A reading list for your holidays

By Carrie Dietz
Young Services
St. Louis City Library

The St. Louis City Library is pleased to compile a special list of books that will make great reading for kids during the holiday break from school.

But, remember our libraries have reading material for all times of the year. Be sure to check in all year long at your neighborhood branches or at the main library downtown. If you don't have a library card, stop in and apply today.

First, here are some books with Holiday Titles:

The American Girls Holiday Treasury
A collection of American Girls Christmas stories featuring Molly, Kit, Samantha. Addy, Kirsten and Josefina.

Winter Lights: A Season in Poems and Quilts, by Anna Grossnickle Hines
In poems and quilts, the author brightens the season and captures each heartening glow and flicker. The book covers the moon and Aurora Borealis to the holiday lights of Santa Lucia, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and the Chinese New Year.

Deliver Us from Normal, by Kate Klise
With a mother who buys Christmas cards in August and a younger brother who describes the Trinity as a toasted marshmallow on a graham cracker, life for eleven-year-old Charles Harrisong is anything but normal in Normal, Ill.

SpongeBob Squarepants: a Very Krusty Christmas by David Lewman
Christmas is coming and it's time to decorate. SpongBob follows Mr. Krab's order to decorate. He puts up light after light after light-until the power goes off.

On Christmas Eve by Ann Martin
From Newberry Honor author Ann Martin comes a heartwarming tale perfect for the holidays. This story of Tess and her friend will have readers feeling good well beyond Christmas Eve.

Junie B., First Grader, Jingle Bells, Batman Smells! (p.s. So does May) by Barbara Park.
June B. Jones wishes that May would stop being such a tattletale. But, when she is stuck as May's Secret Santa, it becomes real trouble.

Then here are some Fun Reads for the New Year:

Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry and St. Louisan Ridley Pearson.
In this sequel to Peter and the Starcatchers, a ship arrives at Mollusk Island filled with evil characters in search of a trunk of starstuff.

The Bamboozlers by Michael De Guzman.
When Albert is 12, his grandfather, who he never knew he had, shows up on his doorstep. Although Wendell is an ex-con, Albert convinces his mother to let him stay the night. The next morning, he and Albert set off on an adventure involving a three-legged dog, another con man and a violin case that may or may not contain a violin.

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
The girls who live in Eskel are surprised when the prince announces he will search their village for a bride. They have expected to be miners in the quarry like their mothers and grandmothers. All eligible girls, including fourteen-year-old Miri, are sent to a special academy to face many challenges. Miri believes that she finally has a chance to prove herself to her family.

The Ghost's Grave by Peg Kehret
Josh expects to be bored when he spent the summer with his stepfather's aunt. But, it's hard to be bored when a ghost wants Josh to dig up his bones. Willie, a ghost that Josh met that summer, asked him to rebury his leg bones with the rest of his body. Josh, although scared, agreed. But, he found more than just bones when he started to dig.

Poison Ivy by Amy Goldman Koss
Ivy's government teacher wants to make the judicial system come to life for her classroom. When she finds that three of the popular girls have been bullying Ivy, she convinces Ivy to "sue" them in a mock trial.

Ugly by Donna Joe Napoli
In this retelling of The Ugly Duckling story, Ugly is very much beloved by his mother. But, because the other ducks pick on him and the rest of the family, she is forced to send him away to make his fortune. Ugly has many adventures and even meets a few friends in his search to find a home.

Terrier by Amora Pierce
This is a new trilogy by this popular author. It features sixteen-year-old Beka Cooper whose life is far removed from knights and palaces. Beka lives among thieves and beggars. But, she is determined to prove that she can make it as the Provost's Guard.

Harry Sue by Sue Stauffacher
Tough-talking Harry Sue would like to start a life of crime in order to be "sent up" and find her jailed mother. But, she must first protect her children at her neglectful grandmother's home day-care center and help her paralyzed friend.