Today I’m sharing a list of some of my favorite vintage MG novels that don’t get discussed much, but I love them and hope you enjoy them too! These are not always easy to find, but they’re worth looking for. 🙂

• The Golden Name Day by Jennie Lindquist: Although it’s a 1950s Newbery novel, this one isn’t talked about much, perhaps because it was out of print for decades until Purple House Press released a new edition! I love the tidbits of Swedish culture in this one (I have a lot of Swedish heritage and enjoy reading about it).
• Maggie Rose: Her Birthday Christmas by Ruth Sawyer: It’s a charming gem of a novel, one that I have recommended so many times but never see discussed, possibly because it also was out of print for decades and has yet to be re-released. Maggie Rose is set in Maine, features a hardworking young heroine determined to make life better for herself and her family, and has the happiest ending you could imagine. What more could you want in a book?
• Jill’s Story by Jean Fiedler: I am not sure I’ve ever seen anyone else discuss this book about a family vacationing at Cape Cod for the summer. Jill longs to become a writer, and this story inspired me a lot when I was ten years old and daydreaming of being an author!
• The Sea Is All Around by Elizabeth Enright: The only Enright novel currently not in print, this is more slow-paced than some of her other books, but the rich language and evocative setting is brilliant. I’m currently rereading this right now!
• Family Sabbatical by Carol Ryrie Brink: There are two very sweet books in this series, but I just re-read Sabbatical last November, so I’ll recommend it especially. This one follows the Ridgeway family to France for a year, and there are some delightful adventures!
• Caldicott Place by Noel Streatfeild: There are so many excellent Streatfeild stories but this one is great if you’re looking for one of her non-theater stories (there is some ballet, of course! but it’s not a big aspect of the book).
• Mine for Keeps by Jean Little: I love so many of Jean Little’s books, but this was her first novel and it’s such a good one. And the best part? It’s easy to find, because Puffin reprinted it just two years ago!
• Time at the Top by Edward Ormondroyd: This is a fantastic story if you’re looking for light fantasy–it’s a time travel tale, set in both “present-day” 1960s and the 1880s. I won’t go into too many spoilers, but when a girl goes into an elevator in her apartment building, it whisks her off to a time much different than her own …

I hope you find a great read from this list! 🙂 What are you reading right now? I’d love to hear!

This post originally appeared on my Patreon.

I read some wonderful new (and old!) middle grade books in 2024, and I wanted to share some of my favorites with you, in no particular order. (And there are more I could talk about! I found so many great stories this year.)

• The Secret Sisters by Avi (2023): A delightful follow-up to The Secret School, one of my longtime favorites! I waited years to see what would happen to Ida at high school, and this is a worthy sequel.
• Somebody Else’s Summer by Jean Little (2005): I’m so glad I saved this to read in the summer! It’s a Parent Trap-type mix-up where two girls swap places during visits to family members.
• Mustang: Wild Spirit of the West by Marguerite Henry (1966): An incredible novel based on a true story of a woman who dedicated her life to saving mustangs in Nevada.
• Lily’s Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff (1997): This book was completely not what I was expecting based on the plot description, but I was actually pleased with that. It’s a quiet, gentle, yet powerful World War II home front story.
• The Grey Family by Noel Streatfeild (1951): What a joy to read a Streatfeild story I’ve never read before! Written for a slightly younger audience than most of her books, it was episodic, fun, and (of course!) about a young ballet dancer and her family.
• Ferris by Kate DiCamillo (2024): I almost think I liked this story more than Because of Winn-Dixie–it’s humorous and heartwarming and full of well-crafted characters. There’s been a lot of talk about this book winning a Newbery–could it be??
• Marjorie’s Vacation by Carolyn Wells (1907): Sweet, funny episodes in the life of a mischievous girl and her friends during a summer at her grandmother’s.
• Drina Dances Again by Jean Estoril (1959): Another great installment in the Drina series, which I’ve talked about before. I’m sad that the rest of the books in the series are so hard to find!
• Strawberry Girl and Flood Friday by Lois Lenski (1945 and 1956): I really enjoyed both of these books in Lenski’s series that features different regions of the U.S. throughout history.
• Summer on the North Star by Elsa Pedersen (1960): Originally titled Alaska Harvest, this story follows a girl who lives with her family a boat as they harvest crabs in order to earn enough money to buy their own house.
• Maudie in the Middle by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor and Lura Schield Reynolds (1988): Based on a true story, this gently comedic book is about Maudie, a middle child living on an Iowa farm in the early 1900s.
• Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick (2014): For me, binge-reading is reading a long book in three days, so this counts as a binge-read. 🙂 It’s about a girl whose family moves to a small town and she helps run the family bookstore, solving a mystery along the way.

