Kids Book Index
Tziporah Cohen
Eleven-year-old Jewish girl Miriam moves with her family to upstate New York, where they manage a motel. With help from her Catholic friend, she creates a local tourist attraction intended to save the failing business. Their faked Virgin Mary apparition provokes anti-Semitism, but the community ultimately supports the motel. The novel brings together religion, prejudice, friendship, and a family business.
This book appears on 1 reading list across 1 edition.
Five Things about Ava AndrewsMargaret DillowayEleven-year-old Ava Andrews has many ideas and plans, but her quietness makes other people assume she does not speak or is unfriendly. Only her best friend Zelia knows her well. Ava lives with anxiety and a heart condition, and she hopes middle school will offer a fresh beginning. When Zelia moves away and Ava’s grandmother encourages her to speak about social issues, Ava withdraws further. Improv becomes one way Ava works with her anxiety and helps her community.Nine to TwelveLexile Text Measure 619LATOS Book Level 4On the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details
Don’t Stand So Close to MeEric WaltersThirteen-year-old Quinn and her friends initially welcome a two-week extension of spring break. The extension comes because of a virus, however, and Quinn’s classmates must adapt to changed daily circumstances during the coronavirus pandemic. The book presents their experiences as they work through those new realities. Quinn’s age, her friendships, the disrupted break, and the pandemic shape the situation described.Nine to TwelveOn the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details
NonstopTomi Ungerer, illustrated by Tomi UngererThis dark warning tale imagines the collapse of civilization. Apocalyptic landscapes accompany its vision of a damaged world. The book presents perseverance as the remaining possibility for hope in the face of that ending. Its central concerns include trust and friendship, while its warning calls attention to the consequences of civilization’s destruction. The narrative is described as the final work of its creator.Nine to TwelveOn the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details