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A few September release graphic novels that teens and tweens will enjoy.
Several recent incidents highlight the need for more informed and compassionate policies when it comes to tweens in the public library.
This cadre is made up of Latinx women and non-binary creators with debut and sophomore fictional books for children and teens releasing between Fall 2018–2019.
Betsy Bird reveals what happens when a supporting character from an earlier title takes the lead in a new middle grade novel.
Titles by such esteemed creators as Yuyi Morales, Raúl Colón, and others.
How can educators incorporate materials that explore empathy and encourage social and emotional development? An educator has some suggestions.
Betsy Bird talks to Ellen Klages about her new middle grade book, Out of Left Field, which takes feminism to the sports world.
Cassy Lee ignites diversity awareness at the Chinese American International School in San Francisco.
When it comes to questions about climate change, it’s imperative that we urge children and teens to seek answers that enlighten, inspire, and stimulate them to get involved as responsible inhabitants of this planet.
Six recent titles that will entice even the most nonfiction-resistant readers.
Three titles with music-themes perfect for booktalking, displays, and programs.
Librarians are helping to foster a productive exchange of ideas among students.
Gr 4 to 8 –T’Challa is the prince of Wakanda. He grew up with his father, Black Panther. When things heat up at home, his father sends him to America for safety with his friend M’Baku.
A bilingual book on bullying opens important conversations; quirky Spindrift must solve her late parents' mysterious quest; Vrabel's newest "Dork" offering.
Gr 5-8 –It’s 1486, and orphan Lambert Simnel is eking out an existence as a kitchen scullion at Tackley’s Tavern in Oxford, England.
Gr 3-6 –In August 1628, the Vasa, a massive, opulently decorated Swedish navy warship, was ready to launch. Commissioned by Sweden’s king and having taken more than two years to build, she was loaded with weaponry and crafted to strike fear into all enemies.
Gr 3-6 –Nora’s life changed forever when she lost her father and home in a fire.
Gr 4-7 –Summertime in small-town Indiana only heightens 10-year-old Caleb’s frustrations with feeling ordinary.
Gr 3-6 –The Knights of the Round Table share a secret: they spend most of their time fighting with each other for the fun of it because the kingdom has too few dragons to battle.
The video game Fortnite is officially a full-blown craze—and gaming events are a great way to bring teens into the library this summer.
Gr 5-8 –Felix Knutsson lived in four different homes before calling a van his home.
Gr 6-9 –An eye-opening journey through Eleanor Roosevelt’s life, career, and social justice work.
Gr 4-7 –This middle grade story, set in Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico, pulls together important themes of family, identity, bilingualism, friends, and bullying.
Gr 6-8 –An adapted version of Guerrero’s Alex Award–winning In the Country We Love: My Family Divided for middle schoolers.
The 25 books here have received glowing reviews from SLJ throughout the previous year.
25 summer-themed titles for tweens and teens for reading all year 'round.
We rounded up picture books, middle grade novels, and YA titles from the past year that either center the Caribbean American experience or are written by authors of Caribbean descent.
Gr 5-8 –Amal is an inquisitive young girl living with her family in a Punjabi village in rural Pakistan.
Did you catch our behind-the-scenes live video chats with book creators during Book Expo? In case you missed them, we've rounded up some of our recent talks with Kwame Alexander, Eoin Colfer, Ngozi Ukazu, and more.
The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge By M.T. Anderson Illustrated by Eugene Yelchin Candlewick Press $24.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-9822-5 Ages 10 and up On shelves September 25th In my job I read a lot of books written for kids and middle schoolers. To guide this reading I take into account a lot of professional reviews from sources […]
Publisher’s description From the New York Times bestselling author of Rump, comes the true story behind another unlikely hero: a grumpy dwarf who gets tangled up in Snow White’s feud with the wicked queen. Ever since he was a dwarfling, Borlen (nicknamed “Grump”) has dreamed of visiting The Surface, so when opportunity knocks, he leaves his cavern home […]
Dummie the mummy makes a friend and starts life anew in this month's middle grade Xpress.
Gr 4-7 –It’s 1940, the beginning of the Blitz, and 13-year-old Kenneth Sparks is selected to go to Canada as part of a program to send British children to the safety of the U.K.’s overseas dominions
Publisher’s description A coming-of-age middle-grade graphic novel about summer and friendships, written and illustrated by the Eisner Award–winning and New York Times–bestselling Hope Larson. Thirteen-year-old Bina has a long summer ahead of her. She and her best friend, Austin, usually do everything together, but he’s off to soccer camp for a month, and he’s been acting […]
Gr 5-7 –Many have seen videos of humans in panda suits tending to the needs of smaller, actual pandas, and they may have asked, why are they dressed that way?
When Flossmoor Public Library (IL) initiated a new policy requiring tweens and teens to show student ID in order to use the library, the response from the library community was swift and largely negative. Now, administrators are taking a second look at the policy and figuring out more equitable ways to manage their boisterous young patrons.
Messner discusses the real-life inspiration behind Breakout and how she collaborated to craft thoughtful, authentic characters.
