Star in the Forest
By Laura Resau Publisher: Random House Children’s Books Pages: 160 Age Range: 7 – 10 Years ABOUT Zitlally’s family is undocumented, and her father has just been arrested for speeding and deported back to Mexico. As her family waits for him to return—they’ve paid a coyote to guide him back across the border—they receive news that he and the coyote’s other charges have been kidnapped and are being held for ransom. Meanwhile, Zitlally and a new friend find a dog in the forest near their trailer park. They name it Star for the star-shaped patch over its eye. As time goes on,...
Read MoreEmmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah
By Laurie Thompson Illustrated by Sean Qualls Publisher: Random House Children’s Books Pages: 40 Lexile: AD770L Age Range: 4 – 8 Years ABOUT Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah’s inspiring true story—which was turned into a film, Emmanuel’s Gift, narrated by Oprah Winfrey—is nothing short of remarkable. Born in Ghana, West Africa, with one deformed leg, he was dismissed by most people—but not by his mother, who taught him to reach for his dreams. As a boy, Emmanuel hopped to school more than two miles each way, learned to play soccer, left home at age thirteen to provide for his...
Read MoreAnother Kind of Hurricane
By Tamara Ellis Smith Publisher: Random House Children’s Books Pages: 336 Lexile: 570L Age Range: 9 – 12 Years ABOUT In this stunning debut novel, two very different characters—a black boy who loses his home in Hurricane Katrina and a white boy in Vermont who loses his best friend in a tragic accident—come together to find healing. A hurricane, a tragic death, two boys, one marble. How they intertwine is at the heart of this beautiful, poignant book. When ten-year-old Zavion loses his home in Hurricane Katrina, he and his father are forced to flee to Baton Rouge. And when Henry,...
Read MoreFinding Wild
By Megan Wagner Lloyd Illustrated by Abigail Halpin Publisher: Random House Children’s Books Pages: 32 Age Range: 3 – 7 Years ABOUT A lovely, lyrical picture book with gorgeous illustrations that explores the ways the wild makes itself known to us and how much closer it is than we think. There are so many places that wild can exist, if only you know where to look! Can you find it? Two kids set off on an adventure away from their urban home and discover all the beauty of the natural world. From the bark on the trees to the sudden storm that moves across the sky to fire and...
Read MoreLike Water on Stone
By Dana Walrath Publisher: Random House Children’s Books Pages: 368 Age Range: 14 – 17 Years ABOUT “Evocative and hopeful,” says Newbery Honor-Winner Rita Williams-Garcia of this intense survival story set during the Armenian genocide of 1915. It is 1914, and the Ottoman Empire is crumbling into violence. Beyond Anatolia, in the Armenian Highlands, Shahen Donabedian dreams of going to New York. Sosi, his twin sister, never wants to leave her home, especially now that she is in love. At first, only Papa, who counts Turks and Kurds among his closest friends, stands in...
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