Rank 1The Yellow BusLoren LongA bright yellow school bus spends her days taking children where they need to go, and their daily rides make her happy. When she is retired, her life changes, but she is put to new uses more than once. In each role, the bus continues to find happiness, even after the schoolchildren she once carried are gone. The story follows her through change while keeping her connection to helping others at its center.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeWord Count 417View book detailsCBC Favorites Awards 2025
The 2025 edition contains 660 selections published by the Children's Book Council. The source uses 12 audience or subject sections, including Kids Favorites, Kindergarten through 2nd Grade, Kids Favorites, 3rd through 5th Grade, Kids Favorites, 6th through 8th Grade, and Kids Favorites, 9th through 12th Grade. It is one year of the CBC Favorites program, whose results may be grouped by Kids, Teachers, and Librarians.
2025 CBC Favorites AwardsSee the original list
Selections660
Published byChildren's Book Council
Sections12 sections
Browse sections12 sections
Kids Favorites — K–2nd Grade
70 selections
Rank 1The Yellow BusLoren LongA bright yellow school bus spends her days taking children where they need to go, and their daily rides make her happy. When she is retired, her life changes, but she is put to new uses more than once. In each role, the bus continues to find happiness, even after the schoolchildren she once carried are gone. The story follows her through change while keeping her connection to helping others at its center.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeWord Count 417View book details
Rank 2Built to LastMinh LêTwo boys work together on construction projects that grow increasingly large, turning blocks into imagined worlds that include sea-creature attacks and castles falling into the ocean. When their creations collapse, they retrieve the pieces and begin again. A spectacular failure makes them stop laughing and tests their friendship, as collaboration brings both setbacks and successes. Colored-pencil and watercolor art blends their everyday building with fantasy.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD540LATOS Book Level 3.6View book details
Rank 3Mr. Fox’s Game of No!David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mike WohnoutkaMr. Fox invites readers to play a game with one rule: every answer to his questions must be “no.” Saying “yes” sends the player back to the start of the book. Fox’s questions include traps designed to make that rule difficult to follow, turning the story into a repeated challenge between the character and the reader. The book closes with another question that makes “yes” hard to resist.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Rank 4Penelope Rex and the Problem with PetsRyan T. HigginsPenelope Rex gets a pet saber-toothed tiger, an unusual companion alongside the dogs, cats, fish, and guinea pigs that many children have. Her new pet brings chaos and may be more than she can manage. This story follows Penelope as she faces the problems that come with caring for a saber-toothed tiger and tries to handle the disruption it causes.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD460LATOS Book Level 3.1View book details
Rank 5Two Little Red MittensKirin Hayashi, illustrated by Chiaki OkadaA little red left mitten and a little red right mitten live together as a pair, warming Little One’s hands. When Little One loses the right mitten, it travels through the forest and passes among woodland creatures. The lost mitten becomes worn but remains treasured by the animals who find it. Meanwhile, the left mitten worries about its old companion, even after a replacement right mitten is knitted.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Rank 6Are You a Sleepy Monster?Guilherme Karsten, illustrated by Guilherme KarstenA monster prepares scary pajamas and expects someone to sleep beneath the bed, where everything is suitably yucky and monstrous. The plan is interrupted by a surprising correction: the sleeper uses the bed itself. The story plays with a monster’s upside-down ideas about bedtime and where people belong at night.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Rank 7Pretty UglyDavid SedarisA young ogre changes herself into an adorable-looking figure to frighten her family, but the prank goes wrong when her face freezes. She must try to undo the change and reclaim her former monstrous appearance. The story centers on her wish to stop looking human and return to the face she recognizes as her own, raising questions about appearance, uniqueness, and what beauty means.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD470LATOS Book Level 3.2View book details
Rank 8Spider in the WellJess HanniganIn Bad Göodsburg, the town’s wishing well has broken, and its residents are angry that their wishes no longer come true. The townspeople send a Newsboy they dismiss as no-good to investigate what happened. His inquiry unfolds amid fibs and cons, with the question of justice at its center.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Rank 9No Cats in the LibraryLauren Emmons, illustrated by Lauren EmmonsClarisse is a clever cat who loves looking at books, even though she does not understand their dark, squiggly lines. She discovers a building where people enter empty-handed and leave carrying books, and she wants to get inside. The library does not allow cats, but Clarisse sneaks in anyway. There she encounters new stories and helps a little girl practice reading aloud.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Rank 10The Book That Can Read Your MindMarianna Coppo, illustrated by Marianna CoppoLady Rabbit is a magician preparing an unusual act: she will predict a character chosen by the reader. Readers select someone from the illustrated theater audience without revealing the choice, and the book attempts to identify that character. The interactive format turns the story into a guessing game, with Lady Rabbit performing the apparent mind-reading trick through the choices made on the page.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure 440LATOS Book Level 3View book details
All Aboard the Alaska TrainBrooke Hartman, illustrated by John JosephFive train cars travel along an Alaska railroad, collecting animal passengers as they go. A porcupine, grizzly bear, caribou, and other animals join the journey through Alaska’s landscapes. The train carries its wild passengers toward a mountain, creating a rhyming adventure focused on the railroad ride and the creatures aboard. The setting brings together transportation, Alaska scenery, and a changing group of animal travelers.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD490LATOS Book Level 3.3View book details
Alpacas Make Terrible LibrariansKristi Mahoney, illustrated by Chantelle Thorne, Burgen ThorneA visit to the library brings an unexpected sight: the librarian has been replaced by an alpaca. The book presents that surprising change as its central situation, placing an animal in a library role associated with books and reading. The premise also sets up a humorous contrast between an alpaca and the work of a librarian. Kristi Mahoney wrote the book.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Arlo Needs GlassesBarney SaltzbergArlo is a shaggy dog who enjoys playing catch until he can no longer see the ball. His experience leads him to glasses and a different way to play. The story follows Arlo as he discovers that glasses change what he can see and help him return to activities he loves. Arlo’s journey centers on vision, play, and adapting to a new need.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure 157LATOS Book Level 1.5View book details
A Bear, a Fish, and a Fishy WishDaniel BernstromA hungry brown bear wants a small pink-and-silver fish for a meal, while the fish is trying to return upstream to its home. As the fish leaps at a waterfall, the bear captures it. Other fish follow, jumping over the bear and its captive, until both tumble into the water and wash onto a riverbank. Rhyming text and digital illustrations accompany the chase and its resolution.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeATOS Book Level 1.1AR Interest Level Lower Grades (LG K-3)View book details
Bear’s Lost GlassesLeo Timmers, illustrated by Leo TimmersBear cannot find his glasses and believes he left them at Giraffe’s house. As he travels there, he notices animals he had not seen before, including an elephant, crocodile, flamingo, and deer. Bear mistakes ordinary objects for these exotic animals because his missing glasses are actually sitting on top of his head. His search leads to unexpected encounters and a surprising realization.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
A Big Juicy EarthwormKatarina Macurova, illustrated by Katarina MacurovaPipo, Bud, and Kenny are three chicken friends who turn familiar objects into imaginative adventures. Their latest quest concerns a mysterious earthworm, sending the trio into unexpected adventures together. The story follows the friends’ curiosity as they search for the earthworm and make possibilities out of the everyday things around them.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD590LATOS Book Level 3.8View book details
BrianosaurusGed AdamsonAfter learning that frogs lived at the same time as dinosaurs, Brian decides he is a dinosaur too: a Brianosaurus. His woodland friends expect him to roar instead of using trampolines or reading books, while the frogs object to how he makes their pond look. Brian tries behaving as others want, but is unhappy until he chooses to be himself.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD490LATOS Book Level 3.3View book details
Broommates: A Brewing Boundary BattleLynne Marie, Brenda Reeves Sturgis, illustrated by Nico EcenarroBroommates: A Brewing Boundary Battle places witch sisters Mathilda and Malin in a Halloween-flavored sibling conflict. They share both a room and a broom, and their shared arrangements need improvement. The story makes their living space and transport part of the dispute. Lynne Marie and Brenda Reeves Sturgis wrote the 34-page book, published by The Little Press in 2024.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Buffalo FluffaloBess Kalb, illustrated by Erin KraanBuffalo Fluffalo arrives acting large, tough, and full of self-importance. His bluff is eventually revealed, and a rainstorm exposes a different side of him. Told in rhyme, the story follows a buffalo whose bold manner does not tell the whole truth. Its events turn on the gap between how he presents himself and what is uncovered when the weather changes.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD580LATOS Book Level 3.8View book details
Butt or Face?Kari LavelleThis animal guessing-game picture book begins with close-up photographs and asks whether each image shows an animal’s face or its rear end. The following page reveals the complete animal and includes facts about it. The animals use camouflage and other forms of trickery in their habitats; examples include a frog whose rear resembles eyes and a turtle that breathes through its rear. Color photographs, puns, and animal information shape the book’s playful nonfiction approach.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Chicken Little and the Very Long Race (The Real Chicken Little)Sam Wedelich, illustrated by Sam WedelichWhen a marathon is announced in the barnyard, Chicken Little does not share everyone else’s excitement, even though Hare holds the local record. The race becomes a test of Chicken Little’s own approach to a very long course. Rather than relying on speed alone, she considers whether a patient, steady pace could give her a chance to win the marathon.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Chooch HelpedAndrea L. RogersSissy is annoyed that her two-year-old brother, Chooch, is praised for helping even when he creates a mess. When he tries to assist with her clay pot, she yells at him and he cries. Their parents remind Sissy that she behaved much the same way when she was younger and that she can teach Chooch. She chooses to help him learn to make a clay pot, reshaping their relationship within their Cherokee family.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD440LView book details
CrankyPhuc Tran, illustrated by Pete OswaldCranky is a yellow crane truck having a bad mood. The other vehicles encourage him to talk about what he is feeling, and he eventually recognizes the worth of their advice. Colorful, animated illustrations and pun-filled text accompany this story about a construction vehicle working through difficult emotions with help from fellow machines.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
The Dictionary StoryOliver JeffersDictionary longs to have a story of her own, so she brings the words on her pages to life. Her new characters quickly become unruly, colliding and creating disorder until a huge tantrum erupts. Alphabet, Dictionary’s friend, responds with a song that restores calm and arrangement to the pages. This playful story turns words, a dictionary, and the alphabet into characters as a planned adventure becomes a jumble.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeWord Count 3798View book details
Dinosaurs in SpaceTodd Sturgell, illustrated by Todd SturgellThis book connects dinosaur fossils with an unexpected question about the moon. It begins with the fossils dinosaurs left behind and considers how some of those remains might have reached lunar space. The story explores the link between prehistoric life, fossils, and the possibility of finding dinosaur traces on the moon.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD550LATOS Book Level 3.6View book details
DorisLo Cole, illustrated by Lo ColeDoris is a shy red elephant who struggles to disappear into the crowd. Although she has long relished being in a spotlight, she dances to a rhythm that is distinctly her own. The tale asks whether Doris can welcome the qualities that set her apart and find courage in being herself. Her shyness and uniqueness shape her effort to blend in and accept herself.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD770LATOS Book Level 4.9View book details
Fox Is Coming!James Patterson, Joe Kulka, illustrated by Joe KulkaEight little chicks flap and race through a farm while Fox pursues them. Although the chicks appear to be fleeing the crafty fox, their reason for running is not what it first seems. The chase contains a surprising turn and is told in rhyme. Its ending centers on friendship and playtime, recasting the pursuit as something other than an ordinary chase.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
The Ghost Who Was Afraid of EverythingNadia Ahmed, illustrated by Nadia AhmedFinn is a little ghost who is afraid of so many things that he stays in his attic instead of going trick-or-treating with his family. Fear makes his stomach swoop, his hands sweat, and his body freeze. Wanting his favorite Halloween candy gives Finn a reason to face what scares him. By gradually approaching those fears, he finds the courage to enjoy activities with the people he loves.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD490LATOS Book Level 3.3View book details
Gifts from the Garbage Truck: A True Story About the Things We (Don’t) Throw AwayAndrew Larsen, foreword by Nelson MolinaThis true story follows Nelson Molina, a sanitation worker in New York City who saved more than 45,000 objects from his garbage truck. The items he kept include toys, musical instruments, and assorted thingamajigs. The book considers the value of things that might otherwise be treated as worthless, including broken objects that can be repaired rather than discarded. Molina’s collection grows from what he finds during his work.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Gina Kaminski Saves the WolfCraig Barr-Green, illustrated by Francis MartinGina steps into the world of Little Red Riding Hood because she believes the Wolf has made three major errors. Her goal is to stop the woodcutter from killing the wolf and alter the outcome that awaits him. The story places a young reader inside a familiar fairy tale, where Gina works to change the wolf’s fate. Sketchy illustrations include emotionally expressive emojis.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
The Girl Who Loves BugsLily MurrayEvie loves bugs and shares that interest with her family, even though she knows others may not always understand her enthusiasm. Her fascination with creepy-crawlies disrupts a family gathering when her grandmother visits. As Evie talks about the creatures she loves, she learns that she is not alone in her interest. Illustrated by Jenny Løvlie, this picture book follows Evie’s bug-filled family visit and her discovery of an unexpected connection.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Hank Goes HonkMaudie Powell-Tuck, illustrated by Duncan BeedieHank is a very loud and rude goose whose friends have had enough of his behavior. He interrupts people while they speak and takes the cherries from the tops of others’ cupcakes. As Hank’s conduct affects his friends, the story follows his chance to understand friendship and kindness and to become less rude.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Hello: How Nüwa Created the WorldViola WangIn this retelling of a Chinese creation myth, Nüwa is a young goddess who is alone. With clay and a greeting, she begins the creation of humankind and the world. The story centers on her role as a creator while drawing on Chinese mythology. It presents Nüwa’s act of making life as the starting point for a new world.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
I Am a PotatoZiggy Hanaor, illustrated by Elliot KruszynskiA small furry creature insists that they are a potato, but Dog questions the claim by asking whether they grow underground or have many eyes. Cat then helps narrow the answer: the creature breathes air, eats, and produces waste, so it is an animal. As additional creatures join the conversation, they use questions to work out what kind of animal the puzzled creature is.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
José Feeds the World: How a Famous Chef Feeds Millions of People in Need Around the WorldDavid Unger, illustrated by Marta Álvarez MiguénsThis true story follows chef José Andrés as he responds to disasters by cooking for people who are hungry. It traces memories of his childhood kitchen in Spain alongside work in earthquake and hurricane relief areas. After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, José gathered friends, traveled to the island, and began making rice and beans for local people in need.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Jump for JoyKaren Gray RuelleJoy has always wanted a dog, while Jump, a dog, has always wanted a kid. Across the seasons, each makes imagined companions from materials nearby: flowers and ferns, seashells and sand, sticks and mud, then snow. Their creations disappear, but the following spring Joy and Jump finally notice one another when their excited calls meet.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
The Last ZookeeperAaron BeckerIn a flooded future where waterlogged buildings are the remaining signs of people, a construction robot named NOA tends a neglected zoo of rare and endangered animals. As another storm approaches, NOA builds an ark from wreckage and sets out to find land and a home for the animals. The wordless story follows the robot’s rescue mission through a post-apocalyptic landscape shaped by rising floodwaters.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
The Little Green Swing (Little Ruby’s Big Ideas)Brenda Maier, illustrated by Sonia SánchezRuby is a girl whose mind is constantly occupied by ideas. On a windy day, she asks her brothers to help her make something remarkable. Her brothers have a different plan: rather than organize a project, they want to play. The story places Ruby’s urge to plan a project and build something alongside her brothers’ preference for play on a windy day.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
LostMariajo Ilustrajo, illustrated by Mariajo IlustrajoLost follows a polar bear that is alone and unable to find its way in a large city. The bear meets a young girl there. She offers the bear her care as it looks for help among the city’s busy surroundings. The setting is described as a big city, bringing together a polar bear in need of assistance and a girl who responds by helping.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Lucky DuckGreg PizzoliFrank is an odd duckling in a family of ducks. Unlike the rest of his family, he faces an unfamiliar world when a lurking fox threatens them. As he tries to bring his family to safety, Frank draws on courage he did not know he had and comes to recognize his own distinct identity. This animal adventure follows a duck and his family as they confront danger.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure 600LATOS Book Level 3.9View book details
Luigi, the Spider Who Wanted to Be a KittenMichelle Knudsen, illustrated by Kevin HawkesLuigi is a large, hairy spider looking for a home with dim corners where he can hide. After waking, he finds a woman reaching toward him and declaring that she wants a kitten, which she names Luigi. Accustomed to solitude, web-spinning, and dangling, he initially resists her attention. Another account describes Luigi as posing as a kitten and raises whether he can maintain that role.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure 511LATOS Book Level 3.4View book details
The Man Who Didn’t Like AnimalsDeborah Underwood, illustrated by LeUyen PhamThis imagined account asks who Old MacDonald was before his farm existed. It begins with a man devoted to keeping a tidy home and uninterested in animals. His routine changes when a cat arrives. The account follows his transformation into a farmer, where he has animal companions he had not expected. It connects that tidy man with the familiar farmer and his animal friends.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
María MariposaKarla Arenas Valenti, illustrated by Ana Ramírez GonzálezOn her first school day in a new country, María Mariposa finds a butterfly at her windowsill, a gift that has arrived from Mexico. The butterfly brings magic and recalls memories of home. María feels filled with those memories and butterfly wings, and knows who she is. The story follows the butterfly’s effect on her confidence as she enters this unfamiliar setting.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD730LATOS Book Level 4.7View book details
Merry Christmas ZooLola M. Schaefer, Lisa Eickholdt, illustrated by Laura WatkinsAt Christmas, a zoo becomes the setting for a holiday surprise for its animals. Drawing on real events and echoing the familiar framework of “The Night Before Christmas,” this picture book centers on the season’s sense of wonder and on giving. The story brings Christmas festivities to the zoo, where the animals receive a special seasonal surprise.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Millie Fleur’s Poison GardenChristy MandinGarden Glen is a remarkably uniform place, where the houses and gardens look much alike. That changes when Millie Fleur La Fae arrives in town. On a scruffy hill beside a ramshackle house, she plants a garden unlike anything around it. Her collection includes unusual creations such as Sneezing Stickyweed, Fanged Fairymoss, and Grumpy Gilliflower. The story brings a strange, imaginative garden into an orderly community and presents Millie Fleur’s distinctive vision through a series of wonderfully odd plants.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
A Mischief of MiceChristie Matheson, illustrated by Christie MathesonOn a windy autumn day, a group of mice disappears. Other animals respond to the mystery: squirrels are frightened, coyotes howl nearby, ravens are suspected, and porcupines may be able to help. A group of bears takes up the search for the missing mice. Told in rhyme, the story uses collective nouns for its animal groups as the clues lead through a nature-filled whodunit.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD560LATOS Book Level 3.7View book details
Moo HooAudrey Perrott, illustrated by Ross BurachMilton cries when he is sad, happy, frightened, nervous, frustrated, and in other moments as well. His friends do not understand his tears, and their bafflement causes him to cry even more. Another description identifies Milton as a bull whose tears lead to friendship and self-acceptance. The story focuses on his many emotions and on accepting himself as he is.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
The Most Beautiful WinterCristina Sitja Rubio, illustrated by Cristina Sitja Rubio, Vineet LalAs snow covers the forest trees, the animals settle down to sleep, but Badger does not want to hibernate. He has plans for the cold season, while Bear has asked not to be disturbed, Marmot will not answer, and even the nighthawk sleeps. Badger spends hours drawing, knitting, and reading, yet he wants company. He looks for someone to share his winter activities.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure 510LATOS Book Level 3.4View book details
Mr. Round and Mr. SquarePatricia Fitti, illustrated by Patricia FittiPatricia Fitti’s Mr. Round and Mr. Square introduces two neighbors who live opposite one another. Each day, they look out from their homes. At Mr. Round’s house it is sunny, while Mr. Square’s view is cloudy. The two characters continue to see what is outside in different ways. Its title gives the neighbors their contrasting names. Planeta Publishing released this 32-page book on June 24, 2025.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
No Bear AnywhereLeah GilbertBruin joins his family on a walk along Bear Creek Trail with one wish: to spot a bear, his favorite animal. The outing does not go as he expects, and his search leads him to other unexpected wonders. The story follows Bruin as he faces the disappointment of not finding the animal he hoped to see and encounters surprises along the way.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Old Clothes for Dinner?Nathalie AlonsoMagaly enjoys the Cuban food her abuela cooks after arriving from Havana. But when she hears that dinner will be ropa vieja, she mistakes the Spanish name for “old clothes” and is horrified at the thought. This bilingual family story follows the misunderstanding around a Cuban dish and the mix-up it creates at mealtime.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Open Me…I’m a DogArt SpiegelmanA wizard’s magic turns a dog into something with pages: a book that is also a dog. It has a tail, barks, and can go home with its reader, but it will not leave messes on a carpet or smell like a wet dog. The premise plays with the usual distinction between an animal and a book, including the idea of a dog made through three-dimensional art.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Oy, Santa!Joyce Schriebman, illustrated by Gila von MeissnerOliver Overstreet, a Jewish biracial child, talks with Santa about Christmas and Hanukkah. He explains that the two holidays are not connected, while the story makes room for Jewish joy, friendship, and distinct traditions. Set during the holiday season, the book brings Christmas and Hanukkah into the same conversation without treating them as the same celebration.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Pascal the Very Hungry PenguinNishani Reed, illustrated by Junissa BiandaPascal the Very Hungry Penguin is a rhyming adventure by Nishani Reed. Pascal loves curry, and after he tastes Nabil’s biriyani rice, he chooses to leave the zoo with Nabil. Published by Nosy Crow in 2024, the book turns Pascal’s response to a meal into a journey from the zoo to Nabil’s home. The penguin’s decision follows directly from tasting the rice.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Peg Gets CrackinJo Renfro, illustrated by Jo RenfroPeg is happy inside the secure shell of her egg, even as her siblings hatch around her. She imagines frightening possibilities beyond the shell and prefers to stay where she is. Eventually she grows too large to remain inside and takes tentative first steps into the outside world. Once there, Peg discovers that the world is not as bad as she feared.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD500LATOS Book Level 3.3View book details
Pig Town PartyLian Cho, illustrated by Lian ChoA girl called Cutie receives a mysterious invitation in the mail. She follows the mail carrier through hedges and finds a hidden world of pigs heading toward a mansion. At the address, pigs in many kinds of costumes welcome her to their party and admire her human costume. Cutie realizes they have mistaken her for something else and intends to correct them.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
The Quickest Bedtime Story Ever!Louise Fitzgerald, illustrated by Kate HindleyThis bedtime story claims to contain only ten words, but preparation comes first. The reader is asked to warm up a reading voice and organize the teddy bears before beginning. Its narrator treats getting ready for a story as serious business, even though the stated story is extremely short. The book’s premise turns the rituals around bedtime reading into the main event.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Quiet As MudJane Yolen, illustrated by Nicole WongA softly illustrated poem invites readers to pause, listen carefully, and notice what becomes apparent when they are still and attentive. Told in soothing rhymes, it focuses on children who daydream, think deeply, or watch and wonder while activity continues around them. The book says that an inner life can be interesting without being the loudest presence in a room.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Rainbow BearBill Martin Jr., Michael Sampson, illustrated by Nathalie BeauvoisLittle Bear wakes hungry after hibernation. He eats berries while learning the color names in a rainbow. The picture book combines his food-focused journey with colors, vivid illustrations, and familiar animal characters. Bear’s story begins when hibernation ends and follows him as he eats berries and encounters the rainbow’s colors.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
RhythmJackie Azúa Kramer, illustrated by Taia MorleyOne girl watches her community change with the seasons. Her town was once vibrant but is now affected by unemployment and food insecurity, and she observes its shifting rhythm as the year passes. The story places a child’s seasonal observations alongside the challenges facing the people around her, with resilience and hope at its center.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Scooper and Dumper The Pumpkin ParadeLindsay WardCrisp autumn days arrive in a small town, and the vehicles Scooper and Dumper get busy preparing for a pumpkin parade. The story follows their seasonal preparations as fall festivities approach. With its vehicle characters, parade plans, and pumpkin-focused celebration, the book is set against the changing weather and activities of autumn.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Sour AppleLinda LiuAn apple is left behind after picking season ends and lies on the cold ground. Feeling forgotten, the apple questions its place in the world and considers different possibilities for what might have happened if it had been chosen. Through this reflection, the apple comes to learn about self-acceptance and patience, as well as ideas about what it means to be alive.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
The SpacemanRandy Cecil, illustrated by Randy CecilA tiny orange spaceman lands on Earth to collect soil samples but becomes distracted by a towering red flower. When a bird carries off his spaceship, he follows it into unfamiliar surroundings. Frightened by a dog, he runs until morning brings more creatures, including a butterfly that carries him before dropping him into a pond. The dog retrieves him from the water, and the spaceman eventually spots his ship in a tree.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
A Sundae with Everything on ItKyle Scheele, illustrated by Andy J. PizzaA mother and her son set out to find an extraordinary dessert. His mother is a quantum physicist who has invented a device for traveling through space and time, making a trip through dimensions possible. Their quest is prompted by the need for an enormous scoop of ice cream and a bowl large enough to hold it. The story combines a family outing, dessert, and science-fiction travel.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
The Teeny-Weeny UnicornShawn HarrisA very small unicorn feels frustrated by his size in a world that seems much too large. He is also tired of being ordered about by his older siblings. When an accident reveals a power he did not know he had, the discovery brings trouble as well as a new perspective. The story follows the unicorn as he confronts his feelings about being small and learns how family support can matter when challenges arise.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD590LATOS Book Level 3.8View book details
Togo to the RescueMélisande Potter, illustrated by Giselle PotterThis account recounts the real 1925 emergency in Nome, Alaska, where diphtheria affected chiefly children. In January, a blinding snowstorm cut off travel to and from the rural community. Togo, a Siberian Husky, traveled through the storm to help bring medicine that could save lives. The story places the dog’s journey against a disease outbreak and dangerous winter conditions there.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Turkey’s Birthday BashWendi Silvano, illustrated by Lee HarperIt is Turkey’s birthday, but nobody appears to be celebrating or even aware of it. Farmer Jake and the family are doing something in the backyard, and Turkey is not allowed to see it. Determined to find out, Turkey uses disguises with help from friends, dressing as items such as a candle and a cupcake to get past the family.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD530LATOS Book Level 2.6View book details
When an Elephant Hears NODazzle Ng, illustrated by Estrela LourençoWhen an elephant hears the word “no,” it may respond with a tantrum. The reaction is described as steaming, stomping, and explosive, and it creates a big problem. The book also says that “no” can have many meanings. It connects an elephant’s intense response to a refusal with the idea that the same word can mean different things in different circumstances.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Willow the White House CatJill Biden, illustrated by Kate BerubeWillow leaves a comfortable barn and moves to Washington, DC, to live in a large white house. In her new home, she finds rooms to explore. Willow is welcomed by the woman she had met at Farmer Rick’s farm. The story follows the cat from the barn she knew to a new Washington home, where a familiar person receives her there.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Worm’s Lost & FoundJule Wellerdiek, illustrated by Jule Wellerdiek, David Henry WilsonWorm operates a lost-and-found office and has an unusual talent for locating missing objects. When Worm’s own hat disappears, the problem becomes personal. Seal, Worm’s absent-minded friend who often misplaces things, joins the search. Her suggested method takes an unexpected turn: checking in different directions before making pancakes. The story follows their attempt to recover Worm’s beloved hat.Kids Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsKids Favorites — 3rd–5th Grade
50 selections
Rank 1You Made Fun of My SandwichJessica Pegis, illustrated by Harry BriggsA classmate makes fun of a child’s lunch, prompting the storyteller’s imagination to take flight. Instead of responding only with hurt, the child answers through humor, creativity, and empathy. The story centers on a moment of teasing over food and on an imaginative response that changes how the encounter is handled.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Rank 2Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder: A Graphic Novel (Dog Man #12): From the Creator of Captain UnderpantsDav Pilkey, illustrated by Dav PilkeyAfter a skunk sprays Dog Man, tomato juice removes the smell but leaves him scarlet red. Shunned by the citizens he must save, Dog Man is sent away. Petey is reluctantly drawn back toward crime to help him, while a new villain releases an army of AI robots. The graphic novel follows the conflict as Dog Man, Petey, and others face these escalating dangers.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Rank 3This Is My BrainElise Gravel, illustrated by Elise GravelA Schneider Family Book Award winner! A Bank Street Best Book of the Year!Told in dual narrative, This Is My Brain in Love is a stunning YA contemporary romance, exploring mental health, race, and, ultimately self-acceptance, for fans of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter and Emergency Contact.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Rank 4The Café at the Edge of the WoodsMikey Please, illustrated by Mikey PleaseRene opens a café beside an enchanted forest with a waiter named Glumfoot. She hopes to serve fine cuisine, but the local creatures request dishes such as pickled bats and battered mice. An ogre’s order leaves Rene ready to give up, since she does not want to serve food she considers rubbish. Rene and Glumfoot must find a compromise that meets the customer’s peculiar tastes.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Rank 5Orris and Timble: The BeginningKate DiCamillo, illustrated by Carmen MokOrris, a rat living alone in an abandoned barn, keeps a few treasured objects in his nest. One night, he finds an owl named Timble caught in a mousetrap. Although Timble is his natural enemy, Orris must decide whether to free him. A remembered tale about a lion and a mouse helps shape his choice. Timble later returns with a thank-you gift and asks Orris for another story, beginning an unexpected friendship built through storytelling.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeLexile Text Measure 540LATOS Book Level 3.6View book details
Rank 6Kindred Spirits: Shilombish IttibachvffaLeslie Stall WidenerThis nonfiction picture book tells a true history of gifts exchanged between Irish and Indigenous American communities. Spanning 175 years and two historical events, it connects Ireland with the Choctaw Nation, Navajo Nation, and Hopi Tribe. Separated by an ocean, these communities recognize shared suffering during difficult times and respond with compassion, empathy, and kindness.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Rank 7Mighty Scared: The Amazing Ways Animals Defend ThemselvesErin Silver, illustrated by Hayden MaynardThis nonfiction book looks at the strange and sometimes gross ways animals react when they are frightened. It focuses on animal responses to predators, presenting defensive behavior as bold and memorable. The text also raises familiar fears, including being afraid of the dark or of something seen in a movie, before turning attention to the varied ways animals respond to fear.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Rank 8Time BuddiesMatthew Cody, Colleen AF Venable, Marcie Colleen, illustrated by Chad ThomasHoot, an impulsive young owl from the future, meets Bentley, a studious child from the present. Neither feels that they fit in their own time. After they accidentally activate a sparkly button, the pair travel through time together. Their journey takes them to ancient Egypt, the Wild West, and the Renaissance, as the two companions race across different historical periods.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeLexile Text Measure GN340LATOS Book Level 2.5View book details
Rank 9Pencil & Eraser: We Have a Dull-Emma!Jenny Alvarado, illustrated by Jenny AlvaradoPencil & Eraser: We Have a Dull-Emma! is an early-reader graphic novel about two school-supply friends. Pencil seeks adventure, while Eraser is cautious and grouchy. When their person, Stella, is not looking, the pair set off on adventures together. This installment opens at the beginning of a new school year, with Pencil and Eraser ready for what comes next.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Rank 10Pup and Dragon: How to Catch a UnicornAlice Walstead, illustrated by Paul GillPup and Dragon, close friends with opposing temperaments, set out on a zoo search for an elusive unicorn. Pup brings an optimistic energy, whereas Dragon takes a more measured approach. Working from clues, they try to locate the animal, and their pursuit creates comic disorder. The book is a graphic novel presented in colorful sequential art. The pair’s loyal friendship underlies their adventure.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeLexile Text Measure GN530LATOS Book Level 3.5View book details
And Yet You Shine: The Kohinoor Diamond, Colonization, and ResistanceSupriya Kelkar, illustrated by Supriya KelkarThis book tells the story of the Kohinoor, a famous diamond taken from South Asia during colonization. The diamond is now part of the crown jewels in London. The account connects the Kohinoor’s history with colonization and resistance, inviting readers to consider decolonization and dignity. It focuses on the diamond’s journey and the historical forces surrounding its removal from South Asia.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Bird Girl: Gene Stratton-Porter Shares Her Love of Nature With the WorldJill EsbaumThis biography follows Gene Stratton-Porter, a farm girl whose fascination with birds grew from collecting chicken eggs to observing hawks. As an adult, she became a wildlife photographer and author who shared the beauty of nature, especially birds, with a wider audience. The book also describes her role in helping save and restore wetlands and other wild places, connecting her life’s work to preservation.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Bodega Cats: Picture PurrfectHilda Eunice Burgos, illustrated by Siara FaisonMiguel Rosado lives with his Dominican American family above or within the world of their Washington Heights bodega. He wants to draw and see places beyond the store, but his parents expect him to work after school and understand the sacrifices needed to keep the business going. Miguel creates superhero comics starring Super Cat, inspired by Lolo, the family’s newly adopted bodega cat. The story brings together art, family obligations, community, and a new pet.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Brobots: The Complete CollectionJ. Torres, illustrated by Sean K. DoveBrobots: The Complete Collection gathers three Brobots stories and adds new bonus content. Brothers Joukei, Kouro, and Panchi work together when large-scale trouble reaches Brotown. Their adventures include a kaiju disturbance, mechanical mayhem, and shoujo-themed antics. The brothers take on each challenge as a team, using dialogue that includes puns and other wordplay. The 128-page collection was published by Oni Press in 2024.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Cactus Queen: Minerva Hoyt Establishes Joshua Tree National ParkLori AlexanderThis picture-book account follows Minerva Hamilton Hoyt, an artist and environmental advocate drawn to California’s Mojave Desert. She finds beauty in its Joshua trees, cacti, jackrabbits, and coyotes at a time when few others value the landscape. In the 1920s, the wealthy socialite brings elaborate displays of desert nature to major cities, hoping to inspire appreciation and stewardship. Her determined efforts help protect the threatened desert and contribute to the creation of Joshua Tree National Park.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Camp ProdigyCaroline Palmer, illustrated by Caroline PalmerTate attends Camp Prodigy, a summer orchestra camp, while struggling with confidence as the weakest musician at school. They find it difficult to stand up to friends, to come out as nonbinary to family, and to perform a solo. At camp, Tate meets Eli, the violist who first inspired them to play. Eli has concealed their own musical ability after a nervous breakdown brought on by time in the spotlight. Together, the two young musicians face questions of identity, anxiety, and fear.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
