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The Moon Within
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
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Land of the Cranes
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
Write "The Letter I Never Sent You" About Past Conflict with Guardians
Ultraviolet
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
PUBLISHED: Sept 2022
AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer
THEMES: Mental Health, prejudice
PUBLISHED: Oct 2023
AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer
THEMES: Mental Health, healing, self love, black community
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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?
"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
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
Halfway to Somewhere
Ave thought moving to Kansas would be boring and flat after enjoying the mountains and trails in Mexico, but at least they would have their family with them. Unfortunately, while Ave, their mom, and their younger brother are relocating to the US, Ave's father and older sister will be staying in Mexico...permanently. Their parents are getting a divorce.
As if learning a whole new language wasn't hard enough, and now a Middle-Schooler has to figure out a new family dynamic...and what this means for them as they start middle school with no friends.
PUBLISHED: February 2025
AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: (VIRTUAL) Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer
THEMES: Graphic Novel, belonging, adaptation, identity, family, language barriers
Moko Magic: Carnival Chaos
Twelve-year-old Misty and her mother have just moved from Trinidad to Brooklyn, New York, in time for the annual carnival celebrations over Labor Day weekend. Misty has plenty to deal with getting used to living with her cousins Aiden and Brooke in her new surroundings. On top of that, her mom is too busy trying to find a job and her aunts and uncles are too preoccupied with carnival preparations to pay any attention to her.
Then really strange things begin to happen. A ball of feathers in the basement turns into a creature that squeaks and rolls around. When Misty and her cousins eat pieces of mango anchar, flames shoot out of their mouths. Most disturbing of all, Misty begins to see visions of the future--scary visions that soon come true.
Misty discovers that she and her cousins come from a long line of mokos, people who have special powers meant to help them protect their community. Misty can see impending danger, Aiden can heal, and Brooke has crazy physical strength. The trio is just learning about their skills when Misty senses something watching her. And then each of the carnival events is disrupted by a different disaster. Some kind of evil force is clearly trying to stop the festivities. But why? And will moko magic be enough to save the day?
PUBLISHED: August 2024
AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer
THEMES: Caribbean folklore; identity; culture; imagination; adventure; carnival; Brooklyn
Moko Magic: Museum Mayhem
Twelve-year-old Misty and her two cousins, Aidan and Brooke, are mokos—protector spirits—who recently combined their magic to save Brooklyn's carnival celebration. Now they're excited about Uncle Andrew's upcoming art exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. He has chosen to create a piece centered around a Benin Bronze, one of several artworks that were looted from Nigeria in 1897, and the cousins are treated to a private tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to help him choose it.
When Misty views the bronzes for the first time, she is transported into a long-ago memory of an oba (king) who was stern and angry. And that's just the beginning of the trouble. Once the selected bronze is delivered from the Met, the Brooklyn Museum is overrun with dust bunnies that attack people. A mysterious force controlling the dust begins to pull innocent victims into artworks and trap them inside. The cousins are going to need a lot of help—BIG help—to defeat this fearsome foe.
PUBLISHED: September 2025
AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer
THEMES: Caribbean folklore; identity; culture; imagination; adventure
Matty's Rocket, created by pioneering Afrofuturist, Tim Fielder, is a galaxy spanning tale about the adventures of space pilot Matty Watty. This graphic novel series is based in an alternative past where the pulp stylings of Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, and Fritz Lang's Metropolis collide with the real world events of World War 2, FDR, the Harlem Renaissance and the oppressive Jim Crow era. Read as Matty navigates her vessel through a dangerous world filled with evil villains, heroic feats, alien oddities and down home adventure.
PUBLISHED: January 2022
PAGES: 118
AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer
THEMES: Graphic Novel/Comic, fantasy
Speak Up, Santiago!
PUBLISHED: March 2025
AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer
THEMES: Graphic Novel/Comic, identity, belonging, fitting-in
Home
After being separated from his mother at the US border, a young Guatemalan immigrant must learn to harness emerging superhuman abilities while being hunted by the Federal Government.
A deeply grounded, and heartfelt graphic novel that explores the real world implications of a migrant with extraordinary powers.
PUBLISHED: November 2021
AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer
THEMES: Graphic Novel, Immigration, Fantasy, Social Justice, Multicultural, Race Relations, Family Separation, Science Fiction
Genesis Begins Again
There are ninety-six reasons why thirteen-year-old Genesis dislikes herself. She knows the exact number because she keeps a list:
-Because her family is always being put out of their house.
-Because her dad has a gambling problem. And maybe a drinking problem too.
-Because Genesis knows this is all her fault.
-Because she wasn’t born looking like Mama.
-Because she is too black.
Genesis is determined to fix her family, and she’s willing to try anything to do so…even if it means harming herself in the process. But when Genesis starts to find a thing or two she actually likes about herself, she discovers that changing her own attitude is the first step in helping change others.
PUBLISHED: August 2020
AUTHOR AVAILABILITY (virtual): Spring, Summer
THEMES: Intergenerational trauma, Family, Internalized racism, Self-acceptance, Self-love, Identity
Jump at the Sun: The True Life Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston
Zora was a girl who hankered for tales like bees for honey. Now, her mama always told her that if she wanted something, “to jump at de sun”, because even though you might not land quite that high, at least you’d get off the ground. So Zora jumped from place to place, from the porch of the general store where she listened to folktales, to Howard University, to Harlem. And everywhere she jumped, she shined sunlight on the tales most people hadn’t been bothered to listen to until Zora. The tales no one had written down until Zora. Tales on a whole culture of literature overlooked…until Zora. Until Zora jumped.
PUBLISHED: January 2021
AUTHOR AVAILABILITY (virtual): Spring, Summer
THEMES: Harlem Renaissance, Black historical figures, Race, Literary figures, Identity
Healer of the Water Monster
When Nathan goes to visit his grandma, Nali, at her mobile summer home on the Navajo reservation, he knows he’s in for a pretty uneventful summer, with no electricity or cell service. Still, he loves spending time with Nali and with his uncle Jet, though it’s clear when Jet arrives that he brings his problems with him.
One night, while lost in the nearby desert, Nathan finds someone extraordinary: a Holy Being from the Navajo Creation Story—a Water Monster—in need of help.
Now Nathan must summon all his courage to save his new friend. With the help of other Navajo Holy Beings, Nathan is determined to save the Water Monster, and to support Uncle Jet in healing from his own pain.
PUBLISHED: May 2021
AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer
THEMES: Navajo, creation story, reservation life, folklore, adventure, bravery
Voces Sin Fronteras: Our Stories, Our Truth
During a time of heated immigration debate and unrest, this book is an opportunity to hear directly from youth who are often in the headlines but whose stories don't get told in full. Sixteen young people from the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) in Washington, D.C. came together to tell their own stories of immigration and transformation in comics form. The result is this side-by-side bilingual collection of graphic memoirs that not only builds connections across language, but also breaks down barriers and expands hope.
The authors of this collection are members of the Latino Youth Leadership Council of the Latin American Youth Center in Washington, DC. This group of teen immigrants from Central America and the Caribbean are dedicated to promoting cross-cultural understanding and social justice in their community.
PUBLISHED: May 2018
AUTHOR AVAILABILITY: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer
THEMES: Graphic Novel, bilingual, border, cross-cultural understanding, immigrant youth stories