Our Graphic Novel Preview series invites readers to look inside new graphic novels! This month, we’re highlighting Flip by Ngozi Ukazu, an equally relatable and reality-bending new YA graphic novel. On sale September 23rd!
Read More »SIGN UP TO HOST A POCKET BEAR TOY DRIVE
“Comforting is what we toys do. And it’s the best job on the planet.”
Librarians, teachers, and booksellers: after reading and sharing Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate, host a Toy Collection Drive to benefit children in your community. Sign up today to receive “How to Host a Toy Drive” guide, poster, “I donated” stickers, and more!
Materials will be shipped the first week of October while supplies last.
Meet Pocket, created as a good luck charm for soldiers going into battle, whose bravery and loyalty lives on long after the war.
From Katherine Applegate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Odder and The One and Only Ivan.
Thimble-born from tip to toe, Pocket Bear remembers every moment of his becoming: the glimmering needle, the silken thread, the tender hands as each careful stitch brought him closer to himself. Born during the throes of WWI, he was designed to fit into the pocket of a soldier’s jacket, eyes sewn a bit higher than normal so that he always gazed upward. That way, glancing at his pocket, a soldier would see an endearing token of love from someone back home, and, hopefully, a good luck charm.
Now, over a century later, Pocket serves as unofficial mayor of Second Chances Home for the Tossed and Treasured, where stuffed toy animals are refurbished and given a fresh opportunity to be loved. He and his best feline friend Zephyrina, known far and wide as “The Cat Burglar,” have seen it all, and then some.
An unforgettable tale of bravery, loyalty, and kindness, Pocket reminds us all that love comes in many forms (sometimes filled with fluff), and that second chances are always possible.
Explore themes of community, empathy, resilience, and the environment through books by Katherine Applegate. Download a free discussion guide here!
In the six graphic memoirs included in this teacher’s guide, you’ll find stories that make your students feel seen and that make the unremarkable feel remarkable. This guide includes discussion questions for six middle grade graphic novel memoirs, a guide for young readers to create their own graphic novel memoirs, and more recommendations for even more memorable graphic novels inspired by real life.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BOOKS
This month’s Author Spotlight is Kortney Nash, author of Tell Me About Juneteenth, an empowering picture book that celebrates Juneteenth!
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Our Graphic Novel Preview series invites readers to look inside new graphic novels! This month, we’re highlighting Dream On by Shannon Hale; illustrated by Marcela Cespedes, an exciting first book in a new middle grade graphic novel series! On sale August 26th!
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We’re celebrating our LGBTQIA+ authors, illustrators, and creators this month (and every month)! Keep reading to discover new books and revisit your favorites!
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This month’s Author Spotlight is Ann Bausum, author of White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War, Then Rewrote the History, a powerful young adult novel that examines racism and deconstructs the warped history of the Civil War for teen readers.
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Our Graphic Novel Preview series invites readers to look inside new graphic novels! This month, we’re highlighting a futuristic middle grade graphic novel, The Space Cat by Nnedi Okarafor and illustrated by Tana Ford—on sale August 12th!
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The Song of Orphan’s Garden
By Nicole M. Hewitt
Ages 8-12
On Sale Now!
A Junior Library Guild Selection
Combining the gentleness of Miyazaki, the wintry wonderland of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and the whimsicality of Newbery winner The Girl Who Drank the Moon, Nicole M. Hewitt’s debut middle-grade novel, The Song of Orphan’s Garden, is an enchanting fantasy tale with all the makings of a new classic.
In an arctic world that’s getting colder every day, Lyriana’s only hope of survival is to get her little brother Zave and herself to the fabled Orphan’s Garden. It’s rumored to be the one place in the world not controlled by deadly Winter Spirits or ruled by the tyrant Giant king. In Orphan’s Garden, healing trees will melt away Winter’s pains, and Lyriana and Zave can live safely in the warmth of Spring. If the garden exists, they must find it. They won’t live much longer without it.
Brob, a Giant boy, also needs sanctuary. When the Giant king banishes his family to the Winter Blight, it’s a death sentence. Orphan’s Garden is his family’s only hope, and as far as Brob’s concerned, it belongs to him. After all, he was the one who accidentally used an ancient magic to grow the garden years ago. He has no intention of sharing his haven with pesky humans, who will just use up its magic and ruin it.
When it becomes clear that Orphan’s Garden is in danger of being destroyed, Lyriana and Brob are the only ones who can save it—but only if they can put the ages-old battle between Humans and Giants aside and find a way to work together.
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In May, we celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month by reading and sharing stories by Jewish American authors and illustrators. Celebrate in your school or library by uplifting these voices all year round! Enter a sweepestakes below for the chance to win an advance reading copy of Caldecott Medalist Uri Shulevitz’s final work, The Sky Was My Blanket. Find more resources on the Jewish American Heritage Month website.
Enter for a chance to win a galley of Caldecott Medalist Uri Shulevitz’s final work, The Sky Was My Blanket: A Young Man’s Journey Across Wartime Europe. From celebrated Caldecott Award-winning illustrator Uri Shulevitz comes the gripping and revealing true story of a young Polish exile fighting to survive in war-torn Europe. Inspired by the true story of Uri’s uncle and stunningly illustrated by the author, this is a unique and riveting account of one man’s courage and resilience amidst one of the darkest periods in global history.
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