Hello, everyone! First of all, I’m sorry I didn’t get this post up yesterday. Things have been pretty crazy and yesterday was especially busy! I’ve been kind of lazy lately and nothing super crazy is going on, but I think I’m going to take a short hiatus anyway this coming week. 🙁 I’m a bit behind in For the Bookish things, so I’m going to take this week to answer emails and comments and get some more posts for September written up! I have two posts scheduled for Monday and Wednesday of this next week, so those will still go up, but I probably won’t be back until next Monday. Thanks for understanding. 🙂 In other news, my birthday is in thirteen days!!

Today is the start of a new feature on FTB, which I’ll be hosting along with Trisha at Bonjour Belle! At the end of every month Trisha and I will post a Monthly Must-Reads with a specific theme. This month’s theme is back-to-school, since we’re heading into Autumn (YESS MY FAVORITE MONTH!) and everyone is getting into school.

So if you decide to do the link-up this month, simply list ten books you recommend for back-to-school theme (you can see this post or Trisha’s  of what we did) and then when you do your post, be sure to add your link at the bottom of this post! Also, in your post, remember to link back to Trisha and me! You can add your link until September 28th. 🙂

Here’s my list! (These are in no particular order.)

#1: wonder by r.j. palacio

I haven’t read Wonder in two or three years, but I remember my fifth grade teacher reading it to my class and I absolutely loved it! It’s a great book for going back to school because most of the book takes place at school and it’s all about friendships and bullies and great themes to think about in school. I’ve been meaning to re-read it ever since my teacher read it to us, and it’s never left me.

#2: the book thief by markus zusak

The Book Thief is one of THE best historical fiction books of all time. I walked into a bookstore the other day, and it was in a section titled “School Required Reading.” I was thrilled to see it there – I definitely think it would make a GREAT school-required reading book. I read it in the sixth grade per recommendation of my mom – she found it somehow and bought it for me on my Kindle, and I was NOT expecting it to be as good as it was. Plus, it’s got an amazing movie to boot. So you can bribe yourself into reading it by getting to watch the movie. I went to see it in the theater will my dad and we both walked out crying (and I had read the book!) I think the movie deserved a lot more publicity!

#3: the main street series by ann m. martin

I read these books in third or fourth grade; I believe it was third. I got the first book at a book fair in my school and then my grandmother bought me the books I didn’t have – now I have all but nine, and it’s super annoying! (I’ve been meaning to get #9 for years!) I have it on my Kindle, but not in paperback. All of the books are worn and loved. It’s hard to explain, but the series are the kind of books that just feel… cozy. Does that make sense? Whenever I read them (they’ve been re-read dozens of times!) I feel nostalgic. I guess Cathleen Kelly, from one of my favorite movies, You’ve Got Mail, puts it right.

#4: the giver by lois lowry

If you haven’t read this book, you’re really missing out! My mom and I read it together last year (right when the movie came out.) HOPEFULLY, we can read the other three together soon (we own them, we just haven’t gotten around to it yet.) Again, like The Book Thief, it has a fantastic movie. (Although the characters are a few years older in the movie, which makes for a better movie, but does it change it a lot.) That said, the movie still keeps the main premise of the book alive. It really affected (effected? I get those SO mixed up!) both my mom and I, and we still talk about the lessons in the book every now and then. I feel like it’s a wonderful book for schools to have students read, but only if they’re going to really discuss the book. There are so many moral lessons in it, and I see so many of the things in the book in our world today, it’s scary. VERY though-provoking.

#5: the mother/daughter book club by heather vogel frederick

The Mother/Daughter Book Club series is a series I became OBSESSED with in fourth and fifth grade. It was downright frightening how much I obsessed over this series. Truthfully, I think I love it so much not because the story stood out to me in any particular way, but because in the past four years or so, I’ve grown up re-reading the books. In the first book, the girls are in sixth grade. It was neat reading it for the first time when I was in fourth, and the characters were two years older than me, and now, when I’m two years older than them. It goes back to the quote from You’ve Got Mail, “When you read a book as a child, it becomes your identity.” And I’m SO THRILLED that Heather Vogel Frederick will be coming out with another book in the series soon! The seventh was supposed to be the last, but I’m really happy that she decided to add another. I also had the pleasure of interviewing Miss Frederick last year. 

#6: waiting for normal by leslie connor

Waiting For Normal was one of the books on the reading bowl team in my elementary school in fourth grade. All of the books on the reading bowl list are Children’s Book Award finalists, so they’re all incredible books. But Waiting for Normal has just stuck with me longer than the others. I must have been ten when I read it; it’s a pretty heavy book for a ten-year-old. I have a clear memory of when I finished it; I came to my mom in tears and told her about it. It made me extremely thankful for my family, and it’s just a great story in general.

#7: fish in a tree by lynda mullaly hunt

I HIGHLY recommend Fish In A Tree for back-to-school, because the main focus of the book is SCHOOL. (You can see my review for this book here; I just read it last month.) The main character has dyslexia, and her teacher helps her realize that she’s still brilliantly smart; it’s such a sweet book about school – friendships, teachers, and learning disabilities. I think it would really inspire lots of kids struggling in academics.

#8: ungifted by gordon korman

So this is another book I read this year, in March. Like Fish In A Tree, its main theme is school. The MC, Donnavon, isn’t exactly academically gifted by any stretch, but then he ends up in a school for geniuses… by mistake. It’s another inspiring story for kids, because the lesson is that you can still be GIFTED, even if you’re not school gifted. I’ve never struggled in school, but this book was still inspiring for me – and hilarious! I think I’m going to try to get my sister to read it, because I know she’d enjoy it. =)

#9: the lions of little rock by kristin levine

I’m stealing one of Trisha’s books on her list because THIS BOOK IS THE BEST. I read it… innnn…. fifth grade? Yep, fifth grade. I think the cover was what first stood out for me. It takes place in the 1950’s, about two twelve-year-old girls. One of the girls, Liz, is black, but her skin is light enough that she could, essentially, “pass” for white. So her family enrolls her in a white-only school, so she could get a  better education. This book covers so many topics; it’s a great book for this theme because one of the main premises of the book is school. Definitely recommend.

#10: this means war by ellen whittlinger

This is a very short, easy read. At first, the book seems pretty slow and like a super light read… it’s not! It’s perfect for going back to school because it’s all about friendship, and I think that’s a really important part of school (and life, in general, of course.) It’s also a historical fiction, and they’re my favorite books to read when I think of school.

so what kind of books do you like to read going back to school? are you familiar with any of these? can’t wait to see all of your posts! remember to add your link below!

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