Embedded Files
RILEY'S GHOST involves 13-year-old Riley Flynn, who's been a bullied, ostracized Weird Kid as long as she can remember, and it's even worse now that classmate Emily, with whom she became close the previous year, has deserted her for the cool kids now that they're in seventh grade. (Recommended for grades 4-7)
A member of the art club, Felicity has big dreams, but her little sister Letty teases her that she never finishes anything she starts. To prove Letty wrong, Felicity enters a contest, but when things go in an unexpected direction, Felicity starts to wonder if her friends are turning against her. (Recommended grades 5-8.)
Adapted from the groundbreaking bestseller Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, this book takes readers on a journey from present to past and back again. Kids will discover where racist ideas came from, identify how they impact America today, and meet those who have fought racism with antiracism. (Recommended for grades 4-6.)
Where does racism come from and what can we do to disrupt it? Learn about social identities, the history of racism, and how readers can use their anti-racist lens and voice to move the world toward equity and liberation. (Recommended for grades 5-8.)
clubs.scholastic.com
In this series, Karen is a second grader at Stoneybrook Academy. The stories are about the adventures that Karen and her friends have. Karen usually tries to do the right thing, but because she has been through some hard times in her young life, she sometimes makes a mistake. She does, however, learn from her mistakes. (Recommended for grades 2-5.)
wikipedia.org
Geeger is a robot who lives and works in the town of Amblerville. In the first book of the Geeger the Robot series, Geeger decides to go to school in order to make a friend. But Geeger doesn’t know the first thing about school, or friendship, and gets himself into some tricky situations. In the second book of the Geeger the Robot series, Geeger’s class pet, Fudge the Hamster, goes missing. The evidence points to Geeger having “lost” him – but Geeger loves Fudge, and would never do anything to hurt him. Right? Geeger and his best friend Tillie search for the hamster in the hopes of convincing everyone – including Geeger himself! – that this is true. In the third book of the Geeger the Robot series, Geeger’s best friend, Tillie, wakes up on the wrong side of the bed. She comes to school in a blah mood, and can’t seem to get out of her funk. But have no fear, Geeger is here! The bot pulls out all the stops to try and cheer up his pal. However, turning Tillie’s frown upside down proves far more complicated than Geeger expects. Finally, the most recent novel finds Geeger the Robot going to his best friend Tillie’s birthday party. But Geeger’s never been to a party before and doesn’t quite know what presents are. Would Tillie like a stick? Or a pile of dirt? Geeger wants to help Tillie celebrate, but maybe he shouldn’t have come! How does a robot say, “Happy Birthday?” (Recommended for grades K-2.)
jarrettlerner.com
Ken, part of a group of smart middle-schoolers called the ENGINERDS, is giddy when he finds a box on his doorstep full of parts for a robot. He and his friend Dan start to put it together -- but then the robot finishes assembling itself, introduces himself as Greeeg, and demands to be fed. Everything. (Recommended for grades 5-8.)
www. commonsensemedia.org
This manga series tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. The story is told in two parts – the first set in Naruto's pre-teen years, and the second in his teens. (Recommended grades 5-8.)
wikipedia.org
In Creepy Crayon!, Japer's third misadventure (after Creepy Carrots and Creepy Pair of Underpants), the beleaguered hero confronts a new nemesis—a know-it-all purple crayon that aces all of Jasper’s schoolwork, but refuses to quit despite the conscience-plagued student’s desperate attempts to dispense with it (even melting it in the microwave and flushing it down the toilet). (Recommended grades K-2.)
The Pigeon is on an emotional - and physical - roller coaster. Since learning about the existence of roller coasters, he’s become giddy with excitement. The Pigeon prepares mentally: He’ll need a ticket and “exemplary patience” to wait in line. He envisions zooming up and down and careening through dizzying turns and loops. Then, he imagines his emotions afterward: exhilaration, post-ride blues, pride at having accomplished such a feat, and enthusiasm at the prospect of riding again. (He’ll also feel dizzy and nauseous.) All this before the Pigeon ever sets claw on an actual coaster. So…will he really try it? Are roller coasters fun? (Recommended grades K-2.)
The three pigs are just finishing up a hockey practice session when the Big Bad Wolf drops by and declares them Canadian bacon--and lunch. When north country bad boys Bear and Moose join the fray, the pigs invite the gang to settle their disputes The Canadian Way--with a rousing game of hockey. Will the big guys overtake the pigs with brute force? Or will the pigs skate circles around the lumbering baddies? One thing is certain, the trial is likely to end with a meal (poutine, please!). But will the piggies be on the menu? (Recommended grades K-3.)
