| Title |
Author |
Why I Recommend This Book |
Personal Story (optional) |
Recommender |
Watership Down
|
Richard Adams |
FROM WIKIPEDIA: Watership Down is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams. Set in Hampshire in southern
England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their
natural wild environment, with burrows, they are anthropomorphised, possessing their
own culture, language, proverbs, poetry, and mythology. Evoking epic themes, the novel
follows the rabbits as they escape the destruction of their warren and seek a place
to establish a new home (the hill of Watership Down), encountering perils and temptations
along the way.
|
I read this novel when I was in the 6th grade and I absolutely LOVED it.
|
Barbara Chen, Extended Learning Student |
| The Penderwicks |
Jeanne Birdsall |
Follows four sisters, each with wildly different personalities. Easy to follow, easy
to identify with, and highlights complex sibling relationships in the face of trials.
|
I was a big reader as a kid and through all the books I read, the first book of the
series lingered in my mind for years after. I loved their personalities and I didn’t
have sisters so it brought me insight to a different sibling dynamic from my own.
|
Kalea Carson, Kinesiology Student |
| Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret |
Judy Blume |
This is a story about a young girl who is dealing with growing up and trying to find
herself. |
I could identify with this book as a young girl growing up and trying to discover
my own identity. |
Jill S., Extended Learning Student / Educator |
| The Wild Robot |
Peter Brown |
The Wild Robot is the story about a robot who ends up on an island, and if that wasn't random enough
for it, it ends up becoming the caretaker of a goose. Rozz learns the basics of caretaking,
figures out that sometimes your intuition is stronger than what protocol says, and
discovers community. |
I read this book to my children over a few weeks, a chapter here and a chapter there.
It helped me give myself grace, as I realized that I'm like Rozz. I'm trying to figure
this parenting thing out as I go, there are protocols but choosing to be guided by
what feels right is important. It is also a big lesson in that parenting is not about
protecting our children, but preparing them to fly out on their own. (I may or may
not be crying as I type this.) |
Cristina Avendano, Staff, SEL |
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
|
Beverly Cleary |
This classic children's novel chronicles the adventures of Ralph S. Mouse and his
miniature motorcycle, a toy provided by a boy named Keith. The themes range from building
friendships to developing curiosity and courage. |
As a student in Mrs. Wellesley's second-grade class, I looked forward to the time
each day when Mrs. W would read aloud to us. The Mouse and the Motorcycle was my favorite book that year--I couldn't wait to find out what happened to Ralph
each day! Listening to the story encouraged me to keep growing as a reader so that
one day I would be able to read--on my own--the next book in the series: Runaway Ralph! |
Barbara Bell, Professor of English |
| The Land of Stories |
Chris Colfer |
The Land of Stories follows Alex and Conner as they travel through different fairy tale worlds to stop
a dangerous enchantress threatening all stories. I recommend it because it mixes adventure,
humor, and classic fairy tale characters in a really fun and creative way, and the
plot keeps getting more intense and interesting as it goes on. |
I read this series in 4th and 5th grade, and I absolutely loved it. It was one of
the first books that made me genuinely excited about reading, and it honestly played
a big role in making me love both reading and writing. |
Angelina Montoya Klein, English major, Student |
Gregor the Overlander
|
Suzanne Collins |
In this five-book series, an 11-year-old boy whose dad has been gone for a year falls
through a grate in the basement laundromat of his NYC apartment building into a world
in constant warfare among humans and their giant bat allies against the giant rats
with a few other over-sized species that talk on the periphery (mice, spiders, cockroaches).