ChampPayam Ebrahimi, illustrated by Reza DalvandAbtin differs from the other members of the Moleski family, who are fiercely competitive sports champions. Although they expect him to become a great athlete, he is a reader and an artist who does things in his own way. Wanting to make his family proud, Abtin devises a plan, but it does not turn out as intended. He remains himself despite pressure from his family to conform.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Crowning Glory: A Celebration of Black HairCarole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Ekua HolmesRhyming text and collage art present a range of Black hairstyles and the people who wear them. The book includes box braids decorated with shells and beads, a wash-and-go afro with flowers, and a high pouf. These styles are presented through beauty, ritual, culture, community, expression, strength, patience, and creativity, celebrating the many forms Black hair can take.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Gertie Is Not All DogsSiski Kalla, illustrated by Siski KallaSammy is certain that he understands dogs when Gertie becomes part of his family. His expectations are challenged when Gertie dislikes ball chasing, squeaky toys, and cuddling. Sammy works to learn what she actually enjoys, recognizing that dogs do not all want the same things. The book addresses being different, introversion, shyness, autism, and accepting differences through Sammy’s new dog.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Gigi Shin Is Not a NerdLyla LeeJiyoung “Gigi” Shin loves making things, from unusual outfits to self-cut hair. She wants to become an artist and draws at school, in choir, and at home. Gigi’s working-class immigrant parents want her to concentrate on schoolwork and choose a more practical path. She feels most like herself in art class and when spending lunch with friends Carolina and Zeina. She also starts a tutoring club to pay for art camp.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeWord Count 33332View book details
Gracie Under the WavesLinda Sue ParkSixth grader Gracie hopes to snorkel during a family trip to Roatán, Honduras, home to a marine park. A coral cut leaves her with an infection that keeps her out of the water, while resentment toward her younger brother complicates her disappointment. Her new friend Alina introduces her to people working to protect and regrow coral at the park, where Gracie confronts a threatened reef.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeATOS Book Level 4.7AR Interest Level MG 4–8View book details
Grateful!: A Choose Your Own Attitude BookGail Hayes, illustrated by Helen FlookThis choose-your-own-adventure-style book asks readers to help four children make decisions in everyday situations. It centers on gratitude and describes it as something that can change how a person feels physically and emotionally. The book also presents gratitude as influencing how the world around someone seems, feels, and behaves. Its interactive choices focus on deciding how the four children respond.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Guts for Glory: The Story of Civil War Soldier Rosetta WakemanJoanna LapatiThis biography tells the story of Rosetta Wakeman, a nineteen-year-old from rural New York who wanted a life beyond the family farm during the Civil War. In 1862, she cut her braid, disguised herself as a man, and enlisted in the Union Army under the name Lyons Wakeman. Her story is presented through personal correspondence, with extensive back matter and woodcut-inspired illustrations. The book focuses on a woman’s Civil War experience as recorded in her letters.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
How Do You See the World?Noureddine Melikechi, illustrated by Michelle SimpsonHow Do You See the World? considers how vision can differ from one person to another. It explains how eyes function and why some people use glasses. The book distinguishes nearsightedness from farsightedness and also addresses color blindness. Its questions invite readers to think about seeing through another person’s eyes while exploring the parts of the eye and how they work together.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Insects: A Compare and Contrast BookAszya SummersThis nonfiction book compares insects to show both their shared features and their differences. It considers questions such as what ants share with bees, how butterflies differ from moths, and how ladybugs relate to weevils. The book explains that some insects have one set of wings, some have two, and others have none. It also notes that an exoskeleton is not found on every insect.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
InvestiGators: Agents of S.U.I.T.: From Badger to WorseJohn Patrick Green, Christopher Hastings, illustrated by Pat LewisIn this second Agents of S.U.I.T. installment, Bongo and Marsha, the B-Team, spring into action. The book takes place in the existing InvestiGators world and continues its spinoff series. John Patrick Green and Christopher Hastings wrote this 208-page book, which First Second published in 2024. Its title identifies Bongo and Marsha as agents in the S.U.I.T. series.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Iris and the TurtlesMelanie Mathis Miller, illustrated by Karissa Miller LaffeyIris and the Turtles introduces Iris as someone who loves to swim in the ocean beside her home. She shares the waters with all the beautiful marine life there. Sea turtles, however, are the creatures she likes most. Melanie Mathis Miller wrote the book. The publisher is Crimson Dragon Publishing. The recorded publication date is 2024-05-31, and the book has 40 pages.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
It Is OkayYe Guo, illustrated by Ye GuoGoat and Bunny are close friends who enjoy spending time together, including eating canned grass. When they try coffee, go hiking, and have dinner in Bunny’s burrow, each encounter shows them that friendship does not make them alike. Their shared outings bring their differences into view and raise a question about whether their relationship can continue. The story centers on two animal friends as they discover how differently they experience the same friendship.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeLexile Text Measure 520LATOS Book Level 3.4View book details
Jackson’s Wilder Adventures Volume 1: Habits and HabitatsSarah Davidson, illustrated by Sarah DavidsonIn the first Jackson’s Wilder Adventures graphic-novel chapter book, Jackson travels with Irwin, his imaginary thylacine friend. Their science-focused adventures range across markedly different environments: the subpolar Faroe Islands, Puerto Rico’s tropical El Yunque Rainforest, and the African savanna. As the duo journey widely, the book connects their explorations with habitats and the natural world. This opening volume introduces Jackson and Irwin through a series built around far-flung adventures and accessible science.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Letters to Never Send Santa: Confessions, Complaints, and Outlandish Requests from the Files of St. NickDavid Griswold, illustrated by Luis San VicenteSanta shares a collection of amusing and strange letters sent by children to the North Pole. The letters include confessions, complaints, and extravagant requests that leave Santa wondering whether some writers belong on the naughty list. Presented as holiday poems, the book frames these unusual messages as entries from Santa’s files. Readers are invited to decide for themselves how to judge the letter writers.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
MahoganyJanay Brown-Wood, illustrated by John JovenMahogany wears a red cape and carries a basket through the city to deliver a homemade treat to G-Ma. A hungry wolf tries to deceive her during the trip. Mahogany recognizes the risk and relies on quick thinking to handle it. This contemporary version of Little Red Riding Hood places a Black family at its heart and lets its young protagonist resolve the danger herself.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Minerals and Rocks: A Beginner’s GuideKim TaitThis guide introduces geological concepts through the features of minerals and rocks. It explores minerals including common feldspar and quartz, as well as lithium, which is described as important to the transition to green energy. A section on gemstones considers the beauty of minerals. The book focuses on the material beneath people’s feet and the different kinds of minerals found on Earth.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
NestPrecious McKenzie, illustrated by Jennifer ArdNest uses a nest and its birds to explore home, family, and care. Birds look after the young they love, while difficult or stormy weather tests the security of their home. The book connects the birds’ shelter to familiar family feelings of protection and belonging. Expanded back matter introduces the varied nesting patterns of birds.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Noodle & BaoShaina Lu, illustrated by Shaina LuMomo has spent her whole life in Town 99 and knows its routines, including where to buy fruit, practice tai chi, and eat at Noodle & Bao. The restaurant is run by Momo’s friend Bao and their amah, Noodle. As Town 99 changes, rent becomes unaffordable for Momo’s family, and Noodle & Bao loses its storefront after a new business purchases it.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Out of the Valley of HorsesWendy OrrHoney and her Australian family have spent seven peaceful years in a hidden magical valley after finding shelter there during a pandemic. What once seemed like a refuge has become a place that keeps them confined. When Honey’s father becomes ill, she needs outside help, but the valley will not allow her to leave. The story follows Honey as safety, illness, and the limits of their secluded home create an urgent problem for her family.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Record Breakers at the Olympic GamesRob WalkerThis book surveys records, achievements, and notable stories from the modern Summer Olympic Games. Covering every sport and discipline since the 1896 Athens Games, it highlights record-setting performances and dramatic moments from Olympic history. Its focus is on the athletes’ accomplishments and the many events that together form the history of the Games.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Saint Valentine the Kindhearted: The History and Legends of God’s Brave and Loving ServantNed Bustard, illustrated by Ned BustardThis illustrated poem explores why Valentine’s Day is observed on February 14 and commonly marked with flowers, candy, and cards for loved ones. It introduces Saint Valentine as a figure whose life was associated with kindness and love. The book connects his story with showing people how much they matter, and it includes an author’s note intended to prompt further discussion of its subject.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Save The…PandasAnita Sanchez, Chelsea ClintonThis illustrated nonfiction book examines giant pandas and the bamboo forests essential to them. It explains threats that have reduced panda habitat, alongside information about their behavior, diet, and reproduction. The book describes conservation efforts in China, including habitat protection and research. It also connects those efforts to the recovery of wild panda populations, presenting both the pressures the animals face and actions intended to protect them.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Shiny Misfits: A Graphic NovelMaysoon Zayid, illustrated by Shadia AminBay Ann is determined to prove that she is a star. After winning her school talent show with a tap routine, she expects to have her moment in the spotlight. When Alyee Maq catches her as she nearly falls, a video of the incident makes him famous instead. Bay Ann feels that attention has reduced her to her disability while overlooking her talent.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Spider-Man: Cosmic Chaos!Mike MaihackSpider-Man travels into space to return Silver Surfer’s board. The assignment turns into an investigation involving rare talismans capable of granting cosmic power that could be dangerous. To stop them reaching the wrong people, he has to locate the talismans and determine their purpose before he can head home. Spider-Man works with the Guardians of the Galaxy on the mission.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeWord Count 2847View book details
Spider-Man: Quantum Quest!Mike Maihack, illustrated by Mike MaihackSpider-Man is drawn into a search for Atlantis after the underwater city vanishes. While spending the morning helping others, he is approached by the Fantastic Four and Namor, who need his help. Though he doubts that his own abilities will be useful in finding the missing city, he accepts the mission. The search takes Spider-Man to the Quantum Realm alongside the Fantastic Four.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Spin to Survive: Deep Space DangerGiles Sparrow, illustrated by R FressonIn this interactive space adventure, the reader is selected for a mission that has been traveling toward Mars for two weeks. A meteor shower damages the spacecraft, leaving the traveler alone aboard a malfunctioning ship. A pop-out fortune spinner directs the choices that shape the attempt to survive the emergency. The book places its central danger in deep space, where a journey to Mars turns into a crisis after the vessel is struck by meteors.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
The Tale of The Other GloveMonica, Abigail Berg, illustrated by Sonia PossentiniAbigail goes on an adventure with her babysitter Carol and her friend Ben. At a busy subway station, they meet an unhoused man who takes something from Carol and will not give it back. The encounter causes Abigail to reconsider what is right and wrong. With guidance from her mother, she discovers that individual points of view can shape those ideas in different ways.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
This Book Will Self-DestructBen Sanders, illustrated by Ben SandersAgent Harrier, a canine spy, has five minutes to prevent a bomb from exploding. Following a red wire, he must disarm the device while trying to learn who planted it. The story includes spy gadgets, a real-life red herring, and a narrator whose account cannot entirely be trusted. Presented as a graphic novel, it makes the book itself part of the suspenseful mission.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeLexile Text Measure GN540LATOS Book Level 3.6View book details
Ultimate Bugopedia, 2nd Edition; The Most Complete Bug Reference EverDarlyne Murawski, Nancy HonovichUltimate Bugopedia, 2nd Edition is a revised and enlarged reference book about insects and spiders. It presents current information about a wide range of bugs, including creatures described as unusual, cool, and creepy. The book is written by Darlyne Murawski and Nancy Honovich and was published by National Geographic Society in 2024. Its emphasis is on introducing readers to the variety found among these invertebrates.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Unico: Awakening (Volume 1): An Original MangaOsamu Tezuka, Samuel Sattin, illustrated by GurihiruUnico is a young unicorn who angers the goddess Venus and is cast out of the heavens. Banished from the place he knew, he loses his memory. The kindhearted West Wind saves him from oblivion, and Unico goes on to help others. Venus remains a threat, however, forcing him to flee again and begin another adventure. This volume reimagines Osamu Tezuka’s classic Unico manga.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Warriors Graphic Novel: The Prophecies Begin #1Erin Hunter, illustrated by Natalie RiessThis full-color graphic-novel adaptation brings together the first two original Prophecies Begin novels, Into the Wild and Fire and Ice. Four Clans of wild cats have long shared a forest, but ThunderClan faces serious danger as ShadowClan becomes increasingly powerful. A house cat enters this world of clans, where danger and destiny shape the story. The volume adapts the opening part of the Warriors series.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeWord Count 10033View book details
Who’s Writing This Story?!Robin NewmanThe three little pigs argue with the writer about the story they are in. The big bad wolf also joins them in taking charge of a familiar tale. Their dispute considers who controls a story: its author, the characters, or both together. The book gives the well-known folktale a modern change as its events unfold, with graphic-novel-like illustrations.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Why Not?: A Story About Discovering Our Bright PossibilitiesKobi YamadaWhy Not? is an encouraging book about a child’s particular qualities and wide-ranging potential. Its words invite readers to act bravely, pursue what matters to them, and imagine who they may become. Fantasy scenes of animals and nature accompany this exploration, illustrated in glowing jewel-toned art. It asks what might happen when someone chooses a bold adventure or meets a challenge.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Winnie-the-PoohA. A. MilneThis graphic adaptation follows Winnie-the-Pooh, the anthropomorphic teddy bear also called Pooh or Edward Bear, and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood. The book presents their adventures through straightforward black-and-white art. Pooh first appeared by name in a Christmas Eve 1925 children’s story, and the character was created by A. A. Milne with illustrator E. H. Shepard. Milne drew inspiration from a stuffed toy bought for his son and a bear the pair had seen at London Zoo.Kids Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsKids Favorites — 6th–8th Grade
50 selections
Rank 1HoverGirlsGeneva BowersHoverGirls brings Geneva Bowers’s web comic about magical girls into print. This edition enlarges the storyline and includes revised artwork. Bowers is identified as both the comic’s creator and an illustrator. Bloomsbury USA published the print edition in 2024. The book combines a magical premise with comic art that has been updated for this version.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Rank 2The New Girl: A Graphic Novel (The New Girl #1)Cassandra Calin, illustrated by Cassandra CalinLia leaves Romania and begins again in a new country, home, and language. Starting school in an unfamiliar language adds to the disorientation of immigration, while her body is changing as she gets her first period. The story follows Lia as she tries to work out who she is amid these simultaneous shifts. It is inspired by Cassandra Calin’s own immigration experience and focuses on the challenges of adapting to a new place and a changing body.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeATOS Book Level 2.6AR Interest Level MG 4–8View book details
Rank 3Winston Chu vs. the WingmeistersStacey LeeTwelve-year-old Winston Chu confronts a new problem after earlier adventures involving his sister and the moon’s qi. Mr. Gu, the human brother of Mr. Pang, is running to become San Francisco’s mayor, though Winston believes appearances can mislead. At the same time, fog and memory loss spread through the city. Winston must uncover what is happening before it is too late.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Rank 4The World-Famous NineBen Guterson, illustrated by Kristina KisterZander Olinga’s grandmother owns Number Nine Plaza, a spectacular nineteen-story department-store skyscraper known as the Nine. The building contains a rooftop Ferris wheel, ceiling-suspended monorail tracks, and twenty-five glass elevators. Zander and Natasha investigate its secrets as people who wish harm on them and the store threaten the Nine. They race to solve its mysteries in time.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeWord Count 67283View book details
Rank 5And Then, Boom!Lisa FippsJoe Oak is used to uncertainty. His mother does not stay long once she gets “the itch,” and he and his grandmother lose their home. Joe turns to journals, drawings, and comic books for an outlet, taking comfort in superheroes who face moments when everything seems ready to collapse. Told in verse, the novel follows Joe when he is without a home or family and has not told even his friends, until a crisis reminds him of the importance of friendship.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeWord Count 25904View book details
Rank 6Answers to DogPete HautmanEvan Dunn keeps a low profile at school and home, avoiding attention and a school bully. When a burr-covered border collie begins following him and joining his runs, changes in his quiet routine start to reveal larger problems. With new friend Hana and support from adults around him, Evan learns that a nearby breeder is neglecting and abusing dogs. The story follows his effort to face what he has found and seek help.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 619LATOS Book Level 4View book details
Rank 7It Watches in the DarkJeff StrandTwins become stranded in a village controlled by the unsettling influence of a mysterious scarecrow. They must find a way to escape its hold. One frightening image shows the figure standing behind someone with a stitched smile that seems more like a smirk. The novel centers on the twins’ attempt to get free from the village and the threatening presence watching them there.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure HL610LATOS Book Level 4View book details
Rank 8Spooky Lakes: 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes that Dot Our PlanetGeo Rutherford, illustrated by Geo RutherfordThis illustrated nonfiction book examines twenty-five unusual lakes located around the world. It explores strange and mysterious waters through research and newly created full-color watercolor illustrations. The book travels through lakes marked by eerie or unexpected qualities, drawing attention to the planet’s varied waters. Its subject is the geography and natural character of these distinctive lakes and their locations.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Rank 9PopcornRob HarrellAndrew is trying to get through school Picture Day, but the day turns into a series of problems and fears. As events spiral into chaos, he must cope with anxiety on what may be his worst day. The story uses greyscale comics and drawings, and includes an author’s note about OCD anxiety along with resources. It centers on Andrew’s difficult school day and the emotional pressure he experiences while things continue to go wrong.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 610LATOS Book Level 4View book details
Rank 10Alone Together: A Curious Exploration of LonelinessPetti Fong, illustrated by Jonathan DyckAlone Together examines loneliness and asks what it means to feel lonely and how people might respond to it. It considers isolation, quarantine, and social distancing, terms that became familiar during the COVID-19 pandemic. The book also looks at government efforts in the United Kingdom and Japan to address loneliness, as well as ideas drawn from superheroes, children who have lived independently, and civil rights activists who confronted loneliness. These varied examples frame a wider inquiry into being alone and seeking connection.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
The Adventures of the Flash Gang, Episode Two: Treasonous TycoonM. M. Downing, S. J. WaughThe Flash Gang is identified as Pittsburgh's most notorious group of thieves. They have not carried out a theft in a year. That silence began after a devastating fire brought reports of the supposed deaths of two streeters. The book asks where the gang is now. M. M. Downing and S. J. Waugh are the authors. The book has 218 pages and was published by Fitzroy Books on 2024-03-05.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Ain’t it FunnyMargaret GurevichEleven-year-old Maya is dealing with a changed family life after her father leaves home to pursue stand-up comedy. Her mother is focused on running the family’s Russian deli, while Maya hopes comedy can help bring her parents back together. At the same time, her anxiety and worries about germs are becoming more intense. The novel follows Maya’s determination to use stand-up despite anxiety and OCD, as she tries to repair the distance within her family and make sense of what is happening around her.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 650LATOS Book Level 4.2View book details
All Mixed UpRaj TawneyIn 2002 on Long Island, multiracial sixth grader Kamal Rao deals with bullying and xenophobia in a suburban town that does not feel inclusive. He becomes friends with Jaz, a recent immigrant from Pakistan who has a worrying home life. Through that friendship, Kamal gains a different view of his own difficulties. The novel places questions of identity and belonging alongside friendship, prejudice, and the challenges of growing up in the period after September 11.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
All The Ways to GoJessie JanowitzAll the Ways to Go concerns overcoming the fear of disappointing people one loves. It takes place during a summer when nothing is going as planned. The book also considers the good things that may come from that season. Jessie Janowitz is also the author of The Doughnut Fix. All the Ways to Go has 368 pages and was published by Sourcebooks on 2024-09-03.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
AlterationsRay Xu, illustrated by Ray XuKevin Lee lives with his family in a crowded Toronto apartment above their alterations and dry-cleaning shop. At school, he is one of few Asian children and receives unwelcome attention. Feeling unseen both at home and school, Kevin faces a class trip to the Thrill Planet theme park. He wonders whether the trip could change his circumstances or become another difficult day.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Amil and the AfterVeera HiranandaniTwelve-year-old Amil, who is both Muslim and Hindu, lives in Bombay after a difficult departure from his former home in what is now Pakistan. Although he has a home and attends school in India, he remains uncertain about what home means. The upheaval of Partition and the loss of the family’s old life weigh on him. Amil’s twin sister, Nisha, encourages him to make drawings for the mother they lost as babies. Drawing offers him release and connection, but it also causes tension with his father, who wants Amil to concentrate more on schoolwork.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 731LATOS Book Level 4.7View book details
Another First ChanceRobbie CouchAnother First Chance is a book by Robbie Couch, published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on May 27, 2025. Dylan has to pass a billboard each day. It is a public-service message about texting and driving that makes Dylan a cautionary tale. The book’s ISBN is 9781665935319.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Blood City RollersVeronica Park Anderson, illustrated by Tatiana HillBlood City Rollers concerns a young skater who becomes part of a roller derby team made up of vampires. She joins the vampire team in an effort to save its roller derby league, but whether the group can survive the season remains uncertain. Veronica Park Anderson is the author. The book has 192 pages and was published by Labyrinth Road on 2024-04-09.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure GN400LATOS Book Level 2.8View book details
The Books of Clash Volume 3: Legendary Legends of Legendarious AchieveryGene Luen Yang, illustrated by Kendall Goode, Alison ActonGene Luen Yang’s 144-page third volume in The Books of Clash series was published by First Second in May 2024. It adapts Clash of Clans, a mobile game, into graphic-novel form. Characters from the game appear in a series characterized as action-packed. This volume presents the game’s characters through Yang’s graphic-novel storytelling. Its title identifies it as the third Books of Clash volume.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Cactus Kid and the Battle for Star Rock MountainEmmanuel GuerreroCactus Kid crosses the Neverending Desert on his ride in pursuit of magical powers. He hopes to become an exceptional wizard and impress his powerful father with his skills. His solo journey brings explosive trouble, dangerous motorbike races, and embarrassing encounters. Determined not to be stopped, Cactus Kid continues through the desert as he chases both his magical goal and his father’s approval.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Chasing StarsMeg GaertnerWhen Ryan chose to return to 2012 to save Eden from certain death, he knew that he would be altering the timeline of the world--but he didn't expect to be followed, or that the "cleaner" from his own time would be so ruthless.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
The First State of BeingErin Entrada KellyIn August 1999, twelve-year-old Michael Rosario is anxious about the approaching Y2K moment. He meets a mysterious teenager who says he has arrived from the future. Their growing friendship changes the way Michael considers his family, trust, forgiveness, and what may come next. Set during the lead-up to Y2K, the novel brings Michael’s present into contact with questions about time and the future.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 681LATOS Book Level 4.4View book details
The Girl Who SangEstelle NadelThis graphic memoir follows Estelle Nadel, then called Enia Feld, a young Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied Poland. She is seven when the Nazis invade in 1939. Over the following five years, she survives the deaths of her parents, her oldest brother and sister, and many others. The account includes her brother’s love, help from strangers, and her struggle to hold onto hope amid persecution and loss.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 420LATOS Book Level 3.2View book details
Here I Am, I Am MeCara BeanHere I Am, I Am Me uses a graphic-novel journey through the brain to explore mental health. Across nine chapters, illustrated characters represent parts of the brain while the book considers the brain, the mind, feelings, and emotions. It presents complex neuroscience concepts in accessible language and shows readers what may be happening in their heads. The format combines information with an illustrated adventure.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
The Hoop Con (Play the Game #1)Amar ShahRaam Patel wants to prove himself after failing to make his middle school basketball team. When Hoop Con arrives, he is determined to attend and take his chance. Instead, the camp’s golden boy defeats him in front of Raam’s NBA idol, and the moment spreads online. Used to being an underdog, Raam must cope with becoming a meme and find a way forward.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Impossible CreaturesKatherine RundellTwo children enter a magical realm where its remaining magical creatures face extinction. Their quest requires them to confront enemies and find allies while trying to preserve the land. The stakes extend beyond the children themselves: the world is fading, and its last fantastical inhabitants are threatened. Their journey brings danger, difficult truths, and a task that demands boldness. Ashley Mackenzie provides illustrations for this adventure about a threatened magical world and the children working to save it.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure HL650LATOS Book Level 4.2View book details
In Search of Superpowers: A Fantasy Pin World AdventureBriana Lawrence, illustrated by Joanna CacaoFour preteens receive mysterious enamel pins that give them superpowers. To understand their new abilities, they must set aside their differences and travel together to find the pinmaker. Their search also leads them to investigate the truth behind a new theme park, while pin trading remains part of their adventure. The group navigates newfound powers as the mystery unfolds.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
It Came from the TreesAlly RussellJenna’s family history is tied to Sturbridge Reservation: her Pap was its first Black park ranger, and Jenna knows the Owlet Survival Handbook closely. When a creature takes her best friend Reese and other attacks appear connected, she is not believed by her parents and finds the police pursuing different leads. Determined to save Reese, Jenna joins a local scout troop and returns to the woods.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 870LATOS Book Level 5.6View book details
Jax Freeman and the Phantom ShriekKwame MbaliaWhen twelve-year-old Jax arrives in Chicago, strange events begin to surround him. He discovers a hidden magical world that includes family secrets and vengeful spirits. As questions grow about his link to five magical summoning families, Jax must also uncover what powers he may possess. The story follows his encounter with magic and the mysteries connected to his family.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
The Last Rhee WitchJenna Lee-YunRonnie Miller has lived with her father since her mother died when Ronnie was five. The two Korean Americans have not felt very connected to Korean identity, in part because Ronnie’s father was adopted by white parents. A summer camp haunted by a gwishin exposes secrets and unsettles what Ronnie knows. Korean folklore becomes real in this story for Ronnie.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
A Magic Fierce and BrightHemant NayakAdya lives in the isolated jungles of South India and wants primarily to find her lost sister, Priya, while earning enough to care for their family. Her rare technomancy lets her awaken electric machines with magic linked to events five centuries earlier. This ability makes her a sought-after political pawn in an ongoing struggle for control of a supernatural source of magic. She would rather remain loyal only to herself.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Mani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal VoiceAnna LaperaMani Semilla is trying to speak up amid several pressures in her life. At school, she and other girls face sexual harassment; at home, relatives continually discuss her body. She is also confronting an approaching family trip to Guatemala. When Mani learns a secret about her mother, she must consider whether she can finally express herself and respond to what is happening around her.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Matt Sprouts and the Curse of the Ten Broken ToesMatt EicheldingerAfter Matt Sprouts accidentally causes Jenna to break her collar bone, he has a run of bone-breaking accidents. Matt is an eleven-year-old soccer player coping with wild coaches, difficult teachers, grounding, and a hometown curse. Wondering whether Jenna’s lost summer has cursed him, he decides to break the curse himself before more misfortune follows. The events unfold in a zany tale.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 730LATOS Book Level 4.9View book details
Maya Plays the PartCalyssa ErbMaya loves musicals and hopes to win the lead in her community theater’s summer production. Instead, the season brings several challenges: her best friend is moving, her parents are busy with work, and Maya is working out how to be herself in public after receiving an autism diagnosis. Set amid rehearsals and theatrical ambitions, the story follows Maya through an unexpectedly complicated summer.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 730LATOS Book Level 4.9View book details
The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.SJohn Hendrix, illustrated by John HendrixThe Mythmakers uses graphic-novel storytelling to trace C.S. Lewis’s and J.R.R. Tolkien’s early lives, then the friendship they developed at Oxford after World War I. Anthropomorphic guides named Mr. Lion and Mr. Wizard introduce mythology before the book turns to the authors’ childhoods and young adulthoods. Their common interest in myth connects them, while their religious positions differ: Tolkien is Catholic, and Lewis is an atheist after the war. Their ongoing conversations ultimately return Lewis to Christianity.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
The Old Willis Place Graphic NovelMary Downing Hahn, illustrated by Meredith LaxtonDiana and her younger brother, Georgie, know the grounds surrounding the old Willis place intimately. At its center is a deteriorating mansion that some people believe is haunted. The siblings’ knowledge of the land places them close to the house and its unsettling reputation. This ghost story follows Diana and Georgie around a property defined by family ties, a decaying home, and persistent questions about what may be there.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Read at Your Own RiskRemy LaiHannah and her friends play a game meant to contact the spirits of the dead. After the game goes wrong, an evil spirit begins communicating with Hannah through the pages of her illustrated sketch diary. The diary becomes the record of a haunting as Hannah confronts what the game has unleashed. The story uses a journal format to tell its supernatural horror.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 560LATOS Book Level 3.5View book details
The ReckoningWade HudsonLamar, a Black boy, hopes to make movies but initially believes he has no subject worth pursuing. After his grandfather is killed in a racist act of violence, Lamar becomes focused on the injustice surrounding the murder. His filmmaking becomes connected to trying to understand what happened and to seeking justice through his lens. The novel centers on how this loss redirects Lamar’s creative ambition and gives it an urgent new purpose.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Safiyyah’s WarHiba Noor KhanIn occupied Paris, Safiyyah and her Algerian French family live in the Grand Mosque, where her father and uncle assist the Resistance. Her father hides injured Allied soldiers and prepares false papers that identify Jewish people as Muslim. When Nazi attention falls on him, Safiyyah takes over delivering those documents. As Jewish neighbors vanish, her family and other Resistance members shelter people in the mosque before helping them leave France through a tunnel and by barge.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Secret Society of Rebel Girls: Nina and the Mysterious MailboxMarti Dumas, illustrated by Kristina KisterDuring a school election, Nina tries to help her best friend Maya become sixth-grade representative. She turns to robotics to monitor the rival candidate, a decision that puts the two girls in detention. A mysterious mailbox appears as part of the book. Its events bring together student government, Nina and Maya’s friendship, and the consequences of spying. Marti Dumas wrote it, and DK published it in 2024.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
The Squad: A Graphic Novel (The Tryout #2)Christina Soontornvat, illustrated by Joanna CacaoThis graphic novel is a stand-alone companion to The Tryout. Its story centers on cheerleading, with pom poms, increased stakes, and middle-school drama shaping the book’s premise. It returns to the world of its companion title while presenting an independent story focused on the pressures and events surrounding a cheer squad.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Stealing Little Moon: The Legacy of the American Indian Boarding Schools (Scholastic Focus)Dan SaSuWeh JonesStealing Little Moon examines the legacy of American Indian boarding schools and places that history alongside questions about the present and future. The book is framed as an opportunity to learn about the world, think critically about the past, take part in important discussions about current life, and consider how the future might be shaped. Its subject connects historical study with American Indian cultural heritage.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
A Suffragist’s Guide to the AntarcticYi Shun Lai, maps by Filippo VanzoIn 1914, eighteen-year-old Clara Ketterling-Dunbar joins the twenty-eight-person crew of the British Resolute for an Antarctic expedition. The ship sinks, leaving the crew stranded on ice floes. Clara, an American and the only woman aboard, has presented herself as a twenty-one-year-old Canadian and faces dismissal from crewmates. A committed suffragist, she records the expedition in a notebook intended as a guide for future women explorers.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Summer at SqueeAndrea WangPhoenny Fang returns to a Chinese cultural overnight camp in Boston for what will be her final year there as a camper. She expects the summer to be her best yet, alongside her friend Lyrica Chu and the rest of their group. At the camp, Phoenny’s experience challenges how she understands both culture and belonging. The story follows a Chinese American tween as the summer changes her.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 800LATOS Book Level 5.2View book details
Taxi Ghost: (A Graphic Novel)Sophie EscabasseDuring winter break, Adèle expects to spend her time at the library with her favorite books while her friends travel elsewhere. Instead, she gets her first period and discovers an unexpected ability to see ghosts. As she encounters these visitors, Adèle learns that she comes from a family line of mediums. The graphic novel connects her new experience with ghosts, family history, compassion, and community.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
True ColorsAbby CooperIn Serenity, Minnesota, people are expected to be positive. Twelve-year-old Mackenzie experiences her feelings as colored haze. When the haze spreads through the town, the community must confront emotions it has been pushing aside. The book presents Mackenzie’s visible emotions alongside the town’s shared pressure to hide difficult feelings.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
