Out of the Best Books

How marvelous a thing is a good book!
President Gordon B. Hinckley

Fiction

You and Me, Little Bear Little Bear wants to play, but Big Bear needs to finish tidying up. So Little Bear patiently plays by himself for a while. But what will Little Bear do when he finds Big Bear asleep?
Martin Waddell, illustrated by Barbara Firth
3–6 years

One Guinea Pig Is Not Enough A guinea pig is lonely until, one by one, others arrive to add some fun! Children will learn simple adding skills while reading along in this lively tale.
Kate Duke
3–6 years

Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed Can one good deed by an ordinary girl change the world? It can when she’s Ordinary Mary. A story of how one little girl’s good deed not only comes back to her but spreads to the whole world.
Emily Pearson, illustrated by Fumi Kosaka
4–8 years

Hip, Hip, Hooray for Annie McRae! Eight-year-old Annie spends most of her days surrounded by cheers of “Hip, hip, hooray for Annie McRae!” from her family and friends. But what happens when others are too busy to cheer?
Brad Wilcox, illustrated by Julie Olson
4–8 years

Show and Tell Woody doesn’t like surprises, so he’s not very happy when his class gets a new student teacher. Then he gets in trouble during show-and-tell. Find out how Woody copes with change and makes new friends along the way.
Stephanie Greene, illustrated by Elaine Clayton
6–8 years

Gabriella’s Song In the “city of music” (Venice, Italy), a girl hears the sounds of the water, the birds, and her loving mother calling her. She turns the sounds into a song, which travels throughout the city as it is hummed by others. Finally, a composer hears it and—with thanks to the girl—turns her song into a magnificent symphony.
Candace Fleming, illustrated by Giselle Potter
6–9 years

Read for Me, Mama Joseph loves to have stories read to him, especially by his librarian and his neighbor. Mama tells wonderful stories but always seems to be too busy to read to him. One day, Joseph learns why Mama never reads to him, and Mama needs his help.
Vashanti Rahaman, illustrated by Lori McElrath-Eslick
6–9 years

Louise Goes Wild Louise is tired of being predictable, so she decides to make some changes. She experiments with her hair, clothes, and even the food she eats—but the results range from weird to disastrous. Will performing in the talent show help matters, or just make things worse?
Stephen Krensky
7–9 years

A Glass Slipper for Rosie Rosie the ballet dancer has a surprise planned for her grandpa’s birthday, but then she finds out that he will be leaving town. Find out how Rosie copes with her disappointment and manages to surprise her grandpa anyway.
Patricia Reilly Giff
7–10 years

The Kid Coach The Tigers are in trouble—the first game of the season is coming up and their coach has just quit. When no adults can coach the team, Scott, one of the team members, volunteers to do it. He discovers that he will need help from unexpected sources—such as Benny the Brain—for the Tigers to have a winning season.
Fred Bowen
8–12 years

The Wanderer Thirteen-year-old Sophie journeys across the Atlantic Ocean with her uncles and cousins and befriends her cousin Cody. But Cody has some questions about Sophie—why does she seem to remember spending time with Bompie, their grandfather, when she has actually never met him? What other mysterious secrets are in her past?
Sharon Creech
8–12 years

Badger’s Parting Gifts Badger’s friends are sad when he dies. But when they take turns sharing memories of the gifts he left them, they feel love and hope. An uplifting message for children who have lost a family member or friend.
Susan Varley
all ages

Nonfiction

Buddy, the First Seeing Eye Dog This book follows the life of Buddy, who became the first Seeing Eye dog in America and a friend to Morris Frank, the blind man who adopted her.
Eva Moore, illustrated by Don Bolognese
7–9 years

Paper Clip Science All you need is a box of paper clips and a few other household items to create your own science lab! You’ll find more than 60 fun and easy experiments here, such as copper-plating a paper clip, lifting an ice cube with a paper clip, and building a paper-clip scale.
Steven W. Moje
8–12 years

All books listed here have been reviewed by the Friend editorial staff and are generally available in libraries and/or bookstores.