Book, Readers, and Beyond: #52 What to Read

I've used many of these resources before to assist others in finding materials, so it was interesting to try it for myself!

1. I did a read-a-likes search for John Green's Looking for Alaska in NoveList, What Should I Read Next, & Fiction Booklists from Morton Grove Public Library. I was not surprised that it was difficult to find a read-a-like for this specific title through the MGPL's lists, mostly because there were very few teen-related booklists (and some of them weren't even geared toward teen readers - i.e., Teen Fiction for Older Adults). I think the closest I could find was an 'edgy fiction for teens' list. However, I was pleasantly surprised that NoveList had suggested other teen fiction books that I enjoyed tremendously (and a few others I haven't read but will have to check out)! What Should I Read Next provided me with a completely different list of titles, a few of which I had read and enjoyed and several others I have been meaning to read (but, alas, have never had the time...at least not yet)!

2. Using NoveList, I identified for the 4th grade girl (using a guess-timate from the lexile ratings) Dinorella by Pamela Duncan Edwards and Edward in the Jungle by David McPhail. For her older brother I also found two titles through NoveList:Kit's Wilderness by David Almond and The Afterlife by Gary Soto. Although, really, for both of these kiddos I would need a little more information - what kind of animals, what did you read lately that you liked, how scary do you like them, etc.

3. For the reader who has read everything by Dean Koontz, I would recommend authors Greg Bear (from NoveList), John Saul (also from NoveList) and F. Paul Wilson (from What Should I Read Next?).

4. Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness quartet has the following series order
1. Allana: The First Adventure
2. In the Hand of the Goddess
3. The Woman Who Rides Like a Man
4. Lioness Rampant
I identified the series order through Kent District Library's "What's Next?"