UltravioletAida SalazarThirteen-year-old Elio is navigating first love, powerful feelings, and questions about what it means to be a boy within his Mexican culture. His relationship with his grandfather, Pops, brings pressure to “man up” according to the Solis family’s expectations. When betrayal and heartbreak leave Elio reeling, he turns toward revenge and a fight meant to prove his manhood and protect Camelia’s honor. The story is told in free verse.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Wild DreamersMargarita EngleLeandro has lived with debilitating anxiety since his family escaped Cuba on a dangerous raft. One night under the moon, he meets Ana in a California wilderness park. Their meeting brings together Leandro’s history of forced migration, his ongoing anxiety, and a setting far from the journey his family survived. The story begins with these two young people encountering one another outdoors.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Wings to SoarTina AthaideWritten in verse, this historical novel follows Viva and her Indian family as they adjust to life in a British camp for Ugandan Asian refugees. Afterward, they face further difficulties while staying with relatives in London and awaiting Viva’s father. The book addresses hostility toward refugees and Viva’s resilience amid displacement, separation, and changing homes. It also includes archival photographs and an author’s note.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook For KidsDavid Borgenicht, Justin Heimberg, illustrated by Wenke KrampThis handbook offers 40 survival tips for extreme outdoor situations. Its step-by-step guidance addresses scenarios such as freezing conditions in the Arctic, quicksand in the jungle, and encounters with tarantulas in the desert. The book frames the outdoors as a place where strange, frightening, and demanding situations can arise, then provides instructions intended to help readers respond to them.Kids Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsKids Favorites — 9th–12th Grade
50 selections
Rank 1The Glass GirlKathleen GlasgowBella feels pressed by demands from her mother, father, and ex, while grieving the grandmother who had not asked anything of her. She uses alcohol to blunt those pressures and believes she can stop whenever she chooses. After becoming blackout drunk at a Thanksgiving party and waking in a hospital, Bella must confront what alcohol is doing in her life. The novel follows her escalating struggle with drinking.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeLexile Text Measure HL620LATOS Book Level 4View book details
Rank 2Lunar New Year Love StoryGene Luen YangVietnamese American high-school student Valentina hopes to find romantic love despite a curse in her family. This graphic novel follows her search for a relationship while bringing together questions of fate, family, and heartbreak. It includes occasional Vietnamese and Korean, alongside color illustrations. Valentina’s journey unfolds across her high-school years as she tries to make room for love in the shadow of the family curse.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Rank 3Six Truths and a LieReam ShukairyAn explosion at an oil rig off the California coast brings chaos and murder to a Fourth of July bonfire party. Six Muslim teens become suspects amid accusations of terrorism. Each has something to hide and much to lose, while a political game presses them to turn against one another in exchange for exoneration. The teens must decide whether to betray each other or reveal their secrets to clear their names.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeLexile Text Measure 899LATOS Book Level 5.8View book details
Rank 4RecklessLauren RobertsReckless is the second installment in a fantasy romance trilogy. A person flees someone she had previously wanted to reach. Kai Azer is now Ilya's Enforcer, a role he holds while remaining loyal to Kitt, his brother and the new King. Lauren Roberts wrote Reckless. The book has 400 pages, and its publisher is Simon & Schuster Ltd. It was published on 2024-07-02.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Rank 5Ghost RoastShawnelle Gibbs, Shawneé GibbsChelsea Grant tries to escape the social consequences of having a father who advertises himself as a paranormal removal expert in New Orleans. While working with him, she discovers that she can communicate with spirits. Chelsea then uncovers a secret connected to the murder of a biracial philanthropist. Her paranormal adventure also involves a first crush, lost histories, and the difficulty of fitting in.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Rank 6An Illustrated History of Urban LegendsAdam Allsuch BoardmanThis illustrated history examines urban legends as stories that have persisted wherever people share tales, from campfires to digital rumor networks. It considers legends that may have begun in truth, partial memories, or complete invention, and notes that people have investigated them for centuries. Covering both established folklore and contemporary urban legends, the book moves through uncanny stories and the ways they are told, remembered, questioned, and passed along.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Rank 7It’s Only a GameKelsea YuDrawing on a mostly true premise, the book recounts Terry Bradshaw’s rise to sports fame. He became the first football quarterback to claim four Super Bowl victories, marking a landmark in his playing career. After football, Bradshaw built a second career as a widely known sports broadcaster. The account also presents hard work as important to achievement, using Bradshaw’s life as its example.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Rank 8Blood at the RootLaDarrion WilliamsTen years after his mother vanished, Malik still lives with the discovery that he has powers he cannot control. This fantasy series debut places magical life at an HBCU and follows Malik in a young-adult adventure shaped by his mother’s disappearance and his abilities. The story combines a campus setting with a supernatural premise centered on Malik’s unresolved past and unstable power.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Rank 9Grief in the Fourth Dimension: A NovelJennifer YuAfter they die, former classmates Caroline Davison and Kenny Zhou become roommates in an enigmatic white room beyond time and space. During their lives, Caroline’s world included softball and family dinners, while Kenny spent time with NASA photo books and worked late shifts at his parents’ Chinese restaurant. Their new room lets them watch the lives of people they loved and fulfills wishes with a sardonic sense of humor. This speculative novel centers on connections formed after death.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Rank 10Transformers: Robots In DisguiseDaniel Warren Johnson, illustrated by Daniel Warren Johnson, Mike SpicerTransformers: Robots in Disguise brings together the first six comics in Daniel Warren Johnson’s series, colored by Mike Spicer. A crash strands the Autobots and Decepticons on Earth, with Cybertron’s fate uncertain. Their renewed war shifts allegiances and endangers the planet. Optimus Prime is positioned as humanity’s vital chance to endure. The book begins the Transformers portion of the Energon Universe.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
10 Things I Hate About PromElle Gonzalez RoseIvelisse Santos and Joaquin Romero are next-door neighbors and close friends, a relationship Ivelisse sees as purely platonic. That certainty shifts when Joaquin plans to invite Tessa Hernandez, the girl who previously took Ivelisse’s boyfriend, to prom. Joaquin asks Ivelisse, a tech-crew leader, to help organize an elaborate promposal. Though she wants to refuse, she agrees because graduation is approaching and she wants more time with him. The story centers on friendship, romantic uncertainty, prom plans, and Ivelisse’s changing feelings.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeATOS Book Level 6.3AR Interest Level Upper Grades (UG 9-12)View book details
49 DaysAgnes LeeAfter Korean American teenager Kit dies accidentally, she enters bardo, the forty-nine-day transition after death in Buddhist tradition. Beginning on Day 1, Kit wakes in a rocky, watery landscape with a map and a far-off destination. Her literal journey is marked by frustration and grief before acceptance and peace. The story also follows Kit’s mother, sister, younger brother, cat, and friend Kevin, with memories revealing Kit’s life and relationships.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Apple Black OriginsOdunze Oguguo, illustrated by Odunze OguguoApple Black Origins serves as a light-novel prequel within the Apple Black series. Willow and Gideon work together in Eden, battling the evil there while seeking gold. The book also recalls a past when people gained Black fruit from a tree that came down from the sky. Its fruit gave humans power of sorcery, setting out a magical origin connected to the series.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Bite Me, Royce TaslimLauren HoAgnes Chan is a junior sprinter whose plans for a college track scholarship are derailed after an accident. Looking for another route to a scholarship, she enters an international stand-up comedy contest for teenagers. Royce Taslim, the wealthy rival who witnessed her embarrassing accident, is the last person Agnes expects to encounter there, yet he becomes a competitor in the contest. The novel follows Agnes as she shifts from athletic training to comedy while facing Royce and the consequences of her changed plans.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Black Girl You Are AtlasRenée WatsonThis poetry collection, illustrated by Ekua Holmes, explores Black girlhood through poems and art. Rooted in Renée Watson’s life, the poems draw on relationships with family and community members as well as memories of adolescence. They address a girl’s thoughts about beauty, crushes, music, and news of police violence against Rodney King. Other pieces depict community spaces, including Ms. Tiny’s Saturday kitchen. The collection uses specific personal experiences to consider relationships, identity, and what it means to grow up as a Black girl.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
The Brightwood CodeMonica HesseEdda, eighteen, returns from World War I service as a Hello Girl with the American Expeditionary Forces. Now a Bell Systems operator in Washington, D.C., she is burdened by guilt over forgetting the code word “Brightwood” during the war, when thirty-four soldiers died. Haunting calls urge Edda to reveal what happened overseas. With help from Theo, a fellow boarding-house resident, she investigates who is making the calls and confronts the consequences of the past.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Compound FractureAndrew Joseph WhiteMiles Abernathy, a sixteen-year-old trans autistic West Virginian, becomes involved in a long-running conflict in Twist Creek. On the night he tells his parents he is trans, he leaves for a party carrying photographs that could expose Sheriff Davies. The images suggest the sheriff caused an incident that injured Miles’s father, killed other people, and undermined efforts to remove him from office. The novel places Miles’s struggle within a broader fight between impoverished rural residents and those exploiting them.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeLexile Text Measure 781LATOS Book Level 5View book details
Death at Morning HouseMaureen JohnsonAt an island job as a tour guide, a teen discovers a mystery. The teen must solve it before a pattern from the past happens again. The standalone novel also names Marlowe, who has long loved Akilah, though Akilah will not agree to date her again. Maureen Johnson wrote this YA book.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
A Drop of VenomSajni PatelSixteen-year-old Manisha has spent years fleeing monsters, including jungle beasts and the King’s army, which scattered her naga people. Now a priestess at holy temples on floating mountains, she finds that sanctuary does not keep her safe. After a sexual assault, Manisha gains formidable powers. Pratyush, a monster slayer sent after her, does not know that the person he is pursuing is the girl he loves. This fantasy reworks the Medusa myth through Indian mythology.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Haphaven Deluxe EditionNorm Harper, illustrated by Louie JoyceFor superstitious teenager Alex Mills, changing an unlucky future means entering the land of superstition itself. Alex travels through a rainbow on a quest to set wrongs right, combining a fantastical world with the challenges of growing up. The adventure treats luck as more than a simple belief, placing Alex in a setting where superstitions become real and consequential. This deluxe hardcover edition also includes bonus material that was not previously available.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
HappyHeadJosh SilverIn this dystopian thriller, Seb is chosen for HappyHead, an experimental mental-health center intended to address widespread teenage unhappiness. The center is presented as a retreat for young adults, but its appearances are deceptive. As Seb comes to see that it is not what it claims to be, he is prepared to risk everything in an attempt to get out. The story centers an institution’s response to unhappiness and one boy’s escape.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
HeirSabaa TahirThree narratives converge in a magical adventure. An orphan driven by revenge, an outcast pursuing a murderer, and a crown prince who does not want the role confront evil forces. Their connected stories combine a murder investigation, royal responsibility, revenge, magic, action, and romance as the three characters face a shared threat. Each perspective centers on one of these figures as their paths meet.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
HelgaCatherine YuHelga has just awakened as the result of a science experiment conducted by her father. She does not behave as he expected her to: rather than remaining compliant, she resists the role he planned for her. Her father then leaves on a business trip, placing Helga in the care of Penny, the assistant who works in his laboratory. The story begins with Helga newly awake and confronting the intentions behind her creation.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Hurdles in the DarkElvira K. GonzalezSet in 2006, Hurdles in the Dark concerns a Mexican-American teenager in Laredo, Texas, who hopes to earn an athletic scholarship. Her goal faces steep odds as her border-town home is engulfed by the Mexican Drug War. The book places a young athlete’s ambitions alongside a community affected by conflict. Elvira K. Gonzalez wrote the book, published by Roaring Brook Press in 2024.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
The Hysterical Girls of St. Bernadette’sHanna AlkafAt a girls’ school in Kuala Lumpur, a scream by one student begins a frightening outbreak. Khadijah, who is dealing with trauma, acts after the outbreak touches her sister. Rachel faces pressure from her mother and encounters hauntings linked to an earlier disappearance. When students start disappearing, the two teens investigate the school’s past and what lies behind the crisis. Malaysian supernatural elements, mystery, and horror shape the novel.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
The Kill FactorBen OliverEmerson lives in a society where social-media popularity determines a person’s income. When she faces prison, she is offered a place on a game show for young offenders. The competition joins reality television with lethal stakes: a victory could free Emerson and protect her brother, while defeat means a life sentence. On a remote island, contestants find an unoccupied prison and learn what the program truly is.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Lie Until It’s TrueJessie WeaverAmanda Pruitt, a true-crime TikToker, spends a summer in Colorado investigating a murder that appears to have an obvious solution. She takes on the case as an effort to redeem herself. The novel frames its investigation as a haunting thriller and links amateur online true-crime activity with a murder inquiry. Jessie Weaver wrote Lie Until It’s True, published by Disney Publishing Group in 2024.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Lies We ConjureSarah HenningThis standalone supernatural thriller centers on two sisters without magic who become caught in a deadly whodunit. The mystery involves a locked-room murder and thirteen witches. The story combines supernatural elements with an investigation into the killing, placing the sisters inside a life-threatening case. Its central situation is a closed-room crime involving witches, magic, and two non-magical sisters.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Looking for SmokeK. A. CobellAfter moving with her parents to the Blackfeet Reservation, Mara Racette feels isolated among classmates who know one another well. When Samantha is murdered during an Indian Days ceremony, four teens—Loren, Mara, Eli, and Brody—tell their own accounts of what follows. The later discovery of Loren’s sister Rayanne’s body links the deaths. Mara and Loren begin looking into the crimes while questioning whether Eli and Brody can be trusted, amid suspicions involving drugs, addiction, family obligations, and a concealed family matter.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
The Lost Souls of BenzaitenKelly MurashigeMachi, an outcast who has stopped being able to speak after two best friends reject her, prays at the altar of Benzaiten, a Japanese goddess. She asks to become a round robot vacuum cleaner. The fantasy follows her transformation and draws on Japanese mythology while addressing the aftermath of a broken friendship and Machi’s mental health as she changes form.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Love Requires ChocolateRavynn StringfieldWhitney arrives at a prestigious lycée in Paris after preparing detailed plans for a trip filled with vintage shops, sites connected to Josephine Baker, and plays that could inspire her own writing and directing. Instead, she must navigate unfamiliar schoolwork, homesickness, and learning French. The story follows her hoped-for Paris adventure as reality proves more difficult than the carefully planned version she had imagined.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Maelstrom: A Prince of EvilLorian MerrimanMaelstrom, a half-demon prince, wants to make his mark on history, though he is also bored and looking for something to do. Twigs is the young Hero of Virtue predicted to confront him. Maelstrom’s mother, a necromancer who rules as regent, tightly controls her domain. Frustrated by his lost destiny, Maelstrom joins forces with Twigs to oppose his mother and shape a different future for himself.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Make My Wish Come TrueRachael LippincottArden James, a teen actor whose reckless reputation appears in tabloids, loses an audition for her dream role. She and her publicist create a relationship story to improve that image, requiring Arden to return home for the holidays after four years away. Caroline Beckett, Arden’s former best friend and first crush, has spent those years building a portfolio for a journalism program while insisting she has no interest in Arden’s life.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Neopets: The Omelette FaerieRebecca Mix, illustrated by Heather BurnsThis graphic novel set in the world of Neopets follows Sabre-X and his Petpet, Fang, alongside a disgraced Fire Faerie with a troubled past. It is the first in a series of original graphic novels and includes other Neopets characters. The story brings together magic, forgiveness, and love, with humor woven through the adventure. The book centers those ideas within a magical setting.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Okay, CupidMason DeaverJude is a cupid who believes they know more about love than most humans after studying it throughout their teen years. They are on probation for an action they should not have taken, but want to prove they can make matches without becoming involved themselves. Jude’s next assignment changes their usual work: rather than matching two adults, they must attend high school with people their own age.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
On the Bright SideAnna SortinoWhen Ellie’s boarding school for Deaf students closes, she returns to her hometown of Cincinnati to finish high school. A hearing-aid and cochlear-implant user who is most comfortable with sign language, Ellie faces skeptical classmates, an interpreter who does not always convey her thoughts accurately, and parents who have never learned to sign. Jackson, a senior assigned to show her around, is dealing with unexplained health problems that have ended his soccer season. As they grow closer, Jackson is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeLexile Text Measure HL730LATOS Book Level 4.7View book details
Perfect Little MonstersCindy R. X. HeAt Sierton High School, the school’s most popular girl is murdered. Her friends become suspects in her death, and every one of them has a reason to want her dead. The murdered student, Ella Moore, was not only popular but also widely disliked. The book centers on the investigation surrounding her death and the suspicions directed toward the people closest to her at school.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
The Rez DoctorGitz Crazyboy, illustrated by Veronika Barinova, Azby Whitecalf, Toben RacicotRyan Fox does well in school but does not know what future to pursue. Meeting a Blackfoot doctor at a school assembly inspires him to consider becoming a doctor. At university, distance from his family and Siksikaitsitapi community leaves him without their support. Under growing stress, he begins partying, loses focus on his responsibilities, and sees his grades fall as he studies.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Skater BoyAnthony NeradaWesley “Big Mac” Mackenzie, Stonebridge High’s bad boy, is failing his final year amid anger, rowdy friends, skipped homework, and skateboarding. He also keeps a photography interest private. When his mother takes him to a performance of The Nutcracker, Wes notices Tristan Monroe, a ballet dancer. Wes is closeted and believes he should not be attracted to Tristan. The novel follows a teen confronting labels while trying to make choices about his own life.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
SnowglobeSoyoung ParkIn a future shaped by severe cold, people outside Snowglobe travel through an icy wasteland to work at the power plant that supplies the community’s energy. Sixteen-year-old Chobahm is recruited for a reality television program set inside a climate-controlled glass dome reserved for the elite. Once there, she uncovers troubling secrets. The novel contrasts the harsh frozen world and its essential labor with the protected, controlled environment of the dome.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Stephen KingBev VincentBev Vincent presents a chronological young-readers biography of Stephen King, tracing his life and writing from work created at age six through his first professional sale at twenty and into his later career. Photographs and sidebars provide further context on adaptations, graphic novels, and the influences connected with his work and career.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Strong Like YouT. L. SimpsonWalker Lauderdale continues hoping that his missing father is alive, despite classmates saying otherwise. He has not cried since his father disappeared, including after comments at football practice suggesting his father is dead. Walker believes his dad is somewhere in the Ozarks, traveling through the wilderness as he always has. The book follows Walker’s grief, hope, and uncertainty about his father’s disappearance.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Sun Don’t ShineCrissa-Jean ChappellReece travels across South Florida alongside the father responsible for her abduction. To survive, she changes both her name and appearance, sleeps in the woods, gathers whatever food she can, and keeps other people at a distance. Shawn becomes her first genuine friend, prompting Reece to doubt both the rules that govern her life and the account of their past given by her father. Her pursuit of truth explores trauma, memory, secrecy, escape, and growing up.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
SyncEllen HopkinsTwins Storm and Lake were separated by foster care and now lead very different lives. After juvenile detention, Storm tries to keep hold of stability. Lake and Parker flee strict foster parents, then face homelessness and exploitation as her placement falls apart. Storm and Lake narrate in alternating perspectives and in letters they never send, preserving memories of their close connection. This novel in verse addresses family separation, abuse, survival, identity, institutional failures, and the siblings’ efforts to find one another.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
There Is a Door in This DarknessKristin CashoreWilhemina spends her 2020 gap year before college amid major upheaval. The period includes the pandemic, a contentious presidential election, and the death of someone she loves. As she navigates this difficult time, she also begins a new relationship and experiences supernatural visions. Her high school years had already been shaped by the election and pandemic, while grief for a beloved aunt remains present. The story brings personal loss and change into contact with public events and the uncanny.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
TriggerC.G. MooreWritten as a verse novel, Trigger follows Jay, a teenage boy who wakes up in a park after an attack, injured and bruised. He has been sexually assaulted and struggles to remember the attack. The book addresses Jay’s effort to make sense of what happened to him. It is an LGBTQIA+ story told in verse, centered on a teenager dealing with the aftermath of assault.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Twenty-Four Seconds from NowJason ReynoldsSeventeen-year-old Neon stands in Aria’s bathroom, feeling both excited and uneasy as they prepare to have sex for the first time. The narrative moves backward from that moment in widening intervals: seconds, days, weeks, months, and finally to the pair’s first meeting. Along the way, it follows conversations Neon has had with his parents, sister, and friends about sex and relationships, alongside the details of his relationship with Aria. Their decision is mutual and shaped by trust, love, and respect, even while they face different ideas about what comes next after high school.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
The Vanishing Station: A NovelAna EllicksonEighteen-year-old Filipino American Ruby Santos is grieving her mother’s death. She cannot apply to art school as she had planned, and she and her father move into their home’s basement while renting the upper floor to repay hospital bills. In San Francisco, Ruby encounters an underground system of magic and is prepared to go to great lengths to protect the people she loves.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and PowerTerry J. Benton-WalkerThe White Guy Dies First gathers thirteen horror stories by authors of color. Its scenarios include killer clowns, a hungry hedge maze, wealthy bored children, friendly cannibals, impossible slashers, and dead people who remain active. Other stories feature a museum curator who rejects diasporic inaccuracies, a girl’s diary of happy thoughts, and an old house seeking permanent friends. The anthology frames its tales around fear, power, and surviving the first kill.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Zodiac RisingKatie ZhaoKara Martin is a half-witch and half-Coyote shifter whose life is crowded with four shifters. She does not want fewer men around her, even as keeping up with all four leaves her with plenty to manage. This reverse-harem story presents Kara’s supernatural identity alongside her relationships with a group of shifters. Katie Zhao wrote this 206-page book, published in 2019 by Arya Karin.Kids Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsTeacher Favorites — K–2nd Grade
70 selections
Rank 1A Sundae with Everything on ItKyle Scheele, illustrated by Andy J. PizzaA mother and her son set out to find an extraordinary dessert. His mother is a quantum physicist who has invented a device for traveling through space and time, making a trip through dimensions possible. Their quest is prompted by the need for an enormous scoop of ice cream and a bowl large enough to hold it. The story combines a family outing, dessert, and science-fiction travel.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsRank 2A Bear, a Fish, and a Fishy WishDaniel BernstromA hungry brown bear wants a small pink-and-silver fish for a meal, while the fish is trying to return upstream to its home. As the fish leaps at a waterfall, the bear captures it. Other fish follow, jumping over the bear and its captive, until both tumble into the water and wash onto a riverbank. Rhyming text and digital illustrations accompany the chase and its resolution.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeATOS Book Level 1.1AR Interest Level Lower Grades (LG K-3)View book details
Rank 3The Spotless GiraffePeter Millet, illustrated by Allison HawkinsKipekee is a shy young giraffe born without spots. On her first day at school, she looks at the other giraffes and feels that she does not belong. Inspired by a real spotless giraffe born at a Tennessee zoo in 2023, the picture book follows Kipekee’s difficulty with being different and her effort to accept what makes her one of a kind.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Rank 4Counting WinterNancy White CarlstromA counting story moves through a snowy winter landscape as animals appear one number at a time. A red fox crosses the snow, followed by ravens, snowshoe hares, red squirrels, golden eagles, voles, musk oxen, sled dogs, owls, woodpeckers, and chickadees. Each group is introduced in a short stanza that describes how it occupies or acts within the season. The sequence concludes with twelve children greeting the arrival of spring. Scratchboard and watercolor artwork accompanies this progression from one through twelve.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsRank 5The Yellow BusLoren LongA bright yellow school bus spends her days taking children where they need to go, and their daily rides make her happy. When she is retired, her life changes, but she is put to new uses more than once. In each role, the bus continues to find happiness, even after the schoolchildren she once carried are gone. The story follows her through change while keeping her connection to helping others at its center.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeWord Count 417View book details
Rank 6I’m Sorry You Got MadKyle LukoffJack wants to apologize after hurting Zoe’s feelings, but he cannot settle on words that say what he means. With the patient help of his teacher, he writes a sequence of notes to his classmate and works through the challenge of making an apology. The story centers on the gap between wanting to repair a hurt and finding a way to communicate that intention as he tries again in writing.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsRank 7No Cats in the LibraryLauren Emmons, illustrated by Lauren EmmonsClarisse is a clever cat who loves looking at books, even though she does not understand their dark, squiggly lines. She discovers a building where people enter empty-handed and leave carrying books, and she wants to get inside. The library does not allow cats, but Clarisse sneaks in anyway. There she encounters new stories and helps a little girl practice reading aloud.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsRank 8The Man Who Didn’t Like AnimalsDeborah Underwood, illustrated by LeUyen PhamThis imagined account asks who Old MacDonald was before his farm existed. It begins with a man devoted to keeping a tidy home and uninterested in animals. His routine changes when a cat arrives. The account follows his transformation into a farmer, where he has animal companions he had not expected. It connects that tidy man with the familiar farmer and his animal friends.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Rank 9More Dung!Frank Weber, illustrated by Frank WeberA dung beetle believes he already has everything he needs: sunshine, a river, and plenty of dung. After a leopard tells him about a farm with even more, he leaves for the farm and gathers increasing amounts of dung. His search grows into an empire of dung, turning a life that once seemed complete into a quest for still more.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Rank 10Addy’s Chair to EverywhereDebi Novotny, illustrated by Jomike TejidoAddy worries about making friends. Through her vivid imagination, she brings other children into her play. The story follows Addy as imagined adventures become a way to share play with others and connect with them. It centers a child whose imaginative ideas help turn a concern about friendship into an opportunity for inclusive play.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
A is for AthleteBill Martin Jr., Michael Sampson, illustrated by Dawn DavidsonThis alphabet-based nonfiction picture book introduces sports and athletic activities through one sport-related word for each letter, beginning with athlete and ending with Zamboni. Entries include facts about rules or history. Dawn Davidson illustrates the book, which moves across a range of ways people play and compete. Its alphabetical structure connects sports vocabulary with information about athletic activities.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
The ABCs of Queer HistorySeema Yasmin, illustrated by Lucy KirkThe ABCs of Queer History presents people, ideas, achievements, and events connected with queer history. Its subjects include allies and ancestors, as well as belonging and being accepted. Hope, knowledge, and love are also among the ideas named in the book. Seema Yasmin wrote this 64-page title, published by Workman Kids on April 30, 2024. Its ISBN is 9781523518548.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Abuelo, the Sea, and MeIsmée WilliamsAbuelo, the Sea, and Me is a picture book about connections across generations. It explores family history alongside the immigrant experience, bringing a grandparent relationship into a story about how families carry their past with them. The book centers on the ties between older and younger family members and the stories that connect them.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Adela’s Mariachi BandDenise VegaAdela loves her family’s mariachi band, yet she is not a member. Because everyone else in her family performs, she worries she lacks what it takes to join them. As she persists, Adela discovers her own voice and something distinctive to contribute. The story follows her determination to belong in the family band and connects music-making with family, confidence, and perseverance as she works toward taking part in performances.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Adventuremice: Otter Chaos!Phillip Reeve, Sarah McIntyre, illustrated by Sarah McIntyrePedro is small but eager for a big adventure. After his first attempt goes wrong, the Adventuremice rescue him. This brave, determined team protects the Mouse Islands from harm, and Pedro hopes to prove that he is heroic enough to join them. He gets an opportunity when a large otter begins causing trouble in the nearby waters. Pedro’s wish to become an Adventuremouse meets a dangerous problem threatening the islands.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Afro Unicorn: The Land of Afronia, Vol1. April Showers, illustrated by Anthony Conley, Ronaldo BarataAfronia is a bright, colorful place until a disgraced unicorn seeks to remove its color. Best friends Divine and Unique set out on a journey to save Afronia. Their adventure is presented as a graphic novel and centers on two unicorn friends confronting a threat to their home. The book also celebrates Black joy and beauty through its fantastical setting and characters.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Agent UnicornJenny Alvarado, illustrated by Jenny AlvaradoUnicorn wants a different kind of fame: becoming an undercover detective like his hero, Agent Sparrow. His chance arrives at Agent Goat’s Detective Agency, though his first job is sweeping its floors. When he intercepts a case involving a missing pet bird, Unicorn takes action despite having no detective experience. As he tries to solve the case, he moves a step closer to the investigative work he has dreamed of doing.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Aiko and the Planet of DogsAinhoa Cayuso, illustrated by Christoffer Ellegaard, Irene VázquezAiko is a courageous astronaut trained to handle the extremes of space. Her story includes talking dogs in space and a giant, hungry catfish. The picture book places its young astronaut among unusual spacefaring companions and creatures. Aiko’s training and courage are part of an outer-space adventure involving dogs that can talk and an enormous catfish.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsAll Aboard the Alaska TrainBrooke Hartman, illustrated by John JosephFive train cars travel along an Alaska railroad, collecting animal passengers as they go. A porcupine, grizzly bear, caribou, and other animals join the journey through Alaska’s landscapes. The train carries its wild passengers toward a mountain, creating a rhyming adventure focused on the railroad ride and the creatures aboard. The setting brings together transportation, Alaska scenery, and a changing group of animal travelers.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD490LATOS Book Level 3.3View book details
The Amazing Power of Girls: Meet the universe’s most powerful and invisible forces!Maria Marianayagam, illustrated by Skylar WhiteThis picture book links girls with the universe’s powerful, unseen forces. It notes that scientific forces are present in everyday life even though they cannot be seen. The book brings together the ideas of invisible forces, daily experience, and girls. Its subject combines science with a focus on girls as powerful forces in their own right.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Angélica and La GüiraAngie CruzAfter spending the summer with relatives in the Dominican Republic, Angélica prepares to return home and begin school elsewhere. Her grandfather gives her a güira, an instrument that immediately captures her interest, although others initially do not understand her enthusiasm. Later, in Washington Heights, Angélica demonstrates the instrument’s sound and energy to her neighbors amid the activity of the neighborhood.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Archie Celebrates an Indian WeddingMitali Banerjee Ruths, illustrated by Parwinder SinghArchie’s Poppy Uncle is getting married in a large Indian wedding. Archie attends with her new friend Emma, who is not Indian. As Poppy Uncle and Emma’s Auntie Julie marry, Archie helps Emma learn what she needs to know about the celebration. The story follows their cross-cultural friendship during a family wedding and emphasizes the shared fun and love of the occasion.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Be Careful, Xiao Xin!Alice PungXiao Xin imagines himself as a courageous Red Fire Warrior, while his family repeatedly warns him to be careful because they see the world as dangerous and think he is too small to be a warrior. He must demonstrate his courage to this doubtful family and persuade them to place more trust in him. The story sets his bold self-image against the concern of those who care for him.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
A Big Day for BikeEmily Jenkins, illustrated by G. Brian KarasBike is a community bicycle beginning her first day in the city. Parked on the street and ready to be used, she worries that no one will choose to ride her. Her first rider is Sunita, and the day leads to new experiences, unexpected adventures, and friendships. Told from Bike’s perspective, the story centers on bike sharing, travel through the city, and the ways a community bicycle can help people. It also follows Bike as she encounters the excitement and uncertainty of doing something for the first time.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Big Sister, Long CoatNelly Buchet, illustrated by Rachel KatstallerA young girl looks forward to spending a day with her older sister. The day does not unfold as she expected, bringing rain and several setbacks along the way. Even so, their time together remains at the center of the story, which focuses on the affection between the two siblings.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Bijan Always WinsAdib KhorramBijan loves being the winner, and he announces victories in drawing, dinosaurs, and even lunch. His friends become less interested in playing with him after these declarations. As Bijan notices their response, the story raises a question about whether friendship can be treated as something to win. It follows the tension between his drive to come out on top and his relationships with friends.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD500LATOS Book Level 3.3View book details
Billu ButtonsGus Singh, illustrated by Delzin ChokseyBillu likes handling things by himself, especially choosing and putting on his clothes each morning. At school, his friends call him Billu Buttons. His buttons do not always line up, one side of his shirt will not stay tucked in, and his shoelaces repeatedly come undone. The story centers on Billu’s independent approach to getting dressed and the distinctive details of his clothing.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Birth of the Chosen One: A First Nations Retelling of the Christmas StoryTerry M. Wildman, illustrated by Hannah Noel Buchanan, Holly BuchananThis book retells the birth of Jesus and adapts the Christmas account from the Gospel of Luke. It draws on the First Nations Version, an Indigenous translation of the Christian Scriptures. The retelling is presented in the tradition of Native oral storytelling cultures. Its focus is the Christmas story as told through this First Nations adaptation of a Christian biblical narrative.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Blink and GlowRaven Howell, illustrated by Ann PilicerLilly and Leo catch a firefly and a salamander, placing each creature in a glass jar as they imagine sharing them at show-and-tell. When the animals’ lights begin to fade, their grandmother helps the children reconsider what they have done. The children learn that these natural wonders need freedom, then find another way to share their interest by making a craft for friends. The story combines bioluminescent wildlife with a lesson in treating animals with care.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
