SATURDAY SMORGASBORD – Books about Books

I am such a book geek. And I say that with pride. I love finding people and authors and communities that love books as much as I do. Here are some books – for all ages – that share a love of books, reading and bookish places.

Books for Kids


Bunny’s Book Club – There are a couple books on this list that are TBRs rather than books I have read. This is one of those. I haven’t found this one in person to check it out, but it looks perfect. I hope to read this one soon.
Doris the Bookasaurus – Doris’ love of books is annoying to her little brothers because it keeps her from playing with them. When she shows them a book they love, though, everything changes. This is darling.
Library Lion – I always looked forward to reading this story about a lion in the library to my students. It’s lovely, and students really connect with it.
Madeline Finn and the Library Dog – Madeline struggles with reading, but a program at the library where she can practice her reading with a dog helps her grow as a reader. This is delightful. You can read my review here.
Wild About Books – This is one of the picture books we often by for new babies. Sure, it’s not a book they can enjoy right away, but it is such a great love letter to books that we are confident families will grow to love it like we did. This was another favorite to read aloud when I was teaching.

Books for Older Kids/Teens


Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library – The epitome of books about books! This outstanding middle grade story about kids competing in a book-based contest in a futuristic library has been a hit with every student I ever handed it to. Book 3 in the series comes out this fall and a movie of this first book will be coming to Nickelodeon soon.
Finding Serendipity – First in a series about a girl who discovers a land where stories live. In book one, Serendipity gets help finding her missing mother by the main character in her mother’s famous books. I enjoyed sharing this series with students.
Fish in a Tree – The main thing I remember about this book is the origin of the title which is a quote reportedly from Einstein that says if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will always think it is stupid. The main character in this book has dyslexia and finally has a persistent and observant teacher who discovers it and helps her. This was a fantastic story!
The Losers Club – I just finished this AWESOME story (I’m still trying to find a review slot for it here on the blog). At the center of the story is a boy who is getting in trouble every day at school – for reading. So he starts a club for kids who want to read, but he calls it the Losers Club so a lot of people don’t join and mess up his quiet reading time. Not only did the story highlight reading, but it also talked about a lot of books kids might enjoy.
The School Story – Andrew Clements wrote The Losers Club and also The School Story which is about a girl who writes a book and secretly tries to get it published. This is one of my favorite early Clements stories along with Frindle, No Talking and The Last Holiday Concert.
Bookishly Ever After – Earlier this year I reviewed this book for older teens about a book nerd who tries to use the characters from her favorite books to help her negotiate a romance.
I Kill the Mockingbird – I adore this book about a group of teens who hide copies of To Kill a Mockingbird in order to get everyone talking about it.  While this one is written for a middle grade audience, I found that my older students connected with this better than the younger ones. This works for all teens.

Books for Adults


Classified as Murder – This is the second book (my favorite) of the Cat in the Stacks mystery series about a college librarian who works in the archives. Fantastic mystery series, terrific cat that adds a fun component to the series. Here you can read a review of the most recent book in the series.
A Dark and Stormy Murder – Outstanding mystery series about two writers collaborating on books while solving mysteries. You can read my review here.
The Eyre Affair – This is the other book on this list I have not read. I have several of the books in this series about a literary detective, but I haven’t tried it yet. I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s Nursery Crimes series.
Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops – This nonfiction book is laugh-out-loud funny while also being a little sad when it comes to true stories from folks who work with books.
The Writing Desk – I recently read this fantastic Christian novel about two writers in different time periods and the ways their stories connect. Excellent.

 

Do you have any favorite books about books?