Best of
School-Stories

2021

Big Nate: In Your Face!


Lincoln Peirce - 2021
    Whether it's a soccer ball to the gut or another teacher tirade, surprises lurk around every corner. In the latest Big Nate collection, Nate's friends issue the ultimate insult: they point out all the ways he resembles his arch-nemesis, Gina. Nate also scores a new job as an intern at Klassic Komix, and his master plan to carpet-bomb the school with Valentine's Day cards goes seriously sideways. And when Nate gets dragged into a cringe-worthy party for the dreaded Mrs. Godfrey, what could possibly go wrong? With laughs, adventures, and jokes galore, DOOF! will take your breath away.

Megamonster


David Walliams - 2021
    1 bestselling author David Walliams – a timeless adventure illustrated by artistic genius, Tony Ross.On a volcanic island, in the middle of shark-infested waters, stands The Cruel School. The lessons are appalling, the school dinners are revolting and the teachers are terrifying – especially the mysterious Science teacher Doctor Doktur.When Larker is sent to the school, she quickly realises something very odd is going on… something involving Doctor Doktur, a pair of strange spectacles, and a ‘Monsterfication Machine’. And ultimately she finds herself face to face with a real life Megamonster.There seems to be no escape – but for Larker, nothing is impossible…

Turkey Goes to School


Wendi Silvano - 2021
    Each day, he and his barnyard friends practice their writing and math. But when the school bus rolls up, they are booted off. It turns out that animals aren’t allowed to attend school. Pig calls it “hogwash,” and Turkey agrees. All he has to do is find a way to show the students and the principal that turkeys—and their friends—do belong in school. With a gobble, gobble here; a gobble, gobble there; and a few clever costumes, he just might.

100 Remarkable Feats of Xander Maze


Clayton Zane Comber - 2021
    But can his list of 100 Remarkable Feats really save his nanna?Xander Maze loves lists, and his grandmother is #1 in his list of People I Love Most in the World. But now that Nanna has stage 4 cancer, can a new list of 100 Remarkable Feats really save her life?Particularly when his list contains difficult things like #2 Make a Friend and #3 Make a Best Friend.Funny, moving and with a protagonist you can't help but fall in love with, 100 Remarkable Feats of Xander Mazeis#1 Heartbreaking#2 Heartwarmingand a book about defying the odds, not accepting the unacceptable, and one boy's unconditional love for his nanna.

Isabel and Her Colores Go to School


Alexandra Alessandri - 2021
    She prefers the warm oranges and pinks of Spanish. As she prepares for class at a new school, she knows she's going to have to learn--and she would rather not! Her first day is uncomfortable, until she discovers there's more than one way to communicate with friends. This is a universal story about feeling new and making new friends.

A Teacher Like You


Frank Murphy - 2021
    Whether they're discovering math or reading, practicing a new instrument or a new sport, or learning about our wonderful, diverse world, students can count on the kindness, innovation, and patience of a teacher. This is a wonderful celebration of all the ways teachers help their student's bloom.

My Weirder-est School #9: Mrs. Barr Has Gone Too Far!


Dan Gutman - 2021
    and his friends learn some new, exciting facts about geography from a world traveler. No need to pack your bags for this trip! After noticing that A.J. and his friends' geography knowledge could use some work, Mr. Cooper invites to class just the person to help. Globetrotter Mrs. Barr speaks seven languages and has visited nearly two hundred countries!But why does she carry a suitcase everywhere she goes? And why does she open a window whenever she walks into a room? Perhaps Mrs. Barr has something to hide!Perfect for reluctant readers and all kids hungry for funny school stories, Dan Gutman's hugely popular My Weird School chapter book series has something for everyone. Don't miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang!

A Sky-Blue Bench


Bahram Rahman - 2021
    She’s excited, but she’s also worried about sitting on the hard floor all day with her new prosthetic “helper-leg.”Just as Aria feared, sitting on the floor is so uncomfortable that she can’t think about learning at all. She knows that before the war changed many things in Afghanistan, schools like hers had benches for students to sit at. If she had a bench, her leg would not hurt so much. The answer is obvious: she will gather materials, talk to Kaka Najar, the carpenter in the old city, and learn to build a bench for herself.In A Sky-Blue Bench, Bahram Rahman, author of The Library Bus, returns again to the setting of his homeland, Afghanistan, to reveal the resilience and resolve of young children—especially young girls—who face barriers to education. Illustrator Peggy Collins imbues Aria with an infectious spunkiness and grit that make her relatable even to readers with a very different school experience. An author’s note gently introduces an age-appropriate discussion of landmines and their impact on the lives of children in many nations, especially Afghanistan, which has the highest concentration of landmines of any country in the world.

