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Booktalks

"Booktalking" is one of the most effective ways to get kids reading! Entice young readers to open a book…engage their interest…invite them into the story…with these booktalks by librarian and booktalking expert Joni R. Bodart.

You are free to use these booktalks in a live verbal presentation without express permission or acknowledgement. You may either quote them word-for-word, or excerpt or adapt them any way you like. Be creative — make these booktalks your own and add them to your repertoire!

NEW Video Booktalks

chasing vermeer booktalkNow you can watch quick video versions of booktalks performed by Scholastic staff members. They're a fun, visual way to get your students excited about reading.

See the newest videos: Chasing Vermeer, Does My Head Look Big in This?, Zen Shorts, Esperanza Rising, The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie, Inkheart, Tunnels, and A Friendship for Today.


A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y |Z

A
Absolutely, Positively Not
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  • Adaline Falling Star
    Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians
    Aldabra, the Tortoise Who Loved Shakespeare
    All Shook Up: The Life and Death of Elvis Presley
    All the Stars in the Sky: The Santa Fe Trail, Diary of Florrie Mack Ryder, The Santa Fe Trail, 1848
    Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: Moving Day
    Amalee
    Amelia’s War
    Amulet Book 1: The Stonekeeper
    Any Small Goodness: A Novel of the Barrio
    Aquamarine
    The Arrival
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  • At Her Majesty’s Request
    At the Crossing Places
    Avril Crump and Her Amazing Clones
    B
    Back to the Divide
    Bad, Badder, Baddest
    Bat 6
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  • Beast by Ally Kennen
    Behind the Mountains
    Being
    Birdland
    Birdwing
    The Black Belt Club #1: Seven Wheels of Power
    Black Hands, White Sails
    Blade of Fire
    Blister
    Blizzard!
    The Blue Roan Child
    Bluish
    Book of Time, The
    Born Confused
    Boy Who Dared
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  • Bounce
    Breakfast at Bloomingdale’s
    Built to Last
    C
    Call Me Maria
    Candy
    Canned
    Charlie Bone and the Beast
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  • Charlie Bone & the Castle of Mirrors
    Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy
    Chasing Vermeer
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  • Chanters of Tremaris Trilogy, Book 1: The Singer of All Songs
    Chanters of Tremaris Trilogy, Book 2: The Waterless Sea
    Children of the Lamp Book One: The Akhenaten Adventure
    Children of the Lamp Book Two: The Blue Djinn of Babylon
    Children of the Lamp Book Three: The Cobra King of Kathmandu
    Children of the Lamp Book Four: The Day of the Djinn Warriors
    The Christmas Doll
    Clem’s Chances
    Click
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  • Coal Miner’s Bride, A
    Crackback
    Crashing
    The Cry of the Icemark
    Crystal Mask (Echorium Sequence)
    A Curse Dark as Gold
    D
    The Darkest Evening
    Darkside
    Days of Jubilee: The End of Slavery in the United States
    Dear America: Look to the Hills
    Dear Miss Breed
    Deep Down Popular
    Deliver Us from Normal
    Desperate Journey
    The Devil’s Toenail
    The Divine Wind, A Love Story
    Does My Head Look Big in This?
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  • A Dog’s Life: The Autobiography of a Stray
    Downtown Boy
    The Dragon’s Son
    Dragonsdale
    Drawing Lessons
    E
    Elijah of Buxton
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  • Ellie Chronicles Book 1: While I Live
    Elvis and Olive
    Encyclopedia Horrifica
    Enter Three Witches
    Esperanza Rising
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  • Everybody’s Revolution
    Evil Star: Book Two of the Gatekeepers
    F
    The Fall of the Amazing Zalindas, Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars: Casebook No. 1
    Far From Normal
    Fat Camp Commandos
    Fat Camp Commandos Go West
    Fearless
    Fight Game
    Fighting Ruben Wolfe
    Find Where the Wind Goes
    Fire Star
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  • The Fire Within
    The Firework-Maker’s Daughter
    First Person Fiction: Finding My Hat
    The Fish in Room 11
    Five Smooth Stones, Hope’s Diary: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1776
    Flight to Freedom
    For This Land, Meg’s Prairie Diary, Book Two
    Forbidden Forest: The Story of Little John and Robin Hood
    Freedom’s Wings: Corey’s Diary, Kentucky to Ohio, 1857
    A Friendship for Today
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  • G
    The Game of Sunken Places
    Getting the Girl
    Ghost Cats
    Ghost Ship
    Girl in Blue
    The Girl with the Broken Wing
    The Great Brain Book: An Inside Look At The Inside of Your Head
    The Greatest: Muhammad Ali
    Green Angel
    Greetings From Planet Earth
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  • Gregor and the Code of Claw
    Gregor the Overlander: Book One in the Underland Chronicles
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  • Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane: Book Two in the Underland Chronicles
    Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods: Book Three in the Underland Chronicles
    Grey Griffins 1: The Revenge of the Shadow King
    Grey Griffins 2: The Rise of the Black Wolf
    Grey Griffins 3: The Fall of the Templar
    Griffin's Castle
    H
    Half-Human
    Hard Hit
    Harlem Summer
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  • Harry Houdini
    Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
    The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray
    The Heavenly Village
    The House on Falling Star Hill
    Hidden Roots
    Hitler Youth: Growing Up In Hitler’s Shadow
    Hive for the Honeybee, A
