The Kid Who Ran for President


Dan Gutman - 1996
    Humor, adventure, and excitement will draw kids into the world of elections and politics."Hi! My name is Judson Moon. I'm 12 years old and I'm running for President of the YOU-nited States."So begins this fast-paced, funny, and surprising account of a boy's run for the Oval Office in the year 2000. Under the tutelage of Lane, his brainy friend and self-appointed campaign manager, the affable sixth-grader from Madison, Wisconsin, takes on the Democrats and Republicans as a Third Party candidate who can make waves. "Grown-ups have had the last one thousand years to mess up the world," Judd tells a reporter. "Now it's our turn."

The Worst Witch


Jill Murphy - 1974
    She's always getting her spells wrong and she can't even ride a broomstick without crashing it. Will she ever make a real witch?

Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life


Rachel Renée Russell - 2009
    New mean girl. New crush. New diary so I can spill about all of it…I put a lot of really personal stuff in this diary along with my sketches and doodles.But, mostly it’s about how TRAUMATIC it was transferring to my new private middle school, Westchester Country Day.And, how a lot of the CCP (Cool, Cute & Popular) kids were really SNOBBY and made my life TOTALLY miserable. People like, oh, I don’t know, maybe…MACKENZIE HOLLISTER!!And, it just so happened that I got stuck with a locker right next to hers. I could NOT believe I had such CRAPPY luck. I knew right then and there it was going to be a VERY, VERY long school year :-( !

The Dreamfighter And Other Creation Tales


Ted Hughes - 1995
    These are mesmerising tales from a master storyteller about the creatures around us - how they came to be the shape that they are, and why they behave as they do. The stories span the age range from 4 to 14 and are ideal for reading out loud and sharing amongst the family.

Where's Wallace?


Hilary Knight - 1964
    But all he wants to see is the world beyond the zoo. So whenever his keeper, Mr. Frumbee, leaves his cage open the tiniest bit, Wallace takes off on an adventure -- to the department store, the museum, or even the beach.So it's up to Mr. Frumbee -- with a little help from you -- to find that errant ape within the nine action-packed, full-color panoramas. (And while you're at it, Wallace has six friends who tag along on each of those adventures. Can you figure out who they are and find them in each spread? Here's a hint: Check out the totem pole in the Nature Museum.)

A Bear Called Paddington


Michael Bond - 1958
    and Mrs. Brown first met Paddington, a most endearing bear from Darkest Peru on a railway platform in London. A sign hanging around his neck said, "Please look after this bear. Thank you" So that is just what they did.From the very first night when he attempted his first bath and ended up nearly flooding the house, Paddington was seldom far from imminent disaster. Jonathan and Judy were delighted with this havoc and even Mr. and Mrs. Brown had to admit that life seemed to be more filled with adventure when there was a bear in the house.

Chicken Soup for the Kid's Soul


Jack Canfield - 1998
    It also contains stories that are funny or just plain silly so kids will know that life's challenges are balanced with joy. Written by kids themselves and adults who haven't forgotten what it's like to be a kid.

The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes


Bill Watterson - 1992
    A tiger whose idea of adventure is to lie on his back by the fire and have his stomach rubbed. In six short years this unlikely duo has captured the hearts, the minds, and, most of all, the funny bones of America. They are the most phenomenal success story in syndication - and publishing - history. In only six years, they appear in more than 2,100 newspapers worldwide, and Calvin and Hobbes wins as many readership polls as Calvin has excesses. All seven of Bill Watterson's collections have sold a million copies within a year of publication.This treasury collection contains a never-before-published full-color section, as well as the cartoons appearing in The Revenge of the Baby-Sat and Scientific Progress Goes "Boink." All Sunday cartoons are presented full-page and full-color.

Love That Dog


Sharon Creech - 2001
    Only girls write it and every time he tries to, his brain feels empty. But his teacher, Ms. Stretchberry, won't stop giving her class poetry assignments -- and Jack can't avoid them. But then something amazing happens. The more he writes, the more he learns he does have something to say.

A Squash and a Squeeze


Julia Donaldson - 1993
    A goat on the bed and a cow on the table tapping out a jig? My readers collapsed in heaps, and then had to have it read again. And again." - Vivian French in The Guardian

The Chocolate Touch


Patrick Skene Catling - 1952
    It's an enjoyable story that pulls in even reluctant readers.

Let's Pretend This Never Happened


Jim Benton - 2004
    Actually, it was better than okay. Angeline got her long, beautiful hair tangled in one of the jillion things she has dangling from her backpack, and the school nurse -- who is now one of my main heroes -- took a pair of scissors and snipped two feet of silky blond hair from the left side of her head, so now Angeline only looks like The Prettiest Girl in the World if you're standing on her right. (Although personally, I think she would look better if I was standing on her neck.)

A Dog Called Kitty


Bill Wallace - 1980
    So when a stray puppy comes sniffling around the farm, Ricky tells it to get lost. But the puppy keeps trying to play with Ricky. And every time Ricky's Mom feeds the cats, the little dog comes running. The cats aren't sharing their food, however, and the poor pup is slowly starving. If Ricky doesn't overcome his fear, the little puppy may die -- but if he lets himself get close enough to feed it, he may find the best friend he's ever had! Winner of the Texas Bluebonnet, the Oklahoma Sequoyah and the Nebraska Golden Sower Awards.

Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big


Berkeley Breathed - 2000
    But one day, Edwurd tells such a whopping lie that the army, the air force, and the dogcatcher are called to reverse the damage. Full color.

Santa's Twin


Dean Koontz - 1995
    Winner of an Atlantic Monthly fiction competition while he was just a senior in college, Koontz today is a world-famous author whose books have been published in thirty-eight different languages and have sold more than three hundred million copies.Lavishly illustrated with spectacular paintings by Phil Parks, this thoroughly modern masterpiece breathes new life and warmth into the world's most beloved legend.