Quick Reads

Looking for a book that is easy to read?

Authors
Benton, Jim (American)
Brouwer, Sigmund (Canadian)
Christopher, Matt (American)
Clements, Andrew (American)
Dahl, Roald (British)
Kehret, Peg (American)
Kinney, Jeff (American)
Korman, Gordon (Canadian)
MacLachlan, Patricia (American)
McClintock, Norah (American)
MacGregor, Roy (Canadian)
Pennypacker, Sara (American)
Smith, Jeff (American)
Spinelli, Jerry (American)
Stilton, Geronimo (Italian)
Wilson Eric (Canadian)

Novels
Byars, Betsy. Coast to Coast. AR 3.8
Byars, Betsy. Dead Letter. AR 3.8
Byars, Betsy. The Pinballs. AR 3.8
Byars, Betsy. Tornado. AR 3.2
Connor, Leslie. Waiting for Normal. AR 3.7
DiCamillo, Kate. Because of Winn-Dixie. AR 3.9
DiTerlizzi, Tony. Lucinda’s Secret. AR 3.9
Flake, Sharon G.Begging for Change. AR 3.7
Fleischman, Sid. The Whipping Boy. AR 3.9
Friend, Natasha. Lush. AR 3.2
Friesen, Gayle. For Now. AR 3.9
Hesse, Karen. Just Juice. AR 3.8
Hesse, Karen. Music of Dolphins. AR 3.4
Hope, Catherine Ryan. Becoming Chloe. AR 3.7
Kessler, Liz. The Tail of Emily Windsnap. AR 3.8
Little, Jean. Kate. AR 3.9
Lord, Cynthia. Rules. AR 3.9
Lubar, David. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie. AR 3.8
Matas, Carol. The Whirlwind. AR 3.9
Napoli, Donna Jo. Three Days. AR 3.9
Pratchett, Terry. Only You Can Save Mankind. AR 3.9
Reiss, Johanna. The Upstairs Room. AR 2.9
Rockwell, Thomas. How to Eat Fried Worms. AR 3.5
Sachar, Louis. Dogs Don’t Tell Jokes. AR 3.8
Sachar, Louis. Sixth Grade Secrets. AR 3.7
Scrimger, Richard. Into the Ravine. AR 3.8
Stevenson, Robin. Impossible Things. AR 3.6
Stratton, Allan. Chanda’s Wars. AR 3.5 [for mature readers only]
Walters, Eric. Hoop Crazy! AR 3.8
Walters, Eric. House Party. AR 3.9
Walters, Eric. Three on Three. AR 3.8
Wynne-Jones, Tim. Rex Zero, King of Nothing. AR 3.6

More easy-to-read novels

Cline-Ransome, Lesa. Finding Langston. New York: Holiday House, 2018.

After the death of his mother in 1946, eleven-year-old Langston moves with his father from Alabama to Chicago. Living in a lonely apartment building and bullied at school, Langston finds refuge in the school library where he discovers the magical poetry of Langston Hughes.Have you ever felt alone? Have you ever felt misunderstood by those who love you? Have you ever found hope in unexpected places? Then you know how the main character feels in this outstanding novel for readers 9 years old and up. Told in present tense from the first person point of view, the sentences come alive with the cadence of the main character’s Southern speech. If you like stories by Patricia MacLachlan, you will love this 104-page novel. [African Americans; Books and reading; Bullying; Chicago, (Ill.); Grief; Historical fiction; Moving, Household; Poetry]

MacLachlan, Patricia. My Father’s Words. New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2018.

Fiona and Finn love their father. Declan sang songs as he played basketball with them. He patiently offered words of wisdom when life was difficult. But now he is gone, killed in a car accident. Their mother buries herself in studies for a degree. Finn stops speaking. Fiona, the narrator of the story, struggles to help them all. Luke, a friend, suggests volunteering at an animal shelter. Talking to the dogs, reading to them, singing to them, and taking them on walks slowly eases their grief. Slowly, comfort comes as they remember their father’s words.  An easy-to-read 134-page novel printed in large font with wide margins and wide spaces between the lines of print. Recommended for readers 9 years old and up. [Dogs; Fathers; Grief; Human-Animal relationships; Memory]

Nobleman, Marc Tyler. Brave Like My Brother. New York: Scholastic Press, 2016.

