“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” –A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh.
Due to popular demand, I have put together this list of books organized by grade. Please keep in mind that these are just suggestions. Many of the books can be enjoyed by readers of various ages. For example, even grown-ups enjoy A.A. Milne’s books about the adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh. The humor of the Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Willems appeals to children of all ages, yet the vocabulary and text size make the books accessible to very young readers. Many high school students prefer to read adult bestsellers, and many older adults like to read Young Adult novels.
There are a few different ways to determine reading level. For example, Lexile scores are determined by an algorithm. If the book uses longer words and sentences, it will generally receive a higher Lexile score. To learn more about Lexile and other scoring methods read the article "Leveled Reading Systems, Explained" by Ruth Manna.
A simpler, less scientific, way of judging reading level is the "5 Finger Method." Ask your child to open up a book and start reading. For every word your child does not know, hold up a finger. If there are more than 5 words on a page that your child does not understand, the book may be too challenging. However, if your child is really excited about the book, give it a try! Kids are more likely to enjoy and succeed at reading books they choose themselves.
Make reading a family activity. Being read aloud to is comforting and beneficial to people of all ages. In fact, the Commission on Reading report states "The single most important activity for building knowledge for their eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children." You may also want to read the same novels that your children are reading. This way you can talk about the books together and discuss issues, themes, and characters.
The books in the following list are just suggestions. I have tried to include books of varying reading levels in each grade category. Not every book is right for every child or every family. The very best way to discover great books is to bring your family to the Library and explore the collection together. Librarians are happy to help you find "just the right book."
Click on each title to find its location in the Library. Most entries include a picture of the book cover, a brief summary, and the number of pages.
Have fun exploring our collections, and please remember that grade levels are just suggestions. Read what you like. Read what excites and interests you. Read for the fun of it.
-Rebecca Scotka
Children's and Young Adult Librarian
Librarian's Picks for Birth through Preschool
Baby Faces by Margaret Miller
Baby Signs for Animals by Linda Acredolo
Big Bug by Henry Cole
Carry Me by Rena D. Grossman
Color Farm by Lois Ehlert
Feast for 10 by Kathryn Falwell
Fire Truck by Peter Sis
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow
Freight Train by Donald Crews
From Head to Toe by Eric Carle
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Humpty Dumpty by Annie Kubler
In the Tall, Tall Grass by Denise Fleming
It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw
Love is a Truck by Amy Novesky
Maisy's Rainbow Dream by Lucy Cousins
More, More, More said the Baby by Vera Williams
Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh
My Car by Byron Barton
Peek-a-Who? by Nina Laden
Piggies by Don Wood
Spot on the Farm by Eric Hill
Tickle My Ears by Jorg Muhle
Tickle Tickle by Helen Oxenbury
Time for Bed by Mem Fox
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
White on Black by Tana Hoban
Librarian's Picks for Kindergarten through Second Grade
Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing by Judi Barrett
Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
Big Cat, Little Cat by Elisha Cooper
Biscuit Plays Ball by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
The Caterpillar and the Polliwog by Jack Kent
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr.
Corduroy by Don Freeman
Dinosaur vs. Bedtime by Bob Shea
The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins
Dragon was Terrible by Kelly DiPucchio
Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet Ahlberg
Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell
A Great Big Cuddle: Poems for the Very Young by Michael Rosen
Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss
How Do Dinosaurs Eat their Food? by Jane Yolen
How Do You Feel? by Rebecca Bender
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Nancy Numeroff
Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems
My Dad by Anthony Browne
My Heart Fills with Happiness by Monique Gray Smith
Mr. Gumpy’s Outing by John Burningham
Oops Pounce Quick Run! by Mike Twohy
Over the Ocean by Taro Gomi
Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
Silly Sally by Audrey Wood
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Swimmy by Leo Lionni
Ten in the Meadow by John Butler
This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen
The Three Bears by Byron Barton
Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman
Trees by Lemniscates
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Froggy Goes to School by Jonathan London
Go, Dog. Go! By P.D. Eastman
It’s Only Stanley by Jon Agee
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown
Miss Bindergarten series by Joseph Slate
No, David! by David Shannon
Pete the Cat series by James Dean
Viva Frida by Yuyi Morales
We Found a Hat by Jon Klassen
Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats
Are You My Mother?by P.D. Eastman
At the Hotel Larry by Daniel Pinkwater
Ballet Cat series by Bob Shea
Billy and Blaze series by C.W. Anderson
Book Fiesta by Pat Mora
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
Don’t Throw it to Mo! By David A. Adler
Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel
Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
Hi, Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold
Hotel Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins
Joseph had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback
The Adventures of Beekle by Dan Santat
The Amazing Trail of Seymour Snail by Lynn E. Hazen
Anansi and the Magic Stick by Eric A. Kimmell
A Bargain for Frances by Russell Hoban
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin
Cork & Fuzz series by Dori Chaconas
Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff
Digby O'Day series by Shirley Hughes
The Dog That Called the Pitch by Matt Christopher
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce
The Flying Beaver Brothers series by Maxwell Eaton
George and Martha series by James Marshall
Get Ready for Second Grade, Amber Brown by Paula Danziger
Gooney Bird Greene series by Lois Lowry
Henry and Mudge series by Cynthia Rylant
Lilly’s PurplePlastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
Ling & Ting series by Grace Lin
Little Bear series by Else Holmelund Minarik
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by Bernard Waber
Me, Jane by Patrick McDonnell
Miss Nelson has a Field Day by Harry Allard
Pinkerton series by Steven Kellogg
Say Hello, Sophie! by Rosemary Wells
There is a Bird on your Head by Mo Willems
Transportation by Gail Gibbons
Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes
Mercy Watson series by Kate DiCamillo
Minnie and Moo series by Denys Cazet
Mouse and Mole series by Wong Herbert Yee
My Pet Human series by Yasmine Surovec
Nate the Great series by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
One Fish, Two Fish,Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
Pinky and Rex series by James Howe
Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
Princess in Black series by Shannon Hale
There's a Bug on My Book! by John Himmelman
Librarian's Picks for Third Grade and Fourth Grade
After Happily Ever After series by Tony Bradman
Alvin Ho: Allergic to Babies, Burglars, and Other Bumps in the Night by Lenore Look
Amber Brown is not a Crayon by Paula Danziger
Ben and Me by Robert Lawson
Bink & Gollie series by Kate DiCamillo
Brad and Butter Play Ball! by Dean Hughes
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
Clementine series by Sarah Pennypacker
Diary of a Killer Cat by Anne Fine
Dory Fantasmagory by Abby Hanlon
Franny K. Stein Mad Scientist series by Jim Benton
Frindle by Andrew Clements
The Great Piratical Rumbustification & the Librarian and the Robbers by Margaret Mahy
Gym Shorts series by Betty Hicks
Heroes in Training series by Joan Holub
Hoboken Chicken Emergency by Daniel Pinkwater
Hooray for th Golly Sisters! by Betsy Byars
The Last Gold Diggers by Harry Horse
LeRoy Ninker Saddles Up by Kate DiCamillo
The Life of Ty: Penguin Problems by Lauren Myracle
Little Wolf, Forest Detective by Ian Whybrow
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
Lulu series by Judith Viorst
Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne
Medusa Jones by Ross Collins
Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald
My Pet Human by Yasmine Surovec
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
Rebecca the Rock ‘n Roll Fairy by Daisy Meadows
Shark in School by Patricia Reilly Giff
Star Stuff: Carl Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos by Stephanie Roth Sisson
The Story of Diva and Flea by Mo Willems & Tony Diterlizzi
Tornado by Betsy Byars
Upside Down Magic by Sarah Mylnowski
Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions by Chris Barton
The World According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney
The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls by Meg Cabot
Babymouse series by Jennifer L. Holm
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
The Chalk Box Kid by Clyde Robert Bulla
Calpurnia Tate Girl Vet series by Jacqueline Kelly
Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
A Dragon's Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans by Laurence Yep and Joanne Ryder
Esio Trot by Roald Dahl
The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Basil by Wiley Miller
From the Mixed-UpFiles of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Hilo: The Boy who Crashed to Earth by Judd Winick
Homer Price by Robert McCloskey
I Survived series by Lauren Tarshis
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Lord
Julius Zebra: Rumble with the Romans by Gary Northfield
Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Lunch Lady series by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Ms. Rapscott's Girls by Elise Primavera
Mystery at Old Sturbridge Village by Julia C. Mahon
A Nest for Celeste by Henry Cole
The Penderwicks series by Jeanne Birdsall
Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
Squish series by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
Time Warp Trio: Knights of the Kitchen Table by Jon Scieska
Waylon! One Awesome Thing by Sara Pennypacker
The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry
Yang the Youngest and his Terrible Ear by Lensey Namioka
The Year of the Book by Andrea Cheng
Young Cam Jansen series by David A. Adler
Librarian's Picks for Fifth Grade and Sixth Grade
Abe Lincoln and the Selfie that Saved the Nation by David Potter
Amina's Voice by Helen Khan
Angus and Sadie by Cynthia Voigt
The BFG by Roald Dahl
Blubber by Judy Blume
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
Confetti Girl by Diana López
The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney
Dork Diaries by Rachel Renee Russell
The Elephant Scientist by Caitlin O'Connell & Donna M. Jackson
Girl Reporter Snags Crush by Linda Ellerbee
The Girl Who Could Not Dream by Sarah Beth Durst
The Girl with the Glass Bird by Esme Kerr
Guardians of Ga'Hoole series by Kathryn Lasky
I Got This: To Gold and Beyond by Laurie Hernandez
