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 January 3, 2025
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I am Book
Cull, Joren
Paper Book
A clever, amusingly meta picture book with a wholesome message that teaches kids to love themselves just the way they are. Meet "Book"-a plain old book with a dusty yellow jacket and torn pages. When Book's library closes, it moves to a new one in a neighboring town, expecting a...
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...
Soren's seventh song
Eggers, Dave
Paper Book
From Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times bestselling author Dave Eggers, Soren's Seventh Song is a deadpan take on creativity and persistence, as told through the eyes of a humpback whale looking for a new song--with color illustrations by Mark Hoffman. ...
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 color of sound
Isler, Emily Barth
Paper Book
"[A] salient celebration of family, music, and neurodiversity." --starred, Publishers Weekly"A top pick for any middle school collection; a perfect book club pick and a reminder to all that patience and understanding can change lives." --starred, School Library JournalTwelve-year-old Rosie is a...
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...
Monkey-CAM
Palatini, Margie.
Paper Book
Experience the world from a monkey's perspective via the video camera on its head in this fun and exciting Pre-Level 1 Ready-to-Read book in the Critter-Cam series! Through a video camera positioned on the monkey's head, readers can follow along from the monkey's point of view as...
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 1966-
Paper Book
Laugh out loud with Captain Underpants, the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Dav Pilkey, the creator of Dog Man!Fourth graders George Beard and Harold Hutchins are a couple of class clowns. The only thing they enjoy more than playing practical jokes is creating their own comic...
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,...
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
The New York Times and USA Today bestselling series from worldwide phenomenon Max Brallier-- a spin-off based on the mega-bestselling The Last Kids on Earth! Jack, June, Quint, and Dirk face their biggest challenge yet: creating the sequel to their hit graphic novel...
A copycat conundrum
Yee, Lisa
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER . When San Francisco is under strange attacks-like earthquakes affecting only two city blocks at a time-who're you gonna call? An elite team of crime-fighting underdogs, that's who! The Misfits are on the case in this hilarious illustrated series!
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<...
In and out the window
Yolen, Jane
Paper Book
The largest single anthology of Jane Yolen's poetry, containing more than one hundred poems for all occasions-with fun black-and-white art throughout. Our Kitchen Smells of mornings, blueberry muffins, hot chocolate, tea. ...
The spectacular science of art
Colson, Rob
Paper Book
The Spectacular Science of Art is guaranteed to answer all those tricky science questions that children ask about colors, perspective, and symmetry - and that parents often struggle to answer - such as: What is color theory? How do artists use math in their paintings? How do scientists...
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
The original and still the best, the IRA Children's Choice Book Incredible Cross-Sections is available again--now at a lower price! Spread after spread of amazing, original cross-section drawings take readers inside 18 of the world's most fascinating structures--from the Empire State Building to the...

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