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It always happens: I start planning out seasonal TBR lists far too early. I start thinking of summer books when it’s still snowing, and I find myself planning cozy fall reads on hot July days. To me, there is something delicious about looking forward to what books will be just perfect for another time of year.

As Anne Shirley would say, “When I think something nice is going to happen I seem to fly right up on the wings of anticipation.” To me, anticipation itself is one of the nicest things of all!

And so, even though it was just snowing a couple of days ago, I’m daydreaming of summer days, sitting on the porch reading …

• I love summer adventure books, so I’ll probably pick an Enid Blyton to read.

• Which reminds me, I’d love to get a copy of The House in Cornwall by Noel Streatfeild; it was reprinted last year but only in the UK, so it’s not the easiest to find. Hopefully I can find it!

• I’d like to get a Catherine Woolley book, either another in the Ginnie series I’ve been loving lately or something else, if I can track one down. (These are largely out of print.)

• After reading Marjorie’s Vacation by Carolyn Wells at Christmas, I now want to find some of other Marjorie books I haven’t read.

• I read a book of Faith Andrews Bedford’s essays last summer, which was marvelous, so I’d like to read another.

• And I want to read the third book in Heather Vogel Frederick’s Pumpkin Falls mystery series, because it’s set during summer (luckily, I received a copy for my birthday)!

• Oh, and there have to be other mysteries, because summer is perfect for vintage mysteries, so I’ll probably reread a Nancy Drew or two.

• (Pictured in this post is Astrid Lindgren’s Seacrow Island, which is a perfect summer book, and I may just have to reread it too. Ooh, and Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. Montgomery!)

Do you love seasonal TBR planning? I would love to hear what books you’re hoping to read this summer!

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!

Three years ago, I invited my blog readers on a Summer of Vintage Kidlit, during which we read a bunch of delicious vintage titles over the course of summer.

Guess what? It’s back!

I teamed up with my friend Faith Elizabeth Hough (who blogs HERE) to create a fun reading challenge called Vintage Kidlit Summer, and it’s *going to be amazing.*

Here’s how it’s going to work:

We will have 12 categories over 12 weeks, so 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 as well, by using the hashtag #vintagekidlitsummer.

Throughout the summer, we’ll also be hosting giveaways for participants, so you won’t want to miss it!

It’s going to take place from May 27 to August 12. Here’s the full schedule:

I’m already so excited about it, and starting to plan out what I’m going to read. I’m planning to write about each title on my blog, so stay tuned!

And if you are in need of recommendations for each week, we have those too! 

(And if you’re wondering what counts as vintage, I think anything pre-1980 counts!)

Please leave a comment if you hope to join in on the Vintage Kidlit Summer!

I can’t quite remember when I first read Happy Little Family by Rebecca Caudill, but what I do know is that I was fairly young and definitely enchanted with the story, which is set on an idyllic farm in Kentucky. Who couldn’t help but love the story of four-year-old Bonnie Fairchild, who just wants to be a little more grown-up, like her big sisters? As the youngest child in my family, I identified with Bonnie’s longing to be older. I suspect the theme is universal, because these stories have remained popular with readers for a long time (the first book was published in 1947).

And yes, this is just the first book in the series! It’s my personal favorite, but the other three tales are also delightful. My second favorite is Schoolroom in the Parlor, in which the Fairchild children are taught at home (in the parlor!) by their oldest sister during one unforgettable winter. The other two volumes in the series are Schoolhouse in the Woods and Up and Down the River. I believe all four stories are currently in print, which makes collecting them a lot easier!

Happy Little Family doesn’t have a major plot. It doesn’t really have much of a plot at all, except for the overarching theme of Bonnie’s wish to be a little older and just a bit more important. Each chapter is its own miniature story, which is the style of lots of children’s classics, a style I love.

These books are also wonderful on audio—I have listened to two of the stories on Audible; they’re narrated by Mary Sarah Agliotta. And if they sound familiar to you, it may be because I read Happy Little Family as part of my Summer of Vintage Kid Lit back in 2019. (Which, by the way, was pretty fun … should I do another one this summer?)

Here’s what I said about the book back then:

This week, we’re reading Rebecca Caudill’s “Happy Little Family,” the charming story of four-year-old Bonnie, who is the youngest of five siblings and longs to have the adventures and advantages her older brother and sisters do. I’m not sure if it ever says when the story is supposed to take place, but I’m fairly sure it’s supposed to be the early 1900s or a bit earlier.

Have you read any of the Fairchild family stories? If so, do leave a comment below! I’d love to chat about them with you. 🙂