Adventure Begins at Your Library: Independent Readers

These are some books we recommend to elementary-aged readers who want to find adventure in a book this summer!

Updated May 2, 2024
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The boy who loved maps
Allen, Kari
Paper Book
This enchanting picture book about a map-making boy who is stumped when a girl asks him for a map of the "perfect place" helps readers appreciate the charms of their own neighborhood--and even shows them how to make a map of it! The Mapmaker loves maps. He loves to collect...
The girl who speaks bear
Anderson, Sophie
Paper Book
The newest heart-expanding, magical adventure from Sophie Anderson, author of the critically acclaimed House with Chicken Legs."They call me Yanka the Bear. Not because of where I was found. Only a few people know about that. They call me Yanka the Bear because I am so big and strong."<...
Explorers of the wild
Atkinson, Cale
Paper Book
When Bear and Boy meet in the woods, they're scared at first. Really scared. But soon these kings of the wild realize that no mountain is too big to conquer if you have a friend to climb it by your side.
Race to Fire Mountain
Blackwood, Remi
Paper Book
The start of a thrilling, highly illustrated series about a boy who finds a portal to a legendary world in his local barbershop . . . and learns he's the hero they've been waiting for. For younger fans of Black Panther and Last Gate of the Emperor! Jarell has never quite...
Bad Kitty goes on vacation
Bruel, Nick
Paper Book
Bad Kitty gets a vacation in this full color graphic novel in Nick Bruel's New York Times bestselling series. Kitty's life is hard. Really, really hard. She's always being bothered, Puppy is always in her space (and drooling on her), and her plans for world domination...
The adventures of Mark Twain by Huckleberry Finn
Burleigh, Robert.
Paper Book
Everyone knows the story of the raft on the Mississippi and that ol' whitewashed fence, but now it's time for youngins everywhere to get right acquainted with the man behind the pen. Mr. Mark Twain! An interesting character, he was...even if he did sometimes get all gussied up in linen suits and...
The Adventurers Guild The Adventurers Guild Trilogy, Book 1
Clark, Zack Loran.
Paper Book
Few ever asked to join the Adventurers Guild. . . . Their members often died young. In one of the last cities standing after the world fell to monsters, best friends Zed Kagari and Brock Dunderfel have high hopes for the future. Zed desperately wishes to join the ranks of the...
The miraculous journey of Edward Tulane
DiCamillo, Kate.
Ebook
The #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestseller -- now in a digest edition (Age 7 and up) Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who adored him...
Big Bigfoot's secret vacation
Factor, Katherine
Paper Book
4th Bestselling Children's Book Series of all Time -The New Yorker Spend your spring vacation with the legendary Bigfoot, either camping in the mountains in the Pacific Northwest or surfing in Hawaii. Big Bigfoot's Secret Vacation takes you on a...
The hike
Farrell, Alison
Paper Book
Snacks, supplies, and a dog. What more do you need for an epic adventure? In this plucky, sweet story, three intrepid young female explorers set out to conquer their local forest. The well-written, empowering narrative takes us on a local quest across a river, through the trees, and up a mountain,...
Fortunately, the milk
Gaiman, Neil.
Paper Book
An absolute delight of a madcap story for the young (and young-at-heart) by New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, with equal parts pirates and piranhas, adventure and aliens, oddity and love. "I bought the milk," said my father. "I walked out of the corner shop...
The storm dragon
Harrison, Paula
Paper Book
A group of friends set out to save magical creatures from a cruel queen and her wicked soldiers in the first book in the brand-new Secret Rescuers chapter book series. When Sophy finds a little lost dragon named Cloudy, she knows he's in danger. It will take all the courage she...
Voyage of the Frostheart
Littler, Jamie
Paper Book
A captivating adventure about an unlikely hero's quest to find his parents--and find the home he's always longed for. Filled with whimsy and magical world building that is perfect for fans of Nevermoor. In a snow-covered land where monsters rule the icy tundra, only song...
Finding wild
Lloyd, Megan Wagner
Paper Book
A lovely, lyrical picture book with gorgeous illustrations that explores the ways the wild makes itself known to us and how much closer it is than we think. There are so many places that wild can exist, if only you know where to look! Can you find it? Two kids set off on an...
The ice cream machine
Rubin, Adam
Paper Book
Don't miss the #1 New York Times bestseller everyone is raving about! From the wild and wonderful imagination of the author of Dragons Love Tacos comes this hilarious, irresistible debut collection of six totally different stories with the same exact name. In these...
The map to everywhere
Ryan, Carrie.
Paper Book
Adventure, magic, and hilarity collide in New York Times bestselling author Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis's first book in a fantastical series. To Master Thief Fin, an orphan from the murky pirate world of the Khaznot Quay, the Map is the key to finding his mother. To...
Grounded : a novel
Saeed, Aisha
Paper Book
Four kids meet at an airport for one unforgettable night in this middle-grade novel by four bestselling and award-winning authors--Aisha Saeed, Huda Al-Marashi, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, and S. K. Ali. A Walter Award Honor Book When a...
The adventures of Beekle : the unimaginary friend
Santat, Dan
Paper Book
This magical story begins on an island far away where an imaginary friend is born. He patiently waits his turn to be chosen by a real child, but when he is overlooked time and again, he sets off on an incredible journey to the bustling city, where he finally meets his perfect match and¿at long last...
Bessie the motorcycle queen
Smith, Charles R., Jr.
Paper Book
Hop on the bike with Bessie Stringfield, the motorcycle queen of Miami, in this powerful picture book from Coretta Scott King medalist Charles R. Smith, Jr. and debut picture book illustrator Charlot Kristensen. The folks they lined up to meet the Motorcycle Queen, seated...
The adventures of a girl called Bicycle
Uss, Christina
Paper Book
Selected for the 2019-2020 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year A determined 12-year-old girl bikes across the country in this quirky and charming debut middle grade novel. Introverted Bicycle has lived...

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