The Blue BowlFlo LeungMax enjoys Cantonese dishes made by his family, including steamed rice, gai lan with oyster sauce, dumplings, and scallion bread. Through these meals, he recognizes that Chinese and North American cultures both belong in his life. His family and their food help him make that connection, linking the particular dishes he loves with two parts of his cultural life at home.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsBrianosaurusGed AdamsonAfter learning that frogs lived at the same time as dinosaurs, Brian decides he is a dinosaur too: a Brianosaurus. His woodland friends expect him to roar instead of using trampolines or reading books, while the frogs object to how he makes their pond look. Brian tries behaving as others want, but is unhappy until he chooses to be himself.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD490LATOS Book Level 3.3View book detailsBroommates: A Brewing Boundary BattleLynne Marie, Brenda Reeves Sturgis, illustrated by Nico EcenarroBroommates: A Brewing Boundary Battle places witch sisters Mathilda and Malin in a Halloween-flavored sibling conflict. They share both a room and a broom, and their shared arrangements need improvement. The story makes their living space and transport part of the dispute. Lynne Marie and Brenda Reeves Sturgis wrote the 34-page book, published by The Little Press in 2024.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Bubbly Beautiful Kitty-Corn: A Picture BookShannon Hale, illustrated by LeUyen PhamUnicorn sometimes wishes to be a mermaid, and Kitty uses a craft kit to help make that wish real. After creating an elaborate mermaid tail, the friends take a trip to the beach, where events do not unfold as Unicorn expected. Feeling less confident about the result, Unicorn needs reassurance. Kitty helps her friend feel enchanting again as the two navigate a project, an unexpected outing, and the emotions that follow.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsBuffalo FluffaloBess Kalb, illustrated by Erin KraanBuffalo Fluffalo arrives acting large, tough, and full of self-importance. His bluff is eventually revealed, and a rainstorm exposes a different side of him. Told in rhyme, the story follows a buffalo whose bold manner does not tell the whole truth. Its events turn on the gap between how he presents himself and what is uncovered when the weather changes.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD580LATOS Book Level 3.8View book detailsBuilt to LastMinh LêTwo boys work together on construction projects that grow increasingly large, turning blocks into imagined worlds that include sea-creature attacks and castles falling into the ocean. When their creations collapse, they retrieve the pieces and begin again. A spectacular failure makes them stop laughing and tests their friendship, as collaboration brings both setbacks and successes. Colored-pencil and watercolor art blends their everyday building with fantasy.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD540LATOS Book Level 3.6View book details
Bunnygirl: Treehouse FriendsHolly Jayne, illustrated by Holly JayneJames has a remarkable treehouse, but his shyness keeps him from inviting anyone inside. Bunnygirl wants to help him feel more at ease with other people and find a way to make connections. The story follows their efforts around James’s reluctance to share his private space, while allowing for surprises from him as well. Presented as a picture book in comic panels, it is a standalone continuation of the Bunnygirl story world and focuses on the friendship between Bunnygirl and James.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Bunso Meets a DuwendeRev Valdez, illustrated by Rev ValdezBunso encounters a new duwende, a mythical creature from Filipino folklore, in this sequel to Bunso Meets a Mumu. The duwende’s mischievous tricks include hiding things, stealing toys, and causing mayhem. These actions are especially likely when children have not been paying attention. Bunso Meets a Duwende, by Rev Valdez, was published by Paw Prints Publishing on October 15, 2024.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsButt or Face?Kari LavelleThis animal guessing-game picture book begins with close-up photographs and asks whether each image shows an animal’s face or its rear end. The following page reveals the complete animal and includes facts about it. The animals use camouflage and other forms of trickery in their habitats; examples include a frog whose rear resembles eyes and a turtle that breathes through its rear. Color photographs, puns, and animal information shape the book’s playful nonfiction approach.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Cake for EveryoneThé Tjong-Khing, illustrated by Thé Tjong-KhingIn this wordless look-and-find picture book, a group of animals pursues a picnic that has been taken. The action is told through detailed scenes and comic storytelling as the animals give chase. Each page offers visual storytelling as the pursuit continues, and the narrative unfolds without written dialogue during the chase.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
CampinglandAme Dyckman, illustrated by James BurksA family sets out excited to camp, but their lack of know-how makes the trip go badly. They discover Campingland, an indoor theme park built around camping, with imitation fishing and animals. The family’s experience there prompts the possibility of trying outdoor camping again with better preparation. Their earlier encounter with a skunk is one of the mishaps they would rather not repeat.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Can I Sleep Here Baby LionElla BaileyAfter a full day of play, Baby Lion needs somewhere protected, comfortable, and warm to spend the night. The book invites readers to help locate a suitable sleeping place by lifting its flaps. It is part of a board-book series connected to Ella Bailey’s One Day On Our Blue Planet books, following Baby Lion’s nighttime search for a place to rest.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
The Case of the Disappearing CastleEric Hogan, Tara HungerfordDaisy builds a sandcastle at the beach. She and Scout take a walk along the shore, then return to find that the castle has vanished. The disappearance turns a day beside the water into a mystery for Daisy and Scout to notice and investigate. Their search begins with the missing sandcastle and the changes they find when they come back from their walk.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Clack, Clack! Smack! A Cherokee Stickball StoryTraci Sorell, illustrated by Joseph ErbVann plays stickball on the Cherokee Nation but struggles compared with the other members of his team. During a game, he stumbles and cannot score, then considers how else he might contribute to the team’s success. The story places his experience in Cherokee stickball, while additional material explains the game’s origins. Its focus includes participation, teamwork, and sportsmanship rather than simply being the standout player.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Daisy the DaydreamerJennifer P. GoldfingerDaisy’s imagination transforms ordinary moments: her braids become fishing rods, a teeter-totter launches her into space, and swings let her imagine flying like a superhero. Daydreaming is often fun, but it can also cause trouble when she mixes up tasks, such as folding and feeding. Daisy cares about what is happening around her and needs to find her own way to show it.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeWord Count 297View book detailsDorisLo Cole, illustrated by Lo ColeDoris is a shy red elephant who struggles to disappear into the crowd. Although she has long relished being in a spotlight, she dances to a rhythm that is distinctly her own. The tale asks whether Doris can welcome the qualities that set her apart and find courage in being herself. Her shyness and uniqueness shape her effort to blend in and accept herself.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD770LATOS Book Level 4.9View book detailsThe Ghost Who Was Afraid of EverythingNadia Ahmed, illustrated by Nadia AhmedFinn is a little ghost who is afraid of so many things that he stays in his attic instead of going trick-or-treating with his family. Fear makes his stomach swoop, his hands sweat, and his body freeze. Wanting his favorite Halloween candy gives Finn a reason to face what scares him. By gradually approaching those fears, he finds the courage to enjoy activities with the people he loves.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD490LATOS Book Level 3.3View book detailsGifts from the Garbage Truck: A True Story About the Things We (Don’t) Throw AwayAndrew Larsen, foreword by Nelson MolinaThis true story follows Nelson Molina, a sanitation worker in New York City who saved more than 45,000 objects from his garbage truck. The items he kept include toys, musical instruments, and assorted thingamajigs. The book considers the value of things that might otherwise be treated as worthless, including broken objects that can be repaired rather than discarded. Molina’s collection grows from what he finds during his work.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsGina Kaminski Saves the WolfCraig Barr-Green, illustrated by Francis MartinGina steps into the world of Little Red Riding Hood because she believes the Wolf has made three major errors. Her goal is to stop the woodcutter from killing the wolf and alter the outcome that awaits him. The story places a young reader inside a familiar fairy tale, where Gina works to change the wolf’s fate. Sketchy illustrations include emotionally expressive emojis.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsI Am a PotatoZiggy Hanaor, illustrated by Elliot KruszynskiA small furry creature insists that they are a potato, but Dog questions the claim by asking whether they grow underground or have many eyes. Cat then helps narrow the answer: the creature breathes air, eats, and produces waste, so it is an animal. As additional creatures join the conversation, they use questions to work out what kind of animal the puzzled creature is.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Just Like MillieLauren Castillo, illustrated by Lauren CastilloAfter moving with her mother to an apartment in a new city, a young girl feels at ease at home but is deeply shy around new people. Invitations to play with neighbors or attend story time make her cry. Then her mother brings home Millie, a rescue dog who sleeps beside her bed and joins her on three daily walks. Millie’s friendly manner attracts people, and the girl gradually feels safe enough to recognize familiar faces and say hello.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure 361LATOS Book Level 2.6View book details
Just UsMolly Beth Griffin, illustrated by Anait SemirdzhyanA young narrator expects the winter holidays to bring Grandma, aunts, uncles, cousins, charades, a fire, and Grandma’s pies. A huge snowstorm changes the family’s plans, leaving only Mom, Mama, her brother, and the narrator at home. They make stew, hike through snowy scenery, and play cards after dinner. Although the gathering is quieter than usual and the narrator still misses the pie, the family finds some fun in their altered celebration.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Kitten NinjaColleen AF Venable, Marcie Colleen, illustrated by Ellen StubbingsBefore becoming Cat Ninja, Metro City’s defender, the hero is a tiny Kitten Ninja. This prequel follows him as he confronts kitten-sized foes on the way toward a heroic future. His challenges include a sun spot that will not stay still, a tempting ball of yarn, and snow. The story presents the earlier adventures of the feline hero from the Cat Ninja series.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure GN520LATOS Book Level 3.4View book details
Like You, Like MeJenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw, illustrated by Jenny Sue Kostecki-ShawTulsi and Vanessa are pen pals living on different continents: one in North American mountains and the other near the African coast. In their letters, they discover shared experiences, including prankster brothers, a love of music, and collecting treasures from nature. Their surroundings and daily sounds differ, yet their feelings about those experiences often overlap. The story follows their connection through correspondence across distance.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Look Up!: Fontaine the Pigeon Starts a RevolutionBritt Gondolfi, illustrated by Amanda RomanickFontaine is a pigeon frustrated by people’s constant attention to their devices. He brings together other birds to begin a playful movement aimed at getting people to look up instead. Their effort encourages people to put down their phones, notice nature, and reconnect with one another. The story follows Fontaine and his bird allies as they respond to a world absorbed by screens.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Martee Dares to DanceHarry Shum Jr, Shelby Rabara, illustrated by Bianca AustriaMartee Dares to Dance is the first children’s book by actors and dancers Harry Shum Jr. and Shelby Rabara. Gloo Books published it on September 21, 2024. The book links dance to the courage of being one’s true self. It presents self-acceptance as a choice that can require bravery and can lead to a person’s greatest achievement. The title introduces Martee through a decision to dance.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
The Midnight MitzvahRuth Horowitz, illustrated by Jenny MeilihoveHanina performs a helpful act, though not everyone welcomes it. She learns that Mathilda Squirrel needs assistance but feels too embarrassed to admit it. To make the help easier to accept, Hanina devises a secret plan: at midnight, she will leave nuts for Mathilda. The story centers on a discreet act of care for someone who is reluctant to ask for support.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
My Lost Freedom: A Japanese American WWII StoryGeorge TakeiGeorge Takei recounts being four when his life changed after Pearl Harbor. His family, though American, was affected when the United States treated people of Japanese descent as enemies. During World War II, Takei and his family lived in a Japanese American incarceration camp. His account considers the loss of dignity under incarceration as well as the strength he and others found through community.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsNo Bear AnywhereLeah GilbertBruin joins his family on a walk along Bear Creek Trail with one wish: to spot a bear, his favorite animal. The outing does not go as he expects, and his search leads him to other unexpected wonders. The story follows Bruin as he faces the disappointment of not finding the animal he hoped to see and encounters surprises along the way.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
No More Señora MimíMeg Medina, illustrated by Brittany CiccheseAna spends time before and after school with her neighbor and babysitter, Señora Mimí, while her mother works. Their days include familiar routines and affection. Ana is excited for her abuela to move in and become her babysitter, until she realizes this change may mean less time with Señora Mimí. As Ana struggles with that sadness, Señora Mimí shares her own feelings, celebrates abuelas, and tells Ana she still wants visits.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure 459LATOS Book Level 3.1View book details
The Ofrenda That We BuiltJolene Gutíerrez, Shaian Gutíerrez, illustrated by Gabby ZapataA family builds an ofrenda for Día de Muertos, placing the family altar at the center of its celebration. The picture book focuses on family traditions and remembering loved ones who have died. Through the making of the ofrenda, it connects celebration, memory, and continuing bonds with people who have passed away.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure NP0LATOS Book Level 0.1View book detailsOld Clothes for Dinner?Nathalie AlonsoMagaly enjoys the Cuban food her abuela cooks after arriving from Havana. But when she hears that dinner will be ropa vieja, she mistakes the Spanish name for “old clothes” and is horrified at the thought. This bilingual family story follows the misunderstanding around a Cuban dish and the mix-up it creates at mealtime.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsThe Quickest Bedtime Story Ever!Louise Fitzgerald, illustrated by Kate HindleyThis bedtime story claims to contain only ten words, but preparation comes first. The reader is asked to warm up a reading voice and organize the teddy bears before beginning. Its narrator treats getting ready for a story as serious business, even though the stated story is extremely short. The book’s premise turns the rituals around bedtime reading into the main event.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsRainbow BearBill Martin Jr., Michael Sampson, illustrated by Nathalie BeauvoisLittle Bear wakes hungry after hibernation. He eats berries while learning the color names in a rainbow. The picture book combines his food-focused journey with colors, vivid illustrations, and familiar animal characters. Bear’s story begins when hibernation ends and follows him as he eats berries and encounters the rainbow’s colors.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
The Soil in Jackie’s GardenPeggy Thomas, illustrated by Neely DaggettJackie and her garden friends plant a garden, care for it, and harvest food they have grown. As they work, they explore soil and composting. Food scraps are recycled into compost, linking the garden’s planting and harvesting with a continuing cycle of growth and renewal. The book follows Jackie and her friends through the connected work of growing food and returning scraps to the soil.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
The Sorry SeedsTina Shepardson, illustrated by Bong Hyun ShinThis story considers the difficult feelings that can follow a mistake. Saying “I’m sorry” may not feel easy, and words by themselves may seem insufficient. The book explores taking responsibility, seeking forgiveness, and finding a way to repair hurt. It connects the process of apologizing with a change from unpleasant feelings toward something sweeter, emphasizing the emotional work involved in making amends.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
StrongClara Anganuzzi, illustrated by Clara AnganuzziMaurice is unlike the other dragons: he is not frightening and has no interest in breathing fire, snarling, or growling. Flowers are what he loves most. His difference raises the question of whether the other dragons will accept him as he is. Set in a world of dragons and magic, the story considers being an outsider, self-acceptance, and the many forms bravery can take.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
The Sun Never HurriesRoxane Turcotte, illustrated by Lucie CrovattoCharlie’s grandfather, Papa Jo, moves slowly through his day and uses an hourglass as a reminder that each moment matters. Charlie does not initially understand why the hourglass is important. To show her, Papa Jo and Charlie spend a day taking things at an unhurried pace. Their time together turns everyday moments into a shared lesson about pausing and appreciating the day.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD570LATOS Book Level 3.7View book details
Where Is Little Stripe’s Daddy?Deborah Bruss, illustrated by Cornelius Van WrightLittle Stripe, a zebra, cannot find his father. A monarch caterpillar befriends him and wants to help with the search. Together, the new companions encounter a variety of animals marked with black-and-white stripes. The animals they discover come from different ecosystems, expanding Little Stripe’s journey beyond the first missing-family problem and introducing striped wildlife along the way.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Before the Ships: The Birth of Black ExcellenceMaisha OsoBefore the Ships presents Black history as beginning well before the transatlantic slave trade. In poetic text and illustrations, it turns to Africa and the achievements found across the continent before that period. The book places slavery within African American history without treating it as the starting point, then connects this earlier history to the strength and resilience of Black people today. It foregrounds a long, rich past tied to Africa.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsThe Little Green Swing (Little Ruby’s Big Ideas)Brenda Maier, illustrated by Sonia SánchezRuby is a girl whose mind is constantly occupied by ideas. On a windy day, she asks her brothers to help her make something remarkable. Her brothers have a different plan: rather than organize a project, they want to play. The story places Ruby’s urge to plan a project and build something alongside her brothers’ preference for play on a windy day.Teacher Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsTeacher Favorites — 3rd–5th Grade
50 selections
Rank 1IllumipediaCarnovsky, illustrated by CarnovskyIllumipedia explores animals, insects, dinosaurs, ocean depths, and other natural phenomena. A three-colour lens is part of the book’s exploration of these subjects. Its pages move across living creatures, prehistoric animals, and the deep ocean, presenting several parts of the natural world through the lens-based format. The book brings together animals, minibeasts, dinosaurs, and ocean environments for an exploration of nature.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Rank 2The Hotel BalzaarKate DiCamilloMarta lives with her mother, who works as a maid, in the attic of the Hotel Balzaar. Her father has been away at war and has not contacted them for more than a year, yet Marta still hopes for his return. She quietly explores the hotel until a countess arrives with a parrot and promises to tell her seven stories. As the countess’s tales unfold, Marta notices connections and wonders what they reveal about her father and the strange events around her.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsRank 3This Is My BrainElise Gravel, illustrated by Elise GravelA Schneider Family Book Award winner! A Bank Street Best Book of the Year!Told in dual narrative, This Is My Brain in Love is a stunning YA contemporary romance, exploring mental health, race, and, ultimately self-acceptance, for fans of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter and Emergency Contact.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Rank 4The Pigpen Problem: How to Calculate Area and PerimeterBill Wise, illustrated by Davilyn LynchSheep steps forward with impressive math skills when the crew is unsure how to begin. The other members of the crew furrow their brows and scratch their heads as they consider what to do. The central question is whether the rest of the group knows how to proceed. Its title names calculating area and perimeter as the mathematical problem involved.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Rank 5Cat Kid Comic Club: Influencers: A Graphic Novel (Cat Kid Comic Club #5): From the Creator of Dog ManDav Pilkey, illustrated by Dav PilkeyCat Kid Comic Club faces turmoil when the baby frogs learn that one of their comics is headed for publication. The news leaves them anxious and unsure of themselves, interrupting their creative momentum. Naomi and Melvin may each take on a leading role, while Flippy tries to persuade the group to improve its behavior. The graphic novel also includes fast-moving short comics.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Rank 6Wildlife in the Balance: The Species that Shape Earth’s EcosystemsDr Sharon Wismer, illustrated by Terri PoThis nonfiction book introduces keystone species from around the world and considers the roles they play in Earth’s ecosystems. Its animal subjects include elephants, wolves, honeybees, and beavers. The book presents these animals as especially important to the planet and describes ways they help protect it. Through this global collection, readers encounter wildlife whose presence shapes the natural systems around them.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Rank 7Heroes of World War II: 25 True Stories of Unsung Heroes Who Fought for FreedomJarett Keene, illustrated by Ricardo GualbertoThis group biography presents 25 profiles of people and groups connected with World War II. Its subjects range from familiar figures to less widely known ones, including soldiers, pilots, nurses, factory workers, and family members. The accounts highlight acts of courage, sacrifice, and selflessness during the war. Color illustrations and photographs accompany the profiles, which bring together many different kinds of wartime contributions.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Rank 8Sonia and the Super-Duper DisasterRachel Funez, illustrated by Kelly KennedySonia forgets her mother’s birthday and decides to make a big surprise so that she can become her mother’s hero. Her adventure includes gadgets intended to fight worry as she copes with the feeling that everything is going wrong. Sonia’s determination to prepare a surprise drives the story, while her worry-fighting tools are part of how she responds to the problem she has created.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Rank 9Abzuglutely!: Battling, Bellowing Bella AbzugSarah AronsonThis picture-book biography follows Bella Abzug from her Bronx childhood through her work as a lawyer, activist, and congresswoman. Influenced by her family’s Jewish values and the idea of tikkun olam, or repairing the world, Abzug pursued justice and fairness. The book describes her advocacy for equality affecting minorities, consumers, and women, as well as her roles as a wife and mother.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Rank 10The Super VolcanoSuzanne Jacobs Lipshaw, illustrated by Brie SchmidaBeneath Yellowstone National Park, a supervolcano is cast as a secret superhero. The book takes a trip through Yellowstone, described as an iconic destination, while looking below the ground where the volcano is concealed. It explores the powers of this hidden supervolcano and frames the landscape as a place of discovery. Yellowstone and its underground volcano provide the setting for an exploration of what lies beneath the park.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsAnd Yet You Shine: The Kohinoor Diamond, Colonization, and ResistanceSupriya Kelkar, illustrated by Supriya KelkarThis book tells the story of the Kohinoor, a famous diamond taken from South Asia during colonization. The diamond is now part of the crown jewels in London. The account connects the Kohinoor’s history with colonization and resistance, inviting readers to consider decolonization and dignity. It focuses on the diamond’s journey and the historical forces surrounding its removal from South Asia.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Bog MyrtleSid SharpBeatrice and Magnolia are sisters with sharply different dispositions who share a chilly old house with helpful spiders. Beatrice receives enchanted yarn from Bog Myrtle, a giant forest spider concerned with sustainability. With the spiders, she begins making a warm sweater, but the yarn soon leads to a sweater factory and conflict with the spiders. This darkly comic story brings together magic, sisterhood, spiders, and questions about sustainability.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeLexile Text Measure 600LATOS Book Level 3.8View book details
Buckle Up: (A Graphic Novel)Lawrence LindellLonnie is adjusting to his parents’ divorce, living with his mother and sister while missing time with his father. Brief drives to and from school become an important space for father and son. Lonnie’s dad uses those rides to raise subjects that are difficult to discuss elsewhere, including divorce, sexuality, and racism. As Lonnie grows accustomed to this new family arrangement and to these conversations, he works toward a closer connection with his dad.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsThe Café at the Edge of the WoodsMikey Please, illustrated by Mikey PleaseRene opens a café beside an enchanted forest with a waiter named Glumfoot. She hopes to serve fine cuisine, but the local creatures request dishes such as pickled bats and battered mice. An ogre’s order leaves Rene ready to give up, since she does not want to serve food she considers rubbish. Rene and Glumfoot must find a compromise that meets the customer’s peculiar tastes.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Cat Out of Water: (A Dr. Seuss Graphic Novel)Art Baltazar, Dr. SeussOn a day that starts with chores, Sally and her brother find their routine disrupted when the Cat in the Hat arrives. Thing 1 and Thing 2 bring comic chaos to the day. This graphic-novel companion uses newly created illustrations and panel-based storytelling to visit the world of The Cat in the Hat. Their usual day becomes a much less ordinary one.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
The Children’s Book of the FutureLavie Tidhar, Richard Watson, illustrated by Cinthya AlvarezAn illustrated nonfiction narrative imagines possible futures through technology and science. Drawing inspiration from current scientific research, it offers a hopeful and inclusive view of what may lie ahead. The book explores future-focused ideas with an optimistic outlook, using imaginative illustrations and narrative nonfiction to connect science with visions of tomorrow. Its central concern is how technology and scientific thinking can shape the future.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Curlilocks and the Three Hares: A Modern Fairy-Tale SeriesAndrew Hacket, illustrated by Jan DolbyCurlilocks and the Three Hares is a modern fairy-tale book by Andrew Hacket, published by The Little Press in 2024. Its description highlights dripping dye, sizzling styles, and excess accessories, then asks whether they are just right. The book is identified as a fractured fairy tale and a modern fairy-tale early reader, bringing contemporary style details to its fairy-tale framing.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Dear Ruby, Hear Our HeartsRuby Bridges, illustrated by John Jay CabuayRuby Bridges, identified as a national civil rights activist, answers letters written by thoughtful, concerned young students across the United States. The book brings together their correspondence and her replies. Bridges says she has listened to what the students carry in their hearts and shares those concerns with readers. It is built around an exchange between a prominent activist and young letter writers.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
The Empty PlaceOlivia A. ColeOn Henry’s tenth birthday, her father disappears in a forest. A year later, he comes out of the trees unharmed, carrying an unusual necklace for her. Others regard his return as miraculous, but Henry wants answers about what happened. Her search leads her into a disorienting realm associated with the lost, where she must find a route back home and uncover secrets connected to her father.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeLexile Text Measure 631LATOS Book Level 4.1View book details
Frankenstein’s Matzah: A Passover ParodyK. Marcus, illustrated by Sam LomanVee is Victor Frankenstein's Jewish, non-binary descendant and hopes to win a school science fair. When an experiment works, its outcome creates chaotic consequences and raises ethical questions for Vee. This Passover parody unfolds through comic-style speech bubbles and also includes Super Seder science experiments. It combines a Frankenstein-inspired premise with science-fiction adventure and Passover observance.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Genius Ears: A Curious Animal CompendiumLena Anlauf, illustrated by Vitali Konstantinov, Marshall YarbroughThis illustrated animal compendium examines ears and the varied jobs they perform in the animal kingdom. It explains that ears do more than receive sound waves and can be an animal’s strongest asset. One example follows a black-tailed jackrabbit, which changes its ear position to confuse pursuers and escape danger. The book gathers facts about animal ears from around the world and their remarkable functions.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
The Gingerbread Man: Buttons on the LooseLaura Murray, illustrated by Laura MurrayThe Gingerbread Man lives in a gingerbread house built for him at school, where he has a hat and bow tie. After finding two candy buttons gone, he searches the school for them. A new friend helps with the investigation. The graphic novel blends rhyme, action, full-page illustrations, and comic-panel storytelling. The missing buttons set the mystery in motion.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeLexile Text Measure GN500LATOS Book Level 3.3View book details
How Do You Become a Mad Scientist?Hayes, illustrated by Srimalile BassaniThis book offers science experiments such as making slime, causing a balloon to inflate on its own, and creating a bouncy egg. Each activity provides step-by-step directions and explains the science behind it. One slime experiment explores chemical reactions and viscosity. Back matter contains a glossary and further activities, extending the book’s collection of hands-on experiments and the scientific ideas connected with them.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
I Belong Here: Duke the Deaf Dog Series Chapter BookKelly Brakenhoff, illustrated by Caterina BaldiDuke is a second grader who enjoys drawing, baseball, and exploring the world around him. He uses a hearing aid and American Sign Language to communicate. Fitting in can be difficult, and Duke navigates school, friendships, and everyday fun while finding his place in both deaf and hearing worlds. The chapter book follows his struggles and triumphs as he learns that people have different ways of learning and playing.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
If Lin CanRichard Ho, illustrated by Huỳnh Kim Liên, Phùng Nguyên QuangJeremy Lin grows up in the Bay Area hearing that he cannot succeed. People mock both his size and race and deny him opportunities, but he persists. The biography traces his path to becoming the first Taiwanese American NBA player and presents his experience in relation to Asian American pride and being underestimated in basketball. It follows the challenges he faced before reaching that milestone.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsInvestiGators: Agents of S.U.I.T.: From Badger to WorseJohn Patrick Green, Christopher Hastings, illustrated by Pat LewisIn this second Agents of S.U.I.T. installment, Bongo and Marsha, the B-Team, spring into action. The book takes place in the existing InvestiGators world and continues its spinoff series. John Patrick Green and Christopher Hastings wrote this 208-page book, which First Second published in 2024. Its title identifies Bongo and Marsha as agents in the S.U.I.T. series.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsIris and the TurtlesMelanie Mathis Miller, illustrated by Karissa Miller LaffeyIris and the Turtles introduces Iris as someone who loves to swim in the ocean beside her home. She shares the waters with all the beautiful marine life there. Sea turtles, however, are the creatures she likes most. Melanie Mathis Miller wrote the book. The publisher is Crimson Dragon Publishing. The recorded publication date is 2024-05-31, and the book has 40 pages.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
It Happened to AnnaTehlor Kay MejiaSadie Rivera is haunted by a ghost that makes friendship difficult. Anna dies in an accident the ghost brings about, and Sadie expects to stay by herself at a new school. Then Mal arrives, and the haunting unexpectedly ends. The story centers on Sadie's isolation, the deadly accident, and the new connection that interrupts the ghost's hold.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsIt Is OkayYe Guo, illustrated by Ye GuoGoat and Bunny are close friends who enjoy spending time together, including eating canned grass. When they try coffee, go hiking, and have dinner in Bunny’s burrow, each encounter shows them that friendship does not make them alike. Their shared outings bring their differences into view and raise a question about whether their relationship can continue. The story centers on two animal friends as they discover how differently they experience the same friendship.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeLexile Text Measure 520LATOS Book Level 3.4View book details
A Kid’s Guide to the Night Sky: Simple Ways to Explore the UniverseJohn A. ReadA guide to observing the night sky without a telescope. It introduces constellations, bright stars, the solar system, the Moon, and the Milky Way. Step-by-step material explains how to locate sights overhead, how the sky changes with the seasons, and when meteor showers can be seen. Fact sections cover a stargazing toolkit, the life of a star, astronomical events, and touring the solar system.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Kwame VotesDr. Artika Tyner, illustrated by Chasity HamptonKwame has voted in a student-government election at his school and is excited to discuss his choice in detail with the members of his family. He wants to tell them whom he voted for and why he made that choice. His family’s own preparations for Election Day surprise him, because they too are getting ready to take part in that day’s event.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
The Life-Changing Magic of Chess: A Beginner’s Guide with Grandmaster Maurice AshleyMaurice Ashley, illustrated by Denis AngelovGrandmaster Maurice Ashley shares his own journey from Jamaica to New York and then to the world stage of chess. He became the chess world’s first Black Grandmaster and later worked as a national-championship coach and commentator. The book also introduces chess basics, including how the pieces move and how to begin a game. It combines Ashley’s story with an introduction to the strategy game.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Mid-AirAlicia D. WilliamsAfter his friend dies, Isaiah is grieving and struggling with guilt and questions about identity. He also experiences an attack motivated by race. Isaiah is sent to live with his aunt and uncle, where he confronts his grief and considers what masculinity means to him. The story asks whether he can be true to himself as he works through these experiences. Danica Novgorodoff’s illustrations accompany this rhythmic novel told in verse.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
National Geographic Kids Almanac 2025National Geographic KidsNational Geographic Kids Almanac 2025 is an almanac that gathers animals, space, inventions, and history in one volume. Its contents extend beyond those named subjects. The book addresses broad curiosity about many kinds of information, presenting a single reference source that ranges across topics rather than concentrating on only one field. Animals, space, inventions, and history form part of its stated scope.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsNestPrecious McKenzie, illustrated by Jennifer ArdNest uses a nest and its birds to explore home, family, and care. Birds look after the young they love, while difficult or stormy weather tests the security of their home. The book connects the birds’ shelter to familiar family feelings of protection and belonging. Expanded back matter introduces the varied nesting patterns of birds.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsNoodle & BaoShaina Lu, illustrated by Shaina LuMomo has spent her whole life in Town 99 and knows its routines, including where to buy fruit, practice tai chi, and eat at Noodle & Bao. The restaurant is run by Momo’s friend Bao and their amah, Noodle. As Town 99 changes, rent becomes unaffordable for Momo’s family, and Noodle & Bao loses its storefront after a new business purchases it.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Operation: Happy: A World War II Story of Courage, Resilience, and an Unbreakable BondJenni L. WalshSet in 1940, the story follows Jody as her military family moves to a small naval base at Pearl Harbor. When World War II reaches her home, she tries to cope and help hold her family together. With her dog, Happy, Jody works through a bucket list. The novel also includes Happy’s point of view and draws inspiration from the experiences of a young Pearl Harbor survivor.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
PuzzleheartJenn ReeseTwelve-year-old Perigee is a determined problem-solver who believes they can solve any problem. When their father needs encouragement, Perigee makes a plan for a road trip to his childhood home and hopes to reconnect him with his estranged mother. The journey leads to a mysterious house, where Perigee faces dangerous puzzles and concealed secrets that test their ability to find answers.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsRecord Breakers at the Olympic GamesRob WalkerThis book surveys records, achievements, and notable stories from the modern Summer Olympic Games. Covering every sport and discipline since the 1896 Athens Games, it highlights record-setting performances and dramatic moments from Olympic history. Its focus is on the athletes’ accomplishments and the many events that together form the history of the Games.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Ripley: Fire Station FiveW. Bruce CameronRipley is a border collie puppy who joins Ben at Fire Station Five. Smart, quick, and courageous, he works to earn the team’s trust by learning to enter dangerous situations, assist with rescues, and protect people until further help arrives. After a destructive house fire, Ripley meets a girl named Samantha, discovering that helping people can take more than one form.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Salt, Pepper, Season, Spice: All the Flavors of the WorldJacques Pasquet, illustrated by Claire Anghinolfi, Ann Marie BoulangerThis nonfiction book traces familiar flavors through history, mythology, and cultures around the world. It considers salt, pepper, coffee, tea, spices, condiments, and confections, including their origins and some of the stories associated with them. Readers also explore how these ingredients are grown, gathered, and made ready for use, from the long history of salt to pepper’s former value as “black gold.”Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
