List

Category
Audience
Tags
"One Girl's Voice" by Vivian Kirkfield

One Girl's Voice

Vivian Kirkfield

Eureka! Nonfiction Silver Honor Award (California Reading Association)

Suffragist and abolitionist Lucy Stone, a pioneer in the 19th century’s two greatest movements for equality, finds her voice in this STEAM picture book for budding activists.

Lucy Stone grew up in a world where men’s voices rang out, but women swallowed their words. When her church’s minister railed against women speaking in public, Lucy made up her mind that when she grew up, “if she had anything to say, she would say it!”

Forced to learn to debate and give speeches in secret, Lucy used her voice to pave the way for others, becoming one of the 19th century’s great advocates for women’s rights and the abolition of slavery.

In this engaging nonfiction book, Vivian Kirkfield’s passionate text and Rebecca Gibbon’s playful illustrations combine to encourage readers to find their own voices to speak up for what they believe in.

View Details
"You Were Made for This World" by Stephanie Sinclair and Sara Sinclair

You Were Made for This World

Stephanie Sinclair

FOUR STARRED REVIEWS! • A joyful, proud and groundbreaking collection of letters and art for young people, You Were Made for This World brings together celebrated Indigenous voices from across Turtle Island.

Every young person deserves the chance to feel like they belong, that they are recognized, that they matter. In the spirit of A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader, You Were Made for This World brings together forty Indigenous writers, artists, activists, athletes, scholars and thinkers with a joint purpose: to celebrate the potential of young people, to share a sense of joy and pride in language, traditional and personal stories and teachings, and shared experiences, and to honor young people for who they are and what they dream of.

Including contributions from activist Autumn Peltier, singer/songwriter Tanya Tagaq, hockey player Ethan Bear, Governor General's Award–winning author David A. Robertson, artists Chief Lady Bird and Christi Belcourt, illustrator Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley, and dozens of others, this beautifully collaborative collection urges readers to think about who they are, where they come from and where they're going, with a warm familiarity that will inspire you to see yourself and your community with proud eyes.

Also includes a ribbon bookmark.

View Details
"Schooled" by Jamie Sumner

Schooled

Jamie Sumner

A “insightful and absorbing” (Shelf Awareness, starred review) novel from acclaimed author Jamie Sumner about new schools, unexpected friendships, and overcoming loss.

Eleven-year-old Lenny Syms is about to start college—sort of. As part of a brand-new experimental school, Lenny and four other students are starting sixth grade on a university campus, where they’ll be taught by the most brilliant professors and given every resource imaginable. This new school is pretty weird, though. Instead of hunkering down behind a desk to study math, science, and history, Lenny finds himself meditating, participating in discussions where you don’t even have to raise your hand, and spying on the campus population in the name of anthropology.

But Lenny just lost his mom, and his Latin professor dad is better with dead languages than actual human beings. Lenny doesn’t want to be part of some learning experiment. He just wants to be left alone. Yet if Lenny is going to make it as a middle schooler on a college campus, he’s going to need help. Is a group of misfit sixth graders and one particularly quirky professor enough to pull him out of his sadness and back into the world?

View Details
"Maggie and the Story Shadows" by Annabelle Oh

Maggie and the Story Shadows

Annabelle Oh

Land of Stories meets From the Desk of Zoe Washington in this fantastical middle grade mystery where three kids' search for a missing mother leads them to a world where every story ever told is real-making a hit web series about their search along the way.

Five months ago, Maggie Woodrow's mom disappeared without a trace. Now, the world has given up the search and Maggie and her dad may lose their house. But Maggie has a plan- hire a private investigator, find her mom, and everything will go back to normal.

When the private investigator wants $3,000 to take on Maggie's case, she knows just who to turn to- Griffin, the school's entrepreneur-influencer. Maggie and her friend Petra approach him for help. Intrigued by Maggie's mom's story, Griffin agrees to film the investigation and create a web series, splitting the profits with Maggie.

Except their search takes a totally unexpected turn when they are sucked into a world where every story ever told is real-and so is magic. From Sherlock Holmes to Baba Yaga to terrifying mythical monsters, Maggie and her new friends never know what's around the corner. Still, they are determined to work together and uncover the truth about Maggie's mom.

As Maggie, Griffin, and Petra close in on the answers they seek, a mysterious (and dangerous) man known as The Reaper sends increasingly deadly threats after them. Will they find Maggie's mom? Or will their own disappearance become the latest mystery?

View Details
"Aarzu All Around" by Marzieh Abbas

Aarzu All Around

Marzieh Abbas

“Heartfelt and triumphant.” —Rajani LaRocca, Newbery Honor–winning Author of Red, White, and Whole

A cricket-loving Pakistani girl stifled by patriarchal expectations disguises herself as a boy to get a job to pay her sister’s medical bills in this “lyrical action-packed debut full of determination and grit” (Reem Faruqi, award-winning author of Golden Girl).

Living with her aunt and patriarchal uncle in Karachi, Pakistan, recently orphaned twelve-year-old Aarzu detests the way she and her younger sister get treated like extras and excluded from all the fun stuff. Aarzu dreams of playing cricket, just like her male cousins and the neighborhood boys in the streets, but her uncle will hear nothing of it. According to him, girls ought to master the art of making round rotis, not play sports.

