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Fiction Chapter Books

February 22, 2022 by Grace Enriquez

2022 Newbery and Pura Belpré Award winner: The Last Cuentista

Donna Barba Higuera’s Newbery Award and Pura Belpré Award winning novel nimbly mixes Spanish and English and draws from various storytelling genres to do what speculative fiction does best - imagine the latent possibilities in a given society, challenge readers to contemplate the promises and risks, and invite us to form new understandings about the world we live in now.

October 11, 2021 by Mary Ann Cappiello

Honoring Indigenous People’s Day with Teaching Ideas for Ancestor Approved

For Native and non-Native readers alike, Ancestor Approved centers the diverse lives of contemporary Native tweens and teens, and invites all of us to delight in the community, connection, and celebration of the powwow.

October 4, 2021 by Grace Enriquez

A Search for Identity and Home in Boy, Everywhere

A remarkable middle grade novel that chronicles the refugee experience beyond the physical journey itself, Boy, Everywhere is not just a valuable addition to social studies and ELA units, but a gripping text for independent, small group, and whole class reading as well.

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Flying Lessons and Other Stories

The Night Diary

After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again

Brown Girl Dreaming

The Year We Learned to Fly: Teaching Ideas for the Highly-Anticipated Companion to The Day You Begin

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One Woman’s Legacy: Teaching Ideas for One Wish: Fatima al-Fihri and the World’s Oldest University

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More Recent Posts

Just in Time for Summer Reading with Maybe, Maybe, Marisol Rainey

May 17, 2021 by Katie Cunningham

Just in time for summer, Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey is a charming tale of the everyday experiences of a young girl making her way through the world. This is a story primed for early elementary grade readers for summer reading, read-alouds, book club conversations, and to join the series bin of your classroom library.

Remembering and Healing with Before the Ever After

March 1, 2021 by Erika Thulin Dawes

As his mother and father visit doctor after doctor and try meds after meds, ZJ aches for the time ‘before’ his father’s illness, a time filled with picnics, pick up games, and spontaneous dance parties in the living room. ZJ’s father is a pro football player who is experiencing headaches, mood swings and memory loss. Jacqueline Woodson’s latest novel in verse explores the impact of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) on tight end Zachariah ‘44’ Johnson, through the eyes of his twelve year old son, his namesake.

Confronting Anti-Black Racism with the Middle Grade Novel What Lane?

September 21, 2020 by Katie Cunningham

Sixth grader, Stephen, lives in Brooklyn, is into sci-fi, and is a mixed race tween who has started to painfully experience the ways that white people in his neighborhood treat him differently than his white friends. If you are wondering how to begin confronting Anti-Black racism in your classroom, start with What Lane?

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Exploring Race, Class, and School Integration with The Long Ride

January 13, 2020 by Mary Ann Cappiello

For independent and curricular explorations, The Long Ride offers readers a snapshot of a girl, a city, and a country trying to forge a new identity and a foundation for the future.

Beginning the Year with Because of the Rabbit

September 3, 2019 by Erika Thulin Dawes

Because of the Rabbit Written by Cynthia Lord Published in 2019 by Scholastic ISBN 978-0-545-91424-6 Grades 3 – 6 Book Review It’s the start of the school year and Emma is facing more changes than the average rising fifth grader. Emma, her parents, and her older brother Owen live in northern Maine, where Emma’s father […]

Laughter as an Inference Tool: Teaching Ideas for Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Winner Fox+Chick and Other STories

February 4, 2019 by Katie Cunningham

Following in the literary footsteps of the famed friendships of Frog and Toad and Elephant and Piggie, a new pair of unlikely animal friends has entered the early reader scene. Author/illustrator Sergio Ruzzier has crafted two endearing characters in Fox and Chick that young readers will enjoy following through their humorous antics across three clever vignettes in this first book in this soon-to-be a series

Rebound

April 30, 2018 by Katie Cunningham

Rebound Written by Kwame Alexander and Illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile Published in 2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Grades 4-8 ISBN: 978-0-544-86813-7   Book Review In this much-anticipated prequel to his Newbery-winning novel The Crossover, Kwame Alexander draws from similar themes and the rhythm of basketball to transport readers back in time to 1988 with another […]

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Good Comics for Kids

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Heavy Medal

Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Readers’ Poll Results

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The Yarn

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by Travis Jonker

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Holiday House and Pixel + Ink Showcase: New titles from the first half of 2023

by Amanda MacGregor

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