The very best books for kids from 1922 to the present.
New Kid
Middle schooler Jordan Banks had hoped to attend art school, but mom sends him to a private prep school where he is one of a handful of black kids. No one at Riverdale Academy Day School is openly hostile towards him for his race, but he deals with a series of microaggressions, like being called the name of another black student, or everyone looking at him when the teacher is discussing students on financial aid. Craft mixes humor with heart in this hilarious yet thoughtful graphic novel.
Merci Suárez Changes Gears
Winner of the 2019 Newbery Medal, this is the coming of age story of Merci Suarez, sixth grader. Things are complicated at school because she's a scholarship kid, and she's now the target of a school mate's jealousy. At home, her beloved grandfather Lolo has begun to forget things and isn't acting like himself. Merci navigates these significant events in her life with humor and spirit.
Hello, Universe
Grades 4 - 7
The Crossover
(Gr. 4-6) Fourteen-year-old twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their father ignores his declining health.
The Graveyard Book
Nobody Owens is a normal boy, except that he has been raised by ghosts and other denizens of the graveyard.
The higher power of Lucky
Fearing that her legal guardian plans to abandon her to return to France, ten-year-old aspiring scientist Lucky Trimble determines to run away while also continuing to seek the Higher Power that will bring stability to her life.
Bud, Not Buddy
Gr. 4 and up. 10-year-old Bud escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of a man he believes is his father, renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway. Winner of the 2000 Newbery Medal.
Dear Mr. Henshaw
In his letters to his favorite author, ten-year-old Leigh reveals his problems in coping with his parents' divorce, being the new boy in school, and generally finding his own place in the world.
A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Left alone on a beautiful but isolated island off the coast of California, a young Indian girl spends eighteen years, not only merely surviving through her enormous courage and self-reliance, but also finding a measure of happiness in her solitary life.