Suggested Reading for Grade 3
Short List
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Angleberger, Tom Inspector Flytrap
Inspector Flytrap in the Da Vinci Cold introduces kids to the humorous and wacky world of Inspector Flytrap's Detective Agency, home to the world-renowned solver of BIG DEAL mysteries. The plant detective works tirelessly with his assistant Nina the Goat on his community's unsolved cases. There's no case too big, but there are definitely cases too small for this endearingly self-important plant detective.
Birney, Betty Friendship According to Humphrey
When Humphrey the hamster returns to Mrs. Brisbane's class after the winter break, a new class pet and some other surprises give him an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of friendship.
Brown, Peter The Wild Robot
Roz the robot discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island with no memory of where she is from or why she is there, and her only hope of survival is to try to learn about her new environment from the island's hostile inhabitants.
Chokshi, Roshhani Aru Shah and the End of Time
Seventh grader Aru should never have lit the ancient lamp. When she put the lighter to the wick, the world froze and she released the awful Sleeper. Aru is suddenly launched into the world of the gods and surrounded by mythical characters come to life.
Citro, Asia Zoey and Sassafras
With magical animals, science, mystery, and adventure -- the brand new series Zoey and Sassafras has something for everyone! Easy-to-read language and illustrations on nearly every page make this series perfect for a wide range of ages.
DiCamillo, Kate Stella Endicott & the Anything is Possible Poem
Stella crafts a beautiful poem about Mercy Watson, the pig who lives next door -- a poem complete with a metaphor and full of curiosity and courage. But Horace Broom, Stella's irritating classmate, insists that Stella's poem is full of lies and that pigs do not live in houses.
Gidwitz, Adam The Creature of the Pines
Elliot Eisner isn't exactly excited about starting at a brand-new school in a brand-new town; he'd much rather stay at home and read a book. But things take an unexpected turn when he finds out his weird new teacher, Professor Fauna, has planned a field trip for Elliot's very first day. Along with a new friend-brave, outspoken Uchenna Devereaux-Elliot gets caught up in a secret group of adventurers, The Unicorn Rescue Society, whose goal is to protect and defend the world's mythical creatures.
Harper, Charise Just Grace
Grace loves cats. She also loves taking pictures of cats and drawing Not-So Super comics. She doesn’t like Sammy Stringer, a boy in her class. She’s got lots and lots of ideas, and when her neighbor’s cat goes missing, Grace does her best to make Mrs. Luther feel less lonely. But as the mystery of the missing cat continues, Grace’s well-intentioned plan backfires, and she finds herself in a bit of trouble. Maybe, just maybe, Sammy Stringer will help her through.
Lyons, Kelly Going Down Home with Daddy
In a lushly illustrated tribute to family history, an African-American boy and his family take their annual trip to his great-grandmother's farm for a reunion. The pivotal event is a family celebration during which each individual shares something special--but what extraordinary can Alan contribute?
Mass, Wendy Bob
Visiting her grandmother in Australia, Livy, ten, is reminded of the promise she made five years before to Bob, a strange, green creature who cannot recall who or what he is.
Pennypacker, Sara Clementine
While sorting through difficulties in her friendship with her neighbor Margaret, eight-year-old Clementine gains several unique hairstyles while also helping her father in his efforts to banish pigeons from the front of their apartment building.
Quinn, Jordan The Kingdom of Wrenly
Eight-year-old Lucas, Prince of Wrenly, is eager to explore and Clara, daughter of the queen's seamstress, knows the kingdom well, so they team up to find a lost jewel and visit all of the land's main attractions as they search.
West, Tracey Dragon Masters: Call of the Sound Dragon
Drake needs to stop a dangerous wizard battle in this action-packed, bestselling series! Magic from a wizards' battle is destroying the city of Remus! To stop this dangerous duel, Drake and Petra team up with a Dragon Master named Tessa.
Graphic
Applegate, K. Doggo and Pupper
Doggo is used to things being a certain way in his family. He likes routine. Cat says he's become boring. That is, until Pupper shows up! Pupper is playful and messy, and turns the house upside down. Soon, the humans realize that Pupper needs some training, and off he goes to puppy school. When Pupper comes back, he's well-behaved. He's not playful. He's not messy. But Doggo soon realizes that Pupper also isn't happy. So Doggo steps in to help, and rediscovers what it means to have fun.
Winick, Judd Hilo: the Boy Who Crashed to Earth
When a mysterious boy falls from the sky, friends D.J. and Gina must discover the secrets of his identity and help him save the world.
