Kids Book Index
Susan Verde, illustrated by John Parra
A boy takes on a project to change a neglected city wall. He brings people in his neighborhood together to create a mural, transforming the bare wall through shared art. The story centers on how a creative effort can reshape a public space and connect the people who live around it.
This book appears on 1 reading list across 1 edition.
The Parker InheritanceVarian JohnsonCandice Miller spends the summer at her late grandmother’s home in Lambert, South Carolina. A letter there points toward a treasure that her grandmother once sought, a search that cost her the city-manager job. Candice, who enjoys puzzles, joins her new neighbor Brandon to investigate the clues, clear her grandmother’s name, and uncover a wrong done to a Black family in the town’s past. Their search is interwoven with Lambert’s earlier history and the story of Siobhan, the tennis coach’s determined daughter.Fiction and PoetryLexile Text Measure 610LATOS Book Level 4.2On the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details
LoveMatt de la Peña, illustrated by Loren LongThis picture book follows a child’s encounters with love in ordinary life. Its scenes include a child sharing food with a man who may be homeless and a police officer playing with children in park sprinklers. Another account describes a girl explaining her own understanding of love to her diverse family, connecting love with perspective and art.SOCIAL INTERACTIONS/RELATIONSHIPSLexile Text Measure AD830LATOS Book Level 3.7On the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details
Mommy’s KhimarJamilah Thompkins-BigelowA young Muslim girl spends the day playing dress-up in her mother’s colorful khimars, the flowing scarves her mother wears. As she tries on the headscarves, she feels her mother’s love and explores her own identity. The story portrays the girl’s life within a diverse, welcoming community while centering the imaginative play and family connection she finds in her mother’s scarves.SOCIAL INTERACTIONS/RELATIONSHIPSOn the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details