Here are some titles to inspire your students in the coming school year! We’ve collected a few of our favorite appropriate titles in the following categories: Something OLD, something NEW, something to BORROW from your local library and something TRUE for spiritual development. Books we have reviewed on Redeemed Reader are linked.
Ages 0-4 (books on counting, colors, shapes, etc.)
OLD: Mouse Paint by Ellen Walsh
NEW: Countablock by Christopher Franceschelli
BORROW: LMNOPeas by Keith Baker
TRUE: Everything a Child Should Know About God by Kenneth Taylor and Jenny Brake (read review)
Ages 4-8
OLD: Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban
NEW: Water is Water: A Book About the Water Cycle by Miranda Paul and illustrated by Jason Chin (read review)
BORROW: The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles OR With Books and Bricks: the Story of Booker T. Washington by Suzanne Slade
TRUE: Daily Bible Reading Program for Children bookmarks (read review)
Ages 9-12
OLD: The Year Money Grew on Trees by Aaron Hawkins (read review) Summary: Middle-grade kids persevere through hard work and frustration to cultivate their own apple orchard in this engrossing tale that beautifully illustrates the work ethic.
NEW: Somebody on This Bus Is Going to Be Famous by J. B. Cheaney (read review) Summary: A realistic fiction novel that brings together nine very different students on one bus with one school driver for one school year: who is going to be famous? Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel (read review) Summary: Absolutely Truly begins a fun and wholesome mystery series for middle graders set in Pumpkin Falls, New Hampshire.
TRUE: How God Used a Thunderstorm by Joel Beeke (read review)
Ages 12-15
OLD: For girls: Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer (read review). Summary: Good-hearted Jenna Boller overcomes numerous obstacles to achieve her dream of becoming the world’s best shoe salesperson.
For boys: Unstoppable by Tim Green (read review) Summary: A middle-grade boy’s football ambitions crash against a cancer diagnosis in this frank tale by NFL star Tim Green.
NEW: Fallout (Lois Lane) by Gwenda Bond (read review) Summary: Fallout introduces Lois Lane as a hard-charging teenage reporter with a passion for justice, in this fun, clean YA adventure.
BORROW: Pioneer Girl: the Annotated Autobiography by Laura Ingalls Wilder (edited by Pamela Smith Hill) (read review) Summary: Laura Ingalls Wilder’s own account of her growing-up years shows how life became art and is a must for fans of the Little House series.
TRUE: Rise by Trip Lee (read review) Summary: Trip Lee’s Rise is a gospel-based, conversational book set to a hip-hop album soundtrack in which Lee challenges young adults to rise above low expectations and “get up and live” for God’s glory. Pilgrim’s Progress by Gary Schmidt (read review) Summary: Gary Schmidt brings to this retelling a novelist’s sense of plot and character development, ably abetted by Barry Moser’s watercolor illustrations.
BONUS for all ages:
Art for Kids: Drawing: The only art book you’ll need to be the artist you’ve always wanted to be by Kathryn Temple
20 Ways to Draw… [series] by various artists (read review)
We welcome your suggestions in the comments! And don’t forget your printable copy of the list.
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Megan is Associate Editor for Redeemed Reader, and she loves nothing more than discovering Truth and Story in literature. She is the author of Something Better Coming, and is quite particular about which pottery mug is best suited to her favorite hot drinks throughout the day.
Megan lives with her husband and five boys in Virginia.
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