I’m sharing something a little different this month–a video I filmed! In this video, I’m sharing a fun stack of middle grade books (mostly vintage!) that I have on display in my writing studio, Golden Moon Cottage. I hope you enjoy it! And leave a comment if you love any of these books too. 🙂 

Last year, I read Heidi by Johanna Spyri for the first time. It had been on my TBR for years, and I finally decided to give it a try. It was an absolutely beautiful book! I loved it so much and it far exceeded my expectations. Another book that had been on my TBR for years was Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome, which I finally read with my Patreon book club members, and it was a delight to discuss it with them! At the end of 2024, I also finally read Marjorie’s Vacation by Carolyn Wells, one of the books in the Marjorie series that I’d been wanting to read for ages. (I read Marjorie in Command years ago and just hadn’t gotten around to the others yet. They are so fun!)

This year, I’d like to make a few more longtime TBR books a priority (I’ve been wanting to read Astrid the Unstoppable by Maria Parr for ages)! There are still some Beverly Cleary books I’ve never read and I want to get to those, too! But here’s another quandary: how do I prioritize which books to reread?

For example, here’s a list of some of the books I want to reread over the next few months:

• The Four Graces by D.E. Stevenson
• The first two Melendy books by Elizabeth Enright
• Emily’s Runaway Imagination by Beverly Cleary
• The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Anne of Green Gables & Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
• Cherry Ames mysteries
• Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
• Knight’s Castle by Edward Eager
• Pat of Silver Bush by L.M. Montgomery
• Ferris by Kate DiCamillo

How do you prioritize reading when there are so many books you want to get to? (Plus you always get in the mood to read books that aren’t on your TBR …) I may have to start doing my TBR jar again, because I just can’t decide! 🙂

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’m excited to announce that I’m hosting a book club this October on my Patreon, and we’re reading SPIDERWEB FOR TWO: A MELENDY MAZE by Elizabeth Enright!

Here’s what you need to know:

⦁ It’s free! And it starts October 1st, so sign up now!

⦁ It’s hosted on my Patreon. You can subscribe to my Patreon for free and I will make all the book club content available for everyone. 🙂

⦁ The book I’ve chosen is about two children who attempt to solve a series of riddles that mysteriously appear around their home and neighborhood. It’s fun, very autumnal, and it’s a middle grade that makes perfect reading for the entire family.

⦁ It’s very easy to access this book: not only is it still in print or on Kindle (Amazon has copies for less than $9), but there’s a wonderful audiobook version available, and it’s in tons of libraries.

⦁ I’ll be doing posts about the book, and anyone can leave comments! There won’t be official discussion questions to answer–we will only be listing the things we enjoyed in the book and chatting about that!

⦁ There’s no set schedule for reading: all you have to do is read the book whenever you want to during October and leave comments with your observations.

So if this sounds good to you, head over to my Patreon and sign up! I can’t wait to discuss this story. 🙂

Will you be joining the book club? Leave a comment!

With September (my favorite month of the year!) starting tomorrow, I thought it would be fun to list a few books that I think would make ideal September reads.

The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall
This delightful second book in the Penderwicks series takes place mostly in October, but it opens at the very end of September, which would make it a perfect read for the end of the month! (The Penderwick sisters’ plan to stop their widowed father from dating makes for a hilarious and heartfelt story.)

Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
Pretty much any of the Ramona books would be perfect for September with their back-to-school themes, but I think Ramona and Her Father is probably one of the best—it begins in September, when Ramona is already busily working on her Christmas list, until she learns her father has lost his job.

What Katy Did at School by Susan Coolidge
I’m going to be reading this story (one of my longtime favorites) in September—it’s such a fun book, featuring Katy and her sister Clover heading off to a strict boarding school for the first time.

Apple Bough by Noel Streatfeild
This lesser-known novel of Noel’s (often titled Traveling Shoes) has always struck me as just right for fall. It follows the Forum family as they travel from one country to the next so that second-eldest child Sebastian can pursue a career as a violinist—but all the siblings want is a home!

Around the Hearth by L.M. Montgomery
This recently-edited collection of short stories from L.M. Montgomery is absolutely lovely and has a wonderful autumnal feel–many of the stories are centered on home and family, as the title would suggest. My favorite story in this volume is Miss Curtis Comes!

What are you reading this September? Leave a comment below!

This year, I’ve undertaken a fun new reading challenge: reading a book set in each U.S. state. Of course, I am mostly reading my usual favorite, vintage middle grade! I hope to share the complete list of titles at the end of the year when I’ve finished the challenge.

