So many book lists, so little time ...

This is post No. 5 (out of 7) for Give-a-Buck-for-Kids-Books week. I invite you to tip me one dollar, max, for the year. That’s it! One buck. Once a year. No AI. No auto-renew. No shenanigans.

320 Sycamore Studios publishes original kid stories served fresh monthly, plus essays, book recommendations, and postcards from Readerville. Everything is completely human-written.

I think book-rec lists are cool, as long as you treat them as suggestions and not shoulds. In that spirit, here are way too many books you might like.

Kid-lit expert (and friend of 320 Sycamore Studios) Dana Gaskin Wenig serves up 200 great reads for kids:

• 25 classics (Dana’s Favorites)

• 25 picture books

• 25 middle reader chapter books/series

• 25 young adult chapter books/series

• 100+ #OwnVoices and BIPOC read-alouds

Have a browse. And don’t forget what Dana says: “Reading aloud is for everyone; reading aloud is forever.”

Dana also wrote up a basketful of essays on particularly nourishing titles.

• The Moomins and the adventures of everyday life.

• Meet Mia Yang: Dreamer, front-desk clerk, 10-year-old.

• 12 Ways of Looking at “Alice in Wonderland”.

• Timeless good things: Old trucks and cooking together.

• A book for “those who still keep the spirit of youth alive in them".

Some books I’ve especially enjoyed (scroll when you get to the linked page).

• The “March” trilogy, by John Lewis (yes that John Lewis), Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell.

• “Rez Ball,” by Byron Graves.

• “Inside Out and Back Again,” by Thanhha La.

• “Book Scavenger,” by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman.

• “Cathedral,” by David Macaulay.

• “Watership Down,” by Richard Adams.

• “Darius the Great is Not Okay, by Adib Khorram.

Happy reading.

— Jeff

Give a buck for books!

320 Sycamore Studios is 100 percent AI-free.