Series! Get them back into reading!
Fall 2021 Back to School Series Recommendations!
We love series because they are the gateway to keeping/getting a student hooked sometimes. We’ve found they can be the final piece of the puzzle or golden ticket to having a reluctant reader get into a book.
They also work well as the start of a class read-aloud or book club, and then students can choose to continue on the series hooked to know what happens next! The picture book series are also great because of their foundational sense of familiarity while giving students the chance to take on the text independently or take their analysis (compare/contrast) levels deeper with each book.
Here are some that would be great to pass along to students coming back into the mix this Fall.
Young readers
Alvin Ho (we still like these for his humor, accessibility, and the mix of graphics and text for young readers)
Julian is a Mermaid (and the following books).
I Am Peace (and all of the “I Am...” series by Susan Verde & Peter Reynolds series)
Over and Under the Snow (and all of the Kate Messner nature series including Over and Under the Pond (my favorite!), Up in the Garden Down in the Dirt, and Over and Under the Rainforest
Power Forward by Hena Khan (Zayd Saleem, Chasing the Dream series - always give students fair warning that these books will make you so hungry!)
Middle Grade
Front Desk series, by Kelly Yang
Forever this Summer series, Leslie C. Youngblood (all the gorgeous, loving, honest black girl vibes!)
Great option for an audiobook (it’s read really well!), long, a fun cast that keeps things exciting and funny, big adventures, tons of tough/impressive vocabulary.
Nevermoor series (magical, for the Harry Potter type fans, a strong girl MC)
The Vanderbeekers series by Karina Yan Glaser (can’t wait for #5 which is coming out soon!)
MG (graphic novels series)
Twins, by Varian Johnson
Smile series (Raina Telgemeier, our favorite is book #3, Guts about anxiety!)
Real Friends series (book #2, Best Friends is our favorite)
The Okay Witch series
The Witch Boy series
MG (graphic novels older)
Adult series!
YA/Adult (the debate continues) The Six of Crows series.
The Thursday Murder Club (book 2 coming out soon!)
Funny cast of septuagenarians solving a multi-layered murder mystery with twists and turns. Written by British comedian Richard Oseman.
My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante (the most glaring take on woman friendships, set in Naples)
Saga (VERY graphic and adult, immersive wild graphic novel)
How To Live Series also known as, The Mindfulness Essentials Series by Thich Nhat Hanh. Worth turning to these, they are lovely and pocket sized and include how to relax, how to eat, how to sit, how to love, how to fight..
The Best American Nonrequired Reading series (excellent collection of anthologies where you will stumble across excerpts from essays, graphic novels, poetry, short stories.. also published that year and chosen by a group of high schoolers who debate all the pieces).
