Reviews+

These four contemporary and historical fiction middle grade titles center LGBTQIA+ characters who fight to live authentically across time, and serve as important reminders that mantras like “protect trans kids” require both words and action.

SLJ and NCTE collaborated to create 18 booklists of titles to replace, or use as a companion to, canon "classics." 

These 15 books restore the urgency and excitement of history while highlighting the marginalized voices that have so often been written out of established curricula.

Pluto, the main character of Melleby's How I Became a Planet, just wants to love things again like she used to. Depression changes her, but with a support system and time, Pluto knows she will be okay. 

Starry-eyed characters follow their passions in three middle grade novels for kids excited about the Disney+ film adapted from Tim Federle's novel.

Climate justice is at the forefront of youth activism. The following 19 titles illustrate what is happening on the individual and collective scale—highlighting not only the youths’ struggles but also what they are fighting for.

While there is no substitute for comprehensive mental health care treatment, many young readers may discover comfort, validation, and the strength to ask for help in the pages of these books. 

Families can be complicated, and when parents split up, it can be difficult for children to process this major shift in their lives. These three titles center on tweens dealing with parental divorce or separation, across varying circumstances and genre.

Superheroes and alternate dimensions disrupt everyday life in these rollicking books for readers grade 4 and up.