From Newbery-winning author, Kwame Alexander. For middle schools. About soccer. About books. And relationships. Nick Hall is a pretty typical middle schooler. He’s a king on the soccer field, he’s doing well in school, and he’s gearing up to ask out April, the girl of his dreams. However, Nick doesn’t like words. His father is … Read more
Set in London, the Planet Omar series brings to life the vivid imagination of a 9-year-old boy facing a new school year at a new school. Thanks to Zanib Mian’s witty writing and the fully integrated illustrations by Nasaya Mafaridik, this book moves briskly with plenty of laughs – and lessons – along the way. … Read more
What is life like when you are a seventh-grader who gets picked up from school every day in the family taco truck, lovingly named Tía Perla? Well, what was fun and exciting in elementary school – “corn chips and cold sodas for all my friends” – is now just humiliating. Tía Perla, huffing and wheezing … Read more
The girl who charmed you in Stella Díaz Has Something to Say is back for more heartwarming fun. And you don’t have to read the first book to appreciate the second book of this series. If only I could do something big this summer, too. It’s the beginning of summer vacation and Stella is dejected. … Read more
“We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced.” Malala Yousafzai was raised to stand up for what she believes. She took this to heart as her conviction was severely challenged when the Taliban took control of her formally peaceful town. Despite their tactics of fear and violence, Malala continued to stand … Read more
Brown Girl Dreaming is the memoir-in-verse of acclaimed novelist, Jacqueline Woodson. A book rich in personal memories and unforgettable phrasing, it will be enjoyed by a wide range of students and their families. Growing up in Ohio, South Carolina, and then Brooklyn, Woodson uses a series of elegantly wrought poems to paint a richly layered … Read more
The Hank Zipzer series is the creation of Henry Winkler (yes, the Fonz, from Happy Days). He began the series to give voice to his own struggles in school when he was a child with dyslexia. So he created Hank Zipzer – “the world’s greatest underachiever.” Yes, Hank struggles with the technical aspects of school … Read more
On the surface, Save Me a Seat is book about bullying. But there is so much more. It’s a book about different perspectives, told by two boys from different cultures. It’s a book about friendship. It’s a book about classroom dynamics. It’s a book about Indian food! Ravi’s family has just immigrated from India. He … Read more
Meet EllRay Jakes, the young protagonist of Sally Warner’s fun, quick-reading series. Meet his parents, sister, and classmates – and take a peek behind the curtain of life in third grade. In the entertaining second book of the series, we find EllRay in the middle of a common school crisis – popularity. Everyone is bragging … Read more
In Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up, we meet Keena as she starts a new school year with all the excitement and apprehension it brings. She tells us all about it through the entries in her brand new journal, so we experience all of her thoughts and emotions first hand. Like the heroines in many … Read more
Newbery Medal-winning Holes is a rich, complex book that has already engaged a generation of readers. It is sure to provide a wealth of spirited discussion and fun activities when you read it school-wide. At its heart, Holes is the story of Stanley Yelnats, a boy wrongly accused of a crime and sentenced to spend … Read more
What better way to learn history than through the eyes of a beloved character as she experiences it firsthand? Esperanza Ortega guides us through her beautiful coming-of-age story in the 1930s. With the effects of the Mexican Revolution and the Great Depression lingering in her hometown of Aguascaleintes, Mexico, the wellborn Esperanza goes from anticipating … Read more
“A step at a time. One problem at a time—just figure out this one problem.” Linda Sue Park tells a story of perseverance, a story of hope, a story taken from recent history. A Long Walk to Water is Salva Dut’s story, but it’s also a story of so many others who are born into dire … Read more
“Rufus’s idea wasn’t to become a millionaire. Just to make toothpaste…” Rufus Mayflower is a can-do kid. He is a sunny problem-solver who charms and inspires the students and friends and even adults around him. When Rufus balks at paying too much for toothpaste, he decides to make his own. When he discovers how easy … Read more
Introducing… Merci Suárez! She is fun, spunky, ambitious, mature (and sometimes immature) – making for one highly representative middle-schooler. Merci’s story is one of change, of accepting the hard truths in life and the bumps along the road. Hers is also the story of a loving family that helps during this tricky time. Join Merci … Read more
“Our house is bare and our rice hardly fills our bowls, but we have plenty of stories.” Minli lives in the Valley of the Fruitless Mountain where she and her parents work tirelessly to put food on their table. Each night, Minli finds herself nourished by her father’s tales – especially the story of the … Read more
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is a nonfiction title that informs, amazes, and inspires all readers, young and not so young. To call it another inspiring must-read doesn’t do it justice. Yes, it has all of the components of a heartfelt hometown hero story. An unlikely hero? Check. An against-all-odds situation? Check. Tragedy and … Read more
Three characters; separated by continents, divided by decades, and bound by harrowing circumstances that reach beyond time and place. The journeys of the three protagonists in Alan Gratz’s Refugee are distinct in history, yet they share a common trajectory of escaping cruelty to find freedom. Josef from Germany in the 1930s, Isabel from Cuba in … Read more
We all know that student who loves books — really, really loves books. Amy Anne Ollinger is just that student. Her favorite place in the whole world is her school library, and her favorite book is From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. You can imagine her shock when this book-loving girl finds … Read more
“You can do anything you want with your name. It’s yours.” Cleo Edison Oliver is confident, independent, and enterprising. She is ready to take on the world– and she is open for business. She’s also just a kid, a young African-American girl navigating elementary school. Amid her various enterprising business schemes this novel is also … Read more
Dog Days brings together a new kid story, a dog story, a bullying story, and a dose of financial literacy – all in 122 illustrated pages. Gavin is a third grader adjusting to a new town and new school while trying to make new friends. His attempt to impress a potential new friend leads to … Read more
Dragons in a Bag is a much-needed contribution to the world of fantasy kidlit. It practically stands alone in a subgenre lacking characters of color. In fact, author Zetta Elliott intentionally wrote this book to add some representation to this space and show children that “magic can happen to anyone, anywhere—not just white kids in … Read more
Bud, Not Buddy is the Newbery Award-winning follow-up to Christopher Paul Curtis’s acclaimed The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963. It tells the story of Bud (not Buddy), a ten-year-old African-American boy in search of his father in Depression-era Michigan. Bud’s mother has died, landing him in the Home, an orphanage in Flint. When he … Read more