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place by Maryrose Wood
The iPhone that Saved George Washington by David Potter
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos
King of the Mound: My Summer with Satchel Paige by Wes Tooke
Last Day on Mars by Kevin Emerson
Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
Mighty Jackie: The Strike Out Queen by Marissa Moss
Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry
The One and Only Ivan by Kate DiCamillo
Redwall by Brian Jacques
Roanoke by Jane Yolen
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
Timmy Failure series by Stephan Pastis
Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer by Kelly Jones
A Whole New Ballgame by Phil Bildner
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Amelia Lost by Candace Fleming
Amina's Voice by Hena Khan
Big Nate series by Lincoln Peirce
Blue Birds by Caroline Starr Rose
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Dave at Night by Gail Carson Levine
El Deafo by Cece Bell
Dive Right In by Matt Christopher
The Doldrums by Nicholas Gannon
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Falling Over Sideways by Jordan Sonnenblick
Finding Buck McHenry by Alfred Slote
The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan-Long Shang
Gregor the Overlander series by Suzanne Collins
Just Like Me by Nancy J. Cavanaugh
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Motor Girls: How Women Took the Wheel by Sue Macy
The Mysterious Benedict Society series by Trenton Lee Stewart
Olivia Kidney series by Ellen Potter
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Rain Reign by Ann B. Martin
Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo
Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez
Royal Wedding Disaster by Meg Cabot
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Sisters by Raina Telgemeier
Smile by Raina Telgemeier
Space Case series by Stuart Gibbs
Spy School series by Stuart Gibbs
Stowaway by Karen Hesse
The Tapper Twins series by Geoff Rodkey
Three of Diamonds by Anthony Horowitz
Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage
The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubacker Bradley
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Worst Class Trip Ever by Dave Barry
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Librarian's Picks for Seventh Grade and Eighth Grade
The books in the following list are just suggestions. I have tried to include books of varying reading levels in each grade category. Not every book is right for every reader or every family. The very best way to discover great books is to bring your family to the library and explore the collection together.
Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz
All the Answers by Kate Messner
The Batboy by Mike Lupica
Blackbird Fly by Erin Entrada Kelly
The Breaker Boys by Pat Hughes
The Candymakers by Wendy Mass
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
Doll Bones by Holly Black
Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis
Endangered by Eliot Schrefer
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Forever or a Long, Long Time by Caela Carter
The Forget-Me-Not Summer by Leila Howland
From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess by Meg Cabot
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus
Holes by Louis Sachar
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
Joshua Dread series by Lee Bacon
Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Moonbird by Phillip Hoose
My Louisiana Sky by Kimberly Willis Holt
Paperboy by Vince Vawter
The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in this Game Called Life by Kwame Alexander
Rules by Cynthia Lord
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
Pure Grit by Mary Cronk Farrell
Running out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
Titanic: Voices from the Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson
Treasure Hunters series by James Patterson
The Underneath by Kathi Appelt
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Wringer by Jerry Spinelli
Samurai Rising by Pamela Turner
The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew
Shadow on the Mountain by Margi Preus
Sure Signs of Crazy by Karen Harrington
A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman
Tangerine by Edward Bloor
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Under the Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald
Unfriended by Rachel Vail
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt
Librarian's Picks for Young Adults
The books in the following list are just suggestions. I have tried to include books of varying reading levels in each grade category. Not every book is right for every reader or every family. The very best way to discover great books is to bring your family to the Library and explore the collection together.
1984 by George Orwell
Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
American Born Chines by Gene Luen Yang
Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid
The Boys Who Challenged Hitler by Phillip Hoose
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
The Fault in our Stars by John Green
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Freedom Summer by Susan G. Rubin
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Leaving Fishers by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Legends: The Best Players, Games, and Teams in Basketball by Howard Bryant
Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Looking for Alaska by John Green
March series by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Phantom Limbs by Paula Garner
Promise the Night by Michaela MacColl
The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano by Sonia Manzano
See You at Harry's by Jo Knowles
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Squashed by Joan Bauer
Stonewall by Ann Bausum
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
