The Moon Within

Aida Salazar

Celi Rivera's life swirls with questions about her changing body, her crush, and her best friend's exploration of gender fluidity.

For Celi's first period, her mom wants to have a moon ceremony, an ancestral Mexica ritual. Celi doesn't want to participate. Can she find the power within herself to take a stand for who she wants to be?

PUBLISHED: May 2020

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY (FLY IN): Fall, Winter, Spring

THEMES: Poetry, Gender, Cultural Affirmation

PROJECT OPTIONS

 Write "The Letter I Never Sent You" About Past Conflict with Guardians

Land of the Cranes

Aida Salazar

• Betita’s Aztec ancestors left Aztlan, or the "land of the cranes," to establish their great city in the center of the universe-Tenochtitlan, modern-day Mexico City but it was prophesied they’d one day return. 

• When Betita and her family are taken by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles and forced into a family detention camp

• The conditions are cruel  and inhuman but she finds heart in her own poetry and in the community

PUBLISHED: September 2020

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY (FLY IN): Fall, Winter, Spring

THEMES: Poetry, SEL, Spanish Edition

PROJECT OPTIONS

Write "The Letter I Never Sent You" About Past Conflict with Guardians

Ultraviolet

Aida Salazar

For Elio Solis, eighth grade fizzes with change―His body teeming with hormones. His feelings that flow like lava. His relationship with Pops, who’s always telling him to man up, the Solis way. And especially Camelia, his first girlfriend.

But then, betrayal and heartbreak send Elio spiraling toward revenge, a fight to prove his manhood, and defend Camelia’s honor. He doesn’t anticipate the dire consequences―or that Camelia’s not looking for a savior.

PUBLISHED: April 2024

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY (FLY IN): Fall, Winter, Spring

THEMES: Coming of Age, puberty, betrayal, stereotypes

The Extraordinary Orbit of Alex Ramirez

Jasminne Paulino

Seventh grader Alex's favorite things to do are watching YouTube videos of rocket launches with his Papi and spending hours on the NASA website reading about astronauts and planets. He even dreams of going to space one day himself, and knows he'll have to study hard in order to get there.

But Alex is in his grade's SC (self-contained) classroom, which means doing the same dull worksheets every day and reading books his sister read back in the third grade. Worst of all, being in SC means nobody thinks he's ready to join Ms. Rosef's mainstream science class—the class Alex knows will be the first step on his path to NASA.

When his teacher says "not yet" for the millionth time, Alex decides it's time to make a change. Now he's ready to try everything he can to get the people in his life—his teachers, his parents, and the kids at school—to understand that he, Alex Ramirez, is capable of the extraordinary.

PUBLISHED: June 2025

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: SEL, neurodiversity, identity

Hurricane Season 

Nicole Melleby 

Fig, a sixth grader, loves her dad and the home they share in a beachside town. She does not love the long months of hurricane season. Her father, a once-renowned piano player, sometimes goes looking for the music in the middle of a storm. Hurricane months bring unpredictable good and bad days. More than anything, Fig wants to see the world through her father’s eyes, so she takes an art class to experience life as an artist does. Then Fig’s dad shows up at school, confused and looking for her. Not only does the class not bring Fig closer to understanding him, it brings social services to their door.

As the walls start to fall around her, Fig is sure it’s up to her alone to solve her father’s problems and protect her family’s privacy. But with the help of her best friend, a cute girl at the library, and a surprisingly kind new neighbor, Fig learns she isn’t as alone as she once thought . . . and begins to compose her own definition of family.

PUBLISHED: May 2021

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: Mental illness, Child Protective Services, LGBTQ, parent/child relationship

Too Many Interesting Things Are Happening to Ethan Fairmont

Nick Brooks

Ferrous City is suddenly a lot more interesting—in fact, a little too interesting for Ethan Fairmont.

Ethan’s beloved neighborhood is full of new faces. Lifelong residents are being priced out of their homes, and new businesses are replacing old favorites. At school, Ethan finds a rival in new-kid Fatima, an inventor who is just as science savvy as him. She even has TWO patents! Then there’s the mysterious real estate agent with way too many questions for Ethan. Not to mention the extraterrestrial-obsessed Jodie and his “Aliens Are Here” club.