Favorite Rereads:

I reread tons of books every year, so this category is JUST the rereads that I vividly remember having a blast with. 🙂 There’s no rhyme or reason as to what will end up being a brilliant re-read for me, it just depends on finding the perfect book to fit my exact mood.

• Anne’s House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery
• The Four-Story Mistake and Spiderweb for Two by Elizabeth Enright
• The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall
• Party Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
• The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser
• Sister of the Bride by Beverly Cleary
• What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge
• Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo
• Hey, World! Here I Am by Jean Little
• Family Sabbatical by Carol Ryrie Brink

My 50 State Reading Challenge

This was my big reading goal in 2024! I decided to read a children’s book set in every U.S. state. It was such a joy, even though it was hard to find books for a handful of states! It was such a fun challenge that in 2025, I want to read books set in 20 different countries.

Here is my final list of the books I read for the challenge! I’ve noted which ones were picture books (PBs), chapter books (CBs), middle grade (MG), or young adult (YA).

Alabama (Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai)–MG 
Alaska (Summer on the North Star by Elsa Pedersen)–MG
Arizona (Trixie Belden and the Mystery in Arizona by Julie Campbell)–MG
Arkansas (The Girl with the Mind for Math by Julia Finley Mosca)–PB
California (Sister of the Bride by Beverly Cleary)–YA
Colorado (The Secret Sisters by Avi)–MG
Connecticut (Flood Friday by Lois Lenski)–MG
Delaware (When Washington Crossed the Delaware by Lynne Cheney)–PB
Florida (Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski)–MG
Georgia (Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo)–MG
Hawaii (Growing Up with Aloha by Kirby Larson)–CB/MG
Idaho (Moving the Millers’ Minnie Moore Mine Mansion by Dave Eggers)–PB
Illinois (The Light in the Cellar by Sarah Masters Buckey)–MG
Indiana (Rosetown Summer by Cynthia Rylant)–MG
Kansas (May B. by Caroline Starr Rose)–MG
Kentucky (Happy Little Family by Rebecca Caudill)–CB
Iowa (Maudie in the Middle by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor & Lura Schield Reynolds)–MG
Louisiana (Meet Marie-Grace by Sarah Masters Buckey)–CB
Maine (The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall)–MG
Maryland (Chesapeake Duke by Gilbert Byron)–MG
Massachusetts (Little House by Boston Bay by Melissa Wiley)–MG
Michigan (The Star That Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson–yes, my own book!! It was fun)–MG
Minnesota (Carney’s House Party by Maud Hart Lovelace)–YA
Mississippi (Daddy Played the Blues by Michael Garland)–PB
Missouri (Depend on Katie John by Mary Calhoun)–MG
Montana (The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White)–MG
Nebraska (Elsie’s Bird by Jane Yolen)–PB
Nevada (Mustang, Wild Spirit of the West by Marguerite Henry)–MG/YA
New Hampshire (Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick)–MG
New Jersey (The Slipper Point Mystery by Augusta Huiell Seaman)–MG
New Mexico (Secrets in the Hills by Kathleen Ernst)–MG
New York (The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright)–MG
North Carolina (My Great-Aunt Arizona by Gloria Houston)–PB
North Dakota (Fly Away by Patricia MacLachlan)–MG
Ohio (What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge)–MG
Oklahoma (Angels in the Dust by Margot Theis Raven)–PB
Oregon (Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary)–CB/MG
Pennsylvania (Pie by Sarah Weeks)–MG
Rhode Island (The Automobile Girls at Newport by Laura Dent Crane)–MG
South Carolina (Honey Butter by Millie Florence)–MG
South Dakota (Judy Bolton and the Discovery at the Dragon’s Mouth by Margaret Sutton)–MG/YA
Tennessee (Lizzie by May Justus)–CB
Texas (The Boxcar Children and the Mystery at the Alamo by Gertrude Chandler Warner)–CB
Utah (Iron Horses by Verla Kay)–PB
Vermont (Lumber Camp Library by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock)–CB/MG
Virginia (Meg and the Secret of the Witch’s Stairway by Holly Beth Walker)–CB/MG
Washington (For the Love of Autumn by Patricia Polacco)–PB
West Virginia (A Piece of Home by Jeri Hanel Watts)–PB
Wisconsin (Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink)–MG
Wyoming (I Could Do That: Esther Morris Gets Women the Vote by Linda Arms White)–PB

A few other books to share …

I had the joy of providing endorsement blurbs for the books of three friends: Writer on the Wall by Joanne Bischof (a sweet contemporary Christian novel), Road Trip Return by Becca Wierwille (a heartfelt contemporary MG story), and Beyond Mulberry Glen by Millie Florence (a beautifully written, character-driven fantasy MG). Definitely check them out!

