Read-Alouds J

Winner of the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award. Stanley Yelnats, unjustly sentenced to a boys' detention center, spends every day digging holes five feet wide by five feet deep. But there's something else going on here. Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime, punishment, and redemption.

When 12-year-old Max's actor parents leave for unknown parts without taking him, he is forced to survive by his wits. His grandmother lives next door, but he rather likes the independent life, and so, to support himself, he becomes a "solutioneer": helping people with their problems in creative ways, and sometimes incorporating costumes and roles from his parents' theater company. He solves several little puzzles in creative ways. A marvelously satisfying read.

Newbery Honor. A shining story about the everyday and the extraordinary, inspired by the author's own Italian-American family. Told with all the richness and the layers, the love and the laughter of a Sunday dinner at Nonny's. Come and enjoy the feast! Buon appetito!

Newbery Honor. When Belle Prater disappears, her son Woodrow moves in with his grandparents, right next door to his cousin Gypsy and her family. Over the course of their sixth grade school year, the two children discover they have a whole lot more in common than they could have ever imagined. A book about love, abandonment, and family relations. Moving and thought-provoking.

When sixth grade Hero (a girl named for a character in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing) moves to a new town, her elderly neighbor tells her of a missing diamond, and Hero sets out to find it, even as she learns about some of the mysteries that surround Shakespeare's writing. Historical tidbits embedded in a modern mystery—thoroughly enjoyable.

Ally struggles in school, but because of frequent moves (dad is military), no one picks up on it. The author is dyslexic, and writes from a place of deep empathy for her dyslexic main character. Great friends, deep compassion, embracing your gifts—a beautiful book.

When Lucy moves to a lakeside house in New Hampshire, her photographer father leaves for a summer assignment. He'll judge a photography contest for youth in a few months, and Lucy wants to win. As the summer progresses, Lucy gets to know the neighbor boy, watches loons, and hones her photography skills. Questions of relationship and ethics, creativity and discernment, this coming of age story is quietly powerful. Deeply enjoyable. By a Newbery Honor author.

From Navajo education, to developing and learning the code, and the Pacific Theater of WWII: Guam, Iwo Jima, Okinawa. Deals with hard things in a sensitive and appropriate way. Age appropriate, informative, interesting.

Newbery Honor. Three dark periods in history: a Pennsylvania boy during the Great Depression, a German boy during the rise of Nazi Germany, and a California girl during World War II. Their stories converge in a wholly original, glorious tale. Magnificent.

A talented young musician spends her summer practicing a Mozart concerto for a competition. Luminous.

When baseball-loving Jeremiah turns to coaching in a new town, he has to contend with a scandal. Can his cheerful, can-do attitude affect an entire town? A beautiful story of resilience.

Gorgeous, gorgeous collection. Stunning nature poetry paired with superb National Geographic photography. Don't miss this one.

See the diverse, creative, unexpected, and thrilling ways God is reaching the author's Muslim neighbors with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. An unprecedented number of Muslims are becoming followers of Jesus. "See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it." Exciting!