Category: Beanstack Reading Recommendations

Picture books are for everyone! Teens and tweens – if you’re having trouble picking a picture book to read for your Beanstack badge, here are some ideas and suggestions from Teen/Tween Librarian Mollie:

• Revisit a favorite childhood book or story.
• Look in the Juvenile biography section (J 920) to learn about a historical figure in a picture book format. (Plus, Biography is a badge – complete 2 at once this way!)
• Read one of Mollie’s favorites that even older readers will enjoy or connect with:
  • Mr. S by Monica Arnaldo – EASY ARN
  • Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen – EASY BAR
  • The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt and Adam Rex – EASY DAY
  • Poopsie Gets Lost by Hannah E Harrison – EASY HAR
  • Big by Vashti Harrison – EASY HAR
  • A Spoonful of Frogs by Casey Lyall and Vera Brosgol – EASY LYA
  • ¡Vamos! Let’s Go Eat by Raúl the Third and Elaine Bay – EASY RAU
  • Truman by Jean Reidy – EASY REI
  • On Account of the Gum by Adam Rex – EASY REX
  • Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri – EASY RUB
  • After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again by Dan Santat – EASY SAN

• At the Pond by David Elliott – EASY ELL
• Room for Everyone by Naaz Khan – EASY KHA
• Dizzy Dinosaurs: Silly Dino Poems edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins – READER2 E D
• Hamsters, Shells, and Spelling Bees: School Poems edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins – READER2 E H
• It’s Snowing! It’s Snowing!: Winter Poems by Jack Prelutsky – READER3 E P
• Emily Dickinson: Poetry for Kids – J 811.4 DIC
• Counting in Dog Years: and Other Sassy Math Poems by Betsy Franco – J 811.54 FRA
• Away with Words!: Wise and Witty Poems for Language Lovers by Mary Ann Hoberman – J 811.54 HOB
• Always Got My Feet: Poems about Transportation by Laura Purdie Salas – J 811.54 SAL
• I Wish I Had a Wookiee: and Other Poems for Our Galaxy by Ian Doescher – J 811.6 DOE
• Ice Cycle: Poems about the Life of Ice by Maria Gianferrari – J 811.6 GIA
• Out of this World: Star-Studded Haiku by Sally Walker – J 811.6 WAL
• Behold our Magical Garden: Poems Fresh from a School Garden by Allan Wolf – J 811.6 WOL
• Poetry Speaks: Who I Am by various poets – YA 811.008 POE
• Respect the Mic: Celebrating 20 Years of Poetry from a Chicagoland High School curated by various poets – YA 811.008 RES
• Inheritance: A Visual Poem by Elizabeth Acevedo – YA 811.6 ACE
• Call Us What We Carry: Poems by Amanda Gorman – YA 811.6 GOR
• Somebody Give this Heart a Pen by Sophia Thakur – YA 811.6 THA
• These are the Words by Nikita Gill – YA 821.92 GIL

• Bluey and Bingo’s Fancy Restaurant Cookbook by Bluey – J 646.5 BLU
• My Pokémon Cookbook: Delicious Recipes inspired by Pikachu and Friends by Victoria Rosenthal – J 641.5 ROS
• Crayola: Cooking with Color by various cooks – J 641.512 CRA
• The Delish Kids (Super-Awesome, Crazy-Fun, Best-Ever) Cookbook: 100+ Amazing Recipes by Joanna Saltz – J 641.512 SAL
• Fairy Tale Feasts: a Literary Cookbook for Young Readers and Eaters by Jane Yolen – J 641.512 YOL
• Disney Princess: Tea Parties: 50+ Recipes inspired by Jasmine, Ariel, Rapunzel, and More by Sarah W. Caron – J 641.536 CAR
• The Forest Feast for Kids: Colorful Vegetarian Recipes that are Simple to Make by Erin Gleeson – J 641.563 GLE
• Sandwiches!: More Than You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Making and Eating America’s Favorite Food by Alison Deering – J 641.84 DEE
• American Girl Big Book of Baking for Kids : Favorite Recipes to Make & Share by various cooks – J 641.865 AME
• Eitan Eats the World by Eitan Bernath – YA 641.5 BER
• Minecraft Official Cookbook by Tara Theoharis – YA 641.5 THE
• Hack Your Cupboard by Alissa Weigand – YA 641.552 WIE
• Avatar: The Last Airbender Official Cookbook by Jenny Dorsey – YA 641.595 AVA
• Everyday Mexican Instant Pot Cookbook by Leslie Limon – YA 641.587 LIM
• The Unofficial TikTok Cookbook: 75 Internet-Breaking Recipes for Snacks, Drinks, Treats, and More by Valentina Mussi – YA 641.53 MUS
• Vegan Cookbook for Teens: One Hundred Easy and Nutritious Plant-Based Recipes by Barb Musick – YA 641.563 MUS
• Cook Anime by Diana Ault – YA 641.595 AUL
• Nailed It! Baking Challenges for the Rest of Us by the creators of Nailed IT – YA 641.965 NAI