Gregor seems to be "the Warrior" of the prophesies the human civilization (started
in the 1600s, fleeing persecution) lives by, but he just wants to find his dad. Gregor
has two great younger sisters who also play important roles. |
Ripred (a rat) is one of my favorite characters of all time for his sarcasm and for
keeping his kindness, at the core, in spite of the humans having killed his entire
family. Gregor is a hero, but in a very human way. Although two (relatively minor)
characters we care about die, it is ultimately a hopeful book about the power of love
and commitment. I read all five books out loud to my younger son twice and I read
the series again last summer to myself and still loved it. |
Kim Monda, English Professor |
| Walk Two Moons |
Sharon Creech |
Story of a young child who faces challenges with the loss of a parent, adjusting to
a new city, making new friends and losing a grandparent. |
I read this book in 4th grade and it has stayed with me throughout my own life as
I was able to connect with the struggles. My 4th grade son and I re-read it this Spring
Break and it really touched him because although it is fiction, the loss and grief
is realistic from the perspective of a child. |
A.R., Staff |
James and the Giant Peach
|
Roald Dahl |
James and the Giant Peach is about a young boy who goes on a magical adventure inside a giant peach with a
group of talking insects. I recommend it because it was such a great book and creative,
fun to read, and shows how friendship and courage can help you through difficult situations.
|
I remember reading this book when I was younger in school and I really enjoyed how
imaginative it was. It made reading exciting and feel fun and not like a chore. After
we read the book, we got to watch the movie in class, a childhood memory I now cherish.
|
Vanitie Rios, Student |
| Greyhound of a Girl |
Roddy Doyle |
This is a sweet and funny and poignant look at death from the perspective of a young
girl as she goes on a road trip with three generations of women from her family.
|
|
Robbie Fischer, Biology Professor |
| Half Magic |
Edgar Eager |
A story about young siblings who find a magic coin that changes their entire summer.
I loved this book because it was well written and entertaining. |
I am in my late 60's and I still recall, from memory, the title and author of this
favorite childhood book. |
Jill S., Extended Learning Student / Educator |
| Space Case / Spy School |
Stuart Gibbs |
Both book series are very engaging and get you hooked. Spy School is riveting and full of action, friendship, and epicness. Space Case is a mystery on the moon, and an intriguing story of a kid who investigates foul
play after the ship's lead scientist doesn't come back alive. |
|
Aubri LaPointe, Biochemistry Major |
The Amazing Generation
|
Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price
|
A timely mix of graphic novel, narrative, and testimonials revealing to young kids
(target audience: 9-12) how their attention is being monetized and their childhood
stolen by tech companies. On the plus side, it offers a way forward codified into
the Rebel's Code: Use technology as a tool, don't let technology use you; and Fill
your life with real friendship, freedom, and fun.
|
My 9 year old devoured it. Made psychologist mama happy :) |
Leida Tolentino, Psychology Professor
|
Misty of Chincoteague
|
Marguerite Henry |
As a young person who loved to read, this book and the following series allowed me
to dive into the world of horses as a young age. I have been an equestrienne since
I was 9 and to have wonderful stories to read about horses that live wild on the East
Coast was wonderful!
|
|
Chelsea O'Connell, Biological Sciences Department Staff |
Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat
|
Lynne Jonell |
Emmy gets bit by a rat, is then able to speak rat language, gets shrunk to rat size,
and goes on an adventure in a rat world to save her family from her evil nanny. Lots
of found-family and easily digestible ethical dilemmas (if I'm remembering correctly).
|
|
Beth, SBCC Student |
| The Phantom Tollbooth |
Norton Juster |
Fun, humorous reading with great illustrations, yet has deeper meaning. For older
children and young adults. |
|
Deborah Cooke, EOPS writing tutor |
| The Phantom Tollbooth |
Norton Juster |
A young boy named Milo is thoroughly bored by his myriad of expensive possessions,
and disinterested in life in general - until he discovers a mysterious tollbooth that
transports him into a magical world. This book is a vivid, fantastically sensory exploration
into the power of language, wordplay, and best of all adventure. |
My childhood self's copy of this book has since frayed to the point of unrecognizability.
