Reading's a salvo for the rainiest of days or the longest of car trips. And, really, it's not such a bad way to while away some hours outside on even a sunny spring day. So check out this list of books — some old, some new — to recommend to kids this season.

Books for Beginners
Picture book-lovers and those new to the reading fold will love these tomes.

• Family.com Favorite: "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day"
• "Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich"
• "Llama Llama Mad at Mama"
• "Doctor DeSoto"
• "The Dot"
• "Vulture View"
• "Mr. Popper's Penguins"

• Family.com Favorite: "All-American Girl"
• "The All New Amelia"
• Family.com Favorite: "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules"
• "Escape! The Story of the Great Houdini"
• "Fairest"
• "Fantastic Mr. Fox"
• "Gender Blender"
• "Half-Moon Investigations"
• "If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period"
• "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy"
• "The Looking Glass Wars"
• "Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf"
• "Molly Moon, Mickey Minus, and the Mind Machine"
• "Parade of Shadows"
• "Seeing Redd, The Looking Glass Wars, Book 2"
• "The Shakespeare Stealer"
• "The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales"

For Teens
Young people ages 13 and older will savor curling up with one of these choices.

• "Ender's Game"
• "Good Enough"
• "Jinx"
• "Maximum Ride, Book 1: The Angel Experiment"
• "Perfect"
• "Prom Dates from Hell"
• "Shakespeare Bats Cleanup"
• "Slam"
• "The Upper Class"