No Bears by Meg McKinlay  from Candlewick Press (1st U.S. edition) 2012
An adorable fairytale story about a little girl who is writing a story which she insists will have no bears in it.  Little does she know, that there is a bear helping her out of all kinds of trouble that she is writing about in her story.  She never does figure it out.  A clever twist and I love the story writing inspiration for kids.  A great book for teachers.

Candymakers by Wendy Mass (Little Brown Books for Young Readers 2010) If you liked Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl then this might be right up your alley. Four children, all competing in a candy making competition. The story is shared through each of their points of view. With each re-telling, new details are revealed. It is a funny, and heart warming story about friendship, truth, business, and so much more. The candy factory is a magical place, but much more realistic than Dahl's tale. Loved this!

Harry Potter Series is a favorite fantasy for kids of all ages. Harry and his friends are wizards and witches afterall and living in the muggle world. Good vs. evil, Lord Voldemort and the death eaters who want Harry and the Order of the Phoenix dead. A whole other world. The first few make good read-alouds and they get progressively more mature and dark as the books go along and the charcters get older. They go from great middle grade fiction to fabulous YA fiction. These are unbelievable cross-over books for adults!