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In 1930s San Antonio, thirteen-year-old Petra dreams of going to college and becoming a writer. But with her beloved father dead, two younger siblings to care for, and with a stepmother struggling to make ends meet, Petra has to drop out of school to shell pecans at a factory. Hoping it’s only temporary, she tries not to despair over the grueling work conditions. But after the unhealthy environment leads to tragedy and workers’ already low wages are cut, Petra knows things need to change. She and her coworkers go on strike for higher wages and safer conditions, risking everything they have for the hope of a better future.

An adventure story about a son and his father who set out to win land during the Oklahoma Land Rush — if they can survive the journey. It’s 1889, barely twenty-five years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and a young Black family is tired of working on land they don’t get to own.
 So when Will and his father hear about an upcoming land rush, they set out on a journey from Texas to Oklahoma, racing thousands of others to the place where land is free — if they can get to it fast enough. But the journey isn’t easy — the terrain is rough, the bandits are brutal, and every interaction carries a heavy undercurrent of danger. And then there’s the stranger they encounter and befriend: a mysterious soldier named Caesar, whose Union emblem brings more attention and more trouble than any of them need. All three are propelled by the promise of something long denied to them: freedom, land ownership, and a place to call home — but is a strong will enough to get them there? 

A chilling middle grade novel about a girl haunted by a hungry ghost. Molly Teng sees things no one else can. By touching the belongings of people who have died, she gets brief glimpses into the lives they lived. Sometimes the “zaps” are funny or random, but often they leave her feeling sad, drained, and lonely. The last thing Jade remembers from life is dying. That was over one hundred years ago. Ever since then she’s been trapped in the same house watching people move in and out. She’s a ‘hungry ghost’ reliant on the livings’ food scraps to survive. To most people she is only a shadow, a ghost story, a superstition. Molly is not most people. When she moves into Jade’s house, nothing will ever be the same ― for either of them. After over a century alone, Jade might finally have someone who can help her uncover the secrets of her past, and maybe even find a way out of the house.

Sage’s thirteenth birthday was supposed to be about movies and treats, staying up late with her best friend and watching the sunrise together. Instead, it was the day her best friend died. Without the person she had to hold her secrets and dream with, Sage is lost. In a counseling group with other girls who have lost someone close to them, she learns that not all losses are the same, and healing isn’t predictable. There is sadness, loneliness, anxiety, guilt, pain, love. And even as Sage grieves, new, good things enter her life ― and she just may find a way to know that she can feel it all. In accessible, engaging verse and prose, this is a story of a girl’s journey to heal, grow, and forgive herself. To read it is to see how many shades there are in grief, and to know that someone understands.

Most of us have heard of Helen Keller, but few have heard of Laura Bridgman. Left blind and deaf in her childhood in the 1830’s, Bridgman attended school and taught Helen’s teacher, Annie Sullivan, to fingerspell. When she was just two years old, Laura Bridgman lost her sight, her hearing, and most of her senses of smell and taste. At the time, no one believed a child with such severe disabilities could be taught to communicate, much less lead a full and productive life. But then a progressive doctor, who had just opened the country’s first school for the blind in Boston, took her in. Laura learned to communicate, read, and write — and eventually even to teach. By the age of 12, she was world famous. Audiences flocked to see her, and she was loved and admired by children everywhere. This fascinating and moving biography shows how Laura Bridgman paved the way for future generations of children with disabilities, making possible important advances in the way they would be educated. 

Dramatic descriptions of the eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Tambora in the early 19th century open this compelling story of Earth’s warning signs, often left unheeded by humankind. This is the true story of how a massive catastrophic eruption plunged the world into darkness, altering the global climate and inspiring the likes of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Black and white sketches enhance the compelling presentation which is fully sourced and documented.

A dream inspires Okan the raccoon to save a white wolf in the mountains of Minnesota, along with a small crew unlikely companions (a skunk and a moose). So begins this action-packed survival story infused with Indigenous creation stories, history, and some Indigenous language.

Max accompanies his mother on a research trip to the Texas Gulf Coast. There he finds a beached octopus and works with others to rescue her. Named Ursula, the octopus helps Max come into his own in this moving, realistic story. 

