Houston Family Book List -- August 2012

Toddlers (Ages 1-3)

Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman

Sweet and funny story about a boy and a robot that meet in the woods and become good friends, even when they don’t quite understand how the other works.

Hey Little Baby! by Heather Leigh

An adorable baby discovers the world around him. Baby has found his hands, his tiny toes, his lovely voice, and his sweet nose—what else will he find in his world, his cozy, wonder-filled world?

My No, No, No Day! by Rebecca Patterson

From the moment Bella wakes up, her day goes wrong. She hates her breakfast egg, she won’t share, she has a hurting foot, her supper is too hot, and her bath is too cold. And then it’s no, no, no to bedtime. But at last a yawn, a story, and a kiss from mother end the day, with the promise of a cheerful tomorrow.

Picture Books (Pre K-K)

Mario Makes a Move by Jill McElmurry

Mario is a squirrel who loves to invent amazing moves, like the Super Looper and Tail, Don’t Fail. But though his parents ooh and ahh at whatever he does, his friend Isabelle is not so easily impressed. When she points out that anyone can have a move, Mario must find some other way to stand out.

Chloe by Peter McCarty

Chloe Bunny lives with her big family of ten older brothers and sisters and ten younger brothers and sisters, but it is only Chloe who is able to compete with the new television set that Dad brings home one evening.

Cindy Moo by Lori Mortensen

One night on the farm, the cows overhear a fantastic tale. “Hey Diddle Diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon!” Inspired by this classic rhyme, a plucky cow named Cindy Moo sets out to prove that cows really can leap over the moon. The other cows laugh at her, but that doesn’t stop Cindy from trying—and failing—night after night.

Early Readers (Grades 1-3)

Bramble and Maggie: Horse Meets Girl by Jessi Haas

Maggie wants a pony to ride and take care of, and to prepare she’s been reading a big book on horse care. Meanwhile, Bramble is bored with giving riding lessons and walking in circles. She’s looking for just the right person to take her away from her routine. Is it a perfect match? Maggie loves Bramble as soon as she sees her, but Bramble wants to be sure about Maggie.

Lulu and the Brontosaurus by Judith Viorst

When Lulu asks for a pet brontosaurus as her birthday present, for the first time ever her parents say “No!” and no amount of fit-throwing can change their minds. Taking matters into her own hands, Lulu storms off into the forest. After a few fierce encounters with meddlesome creatures, she finally finds him—a beautiful, long-necked, graceful brontosaurus. Mr. B. completely agrees that having a pet would be a wonderful thing, but he thinks she would be a perfect pet for him.

Dog on His Bus by Eric Seltzer

Ride along with adorable animal passengers as Dog diligently drops everyone off at their silly stops. After a long day, and even a popped tire, Dog still loves his job.

Children's Fiction (Grades 4-6)

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage

Washed ashore as a baby in tiny Tupelo Landing, North Carolina, Mo LoBeau, now eleven, and her best friend Dale, turn detective when the amnesiac Colonel, Mo’s surrogate father, seems implicated in a murder. A small town mystery full of humor and adventure.  

Pegasus: The Flame of Olympus by Kate O'Hearn

A young girl, a winged horse, and a war of epic proportions make for an adventurous start to an exciting new trilogy. When Pegasus crashes onto a Manhattan roof during a terrible storm, Emily’s life changes forever. Suddenly allied with a winged horse she’d always thought was mythical, Emily is thrust into the center of a fierce battle between the Roman gods and a terrifying race of multiarmed stone warriors called the Nirads.

Anyway: A Story About Me with 138 Footnotes, 27 Exaggerations, and 1 Plate of Spaghetti by Aurthur Salm

When Max is forced to attend summer camp with his parents, he takes the opportunity to change his image and become “Mad Max,” a cool and edgy new persona. When he returns home, he has to find a way to merge his adventurous alter ego with his true identity as a good guy.

Teen Fiction (Ages 12 & Up)

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

In a future where chocolate and caffeine are contraband, teenage cell phone use is illegal, and water and paper are carefully rationed, sixteen-year-old Anya Balanchine finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight as heir apparent to an important New York City crime family.

A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix

You’d think being a prince in a vast intergalactic empire would be about as good as it gets. Princes are faster, smarter, and stronger than normal humans, not to mention being mostly immortal. But it isn’t as great as it sounds. Princes need to be hard to kill—as Khemri learns the minute he becomes one—for they are always in danger. Their greatest threat? Other princes.

No Safety in Numbers by Dayna Lorentz

Teens Shay, Marco, Lexi, and Ryan, quarantined in a shopping mall when a biological bomb goes off in an air duct, learn that in an emergency people change, and not always for the better, as many become sick and supplies run low.