It’s all too much for Ethan and he begins to miss Cheese, his adorable six-eyed alien pal, even more. Fortunately for Ethan and his friends Kareem and Juan Carlos, distraction comes in the form of a top-secret project. Cheese left a communication device under Ethan’s bed before exiting the planet. There’s just one problem: they can’t figure out how it works!

As Ferrous City continues to change and eyes are everywhere, will the trio be able to keep their secret and reach Cheese, or is something nefarious brewing right next door?

PUBLISHED: Nov 2023

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Spring

THEMES: sci-fi, adventure

Bold, Brilliant, and Latine: Meet 52 Latine and Hispanic Heroes from Past and Present

Alyssa Reynoso-Morris 

All children deserve to see themselves positively represented in the books they read. This belief underpins the See Yourself in Their Stories biography series that brought you the critically acclaimed, bestselling Young, Gifted and Black. In Bold, Brilliant and Latine, young Latine and Hispanic children can see themselves reflected in 52 heroes from the past and present, whom everyone can look up to.

From sporting legends to fashion icons, political leaders to fearless changemakers, as well as renowned writers, musicians, artists, scientists, and more, these heroes’ lives are vividly recounted by queer award-winning Dominican and Puerto Rican storyteller Alyssa Reynoso-Morris and brought to life by Argentinian illustrator Sol Cotti’s artwork.

PUBLISHED: Feb 2025

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: historical figures, identity, heritage, multicultural

Tia Lugo Speaks No Evil

Danette Vigilante

Tia Lugo has a deadly secret. Tia Lugo considers herself an ordinary thirteen-year-old girl. She just wants to enjoy the end of summer, which means hanging out with her best friend and neighbor, Julius, and ignoring her Puerto Rican grandmother’s embarrassing reliance on creepy candles, weird-smelling herb bundles, and eerie statues—all available for sale at the nearby botanica. But when Tia witnesses a murder late one night from her bedroom window, everything changes in an instant. Now, Tia is terrified to tell anyone what she’s seen. What if the killer comes after her too? He knows where she lives. Even worse, Tia believes he’s sending her secret messages, reminding her to stay quiet. Desperate to keep herself and her family safe, Tia turns to the last place she ever thought she’d go: her grandmother's favorite shopping spot, the botanica.

PUBLISHED: Aug 2021

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Spring

THEMES: Murder mystery

The Trouble with Half a Moon

Danette Vigilante

Ever since her brother's death, Dellie's life has been quiet and sad. Her mother cries all the time, and Dellie lives with the horrible guilt that the accident that killed her brother may have been all her fault.

But Dellie's world begins to change when new neighbors move into her housing project building. Suddenly, men are fighting on the stoop and gunfire is sounding off in the night. In the middle of all that trouble is Corey, an abused five-year-old boy, who's often left home alone and hungry. Dellie strikes up a dangerous friendship with this little boy who reminds her so much of her brother. She wonders if she can do for Corey what she couldn't do for her brother—save him.

PUBLISHED: May 2015

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Spring

THEMES: loss; child abuse; race; poverty

Rain Remembers

Courtne Comrie
Rain is keeping a big secret from everyone around her: She's sad. All the time. Rain struggles with her image and feels inferior to her best friend, Nara. Not even her all-star student-athlete big brother (and personal superhero), Xander, can help Rain with her dark thoughts and low self-esteem.

And when Xander becomes the victim of violence at a predominantly white university, Rain’s life and mind take a turn for the worse. But when her favorite teacher, Miss Walia, invites her to an after-school circle group, Rain finds the courage to help herself and her family heal.

Like the rain, she is both gentle and a force, finding strength to rise again.

PUBLISHED: Sept  2022

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: Mental Health, prejudice

Rain Remembers

Courtne Comrie
The start of the school year is bringing a lot of changes for Rain: New school. No Circle Group. No Dr. McCalla. No Miss Walia. No step team. And Xander, her older brother and superhero, is away at college.

Although everyone else seems okay with change, Rain struggles to open up to her new counselor, her mom, Umi, Alyssa, and even Xander, who seems to have forgotten all about her while away at college. But when an older boy starts giving Rain more attention than she asked for—will she be able to open up again before things go too far?

