Neil Gaiman’s perennial favorite, The Graveyard Book, has sold more than one million copies and is the only novel to win both the Newbery Medal and the Carnegie Medal. This middle grade novel is an excellent choice for tween readers in grades 5 to 6, especially during homeschooling. It’s a fun way to keep your child entertained and engaged while not in the classroom.

Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place—he’s the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians’ time as well as their ghostly teachings—such as the ability to Fade so mere mortals cannot see him.

Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead?

The Graveyard Book is the winner of the Newbery Medal, the Carnegie Medal, the Hugo Award for best novel, the Locus Award for Young Adult novel, the American Bookseller Association’s “Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book,” a Horn Book Honor, and Audio Book of the Year.

Looking for a hilarious children’s chapter book for your independent reader? How about a read aloud bedtime story with short chapters and a few illustrations for your young reader? What if you finally discovered a series that didn’t rely on fart jokes or poor language but still entertained? If you’re still reading, Max E. James was written for you.

Max E. James can hardly wait for a fun-filled day at the beach with his big brother Cody. The boys will build sand castles, trap crabs, and maybe even bodyboard. But wait—what about that time last summer when Max was bodyboarding, and got totally body-slammed?! Does he even want to chance another face-crushing, sand-in-his-teeth disaster, just for riding a wave?