Boston Athenaeum: Children's Library: New Books and Reading Lists

Picture Books and EasyReaders

A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever, by Marla Frazee. Two best friends go to nature camp and sleepover at the grandparents’ house.

Trainstop, by Barbara Lehman. A wordless picture book about a magical train ride.

Pigeon Wants a Puppy, by Mo Willems. He really does!

Seven Silly Eaters, by Mary Ann Hoberman. Mrs. Peters has seven children who are picky eaters, so her work is never done.

Hogwood Steps Out, by Howard Mansfield. Hogwood the pig escapes from his pen and enjoys a spring day.

Dog and Bear: Two’s Company, by Laura Vaccaro Seeger. Three new short stories about two best friends.

Crocodile Blues, by Coleman Polhemus. A near-wordless story about a mysterious egg that hatches.

May I Pet Your Dog? by Stephanie Calmenson. An introduction to proper etiquette when meeting new dogs.

How the Ladies Stopped the Wind, by Bruce McMillan. In Iceland, the village women need the cooperation of the chickens & sheep when they plant trees to stop the strong winds.

So Said Ben, illustrated by Michael McCurdy. Pithy sayings by Benjamin Franklin.

House in the Night, by Susan Marie Swanson. Simple text and luminous scratchboard drawings illuminate the comfort of familiar nighttime objects.

Elephant’s Story, by Harriet Blackford. A baby elephant’s experiences as she grows up, with beautiful illustrations and many facts about her species.

These books and many more are found on the 14 Day Shelf in the Picture Book Room!

Middle Readers

All the Lovely Bad Ones, a ghost story, by Mary Downing Hahn. While spending the summer at their grandmother’s Vermont inn, two siblings stir up some dangerous ghosts from the past.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules, by Jeff Kinney.Very funny book about navigating the hazards of middle school and a big brother.

Penderwicks on Gardam Street, by Jeanne Birdsall. The Penderwick sisters come up with a plan to thwart their aunt’s idea that their widowed Dad should begin dating.

Ibby’s Magic Weekend, by Heather Dyer. Ibby and her cousins find a magic box in the attic of their country house, and are turned into inexperienced magicians.

Willoughbys, by Lois Lowry. The Willoughby children’s parents leave them in the care of an odious nanny, and they decide to turn themselves into “worthy orphans.” Hilarious old-fashioned parody.

Greetings from Nowhere, by Barbara O’Connor. Four intertwining stories from a multi-generational cast tell about finding serendipitous friendship at the run-down, up-for-sale Sleepy Time Motel in the Great Smoky Mountains.

Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat, by Lynne Jonell. Emmy and her talking rat work to undo the nefarious plans of her evil nanny.

Underneath, by Kathi Appelt. A hound and a calico cat and her kittens strike up an unusual alliance in order to survive under the porch. A story of love, courage, and the importance of promises.

Forever Rose, by Hilary McKay. Final volume in the delightful series about the eccentric Casson family.

Clementine series, by Sara Pennypacker. Funny, independent third-grader Clementine stars in three books so far. If you like Ramona and Pippi, you’ll love Clementine!

One Voice, Please, by Sam McBratney. A collection of short stories for reading aloud.

Young Adult Book

Tennyson, by Lesley Blume. During the Great Depression, two sisters are sent to live with their eccentric aunt in a decaying plantation house near New Orleans.

Sky Inside, by Clare Dunkle. In the futuristic world of a domed suburb, genetically engineered Wonder Babies are delivered to waiting parents by conveyor belt. When the babies are recalled, Martin sets out to rescue his little sister.

Exodus, by Julie Bertagna. Global warming has claimed Mara’s island but she is determined to lead the people of her homeland to safety in the New World.

Curse Dark as Gold, by Elizabeth Bunce. Charlotte Miller resolves to save her family’s mill from going under, even if it means accepting the help of a stranger. Shades of Rumpelstiltskin.

Dead & the Gone, by Susan Beth Pfeffer. A companion novel to Life As WeKnew It, this book relates how the same catastrophy affects a boy and his family in Manhattan.

London Eye Mystery, by Siobhan Dowd. When their cousin gets aboard the London Eye ferris wheel but never gets off, two siblings try to unravel the mystery.

Bone Magician, by F.E. Higgins. A dark and thrilling tale of a young apprentice to the Bone Magician, who can raise the dead and make them speak---or can he?

When I Crossed No-Bob, by Margaret McMullan. In rural Mississippi during the Reconstruction, 12-year-old Addy must come to terms with her notorious extended family.

Once Upon a Time in the North, by Philip Pullman.Texas aeronaut Lee Scoresby and his daemon, jackrabbit Hester, land their balloon in the Arctic, where they meet the armored polar bear Iorek Byrnison. Prequel to The Golden Compass