Prepared by
Revised
April 27, 2021
Fiction
The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel
2020
After kids start disappearing from their school, Mars Patel and his outcast friends investigate and find that all clues point to an eccentric tech genius, Oliver Pruitt, who also happens to be Mars' hero.
The Last Mirror on the Left
2021
Otto and Sheed, The Legendary Alston Boys of Logan County, are ordered by Missus Nedraw to bring a fugitive to justice in a world that mirrors their own but has its own rules.
Girl Giant and the Monkey King
2020
In a desperate bid to get rid of her super strength, 11-year-old Thom Ngho makes a deal with a powerful deity and is swept up in an ancient and fantastical world where demons, dragons and Jade princesses actually exist.
Ophie's Ghosts
2021
Discovering her ability to see ghosts when a cruel act ends her father’s life and forces her to move in with relatives in 1920s Pittsburgh, young Ophelia forges a helpful bond with a spirit whose own life ended suddenly and unjustly.
The Boys in the Back Row
2020
Best friends Matt and Eric are hatching a plan for one big, final adventure together before Eric moves away.
That Thing About Bollywood
2021
An Indian American girl who would bury her feelings about her parents’ separation involuntarily breaks into a Bollywood song-and-dance routine before waking up to an alternate reality where everyone is behaving like a Bollywood character.
Ikenga
2020
In southeastern Nigeria, 12-year-old Nnamdi is determined to avenge his police chief father, murdered while trying to rid the town of criminals. Nnamdi feels powerless until he receives a magical object which gives him superpowers.
The Barren Grounds
2020
Morgan and Eli, two Indigenous children forced away from their families and communities, are brought together in a foster home in Canada. They each feel disconnected, from their culture and each other, and struggle to fit in-- until they find a portal that opens to another reality.
Lexile level
680
Root Magic
2021
It's 1963, and things are changing for Jezebel Turner and her twin brother, including the death of their beloved grandmother, police harassment and school integration. But the biggest change comes when their uncle starts training them in something called rootwork.
Land of the Cranes
2020
Believing the cultural heritage stories that say her people will one day return to live among the cranes in the promised land, a nine-year-old migrant, seeking refuge in Los Angeles from the Mexican cartel wars, learns to hold onto hope and love in a family detention center.
Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids
2021
A volume of interconnected stories and poems, set at a Native American Dance for Mother Earth Powwow celebration in Ann Arbor, Michigan, includes contributions by new and veteran Native writers.
Graphic novels
Snapdragon
2020
Befriending an eccentric but savvy older woman who suggests they help each other while raising a litter of orphaned baby opossums, a young girl discovers the woman may possess real magic and a possible connection to her family.
Lexile level
GN210L
The Leak: For the Love of Truth
2021
Ruth Keller, a young journalist, discovers a strange black slime in the man-made lake of her suburban neighborhood and decides to investigate.
Katie the Catsitter
2021
Katie is dreading the boring summer ahead while her best friends are all away at camp-- something that's way out of Katie and her mom's budget. When Katie tries to earn the money for camp herself, by getting a job catsitting, life gets interesting.
Lexile level
GN340L
Nonfiction
One Real American: The Life of Ely S. Parker
2020
JB PARKER
Learn about one of the most unique, but little-known figures, in U.S. history. Ely S. Parker, a member of the Seneca (Iroquois) Nation, was a Civil War officer and primary draftsman of the terms of the Confederate surrender at Appomattox.
Lifting As We Climb
2020
J 324.623 DIO
African American women were a significant force in the suffrage movement. Read about them and their efforts to be accepted as equal partners by fellow activists.
Into the Clouds
2020
J 796.522 OLS
Charlie Houston and his fellow mountaineers attempt to climb the world's deadliest mountain, K2. This book details their life-risking efforts to follow in the footsteps of another expedition that ended in tragedy.
To Fly Among the Stars
2020
J 629.45 SIE
Learn about the lesser-known efforts of a group of 13 women air racers, test pilots and flight instructors who endured the same astronaut training and trials as their male counterparts in secret, hoping to defy social norms and earn their place in history.
Recommended for
Emma R
I am a youth services librarian who loves books, music, dogs and nature. I read a little bit of everything, but my favorites lately are middle-grade fiction, murder mysteries and nonfiction, and I've always adored exceptionally-illustrated picture books. I'm a murderino, a Ravenclaw and an amateur pie-baker.
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