LibraryAware CHAPTER BOOKS: Peculiar Reads for Precocious Kids

Here are our favorite peculiar stories for precocious children. These titles can all be found in the Juvenile section of the library, unless otherwise noted.

The Monster in the Lake
by Louie Stowell

In this entertaining sequel to The Dragon in the Library, Kit and her best friends, along with Faith the librarian, must discover who or what is using wild magic to wreak havoc at the park so they can set things right.

The Girl Who Speaks Bear
by Sophie Anderson

Longing to know who she really is after being discovered in a bear cave as a baby, 12-year-old Yanka begins a remarkable transformation that forces her to leave a loving foster home in search of a place where she truly belongs.

All the Colors of Magic
by Valija Zinck

Distinguished from her peers for her gray hair, rainy birthdays and ability to predict what her mother is going to say, young Penelope wakes up one day with sparkling red hair before learning that her long-absent father is actually a wizard.

The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day
by Christopher Edge

A 10-year-old science enthusiast awakens in another reality and must work with the laws of the universe while trusting in the love of her family in order to set things right.

Twist
by Sarah Cannon

Three gifted kids, including an aspiring horror writer, a fantasy illustrator and a girl who has a gift for managing trouble, accidentally create a doorway between one of their stories and the real world, unleashing violent, once-imaginary creatures on their town.

The Mysterious Benedict Society
by Trenton Lee Stewart

As the only four children to pass the series of tests provided, Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance are asked to go on a secret mission as undercover agents at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened and quickly realize they will have to use their collective wit to get their important task complete.

Savvy
by Ingrid Law

Recounts the adventures of Mibs Beaumont, whose thirteenth birthday has revealed her "savvy"--a magical power unique to each member of her family--just as her father is injured in a terrible accident.

Worse Than Weird
by Jody J. Little

Hoping to win enough money for summer coding camp, seventh grader, Mac embarks on a citywide food cart scavenger hunt before discovering how her weird parents may not be the worst thing compared to the circumstances of those around her.

Secret Coders
by Gene Luen Yang

Attending an elite school where enterprising students are challenged to solve a variety of clues and puzzles using computer programming, Hopper and her friend, Eni, resolve to crack the school founder's most elusive mystery together.

The Unadoptables
by Hana Tooke

Spending all their young lives at the Little Tulip orphanage, five clever kids plot a daring escape from a conscripting sea captain before the search for one orphan’s mysterious origins leads them through back roads, alleys and canals to an old windmill housing an abandoned puppet theater.

The Smartest Kid in the Universe
by Chris Grabenstein

A series debut by the best-selling author of Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library finds 12-year-old Jake rendered a child genius by the accidental ingestion of experimental information pills, before using his newfound smarts to save his middle school from being shut down.

Show Me a Sign
by Ann Clare LeZotte

The Deaf librarian and author of T4 draws on the true history of a thriving 19th-century Deaf community on Martha’s Vineyard in the story of a girl whose proud lineage is threatened by land disputes with the Wampanoag and a ruthlessly ambitious scientist.

Field Trip
by Molly Brooks

Separated from their schoolmates during a field trip to another planet, Sanity and Tallulah find themselves stranded with nothing but the wreckage of a crashed shuttle and the contents of Tallulah’s overloaded backpack to help them get home safely.

Winterhouse
by Ben Guterson

Elizabeth, eleven, spends Christmas break at Winterhouse Hotel under strange circumstances, where she discovers that she has magic, and her love of puzzles helps her solve a mystery.

Crenshaw
by Katherine Applegate

Fearing his family will have to move into their minivan when they suffer another financial setback, Jackson finds support and comfort through his friendship with a giant imaginary cat.

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
by Karina Yan Glaser

Told that they will have to move out of their Harlem brownstone just after Christmas, the five Vanderbeeker children, ages four to twelve, decide to change their reclusive landlord's mind.

Fortunately, the Milk
by Neil Gaiman

When a father runs out to buy milk for his children's breakfast cereal, the last thing he expects is to be abducted by aliens, and he soon finds himself transported through time and space on an extraordinary adventure, where the fate of the universe depends on him and the milk--but will his children believe his wild story?

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
by Robert C. O'Brien

Having no one to help her with her problems, a widowed mouse visits the rats whose former imprisonment in a laboratory made them wise and long lived.

The Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster

Milo travels to The Lands Beyond when he drives his small electric car through a mysterious, miniature tollbooth gate.

Wonderstruck: A Novel in Words and Pictures
by Brian Selznick

Having lost his mother and his hearing in a short time, twelve-year-old Ben leaves his Minnesota home in 1977 to seek the father he never knew in New York City but instead meets Rose, someone who is also longing for a piece that's missing from her life. Ben's story is told in words; Rose's in pictures.