Notes From The Hornbook
In Run Away with Me (Scholastic, 14 years and up), Brian Selznick brings his signature mix of text and immersive black-and-white drawings to his first book for young adults. Two teen boys meet in 1986 Rome for a summer of mystery, art, and of course, first love. For more romantic recommendations,...
Downpour. © 2025 by Yuko Ohnari and Koshiro Hata. As longtime readers know, pleasure reading is a core value of the hundred-plus-year-old Horn Book, and Summer Reading provides an opportunity to follow that bliss. Or to discover a new type of bliss. Or to have your bliss challenged. We welcome...
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2025 Summer Reading List
Find annotations, interview, and more, here. Picture Books Suggested grade level for all entries: PS–2 Wind Watchers by Micha Archer (Paulsen/Penguin) A Sleepless Night by Micaela Chirif; illus. by Joaquín Camp; trans. from Spanish by Jordan Landsman (Transit) Duckie & Snaps: We Cannot Be Friends by Ame Dyckman; illus. by Tim Miller (Orchard/Scholastic)...
Picture Books | Beginning Readers and Primary Grades | Intermediate | Middle School High School Suggested grade level for all entries: 9 and up Sọmadịna by Akwaeke Emezi (Knopf) Fifteen-year-old Sọmadịna’s beloved twin brother, Jayaike, is stolen away by a sinister figure who aims to consume the twins’...
Picture Books | Beginning Readers and Primary Grades | Intermediate | High School Middle School Suggested grade level for all entries: 6–8 Rebellion 1776 by Laurie Halse Anderson (Dlouhy/Atheneum) After the Siege of Boston, thirteen-year-old maid Elsbeth finds herself in a precarious situation when British troops — and...
Picture Books | Beginning Readers and Primary Grades | Middle School | High School Intermediate Suggested grade level for all entries: 4–6 Sea Legs by Jules Bakes; illus. by Niki Smith (Graphix/Scholastic) After third grade, Janey’s family moves onto their schooner to sail the Caribbean islands. Janey befriends...
Picture Books | Intermediate | Middle School | High School Beginning Readers and Primary Grades Suggested grade level for all entries: 1–3 How Sweet the Sound by Kwame Alexander; illus. by Charly Palmer (Little, Brown) This reverent nonfiction picture-book celebration of African American music begins its tour in...
Beginning Readers and Primary Grades | Intermediate | Middle School | High School Picture Books Suggested grade level for all entries: PS–2 Wind Watchers by Micha Archer (Paulsen/Penguin) Three children experience the invisible power of wind over the course of a year. They begin with a direct question...
In the stirring picture book When I Hear Spirituals (Holiday, 6–9 years), Cheryl Willis Hudson’s poetic text from the point of view of a contemporary Black child pairs with lyrics from spirituals, while London Ladd’s illustrations tell a story of that child and her family along with scenes from African...
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