Melissa McAvoy

Long, Loren. Yellow Bus, The. Loren Long, Illus. Roaring Brook, 06/2024. 48pp. Picture Book. Trade $19.99. 978-1-250-90313-6. GRADES Preschool–2. OUTSTANDING. A town and environs, minutely rendered in soft gray graphite and pencil, are the backdrop for the profound and charming life journey of a bright yellow school [continue reading]

Fleming, Candace. Enigma Girls, The: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II. Scholastic Focus, 03/2024. 371pp. Nonfiction. Trade $19.99. 978-1-3387-4957-1. GRADES 6–12. OUTSTANDING.     Until recently, they were forgotten: young women, mostly teenagers, all of whom were plucked from ordinary [continue reading]

Cho, Tina. Other Side of Tomorrow, The. Deb J.J. Lee, Illus. Harper Alley, 11/2024. 224pp. Graphic. Trade $15.99. 978-0-0630-1107-6. GRADES 6–8. HIGH ADDITIONAL.         This moving and dramatic account of two very different twelve-year-olds is told in parallel diary entries and shown in lovely, crisp, various-sized panels, filled [continue reading]

Chan, Ruth. Uprooted: A Memoir About What Happens When Your Family Moves Back. Ruth Chan, Illus. Roaring Brook, 09/2024. 288pp. Graphic. Trade $14.99. 978-1-2508-5534-3. GRADES 5–7. HIGH ADDITIONAL.       Thirteen-year-old Chinese Canadian Ruth loves her home in Toronto; she has a great, diverse friend group, a glorious room, [continue reading]

Warga, Jasmine. Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall, A. Balzer + Bray, 09/2024. 224pp. Fiction. Trade $19.99. 978-0-0629-5670-5. GRADES 3–5. ADDITIONAL.         Since his best friends unfriended him, eleven-year-old Rami hangs out at the museum his mom cleans, and spends a lot of energy trying not [continue reading]

Sepetys, Ruta. Bletchley Riddle, The. Addl. Creator Steve Sheinkin. Viking, 10/2024. 400pp. Fiction. Trade $18.99. 978-0-59352-754-2. GRADES 5–8. HIGH ADDITIONAL.         Two very different orphaned teen siblings are drawn into history’s crucible as World War II accelerates and Britain prepares for invasion. Fourteen-year-old Lizzie is straightforward, fiendishly [continue reading]

Cline-Ransome, Lesa. They Call Me Teach: Lessons in Freedom. James E. Ransome, Illus. Candlewick, 09/2024. [40]pp. Picture Book. Trade $18.99. 978-0-7636-8155-5. GRADES Kindergarten–4. HIGH ADDITIONAL. Luminous watercolors show each day of the week, as a young enslaved Black man uses his literacy to help pass on [continue reading]

Butler, Caron. Clutch Time. Addl. Creator Justin A. Reynolds. Shot Clock Novel. HarperCollins, 09/2024. 242pp. Fiction. Trade $19.99. 978-0-0630-6964-0. GRADES 6–9. HIGH ADDITIONAL.           Kofi, known as KO, is living his basketball dreams. At fourteen, he’s just been named the number one ranked AAU player in the [continue reading]