College Girl: A Memoir


Laura Gray-Rosendale - 2013
    Offering present-day reflections alongside the fresh, hopeful voice of the twenty-year-old student she once was, Laura Gray-Rosendale tells the story of her near destruction and her family's disintegration, but also one of abiding friendships and shining hope. In the end, College Girl is also a story about stories, and a meditation on memoir itself.Gray-Rosendale writes in a tone that is simply unforgettable--gritty, humorous, and raw. Artfully written and devoid of self-pity, College Girl is a rich story of triumph, hope, and survival.

City of Thieves


Alex London - 2021
    But in the city of Drakopolis, humans domesticated them centuries ago. Now dragons haul the city’s cargo, taxi its bustling people between skyscrapers, and advertise its wares in bright, neon displays. Most famously of all, the dragons battle. Different breeds take to the skies in nighttime bouts between the infamous kins—criminal gangs who rule through violence and intimidation.Abel has always loved dragons, but after a disastrous showing in his dragon rider’s exam, he's destined never to fly one himself. All that changes the night his sister appears at his window, entrusting him with a secret...and a stolen dragon.Turns out, his big sister is a dragon thief! Too bad his older brother is a rising star in Drakopolis law enforcement...To protect his friends and his family, Abel must partner with the stolen beast, riding in kin battles and keeping more secrets than a dragon has scales.When everyone wants him fighting on their side, can Abel figure out what's worth fighting for?

Nobody Owns The Moon


Tohby Riddle - 2008
    His friend Humphrey is a struggling donkey with no fixed address. Life in the city is a mixed bag for these two, but a special-looking blue envelope is about to change everything - at least for one wonderful night.Set in a bustling big city, Nobody Owns the Moon is a whimsical story about friendship and belonging.

Little Sid: The Tiny Prince Who Became Buddha


Ian Lendler - 2018
    In this charming and accessible picture book, Ian Lendler and Xanthe Bouma offer a heart-warming account of the childhood of the Buddha.A spoiled young prince, Siddhartha got everything he ever asked for, until he asked for what couldn’t be given ­― happiness.Join Little Sid as he sets off on a journey of discovery and encounters mysterious wise-folk, terrifying tigers, and one very annoying mouse.With Lendler’s delightful prose and Bouma’s lyrical artwork, Little Sid weaves traditional Buddhist fables into a classic new tale of mindfulness, the meaning of life, and an awakening that is as profound today as it was 2,500 years ago.

Elon Musk: A Mission to Save the World


Anna Crowley Redding - 2019
    He is working on unique and daring improvements to both public transit and solar energy. And then, there's his highly-publicized plans for colonizing Mars...But behind the mind-blowing headlines and legendary drive is the story of a bullied and beaten school boy, who through creativity and determination decided to rewrite his story and find his own way to make the world a better place. And to do so with a sense of fun and style.From hosting raves to pay for college to re-writing the rules on space travel, Elon Musk has always gone his own way. And now, award-winning investigative journalist, Anna Crowley Redding takes readers on a well-researched trip through Elon's life and accomplishments.

Mallko & Dad


Gusti - 2014
    This book, which was selected as the best book in the disability category by the Bologna Book Fair in 2016, comes as a call and a revelation.Born in Argentina, Gusti studied advertising design at the Escola d'Art Fernando Fade and has lived in Europe since 1985. He first worked in Paris and currently lives in Barcelona where, as well as working as an illustrator, he also gives classes in illustration at schools, libraries, and cultural centers. He co-founded the nonprofit association Windown-La Ventana, which works towards building a more inclusive society. Gusti lives with his family in Barcelona.

The Ambassador of Nowhere Texas


Kimberly Willis Holt - 2021
    Rylee befriends Joe and learns that Joe's father was a first responder on 9/11. The two unlikely friends soon embark on a project to find Zachary Beaver and hopefully reconnect him with Rylee's father almost thirty years later.This beautiful middle grade novel is a tribute to friendships--old and new--and explores the challenges of rebuilding what may seem lost or destroyed.

Next


Kevin Waltman - 2013
    Especially for inner-city black kids like Derrick Bowen. He's a 6'3" freshman, lightning quick, and he can slam the rock. He wants to start at point guard for Marion High, but senior Nick Starks has that nailed down. Besides, the coach is old school. He thinks D-Bow needs to work on his game, his shot, and his attitude. That means bench time. And that's when Hamilton Academy, the elite school in the suburbs, comes sniffing around. They want D-Bow for the next three years. His mom wants no part of that. But his father needs a job, and Uncle Kid, who is a bitter ex-star at Marion High, has his own plans. Yeah, there's a pretty girl and a best friend in the mix. Plus plenty of basketball action and suspense just like high school boys like to read.Kevin Waltman, a native of Indianapolis, Indiana, was a high school player and remains a huge basketball fan. Next is his third YA novel. His first two, both from Scholastic, are Nowhere Fast (2002) and Learning the Game (2005). Kevin is an instructor at the University of Alabama where he lives with his wife Jessica, their daughter Calla, and their dog Henry.

