Celebrate National Native American Heritage Month in your school or library! Keep reading to find more book recommendations, download resources for your classroom—including a teacher’s guide for Saints of the Household and an activity kit for Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior—and hear from H.E. Edgmon about their debut middle grade novel The Flicker!
Greta
By J.S. Lemon
Ages 10-14
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Fish in a Tree meets Fighting Words in J. S. Lemon’s middle grade debut, a fiercely original story about friendship, healing, and the beauty of transformation.
Greta Goodwin’s life is changing. On top of moving to a new neighborhood far away from her best friend, Lotti, she’s also starting middle school. Greta isn’t totally ready for boys, bras, and the chaotic cafeteria. She still feels like a little kid compared to those female classmates who have suddenly matured over the summer. Girls who are now the talk of the school—unlike Greta, who would rather fly under the radar, especially after a bad haircut that makes her look less “effortlessly beautiful” and more “triangle with legs.”
But at her first-ever middle-school party, a boy does pay attention to Greta. Initially it feels good. And then it feels awful. In the aftermath, Greta can’t make sense of what’s happened, let alone talk about it, even to Lotti. Impossibly, Greta’s body starts to change in a vastly different way from everyone else’s. What follows leads Greta to believe the world might finally see her as she truly is: ethereal, powerful, and free.
Sensitively told, stunningly written, and surprisingly funny, Greta will transform readers just as Greta herself is transformed.
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Looking for books that will send a chill down your spine? Or a sweet Halloween treat for young readers? Whatever floats your ghost, this book list will get readers in the Halloween spirit!
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Thirsty: A Novel
By Jas Hammonds
Ages 14-18
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From Jas Hammonds, award-winning author of We Deserve Monuments, comes a gripping read about a girl willing to risk it all for the chance to join an underground sorority with her wealthy best friends—perfect for fans of the show Euphoria and Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow.
It’s the summer before college and Blake Brenner and her girlfriend, Ella, have one goal: join the mysterious and exclusive Serena Society. The sorority promises status and lifelong connections to a network of powerful, trailblazing women of color. Ella’s acceptance is a sure thing—she’s the daughter of a Serena alum. Blake, however, has a lot more to prove.
As a former loner from a working-class background, Blake lacks Ella’s pedigree and confidence. Luckily, she finds courage at the bottom of a liquor bottle. When she drinks, she’s bold, funny, and unstoppable—and the Serenas love it. But as pledging intensifies, so does Blake’s drinking, until it’s seeping into every corner of her life. Ella assures Blake that she’s fine; partying hard is what it takes to make the cut . . .
But success has never felt so much like drowning. With her future hanging in the balance and her past dragging her down, Blake must decide how far she’s willing to go to achieve her glittering dreams of success—and how much of herself she’s willing to lose in the process.
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This month’s Author Spotlight highlights Craig Kofi Farmer, author of Kwame Crashes the Underworld, a stunning middle grade fantasy novel about a boy hurled into the Ghanaian underworld to help his grandmother save humanity!
National Library Week 2024 is Sunday, April 7th through Saturday, April 13th! Celebrate the power of librarians with The Brilliant Ms. Bangle author Cara Devins, and incredible books starring libraries and librarians!
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This month’s Author Spotlight highlights New York Times bestselling author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé as she discusses Where Sleeping Girls Lie, her latest YA contemporary mystery about a girl new to a boarding school who discovers dark secrets and coverups after her roommate disappears.
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Ring in the Lunar New Year with graphic novel superstars Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham’s latest collaboration, Lunar New Year Love Story, Julie Leung and Hanna Cha’s lyrical Caldecott Honor Book, The Truth About Dragons, and more incredible titles!
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The Girl Who Sang
By Estelle Nadel with Bethany Strout; illustrated by Sammy Savos
Ages 10-14
On Sale Now!
A heartrending graphic memoir about a young Jewish girl’s fight for survival in Nazi occupied Poland, The Girl Who Sang illustrates the power of a brother’s love, the kindness of strangers, and finding hope when facing the unimaginable.
Born to a Jewish family in a small Polish village, Estelle Nadel—then known as Enia Feld—was just seven years old when the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939. Once a vibrant child with a song for every occasion, Estelle would eventually lose her voice as, over the next five years, she would survive the deaths of their mother, father, their eldest brother and sister, and countless others.
A child at the mercy of her neighbors during a terrifying time in history, The Girl Who Sang is an enthralling first-hand account of Estelle’s fight for survival during World War II. She would weather loss, betrayal, near-execution, and spend two years away from the warmth of the sun—all before the age of eleven. And once the war was over, Estelle would walk barefoot across European borders and find remnants of home in an Austrian displaced persons camp before finally crossing the Atlantic to arrive in New York City—a young woman carrying the unseen scars of war.
Beautifully rendered in bright hues with expressive, emotional characters, debut illustrator Sammy Savos masterfully brings Estelle story of survival during the Holocaust to a whole new generation of readers. The Girl Who Sang is perfect for fans of March, Maus, and Anne Frank’s Diary.
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International Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed on January 27th—the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau—to commemorate the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, the millions of other victims of Nazi persecution, and the heroism of survivors and rescuers. Here is a collection of books you can share with young readers for International Holocaust Remembrance Day:
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