All Booked Up | Progress & Growth (March 2026)

A few of our favorite books about progress and growth for this month's All Booked Up reading challenge. Not seeing anything you like? Browse more books about progress, growth, and change in the library catalog in English or español, or request a personalized recommendation from library staff.

BONUS! Let us know what book you read for a chance to win free ice cream from Mike's Drive In and a book to keep.

All Booked Up is a partnership between the Oregon City Public Library and OCSD connecting literacy, family engagement, and school attendance for student success.

Updated February 26, 2026
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Y is for yet : a growth mindset alphabet
Anderson, Shannon
Paper Book
Kids learn how to adopt a growth mindset through the familiar structure of the ABCs. Mistakes aren't just mistakes. They're growth spurts. Developing a growth mindset--a belief that learning is a process that requires dedication and hard work, not just talent--helps...

This book uses the ABCs as a framework to introduce concepts of a growth mindset and the ways that we grow as learners. (Children's Nonfiction)

The very impatient caterpillar
Burach, Ross
Paper Book
This clever send-up of every child's biggest challenge--being patient!--is a STEM-friendly, laugh-out-loud comedy about metamorphosis. "Will delight fans of Mo Willems's "Pigeon" series... absolutely charming." -- School Library Journal "Super-charged." -- The...

All living creatures grow and change--but sometimes it's hard to wait! (Picture Book)

Also available in Spanish and as an ebook in the Libby app.

Papilio
Clanton, Ben
Paper Book
A tale told in three parts by three friends! Powerhouse creators, Ben Clanton, Corey R. Tabor, and Andy Chou Musser, have come together to create a wholly inventive picture book that is perfect for fans of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Introducing Papilio Polyxenes, the...

Three great children's author/artists come together to tell the story of one caterpillar as it grows into a butterfly. Kids will connect to the sometimes-scary prospect of change. (Picture Book)

Also available as an ebook in the Libby app.

The magical yet
DiTerlizzi, Angela
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! This rollicking, rhyming, inspirational picture book is for fans of Oh, the Places You'll Go! and every child who is frustrated by what they can't do ... YET! Each of us, from the day we're born, is accompanied by a special...

It can be frustrating when we make mistakes, but its an opportunity to grow into the things we can't do--yet! (Picture Book)

Also available in Spanish.

This cookie will change your life
Ellis, Ann Dee
Paper Book
Do you love cookies? Have you ever felt alone in a room full of people? This novel is for you. It's the summer after sixth grade when a group of classmates turn up at the library at the same time. They know each other, but they're not friends. The truth is, they each spend a lot...

Four middle schoolers experience friendship and growth when they start a cookie baking business together. (Young Teen Fiction)

A bite in the night
Gough, Julian
Paper Book
Rabbit and Bear must find out who has uprooted not only their favorite trees, but their entire homes in another enchanting tale from creative geniuses Julian Gough and Jim Field. When Rabbit and Bear discover a new creature in the forest and learn about his plans for "progress,"...

A funny story explores a serious question: is "progress" always a good thing? (Bridging Fiction)

Also available in русский язык.

We are growing!
Keller, Laurie
Paper Book
Walt and his friends are growing up fast! Everyone is the something-est. But... what about Walt? He is not the tallest, or the curliest, or the silliest. He is not the anything-est! As a BIG surprise inches closer, Walt discovers something special of his own!

Walt, a blade of grass, is not the most or best at anything as he searches for what makes him special as he grows up. (Early Reader)

A work in progress
Lerner, Jarrett
Paper Book
A young boy struggles with body image in this poignant and "perceptive" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) middle grade journey to self-acceptance told through prose, verse, and illustration. Will is the only round kid in a school full of thin ones. So he hides...in baggy...

Will works really hard with little success to change his body, until a friend helps him to recognize his body as a work in progress. (Young Teen Fiction)

Avocado magic
Levi, Taltal
Paper Book
"A tender and cozy tribute to the magic of growing up." -Kirkus Reviews Avocado seeds and slow growing! A young girl's impatience turns to wonder as she and her avocado tree gradually change and grow in this story inspired by Israeli artist Taltal Levi's childhood....

Ellie is frustrated when she hasn't grown at all since her birthday yesterday. Her father tells her a secret: she is much like an avocado pit, small and full of magic. She and the avocado tree grow up together over the years. (Picture Book)

Also available in Spanish.

The book of mistakes
Luyken, Corinna
Paper Book
ZoommeetsBeautiful Oops!in this memorable picture book debut about the creative process, and the way in which "mistakes" can blossom into inspiration One eye was bigger than the other. That was a mistake. The weird frog-cat-cow thing? It made an excellent...

An artist views her creation as a work in progress and makes her mistake a part of her project. (Picture Book)

Painting the game
MacLachlan, Patricia
Paper Book
In this middle grade novel by Newbery Award-winning author Patricia MacLachlan in her "signature lyric language delivered in spare but satisfying prose" (Booklist), a young girl tries to untangle her love of baseball from her complicated relationship with her professional pitcher father.<...

The daughter of a professional pitcher levels up her own pitching skills as she examines her relationship with her father, written by the author of Sarah Plain and Tall. (Children's Fiction)

See Bip grow!
Milgrim, David
Paper Book
Zip and Bip are back in the fourth book in the Adventures of Zip Ready-to-Go! series from author-illustrator David Milgrim, two-time Theodor Seuss Geisel Honoree! See Zip zap. See Bip grow tall. Now Zip and Bip can play some ball! But as usual, things don't go according to plan...

An alien kid enlarges his baby playmate with unexpected results. (Early Reader)

Seed to plant
Rattini, Kristin Baird
Paper Book
Kids see plants, flowers, and trees around them every day. In this lively and educational reader, they'll learn how those plants grow. Kids will take this magical journey from seed pollination to plant growth, learning about what plants need to thrive and grow with the same careful text, brilliant...

The life cycle of a plant, written for beginning readers, helps kids make connections to their own growth. (Early Reader)

Smile
Telgemeier, Raina.
Paper Book
Raina just wanted to be a normal girl, but one night after Girl Scouts she trips and falls severely injuring her two front teeth. What follows is a long and frustrating journey with on-again, off-again braces, surgery, embarrassing headgear and even a retainer with fake teeth attached. And on top of...

Raina grows and changes during her five years in braces, learning to accept herself. (Children's Graphic Novel)

Also available in Spanish and as an ebook in the Libby app.

Ways to grow love
Watson, Renée
Paper Book
Grow and glow with Ryan Hart! Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award winner Renée Watson continues her charming young middle grade series starring Ryan Hart, a girl who is pure spirit and sunshine. Ryan Hart loves her family and friends. She's looking forward to...

Set in Portland, a just-graduated fifth grader navigates changing friendships at church camp and the arrival of a new baby sister. (Children's Fiction)

Also available as an e-Book in the Libby app.

Worm and Caterpillar are friends
Windness, Kaz
Paper Book
A Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book A Kirkus Reviews Best Graphic Novel & Comic A New York Public Library Best Book A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book This heartwarming and affirming Level 1 Ready-to-Read Graphics book...

Caterpillar and Worm are just alike, until Caterpillar emerges from his chrysalis, in this exploration of the ways we all grow and change in different ways. (Early Reader Graphic Novel)


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