Youth – What We’re Reading

Browse Youth reading recommendations.

Black witch hat silhouette next to the words "If your child loved the movie Wicked try these!" Pictured below are the covers of Cress, Watercress by Gregory Maguire, Conjure Island by Eden Royce, The Witches of Willow Cove by Josh Roberts, The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill, The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, The Mystwick School of Musicraft by Jessica Khoury, A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz, and The Chance to Fly by Ali Stroker & Stacy Davidowitz.

While the book that inspired the musical Wicked was written for adults, children who are fans of either the movie or the musical are sure to love these titles for younger readers!

Image of a rat standing on a bear’s back, both looking at one another, while the weather storms.

This beautifully illustrated picture book tells the story of Rat, who is having a hard time but finds it difficult to talk to her friend, Jackdaw, about how she’s feeling. Instead, Rat sets out into a storm. While running out in the rainy air helps Rat feel better, danger is also waiting. Rat avoids peril by trusting her intuition, then meets a friendly stranger who offers encouragement and inspires courage….

Image of a brown mole and a green lizard standing in grass, facing opposite directions and smiling.

Monti the Mole loves living in Pocketville – stopping by the bakery for fresh bread from Mrs. Sheep, visiting Carl at the library to get good books, and enjoying his bread and books while sitting on his favorite rock by the river. When a new animal comes to town who likes the same things, Monti doesn’t know what to do;…

Image of a young lady in overalls holding an envelope overlooking a seaside hotel as the wind blows her hair.

In her whole young life, Fern has really only experienced “home” in two ways: either it’s hopping from house to house and town to town as her mom tries to find a situation that will work for them, or it’s the other extreme—a secluded compound called The Ranch, run by a man named Dr. Ben, where everyone is taught to stay away from the things he considers the downfall of modern society….

Two Black girls with flashlights wearing scout uniforms walking toward the viewer and away from a large looming form with glowing eyes.

Jenna and her best friend Reese are members of a scout troop which is visiting a big backcountry hiking and camping area in a dense forest in Maine. Jenna is a kid who is very acclimated to life in nature—her grandpa was the first Black forest ranger in the area—and she has grown up feeling more at ease walking the woods than being in a house….