• Totally Cool Origami Animals by Ann Kristen Krier – J 736.982 KRI
• How to Draw Dragons by Jimmy Hansen – J 741.2 HAN
• The Chalk Art Handbook: How to Create Masterpieces on Driveways and Sidewalks and in Playgrounds by David Zinn – J 741.2 ZIN
• Adventures in Cartooning: Create a World by James Strum – J 741.2 STU
• How to Draw Monsters for Kids: 100 Step-by-Step Illustrations by Bryce Ross – J 743.89 ROS
• How to Draw Cute Food by Angela Nguyen – J 743.896 NGU
• Landscapes: Super-Quick Techniques for Amazing Drawings by Virginia Hein – J 743.83 HEI
• Fairy Crafts: 23 Enchanting Toys, Gifts, Costumes, and Party Decorations by Heidi Boyd – J 745.5 BOY
• Crafting with Recyclables: Even More Projects by Dana Meachen Rau – J 745.5 RAU
• Paper Art Skills Lab by Sandee Ewasiuk – J 745.54 EWA
• 10-Minute Duct Tape Projects by Sara Schuette – J 745.59 SCH
• Rock Art! Painting and Crafting with the Humble Pebble by Denise Scicluna – J 751.426 SCI
• Cool Classical Music: Create & Appreciate What Makes Music Great by Mary Lindeen – J 781.68 LIN

• I’m Not Reading by Jonathan Allen – EASY ALL
• Franklin and Luna Go to the Moon by Jen Campbell – EASY CAM
• The Thing To Remember About Stargazing by Matt Forrest Esenwine – EASY ESE
• Emmett and the Bright Blue Cape by Alyssa Satin Capucilli – READER2 E C
• DJ Funkyfoot: Butler for Hire! by Tom Angleberger – READER4 E A
• Two Roads by Joseph Bruchac – J BRU
• The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm – J HOL
• Wonder Woman at Super Hero High by Lisa Yee – J YEE
• A Field Guide to Mermaids by Emily B. Martin – J 398.45 MER
• My Big Book of Outdoors by Tim Hopgood – J 508.2 HOP
• Creature Features: Ocean by Natasha Durley – J 591.77 DUR
• Invented by Animals: Meet the Creatures Who Inspired Our Everyday Technology by Christiane Dorion – J 660.6 DOR
• My Indigo World: A True Story of the Color Blue by Rosa Chang – J 667.2 CHA
• Bigby Bear by Philippe Coudray – J GN BIG
• Mulysses by Oyvind Torseter –J GN MUL
• The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsberg – NEWBERRY 1997
• The Sky Blues by Robbie Couch – YA COU
• Hoot by Carl Hiaasen – YA HIA
• Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson – YA JOH
• More Than Just a Pretty Face by Syed Masood – YA MAS
• The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness – YA NES
• The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen – YA NIE

