The Hundred Dresses
Wanda Petronski is a Polish girl in a Connecticut school whose classmates make fun of her for wearing the same old dress every day. Wanda defends herself by saying she has a hundred dresses at home, but nobody believes her. When Wanda moves away, her classmates feel terrible--but it’s too late to make things right, even though they now know the truth behind Wanda’s claim. A poignant, beautiful book. Age 6 and up.
More info →I Had a Favorite Dress
With a snip, snip and a sew, sew, a mother-daughter duo transform a too-short favorite dress into a shirt (and a skirt, and a tank top, and a scarf...) in this sweet story structured around the days of the week. This beautifully illustrated story holds obvious appeal for young sewists and fashionistas, but it also gracefully deals with the themes of growing up and letting go.
More info →Ivy and Bean
Ivy and Bean were sure they would never like each other. But one day Bean finds herself in a pickle and Ivy comes to her rescue, and they immediately become forever friends. This ten book (and expanding) series in the spirit of the Ramona books centers on the universal childhood themes of friendship, adventure, getting in trouble, and sibling relations.
More info →American Girl historical series
I have mixed feelings about these books, but there’s no denying they’re a hit with grade schoolers: my own daughter learned to read independently because she desperately wanted to finish the Felicity series on her own. We’ve banned the American Girl Today series at my house, but have burned through the six-book series for more than a dozen spunky historical characters, each set in a different time and place.
More info →Anne of Green Gables
Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert of Prince Edward Island, Canada decide to adopt an orphaned boy to help them on their farm. Their messenger mistakenly delivers a girl to Green Gables instead—an 11-year-old feisty redhead named Anne Shirley. The series follows Anne from her childhood at Green Gables until she is a mother herself. Don't miss the final books of the series when Anne's own sons set sail to fight for Canada in WWI.
More info →Where do you want to go next?
paper gains table of contents
good reads for bookish parents
books that belong in every family’s library
series kids love (and their parents do, too)
great picture books
books for baseball fans
books girls love
books boys love
books for young creatives
delightfully silly books
animal tales
books for the transportation-obsessed
books for young adventurers
books to fire young imaginations
books to pore over
classics for a reason
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