Jack Zulu, Frindle, Ghosts, The New Yorker?
For the Littles:
There’s a Ghost In This House by Oliver Jeffers
The writing is pretty simple—it’s basically a look and find—but the book’s construction is really neat! It’s old photos of a Victorian mansion with a cartoon girl main character, and these thin transparent pages with the ghosts on them that you are supposed to overlay to see where the ghosts are hiding. It was pretty fun to play with and not nearly as creepy as it sounds.
Family read aloud:
Frindle by Andrew Clements
A precocious 5th grader invents a new word for pen - frindle - and it spreads like wildfire, much to the disapproval of his dictionary-loving English teacher. An interesting look at how words are coined, and a loveable main character and villain. I cried at the end.
Jack Zulu and the Waylander’s Key by S. D. Smith and J. C. Smith
The author of the Green Ember series teamed up with his son to write this action-packed fantasy adventure. I’m not a big fantasy reader—the world-building gets boring to me—and this book had to both set up 1980s rural West Virginia AND a fantasy portal world. However, once I got past all that world-building, I’ve really enjoyed the book. It feels a bit like a less creepy Stranger Things mixed with some Narnia. I do think parts are a bit creepy for the younger set (9 or 10+ for age recommendations from me), but I wanted to read through this before we did it for our summer bookclub for older girls. It does leave off with the need for a sequel—but luckily for you, the sequel is already available! Just don’t look at the cover, it gives away a spoiler!
Jack Zulu and the Girl with the Golden Wings by S.D. Smith and J.C. Smith
Original Star Wars, except fantasy instead of space. I really loved this book. Since the world building happened in book 1, this book is much faster paced and action packed. It takes place primarily in the elf world, Thandalia, and is set a few years after book 1. We get to see a more mature Jack, facing bigger enemies and scarier inner-demons. It ended leaving me eager for book 3!
For myself:
A Century of Poetry in the New Yorker edited by Kevin Young
Obviously, I don’t read the New Yorker. However, this is an absolutely enormous anthology, dating back 100 years, so I would recommend borrowing it from the local library and reading what you like from it, skipping the rest.
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick
This was a pleasant book, following the adventures of widower Arthur Pepper, who discovers a mysterious charm bracelet tucked inside an old boot of his deceased wife. The discovery of the charm bracelet sets him off on a journey to uncover his wife’s past life, before they met and married, whatever good or bad that may hold. I thought the descriptions and characters were charming and strong, though sometimes the dialogue felt a bit stiff (particularly on his London adventure).