Monthly
Special
Stepfamilies
The books recommended below were published within the last several
years. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is
the real criterion.
Being Bee by Catherine Bateson
(Holiday)
Resentful of her dad’s new live-in girlfriend, Jazzi, Bee
vents her frustration in letters to her guinea pigs and takes solace
in their sympathetic replies, which are really written by kind-hearted
Jazzi. Grade level: 4–6. 126 pages.
The Steps by Rachel Cohn (Simon)
Twelve-year-old Annabel travels to Australia to meet her father’s
new wife and kids, all of whom she resents, in a story packed with
humorous incident and preteen-girl touchstones. Grade level: 4–8.
137 pages.
Wilderness by
Roddy Doyle (Levine/Scholastic)
Johnny and Tom’s mother disappears during a dogsledding trip
in Finland; in a parallel story, the brothers’ half-sister
deals with the return of her birth mother. Grade level: 4–8.
211 pages.
Witch Twins by Adele Griffin
(Hyperion)
Magical twins Claire and Luna try to prevent their father’s
marriage to a Texan named Fluffy — the witchy way. Grade level:
4–6. 156 pages.
Dark Sons by
Nikki Grimes (Jump/Hyperion)
Alternating sections of poems narrated by Sam (a contemporary teen
whose father has started a family with his new wife) and Ishmael
(biblical son of Abraham and his wife Sarah’s servant Hagar)
describe their rocky relationships with their fathers. Grade level:
7 and up. 216 pages.
Bird by Angela Johnson (Dial)
In three intersecting stories, thirteen-year-old Bird travels to
Alabama in search of her stepfather, Ethan has a heart transplant,
and Jay mourns the death of his brother. Grade level: 4–8.
135 pages.
Write Me If You Dare!
by Emily Rhoads Johnson (Cricket)
Eleven-year-old Maddie’s penpal Pearl, who may be a ghost,
helps her cope with her father’s engagement to a gregarious
librarian. Grade level: 4–6. 195 pages.
Including Alice by Phyllis Reynolds
Naylor (Atheneum)
Alice has been anticipating her dad’s marriage to Sylvia Summers
for three years — ever since she introduced her widowed father
to her seventh-grade teacher — and now the wedding is finally
happening. Grade level: 7 and up. 277 pages.
Lord of the Deep by Graham Salisbury
(Delacorte)
Thirteen-year-old Mikey, who works as a deckhand on the charter
fishing boat owned by his stepfather, finds their relationship tested
by a pair of dishonest sportsmen. Grade level: 7 and up. 185 pages.
At the Sign of the Star
by Katherine Sturtevant (Farrar)
In Restoration London, Meg Moore’s plans to inherit her father’s
print shop and choose her own husband are upset when her father
remarries. Grade level: 7 and up. 140 pages.
My Guy by Sarah Weeks (HarperCollins)
When Mom announces her engagement to Jerry Zuckerman, thirteen-year-old
Guy joins Jerry’s daughter in trying to prevent the marriage
in this wry, often funny narrative of divorce, remarriage, and blended
families. Grade level: 4–8. 186 pages.
Candyfloss written
by Jacqueline Wilson, illustrated by Nick Sharratt (Brodie/Roaring
Brook)
Pre-teen Floss adores her down-on-his-luck dad and decides to stay
with him when Mum, stepfather, and baby brother move to Australia
for six months. Grade level: 4–6. 339 pages.
Ten Miles from Winnemucca by
Thelma Hatch Wyss (HarperCollins)
While Marty’s mom and stepfather are on their honeymoon, Marty’s
new stepbrother tells him to get lost — so the Walt Whitman–spouting
maverick does. Grade level: 7 and up. 131 pages.
 
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lists of Recommended Books
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