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Recommendations for Rebecca

Posted on 2011.01.06 at 22:34
I got a terrific email from a young reader today:

Hi Kate,

I am an ABSOLUTE number 1 fan of your book, The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. I was wondering if there are any other books like that you know of? They don't have to be yours, just books that you would recommend. I am more of a school story girl... I don't like violence or spookiness, but I also don't like really girly stuff about princesses or fairies. I know, I am very picky. Just keep in mind that that means your book is JUST right! I am 11 in about 3 weeks, so my reading level is just like your book T.B.F.O.G.Z. (figure it out!) Can you save me? I love to read, but I just don't know what to read!

Reply soon,

~Rebecca

I love-love-loved this letter, and of course, I am making a list for her.  Here's what I have so far:

A CROOKED KIND OF PERFECT by Linda Urban
RULES and TOUCH BLUE by Cynthia Lord
ME AND THE PUMPKIN QUEEN by Marlane Kennedy
VIOLET RAINES ALMOST GOT STRUCK BY LIGHTNING by Danette Haworth
THE TOTAL TRAGEDY OF A GIRL NAMED HAMLET by Erin Dionne
THE HARD KIND OF PROMISE by Gina Willner-Pardo
11 BIRTHDAYS by Wendy Mass
OPERATION YES by Sara Lewis Holmes
ANYTHING BUT TYPICAL by Nora Raleigh Baskin
WAITING FOR NORMAL by Leslie Connor
THE STRANGE CASE OF THE ORIGAMI YODA by Tom Angleberger
PENNY DREADFUL by Laurel Snyder
THE CURSE OF ADDY MCMAHON by Katie Davis
EMMA JEAN LAZARUS FELL OUT OF A TREE by Lauren Tarshis
WHEN YOU REACH ME by Rebecca Stead
PROJECT MULBERRY by LInda Sue Park

What else would you recommend?
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Comments:

Tammi Sauer
tamarak at 2011-01-07 04:35 (UTC) (Link)
Oh, Kate. What a wonderful letter!

SHUG by Jenny Han
(Reply) (Thread)
Laurie Beth Schneider
idaho_laurie at 2011-01-07 04:45 (UTC) (Link)
Great letter! How about The Reinvention of Moxie Roosevelt by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel? Or Lisa Yee's Millicent Min series.

My 11-year-old daughter just read and loved Wendy Mass's latest, the Candymakers, too. Here are a few more from her bookshelf:

The Teashop Girls by Laura Schaefer
Luv Ya Bunches by Lauren Myracle
My Life in Pink and Green by Lisa Greenwald
It's Raining Cupcakes by Lisa Schroeder
The Mother-Daughter Bookclub series by Heather Vogel Frederick
(Reply) (Thread)
christine444
christine444 at 2011-01-07 05:18 (UTC) (Link)
Sugar and Ice by Kate Messner ;>)
The Dancing Pancake by Eileen Spinelli
Tortilla Sun by Jennifer Cervantes
Rocky Road by Rose Kent
(Reply) (Thread)
giogas
giogas at 2011-01-07 12:57 (UTC) (Link)
It's Raining Cupcakes and Sugar and Ice
(Reply) (Thread)
(Anonymous) at 2011-01-07 22:33 (UTC) (Link)

Recommendations for Rebecca

What a fabulous letter, Kate! I love this girl! And I love your list and am honored to be among some of my favorites. How about The Penderwicks, and other Wendy Mass books like Finally or Jeremy Fink?
(Reply) (Thread)
Cindy
cfaughnan at 2011-01-08 00:59 (UTC) (Link)
Great letter!

I thought of:
FRINDLE by Andrew Clements
SIDEWAYS STORIES FROM WAYSIDE SCHOOL by Louis Sachar
THE CANADA GEESE QUILT by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock
JENNIFER, HECATE, MACBETH, WILLIAM MCKINLEY, AND ME, ELIZABETH by E. L. Konigsburg
THE WEDNESDAY WARS by Gary Schmidt
THE BEST SCHOOL YEAR EVER by Robinson
THE SMALL ADVENTURE OF POPEYE AND ELVIS by Barbara O'Connor
(Reply) (Thread)
kellyrfineman
kellyrfineman at 2011-01-08 05:30 (UTC) (Link)

Hmm. Let me see . . .

DEFINING DULCIE and the forthcoming RACHEL SPINELLI PUNCHED ME IN THE FACE by Paul Acampora

THE WILLOUGHBYS by Lois Lowry

MANDY by Julie Andrews Edwards
(Reply) (Thread)
Deva
deva_fagan at 2011-01-08 15:05 (UTC) (Link)
If Rebecca is up for a slightly older (edited to add: older as in historical, not as in YA) setting, I absolutely adore the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace, set in early 1900s Minnesota. And in Betsy Was a Junior, the main character also has to deal with procrastinating on a school project involving collecting and identifying plants (flowers in this case, not leaves like Gianna). You can start with the very first (when the main character is five years old) and read on up the series as she ages to adulthood, or start with one of the older ones (she's 12 in Betsy and Tacy go Downtown).

Yay for eager readers!

Edited at 2011-01-08 03:06 pm (UTC)
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linda urban
lurban at 2011-01-10 15:08 (UTC) (Link)
I love your list ;)
I'd add Granny Torelli Makes Soup and Heartbeat by Sharon Creech
I love those books.
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