You can’t really peg Vera Brosgol to one type of book; she has such a variety of titles on her resume. While Anya’s Ghost has been a staple in my library’s graphic novel collection for a few years, her newest full-length graphic novel doesn’t fall into the same genre. Rather, librarians, booksellers, and teachers might […]
Gr 5-7 –Thirteen-year-old Gus is a white boy from Nowhere. Literally. Nowhere, AZ: population depressed, poverty-stricken, and stagnant.
The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl By Stacy McAnulty Random House Books for Young Readers $16.99 ISBN: 9781524767570 Ages 9-12 On shelves now The world would have us believe that the left brained and right brained amongst us can never see eye-to-eye. Think about it. How many times have you heard a perfectly intelligent person say […]
Looking for titles to highlight in May for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month? These 20 works, from recent award winners to debut middle grade outings, cover a diverse array of genres, time periods, and formats.
Seven nonfiction titles for young historians, scientists, and entrepreneurs.
A mix of genre fiction and stirring realistic tales for middle grade readers.
The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoefer and the Plot to Kill Hitler By John Hendrix Amulet Books (an imprint of Abrams) $16.99 ISBN: 978-1-4197-2838-9 Ages 10 and up On shelves September 4th In this life, it can be difficult to find absolutes. Absolute good. Absolute evil. Absolute good in the face of absolute evil. For many […]
Gr 4-6 –Lou Bulosan-Nelson’s dream is to build a tiny house—a structure of only 100 square feet—on a plot of land that she inherited from her deceased father, who passed away before she was born.
Gr 4-7 –Byx has always thought of herself as last: last-born sibling, the youngest in her whole family, and least adept at all the skills valued by the caninelike “dairnes.”
Gr 3-6 –Five years ago, Livy left her friend Bob, who she describes as a zombielike creature, in the closet of her grandmother’s house in Australia without saying goodbye.
A young baseball player loses his lucky charm but gains an important lesson; Smibert's magical middle grade exploration of WW II–era Appalachia.
The former Poet Laureate of the United States reveals deep truths while discussing his latest collection for young people.
Gr 4-6 –This touching verse novel begins with Jett headed to the East Coast to stay with his grandmother for the summer.
Publisher’s description Caroline Murphy is a Hurricane Child. Being born during a hurricane is unlucky, and twelve-year-old Caroline has had her share of bad luck lately. She’s hated and bullied by everyone in her small school on St. Thomas of the US Virgin Islands, a spirit only she can see won’t stop following her, and […]
Gr 3-6 –The lovable robot, Roz (The Wild Robot), was last seen being ripped away from her goose son, Brightbill, and hauled unwillingly back to the factory for the Makers to repair and reassign her.
Gr 3-6 –Seventh grader Aru should never have lit the ancient lamp.
Gr 4-6 –A spine-tingling dark fantasy about the power of facing down fears and choosing your own fate.
The Journey of Little Charlie By Christopher Paul Curtis Scholastic Press $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-545-15666-0 For ages 9 and up On shelves now I don’t know Christopher Paul Curtis personally, but if I had to harbor a guess I’d say he’s the type of author that doesn’t like to make things too easy for himself. That’s […]
Publisher’s description A heartbreaking—yet ultimately uplifting—epistolary novel about family, religion, and having the courage to be yourself. Evie is heartbroken when her strict Catholic parents send her pregnant sister, Cilla, away to stay with a distant great-aunt. All Evie wants is for her older sister to come back. Forbidden from speaking to Cilla, Evie […]
Beetle Boy returns to save the day; the "Pizza Rat" meme for middle graders; and a bilingual title about a fourth grader with a heart of gold.
Gr 4-6 –When 12-year-old Della finds her mom digging black seeds from a watermelon in the middle of the night, she worries that the schizophrenia that put her mom in the hospital several years ago is back.
Publisher’s description Welcome to Daniel Boone Middle School in the 1970s, where teachers and coaches must hide who they are, and girls who like girls are forced to question their own choices. Presented in the voice of a premier storyteller, One True Way sheds exquisite light on what it means to be different, while at the same […]
Publisher’s description MEET KIRANMALA: INTERDIMENSIONAL DEMON SLAYER (Only she doesn’t know it yet.) On the morning of her twelfth birthday, Kiranmala is just a regular sixth grader living in Parsippany, New Jersey . . . until her parents mysteriously vanish and a drooling rakkhosh demon slams through her kitchen, determined to eat her alive. Turns […]
Gr 4-6 –Nora and Lizzie have grown up in Wolf Creek, a small town where Nora’s father is superintendent of the maximum security prison.
A bevy of 2018 YMA winners and forthcoming 2018 middle grade and YA titles to excite readers.
Nonfiction survival stories remain a popular genre for tweens. These seven titles offer unique perspectives and riveting adventure.
Gr 4-6 –McAnulty (Brave) makes a big splash with this series opener. Twelve-year-old Lucy, a.k.a. Lightning Girl, has been homeschooled by her grandmother since she was eight; she’s been a math genius ever since she was hit by lightning and survived.
