A Tale of Two Brothers by Alex Simmons

 A Tale of Two Brothers by Alex Simmons, 61 pages

In the first installment of this supplemental Lion King series, Kopa, Simba's heir, is upset when Simba's royal duties conflict with family time. Rafiki, in an attempt to keep the peace, tells a story of Pride Rock long ago, a time when Mufasa and his brother Taka had a similar problem with their father. 

A Tale of Two Brothers was a fun read that stirred up plenty of nostalgia. I wish I would have known as a child that there was a series of Lion King books because I would've been all over them! 

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

 Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan, 58 pages

When a man living on the frontier sends away for a mail-order bride, his children, Anna and Caleb, find themselves wishing desperately that she'll stay. 

I never read Sarah, Plain and Tall when I was younger, and I'm retroactively upset I didn't. This is precisely the type of story I would have absolutely fallen in love with. It is short but echoes some of my favorite sentiments from the Anne of Green Gables or Little House series. Reading it for the first time as an adult gave me insight into Sarah's wistfulness and gave the book a lovely yearning dynamic. I loved it. 

The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey

The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey, 64 pages

Come and learn the ABCs... of different ways children can die. 

This book is less a graphic novel and more an extended comic. The illustrations are fun, sometimes even sweet, and never gruesome. Children who are home growing their own sense of dark humor will appreciate it. 

The Demigod Files by Rick Riordan

 The Demigod Files by Rick Riordan, 151 pages

The Demigod Files contains three short stories from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Percy has an impromptu adventure with Clarisse, gets lost in the woods with Beckendorf, and finally is pulled to the Underworld with Thalia and Nico to face off with a Titan. 

This book doesn't contain spoilers for any of the Percy Jackson series, although it does help set up some of the events of the Heroes from Olympus series. 

Camp Murderface by Josh Berk and Saundra Mitchell

Camp Murderface by Josh Berk and Saundra Mitchell, 339 pages

Two kids meet at camp and find themselves in the murder of a paranormal mystery that is 100 years old. Corryn and Tez quickly find out that something's off at their summer camp when they bond over seeing creepy screaming faces in the bonfire. Soon their detecting makes the sinister truth clear: Camp Sweetwater might be the death of them both.