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For Your Reading Pleasure
- Clover
- 15 hours ago
- 3 min read
Reading is a cool choice for hot July days when temperatures soar, and the pool has lost its lure. If you’re waterlogged, heed Clover’s advice, head for your local library where stillness envelops like a hug and books beckon with whispers that float through the stacks.
For Your Reading Pleasure, Clover has scoured the kingdom for stories certain to appeal, books that earn your reading bee’s hearty stamp of approval. Check one out—
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
Serene scenes and poetic language make “The Outermost Mouse” an aha book certain to draw sighs of pleasure. This beauty, by Lauren Wolk, is perfectly paired with soft illustrations depicting beach life by Kristen Adam.
“The Outermost Mouse was in love with her life,” the story begins—a sweet little mouse standing on the shore, the very picture of contentment. The mouse wants for nothing, has “more blue than any mouse could want … and the beach as warm and soft as her mother.”
Yet one problem exists. “The ocean is coming too close.” The gulls notice, as do the fish and the foxes, but no one has a solution to the rising waters. The mouse is distraught and tries to construct a barrier of sea shells, sea glass, seaweed and driftwood, but the items are returned to the sea with one big wave.
When a storm comes, the little mouse alerts the man in the beach house, asks him to do something—and he does. He kisses the cottage goodbye and heads down the beach, leaving the mouse inside to face the onslaught of wind and waves that leads to a seafaring adventure she never could have imagined.
This lovely story is even more meaningful because it was inspired by a true tale the author includes at the end of the book.
Middle Read
Sometimes personal goals have to be waylaid. So it was for Earl Shaffer, the first person to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail in 1948. He’d planned on tackling the trail with his buddy, but after both men served in World War II, that dream stalled. His best friend, who he’d been going to hike the trail with, lost his life in the war and Earl “grew confused and depressed.”
Earl needed his center back and thought experiencing nature’s balm would be beneficial. His inspirational story is the subject of “The Long Hike,” by Meghan McCarthy, a Book Buddy favorite author.
What is a thru-hike you may be asking. It’s hiking a long-distance trail, from start to finish, in one season—Earl did just that, spending months accomplishing his dream. Young readers will feel like they’re accompanying Earl on his seemingly impossible venture, from Georgia to Maine, learn about the supplies he packed, and experiences and headships he endured.
The appeal of a non-fiction book is creating a story that entertains and educates—McCarthy is a master at writing about real people and their feats, her characters always drawn in caricatures featuring big, googly eyes. “The Long Hike” is another win for an accomplished author/illustrator.
Oldest Read
What’s better than a new fantasy series by a favorite author? Erin Hunter’s series “The Warriors” was a huge hit. She now launches “Renegades” with Book One: “The Magic Awakens.”
This exciting newbie captivates, the story of two sister cats with otherworldly powers whose bond is threatened by self-serving humans void of care and compassion.
In a world where anima is present in the air and animals are able to harness its power to speak, disappear and perform other feats, Willow and Luna, sister cats find themselves facing disaster when the diner they call home catches fire. It had been their refuge since their mother died, supposedly at the hands of their owner. Suddenly the strays are cast about with nowhere to live.
In their search for food, the pair comes upon a rat that would make a good meal. To their amazement, the rat turns and speaks. It is one of a number of attuned animals with special powers in the coven of the Wild Alliance. Soon Luna learns she’s attuned too, is able to create fire and cast it at will.
“The Renegades” is fantasy at its best, plenty of excitement, magic and a cast of creative animal characters. Especially endearing is the close relationship shared by Willow and Luna, a sisterhood that grows strained when the felines are separated because of a spat. Readers will have to wait for Book Two to see how things work out.
Written by Chris Stuckenschneider.
Copyright 2026, Community Literacy Foundation.