Mary Poppins

By P.L. Travers, the author featured in the upcoming movie Saving Mr. Banks.   From the moment Mary Poppins arrives at Number Seventeen Cherry-Tree Lane, everyday life at the Banks house is forever changed.

It all starts when Mary Poppins is blown by the east wind onto the doorstep of the Banks house. She becomes a most unusual nanny to Jane, Michael, and the twins. Who else but Mary Poppins can slide up banisters, pull an entire armchair out of an empty carpetbag, and make a dose of medicine taste like delicious lime-juice cordial? A day with Mary Poppins is a day of magic and make-believe come to life!
(summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

The stuff of every child's (and adults') dreams. The book is even better than the movie but doing library/family program with a combo of the two can be fun too. Happy reading y'all.

The Little White Horse

by Elizabeth Goudge

A new-fashioned story that is as wonderful as the best fairy tales.

When orphaned young Maria Merryweather arrives at Moonacre Manor, she feels as if she’s entered Paradise. Her new guardian, her uncle Sir Benjamin, is kind and funny; the Manor itself feels like home right away; and every person and animal she meets is like an old friend. But there is something incredibly sad beneath all of this beauty and comfort—a tragedy that happened years ago, shadowing Moonacre Manor and the town around it—and Maria is determined to learn about it, change it, and give her own life story a happy ending. But what can one solitary girl do?
(Summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

This is one of the few books whose movie adaptation was thoroughly enjoyable. I saw the movie before I learned it was a book first and then was able to track it down a few days later at the library. If you just want a good old-fashioned wholesome story, this is it. It was written in 1946 and has a post-war feel to it. Fun adventure with great characters and a strong female lead.

The Gates (Samuel Johnson vs. the Devil #1)

by John Connolly

Young Samuel Johnson and his dachshund, Boswell, are trying to show initiative by trick-or-treating a full three days before Halloween which is how they come to witness strange goings-on at 666 Crowley Road. The Abernathys don't mean any harm by their flirtation with the underworld, but when they unknowingly call forth Satan himself, they create a gap in the universe. A gap in which a pair of enormous gates is visible. The gates to Hell. And there are some pretty terrifying beings just itching to get out...

Can one small boy defeat evil? Can he harness the power of science, faith, and love to save the world as we know it?
(Summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

I usually have no stomach for anything I even think might be scary, but this book--and it's pair--were incredible. There's a great balance of science and fantasy, funny and scary. Samuel is a wonderfully well-rounded character and the story is very well-developed too. It was also refreshing to see that while there is that child-adult divide that's often present in fantastical literature, there were also times when children and their parents worked together which is pretty rare to see in the genre.

The Girl with All the Gifts

by M.R. Carey

NOT EVERY GIFT IS A BLESSING

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class.

When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite. But they don't laugh.

Melanie is a very special girl.
(summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

Normally anything that even hints of scary I don't give a chance, but this book hooked me from the first line and made me read all of it... just not before bed. Seriously.
It was one of the most thrilling reads of the summer. A wonderful exploration of humanity and what it means to be human. There are no easy answers. I loved this book.