Children’s Books by Local Authors

Sheltering at home with four kids comes with the opportunity to do a lot of reading. I love raising kids that love to read.

There are a number of children's books by Quad Citizens. Here are a few we've found. Are there others you'd recommend?

Clementine the Porcupine: The Party Invitation by Peggy Mall
This is a cute story about whether or not Clementine needs “a new look”. I also want to mention the illustrator is Kerry Gomez because the drawings are adorable.

Here Comes the GOOT! by Sean Leary and Jackson Leary
Written by Sean and his (then) two-year-old, you'll enjoy this fun story about how parents love their children.

Iowa Baseball Greats: Sixteen Major Leaguers Who Were in the Game for Life by Don Doxsie
This book highlights a few of the Midwest's contributions to America's greatest pastime including stories from both on and off the field. This book is for more advanced readers, but still appeals to youth and young adults.

Little Brother Big Hero by Kelly Senatra
This amazing book covers the realities and rewards of having an autistic brother.

Meet the Type 1 DiaBitsies by Amy Hernandez Greenbank
This fantastic book explains diabetes using characters and simple language so children can understand what the disease is all about. Great for any child that has a friend or relative with diabetes.

I also highly recommend Greenback's activity book called: Draw, Doodle, Use Your Noodle: The complete-the-picture Coloring Book. My boys have loved this one. We use this when there is lots of time for independent work like on a plane or, now, during our social distancing.

Silly Dogs by Terry Luckey
A book for preschoolers (and all ages!) about dogs.

Middle School Misadventures by Jason Platt
There are two books in the series so far of the adventures of Newell and his friends. These full-color graphic novels are fun and imaginative.

John Deere, That's Who! by Tracy Nelson Maurer
This book brings John Deere's story to life for kids.

How Little Billy Learned to Play by Shellie Moore Guy
Written as a tribute to musician Bill Bell (1936-2017), How Little Billy Learned to Play follows a young, fictionalized Bill Bell as he learns to play music in the Watertown neighborhood of East Moline where he grew up.

The Ben Braver Series and Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja Series by Marcus Emerson
My boys love the adventures in these books. Great for stronger elementary readers and even middle schoolers!

Max and the Spice Thieves by John Peragine
Max and the Spice Thieves is a grand adventure, filled with pirates, magical creatures, and friendship.

One of my favorite places to get local books is The Book Rack in Davenport, Iowa. They often have unique and hard to find books written by authors from the Quad Cities. They also have a great search engine online that can help you find what you're looking for, plus the staff is really helpful as well.