Grade: 3

This picture book is narrated by animal characters, ages 5-12, who are part of a support group that helps children cope with their mothers’ breast cancer. Each character shares with the reader a different aspect of dealing with cancer — what it was like when their family found out, what they learned about the disease (including that it isn’t contagious), what doctors are doing to treat their mothers, and how they look for “the good” in the days their mothers go through chemotherapy. They also share their emotions, helpful hints, and the hope that their mothers will get better. This reassuring book with charming animal illustrations will comfort young children struggling with a parent or loved one with cancer or another serious disease.

Orphan Hugo Cabret lives in a wall. His secret home is etched out in the crevices of a busy Paris train station. Part-time clock keeper, part-time thief, he leads a life of quiet routine until he gets involved with an eccentric, bookish young girl and an angry old man who runs a toy booth in the station. The Invention of Hugo Cabret unfolds its cryptic, magical story in a format that blends elements of picture book, novel, graphic novel, and film. Caldecott Honor-winning author-illustrator Brian Selznick has fashioned an intricate puzzle story that binds the reader like a mesmerist’s spell.

The fourth episode of Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi’s Spiderwick Chronicles is here and more spellbinding than ever! When the Grace children and their mom attend Mallory’s fencing competition, Jared spies an odd-looking fellow rooting through Mallory’s duffel bag. The problem is, the thief looks just like Jared himself, and when the boy confronts his mysterious double with a knife — iron is known to repel faeries — the “Not-Jared” disappears and Jared winds up almost expelled from school. But when Mallory disappears, a trip to the quarry results in a harrowing meeting with dwarves, a run-in with a googly-eyed “knocker,” a scheme to rescue their sister from a strange sleep, and finally, a startling fight over the book. All may look hopeless for the Grace kids, but thankfully, help is right at home. A page-turning installment that even includes an image of Jared’s expulsion letter, The Ironwood Tree packs the punch that fans have come to love.

“Dear Diary … I’ve never been higher than Aunt Clara’s porch, or farther than Yoder’s General Store, but this week my dream is coming true. I’m finally in a big city!” So begins the story of Hannah, an Amish girl, who visits Chicago for the first time. Each day she tells her “silent friend,” her diary, about the wondrous things she sees, including skyscrapers, an aquarium, and crowds of people wearing strange clothes. Each new city experience is contrasted with an illustration of Amish life.

In this retold Ojibwe tale, a little girl’s courage and determination save her village from a terrible disease and bring the delicate lady slipper flower to the forests of the Great Lakes. By listening closely to nature, the hissing snow, rumbling ice, and dancing northern lights, the little girl is able to bring healing herbs back from a neighboring village. The next spring she goes back to look for a pair of beaded ma-ki-sins she lost during her harrowing journey to retrieve the medicine. Instead, all along her route, wherever she had stepped, she finds beautiful lady slipper flowers shaped like tiny mocassins.

The little house stood in the country, with trees and fields around her, and with the birds and flowers and children for company. In the distance twinkled the lights of the big city, and the little house wondered what it would be like to live there. One day steam shovels dug a road in front of the little house, and soon she was surrounded by houses and stores. Then tall skyscrapers rose on either side of her, elevated trains roared past her, and a subway shook the ground under her foundations. She longed for a glimpse of the stars and the scent of apple blossoms, but she was caught by the big city. Then, when she was so old and shabby that nobody wanted to live in her, she had an unexpected chance to escape.

Sachar, who won the Newbery Medal for his 1999 book Holes, can find a kid’s funny bone as readily as he can identify what concerns kids most. This popular series of early-reader chapter books follows the trials and triumphs of Marvin as he confronts the ever-tumultuous third grade.

Zach visits his grandparents every summer at their cottage by the lake. He is looking forward to fishing with Gramps and eating Gram’s cooking. Gramps calls their first idyllic day a “Memory Box Day.” Zach learns that this is a day for young and old to start gathering photos, stories, and souvenirs to store in a special box to remember their times together. As Zach’s time with his grandparents unfolds, he learns the true reason for the memory box; it is especially for Gramps who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. During the rest of his stay, Zach and his grandparents fill the box with wonderful memories of summers past and new memories, building something that will always keep them together.