She Persisted: Naomi OsakaKekla Magoon, illustrated by Kekla MagoonNaomi Osaka’s story follows her childhood in both Japan and the United States and her commitment to tennis. She practices, develops her game, and continues pursuing professional tennis despite people who doubt her prospects. Alongside her achievements on the court, the book covers her activism connected to racial justice and mental health causes. It presents a life shaped by sport, persistence, and public advocacy.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Stolen, Golden Goose Eggs (Claw & Order: Fairy Goose Unit Series, Book #2)Donna Boock, illustrated by Nivya Kuriakose– A 2025 Children’s Book Council Teacher Favorites Winner in 3rd–5th Grade Category. Meet Jack B. Quack and Hickety Pickety McChickety—the Fairy Goose Unit’s fiercest “ducktectives”—as they waddle into their trickiest case yet!Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsThe Tale of The Other GloveMonica, Abigail Berg, illustrated by Sonia PossentiniAbigail goes on an adventure with her babysitter Carol and her friend Ben. At a busy subway station, they meet an unhoused man who takes something from Carol and will not give it back. The encounter causes Abigail to reconsider what is right and wrong. With guidance from her mother, she discovers that individual points of view can shape those ideas in different ways.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Toothed or Baleen?Cathleen McConnellThis nonfiction comparison introduces cetaceans, marine mammals divided into toothed and baleen groups. It distinguishes the groups by their breathing openings, dorsal fins, feeding methods, and use of echolocation. Dolphins and porpoises appear among the toothed whales, while baleen whales take in water and prey through large mouths. The book focuses on both the shared characteristics and differences between these whales.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
The VoyageStéphane ServantDrawn to the horizon from childhood, a young woman wants to find what lies beyond the island where she lives. With her parents’ help, she builds a boat; they also give her a sword before she departs. Her voyage takes her through storms and encounters with sea monsters, and she aids sailors who are lost at sea. The story follows her decision to leave home and pursue a life of travel and adventure.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
What Happened on Thursday?Ayo OyekuA young boy tells of his Biafran family’s life during war. Their experience includes homelessness and starvation, followed by time in a refugee camp. The family eventually returns home. Set against the Nigerian Civil War, the story centers on a child’s view of conflict and on the bonds of family during displacement, hunger, and the search for a place to live again.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsWho’s Writing This Story?!Robin NewmanThe three little pigs argue with the writer about the story they are in. The big bad wolf also joins them in taking charge of a familiar tale. Their dispute considers who controls a story: its author, the characters, or both together. The book gives the well-known folktale a modern change as its events unfold, with graphic-novel-like illustrations.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsWhy Not?: A Story About Discovering Our Bright PossibilitiesKobi YamadaWhy Not? is an encouraging book about a child’s particular qualities and wide-ranging potential. Its words invite readers to act bravely, pursue what matters to them, and imagine who they may become. Fantasy scenes of animals and nature accompany this exploration, illustrated in glowing jewel-toned art. It asks what might happen when someone chooses a bold adventure or meets a challenge.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsWinnie-the-PoohA. A. MilneThis graphic adaptation follows Winnie-the-Pooh, the anthropomorphic teddy bear also called Pooh or Edward Bear, and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood. The book presents their adventures through straightforward black-and-white art. Pooh first appeared by name in a Christmas Eve 1925 children’s story, and the character was created by A. A. Milne with illustrator E. H. Shepard. Milne drew inspiration from a stuffed toy bought for his son and a bear the pair had seen at London Zoo.Teacher Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsTeacher Favorites — 6th–8th Grade
50 selections
Rank 1The Bletchley RiddleRuta Sepetys, Steve SheinkinDuring World War II, Lizzie and her older brother Jakob are separated from their mother after she is caught in Poland while working for the American embassy. Though she is presumed dead, Lizzie refuses to accept it. She finds documents hidden in their London apartment and tries to show that their mother is alive. Jakob, a Cambridge mathematics student, works near Bletchley Park on secret efforts to break German Enigma messages. Alternating chapters follow Lizzie’s search and Jakob’s codebreaking work.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 631LATOS Book Level 4.1View book details
Rank 2Louder Than HungerJohn Schu, foreword by Kate DiCamilloJake is a middle school student receiving treatment for anorexia nervosa. The illness appears to him as a controlling Voice inside his head. Before treatment, he volunteers at a nursing home and enjoys skating, singing, bingo, music games, mysteries, and comics, while avoiding peers, mirrors, and food. The novel tells his difficult movement toward health in free-verse poetry. It follows Jake’s experience with an eating disorder and the inner voice that exerts control over him.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 549LATOS Book Level 3.6View book detailsRank 3Safiyyah’s WarHiba Noor KhanIn occupied Paris, Safiyyah and her Algerian French family live in the Grand Mosque, where her father and uncle assist the Resistance. Her father hides injured Allied soldiers and prepares false papers that identify Jewish people as Muslim. When Nazi attention falls on him, Safiyyah takes over delivering those documents. As Jewish neighbors vanish, her family and other Resistance members shelter people in the mosque before helping them leave France through a tunnel and by barge.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Rank 4What Do We Eat?: How Humans Find, Grow and Share FoodMegan Clendenan, illustrated by Meegan LimMegan Clendenan’s 96-page What Do We Eat? was published by Orca Book Publishers USA in January 2024. The book treats food as a need shared by people every day, regardless of where they are or must go. It asks readers to imagine carrying meals while parachuting into a war zone. The subject connects food to the varied circumstances and destinations of human life.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Rank 5The Lonely Belowg. haron davisEva arrives at Blythe Academy and quickly senses that something is wrong there. She learns that part of the school collapsed fifty years earlier, killing a teacher and a classroom of students. Unnerving visions and encounters with ghosts lead Eva to question whether the collapse was truly an accident. As a malevolent force returns, she investigates the school’s deadly past and the danger it still holds.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 800LATOS Book Level 5.1View book detailsRank 6Spooky Lakes: 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes that Dot Our PlanetGeo Rutherford, illustrated by Geo RutherfordThis illustrated nonfiction book examines twenty-five unusual lakes located around the world. It explores strange and mysterious waters through research and newly created full-color watercolor illustrations. The book travels through lakes marked by eerie or unexpected qualities, drawing attention to the planet’s varied waters. Its subject is the geography and natural character of these distinctive lakes and their locations.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Rank 7Shark TeethSherri WinstonAfter returning from foster care, twelve-year-old Sharkita fears being separated again from her younger sister, Lilli, and her developmentally disabled brother, Lamar. When their mother disappears for days, Kita takes on cooking, bills, cleaning, and childcare while also coping with her mother’s abuse. Her love of baton twirling and support from her coach offer a break from these pressures. One evening out with friends leads to a disastrous situation at home.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 669LATOS Book Level 4.3View book details
Rank 8A World of Dogs: A Celebration of Fascinating Facts and Amazing Real-Life Stories for Dog LoversCarlie SorosiakA World of Dogs explores dogs’ long relationship with people, from their evolutionary history to the ways they help humans. It investigates canine senses and communication, including questions about whether dogs understand people, dream, or feel love. The book also looks at the ages of different breeds and includes real-life dog stories. Color illustrations accompany the information, and the volume includes both an index and a glossary.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Rank 9Loch Ness Uncovered: Media, Misinformation, and the Greatest Monster Hoax of All TimeRebecca SiegelThis nonfiction account traces how reports of the Loch Ness Monster spread after Alice Mackay said she had seen a creature in the Scottish lake in 1933. It examines the newspaper coverage, the connection between the claim and local tourism, and later sightings. The book also investigates Marmaduke Wetherell’s filmed “proof,” showing how he staged evidence, and examines other claims to explain how misinformation can take hold.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Rank 10Freedom Fire: Black Girl PowerLeah Johnson (editor)This collection brings together fifteen stories and poems by contemporary Black women writers about Black girlhood. Its pieces include a first sleepover with a stuffed animal, an escape from an eerie dollhouse, new friendships made through magical baked goods, and finding the nerve to dance independently. Across these varied everyday and fantastical situations, the collection reflects joy, strength, imagination, friendship, courage, and the experiences of Black girls today.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeWord Count 66673View book detailsAll Mixed UpRaj TawneyIn 2002 on Long Island, multiracial sixth grader Kamal Rao deals with bullying and xenophobia in a suburban town that does not feel inclusive. He becomes friends with Jaz, a recent immigrant from Pakistan who has a worrying home life. Through that friendship, Kamal gains a different view of his own difficulties. The novel places questions of identity and belonging alongside friendship, prejudice, and the challenges of growing up in the period after September 11.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsAll The Ways to GoJessie JanowitzAll the Ways to Go concerns overcoming the fear of disappointing people one loves. It takes place during a summer when nothing is going as planned. The book also considers the good things that may come from that season. Jessie Janowitz is also the author of The Doughnut Fix. All the Ways to Go has 368 pages and was published by Sourcebooks on 2024-09-03.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsAlterationsRay Xu, illustrated by Ray XuKevin Lee lives with his family in a crowded Toronto apartment above their alterations and dry-cleaning shop. At school, he is one of few Asian children and receives unwelcome attention. Feeling unseen both at home and school, Kevin faces a class trip to the Thrill Planet theme park. He wonders whether the trip could change his circumstances or become another difficult day.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Banned Books, Crop Tops, and Other Bad InfluencesBrigit YoungTwo girls push back against book bans while confronting rules and the possible cost to their friendships. One girl is used to obeying her parents and accepting that rules exist for a reason. As the girls challenge restrictions on books, they must decide whether to speak up despite the consequences they may face. The story centers on their efforts to find their voices while navigating friendship and adult expectations.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Barracoon: Adapted for Young ReadersZora Neale Hurston, illustrated by Jazzmen Lee-JohnsonThis adaptation recounts the life of Cudjo Lewis, who was among the last known survivors of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Zora Neale Hurston interviewed him during repeated visits in 1931, when he was 86. Lewis described his childhood in Africa, his capture at 19, his illegal transport to the United States after the trade had been outlawed, and his life during and after enslavement. An introduction supplies historical context on the slave trade, slavery in America, and the young-readers adaptation. Hurston also discusses the language Lewis used in telling his story.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Benny Ramírez and the Nearly DepartedJosé Pablo IriarteAfter moving across the country, Benny Ramírez arrives at the Miami mansion once owned by his late grandfather. There he discovers that Ignacio Ramírez, his celebrated trumpet-playing abuelo, remains as a ghost. Benny is the only person who can see him. Ignacio has been prevented from entering the afterlife and is unhappy about Benny’s arrival. Before New Year’s Eve, the boy and his ghostly grandfather must search for greatness together.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 730LATOS Book Level 4.7View book details
Boy 2.0Tracey BaptisteWin “Coal” Keegan has arrived at another foster home, this time with the McKay family. The household is large, loud, and curious about him, and the family wants him to feel welcome. Coal is not yet ready to trust them. He keeps to himself a walk during which he carries chalk and creates art on a nearby street. His new home and his private artwork shape this opening situation.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Deadendia: The Divine OrderHamish Steele, illustrated by Hamish SteeleIn the third DeadEndia graphic novel, Barney, Norma, and their friends join unlikely allies in a struggle over the universe’s future. Angels and demons remain at war, while Courtney returns to the angels’ realm with a mission to establish a new Divine Order and a fourteenth plane of existence intended to contain demons. The characters also confront changes in their love lives amid the larger conflict.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Fake Chinese SoundsJing Jing TsongMěi Yīng, a Taiwanese American girl, spends her summer balancing homework, study, Chinese school, and soccer practice with her team, the Divas. Her grandmother visits from Taiwan, and although Měi Yīng’s Mandarin and Năi Nai’s English are limited, they connect by cooking guōtiē and practicing tai chi together. The graphic novel also follows Měi Yīng as she faces bullying and questions of identity while seeking comfort in herself.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure HL420LATOS Book Level 2.9View book details
The Ghosts of Nameless IslandCarly Anne West, illustrated by Teo SkaffaGus Greenburg can see ghosts and uses that ability to help them move on. When he and his mother relocate to an old mansion on remote Nameless Island, his unusual gift puts him in danger. At the mansion, Gus encounters a ghost that intends to harm him. The story follows a boy with paranormal abilities as he faces a hostile spirit in an isolated new home.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 760LATOS Book Level 4.9View book details
Gunhild, Volume 2Fred Tornager, illustrated by Fred TornagerThe story follows Gunhild, an orphaned Jotun whom other people judge as unworthy of respect. She rejects that judgment and will not allow others to define her worth. Gunhild has to save the world, but her mission requires her to save Loki, the God of Mischief. Loki is described as innately untrustworthy and irredeemable, making him central to the task Gunhild must undertake. This second volume places Gunhild’s determination alongside a quest involving a figure from Norse mythology.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Hannah Edwards Secrets of RiverwayAshley HardsHannah Edwards investigates her father’s disappearance in Riverway. She works with friends, speaks with a ghost, and devises a plan involving a frog apocalypse as she follows the mystery. At the same time, Hannah is navigating undiagnosed ADHD. The story combines a missing-person investigation with paranormal events and Hannah’s efforts to make sense of what is happening around her.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsHere I Am, I Am MeCara BeanHere I Am, I Am Me uses a graphic-novel journey through the brain to explore mental health. Across nine chapters, illustrated characters represent parts of the brain while the book considers the brain, the mind, feelings, and emotions. It presents complex neuroscience concepts in accessible language and shows readers what may be happening in their heads. The format combines information with an illustrated adventure.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsThe Hoop Con (Play the Game #1)Amar ShahRaam Patel wants to prove himself after failing to make his middle school basketball team. When Hoop Con arrives, he is determined to attend and take his chance. Instead, the camp’s golden boy defeats him in front of Raam’s NBA idol, and the moment spreads online. Used to being an underdog, Raam must cope with becoming a meme and find a way forward.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsHoverGirlsGeneva BowersHoverGirls brings Geneva Bowers’s web comic about magical girls into print. This edition enlarges the storyline and includes revised artwork. Bowers is identified as both the comic’s creator and an illustrator. Bloomsbury USA published the print edition in 2024. The book combines a magical premise with comic art that has been updated for this version.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
HumWilliam David ThomasMay lives in a hot city affected by climate change, where super-intelligent robots called hums are present. Artificial intelligence costs her job. Looking for relief from recent troubles, she also faces her family’s dependence on devices. The city’s heat and grit frame May’s search for respite amid change at home and work. Hums share the city with its human residents.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsIt Came from the TreesAlly RussellJenna’s family history is tied to Sturbridge Reservation: her Pap was its first Black park ranger, and Jenna knows the Owlet Survival Handbook closely. When a creature takes her best friend Reese and other attacks appear connected, she is not believed by her parents and finds the police pursuing different leads. Determined to save Reese, Jenna joins a local scout troop and returns to the woods.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 870LATOS Book Level 5.6View book detailsIt Watches in the DarkJeff StrandTwins become stranded in a village controlled by the unsettling influence of a mysterious scarecrow. They must find a way to escape its hold. One frightening image shows the figure standing behind someone with a stitched smile that seems more like a smirk. The novel centers on the twins’ attempt to get free from the village and the threatening presence watching them there.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure HL610LATOS Book Level 4View book details
Jasmine Is HauntedMark OshiroMark Oshiro’s novel brings together ghosts, grief, and the friends who help make difficult experiences feel more manageable. The book is described as heartfelt, funny, fast-paced, and spooky, combining emotional weight with humor and supernatural elements. Its central ideas include the lasting impact of loss and the importance of friendship during hard moments. Tor Publishing Group published this edition on October 1, 2024.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsThe Last Rhee WitchJenna Lee-YunRonnie Miller has lived with her father since her mother died when Ronnie was five. The two Korean Americans have not felt very connected to Korean identity, in part because Ronnie’s father was adopted by white parents. A summer camp haunted by a gwishin exposes secrets and unsettles what Ronnie knows. Korean folklore becomes real in this story for Ronnie.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
The Love Report Volume 2BeKa, illustrated by MayaIn the second installment of this graphic novel series, best friends Grace and Lola are back. The volume explores further truths about romance and friendship through their lives at home and at school, as well as on an island holiday. Their experiences place relationship questions across home life, school, and an island holiday. These settings trace the friends’ ongoing encounters with romance and friendship.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsMani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal VoiceAnna LaperaMani Semilla is trying to speak up amid several pressures in her life. At school, she and other girls face sexual harassment; at home, relatives continually discuss her body. She is also confronting an approaching family trip to Guatemala. When Mani learns a secret about her mother, she must consider whether she can finally express herself and respond to what is happening around her.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Moko Magic: Carnival ChaosTracey BaptisteDuring carnival season in Brooklyn, three cousins discover that they are mokos, protector spirits. The novel draws on Afro-Caribbean inspiration and combines magic and mythology with an action-adventure story. Twelve-year-old Misty has recently moved to Brooklyn with her mother, where strange events and wonders surround the cousins’ discovery. Their new identity as mokos links the cousins to a role of spiritual protection.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsThe Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.SJohn Hendrix, illustrated by John HendrixThe Mythmakers uses graphic-novel storytelling to trace C.S. Lewis’s and J.R.R. Tolkien’s early lives, then the friendship they developed at Oxford after World War I. Anthropomorphic guides named Mr. Lion and Mr. Wizard introduce mythology before the book turns to the authors’ childhoods and young adulthoods. Their common interest in myth connects them, while their religious positions differ: Tolkien is Catholic, and Lewis is an atheist after the war. Their ongoing conversations ultimately return Lewis to Christianity.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
The Queen of ThievesJohan Rundberg, A. A. PrimeIn Stockholm in 1880, twelve-year-old Mika lives in an orphanage after a harsh winter. As spring begins and the SS Vega is expected in the city, she notices suspicious behavior among older children at the orphanage. A string of thefts puts Mika on a quest to discover what is happening, while she works to keep the other orphans safe.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 750LATOS Book Level 4.8View book details
School for Invisible BoysShaun David HutchinsonAfter his best friend rejects him, Hector wishes he could disappear—and then discovers that he has actually become invisible. He soon meets another invisible boy who is stranded in a frightening dimension. The two boys must join forces to return to their own world before time runs out. Their search for answers brings unseen dangers at school into the story.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 700LATOS Book Level 4.5View book details
Second Favorite Daughters ClubColleen OakesColleen Oakes’s Second Favorite Daughters Club is a contemporary series published by Candlewick Press in April 2024. Santana Barnes feels eclipsed by her older sister, Victoria. Victoria is described as both a ballet protégé and an honor student. Santana is tired of being treated as second to her sister, placing their sibling relationship at the center of the conflict.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsSecret Society of Rebel Girls: Nina and the Mysterious MailboxMarti Dumas, illustrated by Kristina KisterDuring a school election, Nina tries to help her best friend Maya become sixth-grade representative. She turns to robotics to monitor the rival candidate, a decision that puts the two girls in detention. A mysterious mailbox appears as part of the book. Its events bring together student government, Nina and Maya’s friendship, and the consequences of spying. Marti Dumas wrote it, and DK published it in 2024.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Sightseeing With AliensInsha Fitzpatrick, illustrated by Lilla BöleczThis nonfiction field guide examines aliens through science, history, trivia, and accounts of reported encounters. It asks questions about Area 51 and whether human life could be sustained in outer space. The book traces past, present, and possible future space exploration, while exploring UFO sightings, crop circles, and other extraterrestrial claims. It presents these subjects as topics to investigate, including the evidence and stories surrounding them.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
The Songbird and the Rambutan TreeLucille AbendanonSet in Batavia in the Dutch East Indies during 1942, this novel follows Emmy, who has stopped singing after a tragedy in her family. Her father wants to send her to a singing school in England as war nears, but Emmy wants to remain with her friend Bakti. When the Japanese army invades, her life is transformed and she is interned in Tjideng prison camp.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 690LATOS Book Level 4.4View book detailsThe Squad: A Graphic Novel (The Tryout #2)Christina Soontornvat, illustrated by Joanna CacaoThis graphic novel is a stand-alone companion to The Tryout. Its story centers on cheerleading, with pom poms, increased stakes, and middle-school drama shaping the book’s premise. It returns to the world of its companion title while presenting an independent story focused on the pressures and events surrounding a cheer squad.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsStealing Little Moon: The Legacy of the American Indian Boarding Schools (Scholastic Focus)Dan SaSuWeh JonesStealing Little Moon examines the legacy of American Indian boarding schools and places that history alongside questions about the present and future. The book is framed as an opportunity to learn about the world, think critically about the past, take part in important discussions about current life, and consider how the future might be shaped. Its subject connects historical study with American Indian cultural heritage.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsA Suffragist’s Guide to the AntarcticYi Shun Lai, maps by Filippo VanzoIn 1914, eighteen-year-old Clara Ketterling-Dunbar joins the twenty-eight-person crew of the British Resolute for an Antarctic expedition. The ship sinks, leaving the crew stranded on ice floes. Clara, an American and the only woman aboard, has presented herself as a twenty-one-year-old Canadian and faces dismissal from crewmates. A committed suffragist, she records the expedition in a notebook intended as a guide for future women explorers.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
We Are Big Time: (A Graphic Novel)Hena KhanAliya moves from Tampa to Milwaukee and joins the basketball team at her Islamic high school, hoping the sport will help her adjust. Coach Jess appoints Aliya and senior player Noura as co-captains, though Noura resists sharing the role. The team works through practice, leadership, and individual reasons for playing as its season changes. Local media attention brings another challenge: interviewers focus on the players’ hijabs instead of their basketball. The girls respond by relying on solidarity within the team.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure GN320LATOS Book Level 2.4View book details
Who Was Her Own Work of Art?: Frida Kahlo (A Who HQ Graphic Novel)Terry BlasWritten by Terry Blas, this graphic novel presents artist Frida Kahlo’s life through narrative and full-color illustrations. It considers independence, determination, and finding beauty in scars. Penguin Young Readers Group published the book on February 20, 2024. The graphic-novel format combines its account of Kahlo with vivid illustrated pages, making images an integral part of how her story is presented.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
The Wildcat Behind GlassAlki Zei, Karen EmmerichDuring a summer on a Greek island, Melia becomes absorbed by a stuffed wildcat that her cousin claims can come alive. A signed note sends her into an adventure as a childhood mystery develops around her. Family loyalties are tested while the adults react with fear and division to the rise of fascism in the 1930s. The story brings private mystery and political turmoil together.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 840LATOS Book Level 5.4View book detailsWinston Chu vs. the WingmeistersStacey LeeTwelve-year-old Winston Chu confronts a new problem after earlier adventures involving his sister and the moon’s qi. Mr. Gu, the human brother of Mr. Pang, is running to become San Francisco’s mayor, though Winston believes appearances can mislead. At the same time, fog and memory loss spread through the city. Winston must uncover what is happening before it is too late.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
A Witch’s Guide to BurningAminder Dhaliwal, illustrated by Aminder DhaliwalIn a realm shaped by magic and fire, witches fill a sky described as thick with them. A witch serves the people of her town, whose success depends on her magic, but the demands become overwhelming. A witch who cannot meet magical requests faces a burning ritual that removes her power and her memories. Rain disrupts such a ceremony in Chamomile Valley, leaving one witch at the stake.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsThe World-Famous NineBen Guterson, illustrated by Kristina KisterZander Olinga’s grandmother owns Number Nine Plaza, a spectacular nineteen-story department-store skyscraper known as the Nine. The building contains a rooftop Ferris wheel, ceiling-suspended monorail tracks, and twenty-five glass elevators. Zander and Natasha investigate its secrets as people who wish harm on them and the store threaten the Nine. They race to solve its mysteries in time.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeWord Count 67283View book details
Zawa + The Belly of the Beast SCMichael Dialynas, illustrated by Michael DialynasZawa, a guardian spirit from a folk legend, is imprisoned forever within her mountain. The mountain provides her with neither sustenance nor a way out: the only thing available to eat is industrial sludge. The story places the enduring confinement of this elusive spirit against a landscape damaged by industrial waste and left without nourishment.Teacher Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsTeacher Favorites — 9th–12th Grade
50 selections
Rank 1Kill Her TwiceStacey LeeIn 1930s Los Angeles, sisters Gemma and May Chow are trying to keep their father’s flower business going. When they find the body of Lulu, a Chinese American movie star who was once their classmate, it is in a remote stable rather than at her Beverly Hills home. Convinced that Lulu may have been murdered, the sisters face a police investigation that shows little urgency.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsRank 2Twenty-Four Seconds from NowJason ReynoldsSeventeen-year-old Neon stands in Aria’s bathroom, feeling both excited and uneasy as they prepare to have sex for the first time. The narrative moves backward from that moment in widening intervals: seconds, days, weeks, months, and finally to the pair’s first meeting. Along the way, it follows conversations Neon has had with his parents, sister, and friends about sex and relationships, alongside the details of his relationship with Aria. Their decision is mutual and shaped by trust, love, and respect, even while they face different ideas about what comes next after high school.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Rank 3Break to YouNeal Shusterman, Debra Young, Michelle KnowldenAdriana is serving a sentence at Compass, a juvenile detention center, and hopes to make it through her remaining seven months by keeping a low profile. When Jon finds her concealed journal, the two incarcerated teens begin corresponding despite the center’s gender separation. Their exchange is described as forbidden and dangerous, connecting a hidden journal with a risky relationship between two inmates.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Rank 4All the Truth I Can StandMason StokesSet in 1990s Wyoming, this historical novel follows Ash, a gay high-school student in Juniper who is still grieving his mother’s death. He must also live with the violent death of someone he loves. The story draws from the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, placing Ash’s personal losses within a historical context. His identity is part of the novel’s stated premise.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Rank 5The Merciless King of Moore HighLily SparksIn Brockton, Connecticut, the adults have transformed into gigantic, bloodthirsty monsters. Nine months after this change, students at Jefferson High remain barricaded inside their school. The setting combines an ordinary school community with a supernatural threat, placing young people behind school doors while monstrous adults remain beyond them. Lily Sparks’s novel presents a school-bound survival situation shaped by sudden transformation and confinement.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Rank 6The Color of a LieKim Johnson, map by Mike HallIn 1955, Calvin Greene, a Black teenager from Chicago, moves with his family to Pennsylvania, where he is passing. As he adjusts to a new school, he is forced to weigh his loyalties. The story follows a teen confronting troubling secrets in a racially divided town. Calvin’s move and difficult choices unfold against racial divisions and questions of identity.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeLexile Text Measure HL600LATOS Book Level 3.9View book details
Rank 7Queen’s Council: A Sword in the SlumberSara RaaschPart of a group of interconnected novels that may be read in any sequence, this volume places Disney princesses within the Queen’s Council. The princesses grow up while learning how to rule, with the magical council as their guide. The book presents their development alongside the responsibilities of leadership and the presence of magic in the shared series setting together.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsRank 8The Rez DoctorGitz Crazyboy, illustrated by Veronika Barinova, Azby Whitecalf, Toben RacicotRyan Fox does well in school but does not know what future to pursue. Meeting a Blackfoot doctor at a school assembly inspires him to consider becoming a doctor. At university, distance from his family and Siksikaitsitapi community leaves him without their support. Under growing stress, he begins partying, loses focus on his responsibilities, and sees his grades fall as he studies.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Rank 9Diet Soda ClubChaz HaydenWhen Reed’s mother leaves, he is responsible for Beatrice, his younger sister, who has a life-threatening condition. Her mornings begin with hospital sounds and doctors rather than familiar routines such as breakfast or a school alarm. Reed’s responsibilities may require him to break the law as he tries to care for her. The story places the siblings’ relationship alongside Beatrice’s medical care and their mother’s absence.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Rank 10Where Wolves Don’t DieAnton TreuerEzra Cloud, a Minneapolis teen, wants to be at Red Gut, where his Ojibwe extended family lives. After a bully dies in a house fire and Ezra is questioned, his father sends him to live with his grandparents there. Ezra later spends the winter on a remote trapline with Grandpa Liam, learning skills that require strength, discipline, and patience. Back in Red Gut, Ezra and Nora seek to learn what occurred in the fire.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Ariel Crashes a TrainOlivia A. ColeAriel, a queer seventeen-year-old, feels unable to meet her parents’ expectations or the world’s idea of a good girl. Violent compulsions and intrusive thoughts become a consuming inner presence, and she fears that something is deeply wrong. She also feels too big and too rough for the roles pressed upon her. Told in free verse, the novel follows Ariel as new friends may help her interrupt this spiral and face what is happening.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Beastly BeautyJennifer DonnellyArabella enters society while her parents press her to be agreeable and make a favorable marriage. Yet she cannot suppress the intense hopes and desires within her. When an attempt to control her emotions has tragic consequences, a mysterious figure curses Arabella and those she loves, confining them in a castle. This Beauty and the Beast retelling pairs the imprisoned noblewoman with a thief as they confront fears and seek to end a century-old spell.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeLexile Text Measure 750LATOS Book Level 4.8View book details
Born A Girl: It Takes CourageAlice Dussutour, illustrated by Alice Dussutour, David WarrinerKaneila, Jade, Mahnoosh, Makena, and Luisa are girls living in five countries. Their stories address violence and injustice directed at them because they are female. Kaneila is required to spend a week each month alone in a hut: her period is treated as something that makes her impure. The girls confront gender-related problems, and each chapter includes further information about the issue it raises, along with illustrations and resource material.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsThe Brightwood CodeMonica HesseEdda, eighteen, returns from World War I service as a Hello Girl with the American Expeditionary Forces. Now a Bell Systems operator in Washington, D.C., she is burdened by guilt over forgetting the code word “Brightwood” during the war, when thirty-four soldiers died. Haunting calls urge Edda to reveal what happened overseas. With help from Theo, a fellow boarding-house resident, she investigates who is making the calls and confronts the consequences of the past.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Call Forth a FoxMarkelle GraboRo’s father has died, and the family’s garden has dried up, leaving the family in difficulty. While her mother and sister plan to move into town, Ro resists leaving behind memories of her father and the stories he told. She also values her connection with a village girl who shares her affection for trees. The account sets family loss beside a failing garden and a decision about moving.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Carol Gilligan and the Search for VoiceBill Cole, illustrated by Sarah GreenCarol Gilligan and the Search for Voice is a biography of psychologist Carol Gilligan's life and work. Her field is developmental psychology, and the account addresses her lifelong effort to find, reveal, and recover voices. The book is included in the American Psychological Association's Extraordinary Women in Psychology series. It is intended for readers at the high-school level. Bill Cole wrote the book, which Magination Press ® - American Psychological Association published on 2024-09-10.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Clever Creatures of the NightSamantha MabrySamantha Mabry’s Clever Creatures of the Night was published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in March 2024. Case arrives at a run-down house covered in ivy, deep in the woods of West Texas. Ashy haze persists in the air, and a tissue-paper-pink sky hangs over the place. The setting joins a remote house, surrounding woods, and an unusually colored sky.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsCompound FractureAndrew Joseph WhiteMiles Abernathy, a sixteen-year-old trans autistic West Virginian, becomes involved in a long-running conflict in Twist Creek. On the night he tells his parents he is trans, he leaves for a party carrying photographs that could expose Sheriff Davies. The images suggest the sheriff caused an incident that injured Miles’s father, killed other people, and undermined efforts to remove him from office. The novel places Miles’s struggle within a broader fight between impoverished rural residents and those exploiting them.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeLexile Text Measure 781LATOS Book Level 5View book details
Conditions of a HeartBethany MangleBrynn leads the yearbook committee and is considered a leading prospect for prom queen while concealing a disability that is quickly affecting her health. Keeping that medical condition hidden damages her relationships and results in a school suspension. These consequences cause Brynn to reconsider whether she must continue protecting the secret. Her school roles contrast with the private strain of managing a disability.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
A Game Most FoulAlison GervaisJules Montgomery gets to attend a writing seminar at Ashford College, an opportunity she has long wanted. The summer does not go as she expected. As events test her observation skills, Jules comes to see that what she believed held her back may instead be a strength. The novel pairs a college seminar with a challenge to her self-understanding and plans for the summer.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsGhost RoastShawnelle Gibbs, Shawneé GibbsChelsea Grant tries to escape the social consequences of having a father who advertises himself as a paranormal removal expert in New Orleans. While working with him, she discovers that she can communicate with spirits. Chelsea then uncovers a secret connected to the murder of a biracial philanthropist. Her paranormal adventure also involves a first crush, lost histories, and the difficulty of fitting in.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Gorgeous Gruesome FacesLinda ChengA fiercely competitive K-pop contest is tied to an obsession that takes a dark turn. The story also includes a romance between girls. Before the competition, Candie and two other friends had formed a rising teen pop trio, but the group abruptly ended. The book brings together the group’s past, its musical setting, rivalry, and an increasingly unsettling fixation there.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsGrief in the Fourth Dimension: A NovelJennifer YuAfter they die, former classmates Caroline Davison and Kenny Zhou become roommates in an enigmatic white room beyond time and space. During their lives, Caroline’s world included softball and family dinners, while Kenny spent time with NASA photo books and worked late shifts at his parents’ Chinese restaurant. Their new room lets them watch the lives of people they loved and fulfills wishes with a sardonic sense of humor. This speculative novel centers on connections formed after death.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsHaphaven Deluxe EditionNorm Harper, illustrated by Louie JoyceFor superstitious teenager Alex Mills, changing an unlucky future means entering the land of superstition itself. Alex travels through a rainbow on a quest to set wrongs right, combining a fantastical world with the challenges of growing up. The adventure treats luck as more than a simple belief, placing Alex in a setting where superstitions become real and consequential. This deluxe hardcover edition also includes bonus material that was not previously available.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsHurdles in the DarkElvira K. GonzalezSet in 2006, Hurdles in the Dark concerns a Mexican-American teenager in Laredo, Texas, who hopes to earn an athletic scholarship. Her goal faces steep odds as her border-town home is engulfed by the Mexican Drug War. The book places a young athlete’s ambitions alongside a community affected by conflict. Elvira K. Gonzalez wrote the book, published by Roaring Brook Press in 2024.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
