Our last Five Books Featuring featured two sets of siblings from the Boston area–the March sisters and the Penderwick sisters. So going from there, here are five more books featuring Boston…just in time for tourist season. If you’re going to be poking around on the Freedom Trail, or dashing into Zoo New England or even visiting Faneuil Hall, you might want to read one of these books first to get your bearings!
Our Five Books Featuring are five related Books–One Old, One New, One Popular with Kids, One Well-Reviewed, and One Favorite of library staff–but you’ll have to guess which is which! Each book has a short synopsis and link to the book in the catalog, so you can easily find and request it.
Read on!
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13 Hangmen by Art Corriveau
Being 13 is strange enough, but Tony DiMarco is extra baffled when his great-uncle Angelo, whom he hardly knows, mails him legendary Red Sox player Ted Williams’s original baseball cap on his 13th birthday, then promptly dies and bequeaths him an entire town house in Boston’s North End. And that’s just the beginning!
Some people won’t believe any of this story. You might be one of them.
Tony makes new friends as soon as he moves into the house; five 13-year-old boys, all of whom are living in the same house in the same attic bedroom– but at different times in history. None are ghosts, all are flesh and blood, and somehow all have come together in the attic room, visible only to one another. And all are somehow linked to a murder, a mystery, and a treasure…
How I, Nicky Flynn, Finally Get a Life (And a Dog!) by Art Corriveau
Nicky Flynn’s life just got a whole lot harder. His parents are going through a messy divorce, and as a result he’s starting a new life. Suddenly he and his mom are in a tiny apartment in the North End of Boston, and he’s starting a new school. Now his mom has brought home Reggie, an eighty-pound German shepherd fresh from the animal shelter, who used to be a seeing-eye dog. At first Nick isn’t sure about this canine intrusion–it’s just another in a series of difficult changes. Soon, however, Nick is on the path to solving a mystery–why would a seeing-eye dog be left at an animal shelter? He follows Reggie along the Freedom Trail to his old master’s haunts, and along the way discovers that Reggie is a true friend he can rely on. But when he tries to reconnect with his dad, Nick puts everything on the line, including the life of his new best friend.
The Last Gargoyle by Paul Dunham
Penhallow is the last of his kind. The stone gargoyle–he’d prefer you call him a grotesque–fearlessly protects his Boston building from the spirits who haunt the night. But even he is outmatched when Hetty, his newest ward, nearly falls victim to the Boneless King, the ruler of the underworld.
Then there’s Viola, the mysterious girl who keeps turning up at the most unlikely times. In a world where nightmares come to life, Viola could be just the ally Penhallow needs. But can he trust her when every shadow hides another secret? Can he afford not to?
The Time Garden by Edward Eager
Cousins Roger, Ann, Jack and Eliza are excited to spend their summer vacation together…until they learn they’re not going to England with their parents, but instead being sent to a country estate near Boston. But once they’re at the estate, their disappointment wears off when they discover a magical thyme garden and a talking Natterjack, which grants them all their time-traveling wishes…almost. From midnight rides with Paul Revere to meeting the March sisters to visiting the court of Queen Elizabeth I, there are no limits to their fun this summer!
Of course, if you enjoy visiting The Time Garden, you might have to read the other books Edward Eager wrote about these cousins who travel in time, as well as their parents, who started the trend!
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
Fourteen-year-old Johnny Tremain, an apprentice silversmith with a bright future ahead of him, injures his hand in a tragic accident, forcing him to look for other work. In his new job as a horse-boy, riding for the patriotic newspaper,The Boston Observer, and as a messenger for the Sons of Liberty, he encounters John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Dr. Joseph Warren. Soon Johnny is involved in the pivotal events shaping the American Revolution from the Boston Tea Party to the first shots fired at Lexington. To read this riveting novel is to live through the defining events leading up to the American Revolutionary War.
Uh-oh…5 already? It’s our state! How about we double that number..?
Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look
Alvin, who loves superheroes and comes from a long line of brave Chinese farmer-warriors, wants to make friends, but first he must overcome his fears. But Alvin is afraid of everything–elevators, tunnels, girls, and, most of all? School. He’s so afraid of school that, while he’ s there, he never, ever, says a word. But at home he’s a very loud superhero named Firecracker Man, a brother to Calvin and Anibelly, and a gentleman-in-training, so he can be just like his dad. Whether they are fearful or brave, kids will smile at Alvin’s scrapes and empathize with his concerns.
Anastasia Krupnik by Lois Lowry
To Anastasia Krupnik, being ten is very confusing. For one thing, she has this awful teacher who can’t understand why Anastasia doesn’t capitalize or punctuate her poems. Then, there’s Washburn Cummings, a very interesting sixth-grade boy who doesn’t even know she is alive. Even her parents have become difficult. They insist she visit her 92-year-old grandmother who can never remember Anastasia’s name. On top of that, they’re going to have a baby — at their age! It’s enough to make a kid want to do something terrible. Anastasia knows that if she didn’t have her secret green notebook to write in, she would never make it to her eleventh birthday.
