Humphrey the Hamster

The Humphrey the Hamster series is one that is loved by both my daughter and my husband.  Humphrey lives in room 26 and he helps out the families that he visits their homes and teaches kindness and friendship.  For example, he unplugs a classmates television so the family can learn to have fun without the television.  Humphrey's experiences make for good discussions of different problems that kids face, how to change these problems and how to help others.

This series works well as a read aloud (perfect in a classroom setting) and would be equally enjoyed by both boys and girls.  The content is not age specific so it would be enjoyed and is appropriate for elementary students of any age.  There are currently six books in the series and they're written on a 3-4th grade reading level.

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games trilogy takes place in a dystopian society.  In the first book Katniss our heroine is chosen to compete in a twisted death match reality show with 23 other kids for the entertainment of the citizens of the capital.  Katniss and Gail the other teen chosen from her district have to fight against the other competitors to try to be the last one standing for it's the only way to survive.  Katniss finds love and friendship in this unlikely environment. 

While at first look The Hunger Games seems to be a terrible book about kids killing kids is more than that.  The book examines the horrors of war and violence and the reader puts themselves in the shoes of Katniss examining what they would do if they were in her situation.  As the trilogy continues Katniss finds herself in the middle of a revolution that she is not so sure about and the story examines the dangers of an vengeful out of control government.

This is a very quick read and one that is very hard to put down.  It is one I recommend to both boys (who like the fighting) and girls (who like the love story).  After reading this teens could be encouraged to read more literary dystopian tales such as Lord of the Flies and 1984.  The dystopian genre is one of the fastest moving in YA literature and there are a wide range of other dystopian novels for teens to enjoy.

I would recommend this book to the middle and high school reader.  While it is very violent (I wouldn't recommend it to kids who have nightmares) there is no sexual content (aside from kissing) or substance abuse to concern parents.  There are two books out currently with the third expected at the end of August and a movie based on the original is in production.

The Worst Witch

The Worst Witch series is a funny Harry Potter light for the beginning reader.  They tell the tale of Mildred, a student at Miss Cackles Academy for witches faces many blunders in her experiences at school.  She's not a very good witch and her spells often go wrong, but do not worry.  The book has the terrific feel good ending that young readers love.

These books are on a 3/4th grade level (guided reading level P) and they are thin (the first one is 110 pages) so they're a quick read and good for intermediate readers.  There were some UK words that my daughter had trouble with and she reported that it was just a little hard but she says that it was worth it because of the "scary and funny parts."  This book would work well as a read aloud for the younger set and is fantastic for the advanced younger reader as well as readers that are ready for beginning chapter books.  There was a TV series years ago based on the books (which I was able to get at the library) that is a good reward for when your child finishes the book, there was a movie also which is fantastically bad).

While this is a girl book (taking place in a girls school with female teachers) I think the story is funny enough that boys would like it also. 

Baby Mouse!

Babymouse is a fantastic series of graphic novels for the young reader.  They follow the trials and tribulations of Babymouse as she suffers horrors such as dodge-ball and school musical auditions. 

My daughter loves these so much that she sits and reads them in one sitting without being asked and cheers when one arrives in the mail.  I asked her why she loves Babymouse and she said it's because they are pink pink pink and there is always a happy ending and they are easy to read.  These are girl books and because of the pinkness I wouldn't think boys would like them.

These graphic novels are perfect for the reader that's moving from picture books to chapter books.  They're at a second grade reading level.  There are twelve in the series and they're generally available as buy 3 get the 4th free from Amazon.com.