CurriConnects Book List - California
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California
This comprehensive collection features books about California organized into three developmental reading levels, complete with Lexile measures to guide appropriate text selection for every reader. Each title includes a brief description of its content and themes, helping educators and families connect students with captivating stories about California's diverse landscapes, cultures, and history.
Picture Books
A Day's Work - Eve Bunting, (978-0395845189), Fiction
Interest level: PreK-3, Lexile: 350
Francisco is surprised that he can learn something from his non-English-speaking grandfather, who even needs help finding a job in California.
Frida Maria: A Story of the Old Southwest - Deborah Lattimore, (978-0152015152), Fiction
Interest level: PreK-4, Lexile: 620
Frida Maria spurns her mother's attempts to interest her in traditional pursuits, such as sewing and cooking; instead, she impulsively enters the Fiesta and wins!
G is for Golden: A California Alphabet - David Domeniconi, (978-1585360451), Non-fiction
Interest level: K-2, Lexile: 990
This book showcases all the unique aspects of the state of California.
Little Mama Forgets - Melanie Kroupa, (978-0374346133), Fiction
Interest level: PreK-3, Lexile: 710
Luciana enjoys her forgetful grandmother, as the older woman still remembers what is important to each of them.
Snowshoe Thompson - Nancy Smiler Levinson, (978-0064442060), Fiction
Interest level: PreK-3, Lexile: 330
Based on a true story, this book depicts Snowshoe Thompson's undying attempts to deliver the U.S. mail by ski, even when he has to make his own!
The Bracelet - Yoshiko Uchida, (978-0698113909), Fiction
Interest level: PreK-5, Lexile: 710
Emi keeps memories of her friendship with a non-Japanese girl in her mind despite the loss of a gift bracelet she got before her family was forced into an internment camp during WWII.
The Sequoia Lives On - Cooke, (978-1930238855), Non-fiction
Interest level: PreK-3
The giant sequoia is a marvel in California's forests. Each tree begins as a tiny seed, but it can grow to be larger than the largest animal on earth.
The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever - H. Joseph Hopkins, (978-1442414020), Non-fiction
Interest level: 1-4, Lexile: 760
This is the story of Katherine Sessions, the first woman to graduate from the University of California with a science degree. She shared her love of nature and trees with San Diego, creating parks and gardens around the city.
The Trouble with Cats - Martha Freeman, (978-0823414796), Fiction
Interest level: 1-4, Lexile: 300
Holly must adjust to a new stepfather, a small San Francisco apartment, and her stepfather's four cats, who share her room.
Middle Grade Books
Al Capone Does My Shirts (Tales from Alcatraz) - Gennifer Choldenko, (978-0142403709), Fiction
Interest level: 4-8, Lexile: 600
Moose moves to Alcatraz because his mother said he has to. Although there are other children on the island, some of the country’s most notorious criminals also reside there.
All of Me - Chris Baron, (978-1250250599), Fiction
Interest level: 4-8, Lexile: 790
Ari just does not feel good about himself. His family moves across the country, his parents are getting divorced, and he is getting bullied about his weight. He starts to make new friends at his new school and begins to learn to love the body he is in.
Book Scavenger - Jennifer Chambliss Bertman, (978-1250079800), Fiction
Interest level: 4-8, Lexile: 810
Emily loves living in San Francisco near her literary hero. She loves his books and loves his online game, Book Scavenger. Emily and her friend James learn that the famous author has been attacked and is in a coma, and race to try and solve his last mystery.
By the Great Horn Spoon! - Sid Fleischman, (978-0316286121), Fiction
Interest level: 3-7, Lexile: 730
Jack and his adult friend hide themselves on a vessel bound for California; they experience many adventures along the way as they search for gold.
Escape from Alcatraz: The Mystery of the Three Men Who Escaped From The Rock - Eric Braun, (978-1515745525), Non-fiction
Interest level: 3-8, Lexile: 890
This gripping true story recounts the ingenious 1962 escape of Frank Morris and brothers John, and Clarence Anglin from California's notorious Alcatraz prison, exploring the enduring mystery of whether they survived crossing San Francisco Bay or perished in the cold waters.