    Hole in the World, A
    Home at Last
    Hope in My Heart
    Hotlanta
    How I Saved My Father’s Life (And Ruined Everything Else)
    I
    I, Freddy: Book One in the Golden Hamster Saga
    I Am the Great Horse
    Ibby’s Magic Weekend
    I Don’t Want to be Crazy
    Igraine the Brave
    In the Shadow of the Ark
    Indigo
    Inkheart
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  • Inkspell
    An Innocent Soldier
    Into the Mist
    The Invention of Hugo Cabret
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  • Island of Hope: The Story of Ellis Island and the Journey to America
    J
    The Jacob Ladder
    Jackie’s Nine: Jackie Robinson’s Values to Live By
    Jinx on the Divide
    Johnny Hazzard
    The Journal of Augustus Pelletier, The Lewis and Clark Expedition
    The Journal of Ben Uchida, Citizen 13559, Mirror Lake Internment Camp, CA, 1942
    Just Juice
    K
    Kensuke’s Kingdom
    The Key to Rondo
    The Keys to the Kingdom, Book 3: Drowned Wednesday
    Keys to the Kingdom Book Five: Lady Friday
    Kidnapped # 1: The Abduction
    The King of Slippery Falls
    Kiss Me Tomorrow
    Kissing the Rain
    Kringle
    L
    The Land of Elyon, Book 1: The Dark Hills Divide
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  • Land of Elyon Book 2: Beyond the Valley of the Thorns
    The Last Book in the Universe
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  • Learning the Game
    The Legend of the Wandering King
    LightLand
    Lights, Camera, Amalee
    A Little Friendly Advice
    Little Soldier
    Lucas
    Lucky
    Lush
    M
    Magic Pickle and the Planet of the Grapes
    Magic Steps (Circle Opens #1)
    The Magician Trilogy Book One: The Snow Spider
    The Magician Trilogy Book Two: Emlyn’s Moon
    The Magician Trilogy Book 3: Chestnut Soldier
    Main Street #1: Welcome to Camden Falls
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  • Martyn Pig
    Medusa Jones
    Message in the Sky: Corey’s Underground Railroad Diary, Book Three
    Midnight for Charlie Bone
    Midnight Magic
    Millicent Min: Girl Genius
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  • Mirror, Mirror: Twisted Tales
    Montmorency and the Assassins
    Montmorency on the Rocks: Doctor, Aristocrat, Murderer?
    Montmorency’s Revenge
    Moonlight Man
    Mosey
    The Mummy’s Mother
    The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie
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  • N
    Never Mind the Goldbergs
    Nightrise: Book 3 of The Gatekeepers
    Nightsong
    No Man’s Land: A Young Soldier’s Story
    Notes From the Midnight Driver
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  • O
    Oggie Cooder
    On Christmas Eve
    One Eye Laughing, the Other Weeping: The Diary of Julie Weiss, Vienna, Austria to New York, 1938
    Ordinary Ghosts
    Our House
    Out of the Dust
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  • Out Standing in My Field
    P
    Paint the Wind
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  • Pancakes for Supper
    P.S. Longer Letter Later
    Perfect World
    Perloo the Bold
    Peter Raven Under Fire
    The Pity Party, 8th Grade In The Life Of Me, Cass
    Plastic Angel
    Pray Hard
    Pure Sunshine
    R
    Raven of the Waves
    Raven’s Gate: Book One of the Gatekeepers
    REM World
    Reincarnation
    Riding Freedom
    The Road of the Dead
    Roanoke: The Mystery of a Lost Colony
    Rover Saves Christmas
    Rules
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  • Running Back to Ludie
    S
    Safe at Home
    Sailor Returns, A
    Samir and Yonotan
    Sandry’s Book (Circle of Magic #1)
    Saving the Buffalo
    Seeds of Hope: The Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild, California Territory
    The Seeing Stone
    Shadow Life: A Portrait of Anne Frank and Her Family
    Shatterglass (The Circle Opens)
    Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars: The Fall of the Amazing Zalindas, Casebook No. 1
    Shutting Out the Sky: Life in the Tenements of New York
    The Singer of All Songs: Book One in the Chanters of Tremaris Trilogy
    Sirena
    Slam Dunk
    The Slightly True Story of Cedar B. Hartley (Who Planned to Live an Unusual Life)
    Smiler’s Bones
    Snail Mail No More
    So Totally Emily Ebers
    The Snow Spider, Book One in the Magician Trilogy
    Someday
    Song of the Sparrow
    Song Quest (Echorium Sequence)
    Special Fate, A
    The Spell Book of Listen Taylor
    Spellfall
    Splintering
    St. Michael’s Scales
    The Starving Times: Elizabeth’s Jamestown Colony Diary Book Two
    Stay Strong: Simple Life Lessons for Teens
    Stay True
    Stick and Whittle
    The Stone Goddess
    Storm Thief
    The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her to Fly
    Sunrise Over Fallujah
    Survival In the Storm
    Surviving Aunt Marsha
    Swindle
    T
    Talking in the Dark
    Taste for Rabbit, A
    Tell Me What You See
    Ten Ways to Make My Sister Disappear
    Terrorist, The
    The Thief Lord
    The Truth Cookie
    Tomorrow, When the War Began
    Traitor King
    Tunnels
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  • Twice Upon a Time: Rapunzel, the One with All the Hair
    Tyrell
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  • U
    Ulysses Moore: The Door to Time
    V
    Valley of the Moon: The California Diary of Maria Rosalia Milagros
    W
    War Horse
    The Waterless Sea, Book Two in the Chanters of Tremaris Trilogy
    Waves
    Westward to Home: Joshua’s Oregon Trail Diary Book One
    Where Have All the Flowers Gone? The Diary of Molly MacKenzie Flaherty, Boston, Massachusetts, 1968
    Wilderness
    The Will of the Empress
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  • The Wright 3
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  • Y
    The Year My Sister Got Lucky
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  • Z
    Zen and the Art of Faking It
    Zen Shorts
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