Lists

100 (Plus 5) Must-Read Books for Young Readers

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Karina Glaser

Contributing Editor

Karina Yan Glaser is a full-time writer and illustrator with a varied career teaching and implementing literacy programs in family homeless shelters and recruiting healthcare professionals to volunteer in under-resourced areas around the world. Karina is the New York Times bestselling author of the middle grade books, The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street and The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden. She lives in Harlem with her husband, two daughters, and an assortment of rescued animals. One of her proudest achievements is raising two kids who can't go anywhere without a book. Website: www.karinaglaser.com; Twitter: @KarinaYanGlaser; Instagram: @KarinaIsReadingAndWriting

While we at the Riot take some time off to rest and catch up on our reading, we’re re-running some of our favorite posts from the last several months. Enjoy our highlight reel, and we’ll be back with new stuff on Tuesday, January 3rd. This post originally ran October 10, 2016.
 This post is sponsored by Look Past by Eric Devine PrintLook Past is a gripping murder mystery involving a transgender teen and a fundamentalist religious sect. Avery is a trans boy who was in love with his friend Mary, but was shunned by her conservative reverend father. Mary is murdered in a brutal way because of her love for Avery, and he could be next. With the entire town caught in the grip of fear, the killer remains at large. Avery is torn between finding the killer and saving himself—not just from the hands of a vicious murderer, but from everyone who thinks he should try to be “normal.”
Those moments when a child begins to read can be the most magical time in a young child’s life. So many kids fall in love with reading during that time and become more independent and confident in their literacy skills. However, the problem I ran into when my daughters were just learning to read was the large amount of books available to young readers in drastically different levels of difficulty. Numbered readers often varied in level from one publisher to another. Then there were readers geared for beginning readers that had sophisticated words and themes. As my kids progressed in their reading, I found some great books for their reading levels shelved with middle grade books while others were shelved in early chapter books. In this list of 100 best books for young readers, I found it easiest to categorize the books in three groups: In Beginning Readers, I put books that were very heavy with illustrations and contained words that beginning readers would be able to sound out or be familiar with. An example of a book in this category is The Fire Cat by Esther Averil. In Intermediate Readers, I listed books that still mostly had pictures on every page but contained more advanced words as well as longer, more complex paragraphs. An example of a book in this category is The Princess in Black by Shannon and Dean Hale. In Early Chapter Books, I put books that had a lot more text and fewer (if any) illustrations, but with content that was still relatable to young readers. This category is also great for read alouds, in addition to younger advanced readers who are ready for more complex reading but may not prepared the more mature themes of middle grade literature. An example of a book in this category is Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke.   As always, the person best equipped to know what books are appropriate are the adults who are closest to the child: parents, guardians, family members, caretakers, and teachers. This list is meant as a guide, not a definitive reading list. If you find your child is connecting with one of these books and you would like additional recommendations, find me on Twitter at @KarinaYanGlaser ! Enjoy, and happy reading!   Beginning Readers ling-and-ting-book-by-grace-lin1. Ling and Ting (series) by Grace Lin 2. The Fire Cat by Esther Averil 3. What This Story Needs is a Pig in a Wig by Emma J. Virjan 4. A Pig, a Fox, and a Box by Jonathan Fenske 5. Bink and Gollie (series) by Kate DiCamillo 6. Mouse and Mole (series) by Wong Herbert Lee 7. Henry and Mudge (series) by Cynthia Rylant 8. Mr. Putter and Tabby (series) by Cynthia Rylant little-bear-book-by-else-holmelund-minarik9. Little Bear (series) by Elsa Holmelund Minarik 10. Elephant and Piggie (series) by Mo Willems 11. Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa (series) by Erica Silverman 12. Houndsley and Catina (series) by James Howe illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay 13. Dodsworth (series) by Tim Egan 14. Frog and Toad (series) by Arnold Lobel rabbit-and-robot-book-by-cece-bell15. Rabbit and Robot (series) by Cece Bell 16. Mercy Watson (series) by Kate DiCamillo 17. Poppleton (series) by Cynthia Rylant 18. Ballet Cat (series) by Bob Shea 19. Horrible Harry (series) by Suzy Kline 20. Pete the Cat (I Can Read) series by James Dean 21. Mac and Cheese by Sarah Weeks mouse-soup-book-by-arnold-lobel22. Mouse Soup by Arnold Lobel 23. Mouse Tales by Arnold Lobel 24. Pigsticks and Harold (series) by Alex Milway 25. Sammy the Seal, The Horse in Harry’s Room, Oliver, Danny and the Dinosaur, and many other books by Sid Hoff     Intermediate Readers  26. Princess in Black (series) by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale lulu-and-the-brontosaurus-book-by-judith-viorst27. Lulu and the Brontosaurus (series) by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Lane Smith 28. The Chicken Squad by Doreen Cronin 29. Daisy Dawson (series) by Steve Voake 30. The School for Cats (series) by Esther Averil 31. Violet Mackerel’s Brilliant Plot (series) by Anna Branford 32. Doodle Adventures: The Search for the Slimy Space Slugs (series) by Mike Lowery my-happy-life-book-by-rose-lagercrantz33. My Happy Life (series) by Rose Lagercratz, illustrated by Eva Eriksson 34. Detective Gordon: The First Case (series) by Ulf Nilsson, illustrated by Gitte Spee 35. Amelia Bedelia “I Can Read” books by Herman Parish and Lynne Avril 36. Princess Posey and the First Grade Parade (series) by Stephanie Greene and Stephanie Roth Sisson 37. 26 Fairmount Avenue (series) by Tomie dePaola lulu-and-the-duck-in-the-park-by-hilary-mckay38. Lulu and the Duck in the Park (series) by Hilary McKay 39. Nate the Great (series) by Marjorie Weinman 40. Jaden Toussaint (series) by Marti Dumas 41. Tales From Deckawoo Drive (series) by Kate DiCamillo 42. Sofia Martinez (series) by Jacqueline Jules 43. The Flying Beaver Brothers (series) by Maxwell Eaton III the-chicken-squad-book-by-doreen-cronin44. The Chicken Squad (series) by Doreen Cronin and Kevin Cornell 45. The Pirate Pig by Cornelia Funke 46. Katie Woo (series) by Fran Manushkin 47. Pedro’s Big Goal (series) by Fran Manushkin 48. Digby O’Day (series) by Shirley Hughes and Clara Vulliamy 49. Cam Jansen (series) by David A. Adler and Susanna Natti   Early Chapter Books (57) 50. Clementine (series) by Sara Pennypacker, illustrated by Marla Frazee the-contract-book-by-derek-jeter 51. The Contract (series) by Derek Jeter 52. Dumpling Days by Grace Lin 53. The Year of the Book by Andrea Cheng 54. The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies 55. Clubhouse Mysteries by Sharon M. Draper 56. Marty McGuire (series) by Kate Messner, illustrated by Brian Floca 57. Ruby and the Booker Boys (series) by Derrick Barnes donavans-word-jar-book-by-monalisa-degross 58. Donavan’s Word Jar by Monalisa DeGross illustrated by Cheryl Hanna 59. Dory Fantasmagory (series) by Abby Hanlon 60. The Doll’s House by Rumer Godden 61. Honey, I Love and Other Love Poems by Eloise Greenfield 62. Grandpa’s Face by Eloise Greenfield 63. Anna Hibiscus (series) by Atinuke rickshaw-girl-book-by-mitali-perkins64. Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins 65. Gooney Bird Greene (series) by Lois Lowry 66. Amber Brown (series) by Lois Lowry 67. The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes 68. Ranger in Time (series) by Kate Messner 69. The Vanishing Coin (series) by Kate Egan 70. Woundabout by Lev Rosen, illustrated by Ellis Rosen 71. Ruby Lu (series) by Lenore Look clara-lee-and-the-apple-pie-dream-book-by-jenny-han72. Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream by Jenny Han 73. The World According to Humphrey (series) by Betty G. Birney 74. My Name is Maria Isabel by Alma Flor Ada 75. The Report Card by Andrew Clements 76. Ivy and Bean (series) by Annie Barrows 77. The Hamster Princess (series) by Ursula Vernon my-fathers-dragon-book-by-ruth-stiles-gannett78. My Father’s Dragon (series) by Ruth Stiles Gannett 79. The Magical Animal Adoption Agency (series) by Kallie George 80. The Buddy Files (series) by Dori Hillestad Butler 81. Pony Pals (series) by Jeanne Betancourt 82. The Boxcar Children (series) by Gertrude Chandler Warner 83. The Lucky Stone by Lucille Clifton 84. Gooseberry Park (series) by Cynthia Rylant tumtum-and-nutmeg-book-by-emily-bearn85. Tumtum and Nutmeg (series) 86. Nurse Matilda: The Collected Tales by Christianna Brand, illustrated by Edward Ardizzone 87. Milly Molly Mandy Storybook by Joyce Lankester Brinkley 88. Mostly Monty (series) Johanna Hurwitz 89. Lady Lollipop by Dick King-Smith mrs-piggle-wiggle-book-by-betty-macdonald90. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (series) by Betty MacDonald and Alexandra Boiger 91. The Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner 92. Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew (series) by Carolyn Keene and Macky Pamintuan 93. Judy Moody (series) by Megan McDonald 94. Sophie the Awesome (series) by Lara Bergen 95. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes nikki-and-deja-book-by-karen-english96. Nikki and Deja by Karen English, illustrated by Laura Freeman 97. Heidi Heckelbeck (series) by Wanda Coven 98. The Worst Witch (series) by Jill Murphy 99. Sugar Plum Ballerinas (series) by Whoopi Goldberg 100. June Peters, You Will Change the World One Day by Alika Turner, illustrated by Naafi Rohma who-was-jackie-robinson-book101. Who Was Jackie Robinson? (“Who Was?” series) by Gail Herman and Nancy Harrison 102. The Puppy Place (series) by Ellen Miles 103. The Carver Chronicles (series) by Karen English 104. Hook’s Revenge (series) by Heidi Schulz 105. Lola Levine is Not Mean (series) by Monica Brown, illustrated by Angela Dominguez