Esperanza Rising - Pam Munoz Ryan, (978-0439120425), Fiction
Interest level: 4-7, Lexile: 750
When tragedy strikes her family and life in Mexico, Esperanza and her mother flee to California to start their new life. Neither is prepared for the challenging working conditions, and Esperanza has to find a way to overcome the challenges and help her family.
Front Desk - Kelly Yang, (978-1338157826), Fiction
Interest level: 3-7, Lexile: 630
Mia lives a life of secrets. She lives in a motel. Her parents hid immigrants in the motel. English is not her first language, but she wants to be a writer. She will have to use all of her kindness and grace to make it through this school year.
Lemons - Melissa Savage, (978-1524700157), Fiction
Interest level: 3-7, Lexile: 630
Lemonade Witt has to move to California to live with her grandfather after her mother passes away. She meets Tobin, who hires her to be his assistant at Bigfoot Detectives, Inc. The two learn more than they expected during their summer adventures, and Lem learns that her mom was right - she can always make lemonade when life gives her lemons.
Quake!: Disaster in San Francisco, 1906 - Gail Karwoski, (978-1561453108), Fiction
Interest level: 4-7, Lexile: 770
This historical fiction novel recounts the 1906 San Francisco earthquake from the perspective of a Jewish teenager.
The Ballad of Lucy Whipple - Karen Cushman, (978-0064406840), Fiction
Interest level: 4-8, Lexile: 1030
California Morning, also known as Lucy, experiences loneliness and sadness when she moves with her family from the East Coast to a California mining town.
Young Adult and Adult Books
American Born Chinese - Gene Luen Yang, (978-1250811899), Fiction
Interest level: YA, Lexile: 530
This award-winning graphic novel weaves together three interconnected stories—Jin Wang struggling as the only Chinese-American student at his California school, the mythical Monkey King seeking divine recognition, and Danny dealing with his embarrassing stereotype-embodying cousin Chin-Kee—to explore themes of identity, racism, and self-acceptance with humor and heart.
Ball Don’t Lie - Matt de la Pena, (978-0385734257), Fiction
Interest level: YA, Lexile: 710
Seventeen-year-old Sticky, a white foster kid haunted by a traumatic past, finds his only escape and hope for a better future on the basketball courts of Lincoln Rec in East Los Angeles, where he must overcome his troubled history and learn that he doesn't have to be defined by others' expectations.
Earthquake at Dawn - Kristiana Gregory, (978-0152046811), Fiction
Interest level: YA, Lexile: 840
Read a novelized version of photographer Edith Irvine's take on the 1906 San Francisco earthquake as told by her fellow traveler, Daisy.
Happily Ever Afters - Elise Bryant, (978-0062982841), Fiction
Interest level: YA
Tessa loves romance novels - reading them and writing them. She shares her own writing with her best friend, Caroline. Tessa gets accepted into a creative writing program and loses her voice. Caroline devises a plan to help her locate it again.
Little & Lion - Brandy Colbert, (978-0316349017), Fiction
Interest level: YA, Lexile: 820
Suzette comes home to LA from her New England boarding school and tries to fit back into her own life. Her brother is battling bipolar disorder and needs her support. She must confront her past life and past mistakes to help her brother.
One of Us is Lying - Karen McManus, (978-1524714758), Fiction
Interest level: YA, Lexile: 730
Set at fictional Bayview High in California, this addictive murder mystery follows four students who become suspects when their classmate Simon dies during detention, with each harboring secrets that could have motivated them to kill the creator of the school's notorious gossip app.
Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida - Victor Martinez, (978-0064471862), Fiction
Interest level: YA, Lexile: 1000
Set in a poor California town, this book follows fourteen-year-old Manny Hernandez as he navigates poverty, an alcoholic father, gang pressure, and family dysfunction while searching for his place in the world and what it means to be "a guy to respect."
The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives - Dashka Slater, (978-0374303235), Fiction
Interest level: YA, Lexile: 930
One eight-minute bus ride changes the lives of two California teens. One is the victim, and one is the criminal, but the simple right and wrong is much more complicated.