The Treasury of Read-Alouds

by Jim Trelease © 2006

NOVELS (full) page 1 of 4

These books represent a brief portion of the hundreds
cited in the print edition of The-Read-Aloud Handbook.

Adam Canfield of The Slash

by Michael Winerip      Gr. 5-8      326 pages      Candlewick, 2005

If you had to summarize this book in one sentence, it would be: "Woodward and Bernstein meet Joe and Frank Hardy." Better make that "Jo" Hardy, because half of this intrepid duo is an African-American female named Jennifer, the level-headed and bright co-editor of Harris Elementary/Middle School's student newspaper, The Slash. The role of Frank falls to co-editor Adam Canfield, a bright but unlevel-headed eighth-grader. Instead of Bayport, author Michael Winerip (a Pulitzer Prize-winning education writer for The New York Times) has placed his co-editors in wealthy Tremble, suburbia brimming with over-scheduled kids too busy to play, school administrators and real estate agents too focused on test scores, and a husband-wife team that owns both the cable company and the local newspaper and thus able to slant news and views as they wish.

True, Jennifer and Adam use methods only an experienced adult investigative reporter would know, but they retain a child's view of the world. Super-kids but still kids at heart. The nucleus of the novel is a contest of wills between the ill-tempered principal, Mrs. Morris, and the two editors. This is a superb introduction to modern journalism and to some contemporary issues the author has dealt with as a reporter. SEQUEL: Adam Canfield, Watch Your Back! Related book: The Landry News by Andrew Clements.

The Bad Beginning (series)

by Lemony Snicket      Gr. 2–4      162 pages      Harper, 1999

Contrary to the title, this is a splendid beginning to an enormously popular series that follows the “riches-to-rags” tale of three resilient orphans who no sooner overcome one Dickensian misfortune and villain than even darker ones appear. The children must and do resist these threats with determined quick wits. Sending up the moralistic Victorian adventure tales of a century ago, as well as old-time Saturday movie serials, the author’s asides to the reader/listener are humorous, helpful, and enlightening (especially with vocabulary). The series is completed in book 13, and hopefully the first movie will be the last (awful!). SPOOF: Newbery-winning Lois Lowry offers a send-up of both the Snicket series and the classic orphan melodrama in The Willoughbys.

Because of Winn-Dixie

by Kate DiCamillo      Gr. 2–5      182 pages      Candlewick, 2000

Ten-year-old Opal Buloni is not only the new kid in town, she’s also a preacher’s kid. And she is one of the most refreshing characters to come to children’s literature in a dog’s age. Speaking of dogs, she picked up a stray at the neighborhood Winn-Dixie grocery (that’s how it got its name) and charms her daddy into letting her keep him. She also charms everyone she meets, collecting the weirdest assortment of cast-off grown-ups and kids you’ll ever meet and grow fond of. Also by the author: The Tale of Despereaux. Related books: A Blue-Eyed Daisy by Cynthia Rylant; Ida Early Comes over the Mountain by Robert Burch; Lilly's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff; and Riding Freedom by Pam Muñoz Ryan.

Bridge to Terabithia

by Katherine Paterson      Gr. 4–7      128 pages      Crowell, 1997

Few novels for children have dealt with so many emotions and issues so well: sports, school, peers, friendship, death, guilt, art, and family. This popular Newbery winner deserves to be read or heard by everyone. Also by the author: The Great Gilly Hopkins. Related book: The Pinballs by Betsy Byars.

Bud, Not Buddy

by Christopher Paul Curtis      Gr. 4–8      243 pages      Delacorte, 1999

After escaping a succession of bad foster homes, ten-year-old Buddy sets out to find the man he suspects to be his father—a popular jazz musician in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Told in the first person, this engaging Newbery winner brims with humor and compassion, while offering a keen insight into the workings of a child’s mind during the Great Depression. Related books: A Family Apart by Joan Lowery Nixon; No Promises in the Wind by Irene Hunt; and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor. Also by the author: The Watsons Go to Birmingham. If you have the free plugin RealAudio, you can hear a one-hour interview with the author online at: http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/programs/midmorning/listings/ mm20030512.shtml which ran on Minnesota Public Radio May 16, 2003.

Caddie Woodlawn

by Carol Ryrie Brink      Gr. 4–6      286 pages      Simon & Schuster, 1935

You take The Little House on the Prairie; I’ll take Caddie Woodlawn. Ten times over, I’ll take this tomboy of the 1860s with her pranks, her daring visits to Indian camps, her one-room schoolhouse fights, and her wonderfully believable family. Try to pick up the 1973 edition with Trina Schart Hyman’s illustrations. For experienced listeners. Sequel: Magical Melons. Related book: Riding Freedom by Pam Muñoz Ryan.

Charlotte's Web: 50th anniversary edition

by E. B. White; Garth Williams, illus.      K–4      213 pages      Harper, 2002

One of the most acclaimed books in children’s literature, it is loved by adults as well as children. The tale centers on the barnyard life of a young pig who is to be butchered in the fall. The animals of the yard (particularly a haughty gray spider named Charlotte) conspire with the farmer’s daughter to save the pig’s life. While there is much humor in the novel, the author uses wisdom and pathos in developing his theme of friendship within the cycle of life.

