In Mootsie and the Invasion of the Robot Vacuum by Barbara Eckholdt Johnstone, Mootsie is a hidden creature that lives beneath Riley’s bed, formed from the small remnants that gather in a room that no one cleans. Riley answers every order to tidy the space...

Weepy is a dragon with an important mission: he must protect his castle. In J.J. Hebert’s Weepy the Dragon, the castle is under threat from an invading army. Weepy must overcome his fear of failure and come to the castle’s aid. But can he overcome...

The Mis-Adventure of Pepper & Salt by Liz Fahey introduces young readers to Pepper, a thoughtful little elephant who experiences emotions as colors, and his lively best friend, Salt, a gold-crested crane. Their day begins with curiosity when Pepper asks a playful question about Salt’s...

In the enchanting children’s fantasy, Fire & Ice (Dragon Island Legends) by Gregory S. Slomba, the Silver Dragon of the North attacks the villages in the islands and abducts the children to work in its mines and fields. Fifteen-year-old Benchu and Mai-Lin were saved by...

What does it truly mean to be alive? Does it mean being safe? Does it mean living in one place where everything is perfect, and the world is merely something you can watch through transparent walls? In Darya Ahmadi’s The Glass House on the Hill,...

Escape Gravestone Caverns by Melissa Costa begins in 1605, during the Nightlore Witch Trials, when sisters Cordelia and Dalia flee an angry mob and hide in a cavern that becomes their tomb. The story moves to 2025, where sixth grader Jenny Corine prepares for a...

The Kinetix and the Glowing Orb of Gorthon by Austin Basis, Dave Maulbeck, and Josh Taub is an entertaining and original graphic novel. Four middle school students never dreamed that they would one day become superheroes who would end up saving the school. And ultimately,...

In The Crow’s Ring by Pannell & Sigfusson, Brandon Woodberry and his friends are drawn into a long-buried mystery. Brandon realizes that a ruby ring, once dropped on his rooftop by his pet crow, matches jewelry reported stolen from a wealthy Riverside homeowner during a...

Harlow Morgan and the Sky City by Lyndsey Lewellen is a steampunk sci-fi adventure. Readers follow Harlow Morgan in Smokestack City, a world where there are airships, hedge mazes, and hover cycles. But there’s also academy rivalries, family expectations, and secrets. All of these things...

In Jesse Whipple's On Emerald Wings, Andi is a girl raised in the Emerald Forest by her godmother. Her life is closely tied to the earth and animals around her. After some time, she begins to notice she can somehow connect with plants and animals...