IcarusK. AncrumSeventeen-year-old Icarus Gallagher helps his father, Angus, an art restorer who also creates forgeries. Icarus enters Mr. Black’s mansion to exchange valuable artworks for Angus’s copies, while planning to leave both home and their criminal life when he turns eighteen. During one visit, he meets Helios, Mr. Black’s teenage son, who is confined to the house and subjected to abuse. Helios keeps Icarus’s thefts secret in return for continued visits. Their connection grows from friendship into love, while Icarus also begins to recognize the care of friends at school.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Icon and InfernoMarie LuA year after working together in London, superstar Winter Young and secret agent Sydney Cossette have not spoken. Their earlier assignment was dangerous enough that they barely survived it, and it also left them with intense chemistry. The novel reunites the performer and the agent for another mission described as one that plays with fire. Their past partnership and the silence between them shape the situation they enter.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Ida, in Love and in TroubleVeronica ChambersThis novel follows a young Ida B. Wells before she became a warrior. The eldest child of newly freed parents, Ida grows up in a community shaped by hope and possibility after the Civil War. When yellow fever takes her parents, she faces questions about caring for her siblings and beginning work as a teacher, while pursuing her ambition to become a writer.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsAn Illustrated History of Urban LegendsAdam Allsuch BoardmanThis illustrated history examines urban legends as stories that have persisted wherever people share tales, from campfires to digital rumor networks. It considers legends that may have begun in truth, partial memories, or complete invention, and notes that people have investigated them for centuries. Covering both established folklore and contemporary urban legends, the book moves through uncanny stories and the ways they are told, remembered, questioned, and passed along.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsIt’s Only a GameKelsea YuDrawing on a mostly true premise, the book recounts Terry Bradshaw’s rise to sports fame. He became the first football quarterback to claim four Super Bowl victories, marking a landmark in his playing career. After football, Bradshaw built a second career as a widely known sports broadcaster. The account also presents hard work as important to achievement, using Bradshaw’s life as its example.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Lady Sunflower: stories, songs, and poems from the desk of kill.gertrudeSierra Shuck-Sparer, illustrated by Chloe TylerLady Sunflower is a collection by Sierra Shuck-Sparer, written while she confronted high-risk medulloblastoma. At fifteen, she began treatment and surgery for the cancer, which she named Gertrude. The collection addresses her effort to hold on to her identity as a teenager while moving toward her college years. Its title identifies stories, songs, and poems as parts of the collection, reflecting the forms gathered here.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsThe Lies We ConjureSarah HenningThis standalone supernatural thriller centers on two sisters without magic who become caught in a deadly whodunit. The mystery involves a locked-room murder and thirteen witches. The story combines supernatural elements with an investigation into the killing, placing the sisters inside a life-threatening case. Its central situation is a closed-room crime involving witches, magic, and two non-magical sisters.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Little Jade: Memoir of a Young Eurasian ImmigrantKatherine Haas, Zina FattahLittle Jade recounts Katherine Haas’s move to the United States by ship when she was eleven. It follows her experiences through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood as a Chinese-German woman living in a world unlike the one in which she was raised. Across the decades following her arrival, the memoir considers how culture, politics, and questions of identity shape her life and her adventures.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsLunar New Year Love StoryGene Luen YangVietnamese American high-school student Valentina hopes to find romantic love despite a curse in her family. This graphic novel follows her search for a relationship while bringing together questions of fate, family, and heartbreak. It includes occasional Vietnamese and Korean, alongside color illustrations. Valentina’s journey unfolds across her high-school years as she tries to make room for love in the shadow of the family curse.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Mamie Phipps Clark, Champion for ChildrenLynette Mawhinney, illustrated by Neil EvansThe graphic-novel biography introduces Mamie Phipps Clark as both a psychologist and a civil-rights activist. It focuses on her research into Black children’s racial identity and sense of self. The account connects that research with the landmark Brown v. case, identifying it as work that later had an important role in the case. Written by Lynette Mawhinney, it centers Clark’s research and activism.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Mismatched: A Modern Graphic Retelling of EmmaAnne Camlin, illustrated by Isadora ZeferinoA modern graphic-novel adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma places its action at a Queens, New York, high school. Evan Horowitz is a teen social-media influencer with an interest in makeup and romance. He enjoys arranging matches for people he thinks need help finding love, but discovers that he cannot direct every outcome. The adaptation presents a queer take on the classic novel through Evan’s contemporary school life.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Navigating with YouJeremy Whitley, illustrated by Cassio RibeiroTwo new friends travel in search of missing volumes from a manga they both love. One of them, Neesha Sparks, is a disabled community activist who speaks up for her community and cares deeply about costume design. Their relationship is a romance between women of color, and their road trip combines a shared love of manga with a search for the missing books.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Of Her Own DesignBirdie Willis, Nicole Adelfinger, illustrated by Jess Taylor, Fiona MarchbankTeenage writer Brie Page is transported by magic into a world of stories, but the problems in her own life still follow her. In Holden, Brie is dealing with recurring writer’s block, parents who frequently fight, a former best friend who now bullies her, and the arrival of Kay Ardiger. The novel combines a magical story world with Brie’s creative and personal struggles.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Only for the HolidaysAbiola BelloOnly for the Holidays is a young-adult romance structured around a fake-dating relationship. Tia Solanké is a city girl who dreads the festive season. At Christmas, her life intersects with a country boy's. Their different city and country lives meet during the holiday season. Abiola Bello is the book's author; its publisher is Soho Press, Incorporated, and its publication date is 2024-10-08.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Our Shouts EchoJade AdiaOur Shouts Echo is a coming-of-age novel about a 16-year-old girl who has relocated to Los Angeles, a new city for her. She intends to construct a doomsday refuge in her backyard. An unexpected romance arises during the summer and collides with that plan. Jade Adia is the author; Disney Publishing Group is the publisher, and the publication date is 2024-08-27.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Out of Left FieldJonah NewmanOut of Left Field is a semi-autobiographical LGBTQ+ graphic novel about a gay teen who enters his high-school baseball team. He prefers history class and nerdy movies, and he struggles athletically. His decision to join the team may be connected to Elliot, the shortstop he finds attractive. The book considers friendship, self-discovery, and both successes and regrets within high school.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeLexile Text Measure 640LATOS Book Level 4.1View book detailsPerfect Little MonstersCindy R. X. HeAt Sierton High School, the school’s most popular girl is murdered. Her friends become suspects in her death, and every one of them has a reason to want her dead. The murdered student, Ella Moore, was not only popular but also widely disliked. The book centers on the investigation surrounding her death and the suspicions directed toward the people closest to her at school.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Possible HappinessDavid EbenbachPossible Happiness centers on Jacob Wasserman, an eleventh-grader who is simply trying to cope. He keeps to himself and spends weekends alone at home, turning to television and video games for distraction. The weight he is carrying is identified as depression. The book depicts his isolated routine and the ways he tries to direct his attention away from his mental-health struggle.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Rapunzella, Or, Don’t Touch My HairElla McLeodRapunzella follows a girl whose everyday life intersects with a dangerous fairy-tale world. The novel reworks classic fairy-tale material in the context of Blackness, centering Black hair and the process of coming into identity. Its narrative brings the girl's ordinary experience together with a perilous realm of folklore, connecting cultural context, hair, and self-definition within the same story.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Rules for CamouflageKirstin Cronn-MillsEvvie Chambers, a neurodivergent teen, is trying to make it through her final month of high school before graduation. A required biology report on foxes and a teacher who will not acknowledge or accommodate her neurodiversity make that difficult. Evvie would rather write about Aretha, an octopus she cares for while volunteering at the Minnesota Zoo, as she navigates school, friendships, bullying, and first love.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeLexile Text Measure 669LATOS Book Level 4.3View book detailsSix Truths and a LieReam ShukairyAn explosion at an oil rig off the California coast brings chaos and murder to a Fourth of July bonfire party. Six Muslim teens become suspects amid accusations of terrorism. Each has something to hide and much to lose, while a political game presses them to turn against one another in exchange for exoneration. The teens must decide whether to betray each other or reveal their secrets to clear their names.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeLexile Text Measure 899LATOS Book Level 5.8View book detailsStephen KingBev VincentBev Vincent presents a chronological young-readers biography of Stephen King, tracing his life and writing from work created at age six through his first professional sale at twenty and into his later career. Photographs and sidebars provide further context on adaptations, graphic novels, and the influences connected with his work and career.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsSyncEllen HopkinsTwins Storm and Lake were separated by foster care and now lead very different lives. After juvenile detention, Storm tries to keep hold of stability. Lake and Parker flee strict foster parents, then face homelessness and exploitation as her placement falls apart. Storm and Lake narrate in alternating perspectives and in letters they never send, preserving memories of their close connection. This novel in verse addresses family separation, abuse, survival, identity, institutional failures, and the siblings’ efforts to find one another.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsTriggerC.G. MooreWritten as a verse novel, Trigger follows Jay, a teenage boy who wakes up in a park after an attack, injured and bruised. He has been sexually assaulted and struggles to remember the attack. The book addresses Jay’s effort to make sense of what happened to him. It is an LGBTQIA+ story told in verse, centered on a teenager dealing with the aftermath of assault.Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Void Rivals: More Than Meets The EyeRobert Kirkman, illustrated by Lorenzo De Felici, Matheus LopesThe blockbuster Oblivion Song team of ROBERT KIRKMAN and LORENZO DE FELICI launch an all-new shared universe connected to the Transformers and G.I. Joe!The Energon Universe starts here!Teacher Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsLibrarian Favorites — K–2nd Grade
70 selections
Rank 1Built to LastMinh LêTwo boys work together on construction projects that grow increasingly large, turning blocks into imagined worlds that include sea-creature attacks and castles falling into the ocean. When their creations collapse, they retrieve the pieces and begin again. A spectacular failure makes them stop laughing and tests their friendship, as collaboration brings both setbacks and successes. Colored-pencil and watercolor art blends their everyday building with fantasy.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD540LATOS Book Level 3.6View book detailsRank 2Gifts from the Garbage Truck: A True Story About the Things We (Don’t) Throw AwayAndrew Larsen, foreword by Nelson MolinaThis true story follows Nelson Molina, a sanitation worker in New York City who saved more than 45,000 objects from his garbage truck. The items he kept include toys, musical instruments, and assorted thingamajigs. The book considers the value of things that might otherwise be treated as worthless, including broken objects that can be repaired rather than discarded. Molina’s collection grows from what he finds during his work.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsRank 3The Yellow BusLoren LongA bright yellow school bus spends her days taking children where they need to go, and their daily rides make her happy. When she is retired, her life changes, but she is put to new uses more than once. In each role, the bus continues to find happiness, even after the schoolchildren she once carried are gone. The story follows her through change while keeping her connection to helping others at its center.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeWord Count 417View book detailsRank 4The Man Who Didn’t Like AnimalsDeborah Underwood, illustrated by LeUyen PhamThis imagined account asks who Old MacDonald was before his farm existed. It begins with a man devoted to keeping a tidy home and uninterested in animals. His routine changes when a cat arrives. The account follows his transformation into a farmer, where he has animal companions he had not expected. It connects that tidy man with the familiar farmer and his animal friends.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsRank 5Arlo Needs GlassesBarney SaltzbergArlo is a shaggy dog who enjoys playing catch until he can no longer see the ball. His experience leads him to glasses and a different way to play. The story follows Arlo as he discovers that glasses change what he can see and help him return to activities he loves. Arlo’s journey centers on vision, play, and adapting to a new need.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure 157LATOS Book Level 1.5View book detailsRank 6Rainbow BearBill Martin Jr., Michael Sampson, illustrated by Nathalie BeauvoisLittle Bear wakes hungry after hibernation. He eats berries while learning the color names in a rainbow. The picture book combines his food-focused journey with colors, vivid illustrations, and familiar animal characters. Bear’s story begins when hibernation ends and follows him as he eats berries and encounters the rainbow’s colors.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsRank 7The Ofrenda That We BuiltJolene Gutíerrez, Shaian Gutíerrez, illustrated by Gabby ZapataA family builds an ofrenda for Día de Muertos, placing the family altar at the center of its celebration. The picture book focuses on family traditions and remembering loved ones who have died. Through the making of the ofrenda, it connects celebration, memory, and continuing bonds with people who have passed away.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure NP0LATOS Book Level 0.1View book details
Rank 8The Spell of a StoryMariajo Ilustrajo, illustrated by Mariajo IlustrajoAfter school ends, a girl is assigned a book to read during the summer. Her sister brings her to a library and recommends a choice that draws the girl into an imagined adventure. As she becomes absorbed in the story, the gray world around her begins to gain color. A fennec fox guides her toward fairy-tale witches and other creatures, and they gather ingredients for a spell connected to the book’s ending.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsRank 9Bubbly Beautiful Kitty-Corn: A Picture BookShannon Hale, illustrated by LeUyen PhamUnicorn sometimes wishes to be a mermaid, and Kitty uses a craft kit to help make that wish real. After creating an elaborate mermaid tail, the friends take a trip to the beach, where events do not unfold as Unicorn expected. Feeling less confident about the result, Unicorn needs reassurance. Kitty helps her friend feel enchanting again as the two navigate a project, an unexpected outing, and the emotions that follow.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Rank 10Hug MeSimona CiraoloFelipe is a young cactus who longs for a very big hug. His family is not especially affectionate, and his prickly nature makes the hug he wants harder to find. The story follows Felipe's wish for closeness and a friend who will embrace him, despite the physical challenge posed by his spines.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD610LATOS Book Level 4View book detailsAbuelo, the Sea, and MeIsmée WilliamsAbuelo, the Sea, and Me is a picture book about connections across generations. It explores family history alongside the immigrant experience, bringing a grandparent relationship into a story about how families carry their past with them. The book centers on the ties between older and younger family members and the stories that connect them.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsAfro Unicorn: The Land of Afronia, Vol1. April Showers, illustrated by Anthony Conley, Ronaldo BarataAfronia is a bright, colorful place until a disgraced unicorn seeks to remove its color. Best friends Divine and Unique set out on a journey to save Afronia. Their adventure is presented as a graphic novel and centers on two unicorn friends confronting a threat to their home. The book also celebrates Black joy and beauty through its fantastical setting and characters.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Ahoy!Sophie BlackallA child takes the role of captain while a parent serves as first mate on a sea adventure. Although the voyage has the scale of a high-seas journey, it takes place entirely in their living room. The child and parent set out together without leaving home, turning the room into the setting for their seafaring adventure. Their shared expedition remains rooted in the living room even as it is framed as a wild voyage at sea.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD410LATOS Book Level 2.8View book details
Aloha EverythingKaylin Melia GeorgeYoung Ano has been connected to her island home since birth, but she still has much to learn. As she begins to dance hula, a storytelling form that carries Hawaiian knowledge, history, and folklore, she comes to understand aloha. Her experience of home includes canoes on ocean waves, hawks in the sky, and lizards moving through forest trees. Told in verse and collage illustrations, the book follows Ano as she grows into a deeper love for her Hawaiian island home.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD940LATOS Book Level 4.5View book detailsAngélica and La GüiraAngie CruzAfter spending the summer with relatives in the Dominican Republic, Angélica prepares to return home and begin school elsewhere. Her grandfather gives her a güira, an instrument that immediately captures her interest, although others initially do not understand her enthusiasm. Later, in Washington Heights, Angélica demonstrates the instrument’s sound and energy to her neighbors amid the activity of the neighborhood.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
AnonymooseShawna J. C. Tenney, illustrated by Shawna J. C. TenneyAna Moose feels safest when she can hide and blend in, rather than speak or risk being chosen last for a team. When she notices her classmate Peter building a fort, she sees it as a promising hiding place. As Ana begins to feel connected to Peter, the story considers shyness, belonging, and the courage to speak when it matters.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD580LATOS Book Level 3.8View book detailsArchie Celebrates an Indian WeddingMitali Banerjee Ruths, illustrated by Parwinder SinghArchie’s Poppy Uncle is getting married in a large Indian wedding. Archie attends with her new friend Emma, who is not Indian. As Poppy Uncle and Emma’s Auntie Julie marry, Archie helps Emma learn what she needs to know about the celebration. The story follows their cross-cultural friendship during a family wedding and emphasizes the shared fun and love of the occasion.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
ARTificial IntelligenceDavid Biedrzycki, illustrated by David BiedrzyckiRobot feels unlike the other machines in a warehouse and cannot keep up with their repeated work. When he is sent away to be reprogrammed, a wrong turn leads him to music, dancing, color, and art. Making art is hard for Robot to understand and learn, yet it gives him a way to show the vivid ideas from his dreams.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsBe Careful, Xiao Xin!Alice PungXiao Xin imagines himself as a courageous Red Fire Warrior, while his family repeatedly warns him to be careful because they see the world as dangerous and think he is too small to be a warrior. He must demonstrate his courage to this doubtful family and persuade them to place more trust in him. The story sets his bold self-image against the concern of those who care for him.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsBear’s Lost GlassesLeo Timmers, illustrated by Leo TimmersBear cannot find his glasses and believes he left them at Giraffe’s house. As he travels there, he notices animals he had not seen before, including an elephant, crocodile, flamingo, and deer. Bear mistakes ordinary objects for these exotic animals because his missing glasses are actually sitting on top of his head. His search leads to unexpected encounters and a surprising realization.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsBefore the Ships: The Birth of Black ExcellenceMaisha OsoBefore the Ships presents Black history as beginning well before the transatlantic slave trade. In poetic text and illustrations, it turns to Africa and the achievements found across the continent before that period. The book places slavery within African American history without treating it as the starting point, then connects this earlier history to the strength and resilience of Black people today. It foregrounds a long, rich past tied to Africa.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Best Worst Camp Out EverJoe CepedaBest Worst Camp Out Ever is Joe Cepeda's comic about a boy and his father on a camping trip. Their plans collapse as things repeatedly go wrong during the outing. The camping trip gives the book both an outdoor setting and a parent-child pairing. Its setting is outdoors in the story.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Betty’s BirthdayCeline Ka Wing Lau, illustrated by Celine Ka Wing LauBetty is turning six and preparing for a party with games, pizza-making, cake, dance competitions, and goody bags. Before the celebration, she must decide which outfit to wear and locate her glasses. The book invites readers to take part by finding items, making choices, counting, and discussing details in scenes from Betty's birthday festivities.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
The Big & Little ABC BookSandra Ure Griffin, illustrated by Sandra Ure GriffinAn alphabet book presents a vignette for each letter. Every page places a young child and a baby beside the matching uppercase and lowercase forms. The letter pages are framed by plants and animals associated with that particular letter, combining alphabet symbols with small illustrated scenes. The book’s visual approach centers on paired capital and lowercase letters, with children, babies, flora, and fauna recurring across its pages.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsA Big Juicy EarthwormKatarina Macurova, illustrated by Katarina MacurovaPipo, Bud, and Kenny are three chicken friends who turn familiar objects into imaginative adventures. Their latest quest concerns a mysterious earthworm, sending the trio into unexpected adventures together. The story follows the friends’ curiosity as they search for the earthworm and make possibilities out of the everyday things around them.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD590LATOS Book Level 3.8View book detailsBig Sister, Long CoatNelly Buchet, illustrated by Rachel KatstallerA young girl looks forward to spending a day with her older sister. The day does not unfold as she expected, bringing rain and several setbacks along the way. Even so, their time together remains at the center of the story, which focuses on the affection between the two siblings.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsBijan Always WinsAdib KhorramBijan loves being the winner, and he announces victories in drawing, dinosaurs, and even lunch. His friends become less interested in playing with him after these declarations. As Bijan notices their response, the story raises a question about whether friendship can be treated as something to win. It follows the tension between his drive to come out on top and his relationships with friends.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD500LATOS Book Level 3.3View book detailsBillu ButtonsGus Singh, illustrated by Delzin ChokseyBillu likes handling things by himself, especially choosing and putting on his clothes each morning. At school, his friends call him Billu Buttons. His buttons do not always line up, one side of his shirt will not stay tucked in, and his shoelaces repeatedly come undone. The story centers on Billu’s independent approach to getting dressed and the distinctive details of his clothing.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Bird is DeadTiny FisscherWhen a bird dies, the other birds confront the loss together. They recognize what has happened, and some of them cry. As they prepare a funeral, the group remembers their friend and shares tea with worms—or cake instead. The story follows the birds through several feelings after the death, showing them supporting one another while they mourn. Its watercolor-and-collage artwork accompanies this account of friendship, grief, and a communal farewell.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsBirth of the Chosen One: A First Nations Retelling of the Christmas StoryTerry M. Wildman, illustrated by Hannah Noel Buchanan, Holly BuchananThis book retells the birth of Jesus and adapts the Christmas account from the Gospel of Luke. It draws on the First Nations Version, an Indigenous translation of the Christian Scriptures. The retelling is presented in the tradition of Native oral storytelling cultures. Its focus is the Christmas story as told through this First Nations adaptation of a Christian biblical narrative.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Black Girl, Black GirlAli Kamanda, Jorge Redmond, illustrated by Amanda QuarteyThis picture book addresses Black girls' self-esteem through the history of Black women role models. It speaks directly to Black girls and looks to women who came before them, including the first Black female vice president. The book connects confidence and identity with examples of Black women's achievements and public leadership.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsBlink and GlowRaven Howell, illustrated by Ann PilicerLilly and Leo catch a firefly and a salamander, placing each creature in a glass jar as they imagine sharing them at show-and-tell. When the animals’ lights begin to fade, their grandmother helps the children reconsider what they have done. The children learn that these natural wonders need freedom, then find another way to share their interest by making a craft for friends. The story combines bioluminescent wildlife with a lesson in treating animals with care.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsThe Blue BowlFlo LeungMax enjoys Cantonese dishes made by his family, including steamed rice, gai lan with oyster sauce, dumplings, and scallion bread. Through these meals, he recognizes that Chinese and North American cultures both belong in his life. His family and their food help him make that connection, linking the particular dishes he loves with two parts of his cultural life at home.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsThe Book That Can Read Your MindMarianna Coppo, illustrated by Marianna CoppoLady Rabbit is a magician preparing an unusual act: she will predict a character chosen by the reader. Readers select someone from the illustrated theater audience without revealing the choice, and the book attempts to identify that character. The interactive format turns the story into a guessing game, with Lady Rabbit performing the apparent mind-reading trick through the choices made on the page.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure 440LATOS Book Level 3View book details
Bookie and CookieBlanca GómezBookie and Cookie are close friends whose relationship reaches a rough patch. Their story follows the pair as they look for a compromise, with cookies playing a part in the disagreement. The book focuses on a moment when friendship becomes difficult, then turns to finding an arrangement both friends can accept. Cookies remain part of the situation as the friends work through their conflict.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD530LATOS Book Level 3.5View book details
Born BraveMegan Bomgaars, illustrated by Quiel RamosBorn Brave presents a colorful, sparkling account by Megan Bomgaars about the courage people have shown from the day they were born. It names sleeping alone for the first time and beginning school as challenges that call for bravery. The book describes courage as something people have carried within themselves while facing everyday difficulties. It is a follow-up title to Born to Sparkle.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsBrianosaurusGed AdamsonAfter learning that frogs lived at the same time as dinosaurs, Brian decides he is a dinosaur too: a Brianosaurus. His woodland friends expect him to roar instead of using trampolines or reading books, while the frogs object to how he makes their pond look. Brian tries behaving as others want, but is unhappy until he chooses to be himself.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD490LATOS Book Level 3.3View book details
Bright and Beautiful: The Story of the Mercy Full ProjectPrecious McKenzie, illustrated by Shelby KoehlerYeyi works to help communities of animals that do not have homes. The story considers how easily people can overlook suffering when they are not experiencing it themselves, especially when animals are affected. Yeyi’s efforts to save and heal homeless animals begin with a small task and grow into a wider act of kindness. The book connects care for animals with the idea that living things need both homes and love.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsBroommates: A Brewing Boundary BattleLynne Marie, Brenda Reeves Sturgis, illustrated by Nico EcenarroBroommates: A Brewing Boundary Battle places witch sisters Mathilda and Malin in a Halloween-flavored sibling conflict. They share both a room and a broom, and their shared arrangements need improvement. The story makes their living space and transport part of the dispute. Lynne Marie and Brenda Reeves Sturgis wrote the 34-page book, published by The Little Press in 2024.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsBuffalo FluffaloBess Kalb, illustrated by Erin KraanBuffalo Fluffalo arrives acting large, tough, and full of self-importance. His bluff is eventually revealed, and a rainstorm exposes a different side of him. Told in rhyme, the story follows a buffalo whose bold manner does not tell the whole truth. Its events turn on the gap between how he presents himself and what is uncovered when the weather changes.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD580LATOS Book Level 3.8View book detailsBunnygirl: Treehouse FriendsHolly Jayne, illustrated by Holly JayneJames has a remarkable treehouse, but his shyness keeps him from inviting anyone inside. Bunnygirl wants to help him feel more at ease with other people and find a way to make connections. The story follows their efforts around James’s reluctance to share his private space, while allowing for surprises from him as well. Presented as a picture book in comic panels, it is a standalone continuation of the Bunnygirl story world and focuses on the friendship between Bunnygirl and James.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsBunso Meets a DuwendeRev Valdez, illustrated by Rev ValdezBunso encounters a new duwende, a mythical creature from Filipino folklore, in this sequel to Bunso Meets a Mumu. The duwende’s mischievous tricks include hiding things, stealing toys, and causing mayhem. These actions are especially likely when children have not been paying attention. Bunso Meets a Duwende, by Rev Valdez, was published by Paw Prints Publishing on October 15, 2024.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
The Case of the Noisy NeighborEric Hogan, Tara HungerfordScout hears a repeated knocking at his door one day. Each time he goes to find the source of the sound, nobody is there. This unexplained interruption launches a nature-focused mystery built around Scout’s curiosity and his effort to discover what is making the noise. The story brings together observation, discovery, and mindfulness as Scout investigates his persistent, unseen neighbor.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsChooch HelpedAndrea L. RogersSissy is annoyed that her two-year-old brother, Chooch, is praised for helping even when he creates a mess. When he tries to assist with her clay pot, she yells at him and he cries. Their parents remind Sissy that she behaved much the same way when she was younger and that she can teach Chooch. She chooses to help him learn to make a clay pot, reshaping their relationship within their Cherokee family.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD440LView book detailsClack, Clack! Smack! A Cherokee Stickball StoryTraci Sorell, illustrated by Joseph ErbVann plays stickball on the Cherokee Nation but struggles compared with the other members of his team. During a game, he stumbles and cannot score, then considers how else he might contribute to the team’s success. The story places his experience in Cherokee stickball, while additional material explains the game’s origins. Its focus includes participation, teamwork, and sportsmanship rather than simply being the standout player.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsDaisy the DaydreamerJennifer P. GoldfingerDaisy’s imagination transforms ordinary moments: her braids become fishing rods, a teeter-totter launches her into space, and swings let her imagine flying like a superhero. Daydreaming is often fun, but it can also cause trouble when she mixes up tasks, such as folding and feeding. Daisy cares about what is happening around her and needs to find her own way to show it.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeWord Count 297View book detailsDorisLo Cole, illustrated by Lo ColeDoris is a shy red elephant who struggles to disappear into the crowd. Although she has long relished being in a spotlight, she dances to a rhythm that is distinctly her own. The tale asks whether Doris can welcome the qualities that set her apart and find courage in being herself. Her shyness and uniqueness shape her effort to blend in and accept herself.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD770LATOS Book Level 4.9View book detailsGina Kaminski Saves the WolfCraig Barr-Green, illustrated by Francis MartinGina steps into the world of Little Red Riding Hood because she believes the Wolf has made three major errors. Her goal is to stop the woodcutter from killing the wolf and alter the outcome that awaits him. The story places a young reader inside a familiar fairy tale, where Gina works to change the wolf’s fate. Sketchy illustrations include emotionally expressive emojis.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Go To Sleep Anxiety!Luna Chi, Gurihiru, illustrated by GurihiruInspired by Inside Out 2, this bedtime story brings familiar and new Emotions together. Anxiety is unable to settle her thoughts or get to sleep. The other Emotions try to support their worried friend as she works toward resting for the night. The story centers on Anxiety’s unsettled feelings and the help offered by the group around her.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeWord Count 687View book details
Greta’s CloudDavid Hernández Sevillano, illustrated by Luisa VeraGreta dearly wants a pet, but an allergy means that she cannot keep animals. Instead, she decides that a cloud will be her pet. The book’s premise contrasts the companion Greta first hopes for with the unusual one she chooses. Her decision follows from the obstacle created by her allergy, placing a cloud in the role of the pet she wants.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsHank Goes HonkMaudie Powell-Tuck, illustrated by Duncan BeedieHank is a very loud and rude goose whose friends have had enough of his behavior. He interrupts people while they speak and takes the cherries from the tops of others’ cupcakes. As Hank’s conduct affects his friends, the story follows his chance to understand friendship and kindness and to become less rude.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Hiro, Winter, and MarshmallowsMarine Schneider, illustrated by Marine Schneider, Vineet LalHiro is a bear who is too curious to spend the whole winter asleep. She leaves her cave with her belongings and follows unusual tracks through the snow. The trail leads her to a bonfire gathering, where a boy and the bear share a winter night. Hiro’s outing begins with her curiosity about the tracks and takes her beyond her cave into an unexpected encounter.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure 580LATOS Book Level 3.8View book details
Is a Book a Box for Words?Harriet Ziefert, illustrated by Mercè GalíThis rhyming book considers the many forms and purposes of boxes. It asks readers to notice boxes in everyday life and investigate what they can do. Examples include carrying fruit, serving as a hopscotch space, housing bees, and protecting a guitar. The exploration moves across different shapes and uses, inviting questions about objects that can hold, carry, shelter, or contain other things.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD370LATOS Book Level 2.6View book details
Jacob’s Missing BookSarah Hoffman, illustrated by Chris CaseAt bedtime, Jacob picks a penguin book he had hoped to find in his school library. The following day, he asks his teacher to share it at story time, but she explains that it has been removed while the school responds to objections about some library and classroom books. Jacob and his classmates wonder why the book is unavailable and discuss what might be wrong with it. Their conversation later inspires a recess game about nesting penguins. The story addresses censorship, book banning, and a family with two fathers.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsJump for JoyKaren Gray RuelleJoy has always wanted a dog, while Jump, a dog, has always wanted a kid. Across the seasons, each makes imagined companions from materials nearby: flowers and ferns, seashells and sand, sticks and mud, then snow. Their creations disappear, but the following spring Joy and Jump finally notice one another when their excited calls meet.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
A Life of Song: The Story of Ella JenkinsTy-Juana TaylorThis biography traces Ella Jenkins’s life in children’s music. Growing up in segregated Chicago, she finds an early passion for music and sees its potential to connect people. Her career is shaped by the struggle for equality and by musical influences including Cab Calloway. The account follows her work from those early experiences through cross-country touring, showing how she used children’s music to bring people together during a period of division.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsLike You, Like MeJenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw, illustrated by Jenny Sue Kostecki-ShawTulsi and Vanessa are pen pals living on different continents: one in North American mountains and the other near the African coast. In their letters, they discover shared experiences, including prankster brothers, a love of music, and collecting treasures from nature. Their surroundings and daily sounds differ, yet their feelings about those experiences often overlap. The story follows their connection through correspondence across distance.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Little Helper, Big ImaginationEmily Morrow, illustrated by Sally GarlandLittle Helper, Big Imagination asks how routine parts of a day can become an adventure. It points to breakfast and chores as ordinary starting points, then presents imagination as the means of making the day unforgettable. The description centers on the contrast between everyday tasks and imagined adventure, with creative thinking changing how those familiar experiences are seen.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsThe Midnight MitzvahRuth Horowitz, illustrated by Jenny MeilihoveHanina performs a helpful act, though not everyone welcomes it. She learns that Mathilda Squirrel needs assistance but feels too embarrassed to admit it. To make the help easier to accept, Hanina devises a secret plan: at midnight, she will leave nuts for Mathilda. The story centers on a discreet act of care for someone who is reluctant to ask for support.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsMr. Round and Mr. SquarePatricia Fitti, illustrated by Patricia FittiPatricia Fitti’s Mr. Round and Mr. Square introduces two neighbors who live opposite one another. Each day, they look out from their homes. At Mr. Round’s house it is sunny, while Mr. Square’s view is cloudy. The two characters continue to see what is outside in different ways. Its title gives the neighbors their contrasting names. Planeta Publishing released this 32-page book on June 24, 2025.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsMy Lost Freedom: A Japanese American WWII StoryGeorge TakeiGeorge Takei recounts being four when his life changed after Pearl Harbor. His family, though American, was affected when the United States treated people of Japanese descent as enemies. During World War II, Takei and his family lived in a Japanese American incarceration camp. His account considers the loss of dignity under incarceration as well as the strength he and others found through community.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsNo Cats in the LibraryLauren Emmons, illustrated by Lauren EmmonsClarisse is a clever cat who loves looking at books, even though she does not understand their dark, squiggly lines. She discovers a building where people enter empty-handed and leave carrying books, and she wants to get inside. The library does not allow cats, but Clarisse sneaks in anyway. There she encounters new stories and helps a little girl practice reading aloud.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsNo More Señora MimíMeg Medina, illustrated by Brittany CiccheseAna spends time before and after school with her neighbor and babysitter, Señora Mimí, while her mother works. Their days include familiar routines and affection. Ana is excited for her abuela to move in and become her babysitter, until she realizes this change may mean less time with Señora Mimí. As Ana struggles with that sadness, Señora Mimí shares her own feelings, celebrates abuelas, and tells Ana she still wants visits.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure 459LATOS Book Level 3.1View book details