When her sister requires urgent medical treatment but finances are tight, Aarzu decides to earn money herself. She hears of a part-time job at a bungalow near her school—but it’s only open to boys. Aarzu has no choice but to disguise herself as a turban-wearing boy to get the gig.

Now, Aarzu must find a way to balance school, work, chores, and secret cricket practices—all without burning out or getting caught by her uncle—or else her dreams of making the girls cricket team and her quest to save her sister will crumble around her.

View Details
"In the World of Whales" by Michelle Cusolito

In the World of Whales

Michelle Cusolito

Plunge deep into the awe-inspiring true story of a freediver's encounter with a newborn sperm whale and its family.

When a freediver (one who dives without the benefit of oxygen) slips underwater, he encounters a pod of sperm whales so close he can almost touch them. When he sees blood in the water, he wonders if there's been an injury. When he comes even closer, what he finds instead is a moments-old calf, skin wrinkly and tail fluke still folded from the womb. 

The calf's family nudges it up to breathe; nudges it toward each member of the pod, by way of introduction; and then it happens--the mother nudges her child toward the diver, inviting him, too, to share in the family moment. 

Told from the vantage point of Belgian freediver Fred Buyle, who with his diving partner Kurt Amsler are the only people known to be present at the birth of a sperm whale, In the World of Whales features lyrical-yet-precise text by Michelle Cusolito and dreamlike illustrations by Jessica Lanan, creator of the Sibert Honor book Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider. Any child who dreams of speaking to animals will adore this proof of humanity's bond with the wild world. At the end of the story, find more information about freediving and whales.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

View Details
"The Biggest Dog in the Book" by Ben Lerwill

The Biggest Dog in the Book

Ben Lerwill

Dogs of all shapes and sizes star this delightful book, but which of them is the biggest?

From tiny Chihuahua Agnes who loves to burrow beneath cushions, to Holly the Collie, who loves chasing her tail; from Popcorn the Beagle with the very waggly tail, to Poncho the friendly Dalmatian, this book contains a pack of adorable dogs. Each is special in their own way, but which of them is the BIGGEST dog in the book?

With a gatefold that opens out to show just how huge the biggest dog is, this gorgeous book compares lots of different dogs, showing how each is lovable in their own way, but only one of them can be the biggest.

Written by award-winning author Ben Lerwill and illustrated by prize-winning artist Mark Chambers, this book will appeal to all kids who have a dog, any kid that wants a dog, and everyone who loves animals.

View Details
"Fish Fry Friday" by Winsome Bingham

Fish Fry Friday

Winsome Bingham

In this mouthwatering companion to Soul Food Sunday, a child joins his grandmother in catching and cooking to prepare for the family’s fish fry.

Fish Fry Friday is the perfect follow-up to Soul Food Sunday, a beloved Coretta Scott King Book Award Illustrator Honor Book.

One special Friday when school is closed, our narrator finally gets to join Granny for her day’s routine. Rods and reels, lures and lines, bobbers and baits are packed in Granny’s Jeep.

Everyone cheers when Granny arrives at the pier—“the queen has arrived!” After reeling in the perfect catch together, they carefully scale and skin, cut and gut, batter and fry the fish into beautiful filets.

But the family meal isn’t complete until Grandson adds his own special side dish to the table—made just like Granny taught Momma, and like Momma taught him.

On Friday evenings, we go to Granny’s for a fish fry.
And on Friday mornings, Granny fishes.
This Friday, “You coming fishing with me,” Granny says.

View Details
"Aggie and the Ghost" by Matthew Forsythe

Aggie and the Ghost

Matthew Forsythe

A New York Magazine Best New Book for Kids
A LitHub Most Anticipated Children’s Book of 2025
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of the Year

“This might be a perfect picture book.” —Quill & Quire (starred review) 

A solitary child and her rule-breaking ghost roommate learn the value of compromise in this cheeky picture book. —Shelf Awareness (starred review)

“A book that captures the dance of unlikely bonds and a way to move from a place of acceptance.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

From Matthew Forsythe, the creator of the acclaimed and beloved Pokko and the Drum, comes a “subtle, sweet” (Booklist, starred review) picture book about rules. And sharing. And an epic game of tic-tac-toe.

Aggie is very excited to live on her own—until she finds out her new house is haunted. But no fear, the situation is nothing that can’t be fixed with a carefully considered list of rules: No haunting after dark. No stealing socks. No eating all the food.

But the ghost doesn’t like playing by the rules and challenges Aggie to an epic game of tic-tac-toe—winner gets the house.

View Details
"CeeCee" by Shana Keller

CeeCee

Shana Keller

A Cinderella retelling with a young enslaved girl in the title role. On a Maryland plantation, CeeCee’s story doesn’t end with a prince, but a different type of rescue.

By author-to-watch Shana Keller and illustrated by Coretta Scott King Honor and NAACP Image Award winner Laura Freeman, this classic fairy tale reimagined is one you won’t soon forget.

CeeCee is a young enslaved girl growing up alongside the two spoiled daughters she must work for on a plantation in Maryland. She takes care of them, catering to their every whim and suffering their casual cruelty. She learns to read by listening to their lessons and stories with the threat of punishment if caught.

CeeCee receives help from the caring cook, Binty, and hope comes in the form of a different kind of escape. CeeCee chances everything for the possibility of a new life.

While many are familiar with the traditional Cinderella story, this retelling is sure to empower and uplift a new generation of young readers.

View Details