Mustard Thinks Twice! (Mustard Series Book 3)


Jeremy Ross - 2021
    

The Chalet School Returns to the Alps


Lisa Townsend - 2021
    

Hitomi-chan is Shy With Strangers Vol. 1


Chorisuke Natsumi - 2021
    As an upperclassman named Usami Yuu finds out, however, looks can be deceiving. Beneath her massive frame and intense glare, Hitomi-chan is a sweet girl who just wants to overcome her social anxiety and make some friends. As Yuu gets to know her, they grow close--so close that maybe friendship won't be enough! Don't miss this charming romcom between a scary-but-sweet girl and her smaller, loving senpai.

Three Twins at the Crater School


Chaz Brenchley - 2021
    Under the benevolent reign of the Empress Eternal, commerce and culture are flourishing along the banks of the great canals, and around the shores of the crater lakes. But this brave new world is not as safe as it might seem. The Russians, unhappy that Venus has proved far less hospitable, covet Britain’s colony. And the Martian creatures, while not as intelligent and malevolent as HG Wells had predicted, are certainly dangerous to the unwary.What, then, of the young girls of the Martian colony? Their brothers might be sent to Earth for education at Eton and Oxbridge, but girls are made of sterner stuff. Be it unreasonable parents, Russian spies, or the deadly Martian wildlife, no challenge is beyond the resourceful girls of the Crater School.

Becoming Vanessa


Vanessa Brantley-Newton - 2021
    Vanessa isn't so sure. She wears her fanciest outfit so her new classmates will notice her right away. They notice, but the attention isn't what she'd hoped for. As the day goes on, she feels more self-conscious. Her clothes are too bright, her feather boa has way too many feathers, and even her name is too hard to write.The next day, she picks out a plain outfit, and tells her mom that her name is too long. She just wants to blend in, with a simple name like the other girls--why couldn't her parents have named her Megan or Bella? But when her mother tells her the meaning behind her name, it gives her the confidence she needs to introduce her classmates to the real Vanessa.

Shockingly Good Stories


R.A. Spratt - 2021
    Spratt, bestselling author of Friday Barnes, comes this collection of twenty short stories perfect for fans of Roald Dahl, David Walliams and Paul Jennings. Featuring fractured fairytales told by none other than Nanny Piggins, previously unpublished Friday Barnes mysteries, and a bunch of other hilarious and highly original tall tales. This book will delight kids from seven to seventy, whether they’re after a bedtime story, entertainment for a long car ride or distraction in the doctor’s waiting room!

Crossing the Stream


Elizabeth-Irene Baitie - 2021
    He’s heard the rumors that she’s a witch, and his mother has told him he must never sit on the old couch on her porch. Now here he is, on that exact couch, with a strange-looking drink his grandmother has given him, wondering if the rumors are true. What’s more, there’s a freshly dug hole in her yard that Ato suspects may be a grave meant for him.Meanwhile at school, Ato and his friends have entered a competition to win entry to Nnoma, the island bird sanctuary that Ato’s father helped created. But something is poisoning the community garden where their project is housed, and Ato sets out to track down the culprit. In doing so, he brings his estranged mother and grandmother back together, and begins healing the wounds left on the family by his father’s death years before.And that hole in the yard? It is a grave, but not for the purpose Ato feared, and its use brings a tender, celebratory ending to this deeply felt and universal story of healing and love from one of Ghana’s most admired children’s book authors.

Young Ladies Don't Play Fighting Games Vol. 1


Eri Ejima - 2021
    Aya got into this peerless rich-girls' institution on a scholarship, and hopes to grow as lovely as her fellow student and idol Shirayui. But Shirayui hides a terrible secret: she's a trash-talking, combo-chaining, newbie-stomping, ruthless hardcore gamer! Could a mutual indulgence in no-holds-barred video game combat grow into a deeper rapport between these two girls?

Marsha Is Magnetic


Beth Ferry - 2021
    But when it comes to making friends to invite to her birthday party, she is stumped. Luckily, Marsha knows the solution to being stumped: the scientific method.With creativity, determination, and humor, Marsha sets out to attract as many friends as she can—what could possibly go wrong?

