A Long Way from Home

• Interest Level: Grade 5 – Grade 8
• Reading Level: Grade 5

Twelve-year-old Abby has a lot to worry about: Climate change. The news. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. And now moving to Florida for her mom’s new job at an aerospace company.

On the Space Coast, Abby meets two boys, Adam and Bix, who tell her they’re “a long way from home” and need her help. Abby discovers they’re from the future, from a time when all the problems of the 21st century have been solved. Thrilled, Abby strikes a deal with them: She’ll help them—if they let her come to the future with them. But soon Abby is forced to question her attachment to a perfect future and her complicated feelings about the present.

Hear Me

• Interest Level: Grade 5 – Grade 8
• Reading Level: Grade 5

One year after being diagnosed with hearing loss, Rayne’s hearing keeps getting worse, even with aids. It’s a struggle to maintain friendships and keep up in school, surfing is now a wipeout, and she can’t understand her favorite singer’s lyrics. But worst of all, Rayne’s parents are pushing for her to get cochlear implants, a surgery Rayne’s not convinced is worth the risks and challenges.

Rayne begs her parents to consider other options, but they’re not budging. With the surgery looming, Rayne sets off on a bus journey that forces her to face her own assumptions about what her hearing loss means and what kind of life she could have. With the help of some new friends, Rayne realizes that even though her ears may be broken, she is not.

Timothy Dinoman Saves the Cat

Book 1

From the Series Timothy Dinoman

• Interest Level: Grade 4 – Grade 8
• Reading Level: Grade 4

Timothy Dinoman is on the trail of a stolen satellite! To learn what these suspected supervillains want with outer-space tech, the world’s nicest iguanodon will visit a mountain fortress, a giant blimp, and a diner with excellent pancakes. On the way, he’ll even meet a really cute cat. Grab your rocket boots and your fake mustache—it’s time to crack the case with Timothy!

My Name Is Hamburger

• Interest Level: Grade 3 – Grade 7
• Reading Level: Grade 4

Say your name with pride!

Trudie Hamburger is the only Jewish kid living in the small southern town of Colburn in 1962. Nobody else at her school has a father who speaks with a German accent or a last name that means chopped meat. Trudie doesn’t want to be the girl who cries when Daniel Reynolds teases her. Or the girl who hides in the library to avoid singing Christian songs in music class. She doesn’t want to be different. But over the course of a few pivotal months, as Trudie confronts her fears and embraces what she loves—including things that make her different from her classmates—she finally finds a way to say her name with pride.

Starlet Rivals

From the Series The Bollywood Academy

• Interest Level: Grade 4 – Grade 7
• Reading Level: Grade 5

Twelve-year-old Bela has always dreamed about becoming a famous Bollywood star, and now the opportunity might finally be within her grasp.

When a reality TV show gives her the chance to dance in front of the nation, she knows that she is performing for a place at the most prestigious stage school in Mumbai.

Can Bela win the Dance Starz competition to score a place at the Bollywood Academy and move one step closer to her dreams of stardom? And will child star Monica, the most “in” girl at school, see her as a friend or a rival?

Duck’s Backyard

• Interest Level: Grade 2 – Grade 5
• Reading Level: Grade 3

A funny and philosophical story in which a duck with a limp and a blind chicken search for adventure and answers to some of life’s big questions. By a bestselling author/illustrator pair.

With themes of friendship, difference, leadership and courage, this chapter book for independent readers includes full-color illustrations throughout. Thoughtful readers and listeners will enjoy both the bright, funny dialogue and pondering life’s big questions, making Duck’s Backyard an ideal read-aloud and philosophical conversation starter.

The Prince of Steel Pier

• Interest Level: Grade 3 – Grade 7
• Reading Level: Grade 4

A young teen falls in with the mob, and learns a lesson about what kind of person he wants to be

In The Prince of Steel Pier, Joey Goodman is spending the summer at his grandparents’ struggling hotel in Atlantic City, a tourist destination on the decline. Nobody in Joey’s big Jewish family takes him seriously, so when Joey’s Skee-Ball skills land him an unusual job offer from a local mobster, he’s thrilled to be treated like “one of the guys,” and develops a major crush on an older girl in the process. Eventually disillusioned by the mob’s bravado, and ashamed of his own dishonesty, he recalls words of wisdom from his grandfather that finally resonate. Joey realizes where he really belongs: with his family, who drive him crazy, but where no one fights a battle alone. All it takes to get by is one’s wits…and a little help from one’s brothers.

A Time Traveler’s Theory of Relativity

• Interest Level: Grade 4 – Grade 8
• Reading Level: Grade 3

He believes in science, but only magic can help his mom.

Twelve-year-old Finn is used to people in his family disappearing. His twin sister, Faith, drowned when they were three years old. A few months ago, his mom abandoned him and his dad with no explanation. Finn clings to the concrete facts in his physics books—and to his best friend, Gabi—to ward off his sadness. But then his grandmother tells him a secret: the women in their family are Travelers, able to move back and forth in time.

Finn’s mom is trapped somewhere in the timeline, and she’s left Finn a portal to find her. But to succeed, he’ll have to put his trust in something bigger than logic.

“This is an incredible book, no matter which time universe you’re in. I couldn’t put it down. One of my favorite debut novels of the year.”—Erin Entrada Kelly, New York Times bestselling author and 2018 Newbery Medal winner

Last of the Name

• Interest Level: Grade 5 – Grade 8
• Reading Level: Grade 6

Twelve-year-old Danny O’Carolan and his sister, Kathleen, arrive in New York City in 1863, at the height of the Civil War. Kathleen finds a job in domestic service for herself and Danny, hoping to keep Danny from being drafted into the US Army as a drummer boy. As he explores the city and shares his talent for Irish dancing, Danny discovers the vast variety of New York’s neighborhoods. With the threat of the draft pitting Irish immigrants against the free Black population, stoking tensions between the rich and the poor, and threatening the life Danny hopes to build, can he find a safe place to call home?

Top Prospect

• Interest Level: Grade 4 – Grade 9
• Reading Level: Grade 4

Travis Gardner lives to play quarterback.

He’s a standout QB by middle school, and he’s prepared to put everything he has into the game. Then Gainesville University’s head coach makes Travis a promise: Travis will have a place on the team, and a scholarship to go with it. He just has to get through high school first.

As Travis starts ninth grade, he’ll have to earn his teammates’ trust and dodge opponents aiming to sack the star quarterback. But his biggest challenge might be staying focused in the face of sudden fame. Because now the pressure is on, and Travis has to prove himself with every pass.

“Travis’ love for the game . . . seems absolutely authentic. This engaging read will resonate with middle schoolers, especially aspiring athletes.”—Booklist