Book Reviews

Top Picks - Books

If you're looking for some great media suggestions for your kids--look no further than our Top Picks! We have a variety of lists in all of our media categories with some wonderful suggestions for kids of all ages. Whether you're looking for great fantasy books for your 8-14 year old or some classic holiday movies, you're sure to find something that your kids will enjoy.

Check back here often since we're continually adding new lists every week! If you have any suggestions for a new list or for a title that should be added to one of our existing lists, please let us know.

Books

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Best Books for Special Needs

Stoner & Spaz by Ron Koertge

Fast-moving, funny story with doses of sex, swearing, and drugs.

pause 14+
4 stars

The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg

Brilliant but complex novel for older kids.

on 11+
5 stars

Brothers of the Heart by Joan W. Blos

14-year-old Shem spends six months in the Michigan wilderness alone with a dying Indian woman who helps him not only to survive, but also to mature to the point where he can return to his family and the difficulties of life as a cripple in a frontier village.

on 10+
4 stars

Cheshire Moon by Nancy Butts

After the death of her best friend, a 12-year-old hearing-impaired girl faces the choice of self-destruction through denial and withdrawal or self-acceptance in the real, hearing world.

on 10+
5 stars

Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli

Newbery Medal 1950. A crippled boy in 14th century England proves his courage and earns recognition from the King.

on 9+
5 stars

Mattie's Whisper by Michael Dorris

A Native American boy with a special gift to “see” beyond his poor eyesight journeys with an old warrior to a land of mystery and beauty.

on 9+
4 stars

Seeing Lessons by Spring Hermann

The story of Abigail Carter and America’s first school for blind people.

on 9+
4 stars

Circle of Giving by Ellen Howard

When Marguerite moves to Los Angeles during the late 1920s, she suddenly becomes shy and withdrawn until a girl with cerebral palsy moves in across the street.

on 9+
5 stars

A Cool Moonlight by Angela Johnson

A lyrical tale about a young girl who must avoid sunlight.

on 9+
4 stars

The Mighty (orig. Freak the Mighty) by Rodman Philbrick

Two outcasts join forces to conquer readers' hearts.

on 9+
4 stars

Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule by Harriette Gillem Robinet

Born with a withered leg and hand, Pascal, who is about twelve years old, joins other former slaves in a search for a farm and the freedom which it promises.

on 9+
4 stars

The Cay by Theodore Taylor

A powerful shipwreck story with an anti-racism message.

on 9+
5 stars

Tuck Triumphant by Theodore Taylor

14-year-old Helen, her blind dog Friar Tuck, and her family face some dramatic challenges when they discover that the Korean boy they have adopted is deaf. Sequel to The Trouble with Tuck.

on 9+
5 stars

Sound of Sunshine, Sound of Rain by Florence Parry Heide

A black, blind boy maneuvers in his small world, and learns about color.

on 5+
4 stars

Through Grandpa's Eyes by Patricia MacLachlan

A young boy learns a different way of seeing the world from his blind grandfather.

on 5+
4 stars

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