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15 Books That Will Transform YOUR Kid Into a Reader!

I was sent this infographic from a publicist at Penguin Kids and I just had to share it with you guys!

“… just in time for the holiday season. It’s a great tool for parents (and grandparents) who are looking for gifts for the reluctant middle-grade reader this holiday season. “

She is right, this is a GREAT tool for anyone needing to buy for a middle grade reader! Here is a list of all the books mentioned in this graphic!

The Apprentices by Maile Meloy 2013-06-04 from Putnam Juvenile We love this series! See our review here	The Apothecary by Maile Meloy 2011-10-04 from Putnam Juvenile We love this series! See our review here	Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage 2012-05-10 from Dial
The Nine Lives of Alexander Baddenfield by John Bemelmans Marciano 2013-10-03 from Viking Juvenile	Clueless McGee by Jeff Mack 2012-08-16 from Philomel	Stormbreaker (Alex Rider) by Anthony Horowitz 2006-02-16 from Puffin on my wishlist*
Deadweather and Sunrise: The Chronicles of Egg, Book 1 by Geoff Rodkey 2012-05-29 from Putnam Juvenile on my wishlist* , I have book TWO in this series, but not the first one.	The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail by Richard Peck 2013-07-02 from Dial	SYLO (The SYLO Chronicles) by D.J. MacHale 2013-07-02 from Razorbill *Brandon loved this book! See his video review here
Ranger’s Apprentice (The Ruins of Gorlan, Book One) by John A. Flanagan 2005-06-16 from Philomel on my wishlist*	The Twistrose Key by Tone Almhjell 2013-10-22 from Dial	A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff 2013-02-05 from Philomel on my wishlist*
Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan 2013-08-29 from Dial	One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt 2012-05-10 from Nancy Paulsen Books	QB 1 by Mike Lupica 2013-09-17 from Philomel

Happy shopping!

8 Responses to "15 Books That Will Transform YOUR Kid Into a Reader!"

Lindsay Mead says:
December 10, 2013 at 12:46 am
Well I can honestly say those were not the books that I expected to see.
Lindsay Mead recently posted…An Open Letter To Bunny Cates
1. Bunny says:
  December 10, 2013 at 10:38 am
  Well, this list was put out by Penguin, so naturally all the books on it are more recent Penguin titles. I don’t disagree with any of the ones that we have actually read. Brandon absolutely loved SYLO (as in constantly asks if the sequel is out yet) and Jesse’s neice, who reviewed THE APPRENTICES series for us, loved that series.
  As a mom, I can honestly say that age 8-12 is such a hard age range to buy for because they are in that weird stage where they are old enough for more “drama” but still not quiet ready for “relationship” stuff. I went through this with Sis, and still am. She is such an advanced reader (tested – currently she is at a 12 grade level), but at 13 she still is not “into boys” so all this YA mess just does not interest her AT ALL. I noticed the other day, that she is reading the complete works of Sherlock Holmes right now. So…
Lindsay Mead says:
December 10, 2013 at 12:03 pm
Yeah, I kinda figured it was a marketing thing. Ya know like the Dairy Association paying to create the food pyramid and…shocker!…. Milk and dairy are at the top lol.
I can’t really vouch for or against any of the books, except for Ranger’s Apprentice. I always ask people buying that series their opinion on it and they always LOVE it. I’ve heard some good things about Three Times Lucky too.
I would agree that most YA books are not suited for early teens and younger because they’re geared for more mature teens. Teens have a lot more options today than I did as a teen. Hell, we didn’t even have a teen section in the bookstore then. I read Tamora Pierce back then. She had romance in her books, but it was never played up like romance is today. So while I wasn’t completely adverse to romance then, it also wasn’t being shoved in my face.
All that being said, if this were a list that wasn’t limited only to new Penguin titles there are others I would put on here. Harry Potter and Twilight for one. Both of those series brought readers back to bookstores in droves. I think I’d also put The Chronicles of Narnia on the list.
Lindsay Mead recently posted…An Open Letter To Bunny Cates
1. Bunny says:
  December 10, 2013 at 3:30 pm
  haha, you and I think so much a like. I am posting a list of “my picks” on Friday. However, I wouldn’t recommend Twilight to ANYONE. lolz
Lindsay Mead says:
December 10, 2013 at 6:38 pm
Ah, but the title isn’t about good books for kids to read, it’s books that’ll GET kids to read 🙂 Twilight did that in droves. Twilight isn’t the best written series by any means and there’s a lot about it that ticked me off. However, it’s a safe romance. No sex or anything that might push readers into something they may not be ready for. Now I know that it’s popular to hate Twilight, but it does have it’s charms. Many who read Twilight went on to read other books and in the end, I think, that’s one of the most important things. So come on Bunny, give it a break ;P
Lindsay Mead recently posted…An Open Letter To Bunny Cates
Friday Five: Five Books Your Kids Will LOVE! (Middle Grade Edition) says:
December 13, 2013 at 9:39 am
[…] past Monday, I posted a list that I was sent by Penguin. This was a list of books that will turn your kid into a reader. Several people messaged me and were surprised that none of the books on that list were the […]
Amanda Mustafic says:
December 17, 2013 at 3:56 pm
Counting by 7s was incredible. So good.
Amanda Mustafic recently posted…Book Review: “Girl On The Golden Coin” by Marci Jefferson
1. Bunny says:
  December 17, 2013 at 8:33 pm
  I keep hearing about it, but haven’t picked that one up yet!

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