I wanted to give a quick rundown of a few books in my state challenge that I really enjoyed recently.

Alaska: I had several books to choose from for Alaska, but I ended up going with Summer on the North Star by Elsa Pedersen. (This one was actually retitled when it was published again; the original title was Alaska Harvest, which is actually a bit more accurate since the majority of the book takes place in the fall.) I read this one in a single day (the fourth of July!) and enjoyed it a lot. The story follows a girl who lives with her father and brother on a boat while they try to harvest crabs in order to earn enough money to buy their own house.

Maine: I re-read The Penderwicks at Point Mouette for Maine. Again, I had many delightful books to chose from for Maine (one of my favorite states to read about), but I chose this third book in the Penderwicks series because I was in the mood for it. Although this book isn’t my favorite in the series (mostly because Rosalind barely makes an appearance), it’s still a charming story full of the wonderful humor that makes Jeanne Birdsall’s writing sing.

New Hampshire: Over the weekend I read Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick, the first book I’ve read from this author. (I know she is a Betsy-Tacy fan and I loved that there was a reference in this book to a ‘Hill Street’–maybe a subtle nod to Maud?) It’s a very fun story about a girl whose family moves to a small town, and she helps run the family bookstore–solving a mystery along the way.

Have you ever done a U.S. state reading challenge before? If so, I’d love to hear about it!

If you’re in search of a fun and simple summer reading challenge … look no further!

I have prepared a delightfully fun and simple Summer Book Bingo! All you have to do is choose a row of books to read by the end of summer. Enjoy!!

What books are you planning to read this summer? Leave a comment below!

I wanted to do something a little different in this post and give you a quick look into two weeks (more or less!) in my reading life. 🙂

Typically I read 8-10 books a month, but lately it has been a little less because I’ve had so much going on (launching my latest novel and working on other projects), but I have been enjoying some great reading and wanted to share a bit about it!

A little over two weeks ago, I finished reading Spring Begins in March by Jean Little. It is a perfect springtime read (as the title might suggest!), even though the title is really more metaphorical than literal. It’s the sequel to Mine for Keeps, Little’s first novel. I have talked about this book before in my Best Books of Spring post, but it’s worth talking about again because of the charming, realistic characters and the delightful resolution. The best part of the book is when Meg’s grandmother reads aloud Anne of Ingleside to her. This scene was taken from one of Little’s own experiences as a child, when she “read ahead” after her grandmother finished reading for the night because she had to find out what happened to Anne!

When I first read Spring Begins in March, this scene made me want to read Anne of Ingleside, which I never had before. (I had read Anne of Green Gables countless times, but had never gotten to some of the later volumes.) So I read it and loved it! In a journal entry from that time, I wrote: “I like the little vignettes, like individual episodes of a sitcom.” Readers have criticized the episodic nature of some Montgomery books, but much of the time those ‘episodes’ make the books special and unique.

So when I revisited Spring, it put me in the mood to revisit Ingleside. But there was a catch: I have been trying to read the Anne series in order for the first time EVER. I started last April with AOGG and have been (slowly!) continuing throughout the months, and I needed to read Anne’s House of Dreams in order to read Ingleside.

I decided to challenge myself to read AHOD in three days. I have always been a slow reader—I read tons of books but it typically takes me a week to read a long-ish book like the ones in the Anne series. And I love a good challenge! So I dived in and (sort of) binged AHOD. It was terrific fun! AHOD is (like other Montgomery books) essentially stitched together from various short stories that LMM wanted to revisit, but everything is seamless. In my opinion, this is perhaps the most well-crafted Anne book because there’s nothing really extraneous—everything matters, and the various subplots all work well together in harmony.

Here is a two-page spread in my scrapbook that I created while reading AHOD:

So then I went on to Ingleside, but at the moment I am only about halfway through because of two things: life became even busier, and I also received some books for my birthday (yay!) and I am starting on those. Anne of Ingleside is such a joy to read, especially the original portions that were never short stories, LOL! I just find this to be another absolutely wonderful springtime selection.

I also recently read Lizzie by May Justus, a chapter book from 1944 that was reprinted a few years ago. I’ve embarked on a different kind of reading challenge this year—I want to try reading a book set in each U.S. state! So Lizzie was my choice for Tennessee; it’s set in the mountains and is very sweet. Nothing much happens in it, but since it’s so short, that’s okay. 🙂

I just finished one of the books I received for my birthday, Lois Lenski’s Flood Friday. I had a hard time putting it down because I had to find out what happened to all the children! It was based on a real flood in Connecticut in the 1950s, and Lenski is (as usual) excellent with bringing details to life.

