Recommendations based on The Wheel on the Schoolby Meindert DeJong

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Understood Betsy

    by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
    A young girl's journey of self-acceptance and growth, challenging her own limitations.

    The story tells of Elizabeth Ann, a 9-year-old orphan girl who goes from a sheltered existence with her father's aunt Harriet and cousin Frances in the city, to living on a Vermont farm with her ... (Wikipedia)

  2. Little House on the Prairie

    by Laura Ingalls Wilder
    A family's journey of settling and persevering on the American Frontier.

    Meet Laura Ingalls, the little girl who would grow up to write the Little House books. Pa Ingalls decides to sell the little log house, and the family sets out for Indian country! They travel from ... (Goodreads)

  3. The Witch of Blackbird Pond

    by Elizabeth George Speare
    A young girl's struggles to find her place in a Puritan Connecticut town.

    In April 1687, 16-year-old Katherine Tyler (known throughout the story as Kit Tyler) leaves her home in Barbados after her grandfather dies and a 50-year-old man tries to marry her. She relocates to ... (Wikipedia)

  4. Homer Price

    by Robert McCloskey
    An imaginative young boy embarks on a series of comedic adventures.

    Welcome to Centerburg! Where you can win a hundred dollars by eating all the doughnuts you want; where houses are built in a day; and where a boy named Homer Price can foil four slick bandits using ... (Goodreads)

  5. Henry Huggins

    by Beverly Cleary
    A young boy's everyday adventures in a small town, meeting friends and facing challenges.

    In the first novel from Newbery Award-winning author Beverly Cleary, boys and girls alike will instantly be charmed by an average boy whose life is turned upside down when he meets a lovable puppy ... (Goodreads)

  6. On the Banks of Plum Creek

    by Laura Ingalls Wilder
    A young family's adventures in the American Midwest, settling on a homestead.

    Having left their little house on the Kansas prairie, the Ingalls family travels by covered wagon to Minnesota and settles on the banks of Plum Creek. Pa trades 2 ponies for a dugout and a stable. ... (Wikipedia)

  7. The Bronze Bow

    by Elizabeth George Speare
    A young man's journey of redemption, as he struggles with anger, violence and oppression.

    This book is set in first-century Galilee . The main character, a young Jew named Daniel bar Jamin, who lives at the same time as Jesus of Nazareth . Daniel's father was killed in front of him, as an ... (Wikipedia)

  8. Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

    by Jean Lee Latham
    A young man's struggle to gain knowledge and self-confidence, inspiring a revolution in navigation.

    In Revolutionary War–era Salem, Massachusetts, a young Nat Bowditch, the smallest member of a sea-faring family, astounds his schoolteacher with his talent for mathematics. He dreams of someday ... (Wikipedia)

  9. Miracles on Maple Hill

    by Virginia Sorensen
    A family moves to a farm in Maple Hill to heal from the effects of war. They find joy and healing in nature and community.

    Marly's father just returned from the war; he is suffering from mood swings and depression, and seems to be tired all the time. Lee, Marly's mother, moves the family to Maple Hill, a town where the ... (Wikipedia)

  10. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

    by Jamie Ford
    A touching story of the intersection of love, family, and culture during World War II.

    Henry Lee, the son of Chinese parents in Seattle , Washington, is the only Asian child at his elementary school. His father makes him wear an "I Am Chinese" button so he will not be mistaken for a ... (Wikipedia)

  11. Farmer Boy

    by Laura Ingalls Wilder
    Story of a young boy's life on a farm in 19th century America.

    The novel is based on the childhood of Wilder's husband, Almanzo Wilder , who grew up in the 1860s near the town of Malone, New York . It covers roughly one year of his life, beginning just before ... (Wikipedia)

  12. The Cricket in Times Square

    by George Selden
    A friendship between a mouse, a cricket, and a cat in New York City.

    The story is about a cricket from Connecticut named Chester who gets caught on a train for New York. After stumbling on the subway, Chester ends up in Times Square. Mario Bellini, who helps his ... (Wikipedia)

  13. Anne of Avonlea

    by L.M. Montgomery
    A young girl's coming-of-age in rural Prince Edward Island, full of adventures and misadventures.

    Anne is about to start her first term teaching at the Avonlea school, although she will still continue her studies at home with Gilbert, who is teaching at the nearby White Sands School. The book ... (Wikipedia)

  14. Caddie Woodlawn

    by Carol Ryrie Brink
    A young girl growing up in Wisconsin in the 1860s, Caddie Woodlawn is adventurous and independent, challenging the expectations of her time.

    Set in the 1860s, the novel is about a lively eleven-year-old tomboy named Caroline Augusta Woodlawn, nicknamed "Caddie", living in the area of Dunnville, Wisconsin . As a young girl she made the ... (Wikipedia)

  15. Sarah, Plain and Tall

    by Patricia MacLachlan
    A story of a family's journey to find love and acceptance in a new home.

    This beloved Newbery Medal–winning book is the first of five books in Patricia MacLachlan's chapter book series about the Witting family. Set in the late nineteenth century and told from young Anna's ... (Goodreads)

  16. Just So Stories

    by Rudyard Kipling
    A collection of fanciful tales explaining how animals came to be the way they are.

