Baby Books & Picture Books Up to Age 5
A is for Awesome: 23 Iconic Women Who Changed the World
By Eva Chen & Derek Desierto
This colorful alphabet book is a pictorial introduction to amazing women across all walks of life.
Bear Came Along
By Richard Morris
This is a wonderfully illustrated book about forest animals - Bears, Raccoons, Duck, Frogs - and how they take an adventurous river ride. Watch out! Waterfall ahead…. Great book to read aloud!
The Big Umbrella
By Amy June Bates & Juniper Bates
A small, very special umbrella keeps everyone - I mean everyone -- out of the rain. How does it do this?
COPC Pediatrician Recommendation
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
By Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
This simple, classic rhyming book features animals of all colors in beautiful illustration.
Books for Ages 5-8
Dragons in a Bag
By Zetta Elliott
In this fantasy book, Jaxon takes an adventure with a new acquaintance - his grandmother, “Ma”. Ma has also just become the guardian of three dragons! How does she help Jaxon and the dragons navigate and survive in Brooklyn?
Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective (Series)
By Donald Sobol
This classic series features the 10 year-old boy detective, Encyclopedia Brown, who gets paid to crack the cases that no one else can solve!
Fly Guy (Series)
By Tedd Arnold
Buzz, and his pet, Fly Guy, share a wonderful friendship, with just the right amount of sweetness and icky-ness that young kids like! Great for storytime or for early readers.
COPC Pediatrician Recommendation
Ballerino Nate
By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
After Nate attends his first ballet performance with his class of Kindergarten puppies, he decides he wants to learn more. Who says boy dogs can’t dance!
Books for Ages 8-12
Bobby the Brave
By Lisa Yee
If your father is a popular former NFL star, how do you measure up to him? Watch 9 year-old Bobby as he figures out how to gain his own self-respect and that of his father.
Blended
By Sharon Draper
Recommended for ages 10+Bi-racial 11 year-old Isabella is literally “caught between black and white” as her parents complete their divorce. Follow how she navigates family and friends during this pivotal time in her life.
Calvin Coconut (Series)
By Graham Salisbury
Life is good in Hawaii, that is, until Calvin learns a teenage GIRL family member will be moving into his family’s home — and he has to give her his room! This story shows how he and his family adjust and deal with everyday school challenges.
COPC Pediatrician Recommendation
The Chocolate Touch
By Patrick Skene Catling
Everything John Midas’ lips touch turn into …chocolate! Can he ever have too much of a good thing?!
Books for Middle-Schoolers & Tweens
As Brave As You
By Jason Reynolds
Life without internet and cell phones - can you imagine?!? Brothers Genie and Ernie discover how to both forgive and rely on family as they spend the summer with their Grandparents’ home in rural Virginia.
Black Brother, Black Brother
By Jewell Parker Rhodes
Biracial brothers Donte and Trey have very different experiences at their elite prep school. Donte, in particular, takes up fencing to beat the local bully, Alan, at his own game. Follow this coming-of-age story as the boys figure out themselves and how to navigate society in general.
Watership Down
By Richard Adams
From Common Sense Media: “A band of young males, relegated to the fringes of society, set out to find a place where they can live free and proud. Never mind that the characters in this long and complex but thrilling epic are rabbits -- Beatrix Potter, this isn't. Charismatic characters, nail-biting action, and an engrossing plot combine to produce a classic. “
COPC Pediatrician Recommendation
Brown Girl Dreaming
By Jacqueline Woodson
Free-style poetry mixed with memoirs of growing up in the 1970’s mixed with a teenager’s notes of living in the North and the South. A National Book Award winner!
Young Adult Books for High-school Aged Kids
American Panda
By Gloria Chao
Who can EVER please their parents? Especially for dutiful Mei, torn between 2 cultures, and now off to college -- most of all she just wants to find her OWN path!
Children of Blood and Bone
By Tomi Adeyemi
Loosely based on African mythology this action-packed fantasy thriller follows a group of powerful women as they work to save magic and keep it in their country.
Clap When You Land
By Elizabeth Acevedo
Only after her father’s untimely death does Yahira learn that she has a sister. What other secrets had her father been keeping? How does she navigate life without her father, her hero?
COPC Pediatrician Recommendation
Fahrenheit 451
Ray Bradbury
Per the book’s tagline: “Fahrenheit 451 - the temperature at which paper catches fire and burns...” This classic dystopian story of a world without books takes on new meaning with each generation. A must read!