The Pie ReportsHayley Lowe, illustrated by Hayley LoweNoor and her grandfather share a love of making pies when they are together. When distance separates them, they continue talking about pies virtually. Their connection changes when Granddad’s health interferes with their usual exchanges. The story follows a girl and her grandfather as pie-making and conversations about pie help bridge both distance and illness. Digitally colored graphite stick illustrations accompany their relationship across time apart.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure 730LATOS Book Level 4.7View book detailsThe Quickest Bedtime Story Ever!Louise Fitzgerald, illustrated by Kate HindleyThis bedtime story claims to contain only ten words, but preparation comes first. The reader is asked to warm up a reading voice and organize the teddy bears before beginning. Its narrator treats getting ready for a story as serious business, even though the stated story is extremely short. The book’s premise turns the rituals around bedtime reading into the main event.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book details
Quiet Violet Finds Her VoiceGabrielle Nidus, illustrated by Stephanie DehenninViolet Blandin makes a habit of fading into the background. At school, people do not notice her, while in the kitchen she is impossible to overlook. The book follows Violet’s effort to be heard, contrasting her quiet presence in one part of her life with the attention she receives in another. Her journey centers on someone who is quiet but still has a strong presence.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsThe Soil in Jackie’s GardenPeggy Thomas, illustrated by Neely DaggettJackie and her garden friends plant a garden, care for it, and harvest food they have grown. As they work, they explore soil and composting. Food scraps are recycled into compost, linking the garden’s planting and harvesting with a continuing cycle of growth and renewal. The book follows Jackie and her friends through the connected work of growing food and returning scraps to the soil.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsThe Sun Never HurriesRoxane Turcotte, illustrated by Lucie CrovattoCharlie’s grandfather, Papa Jo, moves slowly through his day and uses an hourglass as a reminder that each moment matters. Charlie does not initially understand why the hourglass is important. To show her, Papa Jo and Charlie spend a day taking things at an unhurried pace. Their time together turns everyday moments into a shared lesson about pausing and appreciating the day.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeLexile Text Measure AD570LATOS Book Level 3.7View book details
VolcanoesNell Cross BeckermanVolcanoes examines one of Earth’s explosive natural phenomena. Its illustrations and poetic language depict five kinds of eruptions. The book also conveys volcanoes’ power and mystery, presenting their activity as a subject for scientific exploration. The volume comes from the creators of Caves and focuses specifically on volcanoes rather than a broad survey of Earth science. Its material includes eruption types as well as the larger force of these landforms.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsWhere Is Little Stripe’s Daddy?Deborah Bruss, illustrated by Cornelius Van WrightLittle Stripe, a zebra, cannot find his father. A monarch caterpillar befriends him and wants to help with the search. Together, the new companions encounter a variety of animals marked with black-and-white stripes. The animals they discover come from different ecosystems, expanding Little Stripe’s journey beyond the first missing-family problem and introducing striped wildlife along the way.Librarian Favorites — K–2nd GradeView book detailsLibrarian Favorites — 3rd–5th Grade
50 selections
Rank 1Dear Ruby, Hear Our HeartsRuby Bridges, illustrated by John Jay CabuayRuby Bridges, identified as a national civil rights activist, answers letters written by thoughtful, concerned young students across the United States. The book brings together their correspondence and her replies. Bridges says she has listened to what the students carry in their hearts and shares those concerns with readers. It is built around an exchange between a prominent activist and young letter writers.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Rank 2The One and Only FamilyKatherine ApplegateIvan lives in a wildlife sanctuary alongside Kinyani, his mate, and near his friends Ruby the elephant and Bob the dog. Ivan and Kinyani now have twins, and Ivan is learning what it means to be their father. He loves being a papa, though the role is sometimes difficult. The story also addresses Ivan’s memories of his earlier life while he navigates parenthood within this animal community.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeLexile Text Measure 560LATOS Book Level 3.7View book details
Rank 3Call Me Roberto!: Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for LatinosNathalie AlonsoThis picture-book biography follows Roberto Clemente from his childhood in Carolina, Puerto Rico, where he practiced baseball with tree branches and tin cans. At nineteen, he joined a major-league organization and first went to Montreal, where he waited for an opportunity to play. He later joined the Pittsburgh Pirates and made an immediate impact on the field. The book also presents Clemente’s legacy as a Puerto Rican Baseball Hall of Famer whose life included confronting prejudice and hardship.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeLexile Text Measure 669LATOS Book Level 4.3View book details
Rank 4The Life-Changing Magic of Baking: A Beginner’s Guide by Baker Joy WilsonJoy Wilson, Cliff Wilson, illustrated by Tatiana KamshilinaThis beginner’s baking guide follows the steps involved in making a treat, starting with preparing a pan and mixing butter with sugar. It then moves through adding frosting and finishing with rainbow sprinkles. Along the way, it shares tips connected to the baking process, offering a look at how ingredients and decorations come together.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Rank 51,000 Facts About SharksSarah Wassner Flynn, Dr Phillip S. LobelThis fact book explores sharks through short entries, statistics, and photographs of sharks in the wild. It covers species including great whites, whale sharks, reef sharks, goblin sharks, frilled sharks, and hammerheads. Readers encounter prehistoric-shark fossils, information about the number of teeth in a shark’s mouth, and shark relatives such as stingrays. The book gathers one thousand facts about these ocean predators and their varied forms, features, and relatives.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsRank 6Letters to Never Send Santa: Confessions, Complaints, and Outlandish Requests from the Files of St. NickDavid Griswold, illustrated by Luis San VicenteSanta shares a collection of amusing and strange letters sent by children to the North Pole. The letters include confessions, complaints, and extravagant requests that leave Santa wondering whether some writers belong on the naughty list. Presented as holiday poems, the book frames these unusual messages as entries from Santa’s files. Readers are invited to decide for themselves how to judge the letter writers.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsRank 7MahoganyJanay Brown-Wood, illustrated by John JovenMahogany wears a red cape and carries a basket through the city to deliver a homemade treat to G-Ma. A hungry wolf tries to deceive her during the trip. Mahogany recognizes the risk and relies on quick thinking to handle it. This contemporary version of Little Red Riding Hood places a Black family at its heart and lets its young protagonist resolve the danger herself.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Rank 8All About U.SMatt Lamothe, Jenny Volvovski, illustrated by Matt LamotheFifty portraits show children growing up in different parts of the United States. The children and their families live in settings that include houseboats, yurts, farms, Native reservations, and Air Force bases. The book also includes adoptive families, stepfamilies, single-parent families, families with two mothers or two fathers, and children living with grandparents. Some of the featured children have health conditions. Together, these portraits present varied homes, family structures, and experiences of life in America.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsRank 9Cat Out of Water: (A Dr. Seuss Graphic Novel)Art Baltazar, Dr. SeussOn a day that starts with chores, Sally and her brother find their routine disrupted when the Cat in the Hat arrives. Thing 1 and Thing 2 bring comic chaos to the day. This graphic-novel companion uses newly created illustrations and panel-based storytelling to visit the world of The Cat in the Hat. Their usual day becomes a much less ordinary one.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsRank 10What Happened on Thursday?Ayo OyekuA young boy tells of his Biafran family’s life during war. Their experience includes homelessness and starvation, followed by time in a refugee camp. The family eventually returns home. Set against the Nigerian Civil War, the story centers on a child’s view of conflict and on the bonds of family during displacement, hunger, and the search for a place to live again.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsAnd Yet You Shine: The Kohinoor Diamond, Colonization, and ResistanceSupriya Kelkar, illustrated by Supriya KelkarThis book tells the story of the Kohinoor, a famous diamond taken from South Asia during colonization. The diamond is now part of the crown jewels in London. The account connects the Kohinoor’s history with colonization and resistance, inviting readers to consider decolonization and dignity. It focuses on the diamond’s journey and the historical forces surrounding its removal from South Asia.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Ayo’s Adventure: Across the African Diaspora from Afro to ZuluAin Heath Drew, illustrated by Erin RobinsonOne night, Ayo sits before a world map while his father explains that their ancestors came from many nations in Africa. Ayo later tells his mother about the cultures, celebrations, and places he has encountered. His account also includes how Black people around the world fought, resisted, created, innovated, and inspired. The book follows Ayo’s journey through sights and sounds connected with the African diaspora.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Blackberry FoxKathrin Tordasi, Cathrin WirtzDuring a summer holiday in Wales, friends Portia and Ben discover a mysterious door. They are deceived into opening it, which leads them into an enchanted world where they become trapped. The fantasy adventure draws on Welsh myths and legends as the two friends face the consequences of entering this otherworldly place. Their holiday discovery becomes a journey involving magic, folklore, and an escape from the world beyond the door.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsBodega Cats: Picture PurrfectHilda Eunice Burgos, illustrated by Siara FaisonMiguel Rosado lives with his Dominican American family above or within the world of their Washington Heights bodega. He wants to draw and see places beyond the store, but his parents expect him to work after school and understand the sacrifices needed to keep the business going. Miguel creates superhero comics starring Super Cat, inspired by Lolo, the family’s newly adopted bodega cat. The story brings together art, family obligations, community, and a new pet.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsBog MyrtleSid SharpBeatrice and Magnolia are sisters with sharply different dispositions who share a chilly old house with helpful spiders. Beatrice receives enchanted yarn from Bog Myrtle, a giant forest spider concerned with sustainability. With the spiders, she begins making a warm sweater, but the yarn soon leads to a sweater factory and conflict with the spiders. This darkly comic story brings together magic, sisterhood, spiders, and questions about sustainability.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeLexile Text Measure 600LATOS Book Level 3.8View book detailsCactus Queen: Minerva Hoyt Establishes Joshua Tree National ParkLori AlexanderThis picture-book account follows Minerva Hamilton Hoyt, an artist and environmental advocate drawn to California’s Mojave Desert. She finds beauty in its Joshua trees, cacti, jackrabbits, and coyotes at a time when few others value the landscape. In the 1920s, the wealthy socialite brings elaborate displays of desert nature to major cities, hoping to inspire appreciation and stewardship. Her determined efforts help protect the threatened desert and contribute to the creation of Joshua Tree National Park.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsChampPayam Ebrahimi, illustrated by Reza DalvandAbtin differs from the other members of the Moleski family, who are fiercely competitive sports champions. Although they expect him to become a great athlete, he is a reader and an artist who does things in his own way. Wanting to make his family proud, Abtin devises a plan, but it does not turn out as intended. He remains himself despite pressure from his family to conform.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsThe Children’s Book of the FutureLavie Tidhar, Richard Watson, illustrated by Cinthya AlvarezAn illustrated nonfiction narrative imagines possible futures through technology and science. Drawing inspiration from current scientific research, it offers a hopeful and inclusive view of what may lie ahead. The book explores future-focused ideas with an optimistic outlook, using imaginative illustrations and narrative nonfiction to connect science with visions of tomorrow. Its central concern is how technology and scientific thinking can shape the future.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Chronicles of a Lizard NobodyPatrick Ness, illustrated by Tim MillerAt a new school, monitor lizards Zeke, Daniel, and Alicia are assigned hall-monitor duties by Principal Wombat. The three lizards arrived through a district blending program and had previously received little notice among classmates such as zebras, ostriches, and elk. Zeke stops trying to be popular as school trouble escalates, and the monitor lizards face a supervillain pelican while becoming unexpected heroes.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeLexile Text Measure 731LATOS Book Level 4.7View book details
Colossal Words for KidsColette Hiller, illustrated by Tor FreemanColossal Words for Kids contains 75 poems by Colette Hiller, each paired with an illustration by Tor Freeman. The poems use humor and introduce individual words, creating a collection built around language and verse. Its pages combine poetic writing with illustrations, with every poem devoted to a particular word. The book brings together word-focused poems and visual accompaniment.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Are You Stronger Than an Ant? Fun Facts about Extraordinary AnimalsKaren Koepcke Morgan, illustrated by Nelke RooseThis nonfiction book examines remarkable abilities across eleven animal species. It asks readers to compare themselves with animals including bats, ants, elephants, penguins, mosquitoes, camels, hummingbirds, beavers, crocodiles, sloths, and flamingoes. Examples include drinking twenty gallons of water in under fifteen minutes and carrying one hundred times an animal’s own weight. “Could you?” questions introduce factual information about the unusual abilities of each featured animal.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Dinky Donkey Doo: How a Backyard Friend Helped a Boy Stay StrongDavid P. Kavanaugh, illustrated by Albert ArrayásJack loves his family, toys, and Halloween, along with two especially important things in his life. After a fall that is difficult to heal from, he goes to the hospital and learns that he has leukemia, a blood cancer. His family and doctors support him, but he misses visiting the farm. Then a donkey called Dinky Donkey Doo comes to live at Jack’s house.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Earth’s Incredible Places: Grand CanyonSusan Lamb, illustrated by Sean LewisThis illustrated introduction examines Grand Canyon National Park. The canyon extends across a rocky plateau and was carved into rock by the Colorado River. Its layers reveal millions of years of Earth’s history. The book also notes the ties that the Hopi, Havasupai, Navajo, and other Indigenous peoples have to the land. It presents the Grand Canyon as one of the world’s seven natural wonders and notes that millions visit the park each year.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem: The Vision of Photographer Roy DeCaravaGary GolioThis picture-book biography follows photographer Roy DeCarava through 1940s Harlem as he looks for everyday scenes to photograph. With his 35mm camera, Roy notices residents at work and at play: a boy drawing with sidewalk chalk, people waiting or carrying children, and children splashing in an open fire hydrant. The book shows how DeCarava found beauty in his neighborhood and includes further information about his life and work, a timeline, photographs, and a bibliography.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeLexile Text Measure 570LATOS Book Level 2.5View book detailsGertie Is Not All DogsSiski Kalla, illustrated by Siski KallaSammy is certain that he understands dogs when Gertie becomes part of his family. His expectations are challenged when Gertie dislikes ball chasing, squeaky toys, and cuddling. Sammy works to learn what she actually enjoys, recognizing that dogs do not all want the same things. The book addresses being different, introversion, shyness, autism, and accepting differences through Sammy’s new dog.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsThe Gingerbread Man: Buttons on the LooseLaura Murray, illustrated by Laura MurrayThe Gingerbread Man lives in a gingerbread house built for him at school, where he has a hat and bow tie. After finding two candy buttons gone, he searches the school for them. A new friend helps with the investigation. The graphic novel blends rhyme, action, full-page illustrations, and comic-panel storytelling. The missing buttons set the mystery in motion.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeLexile Text Measure GN500LATOS Book Level 3.3View book detailsGuts for Glory: The Story of Civil War Soldier Rosetta WakemanJoanna LapatiThis biography tells the story of Rosetta Wakeman, a nineteen-year-old from rural New York who wanted a life beyond the family farm during the Civil War. In 1862, she cut her braid, disguised herself as a man, and enlisted in the Union Army under the name Lyons Wakeman. Her story is presented through personal correspondence, with extensive back matter and woodcut-inspired illustrations. The book focuses on a woman’s Civil War experience as recorded in her letters.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
The History of InformationChris Haughton, illustrated by Chris HaughtonChris Haughton uses a visual nonfiction format to examine how people have made, preserved, circulated, regulated, and disputed information. Beginning with early speech and cave art, the account ranges across written language, religious systems, state power, scientific inquiry, democratic government, mass media, consumer culture, large technology companies, polarization, and artificial intelligence. Timelines and visual explainers, including diagrams and illustrations, relate these developments to changes in visual communication. The book considers how new forms of communication can influence institutions and power, advance technology, and alter how people make sense of the world.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsHow Do You Become a Mad Scientist?Hayes, illustrated by Srimalile BassaniThis book offers science experiments such as making slime, causing a balloon to inflate on its own, and creating a bouncy egg. Each activity provides step-by-step directions and explains the science behind it. One slime experiment explores chemical reactions and viscosity. Back matter contains a glossary and further activities, extending the book’s collection of hands-on experiments and the scientific ideas connected with them.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
I Am, I Can, I Will : A Guided Journal of Self-Discovery for Black GirlsDr. Cynthia Jacobs Carter / Ruth Chamblee, illustrated by Steffi WalthallThis illustrated guided journal uses bold statements, quotations, and prompts for a process of self-discovery. It is designed around ancestral wisdom and specifically addresses young Black girls. Its materials invite reflection through written prompts alongside visual illustration. Dr. Cynthia Jacobs Carter and Ruth Chamblee created the 176-page book, published by Workman Kids on January 16, 2024. The journal’s quotations and prompts provide the structure for its exploration of identity and personal reflection.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
IEPs R4U & Me: Duke the Deaf Dog Series Chapter BookKelly Brakenhoff, illustrated by Caterina BaldiDuke is a second grader who enjoys drawing, baseball, and exploring. He uses a hearing aid, American Sign Language, and an IEP as he makes his way through school. Duke learns that his IEP can help him succeed and that requesting what he needs can make him stronger. His chapter-book adventures include school, friendships, family life, teasing, learning, and a path toward accepting himself.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsIris and the TurtlesMelanie Mathis Miller, illustrated by Karissa Miller LaffeyIris and the Turtles introduces Iris as someone who loves to swim in the ocean beside her home. She shares the waters with all the beautiful marine life there. Sea turtles, however, are the creatures she likes most. Melanie Mathis Miller wrote the book. The publisher is Crimson Dragon Publishing. The recorded publication date is 2024-05-31, and the book has 40 pages.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
The Kids in Mrs. Z’s Class #3: Poppy Song Bakes a WayKarina Glaser, illustrated by Kat FajardoWritten by Karina Glaser, this 128-page book introduces Poppy Song, a student in Mrs. Z’s third-grade class. Poppy enjoys baking, like her grandmother. A difficult recipe and her grandmother’s forgetfulness leave Poppy in a sticky situation that tests her baking ability. The story is the third book about the kids in Mrs. Z’s class, a group described as wacky and wonderful.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsKwame VotesDr. Artika Tyner, illustrated by Chasity HamptonKwame has voted in a student-government election at his school and is excited to discuss his choice in detail with the members of his family. He wants to tell them whom he voted for and why he made that choice. His family’s own preparations for Election Day surprise him, because they too are getting ready to take part in that day’s event.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsThe Life-Changing Magic of Chess: A Beginner’s Guide with Grandmaster Maurice AshleyMaurice Ashley, illustrated by Denis AngelovGrandmaster Maurice Ashley shares his own journey from Jamaica to New York and then to the world stage of chess. He became the chess world’s first Black Grandmaster and later worked as a national-championship coach and commentator. The book also introduces chess basics, including how the pieces move and how to begin a game. It combines Ashley’s story with an introduction to the strategy game.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Mama’s Chicken and DumplingsDionna L. MannIn segregated 1930s Charlottesville, Virginia, ten-year-old Allie wants to find a husband for her single mother, though she is determined that he must be the right man. Her life with Mama is not wholly unhappy, but Allie believes marriage could improve it. Along the way, she works on her flute playing, contends with a classmate rivalry, and undertakes an entrepreneurial venture while pursuing her plan for Mama.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsMid-AirAlicia D. WilliamsAfter his friend dies, Isaiah is grieving and struggling with guilt and questions about identity. He also experiences an attack motivated by race. Isaiah is sent to live with his aunt and uncle, where he confronts his grief and considers what masculinity means to him. The story asks whether he can be true to himself as he works through these experiences. Danica Novgorodoff’s illustrations accompany this rhythmic novel told in verse.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsMinerals and Rocks: A Beginner’s GuideKim TaitThis guide introduces geological concepts through the features of minerals and rocks. It explores minerals including common feldspar and quartz, as well as lithium, which is described as important to the transition to green energy. A section on gemstones considers the beauty of minerals. The book focuses on the material beneath people’s feet and the different kinds of minerals found on Earth.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Nancy Bess had a DressClaire Annette Noland, illustrated by Angela C. HawkinsWritten by Claire Annette Noland, this story is set in the late 1930s. Nancy Bess is a crafty girl who likes a daisy print. She repurposes a patterned flour sack, turning it into a creation. Gnome Road Publishing released the book on March 19, 2024. Its subject brings together the reuse of material, a historical period, and the crafting of something new.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Pablo and SplashSheena DempseyBest friends Pablo and Splash are Antarctic penguins with opposite temperaments: Pablo prefers home and careful planning, while Splash seeks adventure. Wanting a break from the freezing weather, Splash persuades Pablo to take a beach vacation. A scientist’s time machine sends them instead to a beach in the dinosaur era, where they must find their way home before dinosaurs eat them.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsRecord Breakers at the Olympic GamesRob WalkerThis book surveys records, achievements, and notable stories from the modern Summer Olympic Games. Covering every sport and discipline since the 1896 Athens Games, it highlights record-setting performances and dramatic moments from Olympic history. Its focus is on the athletes’ accomplishments and the many events that together form the history of the Games.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsSaint Valentine the Kindhearted: The History and Legends of God’s Brave and Loving ServantNed Bustard, illustrated by Ned BustardThis illustrated poem explores why Valentine’s Day is observed on February 14 and commonly marked with flowers, candy, and cards for loved ones. It introduces Saint Valentine as a figure whose life was associated with kindness and love. The book connects his story with showing people how much they matter, and it includes an author’s note intended to prompt further discussion of its subject.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsSalt, Pepper, Season, Spice: All the Flavors of the WorldJacques Pasquet, illustrated by Claire Anghinolfi, Ann Marie BoulangerThis nonfiction book traces familiar flavors through history, mythology, and cultures around the world. It considers salt, pepper, coffee, tea, spices, condiments, and confections, including their origins and some of the stories associated with them. Readers also explore how these ingredients are grown, gathered, and made ready for use, from the long history of salt to pepper’s former value as “black gold.”Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
Stella and MarigoldAnnie Barrows, illustrated by Sophie BlackallStella and Marigold are sisters with strong imaginations and distinct ways of telling stories. Seven-year-old Stella is kind, enjoys storytelling, and considers large questions, including what animals might think about people. Four-year-old Marigold creates imaginative tales that her mother calls fibs. She also wears her favorite Halloween costume throughout the year. Together, the sisters’ different interests and inventions shape the book’s family-centered portrait.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book details
The Story of Gumluck and the Dragon’s EggsAdam Rex, illustrated by Adam RexGumluck returns in a fantasy adventure centered on three dragon eggs and a contest between a dragon and a raven. The confused dragon, a foolish wizard, and the tiny ghost that lives in the wizard’s hair become caught up in mistaken identities. As fire presents a danger, Gumluck faces it with courage. The story also follows an unexpected friendship in the small kingdom of Prince Whoop-de-doo.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeLexile Text Measure 590LATOS Book Level 3.6View book detailsTime BuddiesMatthew Cody, Colleen AF Venable, Marcie Colleen, illustrated by Chad ThomasHoot, an impulsive young owl from the future, meets Bentley, a studious child from the present. Neither feels that they fit in their own time. After they accidentally activate a sparkly button, the pair travel through time together. Their journey takes them to ancient Egypt, the Wild West, and the Renaissance, as the two companions race across different historical periods.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeLexile Text Measure GN340LATOS Book Level 2.5View book details
Wanjiku, Child of MineCiiku ˜ Ndu ˜ ng’u ˜ -CaseWanjiku recounts a life that begins in the Kenyan countryside, continues on the streets of Nairobi, and reaches her years at boarding school. Across these changes in place and life stage, she holds on to her cultural identity. The book includes illustrations, a glossary, and back matter. Its account traces Wanjiku’s childhood and adolescence through the places and experiences that shape her journey.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsWho’s Writing This Story?!Robin NewmanThe three little pigs argue with the writer about the story they are in. The big bad wolf also joins them in taking charge of a familiar tale. Their dispute considers who controls a story: its author, the characters, or both together. The book gives the well-known folktale a modern change as its events unfold, with graphic-novel-like illustrations.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsWhy Not?: A Story About Discovering Our Bright PossibilitiesKobi YamadaWhy Not? is an encouraging book about a child’s particular qualities and wide-ranging potential. Its words invite readers to act bravely, pursue what matters to them, and imagine who they may become. Fantasy scenes of animals and nature accompany this exploration, illustrated in glowing jewel-toned art. It asks what might happen when someone chooses a bold adventure or meets a challenge.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsWinnie-the-PoohA. A. MilneThis graphic adaptation follows Winnie-the-Pooh, the anthropomorphic teddy bear also called Pooh or Edward Bear, and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood. The book presents their adventures through straightforward black-and-white art. Pooh first appeared by name in a Christmas Eve 1925 children’s story, and the character was created by A. A. Milne with illustrator E. H. Shepard. Milne drew inspiration from a stuffed toy bought for his son and a bear the pair had seen at London Zoo.Librarian Favorites — 3rd–5th GradeView book detailsLibrarian Favorites — 6th–8th Grade
50 selections
Rank 1Barracoon: Adapted for Young ReadersZora Neale Hurston, illustrated by Jazzmen Lee-JohnsonThis adaptation recounts the life of Cudjo Lewis, who was among the last known survivors of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Zora Neale Hurston interviewed him during repeated visits in 1931, when he was 86. Lewis described his childhood in Africa, his capture at 19, his illegal transport to the United States after the trade had been outlawed, and his life during and after enslavement. An introduction supplies historical context on the slave trade, slavery in America, and the young-readers adaptation. Hurston also discusses the language Lewis used in telling his story.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsRank 2Impossible CreaturesKatherine RundellTwo children enter a magical realm where its remaining magical creatures face extinction. Their quest requires them to confront enemies and find allies while trying to preserve the land. The stakes extend beyond the children themselves: the world is fading, and its last fantastical inhabitants are threatened. Their journey brings danger, difficult truths, and a task that demands boldness. Ashley Mackenzie provides illustrations for this adventure about a threatened magical world and the children working to save it.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure HL650LATOS Book Level 4.2View book details
Rank 3FerrisKate DiCamilloEleven-year-old Emma Phineas Wilkey, known as Ferris, worries as her grandmother Charisse spends more time resting because of heart problems. Around her, family life is disorderly: Charisse communicates with a ghost, Uncle Ted is meant to be working on a painting, Pinky dreams of becoming an outlaw, and Ferris’s father is preoccupied with attic raccoons. Her friend Billy is a pianist determined to play “Mysterious Barricades.” Ferris faces this mixture of family worries, ghostly plans, and everyday chaos.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 630LATOS Book Level 4.4View book details
Rank 4Buffalo DreamerViolet DuncanSummer visits her mother’s family on a reservation in Alberta, where her usual summer days include gathering sweetgrass, attending powwows, and horseback riding. This time, vivid dreams lead her toward a painful history connected to residential schools that removed Native children from their families and sought to erase their identities. She also learns about her grandfather’s experience at one of those schools. The novel connects family history, memory, and Indigenous identity.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 790LATOS Book Level 4.9View book detailsRank 5Who Was Her Own Work of Art?: Frida Kahlo (A Who HQ Graphic Novel)Terry BlasWritten by Terry Blas, this graphic novel presents artist Frida Kahlo’s life through narrative and full-color illustrations. It considers independence, determination, and finding beauty in scars. Penguin Young Readers Group published the book on February 20, 2024. The graphic-novel format combines its account of Kahlo with vivid illustrated pages, making images an integral part of how her story is presented.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsRank 6All The Ways to GoJessie JanowitzAll the Ways to Go concerns overcoming the fear of disappointing people one loves. It takes place during a summer when nothing is going as planned. The book also considers the good things that may come from that season. Jessie Janowitz is also the author of The Doughnut Fix. All the Ways to Go has 368 pages and was published by Sourcebooks on 2024-09-03.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsRank 7The Girl Who SangEstelle NadelThis graphic memoir follows Estelle Nadel, then called Enia Feld, a young Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied Poland. She is seven when the Nazis invade in 1939. Over the following five years, she survives the deaths of her parents, her oldest brother and sister, and many others. The account includes her brother’s love, help from strangers, and her struggle to hold onto hope amid persecution and loss.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 420LATOS Book Level 3.2View book details
Rank 8JamieL.D. LapinskiJamie Rambeau is an eleven-year-old nonbinary child whose closest friends are Daisy and Ash. Their friendship is challenged when the local middle schools are divided into separate schools for boys and girls. Jamie realizes that nobody has decided where they belong and chooses to act. The novel follows Jamie, Daisy, and Ash as the school arrangement puts their connection and Jamie’s place in question.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsRank 9The Squad: A Graphic Novel (The Tryout #2)Christina Soontornvat, illustrated by Joanna CacaoThis graphic novel is a stand-alone companion to The Tryout. Its story centers on cheerleading, with pom poms, increased stakes, and middle-school drama shaping the book’s premise. It returns to the world of its companion title while presenting an independent story focused on the pressures and events surrounding a cheer squad.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsRank 10The Books of Clash Volume 3: Legendary Legends of Legendarious AchieveryGene Luen Yang, illustrated by Kendall Goode, Alison ActonGene Luen Yang’s 144-page third volume in The Books of Clash series was published by First Second in May 2024. It adapts Clash of Clans, a mobile game, into graphic-novel form. Characters from the game appear in a series characterized as action-packed. This volume presents the game’s characters through Yang’s graphic-novel storytelling. Its title identifies it as the third Books of Clash volume.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsAlterationsRay Xu, illustrated by Ray XuKevin Lee lives with his family in a crowded Toronto apartment above their alterations and dry-cleaning shop. At school, he is one of few Asian children and receives unwelcome attention. Feeling unseen both at home and school, Kevin faces a class trip to the Thrill Planet theme park. He wonders whether the trip could change his circumstances or become another difficult day.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Animal Minds: What Are They Thinking?Dana L. ChurchAnimal Minds examines how scientists investigate the ways animals think. It considers species including lions, gorillas, octopuses, and bees, and describes research into animal personalities, memories, counting, and problem-solving. The book introduces scientists who study animal minds and compares the mental abilities of different species. It also considers similarities and differences between animal minds and human minds through the research described.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsBenny Ramírez and the Nearly DepartedJosé Pablo IriarteAfter moving across the country, Benny Ramírez arrives at the Miami mansion once owned by his late grandfather. There he discovers that Ignacio Ramírez, his celebrated trumpet-playing abuelo, remains as a ghost. Benny is the only person who can see him. Ignacio has been prevented from entering the afterlife and is unhappy about Benny’s arrival. Before New Year’s Eve, the boy and his ghostly grandfather must search for greatness together.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 730LATOS Book Level 4.7View book details
Beyond InfinityStephanie Warren DrimmerBeyond Infinity is a humorous exploration of mathematics that considers questions about the size of the universe, the number of numbers, and infinity. It asks whether changing the order in the expression “infinity plus one” changes its result. The book also invites readers to imagine something that can fit inside a person’s head yet be too large for the world, presenting infinity as a mathematical mystery.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Blue Stars: Mission One: The Vice Principal Problem: A Graphic Novel: The Blue Stars SeriesKekla Magoon, Cynthia Leitich Smith, illustrated by Molly MurakamiCousins Riley Halfmoon and Maya Dawn relocate to Urbanopolis to live with their activist grandmother, but the transition goes badly at first. Sociable Riley misses her Muscogee cousins and expects an immediate friendship with Maya. Maya, who is quieter, misses her parents while they serve on active duty in Japan and needs space. At their new school, Maya joins the Robotics Club while Riley connects with gymnasts. As both begin settling in, a disguised influential opponent threatens the school’s culture.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsBoy 2.0Tracey BaptisteWin “Coal” Keegan has arrived at another foster home, this time with the McKay family. The household is large, loud, and curious about him, and the family wants him to feel welcome. Coal is not yet ready to trust them. He keeps to himself a walk during which he carries chalk and creates art on a nearby street. His new home and his private artwork shape this opening situation.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
