Winter Reading for All Ages

Christmas break is rapidly approaching, and last summer's beach reading has been stored away with the family beach umbrella. To honor the literary luminaries who brighten our cold winter nights, we asked the Scarsdale Public Library to name five books for all age groups. Whether your bookworm child is searching for a new book series to burrow their nose into or you're perusing the shelves for your book club’s latest selection, Scarsdale Patch – and the town’s local librarians – have you covered. 

What are you reading this winter? Share your selections in the comments below. 

 1. “A Tale Dark and Grimm” by Adam Gidwitz, 4^th Grade and above

In this re-telling of the classic Hansel and Gretel fable, author Adam Gitdwitz breathes life into the famed siblings by giving them a back story and an ending that goes far beyond “...and they lived happily ever after.”

 2. “The Hidden Gallery” by Maryrose Wood, 4^th Grade and above

Maryrose Wood’s children’s series “The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place” offers serial installments chronicling the misadventures of wolf children Alexander, Beowulf and Cassiopeia, along with the myriad ways in which they manage to frustrate their governess, Miss Penelope Lumley. The most recently published title, “The Hidden Gallery,” features the children carousing around London after nearly burning down their palatial country abode.

 3. “M is for Mama’s Boy” by Michael Buckley, 4^th Grade and above

Michael Buckley’s superheroes aren’t swashbucklers with swords – they’re skinny, bespectacled nerds. Protagonist Duncan leads a group of geek grade school boys with secret super powers on top-secret government missions. In the series’ most recent saga, “M is for Mama’s Boy,” the gang is up against a masked bank robber whose mind-controlling abilities renders them unable to act – or think – analytically enough to crack their case.

4. "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” series, Stieg Larsson, Ages 15 and up

Stieg Larsson’s internationally bestselling trilogy follows the adventures of former financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist, who is commissioned to solve the mystery of a CEO’s vanished niece. Larsson’s tales are popular with everyone from high school students to senior book clubs – proof that literary trends may come and go, but a good mystery transcends time. 

5. “Room” by Emma Donoghue, Ages 20 and up

5-year-old Jack and his mother have lived in the same room for as long as Jack can remember. The only contact with the outside world that either experience is with “Old Nick,” a mysterious nighttime visitor. When Jack’s growing perspective expands beyond the confines of four walls, the results are disturbing yet surprisingly moving as Donoghue transforms a horrifying tale of abduction into a poignant story of a mother whose love protects her son from the evils of the outside world.