Anybody Here Seen Frenchie?

By Leslie Connor

Aurora and her best friend Frenchie love exploring the woods in Maine where they live. Aurora is the chatty one and Frenchie - well, Frenchie doesn’t talk. Then one day they walk into school together but Frenchie never makes it to his classroom! The whole town begins to search and everyone wonders, how has no one seen Frenchie?

RL: 3.7 - Lexile 650L - Word count: 58577

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BenBee and the Teacher Griefer

By K.A. Holt

Ben and his classmates are stuck in a summer school class. They make a deal with Ms. J., their teacher – for every minute they spend reading aloud they get a minute playing a game called Sandbox. But when the administration finds out, Ben and his friends have to band together to help save their teacher’s job. A funny novel in verse.

RL: 4.7 - Lexile 980L - Word count: 36097

A Case of Grave Danger

By Sophie Cleverly

Violet’s father owns a funeral home. One night, the body of a boy lies in a coffin, waiting to be buried in a freshly dug grave. Violet wakes to some odd noises – and when she goes to investigate, the coffin is empty, the back door is open, and fresh footprints lead to the graveyard. Can Violet and her dog Bones solve the mystery and maybe dig up the truth about other recent deaths? 

Book #1 in a series

Topics & Genres: Mystery, historical fiction

RL: 5.0 - Lexile 800L

Ellen Outside the Lines

By A.J. Cleverly

Ellen is 13 and spending 2 weeks on a class trip in Spain. She’s hoping to spend a lot of time with her friend Laurel but they get put in different groups. Now Ellen has to learn to deal with changing plans and new people – which is not always easy for a kid who is autistic and also trying to come to grips with different aspects of her identity.

RL: 4.2 - Lexile 715L - Word count: 60867

Lety Out Loud

By Angela Cervantes

Lety Muñoz loves volunteering at the Furry Friends Animal Shelter. When the shelter needs a volunteer to write animal profiles, Lety jumps at the chance, even though English isn’t her first language. Her classmate Hunter also wants the job and comes up with a secret competition - whoever helps their animals get adopted the fastest wins. It’s a lot of pressure!

RL: 4.5 - Lexile 750L - Word count: 33984

Available in Spanish as an ebook on Sora and from BPL as Lety alza su voz

Nikhil Out Loud

By Maulik Pancholy

Nikhil is a voice actor for a hit animated series called Raj Reddy in Outer Space. Then he moves to his mom’s hometown in Ohio to take care of his grandfather and has a lot to adjust to. He lands a spot in the school musical but is terrified that everyone will find he has stage fright. Then a group of parents start a protest against having a gay actor in the role. It would be easier to just be Raj Reddy all the time instead of having to be Nikhil.

Piece by Piece

By David Aguilar

David Aguilar was born without part of one arm - which has led to lots of people assuming who he was and what he could do. But David’s about breaking down those ideas - and about building things too. At 9 he built his first prosthesis from LEGOs and ever since he’s been creating things that make a difference. This book is a nonfiction memoir.

RL: 6.4 - Lexile 930L

A Rover's Story

By Jasmine Warga

Res is a rover built to explore Mars. He was not built to have human emotions, but as he learns new things from the NASA scientists who assemble him, he begins to develop human-like feelings. When he and his friendly drone helicopter Fly land on the red planet they quickly learn that Mars is full of dust storms, giant cliff and many other tests of his Resilience. By the author of Other Words For Home.

RL: 4.1 - Lexile 700L - Word count: 45124

Small Town Pride

By Phil Stamper

When Jake’s dad hangs a giant gay pride flag at their house to show his support for Jake, some people love it - but others complain to the mayor of their small town in Ohio. The complainers are worried it could even lead to something really outlandish – a pride parade. But Jake realizes may it’s not such a crazy idea and despite some obstacles, he and some friends - including the mayor’s son, organize a pride festival.

RL: 4.9 - Lexile 890L - Word count: 47881

Something Like Home

By Andrea Beatriz Arango

Laura is living with her aunt, Titi Silva, waiting for her parents to come home from rehab. She can’t visit them there but comes up with an idea to train her rescue dog Sparrow as a therapy dog so she can get in that way. Laura’s caught between the home she has and the home she wants that doesn’t really exist anymore. A novel in verse.

RL: 5.6 - Word count: 25395

Available in Spanish as an ebooks and eaudiobook from Sora as Casi, casi un hogar

Stowaway

By John David Anderson

A war has broken out between aliens and humans because of a struggle over a rare mineral found in Earth’s crust. Leo and his dad have left earth behind but their space ship is attacked and his dad kidnapped! Now it’s up to Leo and his brother to hatch a plan to rescue him, dodging pirates and encountering new aliens, humans and robots along the way.

RL: 5.4 - Lexile 850L - Word count: 85624

The Unforgettable Logan Foster

By Shawn Peters

Logan is an orphan with a photographic memory and not-great social skills. He’s just met his seventh foster family and isn’t too hopeful. When their get-together is disrupted by an earthquake and lava flow; Logan manages to escape down a zip line, but he’s surprised when Gil and Margie survive - and almost not surprised when it turns out they are superheroes.

RL: 6.1 - Lexile 910L - Word count: 54939

Unsettled

By Reem Faruqi

Nurah is 13 and she’s happy living in Karachi, Pakistan. Then her dad take a job outside Atlanta, Georgia and the family move there. She has to learn how to speak, dress, and act. One thing she doesn’t need to learn is how to swim. She and her brother find that thing they love at the community pool. She’s jealous of how he’s managed to settle in and makes a critical choice that has fallout for both of them. A novel in verse.

RL: 4.8 - Lexile 790L - Word count: 15476

The Vanquishers

By Kalynn Bayron

Boog Wilson and her friends idolize The Vanquishers, vampire hunters who wiped out the last horde of the undead 20 years ago. Her parents take precautions against a vampire return, but most think they’re gone forever. Then Boog’s new friend Aaron disappears. Are vampires back? And what’s with the weird new guidance counselor??

Book #1 in a series.RL: 4.4 - Lexile 735L - Word count: 64422

Violet and Jobie in the Wild

By Lynne Rae Perkins 

Violet and Jobie are siblings and they’ve recently relocated to a new home. The difference is - they are mice who’ve gone from watching nature on TV in a human family’s home to living in nature. There’s a lot to learn - like about how to find food, stay away from owls and figure out who to trust.

 
RL: 4.2 - Lexile 710L - Word count: 25419

Ways to Make Sunshine

By Renee Watson

Ryan Hart’s family has had some bumpy times - they’ve have to move to a new house and make some other changes. But Ryan’s someone who looks for the sunshine in any day. She’s glad to stay at her school, glad she can still create new recipes. And in each chapter, Ryan confronts a new situation.

This is Book #1 in the Ryan Hart series.

RL: 4.5 - Lexile 1040L - Word count: 27053

When Impossible Happens

By Jane De Suza

It’s the pandemic and like everyone else, Swara is stuck at home in India. Told her beloved grandmother has gotten sick and passed away, Swara decides that her grandmother, who loved detective stories, has staged an elaborate mystery to be solved. In the process she stumbles on a real mystery right in her neighborhood, watching from her own window.

RL: 3.8 - Lexile 660L

The Year I Flew Away

By Marie Arnold

Gabrielle has moved from her home in Haiti to her uncle's place in Brooklyn, while her parents wait for the paperwork to immigrate. She doesn’t know much English, and a mean girl bullies her at school. Then a red door appears in her building’s lobby at midnight – behind it, a witch offers to grant her wish of fitting in—for a small price.

RL: 3.8 - Lexile 660L - Word count: 59381