Young Leo and his dad enjoy a day exploring nature, observing small creatures, and looking at trees and animals. Realistic illustrations and simple language enhance the shared joy.
Leo on a Hike
Around the world, grandparents and grandchildren share everyday activities but most important of all, they share lots of love. Warm families are depicted in each color photograph in the latest addition of the Global Babies series.
Global Baby Grandparents
One toddler thinks she can get dressed all by herself but winds up needing her sister’s help. In Muy verde! / Too Green!, another child is reluctant to try a new green soup but once he does, he wants more! Both attractive board books capture familiar experiences through cheerful, expressive illustrations and short text. Both books are available in bilingual (Spanish/English) editions.
By Myself!
Alma, first introduced in Alma and How She Got Her Name, is back! She plays with her cousins, snuggles with her mother, and more as she names her relatives. In Alma Head to Toe / Alma de pies a cabeza, she introduces all of her from her head to her soft heart. Both engaging books are in Spanish and English, sure to charm even the youngest reader.
Alma and Her Family / Alma y su familia
Most kids would do anything to pass the Iron Trial. Not Callum Hunt. He wants to fail. All his life, Call has been warned by his father to stay away from magic. If he succeeds at the Iron Trial and is admitted into the Magisterium, he is sure it can only mean bad things for him. So he tries his best to do his worst — and fails at failing. Now the Magisterium awaits him. It’s a place that’s both sensational and sinister, with dark ties to his past and a twisty path to his future. The main character in this adventurous middle grade fantasy has a limp that’s realistically present yet never overtakes the story.
The Iron Trial (Magisterium #1)
Ryan Hart loves her family and friends. She’s looking forward to summer vacation, spending time with loved ones, and her first trip to sleepaway camp! The Hart family is experiencing a lot of changes, and Ryan needs to grow her patience in many ways, find ways to share the love, meet new challenges, and grow into the leader her mom and dad named her to be. This summer and the start of fifth grade just might give Ryan the chance to show how she grows and glows! This is Book 2 in the Ryan Hart series.
Ways to Grow Love
Jordan is on an 8th grade trip to Paris, an exciting prospect for an aspiring artist like Jordan. But the adventure with his friends takes unexpected, often humorous turns with a new adult chaperone. Jordan’s story which starts in New Kid, continues in Class Act is sure to engage young readers and remind adults of the pitfalls of adolescence.
School Trip
Heroes are “curious, critical, and even uncertain in the face of adversity.” This was true of Claudette Colvin who planted a seed that started the Montgomery bus boycott. Her story is told from her point of view juxtaposed to the Rosa Parks, a lifelong activist. Cartoon illustrations and accessible language tell the story of how many people came together to effect change.
Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin: Civil Rights Heroes
El Toro and his luchador buddies are short on money. It’s lunchtime and they’re hungry! How they earn it is revealed in frenetic illustrations and colorful language sprinkled with Spanish words. This latest addition to the series is every bit as much fun and sure to delight!
Tacos Today: El Toro and Friends
Starla Jean, self-proclaimed chicken expert, and her neighbor Nate, solve the mystery of a bunch of beads they find while walking in their neighborhood. This third book about Starla Jean and her pet chicken, Opal Egg, stands alone. Young readers may want to find other books about this endearing if somewhat quirky character. (She debuted in Starla Jean with a continued adventure in Starla Jean Takes the Cake.
Starla Jean Cracks the Case
Plum, a peacock, and other animals from the Athensville Zoo are excited and a bit nervous about going on a school visit. Unfortunately, a blizzard upsets the plans, and the peacock and others are stuck in the school until Plum figures out a way to get them out. Short chapters in this standalone companion to Leave it to Plum! is heavily illustrated and sure to tickle readers
A Snow Day for Plum!
Gigi’s full name is Geraldine Hanako. Her grandfather, Ojiji, can say Gigi’s middle name easily and it is shorter than her first name – at least when it’s written in Japanese. What will Gigi decide when she wants to be rid of her “baby” name? Readers will appreciate the dilemma as they glimpse into one Japanese American family.
Gigi and Ojiji: What’s in a Name?