Hatke, Ben Zita the Spacegirl; Far from Home
Zita's life took a cosmic left turn in the blink of an eye. When her best friend is abducted by an alien doomsday cult, Zita leaps to the rescue and finds herself a stranger on a strange planet. Humanoid chickens and neurotic robots are shocking enough as new experiences go, but Zita is even more surprised to find herself taking on the role of intergalactic hero
Biography
J Biography Ando, M. Wang, Andrea Magic Ramen: the Story of Momofuku Ando
After the devastation of WWII, Momofuku Ando became obsessed with the notion of creating cheap, delicious, nutritious food for the poor. Behold! The birth of ramen as we know and love it today!
J Biography Caplan Rockliff, M. Try It: How Frieda Caplan Changed the Way We Eat
Meet fearless Frieda Caplan--the produce pioneer who changed the way Americans eat by introducing exciting new fruits and vegetables, from baby carrots to blood oranges to kiwis! In 1956, Frieda Caplan started working at the Seventh Street Produce Market in Los Angeles. Instead of competing with the men in the business with their apples, potatoes, and tomatoes, Frieda thought, why not try something new? Staring with mushrooms, Frieda began introducing fresh and unusual foods to her customers--snap peas, seedless watermelon, mangos, and more! .
J Biography Ginsburg, R.B Krull, Kathleen No Truth Without Ruth
Ruth Bader Ginsburg may be one of the most respected women in the United States, but her recognition is nothing short of hard-won. For years before becoming a justice of the Supreme Court, Ruth had to fight the notion that being female meant that she was less smart, less qualified, and less worthy of attention than her male counterparts. Throughout college, law school, and her work life, she faced discrimination--because she was a woman. But it was in her fight for equality as a lawyer that she made an imprint on American history, by changing the way the law dealt with women's rights and by showing people that unfairness to women wasn't just a female problem--that it negatively affected men and children, too.
J Biography Ramanujan Aiyangar, S. Alznauer, A. The Boy Who Dreamed of Infinity
In 1887 in India, a boy named Ramanujan is born with a passion for numbers. He sees numbers in the squares of light pricking his thatched roof and in the beasts dancing on the temple tower. He writes mathematics with his finger in the sand, across the pages of his notebooks, and with chalk on the temple floor. "What is small?" he wonders. "What is big?" Head in the clouds, Ramanujan struggles in school -- but his mother knows that her son and his ideas have a purpose. As he grows up, Ramanujan reinvents much of modern mathematics, but where in the world could he find someone to understand what he has conceived?
Nonfiction
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J 152.4 B849 Brian, Rachel The Worry (Less) Book
Start worrying less and enjoying life with this book for people who worry or struggle with anxiety (so yeah -- everyone)! We all have a mixture of fun and not-so fun feelings. And everyone feels worried sometimes. But too much anxiety can get in the way. So this book is here to help you identify your anxiety, understand why it's just part of that thing we call life, and equip you with all the tools you need to find calm again.
J 294.5 P295 Patel, Sanjay Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth
An original story based on Hindu mythology, this book tells the story about how Ganesha's love of sweets led to a broken tusk and the writing of the epic poem, the Mahābhārata. Includes author's note about the myth.
J 324.62 R643 Roberts, David Suffragette: the Battle for Equality
This illustrated history of the women's suffrage movement is just in time for the hundredth anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment. Imprisonment, hunger strikes, suffrajitsu -- the decades-long fight for women's right to vote was at times a ferocious one.
J 591 K25 Keating, Jess Cute as an Axolotl
J 599.884 A648 Applegate, Katherine Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla
The true story of Ivan, known as the Shopping Mall Gorilla, who lived alone in a small cage for almost 30 years before being relocated to the gorilla habitat at ZooAtlanta.
J 629.45 B877 Brown, Don Rocket to the Moon!
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong took "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. But it wasn't just one man who got us to the moon. This graphic-format book explores the people and technology that made the moon landing possible.
J 811.6 A376 Alexander, Kwame The Undefeated
This poem is a love letter to black life in the United States. It highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion, and perseverance of some of the world's greatest heroes.
J 976.6 W362 Weatherford, C. B. Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre
This book is a powerful look at the Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst incidents of racial violence in our nation's history. The book traces the history of African Americans in Tulsa's Greenwood district and chronicles the devastation that occurred in 1921 when a white mob attacked the Black community. News of what happened was largely suppressed, and no official investigation occurred for seventy-five years. This picture book sensitively introduces young readers to this tragedy and concludes with a call for a better future.