PUBLISHED: Oct  2023

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: Mental Health, healing, self love, black community

A Little Bit Super

Brian Young

The kids in these humorous short stories each have a minor superpower they're learning to live with. One can shape-shift--but only part of her body, and only on Mondays. Another can always tell whether an avocado is perfectly ripe. One can even hear the thoughts of the animals in the pet store! 

But what these stories are really about is their young protagonists "owning" a power that contributes to their individuality, that allows them to find their place in the world, that shows them a potential they might not have imagined.

PUBLISHED: April 2024

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: SEL, Disability

PROJECT OPTIONS

Identify a Classmates' Power and Write a Action Scene

Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'round: My Story of the Making of Martin Luther King Day

Kathlyn J. Kirkwood  

Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ’Round is a deeply moving middle grade memoir about what it means to be an everyday activist and foot solider for racial justice, as Kathlyn recounts how, drawn to activism from childhood, she went from attending protests as a teenager to fighting for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday to become a national holiday as an adult. A blueprint for kids starting down their own paths to civic awareness, it shows life beyond protests and details the sustained time, passion, and energy it takes to turn an idea into a law.

PUBLISHED: Jan 2022

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Winter, Spring

THEMES: Martin Luther King's Day, Civil Rights movement, how a bill becomes a law, who decides what holidays are celebrated, autobiography

Everything Naomi Loved

Katie Yamasaki

Honking cars, pizza by the slice, Hair by Carmen, the corner bodega―and Naomi’s best friend, Ada.

But 11th Street begins to change. Shops close, buildings are torn down, and signs promise something new. One by one, Naomi’s neighbors are forced to move. Faced with the transformation of her city block, Naomi picks up a paintbrush. When something we love goes away we paint it on the wall so it’s always with us, her neighbor Mister Ray tells her. Naomi turns her 11th Street memories into a great mural―and discovers that where she finds people to love, she will have a place to love.

PUBLISHED: Sept 2020

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: Gentrification, Community, Murals

A Split Second

Janae Marks

That clock can’t be right. When Elise wakes up the morning after her birthday celebration, she’s surprised to find herself in her bedroom. Last she can remember, she had fallen asleep next to her best friends at her slumber party in her basement, and it was October. But now she’s alone, and her phone says it’s April 8. Elise doesn’t understand. How could she have woken up six months later?

No one else is acting like anything strange has happened, yet Elise can't remember the last half year. To make matters worse, her friends refuse to talk to her and Elise doesn't know why. She also has no idea how she got signed up for photography club or why her former best friend, Cora, is talking to her again. Is it a memory problem? Could it be magic? Every day that passes takes Elise further from the world she knew. Thankfully, Elise has Cora to lean on in this new reality, and the two come together to investigate why Elise woke up in the future—and, more important, how to get her back to her past and away from this nightmare.

PUBLISHED: October 2024

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: mystery, time travel, friendships, relationships

From the Desk of Zoe Washington

Janae Marks

Zoe Washington isn’t sure what to write. What does a girl say to the father she’s never met, hadn’t heard from until his letter arrived on her twelfth birthday, and who’s been in prison for a terrible crime? A crime he says he never committed.

Could Marcus really be innocent? Zoe is determined to uncover the truth. Even if it means hiding his letters and her investigation from the rest of her family. Everyone else thinks Zoe’s worrying about doing a good job at her bakery internship and proving to her parents that she’s worthy of auditioning for Food Network’s Kids Bake Challenge.

But with bakery confections on one part of her mind, and Marcus’s conviction weighing heavily on the other, this is one recipe Zoe doesn’t know how to balance. The only thing she knows to be true: Everyone lies.

PUBLISHED: January 2020

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: Social Justice, Mass Incarceration, Civic Participation, Food Justice

On Air With Zoe Washington

Janae Marks

Two years ago, Zoe Washington helped clear Marcus’ name for a crime he didn’t commit. Now her birth father has finally been released from prison and to an outpouring of community support, so everything should be perfect. 

