Picture Books

Boelts, Maribeth. Those Shoes.
Jeremy, who longs to have the black high tops that everyone at school seems to have but his grandmother cannot afford, is excited when he sees them for sale in a thrift shop and decides to buy them even though they are the wrong size. E BOE

Dealey, Erin.  Dear Earth…From Your Friends in Room 5.
When the kids in Room 5 write to Earth asking what they can do to help save our planet, they are delighted to get a letter back. A monthly exchange of ideas becomes a lasting friendship in this affectionate story about how to be an Earth Hero. E DEA

Faruqi, Reema.  I Can Help.
Zahra loves spending time with Kyle at school, but when her other classmates start teasing her for helping him she starts making choices she regrets. E FAR

Ho, Joanna.  Eyes That Kiss in the Corners.
A young Asian girl notices that her eyes look different from her peers'. They have big, round eyes and long lashes. She realizes that her eyes are like her mother's, her grandmother's, and her little sister's. They have eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea, crinkle into crescent moons, and are filled with stories of the past and hope for the future. E HO, E-AV HO

McGinty, Alice B.  The Water Lady: How Darlene Arviso Helps a Thirsty Navajo Nation.
Cody is worried when his family on a New Mexico Navajo reservation runs out of water, but Darlene Arviso, called "The Water Lady," is on the way with her tanker truck. E MCG

Medina, Meg. Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away.
Daniela is sad when she finds out her best friend, Evelyn Del Rey, is moving away, but Evelyn promises Daniela that their friendship will always be special. E MED

Moahloli, Refiloe.  I Am You:  A Book about Ubuntu.
In southern Africa, there is a belief called ubuntu--the idea that we are all connected. A celebration of friendship and kindness, the book shows children the many ways that we are all one.  E MOA

Ramos, NoNieqa.  Your Mama.
Heartwarming and richly imagined, Your Mama twists an old joke into a point of pride that honors the love, hard work, and dedication of mamas everywhere. E RAM

Seeger, Laura Vaccaro.  Red. 
Illustrations and simple, rhyming text follow a young fox as it searches for a way home, through a world of many shades of red, after being separated from its family. E SEE

Trimmer, Christian and Kaylani Juanita.  The Little Things:  A Story about Acts of Kindness.
A little girl's small act of kindness after a storm spreads throughout her town so that the next time there is a storm, her community comes together to make a big difference. E TRI

Early Readers

Burnell, Heather Ayres.  Unicorn and Yeti:  Fair and Square.
Unicorn and Yeti learn that not everyone can do the same things with the same level of skill, but each attempt is valid and has worth. J-GRAPHIC BUR

Fang, Vicky.  Friendbots:  Blink and Block Bug Each Other.
Blink is silly and Block is logical, and they’re best when they’re together! Whether they’re searching for treasure, playing pretend, or learning to compromise, Blink's imagination and Block's clever ideas turn any ordinary day into the most fun ever. E 428 FAN

Greenawalt, Kelly.  I Am a Good Friend!
Princess Truly strives to use her magic powers to be a good friend whether it is in the park with her pug Noodles, in the rainbow clubhouse which she and her best friend are building, or at her very first sleepover. E 428 GRE

Hale, Bruce.  Clark the Shark:  Friends Forever.
When Clark the Shark disregards his best friend Joey Mackerel’s advice about entering a drawing contest to meet his hero, Clark learns valuable lessons about friendship and putting others first when his friend needs him. E 428 HAL

Iwai, Melissa.  Gigi and Ojiji.
Gigi can't wait for her Ojiji-Japanese grandpa-to move in. Gigi plans lots of things to do with him, like playing tag, reading books, and teaching Roscoe, the family dog, new tricks. But her plans don't work out quite the way she'd hoped. E 428 IWA

Jennings, Terry Catasus.  Knight of the Cape.
Longing to make a difference like the heroes in the classics she reads with her Abuela, Dominguita follows the examples of Don Quixote to do good deeds for her neighbors while proving to a class bully that girls can be knights, too. JEN