Why does each wish put through a mysterious mail slot come true? What happens when all wishes come true? Oscar and mom have settled in a new home, but will it all be gone soon? Difficult themes are countered with magic and humor in this imaginative and highly readable story.
 

Pocket Bear was created to fit in the pocket of a soldier on the front during World War I. He is now the mascot of a used toy store where stuffed animals are refurbished to be loved again. How Pocket and his friend — a cat who is a burglar — save the store and its owners while building community makes a heartwarming, surprisingly sophisticated, tense tale.

Filled with facts, this fresh approach is sure to delight as well as inform. After all, these are animals presenting oral reports about other animals because “humans only look at things through their own human eyes. Every single time.”  Cleaner fish report on sharks; barn owl reports on Tasmanian devil, and mole knows everything there is to know about daddy long-legs. Charming line illustrations punctuate the lively language in this singular book.

Oscar is not like most 12-year-olds. He lives in a retirement community, plays bridge, and likes Frank Sinatra. To save his grandfather’s home, Oscar leaves his comfort zone and links up with a questionable new 102-year-old resident for an unforgettable adventure. Funny, quirky, and fast-paced, this novel will stay with readers long after its final page.

A lavishly illustrated story about a lion cub and a girl who must open a portal for the spirits, based on Chinese folklore. Jin is a Stone Lion — one of the guardians of the Old City Gate who is charged to watch over humans and protect the Sacred Sphere. But when Jin’s perfect kick accidentally knocks the Sacred Sphere out through the gate, he has no choice but to run after it, tumbling out of the realm he calls home and into the human world as the gate closes behind him. Stuck outside the gate, Jin must find help from unlikely allies, including a girl who can hear a mysterious voice and a worm who claims he is a dragon. Together, they must find the sphere and return it to the world beyond the gate…or risk losing everything.

A story told in two voices: siblings 12-year-old Josie and her older, disabled brother Abe each have dreams and aspirations. Based on the author’s experience growing up with a comparably challenged brother.

The Entrada apartment building was home to newcomers and longtime residents alike. How the residents old and young adjust, develop friendships, and grow, are seamlessly told as one tale though written by various authors.

The misfit detectives are again called into action to solve the mysterious but limited earthquake problem. This newest adventure first introduced the kids in A Royal Conundrum.

Ava, Medusa’s relative, and other so-called monster descendants return to the Acccademia del Forte where they thwart a plot by the Olympians. This decidedly feminist plays with traditional Greek myths in this engaging standalone second book in the Myth of Monsters series.

Dragons and their stories have traveled around the world for generations. Meet some in dramatic retellings and evocative illustrations.

Dip or dive into this book that dispels commonly held misinformation about well-known insects and other creepy crawlies. Illustrations further illuminate the information. Also in this series: Everything You Know About Dinosaurs Is Wrong!.

A coming-of-age story for one of the world’s greatest superhero: Wonder Woman. But first she is Diana, Princess of the Amazons. And her fight is just beginning… Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law — risking exile — to save a mere mortal.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Follow Kaz and his crew into a world of magic and mayhem as they attempt to pull off ― and survive ―  the job of a lifetime. (Book 1 in the Six of Crows series)

Soldier. Summoner. Saint. Follow Alina Starkov through Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising as she discovers her dormant powers and is swept up in a world of luxury and illusion. As Alina struggles to fit into her new life, a threat to the kingdom of Ravka grows ― one that will test old alliances and challenge the very limits of magic, one that will forge a leader from a frightened girl.

Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war — and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army. (Book 1 in the King of Scars Duology)

Cash, Fitch, and Bird Nelson Thomas are three siblings in seventh grade together in Park, Delaware. In 1986, as the country waits expectantly for the launch of the space shuttle Challenger, they each struggle with their own personal anxieties. They exist in their own orbits, circling a tense and unpredictable household, with little in common except an enthusiastic science teacher named Ms. Salonga. As the launch of the Challenger approaches, Ms. Salonga gives her students a project — they are separated into spacecraft crews and must create and complete a mission. When the fated day finally arrives, it changes all of their lives and brings them together in unexpected ways. This heartfelt story of family and the bond of siblings is old in three alternating points of view.