Fiction Reviews for ages 5 to 12

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These days we are very lucky to have a truly wide variety of early readers, chapter books, and middle readers available to us. Some of them are also quite lovely to look at with delightful illustrations throughout. The importance of the early reader in the reading life of a child is often unrecognized. The next step, the chapter book, offers a child that very first chance to properly read a book on his or her own. The middle reader takes a child into a new world of fiction and gives the reader a real taste of what a novel can be like.

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You can find other books of this kind in the Non-Fiction, Features, and Series sections of the journal.

A Nest for Celeste: A Story About Art, Inspiration, and the Meaning of Home

A Nest for Celeste: A Story About Art, Inspiration, and the Meaning of Home

Henry Cole
Fiction
For ages 8 to 10
HarperCollins, 2010   ISBN: 978-0061704123
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Francine Poulet Meets the Ghost Raccoon

Francine Poulet Meets the Ghost Raccoon

Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator:  Chris Van Dusen 
Fiction  Series
For ages 6 to 8
Candlewick, 2016   ISBN: 978-0763690885
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Iris and Walter and Baby Rose

Iris and Walter and Baby Rose

Elissa Haden Guest
Illustrator:  Christine Davenier 
Fiction  Series
For ages 6 to 9
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt , 2012   ISBN: 978-0547850641
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Jubilee

Jubilee

Patricia Reilly Giff
Fiction
For ages 8 and up
Random House, 2016   ISBN: 978-0385744867
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Letters from the Corrugated Castle: A Novel of Gold Rush California, 1850-1852

Letters from the Corrugated Castle: A Novel of Gold Rush California, 1850-1852

Joan W. Blos
Historical Fiction
For ages 9 to 12
Simon and Schuster, 2007   ISBN: 978-0689870774
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Mister Cleghorn's Seal

Mister Cleghorn's Seal

Judith Kerr
Fiction
For ages 7 to 9
HarperCollins Children's Books, 2015   ISBN: 978-0008157302
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Travels of Thelonious (The Fog Mound)

Travels of Thelonious (The Fog Mound)

Susan Schade
Illustrator:  Jon Buller 
Fiction
For ages 8 to 12
Simon and Schuster, 2007   ISBN: 978-0689876851
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The Guard Dog

The Guard Dog

Dick King-Smith
Fiction
For ages 6 to 8
Random House UK, 2006   ISBN: 0552554332
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The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls

The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls

Elise Primavera
Fiction
For ages 8 to 12
HarperCollins, 2008   ISBN: 978-0060569488
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Judy Moody and Stink: The Wishbone Wish

Judy Moody and Stink: The Wishbone Wish

Megan McDonald
Illustrator:   Peter H. Reynolds 
Fiction  Series
For ages 6 to 9
Candlewick Press, 2015   ISBN: 978-0763672065
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Turtle in Paradise

Turtle in Paradise

Jennifer L. Holm
Fiction
For ages 8 to 10
Random House, 2011   ISBN: 978-0375836909
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The Best Bear in All the World

The Best Bear in All the World

Jeanne Willis, Kate Saunders, Paul Bright, Brian Sibley
Illustrator:  Mark Burgess 
Fiction  Series
For ages 6 and up
Penguin, 2016   ISBN: 978-0399187476
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A Boy Called Christmas

A Boy Called Christmas

Matt Haig
Illustrator:  Chris Mould 
Fiction
For ages 8 to 10
Random House, 2016   ISBN: 978-0399552656
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