
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!
Look iNSIDE flipOur 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!
Look iNSIDE flipIf you’re looking to boost your lesson plans with great reads and important classroom discourse, we have a selection of guides to help! This list of teacher’s guides for every occasion can help you plan for the year! From well-loved canon to important historical moments, you’ll find pre-reading questions, discussion topics, and common core ties that are evergreen conversation starters.
Scroll through the images above to find teacher’s guides for Together, A Forest by Roz MacLean, Odder: An Otter’s Story by Katherine Applegate, Abuelo, the Sea, and Me by Ismée Williams; illustrated by Tatiana Gardel, Ánh’s New Word by Hanh Bui; illustrated by Bao Luu, I Wish You Knew by Jackie Azúa Kramer; illustrated by Magdalena Mora, and Why? A Conversation About Race by Taye Diggs; illustrated by Shane W. Evans.
Scroll through the images above to find teacher’s guides for Choosing Brave by Angela Joy; illustrated by Janelle Washington, and Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth by Michelle Duster; illustrations by Laura Freeman.
Scroll through the images above to find teacher’s guides for A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle; Wishtree by Katherine Applegate, Odder by Katherine Applegate, The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart, Onyx & Beyond by Amber McBride, The Song of Orphan’s Garden by Nicole M. Hewitt, Greta by J. S. Lemon, Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega; illustrated by Rose Bousamra, Farther than the Moon by Lindsay Lackey, The Gray by Chris Baron, by Eagle Drums by Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson, The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh, The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton; illustrated by Khadijah Khatib, In the Key of Us by Mariama J. Lockington, Pilar Ramirez and the Escape from Zafa by Julian Randall, and Cuba in my Pocket by Adrianna Cuevas.
Scroll through the images above to find teacher’s guides for Three Summers by Amra Sabic-El-Rayess with Laura L. Sullivan, The Girl Who Sang by Estelle Nadel with Bethany Strout; illustrated by Sammy Savos, Betty Before X by Ilyasah Shabazz, with Renee Watson, My Selma by Willie Mae Brown, Torpedoed by Deborah Heiligman, and Latinitas by Juliet Menéndez.
Scroll through the images above to find teacher’s guides for Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson; illustrated by E.M. Carroll, The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe; adapted by Salva Rubio and illustrated by Loreto Aroca; translated by Lilit Thwaites; Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray, Thirsty: A Novel by Jas Hammonds, Saints of the Household by Ari Tyson, Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley, Promise Boys by Nick Brooks, Himawari House by Harmony Becker, Cinder by Marissa Meyer, The Lost Dreamer by Lizz Huerta, So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. Morrow, Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo, A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix by C.B. Lee, and Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angelline Boulley.
Scroll through the images above to find teacher’s guides for The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater, Accountable by Dashka Slater, Impossible Escape by Steve Sheinkin, The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton with Lara Love Hardin and Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Don’t Look Back by Achut Deng and Keely Hutton, Call Him Jack by Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long, Duet by Phillip Hoose, Jane Against The World by Karen Blumenthal, Rise Up! by Crystal Marie Fleming, Fallout by Steve Sheinkin, Strongman by Kenneth C. Davis, Whose Right Is It? The Second Amendment and the Fight Over Guns by Hana Bajramovic, True or False by Cindy L. Otis.
Preorder Newbery Medalist Katherine Applegate’s next middle-grade novel Pocket Bear for your classroom or library to receive a gift for you and a gift for your students!
Upload your receipt from any retailer to receive an exclusive art print and 15 Pocket Bear patches.
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!
We’re so excited to see our librarian friends on June 27 to June 30 in Philadelphia!
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.
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!
Look iNSIDE DREAM ON!We’re celebrating our LGBTQIA+ authors, illustrators, and creators this month (and every month)! Keep reading to discover new books and revisit your favorites!
Discover books & resources for PRIDE Month →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!
Look inside The space cat→
Watch our MacKids School & Library Fall 2025 Preview Event, where we previewed upcoming picture books, middle grade, young adult, and adult titles! You’ll hear from talented creators Kevin Maillard and Rafael López (And They Walk On), Craig Kofi Farmer (A Method for Magic and Misfortune), and Deborah Heiligman (Loudmouth: Emma Goldman vs. America (A Love Story)).
Plus, author María Dolores Águila introduced her middle grade debut novel in verse, A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez, based on the true story of one child’s courage to stand against segregation. You’ll also hear from the Newbery Medalist and bestselling author Rebecca Stead! She was in conversation discussing her new fast-paced coming-of-age novel (with aliens!), The Experiment, which asks universal questions about how we figure out who we want to be, and whether it’s ever too late to change.
And, don’t miss our exclusive cover reveal of a new book by Newbery Honoree and #1 New York Times bestselling author Jasmine Warga!
Timestamps:
3:32 – María Dolores Águila introduces A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez
14:50 – Picture Books
15:49 – Rafael López And They Walk On
24:13 – Middle Grade
28:29 – Craig Kofi Farmer A Method for Magic and Misfortune
37:06 – Jasmine Warga cover reveal of The Unlikely Tale of Chase and Finnegan
41:36 – Young Adult
42:48 – Deborah Heiligman Loudmouth: Emma Goldman vs. America (A Love Story)
50:28 – Rebecca Stead in conversation The Experiment
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.
dOWNLOAD THE dISCUSSION gUIDE FOR The song of orphan’s garden hERE →