To Book Groups»
« Back to Staff Reads

Once Upon An Alphabet: Short Stories for All the Letters
by Oliver Jeffers

This is the best alphabet book I have read in a long time. There is a short story for each letter and the book has wonderful illustrations. This book is definitely a gift idea for my young cousins and friends.

If You Give a Mouse an iPhone: A Cautionary Tail
by Ann Droyd

First of all, pay attention to the author’s name! This book is a total parody of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, because it has a similar layout and writing style. The overall message of the story is beware of iPhone addiction. This book had me laughing out loud.

It’s An Orange Aardvark
by Michael Hall

If you like books by Eric Carle and Lois Ehlert, this is a book for you! This book teaches kids about colors; the illustrations are bright and vivid. It’s a great choice for a younger child—the holes in the pages gives hints of what’s to come on the next page. The ending contains an unexpected and entertaining twist.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul
by Jeff Kinney

I have been a long-time fan of the Wimpy Kid series and this book does not disappoint. The plot involves a family road trip with lots of mishaps and mayhem, but in the end everything turns out relatively okay...

 

Wickedpedia
by Chris Van Etten

When Cole and his friend Gavin play a harmless prank it results in multiple deaths of school faculty and students due to a fake Wikipedia page. Cole goes on a hunt to find the murderer.  In the twisted end, Cole undercovers the truth.

After the death of Regan’s father, his life work—a technology called Elusion—is revealed to the public. Due to faulty technology in this post-apocalyptic society, people are becoming addicted and dying. Regan investigates what is happening and discovers a web of lies. This book has a cliffhanger ending and I cannot wait for the next book in the series to come out.

Bad Magic
by Pseudonymus Bosch

This author also wrote “The Secret Series” which I enjoyed tremendously. Bad Magic is a new trilogy about Clay, who gets into trouble at school and is sent away to summer camp on a remote island for juvenile delinquents. Each student gets their own llama to take care of and I mention this because llamas play a big role in the book. Clay is drawn to an off-limits abandoned library and discovers something that could get him kicked off the island. Nothing is at it seems and the twist ending reveals all. Most pages have foot notes which make the book even more enjoyable.