To Tell You the Truth


Beth Vrabel - 2021
    But every time she sits down to write, her mind is a blank. The only stories she can think of are Gran’s, the ones no one else ever believed but Trixy gulped down like sweet tea. Gran is gone now, buried under the lilac bush in the family plot, so it’s not like Trixy’s hurting anybody to claim one of those stories as her own, is she? That stolen story turns out to be a huge success, and soon everybody in town wants Trixy to tell them a tale. Before long, the only one left is the story she vowed never to share, the one that made Gran’s face cloud up with sadness. Trying to find a way out of this tangled mess, Trixy and her friend Raymond hit the road to follow the twists and turns of Gran’s past. Maybe then Trixy can write a story that’s all her own, one that’s the straight-up truth.

Easy Target


Tim Shoemaker - 2021
    When he makes two friends and attempts to take on an established hierarchy of bullying, he doesn't realize he's taking a risk he never expected--becoming a bully himself.From the same author who wrote the suspenseful fiction Code of Silence series, this is a realistic look at the extent and reality of bullying, especially through social media, with a Christian protagonist who learns that relationships, bullying, and doing the right thing are a bit more complicated than he realized. It also touches on the subject of suicide.

The Best of Assigned Male


Sophie Labelle - 2021
    Based on the hugely successful and influential webcomic Assigned Male, and in print for the first time, this expanded collection contains exclusive content as well as familiar, well-loved characters.

Michaela Mason's Big List of 23 Worries


Alexa Moses - 2021
    It relaxes me. By writing my worries down, I feel as if I'm removing them from my mind and leaving them on the paper. My secret worry list is the big boss of lists. Right now, there are 23 worries on it.New school. New town. 23 worries. Can Michaela Mason handle it?

Not a Unicorn


Dana Middleton - 2021
    Awkward relationship with a cute boy, ex-BFFs with a popular girl, mom issues at home. You've read it all before. Except for one thing: Jewel has a unicorn horn on her head.(Okay, and one other thing, but it's just too weird to mention here!)Jewel tries to stay invisible at school, looking forward to the day when she can finally leave her small town behind, making art with her fellow weirdos, and obsessively reading graphic novels with her best friends. But when she's selected to represent her school at the regional French speaking competition, she decides she's had enough of the shy life. The horn needs to come off.What happens when you have the ability to become the girl you've always wanted to be? When you don't know your true self, how do you know your true friends? What happens when everything in your life—your biggest struggle, your greatest joy, and your dearest friends—all combine in one calamitous adventure?With a sparkle of magic, a treasure trove of true determination, and help from all her friends both real and invisible, Jewel just might survive this year with her heart—and her head—intact.THE ULTIMATE EMPATHY READ: The unicorn horn in this book is a perfect symbol for all the ways every young person feels strange, different, or unusual in any way. While readers' specific situations may differ from Jewel's, her struggle for self-acceptance will resonate with readers of all stripes, circumstances, and backgrounds.A RICH, FANTASTIC FANTASY: At the heart of this book is a rich, multi-layered fantasy adventure that will have all readers thinking twice about the stories they read, the friends they have, and the superpowers they may not even know they possess.IRRESISTIBLE MIDDLE SCHOOL DRAMA: Catty ex-friends, terrifyingly unapproachable boys, embarrassing dance proposals, inspirational teachers—this book has all the hallmarks of everyone's favorite middle grade fare.UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTERS: Readers won't want to leave this world behind! The main characters and the families in this book are real, warmly drawn, and endlessly relatable. Readers will return to the book just to live in the world for a little bit longer.RELATABLE FAMILY ISSUES: Jewel's family deals with situations that will be very familiar to most readers: high hopes for the future, never having enough money, and the distance between what we want and what we have. The family dynamics are relatable, too: Jewel's single mom works a low-paying job, and they live in an apartment with Jewel's grandma. The warmth of this family despite their difficulties will stay with readers long after they close the cover.Perfect for: tweens, fans of unicorns, fantasy readers, parents, educators

A Weekend with Oscar


Robyn Bavati - 2021
    Though Jamie is still grieving the loss of his dad, life starts to look up when he meets Zara, the new girl at school. When their mum goes away for the weekend, Jamie volunteers to look after Oscar. But when the weekend is over and their mother doesn’t return, Jamie faces the toughest challenge of his life.