The ChainbreakersJulian RandallViolet Moon lives beneath the Atlantic Ocean in the magical Tides of the Lost, where she works beside her father, a Reaper captain, rescuing souls lost in the water. During a mission, the Children of the Shark—ghost-sharks that steal souls—arrive and pull her father into the Depths. Violet must battle to save him and her underwater world.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Clock Striker, Volume 2Frederick L Jones, illustrated by Issaka GaladimaClock Striker, Volume 2 continues an earlier volume and places Cast, a Black female teenage hero, at the front of its story. The book mixes science fiction, steampunk, action-adventure, and humor. Cast wants to save again, a goal explored in this installment. Frederick L Jones is credited as author, and Rockport Publishers released the volume on September 10, 2024. The volume uses an action-adventure framework for Cast’s renewed goal.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsFake Chinese SoundsJing Jing TsongMěi Yīng, a Taiwanese American girl, spends her summer balancing homework, study, Chinese school, and soccer practice with her team, the Divas. Her grandmother visits from Taiwan, and although Měi Yīng’s Mandarin and Năi Nai’s English are limited, they connect by cooking guōtiē and practicing tai chi together. The graphic novel also follows Měi Yīng as she faces bullying and questions of identity while seeking comfort in herself.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure HL420LATOS Book Level 2.9View book detailsThe First State of BeingErin Entrada KellyIn August 1999, twelve-year-old Michael Rosario is anxious about the approaching Y2K moment. He meets a mysterious teenager who says he has arrived from the future. Their growing friendship changes the way Michael considers his family, trust, forgiveness, and what may come next. Set during the lead-up to Y2K, the novel brings Michael’s present into contact with questions about time and the future.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 681LATOS Book Level 4.4View book detailsThe Hoop Con (Play the Game #1)Amar ShahRaam Patel wants to prove himself after failing to make his middle school basketball team. When Hoop Con arrives, he is determined to attend and take his chance. Instead, the camp’s golden boy defeats him in front of Raam’s NBA idol, and the moment spreads online. Used to being an underdog, Raam must cope with becoming a meme and find a way forward.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
The House of Hades: The Graphic NovelRick RiordanThe fourth exciting entry in Rick Riordan's best-selling Heroes of Olympus series is now a graphic novel!Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsHoverGirlsGeneva BowersHoverGirls brings Geneva Bowers’s web comic about magical girls into print. This edition enlarges the storyline and includes revised artwork. Bowers is identified as both the comic’s creator and an illustrator. Bloomsbury USA published the print edition in 2024. The book combines a magical premise with comic art that has been updated for this version.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Ink GirlsMarieke Nijkamp, illustrated by Sylvia BiIn a vibrant city, Cinzia, an eleven-year-old printer’s apprentice, works in a worn paper-and-printing workshop. She values Mestra Aronne, who gave her a place when other guilds would not take an apprentice with a crippled leg. Cinzia and another girl from a very different background join forces against censorship, seeking hidden truths and protecting people they love.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsIt Came from the TreesAlly RussellJenna’s family history is tied to Sturbridge Reservation: her Pap was its first Black park ranger, and Jenna knows the Owlet Survival Handbook closely. When a creature takes her best friend Reese and other attacks appear connected, she is not believed by her parents and finds the police pursuing different leads. Determined to save Reese, Jenna joins a local scout troop and returns to the woods.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 870LATOS Book Level 5.6View book detailsIt Watches in the DarkJeff StrandTwins become stranded in a village controlled by the unsettling influence of a mysterious scarecrow. They must find a way to escape its hold. One frightening image shows the figure standing behind someone with a stitched smile that seems more like a smirk. The novel centers on the twins’ attempt to get free from the village and the threatening presence watching them there.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure HL610LATOS Book Level 4View book details
Kareem BetweenShifa Saltagi SafadiKareem, a Syrian American Chicago Bears fan, hopes to become a middle-school quarterback but does not make the team. Austin, the coach’s son, offers to help him join later if Kareem completes Austin’s assignments. Kareem agrees, despite Austin’s bullying, and becomes friends with Fadi, another Syrian student. When Austin directs racist harassment at Fadi, Kareem stays silent. Meanwhile, his mother and grandparents are stranded in Syria after an executive order bars immigration from several countries with large Muslim populations.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 731LATOS Book Level 4.7View book detailsThe Last Rhee WitchJenna Lee-YunRonnie Miller has lived with her father since her mother died when Ronnie was five. The two Korean Americans have not felt very connected to Korean identity, in part because Ronnie’s father was adopted by white parents. A summer camp haunted by a gwishin exposes secrets and unsettles what Ronnie knows. Korean folklore becomes real in this story for Ronnie.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Lights, Camera, Brains?Michelle L. BrownTwelve-year-old Marty Rucker hopes to attend Camp Cosmos, with two months remaining before the program begins. His father, a drama teacher, loses his job. The money Marty had for space camp then has to help cover the household’s bills. Marty’s plans are shaped by his father’s unemployment and the family’s financial need. Michelle L. Brown wrote the book, published in 2024.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsLoch Ness Uncovered: Media, Misinformation, and the Greatest Monster Hoax of All TimeRebecca SiegelThis nonfiction account traces how reports of the Loch Ness Monster spread after Alice Mackay said she had seen a creature in the Scottish lake in 1933. It examines the newspaper coverage, the connection between the claim and local tourism, and later sightings. The book also investigates Marmaduke Wetherell’s filmed “proof,” showing how he staged evidence, and examines other claims to explain how misinformation can take hold.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsA Magic Fierce and BrightHemant NayakAdya lives in the isolated jungles of South India and wants primarily to find her lost sister, Priya, while earning enough to care for their family. Her rare technomancy lets her awaken electric machines with magic linked to events five centuries earlier. This ability makes her a sought-after political pawn in an ongoing struggle for control of a supernatural source of magic. She would rather remain loyal only to herself.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
Mammals UnlockedDia L. Michels, illustrated by Bonnie Ho/f_kinThis illustrated guide uses questions and answers to introduce mammals from around the world. It considers how a platypus fights, where a marmot passes the winter, and when a camel needs water. The animals described include fuzzy, scaly, clawed, and finned mammals, found in places ranging from ocean depths to mountain heights. The book focuses on animal behavior, habitats, and the variety of mammals in the natural world.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsMani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal VoiceAnna LaperaMani Semilla is trying to speak up amid several pressures in her life. At school, she and other girls face sexual harassment; at home, relatives continually discuss her body. She is also confronting an approaching family trip to Guatemala. When Mani learns a secret about her mother, she must consider whether she can finally express herself and respond to what is happening around her.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsMaya Plays the PartCalyssa ErbMaya loves musicals and hopes to win the lead in her community theater’s summer production. Instead, the season brings several challenges: her best friend is moving, her parents are busy with work, and Maya is working out how to be herself in public after receiving an autism diagnosis. Set amid rehearsals and theatrical ambitions, the story follows Maya through an unexpectedly complicated summer.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 730LATOS Book Level 4.9View book detailsMoko Magic: Carnival ChaosTracey BaptisteDuring carnival season in Brooklyn, three cousins discover that they are mokos, protector spirits. The novel draws on Afro-Caribbean inspiration and combines magic and mythology with an action-adventure story. Twelve-year-old Misty has recently moved to Brooklyn with her mother, where strange events and wonders surround the cousins’ discovery. Their new identity as mokos links the cousins to a role of spiritual protection.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsThe Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.SJohn Hendrix, illustrated by John HendrixThe Mythmakers uses graphic-novel storytelling to trace C.S. Lewis’s and J.R.R. Tolkien’s early lives, then the friendship they developed at Oxford after World War I. Anthropomorphic guides named Mr. Lion and Mr. Wizard introduce mythology before the book turns to the authors’ childhoods and young adulthoods. Their common interest in myth connects them, while their religious positions differ: Tolkien is Catholic, and Lewis is an atheist after the war. Their ongoing conversations ultimately return Lewis to Christianity.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsThe New Girl: A Graphic Novel (The New Girl #1)Cassandra Calin, illustrated by Cassandra CalinLia leaves Romania and begins again in a new country, home, and language. Starting school in an unfamiliar language adds to the disorientation of immigration, while her body is changing as she gets her first period. The story follows Lia as she tries to work out who she is amid these simultaneous shifts. It is inspired by Cassandra Calin’s own immigration experience and focuses on the challenges of adapting to a new place and a changing body.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeATOS Book Level 2.6AR Interest Level MG 4–8View book detailsSafiyyah’s WarHiba Noor KhanIn occupied Paris, Safiyyah and her Algerian French family live in the Grand Mosque, where her father and uncle assist the Resistance. Her father hides injured Allied soldiers and prepares false papers that identify Jewish people as Muslim. When Nazi attention falls on him, Safiyyah takes over delivering those documents. As Jewish neighbors vanish, her family and other Resistance members shelter people in the mosque before helping them leave France through a tunnel and by barge.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsSecret Society of Rebel Girls: Nina and the Mysterious MailboxMarti Dumas, illustrated by Kristina KisterDuring a school election, Nina tries to help her best friend Maya become sixth-grade representative. She turns to robotics to monitor the rival candidate, a decision that puts the two girls in detention. A mysterious mailbox appears as part of the book. Its events bring together student government, Nina and Maya’s friendship, and the consequences of spying. Marti Dumas wrote it, and DK published it in 2024.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
The Shadow RoadK. D. KirchmeierDragon-like monsters invade as the power goes out, leaving two unlikely heroes facing a fight to save humanity. Their crisis unfolds after the King of Ayr dies without naming an heir. For a century, the Renné and Wills families have been locked in enmity and struggle over the crown, bringing treachery and bloodshed to what had been one kingdom.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsStealing Little Moon: The Legacy of the American Indian Boarding Schools (Scholastic Focus)Dan SaSuWeh JonesStealing Little Moon examines the legacy of American Indian boarding schools and places that history alongside questions about the present and future. The book is framed as an opportunity to learn about the world, think critically about the past, take part in important discussions about current life, and consider how the future might be shaped. Its subject connects historical study with American Indian cultural heritage.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsA Suffragist’s Guide to the AntarcticYi Shun Lai, maps by Filippo VanzoIn 1914, eighteen-year-old Clara Ketterling-Dunbar joins the twenty-eight-person crew of the British Resolute for an Antarctic expedition. The ship sinks, leaving the crew stranded on ice floes. Clara, an American and the only woman aboard, has presented herself as a twenty-one-year-old Canadian and faces dismissal from crewmates. A committed suffragist, she records the expedition in a notebook intended as a guide for future women explorers.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsWe Are Big Time: (A Graphic Novel)Hena KhanAliya moves from Tampa to Milwaukee and joins the basketball team at her Islamic high school, hoping the sport will help her adjust. Coach Jess appoints Aliya and senior player Noura as co-captains, though Noura resists sharing the role. The team works through practice, leadership, and individual reasons for playing as its season changes. Local media attention brings another challenge: interviewers focus on the players’ hijabs instead of their basketball. The girls respond by relying on solidarity within the team.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure GN320LATOS Book Level 2.4View book detailsWhat Do We Eat?: How Humans Find, Grow and Share FoodMegan Clendenan, illustrated by Meegan LimMegan Clendenan’s 96-page What Do We Eat? was published by Orca Book Publishers USA in January 2024. The book treats food as a need shared by people every day, regardless of where they are or must go. It asks readers to imagine carrying meals while parachuting into a war zone. The subject connects food to the varied circumstances and destinations of human life.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book details
When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the DiaryAlice HoffmanSet during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, this novel portrays Anne Frank and her family as their lives are increasingly restricted. Anne witnesses prejudice, loss, and terror as violence entangles children and families. The story takes place before the period in which Anne and her family went into hiding and her diary was written. It focuses on a family facing the escalating danger and dehumanization of the Holocaust.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsThe Wildcat Behind GlassAlki Zei, Karen EmmerichDuring a summer on a Greek island, Melia becomes absorbed by a stuffed wildcat that her cousin claims can come alive. A signed note sends her into an adventure as a childhood mystery develops around her. Family loyalties are tested while the adults react with fear and division to the rise of fascism in the 1930s. The story brings private mystery and political turmoil together.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeLexile Text Measure 840LATOS Book Level 5.4View book detailsWings to SoarTina AthaideWritten in verse, this historical novel follows Viva and her Indian family as they adjust to life in a British camp for Ugandan Asian refugees. Afterward, they face further difficulties while staying with relatives in London and awaiting Viva’s father. The book addresses hostility toward refugees and Viva’s resilience amid displacement, separation, and changing homes. It also includes archival photographs and an author’s note.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsA Witch’s Guide to BurningAminder Dhaliwal, illustrated by Aminder DhaliwalIn a realm shaped by magic and fire, witches fill a sky described as thick with them. A witch serves the people of her town, whose success depends on her magic, but the demands become overwhelming. A witch who cannot meet magical requests faces a burning ritual that removes her power and her memories. Rain disrupts such a ceremony in Chamomile Valley, leaving one witch at the stake.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsA World of Dogs: A Celebration of Fascinating Facts and Amazing Real-Life Stories for Dog LoversCarlie SorosiakA World of Dogs explores dogs’ long relationship with people, from their evolutionary history to the ways they help humans. It investigates canine senses and communication, including questions about whether dogs understand people, dream, or feel love. The book also looks at the ages of different breeds and includes real-life dog stories. Color illustrations accompany the information, and the volume includes both an index and a glossary.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsThe Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook For KidsDavid Borgenicht, Justin Heimberg, illustrated by Wenke KrampThis handbook offers 40 survival tips for extreme outdoor situations. Its step-by-step guidance addresses scenarios such as freezing conditions in the Arctic, quicksand in the jungle, and encounters with tarantulas in the desert. The book frames the outdoors as a place where strange, frightening, and demanding situations can arise, then provides instructions intended to help readers respond to them.Librarian Favorites — 6th–8th GradeView book detailsLibrarian Favorites — 9th–12th Grade
50 selections
Rank 1An Illustrated History of Urban LegendsAdam Allsuch BoardmanThis illustrated history examines urban legends as stories that have persisted wherever people share tales, from campfires to digital rumor networks. It considers legends that may have begun in truth, partial memories, or complete invention, and notes that people have investigated them for centuries. Covering both established folklore and contemporary urban legends, the book moves through uncanny stories and the ways they are told, remembered, questioned, and passed along.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsRank 2Twenty-Four Seconds from NowJason ReynoldsSeventeen-year-old Neon stands in Aria’s bathroom, feeling both excited and uneasy as they prepare to have sex for the first time. The narrative moves backward from that moment in widening intervals: seconds, days, weeks, months, and finally to the pair’s first meeting. Along the way, it follows conversations Neon has had with his parents, sister, and friends about sex and relationships, alongside the details of his relationship with Aria. Their decision is mutual and shaped by trust, love, and respect, even while they face different ideas about what comes next after high school.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsRank 3Beastly BeautyJennifer DonnellyArabella enters society while her parents press her to be agreeable and make a favorable marriage. Yet she cannot suppress the intense hopes and desires within her. When an attempt to control her emotions has tragic consequences, a mysterious figure curses Arabella and those she loves, confining them in a castle. This Beauty and the Beast retelling pairs the imprisoned noblewoman with a thief as they confront fears and seek to end a century-old spell.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeLexile Text Measure 750LATOS Book Level 4.8View book detailsRank 449 DaysAgnes LeeAfter Korean American teenager Kit dies accidentally, she enters bardo, the forty-nine-day transition after death in Buddhist tradition. Beginning on Day 1, Kit wakes in a rocky, watery landscape with a map and a far-off destination. Her literal journey is marked by frustration and grief before acceptance and peace. The story also follows Kit’s mother, sister, younger brother, cat, and friend Kevin, with memories revealing Kit’s life and relationships.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Rank 5Shackled: A Tale of Wronged Kids, Rogue Judges, and a Town that Looked AwayCandy J. CooperShackled documents the Kids for Cash scandal in post-Columbine Pennsylvania, where fear of violent teenagers helped shape a harsh juvenile-court climate. Two judges, a developer, and an attorney established a for-profit detention center and directed money from it into their personal accounts. To keep the facility occupied, Judge Mark Ciavarella imposed severe sentences for minor offenses, sending children who expected community service away in shackles. The account also follows whistleblowers and others who tried to expose the practice, while recognizing the system workers who were complicit.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeLexile Text Measure 1140LATOS Book Level 8.2View book detailsRank 6IcarusK. AncrumSeventeen-year-old Icarus Gallagher helps his father, Angus, an art restorer who also creates forgeries. Icarus enters Mr. Black’s mansion to exchange valuable artworks for Angus’s copies, while planning to leave both home and their criminal life when he turns eighteen. During one visit, he meets Helios, Mr. Black’s teenage son, who is confined to the house and subjected to abuse. Helios keeps Icarus’s thefts secret in return for continued visits. Their connection grows from friendship into love, while Icarus also begins to recognize the care of friends at school.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Rank 7At the End of the River StyxMichelle KulwickiZan has spent 499 years under a curse that lasts five centuries. He processes souls for a monstrous Ferryman while waiting for the chance to be reborn. If he does not fulfill that task, he will die. The book was published by Page Street Publishing on September 24, 2024, while the curse leaves Zan just one year before its end.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Rank 8Villains: Kill the BeastSerena ValentinoThis novel turns to Gaston, presenting his downfall in a story connected to Beauty and the Beast. Gaston is described as arrogant and convinced that he is the best and everyone’s favorite. The familiar Beauty, the Beast, and the curse they break are part of the book’s frame, but the story suggests that this tale has more than one ending and more than one villain. Gaston’s perspective is central.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Rank 9Little MoonsJen Storm, illustrated by Ryan Howe, Nickolej Villiger, Alice RLThirteen-year-old Reanna grieves her older sister Chelsea, who disappeared while walking home from school a year earlier. With no explanation for what happened, Reanna and her family struggle for closure. After her mother moves to the city, Reanna and her little brother stay on the reserve with their father, while Reanna seeks comfort in her family’s Ojibwe traditions.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsRank 10Mismatched: A Modern Graphic Retelling of EmmaAnne Camlin, illustrated by Isadora ZeferinoA modern graphic-novel adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma places its action at a Queens, New York, high school. Evan Horowitz is a teen social-media influencer with an interest in makeup and romance. He enjoys arranging matches for people he thinks need help finding love, but discovers that he cannot direct every outcome. The adaptation presents a queer take on the classic novel through Evan’s contemporary school life.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsAll the Truth I Can StandMason StokesSet in 1990s Wyoming, this historical novel follows Ash, a gay high-school student in Juniper who is still grieving his mother’s death. He must also live with the violent death of someone he loves. The story draws from the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, placing Ash’s personal losses within a historical context. His identity is part of the novel’s stated premise.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
The Art ThievesAndrea L. RogersSet in 2052, The Art Thieves follows Stevie, a Cherokee recent high school graduate and aspiring photographer working at a modern art museum in Texas. She hopes to begin college while staying close to her younger brother, Levi, and her friends. When artist intern Adam explains that he has come from two centuries ahead to steal a museum artwork, Stevie doubts him. He says the theft is part of a humanitarian effort to preserve art before a global disaster involving a pandemic, climate crisis, and social collapse.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsBlack Girl You Are AtlasRenée WatsonThis poetry collection, illustrated by Ekua Holmes, explores Black girlhood through poems and art. Rooted in Renée Watson’s life, the poems draw on relationships with family and community members as well as memories of adolescence. They address a girl’s thoughts about beauty, crushes, music, and news of police violence against Rodney King. Other pieces depict community spaces, including Ms. Tiny’s Saturday kitchen. The collection uses specific personal experiences to consider relationships, identity, and what it means to grow up as a Black girl.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsBorn A Girl: It Takes CourageAlice Dussutour, illustrated by Alice Dussutour, David WarrinerKaneila, Jade, Mahnoosh, Makena, and Luisa are girls living in five countries. Their stories address violence and injustice directed at them because they are female. Kaneila is required to spend a week each month alone in a hut: her period is treated as something that makes her impure. The girls confront gender-related problems, and each chapter includes further information about the issue it raises, along with illustrations and resource material.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsThe Brightwood CodeMonica HesseEdda, eighteen, returns from World War I service as a Hello Girl with the American Expeditionary Forces. Now a Bell Systems operator in Washington, D.C., she is burdened by guilt over forgetting the code word “Brightwood” during the war, when thirty-four soldiers died. Haunting calls urge Edda to reveal what happened overseas. With help from Theo, a fellow boarding-house resident, she investigates who is making the calls and confronts the consequences of the past.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsCarol Gilligan and the Search for VoiceBill Cole, illustrated by Sarah GreenCarol Gilligan and the Search for Voice is a biography of psychologist Carol Gilligan's life and work. Her field is developmental psychology, and the account addresses her lifelong effort to find, reveal, and recover voices. The book is included in the American Psychological Association's Extraordinary Women in Psychology series. It is intended for readers at the high-school level. Bill Cole wrote the book, which Magination Press ® - American Psychological Association published on 2024-09-10.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Children of Anguish and AnarchyTomi AdeyemiThis fantasy romance is the concluding volume of the Legacy of Orïsha series and follows Children of Virtue and Vengeance. Zélie has taken the royal palace and believes her struggles are over after the monarchy falls. New allies rise as the Blood Moon approaches, while she confronts a final enemy: a king who pursues her heart. The novel brings Zélie’s conflict to the final book of the series.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsConditions of a HeartBethany MangleBrynn leads the yearbook committee and is considered a leading prospect for prom queen while concealing a disability that is quickly affecting her health. Keeping that medical condition hidden damages her relationships and results in a school suspension. These consequences cause Brynn to reconsider whether she must continue protecting the secret. Her school roles contrast with the private strain of managing a disability.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
DarklyMarisha PesslArcadia “Dia” Gannon is selected for an internship at Louisiana’s Veda Foundation alongside six other teenagers from around the world. Though she has never won anything before, Dia is eager for the opportunity. The foundation is connected to Darkly, a once-prominent maker of toys and games left inactive after Veda’s unexplained death. Dia enters a dark and mysterious world.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsDiet Soda ClubChaz HaydenWhen Reed’s mother leaves, he is responsible for Beatrice, his younger sister, who has a life-threatening condition. Her mornings begin with hospital sounds and doctors rather than familiar routines such as breakfast or a school alarm. Reed’s responsibilities may require him to break the law as he tries to care for her. The story places the siblings’ relationship alongside Beatrice’s medical care and their mother’s absence.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Ditching SaskiaJohn Moore, illustrated by NeetolsDamian lives with his grandfather and is struggling at a new high school. Wanting to talk with his mother, he tries to summon her ghost, but the attempt goes wrong. This supernatural slice-of-life graphic novel brings together Damian’s circumstances with themes of identity and grief. It also considers accepting the flaws of people who are loved, as Damian’s story unfolds between family life, loss, and school.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Firebird CagedMaya ChhabraAshley becomes pregnant in her final year of high school, an outcome she never intended. She worries about frightening her mother, who works hard but faces financial struggle. Ashley has also hidden the pregnancy from Danny, her awkward former boyfriend. The novel connects her high school year, pregnancy, family pressure, money worries, and a past romantic relationship in her life.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsA Game Most FoulAlison GervaisJules Montgomery gets to attend a writing seminar at Ashford College, an opportunity she has long wanted. The summer does not go as she expected. As events test her observation skills, Jules comes to see that what she believed held her back may instead be a strength. The novel pairs a college seminar with a challenge to her self-understanding and plans for the summer.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsGhost RoastShawnelle Gibbs, Shawneé GibbsChelsea Grant tries to escape the social consequences of having a father who advertises himself as a paranormal removal expert in New Orleans. While working with him, she discovers that she can communicate with spirits. Chelsea then uncovers a secret connected to the murder of a biracial philanthropist. Her paranormal adventure also involves a first crush, lost histories, and the difficulty of fitting in.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
How the Boogeyman Became a PoetTony Keith JrTony Keith Jr.’s memoir in verse follows his journey from a closeted gay Black teenager to an openly gay first-generation college student. It addresses the poverty, racism, and homophobia he experiences, as well as the years it takes him to recognize his own abilities and worth. Poetry is central to the book: writing and performing poems in public help him find courage, move toward freedom, and accept his sexuality.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
I Felt Myself SlippingRay Nadine, illustrated by Ray NadineFormer competitive gymnast and cartoonist Ray Nadine tells a coming-of-age story in graphic-novel form. Anxiety and loss are experiences the narrative confronts. The book also depicts the work of coping with anxiety and grief and forming friendships along the way. It is a young adult graphic novel, and Nadine’s work links a personal transition with emotional struggle and connection to others.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsLady Sunflower: stories, songs, and poems from the desk of kill.gertrudeSierra Shuck-Sparer, illustrated by Chloe TylerLady Sunflower is a collection by Sierra Shuck-Sparer, written while she confronted high-risk medulloblastoma. At fifteen, she began treatment and surgery for the cancer, which she named Gertrude. The collection addresses her effort to hold on to her identity as a teenager while moving toward her college years. Its title identifies stories, songs, and poems as parts of the collection, reflecting the forms gathered here.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
The LamplighterCrystal J. BellPeppe takes work as a lamplighter to contribute to his immigrant family’s support in New York City at the turn of the twentieth century. His father disapproves of the job, while the family faces poverty. The picture book places Peppe’s effort within an immigrant household and a historical city setting of its time.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsThe Lies We ConjureSarah HenningThis standalone supernatural thriller centers on two sisters without magic who become caught in a deadly whodunit. The mystery involves a locked-room murder and thirteen witches. The story combines supernatural elements with an investigation into the killing, placing the sisters inside a life-threatening case. Its central situation is a closed-room crime involving witches, magic, and two non-magical sisters.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsLunar New Year Love StoryGene Luen YangVietnamese American high-school student Valentina hopes to find romantic love despite a curse in her family. This graphic novel follows her search for a relationship while bringing together questions of fate, family, and heartbreak. It includes occasional Vietnamese and Korean, alongside color illustrations. Valentina’s journey unfolds across her high-school years as she tries to make room for love in the shadow of the family curse.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
The Maid and the Crocodile: A Novel in the World of RaybearerJordan IfuekoIn the capital city of Oluwan, which is described as saturated with magic, Small Sade looks for employment as a maid. Her search is affected by her distinctive appearance and an unlucky foot, so she seeks employers willing to accept both. The description identifies her as having come from the country and places her job hunt in Oluwan, the capital.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsMake My Wish Come TrueRachael LippincottArden James, a teen actor whose reckless reputation appears in tabloids, loses an audition for her dream role. She and her publicist create a relationship story to improve that image, requiring Arden to return home for the holidays after four years away. Caroline Beckett, Arden’s former best friend and first crush, has spent those years building a portfolio for a journalism program while insisting she has no interest in Arden’s life.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsMamie Phipps Clark, Champion for ChildrenLynette Mawhinney, illustrated by Neil EvansThe graphic-novel biography introduces Mamie Phipps Clark as both a psychologist and a civil-rights activist. It focuses on her research into Black children’s racial identity and sense of self. The account connects that research with the landmark Brown v. case, identifying it as work that later had an important role in the case. Written by Lynette Mawhinney, it centers Clark’s research and activism.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
The Moon Won’t TalkMorgan HowellSet in 1966, the novel follows George Parker, a secluded teenager with an active imagination, during a summer in Eden, South Carolina. He expects to spend the season with Buster, his dog, comic books, a bicycle called Lightning, and a fishing rod. Those expectations shift when Gerard Free arrives at the deteriorating mansion next door. Eden’s outwardly peaceful old Southern setting contains an element of magic.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsOnly for the HolidaysAbiola BelloOnly for the Holidays is a young-adult romance structured around a fake-dating relationship. Tia Solanké is a city girl who dreads the festive season. At Christmas, her life intersects with a country boy's. Their different city and country lives meet during the holiday season. Abiola Bello is the book's author; its publisher is Soho Press, Incorporated, and its publication date is 2024-10-08.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Encanto: Nightmares and SueñosAlex SeguraSeventeen-year-old Bruno returns to Casita in this story set in the world of Disney’s Encanto. He feels out of place beside his more outgoing sister Pepa and friendlier sister Julieta, and he struggles to find where he belongs. Bruno’s ability to see the future makes connection harder when people dislike what his visions tell them. The novel explores events that led others to avoid speaking about him.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsOut of Left FieldJonah NewmanOut of Left Field is a semi-autobiographical LGBTQ+ graphic novel about a gay teen who enters his high-school baseball team. He prefers history class and nerdy movies, and he struggles athletically. His decision to join the team may be connected to Elliot, the shortstop he finds attractive. The book considers friendship, self-discovery, and both successes and regrets within high school.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeLexile Text Measure 640LATOS Book Level 4.1View book detailsPerfect Little MonstersCindy R. X. HeAt Sierton High School, the school’s most popular girl is murdered. Her friends become suspects in her death, and every one of them has a reason to want her dead. The murdered student, Ella Moore, was not only popular but also widely disliked. The book centers on the investigation surrounding her death and the suspicions directed toward the people closest to her at school.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsPossible HappinessDavid EbenbachPossible Happiness centers on Jacob Wasserman, an eleventh-grader who is simply trying to cope. He keeps to himself and spends weekends alone at home, turning to television and video games for distraction. The weight he is carrying is identified as depression. The book depicts his isolated routine and the ways he tries to direct his attention away from his mental-health struggle.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsThe Rez DoctorGitz Crazyboy, illustrated by Veronika Barinova, Azby Whitecalf, Toben RacicotRyan Fox does well in school but does not know what future to pursue. Meeting a Blackfoot doctor at a school assembly inspires him to consider becoming a doctor. At university, distance from his family and Siksikaitsitapi community leaves him without their support. Under growing stress, he begins partying, loses focus on his responsibilities, and sees his grades fall as he studies.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
The Salt Thief: Gandhi’s Heroic March to FreedomNeal BascombSet in 1930 under British colonial rule in India, this account follows Mohandas Gandhi as he sees a chance to seek freedom for his people. He and a small group leave his western Indian ashram and travel to the Arabian Sea. Their journey lasts 24 days, covers 241 miles in intense heat, and ends at Dandi’s shore, where the marchers arrive together.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Sleep Like DeathKalynn BayronQueen’s Bridge has endured generations of an evil knight whose sorcery deceives and harms the queen’s subjects at vulnerable moments. Eve can summon weapons from the natural world, a magical ability that makes her able to oppose him. Near her seventeenth birthday, she prepares to fight. The conflict places Eve’s power against the knight’s longstanding threat to the land and its people.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsStephen KingBev VincentBev Vincent presents a chronological young-readers biography of Stephen King, tracing his life and writing from work created at age six through his first professional sale at twenty and into his later career. Photographs and sidebars provide further context on adaptations, graphic novels, and the influences connected with his work and career.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Such Charming LiarsKaren M. McManusKat has grown up with only her mother, Jamie, apart from Jamie’s brief marriage, which made Liam her stepbrother. After the divorce, Kat and Liam stop speaking. Jamie, a jewel thief trying to leave that life behind, accepts one final assignment at billionaire Ross Sutherland’s birthday celebration, and Kat finds a way to join her. Unexpected visitors arrive at the family compound, while a heist puts the estranged step-siblings’ survival on their trust in one another.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeLexile Text Measure HL740LATOS Book Level 4.7View book detailsTransformers: Robots In DisguiseDaniel Warren Johnson, illustrated by Daniel Warren Johnson, Mike SpicerTransformers: Robots in Disguise brings together the first six comics in Daniel Warren Johnson’s series, colored by Mike Spicer. A crash strands the Autobots and Decepticons on Earth, with Cybertron’s fate uncertain. Their renewed war shifts allegiances and endangers the planet. Optimus Prime is positioned as humanity’s vital chance to endure. The book begins the Transformers portion of the Energon Universe.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsTriggerC.G. MooreWritten as a verse novel, Trigger follows Jay, a teenage boy who wakes up in a park after an attack, injured and bruised. He has been sexually assaulted and struggles to remember the attack. The book addresses Jay’s effort to make sense of what happened to him. It is an LGBTQIA+ story told in verse, centered on a teenager dealing with the aftermath of assault.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
Twelfth KnightAlexene Farol FollmuthViola Reyes finds escape in the online game Twelfth Knight, where she plays as Cesario, a highly accomplished player. At school, she and Jack Orsino serve on student council, though Vi carries much of its work. After an injury leaves Jack homebound, he enters the game and joins Cesario on a quest. When he learns the player attends his school, Vi claims Cesario is her twin brother, Bash. Offline, a bargain over student-council work draws Vi and Jack closer.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsVoid Rivals: More Than Meets The EyeRobert Kirkman, illustrated by Lorenzo De Felici, Matheus LopesThe blockbuster Oblivion Song team of ROBERT KIRKMAN and LORENZO DE FELICI launch an all-new shared universe connected to the Transformers and G.I. Joe!The Energon Universe starts here!Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book detailsThe White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and PowerTerry J. Benton-WalkerThe White Guy Dies First gathers thirteen horror stories by authors of color. Its scenarios include killer clowns, a hungry hedge maze, wealthy bored children, friendly cannibals, impossible slashers, and dead people who remain active. Other stories feature a museum curator who rejects diasporic inaccuracies, a girl’s diary of happy thoughts, and an old house seeking permanent friends. The anthology frames its tales around fear, power, and surviving the first kill.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details
The WordMary G. ThompsonLisa DeAndreis is taken by her father at seven and brought up within Citizens of the Word, a controlling religious group. When she is returned to her mother, she faces the beliefs that shaped her childhood alongside life outside the community. Alternating timelines trace her effort to reconcile those experiences and form her own understanding. The novel addresses family relationships, manipulation, abuse, and personal agency.Librarian Favorites — 9th–12th GradeView book details