Melissa McAvoy

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]

Albee, Sarah. Bounce: A Scientific History of Rubber. Eileen Ryan Ewen, Illus. Charlesbridge, 10/2024. 48pp. Nonfiction. Trade $18.99. 978-1-6235-4379-2. GRADES Kindergarten–3. OUTSTANDING.          Five hundred years ago, Europeans didn’t even have a word for bounce, much less words for a material that can be molded and shaped, stretched, [continue reading]

Smith, Heather. Tig. Tundra, 09/2024. 160pp. Fiction. Trade $17.99. 978-0735267497. GRADES 5–6. HIGH ADDITIONAL.      Being left behind changes you. In their four months on their own, eleven-year-old Tig, and her slightly older brother Peter, learned that when you have nothing, you know who you are. [continue reading]