It is the first day after Christmas at Oakdale Middle School in Chicago, and pressure is already mounting on Grace, a seventh-grader. Her friend Andy is not happy about how his reunion with his absent biological mother, Angela, went. He wants Grace to help him...

A farewell doesn’t mean the end. Bella's Light: A Story About Pet Loss and Love That Never Ends by Robert Kusserow is the story of two sister pups with a special bond, Bella and Lucy. They do absolutely everything together. One day, Bella feels something...

Not all superheroes wear capes—some have whiskers and paws. My Cat Hopper by Melissa Carrigee is a children’s picture book about an adventure-seeking, playful copper-colored cat named Hopper. With each page, he takes on a new role, like riding a toy chopper, wearing his favorite...

If you were to create the best-tasting ice cream in the world, how would you do it? Did you know that there’s a real science behind creating new ice cream flavors? In Linda Soules’ So You Want To Be An Ice Cream Flavor Inventor, there’s...

Kids, parents, and teachers seeking a fresh source of children’s literature would do well to add Bubbles in Summer to their reading list. This book is the second in a four-season series by Wanda Carter Roush and is illustrated by Andrew and Alicia Pezzente. A...

Curiosity can lead us to places we never expected to go. In Constance and the Battle for Wonder by Julie Lavender, twelve-year-old Constance Faultsom has grown up in a colorful, imaginative home where her family embraces creativity and a magical place called Wonder. They're perfectly...

What happens when a small problem leads to very big feelings? Pinky & Plum: Big Feelings, Little Bodies by Destiny Nakita Arnold follows twin sisters Pinky and Plum as they learn that difficult moments can become opportunities for kindness, empathy, and understanding. It opens as...

Have you ever been afraid of something that doesn’t bother anyone else? Shani and the Firefly by Shani T. Night is about a young girl who’s happy spending her days exploring the sunny meadows of Sunbeam Valley. That all changes when day turns to night....

Have you ever felt excited and nervous at the same time? That’s exactly what Ariel is feeling in Marigold Twinkletooth and the Star-Coin Surprise: A Tooth Fairy Tale by Jamie Kucia. It centers on a young girl, Ariel, who can’t wait for her first loose...

Have you ever had fun changing your clothes over and over again? Well, in Leon the Chameleon by Sofia Elena Politano, the lizard at the heart of the story is basically doing just that. He's a chameleon named Leon who enjoys changing his colors far...