The next book I’m currently reading is The Adventure of the Seven Keyholes by Augusta Huiell Seaman. I love her books—she wrote vintage children’s mysteries in the early 20th century and this one, from 1925, is quite good so far.

So that’s basically two weeks in my reading life. What have you been reading lately? I’d love to hear about the last two weeks in your reading life!

I often see people looking for Christmas book recommendations, especially stories to share with children. In this post, I want to give a few suggestions of books that fit the following criteria:

1) Not very long (I tend to see readers looking for short books around Christmastime, and usually that’s what I want too!)

2) Vintage vibes (of course)

3) Easy enough to find

Let’s begin!

1. MOLLY’S SURPRISE (1986): My favorite of all the American Girl Christmas books is this third Molly book by Valerie Tripp. It’s so cozy, vintage, and yet with an emotional thread throughout. Best of all, it has a very happy ending! (I don’t like sad Christmas stories. 😉 )

2. TIN CAN SERENADE (2013) by Amanda Dykes: Look no further than this short story for a warm Christmas tale with wonderful cast of child and adult characters. It’s also completely free on Kindle!

3. NOEL STREATFEILD’S CHRISTMAS STORIES (2018): This is a wonderful collection of holiday stories from the beloved author of Ballet Shoes and so many other favorites. Several of them feature dancing and acting, which of course were Noel’s specialties.

4. THE TWENTY-FOUR DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1964) by Madeleine L’Engle is a book I discovered last Christmas and enjoyed so much! It’s the prequel (written later, I believe?) to Meet the Austins, which I also loved. A sweet story of a little girl who is uncertain about the birth of her younger sibling as Christmas approaches.

5. THE LIGHT AT TERN ROCK (1951) by Julia Sauer is a little-known Newbery novel that is atmospheric and thought-provoking, and set at a lighthouse. What could be better? 🙂

6. FROM ANNA (1972) by Jean Little: This moving story of a nine-year-old girl who is uprooted from Germany in the 1930s and forced to come to terms with her limited eyesight is one of the finest Christmas stories I’ve ever read.

A bonus: if you haven’t yet read the Melendy Quartet by Elizabeth Enright, there are magnificent Christmas chapters in The Four-Story Mistake and Spiderweb for Two! Take a look at these dazzling quotes from Four-Story:

Randy threw her arms around Cuffy’s neck. “Oh, I love Christmas Eve!” she cried. “Even better than Christmas I love it. Because everything’s just about to happen!”

and:

” … there was the lighted Christmas tree, come into its own at last: a shimmering mirage, a tree of Paradise, a pyramid of jewels.”

What books do you love to read as Christmas draws near? Let me know in the comments!

My friend Faith Elizabeth Hough (who blogs HERE) and I decided to create a fun reading challenge called Vintage Kidlit Summer. If you missed any of the details on how this challenge works, just go here and you can catch up! Basically, we’re doing 12 categories over 12 weeks, and each week has its own theme. All you have to do is choose a vintage/classic book that fits that week’s theme, read it, and share about it! You can write about it on your blog, or you can post your thoughts on Instagram (or Twitter) as well, by using the hashtag #vintagekidlitsummer. And if you’re in need of recommendations for each week’s theme, check out this blog post!

Our fourth week’s theme was Everyday Adventures, and for this theme I chose to read Katie Kittenheart by Miriam E. Mason. It’s from 1957, and my copy is a somewhat battered Scholastic paperback. (Really, is there anything much more fun than old Scholastic books? I have found so many wonderful stories in those editions.)

Katie Kittenheart is the story of 10-year-old Katie Kattenhart, who is often informed that her kindhearted nature ends up causing problems (such as when she wants to adopt a homeless kitten that the housekeeper most definitely does not want). But over the course of the book, Katie realizes that her tenderness is a blessing, and others in her life come to realize this too. I like the fact that Katie loves helping people, and that’s what she most wants to do when she grows up–she would like to be a teacher or a nurse. 

This book was contemporary to the 1950s and features a very endearing heroine, which was delightful. I hadn’t read this book since I was ten years old. It’s a very quiet and gentle story, which I appreciate—I just might have preferred (both then and now) a bit more happening in the plot. 🙂 

As far as “everyday adventures” go, this book fit the bill perfectly. Even when more unusual things happen to Katie (and they do!), they fit within the very ordinary framework of the setting.

I’d been hoping to re-read this for a while now, and I’m glad I did!

What did you read for the Vintage Kidlit Summer this week? Let me know in the comments!