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Anything is Possible
- Clover
- 11 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Clover knows that “Anything is Possible,” a mantra your bee buddy follows with energy and enthusiasm.
In this month’s Picks, young readers meet animals and humans who take heart and follow Clover’s lead. These spunky characters aren’t bound by fear, what others think or a lack of self-confidence.
Meet a cow with curiosity, a book-loving magician and a couple of kids determined to crack a kidnapping case.
Page on, enjoy!
The Community Literacy Foundation, in partnership with Neighborhood Reads, and with support from its sponsors, provides these books at no cost to 34 schools in Washington, Union, Pacific, St. Clair and surrounding communities and to the Washington Public Library. Learn more at CommunityLiteracyFoundation.org.
Youngest Read
“The Cow In the Dark at Night,” by Jess Hannigan, is a zany book with illustrations to match about a quizzical Holstein on a mission.
Cow takes a big chance leaving the coziness of the barn but “has always wondered what goes on out there when the sun goes down.”
Tonight, the Cow will find out. Though Cat has other ideas and tries to squelch Cow’s plan, Cow is determined, so Cat joins up with its four-footed spotted friend and heads straight for the pitch black.
Mysterious beings immediately appear, a scarecrow, a couple of thieves, a vampire and visitor from outer space, but Cow, as innocent as the day is long, knows no fear.
It’s full speed ahead for trusting Cow, even when Cow and Cat are taken for an other-worldly ride in the company of “night people” who honor Cow, elevating the bovine to queenly stature, as Cat looks on.
A surprise ending caps off a book certain to draw smiles and “read it again” please.
Middle Read
Harry Houdini had no idea that luck and hard work would transform him into the world’s greatest magician. Read about his escapades and adventures in “Houdini’s Library,” by Barb Rosenstock.
Born in Hungary, Houdini’s family struggled economically but they were rich in books his father owned.
When times became particularly rough in their native country of Hungary, the immigrant family struck out for America, like so many in the same boat determined to make their dreams come true.
Their endeavor was far from easy. They struggled. Searching for comfort, the family found it in the collection of books that Houdini’s father brought along to the new country. “Nothing was more precious than Father’s books.”
Bold, emotional illustrations by Mar Delma, enable young readers to follow the budding magician’s journey to greatness by depicting a variety of his thrilling feats.
Throughout his life, with its challenges and changes, the greatest tool in the magician’s bag remained his love of reading—a constant source of pleasure that knew no bounds.
Oldest Read
Two kids, with different interests and backgrounds pool their talents to solve a mystery in “Sneaks,” an edge-of-your seat read by Amy Tern.
Both Valory and Rook struggle with personal issues but they learn from one another and make changes that improve their lives.
While helping her mother clean wealthy Mrs. Sagara’s house, Valory confiscates an antique gold coin that tempts the plucky girl who has so much trouble trying to be good. In a flash she’s pocketed it, only to get busted.
Anxious to escape Mrs. Sagara anger, Valory heads to the house’s balcony, where Rook, Mrs. Sagara’s son, is sprawled on the floor. He’s escaped to the balcony so his mother won’t badger him about practicing the piano pieces he’s preparing for a recital, an event that’s forcing his anxiety into overdrive.
Valory and Rook’s friendship begins when Rook offers to take the coin from Valory and tell his mother he took it—a mistruth that paves the way for the big job they have ahead. They are trying to learn the source of the mysterious piano music they hear on the balcony, that seems to be coming from a nearby apartment house that Mrs. Sagara owns.
Hearing the song that is played daily is the first clue in a conundrum that involves a scary woman, a headless doll and a missing child that Valory and Rook believe is being kept in the apartment house against her will.
“Sneaks” is told in alternating chapters narrated by Valory and Rook, offering readers the opportunity to get to know the issues they struggle with as they attempt to rescue a little girl in a clever book that keeps readers guessing.
Written by Chris Stuckenschneider.
Copyright 2026, Community Literacy Foundation.
