Book Finder

With humorous allusions to a candy universe and over-the-top puns, this laugh out loud funny novel follows twins as they defeat killer space bunnies. Heavily illustrated and with a light tone, this should appeal to even the most reluctant reader.

The farmer’s sheep don’t stay on the farm when there are so many other interesting things to explore! Can the farmer gather them up in time? Counting sheep and enjoying their antics is humorously presented in rhyme and jaunty illustrations.

Hardscrabble Street transformed when Dr. Fell moved into the old abandoned house. Only Jerry, Nancy and Gail seem to be immune to a web that captivated kids and grownups as they played on Dr. Fell’s amazing new playground.  Part mystery, part magic, this creepy story is not recommended for the fainthearted!

Meet Ranger! He’s a time-traveling golden retriever who has a nose for trouble … and always saves the day! This is the first book in the historical fiction chapter book series titled Ranger in Time.

A harmonica and a bit of magic link different children from different times. 

Young possums work together to overcome the trouble they find themselves in. A lively but sweet story read with humor.

Tuesday McGillycuddy, first introduced in Finding Serendipity is back to save stories from colliding and writers from being hurt when thrown far away from where they start. 

The “what I did on my summer vacation” will never be the same after reading what this young fellow did!  It all started when he found a message in a bottle which took him around the world from the Great Wall of China to India’s Taj Mahal. Locales both real and imagined are only noted in witty line and wash illustration.

Hopper’s new school, Stately Academy, is more creepy than scholarly as the 12-year-old girl soon learns. But with her new friends, they discover the school’s secrets and address them through computer coding. The adventures of this multicultural cast of kids continue in Paths and Portals (opens in a new window) as the series goes on.  

Move over Nancy Drew; Sophie – better known as Sesame – Seade is on the job! Here, Sesame and her friend, Jeremy, solve the mystery of why the rowing team is getting sick. Told with humor and solid pacing, this is sure to engage light mystery fans.

Buck Anderson’s friend, David, has moved; now Buck has no one to share his underground explorations or his everyday troubles including being bullied for his stutter. How Buck overcomes his problems and has a cave named in his honor is told in a tense, fast narration.  

The four Fletcher boys (each from a different background; each adopted) and their two fathers vacation in New England. Together the boys and their neighbors, the Galindo girls, help solve the mystery of the closed lighthouse in this fast-paced novel with recognizable events and personalities. The characters in this stand-alone book were first introduced in The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher.

Fans of Roald Dahl will enjoy spending time with young Alfie as he overcomes tough times and the new – and truly evil – dentist who’s come to town. Over-the-top humor and a fast pace are complemented by prolific black/white line drawings in this witty, satirical novel. In the audio version of this book, the author and cast bring the riotous characters to life.

The narrator is a rule-follower; his sister Jenny is a rule breaker. When Jenny breaks a rule, her brother must break a few in order to save her from the unique and quite humorous monsters she released. The outrageous tale is told and illustrated with verve and wit.

Marvin, James’ beetle friend, goes collecting (finding useful things for their cupboard home) when he must get his human friend to help his injured uncle. Even though Marvin is a beetle, his emotions are as human as James’ in this well paced, generously illustrated and thoroughly engaging novel.

How Bruce Wayne became Batman is told in a picture book (not comic book). Muth’s well-crafted watercolor illustrations are dramatic accompanied by a brief telling of how young Bruce overcomes his fears of the dark by falling into a bat cave.

In this funny, poignant graphic novel memoir, Bell chronicles her hearing loss at a young age and her subsequent experiences with the Phonic Ear, a very powerful — and very awkward — hearing aid. The Phonic Ear gives Cece the ability to hear — sometimes things she shouldn’t — but also isolates her from her classmates. After some trouble, she is finally able to harness the power of the Phonic Ear and become “El Deafo, Listener for All.” And more importantly, declare a place for herself in the world and find the friend she’s longed for.

Will Timmy and Total no longer be detecting partners? Readers will find out the fate of the dynamic duo in this fourth, funny, highly illustrated and certainly not final installment in the Timmy Failure series.

Young readers share short, humorous escapades with Piggy Pie Po, a large-eared porcine hero. Lively illustrations and vivacious, rhyming illustration make this an adventure to share more than once.

In this peek into the secret lives of toys, three beloved playthings participate in a series of small adventures. StingRay is a plush stuffed animal who enjoys acting the know-it-all. Lumphy is a tough little buffalo who doesnt mind the occasional cuddle. And Plastic (whose physical appearance is kept mysterious for quite some time) is a sensible bouncy ball. The first book in the Toys trilogy.

Young Mac introduces readers to Miss Emily — better known as Emily Dickenson, poet extraordinaire — as an adventurous, lively woman who wants to share wonders of a circus with a group of children. Animated black/white illustrations accompany the action told in free verse for an open, inviting, and highly readable novel about a famous poet.

The movement of the train rocked me like a lullaby. I closed my eyes to the dusty countryside and imagined the sign I’d seen only in Gideon’s stories: Manifest—A Town with a rich past and a bright future. Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was. (2011 Newbery Medal Winner)

Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place—he’s the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians’ time as well as their ghostly teachings—such as the ability to Fade so mere mortals cannot see him. (2009 Newbery Medal Winner)

Two plush toys, Stingray and a buffalo named Lumphy, and Plastic, a red ball, want to play in the snow. And so they do! Lush illustrations and rich language come together in the toys’ first picture book adventure. (The characters were first introduced in longer novels; all are ideal as read-alouds for younger children.)