    Librarian's Note: Alternate cover edition can be found here . Twelve stories about animals, insects, and other subjects include How the Camel Got His Hump. The Butterfly That Stamped, and How the ... (Goodreads)

  17. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

    by C.S. Lewis
    An epic fantasy adventure across the seas, encountering magical creatures and lands.

    The two youngest Pevensie children, Lucy and Edmund , are staying with their odious cousin Eustace Scrubb while their older brother, Peter , is studying for an exam with Professor Kirke , and their ... (Wikipedia)

  18. My Father's Dragon

    by Ruth Stiles Gannett
    A young boy's imaginative adventure to rescue a baby dragon from captivity.

    A boy named Elmer finds a cat in the street. The cat tells him about Wild Island. Elmer goes there. He escapes on a ship, disguising as wheat but later being mistaken as dried corn on the cob. Once ... (Wikipedia)

  19. Tuck Everlasting

    by Natalie Babbitt
    A young girl discovers the secret of a family that has found the key to eternal life.

    12-year-old Winifred "Winnie" Foster is frustrated with her family because they keep her cooped up in the house, and considers running away from her home in rural Treegap. One day, while in a wooded ... (Wikipedia)

  20. Mrs. Mike

    by Benedict Freedman
    A young woman's voyage of self-discovery, learning to survive and thrive in the Canadian wilderness.

    The novel is based on the stories of Katherine Mary O'Fallon Flannigan (1899-1954). , , , According to her fictionalized account, in 1907 at age 16 O'Fallon travels to Calgary to visit her uncle and ... (Wikipedia)

  21. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

    by Grace Lin
    A young girl named Minli embarks on a journey to find the Old Man of the Moon and change her family's fortune.

    By a bare mountain, where the Jade River runs through, lies a poor, mud-covered village known as the Village of Fruitless Mountain, where the protagonist, Minli lives. Minli is a young ten-year-old ... (Wikipedia)

  22. The Report Card

    by Andrew Clements
    Fifth-grader Nora secretly gets straight Ds on her report card to prove a point about the education system.

    9 year old Nora was a disgrace to her entire family, To disguise her intellect, Nora observes and emulates her classmates so she doesn't stand out. She becomes interested in one of her schoolfellow, ... (Wikipedia)

  23. Where the Red Fern Grows

    by Wilson Rawls
    A young boy embarks on an adventure with his beloved hunting dogs, learning valuable life lessons.

    An old man named Billy Colman rescues a redbone hound under attack by neighborhood dogs. He takes it home with him so that its wounds can heal. In light of this event, he has a flashback to when he ... (Wikipedia)

  24. Strawberry Girl

    by Lois Lenski
    A young girl and her family face the challenges of living on a rural farm in the 1940s.

    The land was theirs, but so were its hardships Strawberries – big, ripe, and juicy. Ten-year-old Birdie Boyer can hardly wait to start picking them. But her family has just moved to the Florida ... (Goodreads)

  25. The Missing Piece

    by Shel Silverstein
    A circle searches for its missing piece, encountering different shapes along the way. It eventually finds its missing piece, but realizes it was happier alone.

    The story centers on a circular shape-like creature that is missing a wedge-shaped piece of itself. It doesn't like this, and sets out to find its missing piece, singing: Oh, I'm lookin' for my ... (Wikipedia)

  26. Mr. Popper's Penguins

    by Richard Atwater
    A house painter dreams of exploring the Antarctic and receives a penguin as a gift, leading to a hilarious and chaotic adventure.

    Mr. Popper is a house painter of modest means, living with his wife and two children (Bill and Janie) in the small town of Stillwater, Minnesota . He has a happy life, however, he is also a restless ... (Wikipedia)

  27. Island of the Blue Dolphins

    by Scott O'Dell
    A young girl is stranded on an island and must find a way to survive on her own.

    The main character is a Nicoleño girl named Won-a-pa-lei, whose secret name is Karana. She has a brother named Ramo, whose curiosity usually leads to trouble, and a sister named Ulape. Her people ... (Wikipedia)

  28. The Horse and His Boy

    by C.S. Lewis
    An adventure of two runaway children through exotic lands, discovering courage and strength.

    A boy named Shasta overhears Arsheesh the fisherman negotiating to sell him to a powerful Calormene feudal nobleman. He is relieved to discover that Arsheesh is not his real father, since there was ... (Wikipedia)

  29. The Whipping Boy

    by Sid Fleischman
    A prince and his whipping boy switch places and embark on an adventure to escape danger and learn about each other.

    Prince Horace can be annoying and craving attention from his father, he frequently misbehaves—to the point he is nicknamed "Prince Brat." Since he is a prince, no one may raise a hand against him. ... (Wikipedia)

  30. Gilead

    by Marilynne Robinson
    A reverend's reflections on life in the Midwest, and the lessons of faith and family.

    The book is an account of the memories and legacy of John Ames as he remembers his experiences of his father and grandfather to share with his son. All three men share a vocational lifestyle and ... (Wikipedia)