March's Superpower Compassion

Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan. His school life entails enduring the taunts and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student. 

Auggie is a hero to root for, a diamond in the rough who proves that you can't blend in when you were born to stand out. Read Wonder to see how students and adults learn to show compassion and kindness.

“Astronomy-loving Calliope June starts her first day at a new school in St. George, Utah, and tries hard to hide her Tourette syndrome from the other seventh graders. But she can't help it if she makes noises or sounds when she doesn't mean to. When Jinsong, her new neighbor and the popular student body president, tries to stand up for Callie, he feels pulled by the other kids to keep his distance. As Callie struggles to fit in, she also deals with her unpredictable mother, who's itching to move again.”

-Rachel Sarah, Common Sense Media

This is such a captivating story! You will not be able to put this book down.

(Your library does not have it?  Request it for your library.)

Life changes forever for Liv when her older brother, Jonah, accidentally shoots himself with his best friend Clay’s father’s gun. Now Jonah needs round-the-clock care just to stay alive, and Liv feels like she’s the only person who can see that her brother is still there inside his broken body.

With Liv’s mom suing Clay’s family, there are divisions in the community that Liv knows she’s not supposed to cross. But Clay is her friend, too, and she refuses to turn away from him—just like she refuses to give up on Jonah.

This powerful novel is a stunning exploration of tragedy, grief, compassion, and forgiveness.

Justyce is a good kid, an honor student, and always there to help a friend—but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs without cause.

When faced with injustice, Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore? He starts a journal to Dr. King to find out.

Then comes the day Justyce and a friend spark the fury of an off-duty cop. Words fly, shots are fired, and the boys get caught in the crosshairs. But in the media fallout, it's Justyce who is under attack.

Three different kids. One mission in common: ESCAPE.

Josef is a Jewish boy in 1930s Nazi Germany. Isabel is a Cuban girl in 1994 living under Castro’s authoritarian regime. Mahmoud is a Syrian boy in 2015 whose country is torn apart by war.

All three young people will go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. All will face unimaginable dangers–from drownings to bombings to betrayals. But for each of them, there is always the hope of tomorrow. And although Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, surprising connections will tie their stories together in the end. 

A boy on the run. A girl determined to find him. A compelling fantasy looks at issues of privilege, protest, and justice.

Pong was born in Namwon Prison, and dreams of the day he could be free. But when Pong escapes from prison, he realizes that the world outside is no fairer than the one behind bars. The wealthy dine and dance under bright lights, while the poor toil away in darkness. Worst of all, Pong’s prison tattoo marks him as a fugitive who can never be truly free.

Nok, the prison warden’s perfect daughter, is bent on tracking Pong down and restoring her family’s good name. But as Nok hunts Pong through the alleys and canals of Chattana, she uncovers secrets that make her question the truths she has always held dear. Set in a Thai-inspired fantasy world, this book is a dazzling, fast-paced adventure that explores the difference between law and justice — and asks whether one child can shine a light in the dark.

Full title: The Warrior's Heart: Becoming a Man of Compassion and Courage

In this adaptation of his best-selling book, The Heart and the Fist, Eric speaks directly to teen readers, interweaving memoir and intimate second-person narratives that ask the reader to put themselves in the shoes of himself and others. 

Readers will share in Eric’s evolution from average kid to globe-traveling humanitarian to warrior, training and serving with the most elite military outfit in the world: the Navy SEALs. Along the way, they’ll be asked to consider the power of choices, of making the decision each and every day to act with courage and compassion so that they grow to be tomorrow’s heroes.