Aila is a young girl who is facing separation from her dad during a military deployment. The Dada Doll by Nina Rohrig follows her journey. Before his departure, Aila’s dad gives her a special doll to hold onto and hug tightly when she misses him....

Rainy days meet big imaginations. Written by Felix M. Finley, The Perfect Fort follows a little girl named Sam, her ever-eager AI assistant Pip, and their quest to build the ultimate living room fort in one rainy day. Sam wants to build a giant castle...

Sometimes the smallest positive thought can brighten a whole day. In The Happiest Therapist presents Positives by Frank Clayton, readers meet a trio of kids and one unforgettable cat. First is Dan, who wakes up bummed out and wears a mood ring that shows how...

Life is full of new beginnings. A mother bird tells her young bird it’s time to leave the nest in The Bird Song by Willie Beesley. The news makes him feel very nervous. The world feels so big, but his mom offers some encouraging advice....

Tower in the Stars (Torre en las estrellas) by Laura Carolfi is a children’s illustrated picture book about life and death. Tower is an older dog, and he is there when Tiny is born. I liken Tower to a grandfather figure, in his later years...

Mark Binder’s The Worst centers on an ordinary eighth-grader who navigates the awkward world of a small New England middle school along with his tight-knit group of friends. Calling themselves Team Bomb Shelter, these clever middle schoolers use an ironic scale to rank their daily...

The Seashell Safe Harbor: Friendship by Sherrie Schmidt takes readers on a bright, cheerful adventure. It introduces you to the friendship group—Happy the sailboat, Starfish Sue, Pelican Hugh, Dolphin Rue, Captain Drew, and their guests—who all set out together on the Friendship Trip. They plan...

The Girl Who Makes a Million Mistakes: Dance Practice by Brenda Li is a children’s picture book about a high-spirited girl named Millie who rose to the occasion. When Miss Julianna announces that the class has an exciting dance recital coming up, Millie is absolutely...

M.M. Hart’s The Empty Lot centers on Marco Rivera, a young boy living in an old East Los Angeles apartment. Marco doesn’t have a club, a coach, or any proper soccer gear. Instead, he spends his evenings practicing footwork behind his building, kicking a plastic...

There’s a difference between tattling and telling. Do you know what this difference is? In Stacy Byous’s Tattle Tails, siblings Skylar and Brodie are constantly tattling on each other. When they take their tattling to school and start tattling on their classmates, the tattling really...