Time for a KidLit Book Feast!!!!

Many of us at The Winged Pen are on Spring Break this week or heading there soon. And, of course, a vacation isn’t a vacation without a heap of books. We regularly swap book recs behind the scenes, so we thought you’d like to know what books we’ve recently devoured or are currently feasting our eyeballs on.

Julie Artz

SUNNYSIDE UP by Jennifer Holm, ages 8-13, A touching graphic novel about a girl dealing with family strife in the 1970s.

RULES by Cynthia Lord, ages 8-13, Big sis helps her autistic brother navigate the world using rules.

HOODOO by Ronald L. Smith, ages 9-14, A young boy must harness his family’s folk magic to defeat an evil force threatening his town.

MY SEVENTH GRADE LIFE IN TIGHTS by Brooks Benjamin, ages 8-13, A dancer/football player explores what it means to be yourself.

Rebecca Smith Allen

SOME BOYS by Patty Blount, ages 14+, Everyone turns against Grace when she accuses the golden boy of rape…except Ian.

SIX OF CROWS by Leigh Bardugo, ages 14+, Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that will make him rich beyond his wildest dreams, if he survives.

HOW TO OUTSWIM A SHARK WITHOUT A SNORKEL by Jess Keating, ages 8-13, The wild adventures of a girl who lives in a zoo.

CHOMP by Carl Hiaasen, ages 8-13, A boy helps his dad/animal wrangler on the set of a reality show. Chaos ensues.

MAGGIE MALONE AND THE MOSTLY MAGIC BOOTS by Jenna McCarthy and Carolyn Evans, ages 8-13, Maggie puts on the boots and wakes up as her favorite pop star. Oh, yeah!

Gabrielle Byrne

LOCKWOOD & CO. series by Jonathan Stroud, ages 8-13, Three young operatives from the Psychic Detection Agency battle an epidemic of ghosts in London.

THE BLACKTHORN KEY by Kevin Sands, ages 8-13, Medieval kid apothocary/inventors outwit evil wizards.

Halli Gomez

DOROTHY MUST DIE series by Danielle Paige, ages 14+, A retelling of The Wizard of Oz––a little magic, a little ninja fighting. About finding who you are and where you belong.

Mark Holtzen

THE THING ABOUT LUCK by Cynthia Kadohata, ages 10-15, Girl must help her Japanese grandparent migrant workers during a Nebraska wheat harvest.

PAX by Sara Pennypacker, ages 9-14, The graceful but haunting story of war, loss, and the power of friendship between a boy and fox.

SIX FEET OVER IT by Jennifer Longo, ages 14+, Girl who works at her family’s new cemetery must face grieving for her best friend.

Michelle Leonard

ROCKET AND GROOT by Tom Angleberger, ages 8-12, Zany “story” about beloved Guardians of the Galaxy characters.

MAGNUS CHASE: THE SWORD OF SUMMER by Rick Riordan, ages 10-15, Norse-mythology infused drama about a troubled, homeless, orphaned teen boy.

A BLACK HOLE IS NOT A HOLE by Carolyn DeCristofano, ages 10+, excellent easy to understand non-fiction book about black holes. Great voice.

ONE MORE DINO ON THE FLOOR by Kelly Starling Lyons, ages 3+, Dinos and dancing! Fun number concept book!

SHALLOW GRAVES by Kali Wallace, ages 14+, Haunting novel about murder, revenge, and a world where monsters—human and otherwise—lurk at the fringes.

THE FIRST TIME SHE DROWNED by Kerry Kletter, ages 14+, The beautiful struggle of a girl desperate for the one relationship that has caused her the most pain.

ZITA THE SPACEGIRL series by Ben Hatke, ages 6-12, fun graphic novels about friendship and redemption. Cannot over-express how much I love this series. It single-handedly won me over to graphic novels.

Kate Manning

UNDER THE EGG by Laura Marx Fitzgerald, ages 8-13, Mystery explores NYC, the art world, and WWII.

Amy Kurtz Skelding

THE HEN WHO DREAMED SHE COULD FLY by Sun-mi Hwang, ages 8+, a perfect read-together Korean fable/folk tale similar to Charlotte’s Web/Animal Farm. An enjoyable surface-level read as well as a deeper story for adults. Warning: this book may make your heart ache.