Spring into Reading

Spring break is a great opportunity to pick up that book you have been meaning to for months. It’s also a great opportunity for educators to suggest books to their students, not as mandatory reading, but as recommended reading geared towards that specific student.

It’s sometimes a daunting task to pick a book for a student. Will they like it? What if they dislike it so much that it puts them off reading? Though understandable concerns, whether the child likes or dislikes a book will make for a great discussion after the break. Plus, talking about a book is just as wonderful as reading one. Read on for picks from Middle Reader Novels, Beloved Classics, Movie Tie-Ins, and YA Fantasy…

Middle Reader Novels

Based on a true story, “Between Two Worlds” by Katherine Kirkpatrick is a novel of Arctic exploration told from a young Inuit point of view. Author of the “Indian in the Cupboard” series, Lynne Reid Banks, tells a story informed by her own experiences of leaving WWII England for Canada in “Uprooted”.

Between Two Worlds	Odin’s Ravens	Uprooted	Navigating Early
Egg and Spoon	The Mysterious Woods of Whistle Root	Paperboy	Love by the Morning Star
Mister Max	Joshua Dread	The Key & the Flame	Just Ella

New Editions of Beloved Classics

Series are great when you find a story and characters you love, and they’ve always been a great way to keep kids reading. L.M. Montgomery kept young readers happy with nine “Anne of Green Gables” novels, starting in 1908. Those books have a refreshed look with lovely new cut paper cover designs. Perennial favorite Sherlock Holmes also gets a handy repackaging with an edition that collects the timeless novel-length stories.

Sherlock Holmes: The Novels	The Pushcart War	Wild Jack
Rainbow Valley	Fifteen Rabbits	The Wednesday Witch

Books and the Big Screen

This year’s blockbusters draw on both literature and nonfiction. Nathaniel Philbrick’s “In the Heart of the Sea,” which reexamines the real-life disaster that inspired “Moby Dick,” is now not only adapted into a feature film, but is also available in a new edition for young readers.