• The First Dog by Jan Brett – EASY BRE
• Titanicat by Marty Crisp – EASY CRI
• Finding Fire by Logan Kline – EASY KLI
• Jennifer and Josephine by Bill Peet – EASY PEE
• Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some monkeys and their Monkey Business by Esphyr Slobodkina – EASY SLO
• Home in the Woods by Eliza Wheeler – EASY WHE
• Freedom for Addy by Tonya Leslie – READER3 E A
• I Survived the American Revolution by Lauren Tarshis – SERIES I SURVIVED
• A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus – J ALB
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – J ALC
• It Ain’t So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas – J DUM
• Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder – J WIL
• Greek Myths by Eric Braun – J 292.13 BRA
• You Wouldn’t Want to be a Ninja Warrior!: A Secret Job That’s Your Destiny by John Malam – J 355.548 MAL
• Passport to the Past: Mesopotamia by Lorna Oakes – J 935 OAK
• What Did the Vikings Do For Me? by Elizabeth Raum – J 948.022 RAU
• A Single Shard by Linda Park – NEWBERY 2002
• The Witch of Blackbird Pond – NEWBERY 1959 or YA BROWSING S
• The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros – YA CIS
• Alex & Eliza: A Love Story by Melissa De La Cruz – YA DEL
• A Million to One by Adiba Jaigirdar – YA JAI
• Buffalo Flats by Martine Leavitt – YA LEA
• Invasion by Walter Dean Myers – YA MYE
• Murder among Friends: how Leopold and Loeb tried to commit the perfect crime by Candace Fleming – YA 345.77 FLE

Want to access audiobooks on your computer, phone, or other device? The Library has access on hoopla and Libby/Download Destination. Get more information on our Digital Collections page.

Podcasts can be found on many apps on a mobile device, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

• Brains On! Science Podcast for Kids (Kids’ Podcast)
• Story Pirates (Kids’ Podcast)
• Little Stories for Tiny People: Anytime and Bedtime Stories for Kids (Kids’ Podcast)
• The Past and The Curious: A History Podcast for Kids and Families (Kids’ Podcast)
• What If World – Stories for Kids (Kids’ Podcast)
• Arthur stories read by your favorite celebrities by Marc Brown – JBOCD BRO
• Disney Princess Beginnings: Cinderella, Belle and Ariel – JBOCD DIS
• Spy School by Stuart Gibbs – JBOCD GIB
• My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish by Mo O’Hara – JBOCD OHA
• A to Z Mysteries series by Ron Roy – JBOCD ROY
• Holes by Louis Sachar – JBOCD SAC
• Toaff’s Way by Cynthia Voight – JBOCD VOI
• Stuff You Should Know (TEEN Podcast)
• Teen Girl Talk (TEEN Podcast)
• The Mortified Podcast (TEEN Podcast)
• Part-Time Genius (TEEN Podcast)
• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo – YA BOCD BAR
• The Cruel Prince by Holly Black – YA BOCD BLA
• Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadie – YA BOCD GRA
• Turtles All the Way Down by John Green – YA BOCD GRE
• White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson – YA BOCD JAC
• Hatchet by Gary Paulsen – YA BOCD PAU
• Ghost by Jason Reynolds – YA BOCD REY
• Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan – YA BOCD RIO

• Green Wilma by Arnold Tedd – EASY ARN
• Sally and the Purple Socks by Lisze Bechtold – EASY BEC
• Yellow Time by Lauren Stringer – EASY STR
• Turning Red: Mei’s Wild Ride adapted by Natasha Bouchard – READER2 E D
• Pinkalicious and Planet Pink by Victoria Kann – READER 2 E K
• The Emerald Berries by Poppy Green – READER4 E G
• The Orange Outlaw by Ron Roy – SERIES A TO Z
• Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch by Julie Abe – J ABE
• The Gray by Chris Baron – J BAR
• Indigo and Ida by Heather Capps – J CAP
• Violets are Blue by Barbara Dee – J DEE
• Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca – J LAR
• Pink, Blue, and You: Questions for Kids about Gender Stereotypes by Elise Gravel – J 305.3 GRA
• Black Holes Explained by James Negus – J 523.8 NEG
• Perkin’s Perfect Purple: How a Boy Created Color with Chemistry by Debbie Dunn – J 920 PER
• Blue, Barry & Pancakes by Dan Abdo – J GN ABD
• The Green Girls by Loic Nicoloff – J GN GRE
• Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen – YA CHE
• Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley – YA CRO
• The Red Palace by June Hir – YA HUR
• All the Yellow Suns by Malavika Kannan – YA KAN
• The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy – YA ORC
• All Systems Red by Martha Wells – YA BROWSING W
• Orange: the Complete Collection by Ichigo Takano – YA GRAPHIC ORA

