Best Books for Newly Independent Readers from "How to Raise a Reader"

Newbery Award winner Beverly Cleary delivers a humorous portrayal of the ups and downs of sisterhood. Both the younger and older siblings of the family will enjoy this book.

Having a little sister like four-year-old Ramona isn't always easy for Beezus Quimby. With a wild imagination, disregard for order, and an appetite for chaos, Ramona makes it hard for Beezus to be the responsible older sister she knows she ought to be...especially

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When 14-year-old William Kamkwamba's Malawi village was hit by a drought in 2001, everyone's crops began to fail. His family didn't have enough money for food, let alone school, so William spent his days in the library. He came across a book on windmills and figured out how to build a windmill that could bring electricity to his village. Everyone thought he was crazy but William persevered and managed to create a functioning windmill out of junkyard...

While sorting through difficulties in her friendship with her neighbor Margaret, eight-year-old Clementine gains several unique hairstyles while also helping her father in his efforts to banish pigeons from the front of their apartment building.

Dory, the youngest in her family, is a girl with a very active imagination, and she spends the summer playing with her imaginary friend, pretending to be a dog, battling monsters, and generally driving her family nuts.

Presents the life and accomplishments of Frederick Douglass, a self-educated slave in the South who grew up to become a leader in the abolitionist movement, a celebrated writer, an esteemed speaker, and a social reformer.

Excited about his big birthday party, Bad Kitty gets a dose of his own medicine when, upon their arrival, his troublesome friends wreak havoc and his collection of presents suddenly go missing.

An illustrated collection of comically irreverent rhyming poems for readers of all ages, ranging in topic from avocados and anacondas to zombies and zebras (dressed like ghosts).--

In July, 1916, Chet Roscow is fascinated by news accounts of the great white shark said to be attacking people along the New Jersey shore not far from his home, but when he goes swimming in Matawan Creek he discovers the truth of the stories.

When all the second grade students must enter the science fair, which has global warming as its theme, best friends Ivy and Bean team up to create an unusual project.

Examines and explains how life on Earth came to be and how the Earth and life on it developed and evolved throughout time, told through a play with five acts and a prologue.