Three non-kidlit books I enjoyed this year were L.M. Montgomery’s The Blue Castle (my last new Montgomery book! <tears>) and two nonfiction books: Glad and Golden Hours by Lanier Ivester and illustrated by Jennifer Trafton (a lovely book to read during Advent) and Barefoot Summers by Faith Andrews Bedford (a collection of wonderful essays on summertime, family, and memories).

What did you enjoy reading in 2024? What are some books you’re excited about for 2025? I’d love to hear!

I’ve been enjoying a lot of reading this month, because the weather is finally feeling fall-ish, and what’s better than autumn reads with blankets and candles?

Here’s a quick rundown of some of the books I loved best in October:

Ferris is Kate DiCamillo’s latest middle grade novel, and this was such a joy to read. I have read and loved Because of Winn-Dixie since I was ten years old, but I honestly think I loved Ferris even more–because even though it has some sadness in it, there’s also so much humor that balances the book and made it feel lighthearted to me.

Glad and Golden Hours by Lanier Ivester, illustrated by Jennifer Trafton. This Advent and Christmas companion was a complete delight, and I loved all of Lanier’s lovely memoir-type stories mixed in among crafts and recipes for the entire month of December (and a little bit beyond)!

Spiderweb for Two by Elizabeth Enright. I’ve discussed this book so many times before, because it’s one of my all-time favorites! I read it this month for my Patreon book club, which has been so much fun.

The Star That Always Stays by … me! Yes, I actually just re-read TSTAS for the first time in actual print book form! The last time I’d read the entire story was during the last proofreading stage in early 2022, and that was on my computer. It was a lovely experience! Although my brain kept prompting certain lines to be read that way they’d originally been written. (Like autocorrect: “Did you mean THIS phrase”?) LOL!

Moominpappa at Sea by Tove Jansson. I’m a seasonal reader, and I read the first half of this book last summer (because I knew it was a summer story) and then never finished it. But I wanted to read Moominvalley in November IN November, so I thought I would finish the second half of this one to continue reading in chronological order. Turns out, the second half of Moominpappa at Sea takes place in autumn! That was a pleasant surprise, and the second half of the story was much more engaging than the first and had a sweet ending.

The Automobile Girls at Newport by Laura Dent Crane was first published in 1910, and I read a recent reprint copy. 1910s girls’ series books are *always* fun, and this was no different!

What Katy Did at School by Susan Coolidge is a book I have read truly countless times, and I just enjoy it so hugely every time I return to it.

What did you read in October? Leave a comment below!

When you hear someone talking about Noel Streatfeild books, chances are they’ll mention one of her most successful stories, usually in the Shoes series: Ballet Shoes or Theater Shoes (UK title—Curtain Up) or Skating Shoes (UK title—White Boots). And to be honest, I’m always excited when I see people talk about reading any Streatfeild book, because although some of the Shoes books achieved considerable popularity here in the USA, they just never quite attained the same status as other classic children’s novels.

Having been a Streatfeild fan since the age of nine, I’m delighted whenever I get the chance to introduce readers to some of her lesser-known stories. So without further ado, here’s a list of three books I’d love to share with you:

The Painted Garden (1949)

One of Noel Streatfeild’s favorite books was The Secret Garden, and this novel she published in 1949 is a clever retelling of that story. The Painted Garden follows ten-year-old Jane Winter, a middle child who has a tendency to get into trouble, as her family moves from rainy England to sunny California not long after World War II. Once in the picturesque town of Santa Monica, Jane (to her immense surprise) is cast as Mary Lennox in a major film production of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic story. She has to learn how to deal with a difficult co-star and manage her temper, or risk losing the role and her one chance of importance. It’s a lovely book that has memorable characters and some of Streatfeild’s best atmospheric writing. Be sure to get the UK edition with this title, though—the US version (Movie Shoes) is abridged.

Caldicott Place (1967)

This is one of Streatfeild’s most emotionally moving stories, and it completely captured my heart the first time I read it (and on many subsequent rereadings). This is the story of a family who inherits an old manor house that was once grand but is now run-down and in need of attention. But the Johnstone family is in need of a new home after their father’s car accident, and not only do they gradually fix up the house, they take in several children who also need a place to live. At first, personalities clash and there are numerous challenges and misunderstandings—the youngest child tries to run away before one of the older girls convinces her to stay—but the ending is marvelously happy and satisfying. It’s safe to say that this book has one of my all-time favorite finales. My first copy of this book was a US edition called The Family at Caldicott Place, but to my knowledge there are few differences in the two texts. The only major difference I’ve found between the two versions is that the UK publication has more chapter breaks (and, therefore, chapter titles).