John, Jory and Pete Oswald.  The Bad Seed Goes to the Library.
When the Bad Seed finds a REALLY COOL book at the library, his mood is elevated as he reads and reads , but then he finds out he has to RETURN the book so another seed can enjoy it! E 428 JOH

Pilkey, Dav.  A Friend for Dragon.
Lonely Dragon has made a friend, and he loves spending time with his new buddy! But when his friend appears to be ill, Dragon demonstrates what it means to be a true friend in this story of love and loss. J PIL

Quigley, Dawn and Tara Audibert.  Jo Jo Makoons:  The Used-to-Be Best Friend.
Jo Jo’s she’s worried that she needs to figure out how to make more friends. Because Fern, her best friend at school, may not want to be friends anymore… J QUI

Ruzzier, Sergio.  Up and Down and Other Stories.
In three brief episodes about two unlikely friends, Fox talks Chick down from the tree he has climbed, the two go sledding (once they have enough snowflakes), and Chick builds a bookcase. E 428 RUZ

Soundar, Chitra.  Sona Sharma, Very Best Big Sister?
Sona is not sure how she feels about a new baby in the family until the baby-naming ceremony, during which she is determined to find the best name for her new brother or sister. J SOU

Waldo, Steph.  Tiny Tales:  Shell Quest.
When a little slug finds new friends in the backyard, she notices they look a lot like her...except they have shells! Maybe a shell is exactly what she needs to fit in--but finding one is a lot harder than it sounds! J-GRAPHIC WAL

Middle Grade Readers

Alston, B.B. Amari and the Night Brothers.
Thirteen-year-old Amari, a poor Black girl from the projects, gets an invitation from her missing brother to join the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs and join in the fight against an evil magician. J-FAN ALS, J-SPO PLAYA ALS

Applegate, Katherine. The One and Only Bob.
Bob sets out on a dangerous journey in search of his long-lost sister with the help of his two best friends, Ivan and Ruby. As a hurricane approaches and time is running out, Bob finds courage he never knew he had and learns the true meaning of friendship and family. J APP

Bourne, Shakirah.  Josephine Against the Sea.
When she discovers her father’s new girlfriend, Mariss, is actually a sea creature eager to take her place as his first love, Josephine must convince her friends to help her and use her cricket skills to save her dad from Mariss’ clutches.  J-FAN BOU

Day, Christine.  The Sea in Winter.
It’s been a hard year for Maisie Cannon, ever since she hurt her leg and could not keep up with her ballet training and auditions. How can she keep pretending to be strong when on the inside she feels as roiling and cold as the ocean? J DAY

Faruqi, Saadia.  Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero.
Yusuf is excited to start middle school in his small Texas town, but with the twentieth anniversary of the September 11 attacks coming up, suddenly it feels like the country's same anger and grief is all focused on his Muslim community. J FAR

Fipps, Lisa.  Starfish.
Bullied and shamed her whole life for being fat, twelve-year-old Ellie finally gains the confidence to stand up for herself, with the help of some wonderful new allies. J FIP

Fung, Rosena.  Living with Viola. 
Livy is already having trouble fitting in as the new girl at school-and then there's Viola. Viola is Livy's anxiety brought to life, a shadowy twin that only Livy can see or hear. And when tensions arise both at home and at school, Viola rears her head stronger than ever. J-GRAPHIC FUN

Graley, Sarah and Stef Purenins.  Donut the Destroyer.
In a world where everyone is born with special abilities, Donut, the super-strong daughter of infamous villain parents, surprises her family and scheming best friend by deciding to attend the Lionheart School for Heroes. J-GRAPHIC GRA

Harrell, Rob.  Wink.
After being diagnosed with a rare eye cancer, twelve-year-old Ross discovers how music, art, and true friends can help him survive both treatment and middle school. J HAR