Doggo and Pupper try to help their housemate, cat, adjust to the new bed. But change isn’t easy and “finding cozy” can be tough, too. Each generously illustrated short chapter provides a glimpse into this trio’s friendship and relatable experiences — and a chuckle or so. Although this is the third book in the Doggo and Pupper series, it stands alone and is just as engaging as the first books.
Doggo and Pupper Search for Cozy
Princess Lina isn’t like other girls. She is a Windtamer who controls the wind and lives in a palace in the clouds. But she isn’t like other Windtamers, either, since her dad is a Groundling (a human) and her wind powers have a knack for turning icy cold. When Lina convinces her parents to let her go to her best friend Claudia’s human school, her powers really get out of whack, creating icicles in the classroom and snowdrifts in the gym. Written as Lina’s diary, this book touches on issues of feeling different, making friends and coming into your own and embracing what makes you special.
Snow Place Like Home
Each book in this new series for younger readers contains spreads featuring fun, kid-friendly experiments with lift-the-flap conclusions. I’m a Scientist: Backyard introduces kids to the world of botany with a wealth of plant-based experiments.
I’m a Scientist: Backyard
As the Revolutionary War rages on, Isabel and Curzon have narrowly escaped Valley Forge—but their relief is short-lived. Before long they are reported as runaways, and the awful Bellingham is determined to track them down. With purpose and faith, Isabel and Curzon march on, fiercely determined to find Isabel’s little sister Ruth, who is enslaved in a Southern state — where bounty hunters are thick as flies. Return to the American Revolution in thisconclusion to the middle grade Seeds of America trilogy.
Ashes
The Patriot Army was shaped and strengthened by the desperate circumstances of the Valley Forge winter. This is where Curzon the boy becomes Curzon the young man. He navigates the dangers of being a runaway slave in this second novel in the historical middle grade The Seeds of America trilogy.
Forge
Every year, George and the man with the yellow hat attend a pancake breakfast to benefit the children’s hospital. Always curious, George finds his way to the pancake table and helps out. Pouring batter and flipping the pancakes over looks like fun! George decides to make some pancakes of his own, and after making and serving some of the most delicious pancakes the crowd has ever seen, George gets into even more monkey mischief.
Curious George Makes Pancakes
If you give a pig a pancake, she’ll want some syrup to go with it. You’ll give her some of your favorite maple syrup, and she’ll probably get all sticky, so she’ll want to take a bath. She’ll ask you for some bubbles. When you give her the bubbles … Fans of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie will love this perfect addition to the series!
If You Give a Pig a Pancake
Dramatic photographs combine with facts to amaze and delight with their “acrobatic moves, their ability to dodge enemies deftly, [and] their skill at disappearing using camouflage.” Together with a similarly formatted companion book, Superpowers of Nature: Wild Wonders of the World (opens in a new window), readers will surely want to protect nature’s heroes.
Superheroes of Nature: Incredible Skills to Survive and Thrive
When squirrels Norma and Belly grew tired of acorns, they decided to try pizza from the new shop in town. As with their other food adventures (Donut Feed the Squirrels (opens in a new window) and Apple of My Pie (opens in a new window)), success is always questionable. Jaunty illustrations in a lively, easy graphic format makes each escapade a tasty treat.
Pizza My Heart
Enzo, often with friends, uses different materials to create art and even visits a museum to see more. Simple language in both English and Spanish are enhanced by gentle, childlike illustrations. In another similarly formatted and sturdy book, Enzo es un enfermero / Enzo Is a Nurse (opens in a new window), Enzo performs the duties of a nurse.
Enzo y su arte / Enzo and His Art
Can an undercover nerd become a superstar secret agent? In this graphic novel adaptation of the popular prose books, Ben Ripley is recruited into the CIA’s Academy of Espionage due to his enthusiastic gaming abilities and his exceptional math skills. As Ben tries to adapt to life at his new top-secret school, he unwittingly becomes the target of a deadly assassin. (School Library Journal)
Spy School the Graphic Novel
A cyber-enhanced cat is sent into space to stop rats from eating the moon. Absurd humor propels this outlandish tale through the galaxy with unending gags, sure to make readers laugh aloud. It’s the first in a series which was inspired by Instagram video shorts created during the pandemic.