Favorite Read Alouds & Read Alones in 2024

In an essay for Collected Perspectives: Choosing and Using Books for the Classroom, Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop wrote that books should be like mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Certain books should reflect the reader's life, others should give him a peek into someone else's life, and still, others should fully immerse a person in a brand new experience by allowing him to enter the story.

A person who reads widely from each of these three different types of books will have a wide life full of growth, empathy, and new ideas.

(This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for full details.)

I can't say that the 113 books I read in 2024 represent that trifecta equally, but they reveal a diverse range of human experiences.

Throughout the year, I shared lists of great titles with the Biblio-files community. But today, I want to talk about the best of the best. Here's a peek at my favorite books from 2024 in every category, including the kid lit that I did not count in my final reading total.

Picture Book

The Pig War by Emma Bland Smith

It all started when a British pig wandered onto the fields of an American potato farmer. The year was 1859, nearly fifty years after the two countries had signed the Treaty of Ghent. And yet, because of the still-looming bad blood between the Brits and his fellow Yanks, farmer Lyman killed the pig and had him for dinner. This porcine feast put the two countries at odds once again. Troops were gathered, guns were loaded, and battle plans were drawn up. On a hot September day off the coast of the small island of San Juan, the two frienemies faced a choice: Do we fight to the death, or can we lower our weapons and agree to share the hotly-contested land?

This true story gives new meaning to the words "That escalated quickly!"

Leveled Reader

The Boston Coffee Party by Doreen Rappaport

With a war raging, food--especially novelty food like sugar and coffee--is in short supply. When the women learn that greedy Merchant Thomas is hoarding items to later price gauge families while the men are away fighting, the mothers and wives take matters into their own hands. They storm to his storehouses and divvy up the scant rations.

Based on a true story, this Level 3 reader would make for a great discussion starter about the ethics of Robin Hood-like behavior--robbing from the rich to give to the poor.

Illustrated Chapter Book

Tales For Picky Eaters by Josh Schneider

James can't eat broccoli. It's disgusting. Come to think of it, he can't eat lasagna, oatmeal, or eggs, either. And he definitely can't drink milk. Milk is repulsive! Through imaginative storytelling, his dad makes a compelling case for why each menu item is worth gulping down!

With a format similar to books like Henry & Mudge, this title is light on text but heavy on humor and whimsy, making it a great book for reluctant readers. I appreciate how the father doesn't try to sneak healthy food into his son's diet but instead uses a little bit of logic and a whole lot of creativity to compel James to take a bit of his own volition.

Middle-grade Fiction

The Wind Called My Name by Mary Louis Sanchez

The Great Depression has forced 10-year-old Margarita Sandoval, her Mama, and siblings to leave their ancestral land in New Mexico and join her Papa and older brother Alberto in Fort Steele, Wyoming, where the two men have been working for the railroad. Although they are American citizens by birth, the Sandoval's are outsiders who speak with an accent. Alienated by their cultural differences, they set out to introduce their new Wyoming neighbors to the food, customs, and even holiday traditions of their people. Although many townsfolk welcome Margarita and her familia, several old-timers see the Sandovals as a threat to the town and will stop at nothing to force them to return to New Mexico.

Fans of Little House on the Prairie and Sweet Home Alaska will appreciate how the family works together to overcome hardship. It is a beautiful portrait of frontier life and the day-to-day struggles experienced during the 1930s. Spanish words and phrases are sprinkled throughout the text and are either translated into the characters' dialogue or can be interpreted through context clues.

Please note: Because the Sandovals are Catholic, each chapter is named after a Catholic saint who is the patron of a particular adversity mentioned within the chapter. Additionally, one of the town naysayers buys beer and cigarettes from the general store, is later found drunk, and makes a decision that he hopes will ruin Papa's reputation.

Teen (YA) Fiction

Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz

At the start of the war, Yanek Gruener is ten years old. Little does he know that by the end of it, he will have survived ten different concentration camps. As a Jew in occupied Poland, Yanek watches the construction of the ghettos, the consolidation and relocation of all of his family and friends, and eventually, the mass deportation and execution of his people. 

Based on the astonishingly true story of Jack Gruener, this is a gripping tale of survival. 

Please note: The publisher has pegged this as a middle-grade (8-12 year-olds), but due to the gruesome nature of the Holocaust, I recommend it for young teens and up.

Mom Fiction

The Women by Kristin Hannah

Bored with her life and determined to make a difference in the ongoing Vietnam conflict, 21-year-old "good girl" Frances "Frankie" Grace McGrath leaves her affluent family and enlists in the army as a nurse. Expecting the same military send-off as her older brother received, Frankie is disappointed to receive only anger and judgment from her parents. She arrives "in country" on the heels of her brother's death and comes face-to-face with her own naivety. She is unprepared for the grisly reality of war and all that she will be called upon to do. After years of service, she returns home to the jeers of Americans, disillusioned by a war they deem needless and inhumane.

This is a very gritty book that includes language, promiscuity, and unspeakable descriptions of wartime violence and injury. That said, as the daughter of an ER nurse and a Korean War vet, I am glad I read it. It opened my eyes to the traumas of war, the PTSD that often happens upon reentry, and, most importantly, the historical denial and minimization of women's roles in the Vietnam War. 

Mom Nonfiction

Bad Therapy by Abigail Shrier

Recent studies show that Gen Z is the most over-therapized generation that has ever existed, and yet, they are also the most anxious. Could it be that forced rumination of their struggles is actually making their mental health worse? Is the therapy to blame? While the author, a former op-ed journalist for the Washington Post, admits that some children need therapy to work through legitimate trauma, she concludes that most American kids do not receive the right kind of therapy and/or have been over-diagnosed by doctors, counselors, teachers, and "gentle" parents.

Her voice is grim, if not a bit sarcastic.

Whether you agree with Shrier's findings or not, her words will stay with you and force you to consider how our Western ways are coddling our very capable children. If I ever curate a Must Read for Moms book list, this one would be on it.

Please note: There are a few expletives in the text.

A Final Word

This year, I got to live in an 18th-century Puritan colony, win a boat race when all odds were stacked against me, infiltrate the enemy as a Soviet spy, hop a train from one Hooverville camp to another, travel through time, play catch with the first black MLB player, survive the atrocities of a turn-of-the-century mental institution, and so much more, simply by opening the pages of a book. I stood before mirrors, looked into windows, and stepped through sliding glass doors. 

I read 113 chapter books in 2024 and widened my world.

Looking for more lists like this?

Once a month, I email a book list similar to this one (only bigger) to the members of the Biblio-files. Every title on the list has been personally read and vetted by me and has been compiled by age range in order to help you navigate the library with your kids. In addition, I also include a few books that you should be aware of--books that contain explicit language, sexual agenda, graphic violence, etc. so that you can make an educated decision when/if your kids should ever be interested in reading any of them. What's more, members are invited to join me in a private Facebook group where we help each other find just the right books for our kids and each other. We'd love to have you join us!

Grab my free No Twaddle Book List!

Thank you! The list will be sent to your inbox shortly.

Grab my free No Twaddle Book List!

I've compiled a complete list of my most favorite books for all ages, tots to tweens. Start here to build a reading culture in your home!