The Growing Summer (1966)

I will likely be talking more about this story in the summer, when I plan to re-read it (again!), but it’s definitely worth including here too. If you haven’t yet heard me discuss this tale of four siblings and their summer adventures in a mysterious Ireland setting, you’re certainly going to want to pick it up now. This book follows the Gareth children as they are uprooted to the home of their unpredictable Great-Aunt Dymphna, where they have to learn how to cope with complex responsibilities and secrets. The reason why I recommend this book so often is because I think it will appeal those who love Elizabeth Enright’s summery books or Edward Eager’s magical tales, and I know there are tons of fans of those books. This sometimes overlooked Streatfeild story fits right in with those, and I hope you’ll give it a try! (P.S.—I recently bought my first UK copy of this story but haven’t read it yet. I don’t think there are many text changes from my US edition called The Magic Summer.)

Do you have a lesser-known Streatfeild favorite? If so, I would love to hear about it!

If you’re like me, you probably are a longtime fan of L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. Maybe you’re hoping for a book that has a similar feel, but you’re not sure where to look. In this post, I’m going to be sharing a few fun vintage titles that I hope will be new to you!

– If you love the strong friendship and mischievous adventures that Anne and Diana have, try Katie John by Mary Calhoun.

– If you’re a fan of the stunning imagery and nature descriptions throughout Anne, try Maggie Rose: Her Birthday Christmas by Ruth Sawyer. (Hard to find but if you can, it’s fabulous!)

– If you’re looking for another story set in Canada and written in the 20th century, try One to Grow On by Jean Little.

– If you’re in the mood for a coming-of-age story about a young woman from a small town, try Emily of Deep Valley by Maud Hart Lovelace.

– If you’re on the hunt for another episodic book where each chapter is its own mini story, try The Saturdays or The Four-Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright.

– If your favorite aspect of AOGG was the Anne and Gilbert subplot, try Pat of Silver Bush, one of Montgomery’s lesser-known books that features a Gilbert-like hero (Jingle)!

– If you’d like to read another heartwarming story about an orphan finding a wonderful new home, try Runaway Alice by Frances Salomon Murphy.

– If you want another lengthy girls’ classic that isn’t as well-known as Anne, try What Katy Did at School by Susan Coolidge.

What books would you recommend to Anne fans? Leave a comment below!

I thought it would be fun to list a few literary gems that I’ve found in antique stores. There’s something so thrilling about finding a beautiful old book tucked away on a crowded shelf!

First up: Dorrance Doings (1906) by Carolyn Wells. I had never heard of this one, which surprised me because I’m a Carolyn Wells fan, and it turned out it was actually the second book in a little-known duology. I promptly read the first book on Project Gutenberg before turning to this one, a sweet story about a trio of siblings.

Several years ago, I was excited to find this out-of-print book that I’d been searching for on the bottom shelf at a lovely antique store. The Secret Language (1960) by Ursula Nordstrom is a charming story about two girls at boarding school who devise their own secret language (that consists of only a few key phrases!) and build a clubhouse in the woods. The best part of this book is the oh-so-real interactions between the girls and the witty dialogue. Recommended for anyone who enjoys the books of Jean Little, Noel Streatfeild, or Beverly Cleary. This book is a mash-up of those three authors’ writing!

The Janitor’s Girl (1956) by Frieda Friedman was a book I was specifically looking for, so I was happy to find it. (How often do you ever stumble across the obscure vintage book you’re wanting?) I had previously enjoyed this author’s Carol (another antique store find!) and this one was fun as well.

Here’s huge favorite of mine: Return to Gone-Away (1961) by Elizabeth Enright. I have a newer reprint of this, but I couldn’t resist buying this 1960s paperback as well. The Gone-Away Lake books are like a breath of fresh summer air! If you’ve enjoyed them (and they MUST be read in order), be sure to check out this blog post I wrote last year about discovering a possible unfinished third manuscript.

Just Patty (1911) by Jean Webster had to come home as well. I’d read the first book in the series (or second? I believe they were published in non-chronological order), and knew I’d want this one too. It was a huge delight!

I also found these fabulous Penny Parker mysteries by Mildred Wirt (the original author of the Nancy Drew books)! There are many more books in this series, but I was glad to find three matching volumes to start my collection. My favorite of these was The Vanishing Houseboat (1939).

What are some of your favorite literary treasures found in antique store? Let me know in the comments!