Color Our World: Independent Reader

Our 2025 Bookworm Summer Reading Theme is Color Your World. We invite you to explore the world around you through art and books. Here are some to get you started!

Updated February 4, 2025
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Parker dresses up
Curry, Parker
Paper Book
The New York Times bestselling team behind Parker Looks Up returns with this Level 1 Ready-to-Read about the fun of dressing up and dreaming big! Parker is playing dress up with her younger siblings, Ava and Cash. With each costume, Parker imagines what her life...
Pete the Kitty's outdoor art project
Dean, Kim
Paper Book
Join Pete the Kitty as he gets creative in this I Can Read story from New York Times bestselling team Kimberly and James Dean. Pete the Kitty loves art class. But when the project is to go outside and make art from nature, Pete isn't sure what to create. Then inspiration...
Yasmin the fashionista
Faruqi, Saadia
Paper Book
Yasmin is bored! But a glimpse of the pretty clothes in Mama's closet turns a boring evening into a glamorous fashion show, until, OOPS! Mama's shalwar kameez is ruined! Can Yasmin's nani save the day before Mama gets home?
Uncle Fred is a knucklehead!
Gutman, Dan
Paper Book
With more than 32 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! In this second book of the My Weirdtastic School arc, join A.J. and friends as they become part of the studio audience for a TV show whose host can't seem to grow up! A.J. and the gang...
The Princess in Black and the Prince in Pink
Hale, Shannon
Paper Book
When plans for a ball run a-fowl, Princess Magnolia accepts the help of a valiant new hero to save her secret decorations--and the entire evening! Princess Magnolia is at the Flower Festival prepping for the evening ball when suddenly she hears a commotion. Oh no! She isn...
The princess in black
Hale, Shannon
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! Who says princesses don't wear black? When trouble raises its blue monster head, Princess Magnolia ditches her flouncy dresses and becomes the Princess in Black! Princess Magnolia is having hot chocolate and scones with Duchess...
The Infamous Ratsos : Live! In concert!
LaReau, Kara
Paper Book
Ralphie is excited to sing and dance with his friends--until Chad makes fun of them for being "girly." Can everyone learn to be true to themselves? When Louie and Ralphie Ratso see their friends singing and dancing in the run-down band shell in the Big City Park, Louie gets one...
João by a thread
Mello, Roger
Paper Book
As Joao tucks under a lovingly woven quilt, he asks himself: So it's just me now? He curls up, getting cozy in bed, and soon the world of his dreams unspools on the page. The blanket in his bed unravels into deep rivers, lakes, valleys, reservoirs, mountain ranges, fishing nets full of tadpoles and...
The show must demon!
Miedoso, Andres
Paper Book
A demon takes the stage in this eighteenth spooky adventure in the Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol series! What's worse than dealing with a demon? Being onstage in a school play with one in front of a live audience! Join Desmond and Andres as they act their way through the most cursed...
Kitty-cam
Palatini, Margie
Paper Book
See the world from a pet kitty's point of view via the video camera perched on its head in this playful and energetic Pre-Level 1 Ready-to-Read book in the Critter-Cam series! Jump, Kitty. Jump. Jump. Jump. Dunk, Kitty. Dunk. Dunk. Dunk. Dunk.
The adventures of Captain Underpants : an epic novel
Pilkey, Dav
Paper Book
Fourth graders George Beard and Harold Hutchins invent the wedgie-powered superhero Captain Underpants in the first book in this #1 New York Times bestselling series by Dav Pilkey, the author and illustrator of Dog Man!George and Harold are a couple of class clowns. The only thing they enjoy...
Cat Kid Comic Club
Pilkey, Dav
Paper Book
A pioneering new graphic novel series by Dav Pilkey, the author and illustrator of the internationally bestselling Dog Man and Captain Underpants series. Naomi, Melvin, Pedro, and Poppy are just a few of the twenty-one rambunctious, funny, and talented baby frogs who share their...
Art lab for kids : 52 creative adventures in drawing, painting, printmaking, paper, and mixed media-for budding artists of all ages
Schwake, Susan.
Paper Book
Art Lab for Kids is a refreshing source of wonderful ideas for creating fine art with children, offering 52 fun and creative step-by-step art projects set into weekly lessons.  The book begins with drawing, then moves through painting and printmaking, and...
Upstaged
Asher, Diana Harmon
Paper Book
A shy actress steps into the spotlight in this charming middle-grade novel Shira Gordon is painfully shy. She rarely speaks and blushes at everything. And yet, when she's alone in her room, she'll sing and dance, dreaming she were different. So when her best friend forces her...
Zia erases the world
Barton, Bree
Paper Book
"Luminous, empowering, and full of heart-healing truths, this is a novel that belongs on every shelf."-Katherine Applegate, Newbery Award winning author For fans of Crenshaw and When You Trap a Tiger comes the extraordinary tale of a headstrong girl and the...
The last comics on Earth : too many villains!
Brallier, Max
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! The Last Kids on Earth are creating THEIR OWN COMIC BOOK! From worldwide bestselling author Max Brallier comes a full-color graphic novel spin-off series based on the #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and...
Dream, Annie, dream
Brown, Waka T.
Paper Book
In this empowering deconstruction of the so-called American Dream, a twelve-year-old Japanese American girl grapples with, and ultimately rises above, the racism and trials of middle school she experiences while chasing her dreams. As the daughter of immigrants who came to...
The swifts : a dictionary of scoundrels
Lincoln, Beth
Paper Book
#1 New York Times bestseller! "Knives Out feel by way of Lemony Snicket...This archly told, never muddled debut whodunit reveals a roster of distinct characters, a labyrinthine setting and plot, and a mystery that is as clever as its heroine." - Publishers Weekly...
Besties : Work It Out
Miller, Kayla
Paper Book
A fun and fresh graphic-novel series spin-off of the New York Times bestselling Click books, featuring aspiring entrepreneurs Beth and Chanda! When the girls land a lucrative dogsitting gig, they're sure that fame, fortune, and popularity can't be far behind, but nothing can prepare them for the...
Jacky Ha-Ha gets the last laugh
Patterson, James
Paper Book
Jacky Ha-Ha is off to theater camp and funnier than ever in this hilarious illustrated novel from James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein's #1 New York Times bestselling series. Jacky Hart finally knows the thrill of having people laugh with her (not at her). She tries to...
Picture day
Sax, Sarah
Paper Book
Everyone knows the most stressful day of middle school is picture day! And that's exactly where this yearbook-worthy graphic novel series opener begins- with reinventing yourself, drama, popularity, and the friends who see you through. Seventh-grader Viv never looks...
Kitchen science lab for kids : 52 family friendly experiments from around the house
Heinecke, Liz Lee
Paper Book
Inspire a lifelong passion for science with these physics, chemistry, and biology experiments for kids--all using common household tools and ingredients! In Kitchen Science Lab for Kids, mom and scientist Liz Lee Heinecke presents 52 family-friendly labs<...
Fashionopolis : the secrets behind the clothes we wear
Thomas, Dana
Paper Book
A look at fast fashion and its impact on the environment and social justice, perfect for middle grade classrooms Did you ever think about where your jeans come from? How about the people who made your T-shirt, or what happens to the clothes you grow out of when you're done...
Stephen Biesty's incredible cross-sections
Biesty, Stephen
Paper Book
This children's book explores the innermost workings of some extraordinary buildings and machines. From helicopters to submarines, skyscrapers to coal mines, open up a fascinating world packed with unique and detailed cutaway drawings. Whether it's a Spanish galleon or a medieval...

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