Children’s books for the early teen years, not yet young adults, but no longer little ones
Published: 1975 Theme: Good Battling Evil Best for: ages 12 and up "The music of the golden harp," said the blue-robed lord, "has a power that may not be broken either by the Dark or by the light. It has the High Magic in it." Susan Cooper is a fabulous writer. She doesn't ever let it get over the top with bad stuff. The settings are magical, and some of the characters are larger than life...
Published: 2013 Theme: Recovering from Loss Best for: girls 11 and up "She's white as a snowball but she's warm, not frozen. She's squishy and soft and sweet as a marshmallow. But she's delicate as an orchid graceful as a ballerina miraculous as an angel. I can't believe my luck." I found this book mesmerizing. I loved the very real descriptions of the effect of the kitten on the young girl, and how she continued to work on opening her dad's heart, who is grieving...
Published: 2001 Theme: The Power of Story Best for: 12 and up "Queen Emmeline glided up to her husband and laid her hand on his arm as Sylvie disappeared in the direction of page 6. She found a comfy spot on the left-hand margin beside the seventh paragraph and rested her head on 'grandiloquent,' the largest adjective in sight." Do you know a young teen who likes quirky books, with a touch of fantasy mixed with the metaphysical and psychological? If so...
Published: 2013 Theme: Reading, and Teamwork Best for: good readers 10 and up "Early access to the Electronic Learning Center will be tonight's second prize," said Dr. Zinchenko. "To win it, you must use the library's resources to find dessert, which we have hidden somewhere in the building. ..So use your wits and use your library. Go find dessert!" Welcome to the library of the future, and a brand new children's book that glorifies reading, research, and most of all, honest team work. This very odd children's book is ...
Published: 2002 Theme: Healing after Trauma Best for: ages 9 and up "We've got some amazing secret recipes," Sairy said. "Beat-the-blues broccoli and anti-cranky crumpets and--" "Hey, with us here now," Dallas said, "maybe you ought to make yourselves some getting-used-to-kids-again stew." Picking up a Sharon Creech children's book, I always wonder what difficult topic she's taking on now. This one didn't disappoint me--orphaned children who no longer believe...
Published: 2012 Theme: Courage and Perseverance Best for: 11 and older "Food is considered a luxury in Carthyan orphanages. They operate on whatever money an orphan inherited upon the deaths of his parents, which inevitably is little more than the shirt on his back after debts were settled." I cannot explain what it is about the writing style in these children's books, but from beginning to end, it is impossible to put the book down.
Published: 2013 Theme: Heroism Best for: ages 9 and up "In what way was attacking a peaceful neighboring country heroic? He degraded Erick's men for being thieves even as he planned to steal all of Carthya from me. My fingers itched to pick up my knife and start the fight." I love heroic characters. I don't have much tolerance for fighting. Somehow they always seem to go together. Yet in The Runaway King, the fighting seems to be somewhat tolerable, especially because the good guy always wins...
Published: 2009 Theme: Grieving and Healing Best for: ages 9 and up "The knuckleball wasn't just a pitch. It was an attitude toward life; it was a way of being in the world. It was a philosophy. "You don't aim a butterfly," her father used to say. "You release it." This is a book anyone could love. Boys who love baseball could surely appreciate it. Girls who want to try something out of the ordinary could love it. I certainly loved it...
Published: 2001 Theme: Perserverance Best for: ages 9 and up "Your mind knows that you are going to Songdo. But you must not tell your body. It must think one hill, one valley, one day at a time. In that way, your spirit will not grow weary before you have even begun to way." In this lovely, art-inspired children's book about a potter and his apprentice, the feeling of the way of the ancients comes through loud and strong. The image of the apprentice who serves the master potter for the love of the art is...
Published: 2013 Theme: Kindness and Survival Best for: children over 10 "The heart is like an apartment," Madame Marie tells me. "Every day you must clean it and make it cheerful...If you make your apartment extra nice, God will come to visit you too." Here is a breathtakingly beautiful children's book about a breathtakingly horrendous episode in history: the Holocaust...
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