Hidden Gold: A True Story of the Holocaust


Ella Burakowski - 2015
    Leib and Hanna Gold though they had more time to develop an escape plan. While Leib leaves to negotiate a hiding place, Hanna and their children, Shoshana, Esther, and twelve-year-old David, steal away in the night to find shelter with a family friend. Leib promises to join them in the morning, but when daylight breaks, Leib had vanished. Hanna must flee to a safer refuge or she and her children will perish.So begins a true story of terror, suspense, and deplorable hardship that lasts more than two years. In a place where everyone is afraid, neighbors turn on neighbors, gentiles betray Jews, and Jews victimize each other, hoping to survive the Holocaust. David Gold's memories of his formative years during World War II are captured by his niece, author Ella Burakowski, in this heart-stopping testament to the human spirit.

The Good War


Todd Strasser - 2021
    Peterson is starting a video game club where the students will playing The Good War, a new game based on World War II.They are divided into two teams: Axis and Allies, and they will be simulating a war they know nothing about yet. Only one team will win. But what starts out as friendly competition, takes an unexpected turn for the worst when an one player takes the game too far.Can an afterschool club change the way the students see eachother...and how they see the world?By using a gaming lens to explore the students' entr�e to prejudice and radicalization, he succeeds in lending immediacy and accessibility to his cautionary tale.--Kirkus Reviews

Blind Sight


Meg Howrey - 2011
    Having spent a short lifetime swinging agreeably between the poles of Eastern mysticism and New England Puritanism, Luke is fascinated by the new fields of brain science and believes in having evidence for his beliefs. “Without evidence,” he declares, “you just have hope, which is nice, but not reliable.” Luke is writing his college applications when his father—a famous television star whom he never knew—calls and invites him to Los Angeles for the summer. Luke accepts and is plunged into a world of location shooting, celebrity interviews, glamorous parties, and premieres. As he begins to know the difference between his father’s public persona and his private one, Luke finds himself sorting through his own personal mythology.      By the end of the summer Luke thinks he has found the answers he’s been seeking, only to discover that the differences between truth and belief are not always easy to spot, and that evidence can be withheld: when Luke returns home, his mother reveals something she knows will change everything for him.      With Blind Sight, Meg Howrey gives us a smart, funny, and deeply moving story about truth versus belief, about what we do and don’t tell ourselves—with the result, as Luke says, that we don’t always know what we know.

The Pumpkin War


Cathleen Young - 2019
    .At the end of every summer, Madeline Island hosts its famous pumpkin race. All summer, adults and kids across the island grow giant, 1000-pound pumpkins, then hollow one out, and paddle in it across the lake to the cheers of the entire town.Twelve-year-old Billie loves to win; she has a bulletin board overflowing with first prize ribbons. Her best friend Sam doesn't care much about winning, or at least Billie didn't think so until last summer's race, when his pumpkin crashed into hers as she was about to cross the finish line, and he won. This summer, Billie is determined to get revenge by growing the best and biggest pumpkin, and beat Sam in the race. It's a tricky science to grow pumpkins, since weather, bugs and other critters can wipe out a crop. Then a surprise visit from a long lost relative shakes things up, and Billie begins to see her family, and her bond with Sam, in a new way.

Hugo


Atinuke - 2020
    Hugo the pigeon has an important job. He looks after the park and everyone who lives there. Everyone except for the Somebody whose curtains are never open. But one day, Hugo is so busy doing his showing-off dance that he doesn't see the dog approaching ... and Somebody has to fly to the rescue! A charming story about community and the value of friendship, beautifully brought to life by Birgitta Sif's energetic illustrations.

Field Tripped


Allan Woodrow - 2018
    Legend has it, there are some undiscovered inventions hidden in the house. The students are eager to find them, and they convince Principal Klein to let them out of writing their essay on Minks if they do. But as Aaron, Eddie, Jessie, and Chloe explore the Minks Mansion, it seems like something strange is going on. Like the adults are missing and someone might be stealing the inventions. But in order to save the inventions and their teachers, the kids might just have to pull some serious pranks to stop the bad guys. Even if it means risking a lifetime of detention.Can the fifth graders save their field trip and the mansion . . . or will this be the last field trip ever in school history?

Dirt


Denise Gosliner Orenstein - 2017
    Her mother died and her father has sunk into sadness. She doesn't have a friend to her name . . . except for Dirt, the Shetland pony next door. Dirt has problems of his own. He's overweight, he's always in trouble, and his owner is the mean Miss Enid, who doesn't have the patience for a pony's natural curiosity. His only friend is Yonder, the scrawny girl next door. So when Miss Enid makes the cruel decision to sell Dirt for horsemeat, Yonder knows she has to find a way to rescue him. Even if that means stealing Dirt away and sneaking him into her own house. What follows will make you worry, will make you cry, and will ultimately fill you with hope, love, and an unshakable belief in the power of friendship. Especially the four-legged kind.