Henry Knox, with good reason! [7+ yrs, but adults will enjoy]
o
Behind
Rebel Lines: The Incredible Story of
Emma Edmonds, Civil War Spy (history) – young lady impersonates a man, joins
the army, is a nurse, but is conscripted for 11 trips behind the Southern lines
to gather intelligence—some of which was critical in the course of various
battles. She documented her own story,
and Reit uses old copies of the book, plus military records to recreate the
story. He’s good at this! [7+ yrs, again adults will like it.]
Gail Rock –
o
The
House Without a Christmas tree (fiction, but may be autobiographical as well). Set in 1946 in
the town where the author grew up. Young
girl’s attempt to fathom her father’s prohibition of a Christmas tree in their
home after the death of her mother. Touching story; good lessons. [8+ yrs]
Thomas Rockwell –
o
How
to Eat Fried Worms –
About boys and daring. Very amusing and
typically revolting. I think every child
will appreciate the adventures of these 9-year olds. [8+ yrs]
Lee Roddy (co-author of
Grizzly Adams) – (fiction)
o
The
Mystery of the Black Hole Mine (D. J. Dillon Adventure
Series) – good story for this age group [7+ yrs]
Pam Muńoz Ryan
o
Esperanza
Rising - (historical fiction, inspired by her Grandmother’s immigration to the
U.S. from Mexico) – Twelve-year old’s
wealthy ranch family loses everything (including her father). She and her mother come to work in the
California fields as farmworkers in order to escape her wicked uncles. Well-written.
[9+ yrs] [Pura Belpre’ Award, Jane Addams Children’s Book
Award]
Louis Sachar – (fiction)
Holes – This book has won a list of awards that is
truly impressive. While it is true that
it is a very well-written story, it is a diabolical story unless you truly wish
to have your 9-yr old read about a 12-yr old who is sentenced to a “camp”
(prison) for something he did not do where the jailor is a psychopath and the
only lesson to be learned is caring for your fellowman. That is, of course, an
admirable thing to learn, but I see no point in plunging a child’s psyche into
the depths of human depravity and terrifying them as you use a child to do
so. It is rated at 9+ yrs on Amazon, but
I would rate it at “never”—I literally had to make myself complete it so I
could tell my daughter about it. I am
very sorry that the so-called intelligent people who determine awards for
writing sometimes have such sick minds as to rate this a child’s story. [Newbery Medal, 1999]
George Seldon (fiction)
o
The
Cricket in Times Square –
really sweet story introducing Chester Cricket, Tucker Mouse, and Harry Cat. (Illustrated by Garth Williams—really nice
artwork) [5+ yrs] [Newberry
Honor Book, 1960]
o
Tucker’s
Countryside
o
Harry
Cat’s Pet Puppy
o
Chester
Cricket’s Pigeon Ride
o
Chester
Cricket’s New Home
o
Harry
Kitten and Tucker Mouse
o
The
Old Meadow
Margaret Sidney - Five
Little Peppers and How They Grew [7+ years]
Shel Silverstein
- (not just for kids; very simple approach to what are often very complex
subjects)
o The Giving Tree
o Where the Sidewalk Ends
o Runny Babbit, etc.
Alexander McCall Smith –
o
The Great Cake Mystery: Precious Ramotswe's Very First
Case: A Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Book for Young Readers - Very sweet story of how Precious solved her
first case. He uses the story to
demonstrate many good principles, such as what happens when we make incorrect
assumptions and how that hurts people.
[intended for up to 10 yrs; read aloud to a 5-6 yr old]
Lemony Snicket –
The Bad Beginning, or
Orphans!
Occasionally I post notes on books I do NOT
recommend. This “unfortunate events”
series falls into this category.
There is nothing amusing, educational, nor
entertaining about a story in which a family loses their parents when their
house burns down, they are taken in by a wicked relative who tries to trick the
14-yr old girl into marrying him so he can get his hands on their great fortune
(after which he states he will kill all three children), the little one is hung
from a tower in a cage to coerce the 14-yr old, they live in filth and abject
poverty while waiting to receive said fortune, etc. etc. etc. None of their clever “solutions” ever work in
the end and the stage is set for the next disastrous book (which I will not be
reviewing).
It isn't like there is ever any kind of redemption.
I have no desire to impose such depressing tales
on anyone—certainly not on the mind and heart of any precious child.
