Kids’ Books: Not Just For Kids!
- Erica Larsen
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Since starting in the Youth Services department here at the Caldwell Public Library, I’ve made a shift in my own reading habits to include more books written for children. Of course, this helps me recommend books for our young patrons and understand what the world of kids’ literature is like right now. However, I’ve also noticed that a lot of the middle-grade novels I’ve read have significant appeal outside their intended audience range, too.
I encourage my fellow adults not to overlook children’s books when looking for our next great reads. When we do, we’re really missing out! Next time you’re here, stop into our Kids & Family area and take a look. If you’re stuck, our friendly Youth Services staff would be happy to help recommend something for you. Here are a few recent releases I’ve read and loved to help you get started!
Spelling It Out by Margaret Finnegan
Spelling It Out follows likable young Ben Bellini's experience staying with his grandmother during the summer before seventh grade. After placing twelfth in the 1985 Southern California regional spelling bee, Ben convinces his parents to let him spend the summer with his Nan in San Francisco studying for the next year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee. However, when he arrives, he sees that not everything is what it seemed: Nan is acting strange, studying is harder than he thought, and his coach is a bit of a jerk. He befriends a fellow Scripps hopeful, Asha Krishnakumar, and has a whirlwind of a summer.
I found Spelling It Out to be a great read, even if it feels a bit wild to me that the main character in a "historical fiction" book is going to the theatre to see the first Back To The Future as it releases! I loved the way Finnegan presents San Francisco in this era, and Ben is easy to root for as he zips around town meeting all kinds of people and learning from them. The novel’s themes are broad: Ben ponders the concept of boyhood, grapples with independence, and meets all kinds of new people who open up his worldview. For kids, Spelling It Out is recommended for grades 3-7, and I particularly think students undergoing the transition from elementary to middle school will resonate with Ben. I also highly recommend this title for all adults, though you might especially like it if you came of age in the eighties.
Operation Kinderspion series: Max in the House of Spies and Max in the Land of Lies by Adam Gidwitz
In this duology, we meet tweenage Max Bretzfeld, who’s coming of age with his parents in Berlin during the rise of Nazi Germany. Max’s family is Jewish, and his parents, anticipating danger, have arranged to send him to London through what we now know as the Kindertransport rescue effort. Despite knowing it’d be perilous to stay in Germany, Max loves Berlin. It’s the only home he’s ever known, and in London he misses his parents terribly. He develops a plan to get back to his beloved parents: he’ll convince the British military to send him to Berlin and spy for the Allies. After all, who’d suspect a tween boy of espionage? The fast-paced plot and adventurous tone make this duology unputdownable… and did I mention Max’s magical shoulder companions, a kobold and a dybbuk named Berg and Stein?
Max’s adventures require a bit of suspension of disbelief, especially from adult readers. However, I quickly became enchanted by Max’s stubborn go-getter attitude. I resonated with him in a lot of ways and appreciated getting a new perspective on the events of World War II. Of course, it was safer for Jewish children to leave Germany, but watching Max fight so hard for his family and home reminded me that every historical statistic hides the complex details of the lives it counts. Berg and Stein were a fascinating narrative choice, too, filling the role of shoulder angel figures but taken from Jewish and German folklore. The duology is recommended for grades 3-6. The second book especially deals with very grown-up concepts in a sensitive, kid-friendly way. I’d recommend the duology for anyone age 9 or older, and adults who enjoyed history class or like spy stories might really love this one.
Rebellion 1776 by Laurie Halse Anderson
Elsbeth Culpepper is thirteen and living through the American Revolution. We meet her in the spring of 1776 as the Patriots try to push the Loyalists out of Boston. In modern perception, a thirteen-year-old is much too young to hold full-time work... but when Elsbeth’s father goes missing after the Siege of Boston and smallpox sweeps through the city, she begins work as a house servant for a local upper-class family. Immune from smallpox after having it as a child, Elsbeth bonds with the family she works for and especially with the headstrong teenage girl, Hannah, who has been placed in their care. All the while, she must navigate the difficulties that come from a subpar employment situation, on top of working to figure out what has happened to her father.
Rebellion 1776 is narrated in readable prose that includes period-typical vocabulary, and I often found myself giggling at the funny insults used in the Revolutionary era. Anderson’s meticulously-researched setting and details added a lot to an already gripping story. It is recommended for grades 4-7, and as a bit of a longer novel with some distinctly-1770s quirks to the narration, I'd say that’s about right. There are also some descriptions of sickness that might gross younger readers out. As for the adults, I think it is perfect for anyone who’s enjoyed Anderson’s Chains or Fever 1793, or anyone with an interest in early American history.
My takeaways from reading more middle grade fiction? I've been pleasantly surprised by how relatable I have found the protagonists, and how much I resonate with their experiences. Ben's finding his footing away from his parents for the first time, which I feel deeply, having recently graduated from college. Max loves his family and home so much, similar to how I find strong senses of comfort and community here in the Treasure Valley. And Elsbeth's story resonates too, from mentorships-turned-friendships to first "grown-up" jobs.
Kids worry about a lot of the same things adults do, and go through a lot of the same experiences, too. Children's literature recognizes those worries and experiences. It validates young readers, takes grown-ups back to their own childhoods... and invites us to remember that we aren't so different from kids after all.