Kids Book Index
Tanita S. Davis
Rylee Swanson begins eighth grade with no friends after a humiliating incident at a seventh-grade pool party. She had believed deeply in friendship, but is then pranked and abandoned. Rylee approaches the makeups and breakups of middle-school relationships through a friendship hypothesis and a failed experiment. As she plans to survive as a loner, she investigates what friendship means to her.
This book appears on 1 reading list across 1 edition.
On All Other Nights: A Passover Celebration in 14 StoriesChris Baron, Joshua S. Levy, Naomi MillinerFourteen stories explore the foods, religious practices, and traditions of Passover. Most unfold during a seder and connect to one of the Haggadah’s steps; each is introduced with information about that stage of the observance. The collection includes protagonists navigating family memory, grief, guilt, growing up, identity, and food preferences. Its families and characters include Ashkenazi and Cuban relatives, a biracial Indian American girl with Hindu and Jewish parents, a nonbinary child, and a neurodivergent child. Reflection questions and recipes follow the stories.Nine to TwelveOn the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details
Onyx & BeyondAmber McBrideIn 1970, twelve-year-old Onyx dreams about space and astronauts while trying to protect his mother, who has dementia. He is also trying to stay safe and keep attention away from his home, fearing that Child Protective Services could place him in foster care. Set as the Civil Rights Movement is gaining momentum, the free-verse story follows Onyx as he manages responsibilities at home and learns to accept help from other people.Nine to TwelveOn the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details
The Secret Language of BirdsLynne KellyThirteen-year-old Nina is excited to attend her aunt’s summer camp. There, nature and wildlife call to her, as do mysterious birds that prompt her search for answers. Nina also encounters a group of girls known as the Oddballs. The story brings together camp life, birds, and a developing mystery as Nina explores this new setting and its unexpected connections.Nine to TwelveLexile Text Measure 720LATOS Book Level 4.6On the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details