Once you’ve read all of Anastasia’s adventures, you can try All About Sam, the first book of her brother Sam’s adventures. (Psst…make sure you check out the dedication!)
Taking Care of Terrific by Lois Lowry
Fourteen year old Enid takes a job for the summer babysitting. Her charge is four-year-old Joshua Warwick Cameron IV. Babysitting seems like an ordinary thing to do, but Enid definitely sets her sights on having a more-than-ordinary summer. She decides to spend the summer meeting new people and maybe becoming a new person herself. The perfect place to do that? The Boston Public Garden.
Enid and Joshua change their names (to Cynthia and Tom Terrific) and start making new friends with unexpected people. But soon things don’t go as planned, and Cynthia–Enid–is in the middle of a mess. Will her new friends come to her aid?
Black Moon Rising by D. J. MacHale
Marcus is an agent of the Library–a place filled with tales that don’t have an ending. Mysteries that won’t be solved until Marcus and his friends Theo and Lu step in to finish them. Before it’s too late…
Because mysterious accidents are disturbing a middle school in Massachusetts. Windows shatter for no reason. Bleachers collapse at a pep rally. Most of the students think they’re just having a string of bad luck, but Marcus suspects something a lot more dangerous. Something like witchcraft. When the black moon rises, this story must come to an end . . . one way or another.
This is the second book in MacHale’s The Library series, so you may have to read The Curse of the Boggin, book one, first.
Colonial Madness by Jo Whittemore
Tori Porter is best friends with her mom, and most of the time it’s awesome. Not many girls have a mom who’d take them to a graveyard for hide-and-seek or fill the bathtub with ice cream for the world’s biggest sundae. But as much as Tori loves having fun, she sometimes wishes her mom would act a little more her age.
Thanks to her mom’s poor financial planning, they are in danger of losing their business and their home. But an unusual opportunity arises in the form of a bizarre type of contest put on by an eccentric relative: Whoever can survive two weeks in the Archibald Family’s colonial manor will inherit the property. The catch? Contestants have to live as in colonial times: no modern conveniences, no outside help, and daily tests of their abilities to survive challenges of the time period.
Tori thinks it’s the perfect answer to their debt problems, but she and her mom aren’t the only ones interested. The other family members seem to be much more prepared for the two weeks on the manor–and it doesn’t help that Mom doesn’t seem to be taking the contest seriously. Do they stand a chance?
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There you have it! Five…er, ten…books set in and around Boston. That’s not even going into some other favorite series, like Judy Moody, Magnus Chase, Clementine and Stink! Give one or two a read, and see if you recognize where you are. Then let us know what you think!
As always, if you need help finding these or any other books in the Library, please ask one of our Librarians for help. We always love to match kids and books!
Happy Reading!
::Kelly::
The audio for The Great Treehouse War is produced as a full cast recording. As the story begins, Winnie narrates the action, each of the characters–kids and adults– have a different actor narrating their part of the story. This works very well for this book because much of the print story is told through letters, books, Declarations, comic strips, clippings, calendars, homework, school reports and notes. I actually love full cast audio recordings–narrations from a single, great reader are absolutely wonderful, but occasionally having voice acting from a cast of several people is just amazing. Since there were different voices, the story felt like it went faster, and listeners know exactly who speaking at any time. The voices are wonderful, as is the acting.
The audio recording for Beyond the Bright Sea is absolutely marvelous. Jorjeana Marie is suburb; her narration of Lauren Wolk’s gorgeous prose perfectly suits the story and the characters. You’ll feel like you’re right there beside Crow as she explores the world around her. I can’t say enough about how beautiful both the story and the narration of that story are. It’s a perfect package.
The audio recording for The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street is perfect! The narrator, Robin Miles, has a wonderful voice for both children and adults. She does a great job creating the voices of people of many different ages from a variety of cultures with accents and cadence. And each of the Vanderbeeker children sounds different as well, which isn’t always easy to do.
The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall
The Rules for Stealing Stars by Corey Ann Haydu
The Time of the Ghost by Diana Wynne Jones
The Exiles by Hilary McKay
Flutter: The Story of Four Sisters and an Incredible Journey by Erin Moulton
All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
Callum Hunt knows that he’s one of the “weird kids” at school. He doesn’t know why, but part of it might be that he’s angry all the time…and the other kids know it. He’s angry that his father is different from other fathers, angry that he can’t play sports normally because one of his legs is shorter than the other, angry that he doesn’t have a mother. But mostly, he’s angry because all kinds of things seem to go wrong around him. Call’s father has told him that it’s because of the magic he’s inherited. But even though magic sounds cool, and like something that would be fun, Call’s father has forbidden him to even think about it. Because magic is evil, it’s twisted, and it killed his mother.
The audio for The Iron Trial was very well done. I loved Paul Boehmer’s vocals; he did a great job making all the characters sound different. From the low and deep voice of Master Rufus to the sinister hissing of the lizard fire elemental to the voices of Call and his friends, everyone sounds very different. His pacing was excellent. The language is fun, the cast is diverse, and the plot twists around and around through both volumes of the series that I listened to.
Gardiner, John. 