It took them 50 years, but E. B. White's publisher finally included something about the author. For a half century, this modern classic didn't include a single sentence about the author in the hardcover edition. The only mention was his byline on the cover. With this 50th anniversary edition we have some information to bring the man alive for young readers: how he lived, how he wrote, and samples of his editing and concerns while he wrote. Twelve pages by Peter Neumeyer were added to this handsome oversize edition, pages that do a great writer justice. The print in this edition is half again larger than the regular hardcover and paperback, thus accounting for a slightly longer book. Also by the author: Stuart Little. Beverly Gherman’s E. B. White: Some Writer! is an excellent children’s biography of the author. Related books: Spiders! From Time for Kids is an excellent picture book on the world of spiders; Babe the Gallant Pig by Dick King-Smith; Cricket in Times Square by George Selden; and Poppy by Avi. For adult fans of E.B. White, the Web offers a delightful profile of the author by his stepson, the long-time The New Yorker essayist Roger Angell: ANDY (from issues Feb. 14 and 21, 2005).

The City of Ember

by Jeanne Duprau      Gr. 4-7      288 pages      Random, 2003

More than 240 years before the story opens, a great holocaust confronted the population of Earth. To save the species, one group created a huge underground city, Ember, that would be safe from the ravages above. Complete with giant storehouses of supplies and a huge generator, humanity could survive. These forefathers also conceived a means by which the inhabitants would be able to extricate themselves from their underground tomb after 200 years, estimating that by then the surface would be habitable again. Detailed instructions were given to the care of the mayor, who, in turn, would pass them to his successor. The book picks up the story almost 250 years later. Those instructions have long been misplaced and forgotten, and so has much of history. The people know only their life underground and live increasingly meager existences with dwindling supplies and energy.

But the youngest generation is chaffing under the regimentation of the old order, even wondering if there might be something beyond the here and now, pondering "What if —? Two such people are 12-year-olds Doon and Lina. The latter has stumbled on some strange but ancient instructions in her grandmother's closet, and the former is a born rebel and questioner but sentenced to spend the rest of his life repairing the plumbing in the bowels of the city. Together they begin the journey outward and upward that will save their civilization—if they can ever get anyone to follow them. Sequels: The People of Sparks and The Prophet of Yonwood. Related titles: The Giver by Lois Lowry; Journey Outside (Newbery Honor book) by Mary Q. Steele; and When the Tripods Came by John Christopher.

DARBY

by Jonathon Scott Fuqua      Gr. 2-4      240 pages      Candlewick, 2002

To get a quick grip on this book, think of it as To Kill a Mockingbird for nine-year-olds. Except Mockingbird is told through the words of a grown-up Scout who is reflecting on the events of when she was about seven; Darby, on the other hand, is told with the immediate feelings and words of a girl who is still nine, who hasn't achieved the wisdom that comes with hindsight. It takes us back to 1926 and the American South, specifically Marlboro County, South Carolina. And though Darby Carmichael acts as if the world revolves around herself, she is beginning to notice other forces in her small universe—some of which she can't control. She is writing the book to explain the good and terrible things that happened that year in her family and community.

Truthfulness is at the heart of this novel, from the time that Darby is inspired by her best friend to become a newspaper writer. The friend (Evette) is the daughter of a black tenant farmer on Darby's father's farm. It wasn't fashionable for a white girl to have a black best friend in that time and place, but sometimes friendships grow like wildflowers. Ever since Evette told her that newspaper writers must always write the truth, Darby has been writing short articles for the local paper and has become a little celebrity in the community. Then the Carmichaels' redneck neighbor assaults a black boy he finds stealing a chicken, a beating that results in the boy's death. This opens Darby's eyes to the unfair differences between whites and blacks in her town and she and her friend write an essay that unsettles family, friends, and community. More than a book about race, this is a morality tale about conscience and convictions, truth and justice. Readers aloud should not be put off by the size of the book (240 pages); the page dimensions are small, and the text is double-spaced, so it's really about 140 pages in length. Related books: Adam Canfield of The Slash by Michael Winerip; Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor .

Dear Mr. Henshaw

by Beverly Cleary      Gr. 3–6      134 pages      Morrow, 1983

In this 1984 Newbery winner, Beverly Cleary departs from her Ramona format to write a very different but every bit as successful book—perhaps the finest in her long career. Using only the letters and diary of a young boy (Leigh Botts), the author traces his personal growth from first grade to sixth. We watch the changes in his relationship with his divorced parents, his schools (where he always ends up the friendless “new kid”), an author with whom he corresponds over the years, and finally the changes in himself. Along with the usual Cleary humor, there is also genuine sensitivity to the heartaches that confront the growing number of Leigh Bottses in our homes and classrooms. Sequel: Strider. Also by the author: Ramona the Pest. Related books: Danny, Champion of the World by Roald Dahl and Thank You, Jackie Robinson by Barbara Cohen.

Deltora Quest: The Forest of Silence (series)

by Emily Rodda      Gr. 1-5      131 pages      Scholastic, 2000

Here is the fantasy series for those not ready for either the complexity or length of the Harry Potter series. The author has borrowed the traditional quest motif from classical literature and coupled it with a little bit of King Arthur; The Lord of the Rings; Narnia; and even "Star Wars." Set in the fantasy land of Deltora, an evil shadow lord takes over the land when the kingdom's protective stones are stolen and dispersed. To the rescue comes an unlikely trio of teen warriors (two males, one female) who set out to recover the stones and save the kingdom. Each book uncovers more stones but also enormous obstacles that block their recovery. This is followed by Book Two: Dragons of Deltora, and Book Three: Deltora Shadlowlands.

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

by E. L. Konigsburg      Gr. 4–7      162 pages      Macmillan, 1967

A bored and brainy twelve-year-old girl talks her nine-year-old brother into running away with her. To throw everyone off their trail, Claudia chooses the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City as a refuge, and amid centuries-old art they sleep, dine, bathe, and pray in regal secret splendor. An exciting story of hide-and-seek and a wonderful art lesson to boot. For experienced listeners. Related runaway books: a city boy hides in the wilderness in My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George; a city boy hides in the subway system in Slake’s Limbo by Felice Holman.

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