Donald J. Sobol –
(biography)
o
The
Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk – good, simple presentation of the pre-flight story [7+ yrs]
Elizabeth George Speare
-
o Calico Captive - (historical fiction) - basic storyline is from the actual
narrative diary of the main character (originally published in 1796, then again
in 1807), a girl who lived at Charlestown, NH in 1754, during the French and
Indian War [12+, story is much
about her personal growth, romantic experiences, etc.]
o
The
Bronze Bow - (historical
fiction) – Story of teenager in Galilee in time of Christ; he is filled with
hatred for the Romans. Really great
book. [~12+; adults also] [Newbery
Medal, 1962]
o The Sign of the Beaver (historical fiction) – great story of 12-yr old
pioneer boy living in lonely cabin (befriended by Indians) while his father
goes to collect the rest of the family. [7+ yrs] [Newbery Honor Book, 1984
Joanna Spyri – (fiction)
o
Heidi (fiction) [8+ yrs] - a little girl and her grandfather in the
Swiss alps.
o
The two sequel books, Heidi
Grow Up and Heidi’s Children were neither written nor endorsed by Spyri,
but were written by her English translator, Charles Tritten, many years after
she died. I enjoyed them both.
Nancy Star – (fiction)
o
The
Case of the New Year’s Eve Nightmare – good mystery story for younger
readers [7+ yrs]
Lauren Tarshis –
(historical fiction)
This series is stories
of individual kids and their families during these events. They do not attempt to tell the whole story
of the event. Formulaic, but I believe
kids will like the stories. They are
designed as early chapter books (Amazon says 7+), but I personally feel caution
should be exercised for young children because some of their experiences are
very scary. I would rate them at [9+ yrs].
o
I
Survived the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906
o
I
Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001
o
I
Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005
E. B. White –
o
Charlotte's
Webb [Newbery Honor Book,
1953]
Kate Douglas Smith
Wiggin –
o
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm – Rebecca is sent to
live with two aunts after the death of her father. They do not appreciate her lively imagination
and lack of household skills. She
develops writing skills and eventually helps rescue the rest of her family. [8+ yrs]
o
The author wrote a
sequel, New Chronicles of Rebecca, but I have never read it. Her great nephew has written even more. Multiple movies and serializations.
Deborah Wiles – amusing writer; seems to be working out her own
thoughts and feelings regarding death, at least in these two books.
o
Love,
Ruby Lavendar - cute story dealing with relationships and
death from the perspective of a young girl, lots of good lessons here at the
appropriate age [10+ yrs]
o
Each
Little Bird that Sings - another good one through the eyes of a young
girl, dealing primarily with deaths [10+ yrs]
Laura Ingall's Wilder - first winner of the Wilder Medal for
contribution to children's literature
· Little House series... (autobiographical) (not just for kids) [6+ yrs, read aloud to younger ones; kids interest may stop with The Long Winter
until pre-teens, although my mom read the whole set aloud to the whole family]
o
Little
House in the Big Woods
o
Little
House on the Prairie
o
Farmer
Boy [Alonzo’s story]
o On the Banks of Plum Creek - [Newbery Honor Book, 1938]
o By the Shores of Silver Lake
- [Newbery Honor Book,
1940]
o The Long Winter - [Newbery Honor Book, 1941]
o Little Town on the Prairie - [Newbery Honor Book, 1942]
o These Happy Golden Years - [Newbery Honor Book, 1944]
o
The
First Four Years – This one is rather different from the other
stories, but concludes the series.
o
On
the Way Home: The Diary of a Trip from
South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894
o
West
from Home: Letters of Laura Ingalls
Wilder, San Francisco, 1915
Marcia Williams – (classic stories made into
great cartoons – grades 1-6 and beyond)
All of the ones I have seen have been great
and kids love them. A great way to begin
to introduce the classics. I have read
the first three so far.
o
Greek
Myths
o
Tales
From Shakespeare
o
The
Iliad and The Odyssey
o
More
Tales From Shakespeare
o
Ancient
Egypt: Tales of Gods and Pharoahs
o
Chaucer’s
Canterbury Tales
o
The
Adventures of Robin Hood
o
King
Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
o
Charles
Dickens and Friends -- Five Lively Retellings
-- Oliver Twist, Great
Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, and A Christmas Carol
o
Noah’s
Ark and other Bible Stories
o
Three
Cheers for Inventors
o
Bravo,
Mr. William Shakespeare
o
Fabulous
Monsters
o
Mr.
William Shakespeare’s Plays
o
Sinbad
the Sailor
N. D. Wilson -
o
100
Cupboards, Book 1 - (fantasy adventure) – Kid opens hidden cupboard doors—each ones
leads to a different (and often scary) fantasy situation. I did not care for this book and personally
believe it would terrify lots of kids until they got used to the
fantasies. Once they liked this one,
they might like the sequels. It seems to
be pretty well written for the genre. [9+ yrs]
Elvira Woodruff –
o
Dear
Levi – Letters From the Overland Trail – (historical fiction), a 12-yr old boy tells his brother of life
on the trail.
o
George
Washington's Socks
- (historical fiction/fantasy) kids take a walk and end up in the Revolutionary
War [7+ yrs]