Only 100 pages long, this story is printed in a large font with lots of space between the lines and large margins. And each chapter is only 4 pages long. Actually, each chapter is a letter. Yes, a letter. And the novel is a series of these letters. The first and the last letter are from Charlie, writing to his older brother, Joe, a soldier sent to England during World War II. All the others in between are letters from Joe, writing to tell of his experiences during the days leading up to D-Day, the Allied invasion of France.  It will not take you long to read this novel of courage. [Bullying; Brothers; England; World War 2]

Watson, Jenny. Prove It, Josh. Winlaw, BC: Sono Nis Press, 2013.

Josh has moved from Toronto to Vancouver Island to live with his dad aboard a boat. But he hasn’t made any friends and he finds it impossibly difficult to read. His dad makes him see a reading tutor but that isn’t helping his social life. Maybe winning a boat race will show the world that he isn’t worthless. This 157-page novel has widely-spaced lines of print.The messages are easy to find:  even if you have dyslexia, don’t give up; everyone has difficulties in life;  good character is more important than being a good reader or winning a race. 

Series
Animal Ark
Animorphs
The Bailey School Kids
The Boxcar Children
Geronimo Stilton
Goosebumps
Graphic Library
Hardy Boys
Magic Tree House
Nancy Drew
Orca Currents
Orca Soundings
Orca Sports
Orca Young Reader
The Secrets of Droon

Find reading levels on the Accelerated Reading website HERE.

Your Responses and Reviews!

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul is a collection of short stories about tough life experiences that teenagers have had to suffer through. My favourite story is one about courage. This experience is based on a young thirteen year old girl, Hannah, who struggles with her appearance, weight and popularity. The pressures of eighth grade become too much for her, and she thinks about committing suicide. Luckily, when she tells her friends this secret, they decide it is too serious to keep secret. When they consult a counsellor, Hannah becomes grateful that she no longer has to keep this between her and her close friends. After therapy, she learns to like herself for her good qualities, rather than her bad ones. (Yasmine in grade eight)

I just finished a book called Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick, 2009). The main character, India Opal Buloni, and her dad, a preacher, had just moved. India felt very lonely. She tried to make friends. She ended up at a grocery store where she found a dog walking around. She kept it and named it Winn-Dixie. While hanging out with Winn-Dixie, she started making more friends. India wanted to get Winn-Dixie a brand new collar; she didn’t have enough money, so she got it by working for the shop keeper. At the start of the story, India had no friends. But then she began being not so shy. She started making friends. In the end, she had a big party and made even more friends. I highly recommend this very quick- to-read book! (Emma in grade eight)

One of my favorite books is Diary Of A Wimpy Kid. Firstly, this book is pretty amazing with all the pictures and the way the author wrote his book. He made it look like someone had written it in pencil instead of printing it out. Secondly, the book tells a story of a boy who wants to be popular like everyone else. He tries but he ends up making himself look like a fool. Lastly, it is good for kids aged 12 because it is a funny book and the way they express things in the book is pretty neat. Diary Of A Wimpy Kid is one of my favorite books. (Tristan)

More stories like Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Is That An Angry Penguin in Your Gym Bag? by Todd Strasser (Scholastic, 2009) is a story of a school with no name. It has an indoor hockey rink and one day when the Tardy Boys show up for their practice, the ice has been taken over by flightless black and white birds. The boys think they are aliens, but they’re penguins! This book is really great and very funny. (Bhupinder in gr. 6)

One of my favorite series is The Magic Tree House.  The books are full of facts.  The are easy to read.  They are full of thrilling adventures.  Magic Tree House is one of my favorite book series. (Nic)

One of my favourite books is Dolphins at Sundown. It is a great story about two kids who have to solve a riddle so they can get more books for the Magic Tree House so that the master librarian can read them. I also love the book because Jack and Annie go on lots of adventures and it feels like I am on the adventures with them. I can imagine the dolphins trying to scare off the shark and the big octopus. I also like the story because it doesn’t take long to read. (Dallis)

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