The cover is ripped off, long gone, and mildew has started to encroach onto the back
pages. I rediscovered it a matter of years ago via a fresh new copy from Goodwill,
and it brought to mind how transformative this book had been, as a profoundly lonely
child who viewed reading as a form of dimensional travel. |
Moe Frank-Niyogi, Student Worker at the Multimodal Lab |
| The Phantom Tollbooth |
Norton Juster |
This is a fun book that allows readers to see how imaginative and multi-purpose words
can be. It's full of adventure and puns! It was one of my favorites as a child and
as an adult. |
|
Tori Tarello, Student |
Guardians of the Ga'Hoole
|
Kathryn Lasky |
This is a great series about an owl family where an ordinary owl becomes a hero.
|
I read this series with my son almost 12 years ago. It was a time for my son and I
to connect and go into a fantasy land. It is a 16 book series that is engaging, descriptive
and beautiful story. |
Angelica Contreras, Staff |
| A Wrinkle in Time |
Madeleine L'Engle |
Young people traveling through time. I enjoyed the fantasy and imagination of the
book's premise of traveling through time. |
A Wrinkle in Time was one of my favorite books as a young person. |
Jill S., Extended Learning Student / Educator |
A Wizard of Earthsea
|
Ursula K. Le Guin |
A Wizard of Earthsea is a fantastical tale where darkness is not an evil to be defeated, but an inseparable
part of us to be understood and ultimately accepted. The hero’s fragile pride brings
about terrible consequences of his own making, but his willingness to face those consequences
and take responsibility for his actions allow him to grow both as a person and wizard
in his own right. Though I first read it when I was already an adult, this is definitely
a book whose themes will grow with you as you revisit it over the course of your life. |
|
G.F., Student, Accounting |
| The Chronicles of Narnia |
C.S. Lewis |
This series is brilliant, imaginative, and captivating as it is written by one of
the greatest minds in history. |
My kids and I have wonderful memories listening to these books in the car in their
childhood and adolescence. |
Jenny Cooper, Career Counselor |
| The Trilogy of Two |
Juman Malouf |
This book has a completely unique, heavy, and complex fantasy atmosphere. When I read
it around the age of 12, it really felt like there were entire worlds tucked between
the pages. It drags you through everything, from an industrial wasteland with a macabre
elite class to dream-like wilds filled with halflings and other mythical creatures.
|
|
Lia Gillam, Student |
| Still Dreaming / Seguimos soñando |
Claudia Guadalupe Martínez, illustrated by Magdalena Mora, and translated by Luis
Humberto Crosthwaite |
Still Dreaming / Seguimos soñando is a beautifully illustrated bilingual children’s book that explores the often-omitted
history of Mexican Repatriation during the 1930s. The book helps us to better understand
the emotional toll of family separation and the racialization many Mexican-Americans
and Mexicans faced during this time. The story also explores the contributions that
Mexicans and Mexican-Americans have made as workers in Alaskan fisheries, meat plant
packers in Chicago, and as agricultural workers – Mexicans continue to be pulled into
the United States to work backbreaking jobs. It is also a poignant reminder that family
separation is not a new topic and sadly that our immigration policies are simply broken.
(Written for grades 3-6.) |
For me, Still Dreaming / Seguimos soñando is both academic and personal; it draws on historical as well as collective memories
from my family. As an archivist, art historian and teacher, I highlight Mexican Repatriation,
a topic that has been well-documented with photographs and newspaper accounts. Nearly
2 million Mexican-Americans (including U.S. citizens) and Mexicans were repatriated
to Mexico during the 10-year period between 1930 – 1940. From what I can tell, it
is also part of my family’s disjointed recollections, my mother and my grandmother
could never tell me for certain if my great-uncles were targeted... all I know is
that my grandmother’s three younger brothers, all U.S.-born citizens, bore witness
to this past. |
Melinda Gándara, Adjunct Faculty |
| The Unwanteds |
Lisa McMann |
This entire series was so hard for me to put down once I started it! In their world,
13-year-olds are sorted into "unwanted" and "wanted." Deemed "unwanted," these kids
discover a world that flourishes on creativity and magic---a ravishing, undercover
society that transforms their idea of what being "unwanted" is. |
|
Aubri LaPointe, Biochemistry Major |
Island of the Blue Dolphins
|
Scott O'Dell |
This is the well known story of an indigenous girl who gets left behind by her people
on one of the Channel Islands (I think San Nicholas - purposely not looking it up
on AI!) and survives on her own. Packs of wild dogs, harsh weather, etc...
|
I read this over and over, the first time in 4th grade, when I had moved to northern
CA from the midwest. I remember that I read everything of my level in the classroom
and library and Mrs. Rucker, my teacher, brought things from home for me to read.