Publisher’s description Bugs, of all kinds, were considered to be “born of mud” and to be “beasts of the devil.” Why would anyone, let alone a girl, want to study and observe them? One of the first naturalists to observe live insects directly, Maria Sibylla Merian was also one of the first to document the […]
A well-conceived guide to teaching nonfiction, chock-full of book suggestions
Gr 5-8 –The day before 13-year-old drummer Melly heads to Camp Rockaway, her parents drop a bombshell: They’re getting divorced.
A adventurous middle grade debut centers an super-galactic heroine in this month's Xpress.
Gr 5-8 –When her mother passes away from cancer, middle-schooler Wavie B. Conley comes under the care of Samantha Rose, the cruel aunt she’s never met.
Gr 5-8 –Nisha writes to her Muslim mother, who died giving birth to her and her twin brother, Amil, in a diary she receives on their 12th birthday.
Gr 5-8 –The Allied powers have lost World War II. The United States, now sliced into pieces held by Japan, Italy, and Germany exists under strictly enforced racial and social hierarchies.
Gr 5-7 –On her 12th birthday, Kiranmala gets a lot more than she expected: a rakkhosh (an Indian demon) roars onto her home, wanting to eat her; even more surprising, a set of handsome princes arrive to help her escape.
Gr 5 Up –Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley, Clare Clairmont, and Dr. John Polidori are all sitting around the fireplace on a stormy night. The goal of the night’s assemblage is to “tell a ghost story that will terrify the assembled company.”
It hasn’t been an outstanding year for graphic format works with Printz potential — but a handful of books either have some buzz or have some potential, even if none of them are likely to be serious contenders. So read on for an alphabetical listing of graphic novels that might maybe could (but probably won’t) […]
Gr 4-8 –The Towers Falling author once again tackles a timely yet difficult subject.
Gr 5-8 –Oversized like an ox, 12-year-old Charlie Bobo and his sharecropper parents eke out a living on the Tanner Plantation deep in South Carolina in 1858.
In an effort to make our coverage of Black History Month a more nuanced and valuable experience, we'll be posting several related roundups throughout January and February.
When planning for student book clubs, don't forget about nonfiction, says librarian Jennifer Wharton.
Gr 3-5 –When Stella was a baby, her family moved from Mexico City to Arlington Heights, near Chicago, where Stella still lives with her divorced mother and supportive older brother.
Gr 3-5 –The year was 1987 and a ship full of trash was about to become famous. This is the engaging, humorous, and entirely true story of the 1987 Garbage Barge and its world-traveling adventure.
Gr 4-6 –A sweet story of a first crush and being stuck in the middle.
Gr 4-6 –Twelve-year-old Caroline and her father live on Water Island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Caroline, known as a “Hurricane Child,” since she was born during a hurricane, is plagued with bad luck.
Gr 3-6 –Morris and Brown share the story of their daughter, 12-year-old Maddie, a charming young lady who loves mustaches, potatoes, and performing on stage—especially while wearing a mustache!
Not a particularly complete list, or a very long one. Yet for 2017 these were the books that left a lasting impression on my little noggin. I read ’em. I liked ’em, every last one. I think they’re the bee’s knees. And I hope you like them too. Fiction for the masses! 2017 Middle Grade […]
Gr 3-7–The term “refugee” is constantly in the news. In direct response, Gratz gets personal with desensitizing statistics, policies, and politics by giving names, families, and histories to three tweens fleeing three countries during three time periods.
Gr 4-6 –Part historical fiction, part critical problem-solving exercise, part suspenseful mystery, this story weaves through the past and present of one town’s struggle with hatred and racism.
Gr 5-8 –Under the tutelage of her stepfather, artist Jacob Marrel, young teen Maria Sibylla Merian developed her artistic talent and found ways to combine it with her interest and careful observation of caterpillars, moths, and butterflies.
When librarian Jennifer Wharton began weeding the 900s section of the children's library, she discovered that her history and biography sections were in dire need of updating. She took it as an opportunity to seek out books that offered different—and much needed—perspectives.
These five food-themed chapter books are perfect inspiration to get kids engaged in kitchen-based learning.
Four relaxing and stress-relieving activities that tweens can do in (or around) the library.
Abbott discusses his latest book and the need for fiction that addresses the all-too-often ignored subject of child sexual abuse.
Gr 4-6 –When their grandmother ends up in the emergency room, 11-year-old Ivy and her 14-year-old brother Seb are whisked into a secret underground city called Lundinor hidden beneath streets of London.
Like many of you (I’m guessing), I keep multiple reading-related lists. I keep track of what I read each year. I keep track of what ARCs I’ve gotten and hope to read. I keep track of what books I either want to get when they come out or hope to track down as ARCs but haven’t […]
Gr 4-6 –An online Scrabble game is more than a pastime, it’s a lifeline for middle schoolers Charlotte and Ben: both children are coping with heartache.
Gr 5-8 –Twelve-year-old Wallace, whom everyone calls Lolly, resides in Harlem with his mother. His older brother’s recent gang-related murder has left Lolly with raw, unresolved emotions.
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