• The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read by Rita L Hubbard and Oge Mora – EASY HUB
• Who is Dolly Parton? by Kelley True – SERIES WHO WAS
• Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon by Kelly Lyons – J 720 LYO
• Mister Rogers’ Gift of Music by Donna M. Cangelosi – J 780.92 CAN
• Jackie Robinson by Heather Hudak – J 796.357 ROB
• Dinosaur Lady: The Daring Discoveries of Mary Anning, the First Paleontologist by Linda Skeers – J 920 ANN
• Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler by Ibi Aanu – J 920 BUT
• The Man Who Loved Libraries: The Story of Andrew Carnegie by Andrew Larsen – J 920 CAR
• Magic Trash: A Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art by J.H. Shapiro – J 920 GUY
• Laika the Space Dog: First Hero in Outer Space by Jeni Wittrock – J 920 LAI
• The Girl Who Drew Butterflies by Joyce Sidman – J 920 MER
• Rolling Warrior: the incredible, sometimes awkward, true story of a rebel girl on wheels who helped spark a revolution by Judith E. Heumann – J 920 HEU or YA 920 HEU
• Newton’s Rainbow by Katheryn Lasky – J 920 NEW
• She Made a Monster: How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein by Lynn Fulton – J 920 SHE
• Brave Volodymyr: The Story of Volodymyr Zelensky and the Fight for Ukraine by Linda Marshall – J 920 ZEL
• The Woman All Spies Fear: Code Breaker Elizebeth Smith Friedman and Her Hidden Life by Amy Greenfield – YA 920 FRI
• Polar Explorer by Jade Hameister – YA 920 HAM
• Escape! The Story of the Great Houdini by Sid Fleischman – YA 920 HOU
• Notable Native People: 50 indigenous leaders, dreamers, and changemakers from past and present by Adrienne Keene – YA 920 KEE
• One Life: adapted for young readers by Megan Rapinoe – YA 920 RAP or J 796.334 RAP
• Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card by Sara Saedi – YA 920 SAE
• Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang – YA GRAPHIC DRA
• They Called Us Enemy by George Takei – YA GRAPHIC THE

• Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick – EASY MAT
• Pizza!: A Slice of History by Greg Pizzoli – EASY PIZ
• An Atlas of Afterlives: Discover Underworlds, Otherworlds and Heavenly Realms by Emily Hawkins – J 133.9 HAW
• The Mess That We Made by Michelle Lord – J 363.73 LO
• Fairy Tale Science: Explore 25 Classic Tales through Hands-On Experiments by Sarah Albee – J 507.8 ALB)
• Transported: 50 Vehicles that Changed the World by Matt Ralphs – J 629.046 RAL
• Magic Ramen: The Story of Momofuku Ando by Andrea Wang – J 641.822 WAN
• The Hands-On Ranch Book: How to Tie a Knot, Start a Garden, Saddle a Horse, and Everything Else People Used to Know How to Do by Mary Heffernan – J 680 HEF
• Cultured Donuts: Take a Bite Out of Art History by Chloe Tyler – J 709 TYL
• Tom Brady vs. Joe Montana: Who Would Win by David Stabler – J 796.332 ST
• Ice Time: The Story of Hockey by Michael McKinley – J 796.962 MCK
• Explore!: America’s National Parks by Hannah Bailey – J 917.304 LAN
• Big Ideas that Changed the World: Rocket to the Moon by Don Brown – J GN BIG
• Black Heroes of the Wild West by James Otis Smith – J GN BLA
• Anne Frank by Diego Agribau – J GN ANN
• What’s Your Sign?: A Guide to Astrology for the Cosmically Curious by various authors from the app Sanctuary – YA 133.54 SAN
• Glowing Bunnies?! Why We’re Making Hybrids, Chimeras, and Clones by Jeff Campbell – YA 179.3 CAM
• Demystifying Disability: What to know, What to Say, and How to Be An Ally by Emily Ladau – YA 305.9 LAD
• The Poison Eaters: Fighting Danger and Fraud in Our Food and Drugs by Gail Jarrow – YA 363.192 JAR
• America Redux: Visual stories from our dynamic history by Ariel Aberg-riger – YA 973 ABE
• Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American by Laura Gao – YA GRAPHIC MES
• Embrace your Size: my own body positivity by Hara – YA GRAPHIC EMB