I think the story capitivated me because it was a GIRL!! and she was so inventive
in the face of hardship. |
Kristin Frascella, Instructor, Art Department |
Island of the Blue Dolphins
|
Scott O'Dell |
Read to me as a young girl, I found the heroine to be very inspiring and resilient.
|
Every day, my 3rd grade teacher had us sit around her and she would read us a few
pages. It has been over 25 years and I can still vividly remember the entire class
staying quiet with the hope that she would keep reading to at least the end of a chapter.
At the end, we all cried and I will never forget this book. |
Angelica S., Student |
| The Percy Jackson Series |
Rick Riordan
|
Both my son and my daughter loved this series growing up.
|
|
Susie Naughton, ESL Instructor |
| Septimus Heap |
Angie Sage |
I really like this series. I read them when I was around 8-11 years old. It’s got
a strong magic system and good world building. It still maintains a comfortable, warm
tone and was easy to read at that age. |
|
Andrew Klug, Student |
| The Mysterious Benedict Society |
Trenton Lee Stewart |
A fabulous read, this book features gifted children selected to go on a secret undercover
mission to stop the evil antagonist from using mind control to take over the world.
Great characters, puzzles, and great writing. If you love A Wrinkle in Time, you will also enjoy Mysterious Benedict Society! There are four in the series, but this can easily be a stand alone book.
|
|
Margaret Prothero, Professor, Department of English |
Wings of Fire
|
Tui T. Sutherland
|
It's been a few years, but I remember enjoying these books with my kids. The protagonists
in this fantasy series are dragons, but they behave a lot like the humans of our world.
|
|
Melanie Borchers, Research Analyst, Institutional Research & Planning |
Rookie of The Year
|
John R. Tunis
|
Rookie of the Year (1944) by John R. Tunis is a wonderful sports novel for middle-grade
readers. Tunis, a masterful fiction writer, puts you in the cleats of manager Spike
Russell in his quest to win a pennant for the Brooklyn Dodgers. While Tunis absolutely
loves the game of baseball, he is first and foremost a student of life, and his chief
interest lies in depicting the singular personalities of his ballplayers, their jocular
banter and flavorful nicknames, their ever-changing relationships with each other
and with their manager, and, above all, their secret emotional and moral battles with
themselves.
|
When I finished reading Rookie of the Year to my then seven-year-old son, he asked
me: “Can we read it again?” I said yes, we sure could. And over the years we did just
that, many times. Even now (he’s 26), if the occasion warrants it, I will quote our
favorite line to him regarding Spike Russell’s characteristic faith in his rookie
pitcher Bones Hathaway. After debating whether to take his tiring starter out in a
tight situation of an extra-inning game, the manager declares: “I’m staying with this
kid!” |
Robert Metzger, English Professor |
Flipped
|
Wendelin Van Draanen
|
Flipped is a story about a girl who grows up next to a boy she is obsessed with. Over
time, they both grow up and their perspectives about each other begin to change. You
can literally flip the book upside down and read the perspective of the other character
and it is so fun to see their growth .
|
It starts out being very superficial and it gets to be so endearing because you can
see how the characters are perceived and then flip the book to see what they're actually
feeling. I love how the girl in the story really starts to find herself and what her
values are. |
Angelica S., Student |
Charlotte's Web
|
E.B. White, illustrated by Garth Williams
|
Beloved classic children’s book, especially for kids who love animals, with beautiful
illustrations and a wonderful story about Wilbur the pig, his best friend Charlotte
the spider, Fern (the little girl who loves Wilbur), and all the other animals who
live in the barn.
|
|
Nancy Keller, Retired SBCC staff and adjunct instructor, current SBCC student |
| Little House on the Prairie |
Laura Ingalls Wilder |
A wonderful historical biography on the expansion of the US. |
I have amazing memories reading this series as a child and highly recommend it to
anyone who wants a first-hand account of a child who grew up during that time. |
Jenny, Career Counselor |