When Marcus reveals his dream of opening his own restaurant, Zoe becomes determined to help him achieve it—with her as his pastry chef of course. However, starting a new place is much more difficult than it looks, and Marcus is having a harder time re-entering society than anyone expected.

Set on finding a solution, Zoe starts a podcast to bring light to the exonerees’ experiences and fundraise for their restaurant. 

PUBLISHED: February 2023

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: Incarceration, Reintegration, Change makers

A Soft Place to Land

Janae Marks

Joy Taylor has always believed home is the house she lived in her entire life. But then her dad lost his job, and suddenly, home becomes a tiny apartment with thin walls, shared bedrooms, and a place for tense arguments between Mom and Dad. Hardest of all, Joy doesn’t have her music to escape through anymore. Without enough funds, her dreams of becoming a great pianist—and one day, a film score composer—have been put on hold.

A friendly new neighbor her age lets Joy in on the complex’s best-kept secret: the Hideout, a cozy refuge that only the kids know about. And it’s in this little hideaway that Joy starts exchanging secret messages with another kid in the building who also seems to be struggling, until—abruptly, they stop writing back. What if they’re in trouble?

Joy is determined to find out who this mystery writer is, fast, but between trying to raise funds for her music lessons, keeping on a brave face for her little sister, and worrying about her parents’ marriage, Joy isn’t sure how to keep her own head above water.

PUBLISHED: January 2023

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

THEMES: mystery, housing insecurity, relationships

Hands

 Torrey Maldonado 

Trev would do anything to protect his mom and sisters, especially from his stepdad. But his stepdad’s return stresses Trev—because when he left, he threatened Trev’s mom. Rather than live scared, Trev takes matters into his own hands, literally. He starts learning to box to handle his stepdad. But everyone isn’t a fan of his plan, because Trev’s a talented artist, and his hands could actually help him build a better future. And they’re letting him know. But their advice for some distant future feels useless in his reality right now. Ultimately, Trev knows his future is in his hands, and his hands are his own, and he has to choose how to use them.

PUBLISHED: Jan 2023

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY:  Fall, Winter, Spring

THEMES: domestic violence, SEL, Black tweens, coming-of-age, community

What Lane?

 Torrey Maldonado 

"STAY IN YOUR LANE." Stephen doesn't want to hear that--he wants to have no lane.

Anything his friends can do, Stephen should be able to do too, right? So when they dare each other to sneak into an abandoned building, he doesn't think it's his lane, but he goes. Here's the thing, though: Can he do everything his friends can? Lately, he's not so sure. As a mixed kid, he feels like he's living in two worlds with different rules--and he's been noticing that strangers treat him differently than his white friends . . .

So what'll he do? Hold on tight as Stephen swerves in and out of lanes to find out which are his--and who should be with him.

PUBLISHED: April 2020

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY:  Fall, Winter, Spring

THEMES: justice system inequities, Black tweens, accountable friendships, choices, self-discovery

Piece by Piece: The Story of Nisrin's Hijab: A Graphic Novel

 Priya Huq

Nisrin is a 13-year-old Bangladeshi American girl living in Milwaukie, Oregon, in 2002. As she nears the end of eighth grade, she gives a presentation for World Culture Day about Bangladesh while wearing a traditional cultural dress. On her way home, she is the victim of a hate crime when a man violently attacks her for wearing a headscarf.

Deeply traumatized by the experience, Nisrin spends the summer depressed and isolated. Other than weekly therapy, Nisrin doesn’t leave the house until fall arrives and it’s time for her to start freshman year at a new school. The night before class starts, Nisrin makes a decision. She tells her family she’s going to start wearing hijab, much to their dismay. Her mother and grandparent’s shocked and angry reactions confuse her—but they only strengthen her resolve.

This choice puts Nisrin on a path to not only discover more about Islam but also her family’s complicated relationship with the religion and the reasons they left Bangladesh in the first place. On top of everything else, she’s struggling to fit in at school—her hijab makes her a target for students and faculty alike. But with the help from old friends and new, Nisrin is starting to figure out what really makes her happy.

PUBLISHED: Nov 2021

AUTHOR AVAILABILITY:  Fall, Winter, Spring

THEMES: Graphic Novel/Comic, POC, Islam, Hate Crime