Starfish features Ellie, a fat girl who has been bullied for her weight since she wore a whale swimsuit and made a big splash in the pool. Even her older brother and sister make fun of her weight. Her mom controls her diet, monitoring her portions and choosing lackluster “healthy” alternatives. Ellie is feeling more disheartened because her friend Viv who is also plus-sized is moving away.
Thankfully, after Viv moves, Ellie finds a friend in her new neighbor Catalina and her family. The family loves food and welcome Ellie with open arms, never judging her for her weight. At school, bullying intensifies when a chair breaks after Ellie sits on it. Her mom is also pushing for gastric bypass surgery for Ellie. Eventually, her father gets her mother to ease off by taking Ellie to a therapist who helps her accept her body and defend herself against bullies. (Recommended grades 5-8.)
readingmiddlegrade.com
Eleven-year-old Green loves his devoted older brother, Cedar, a popular basketball star, but that doesn’t mean he wants to follow in his footsteps. He doesn’t really care about sports or making friends. Still, eventually Green caves to pressure to try out for the basketball team. He may be tall like Cedar, but he’s nowhere near as skilled.
And when a confrontation with the coach spurs Green to flee the court, his flight coincides with a priceless necklace going missing—making him the number one suspect. To clear Green’s name, the two brothers team up to find the necklace, and along the way, they learn to appreciate their differences…and the things that bring them together. (Recommended grades 4-7.)
Amelia is cleaning out her grandmother’s attic when she stumbles across a book: Tales to Keep You Up at Night. But when she goes to the library to return it, she’s told that the book never belonged there. Curious, she starts to read the stories: tales of strange incidents in nearby towns, of journal entries chronicling endless, twisting pumpkin vines, birthday parties gone awry, and cursed tarot decks. And at the center of the stories lies a family of witches. And witches, she’s told, can look like anyone…
As elements from the stories begin to come to life around her, and their eerie connections become clear, Amelia begins to realize that she may be in a scary story of her own… (Recommended grades 5-8.)
Eleven-year-old Barry Tucker lives with his parents and little sister, Cleo, in New Orleans’ lower ninth ward. Barry and his friend Jay work eagerly on the superhero cartoon they plan to enter in a contest soon. They avoid a bully named Abe and his scary dog, Cruz. Like most people in their neighborhood, they pay little attention to the repeated warnings on the radio concerning a massive hurricane. When evacuations become mandatory, Barry and his family pack up to leave the city. (Recommended grades 3-5.)
The snow came down faster than train crews could clear the tracks, piling up in drifts 20 feet high. At the Wellington train depot in the Cascade Mountains, two trains sat stranded, blocked in by snow slides to the east and west. Some passengers braved the storm to hike off the mountain, but many had no choice but to wait out the storm.
But the storm didn’t stop. One day passed, then two, three . . . six days. The snow turned to rain. Then, just after midnight on March 1, a lightning storm struck the mountain, sending a ten-foot-high wave of snow barreling down the mountain. The trains tumbled 150 feet. 96 people were dead. (Recommended grades 3-5.)
The girl in this story, with her dog at her side, loves to make things. Her brain, she says, is an “idea machine,” so full of ideas that she can hardly keep up. But then one day … it isn’t. All of a sudden, the girl can’t come up with a single idea for what to make. She tries everything: brainstorming, gathering new supplies, even jumping up and down on one foot to shake an idea loose. But, nothing. The girl realizes, with no ideas taking up space in her brain, it’s filling with sad instead. What if she never has another idea again? (Recommended grades K-2.)
Kids save their town from an ancient evit.
Archie, Oliver, Chris, and Athena live in Seaham, an economically depressed, small coastal Oregon town where many streets and landmarks are named after the Langdons, a reclusive, wealthy, 19th-century fur-trading family. Archie’s dad was in charge of a multimillion-dollar project to develop a portion of the headlands, much to the dismay of Athena’s environmentalist parents and others in the community—but it’s been paused. Sinister happenings quickly take over the town and the adults in it after the appearance of three strangers who seem new to being human. Old photographs indicate some ancient evil at the heart of the town’s founding, and the adults are suddenly replaced with sticky, odd-smelling replicants. The story, set in 1987 with a cast of bike-riding kids, their older siblings, a helpful adult nerd, one character with psychic powers, and an ending that leaves room for a sequel, feels like a middle-grade adaptation of the TV show Stranger Things. It’s a fun, creepy, attention-grabbing story, but a long and slow buildup culminates in a rushed climax and resolution, and the incomplete-feeling worldbuilding doesn’t quite allow readers to settle into the deliciously ominous truths introduced at the very end. (Recommended grades 6-8.)
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