Hashimoto, Meika and Gina Loveless.  Animal Rescue Friends.
At the Animal Rescue Friends shelter, everyone is looking for a way to belong - kids and animals alike. Any stray can find a friendly face - furry or otherwise. J-GRAPHIC HAS

Higuera, Donna Barbra.  The Last Cuentista. 
Petra wakes on a new planet--and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. J-SF HIG

Higuera, Donna Barba.  Lupe Wong Won’t Dance.
Lupe Wong needs an A in all her classes in order to meet her favorite baseball pitcher, Fu Li Hernandez, but her plan goes awry when she has to learn square dancing in gym class. J HIG

Holm, Jennifer L.  The Fourteenth Goldfish.
Ellie's scientist grandfather has discovered a way to reverse aging, and consequently has turned into a teenager--which makes for complicated relationships when he moves in with Ellie and her mother, his daughter. J -SF HOL

Hunt, Lynda Mullaly.  Shouting at the Rain.
Delsie loves tracking the weather, living with her grandmother, and the support of friends and neighbors, but misses having a "regular family," especially after her best friend outgrows her. J HUN

Janowitz, Jessie.  The Doughnut Fix.
When his family moves to tiny Petersville, eleven-year-old Tris stops focusing on his perfect sister, Jeanine, by using his cooking expertise to revive a town tradition of chocolate cream doughnuts. See also: The Doughnut King  J JAN

Kelly, Entrada.  Hello, Universe.
Two boys and two girls explore respective views about courage and being different in the wake of a prank that traps one of them at the bottom of a well and compels the others to embark on a search-and-rescue mission. J KEL

Larson, Hope.  All Summer Long.
Bina and Austin rise above their growing pains and reestablish their friendship and respect for their differences in a touching and funny coming-of-age story. J-GRAPHIC LAR

Miller, Kayla and Jeffrey Canino.  Besties:  Work It Out.
When best friends Beth and Chandra are asked to dogsit at Ms. Langford’s luxurious house while she’s away, they find their dream job turning into a nightmare after a prized possession is broken and they must somehow figure out how to pay for a replacement. GRAPHIC MIL

Nannestad, Katrina.  We Are Wolves.
When the Russian army marches into East Prussia at the end of World War II, the Wolf family flees, but Liesl, Otto, and their baby sister, Mia, are separated from their mother, and they are forced to do dangerous things to survive. J-HF NAN

Otheguy, Emma.  Silver Meadows Summer.
Carolina moves with her family from Puerto Rico to upstate New York, where she attends Silver Meadows camp with her cousin, finds an abandoned cottage, and reclaims parts of the life she left in Puerto Rico. J OTH

Palacio, R.J. White Bird:  A Wonder Story.
Tells the story of Julian's Grandmère's childhood as she, a Jewish girl, was hidden by a family in a Nazi-occupied French village during World War II and how the boy she once shunned became her savior and best friend. J-GRAPHIC PAL

Parks, Amy Noelle. Summer of Brave.
Lilla wants to make everyone happy, so when her best friend Vivi dares her to start telling the truth as part of their Summer of Brave, Lilla hesitates because if she says out loud what she really wants, her whole life might crash down around her. J PAR

Royce, Eden.  Root Magic.
In 1963 in South Carolina, eleven-year-old twins Jez and Jay Turner begin lessons in rootwork, and their uncle's training offers them healing, protection, and a connection to their heritage even as they face threats from the local police deputy, school bullies, and others. J-FAN ROY

Wang, Andrea.  The Many Meanings of Meilan. 
A family feud before the start of seventh grade propels Meilan from Boston's Chinatown to rural Ohio, where she must tap into her inner strength and sense of justice to make a new place for herself. J WAN

Warga, Jasmine.  Other Words for Home.
Sent with her mother to the safety of a relative's home in Cincinnati when her Syrian hometown is overshadowed by violence, Jude worries for the family members who were left behind as she adjusts to a new life with unexpected surprises. J WAR, J-SPO-PLAYA WAR