Fiction
Hollow Fires, by Samira Ahmed, Little Brown, 2022
A fast-paced exploration of the personal and societal impacts of Islamaphobia in today’s America, Hollow Fires challenges the reader to understand the underlying forces driving an intolerable act of violence against a 14-year-old student at main character Safiya Mirza’s elite prep school. (Grades 9-12)
The Silence that Binds Us, by Joanna Ho, Harper Teen, 2022
Mourning her brother Danny, fearing for her parents in their deep grief after his suicide, teen protagonist May can barely begin to imagine starting life again when a schoolmate’s parent publicly blames her family’s Asian culture for her brother’s death. May fights back with poetry on social media. (Grades 9-12)
Attack of the Black Rectangles, by Amy Sarig King, Scholastic Press, 2022
When sixth-grade Mac finds his classroom reading circle is given censored copies of The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen, he embarks on a campaign to make his own choices, finding allies in family, and members of his town and class who have their own visions of fairness and freedom. (Grades 4-8)
Answers in the Pages, by David Levithan, Knopf, 2022
A book banned in a fifth grade class, excerpts from the “offending” book, and a story set several decades earlier form the core of this engaging and nuanced story about intolerance and the power of love. An author’s endnote honors ground-breaking LGBTQ children’s writers. (Grades 5-8)
My Life Begins!, by Patricia MacLachlan, Katherine Tegen/Harper, 2022
Nine-year-old Jacob describes his experience as the brother to three newborn triplet sisters. His class has a year-long science project of journaling about any subject they choose, and he writes about how the triplets change and grow, which he discovers is a new beginning for him as well. (Grades 2-5)
Graphic Novel
Seen and Unseen: What Toyo Miyatake, Dorothea Lange, and Ansel Adams Reveal About the Japanese American Incarceration, Elizabeth Partridge and Tamaki Lauren, Henry Holt, 2022
The exploration of how, and why, three talented photographers diverged in framing the Japanese-American incarceration reveals the complex, shameful and heroic history in a way that is both elegant and profound. Vital ink illustrations incorporate photos, adding emotional power to clear, concise text. (Grades 4-8)
Non-Fiction
Buzzkill: A Wild Wander Through the Weird and Threatened World of Bugs, Brenna Maloney, Chronicle, 2022
Packed with incredible insect facts and stories so amazing they demand to be shared, Buzzkill also makes a compelling case for the crucial importance of bugs in our ecosystem. Backmatter includes multiple organizations and citizen-scientist links, a suggested reading list and selected sources. (Grades 5-12)
How To Build a Human: In Seven Evolutionary Steps, Pamela S. Turner , Charlesbridge, 2022
Human evolution is the focus of this fascinating look at prehistoric man, noting the major steps needed to evolve which include walking upright, using tools, using fire, and speaking. There is abundant illustrative matter, including sepia-toned drawings of Hominins. (Grades 6-10)
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