R. L. Toalson’s heart-wrenching "The Colors of the Rain" traces a boy’s journey through incredible loss amid tense racial issues. In 1972, in Houston, Texas, Paulie Sanders’s father is killed after fleeing the scene of a bar fight.... Read More

"Quiver" is a compelling story about an unlikely friendship between two teens from very different backgrounds. Libby—the eldest daughter of her family, whose life is filled with Bible study and helping care for her siblings—is... Read More

On the day that her family is evacuated from their home, eleven-year-old Cara’s dog, Mike, goes missing. The family rushes to escape the spreading flames, taking only those things that they cannot live without. Though she had packed... Read More

In Kate DiCamillo’s beautiful follow-up to Raymie Nightingale, Louisiana Elefante is back, and she and her granny are out to face the family curse. When they stop to sleep in a small Georgia town, Louisiana is left to wander on her... Read More

Dr. Brainchild and Radar is an enjoyable and boldly illustrated story of scientific discovery. Cole W. Williams’s clever picture book of discovery, Dr. Brainchild and Radar, follows a scientist, a dog, and the microwave. Dr. Brainchild... Read More

"Trevor Lee and the Big Uh-Oh!" is funny and heartwarming, with a memorable lead whose challenges are easy to relate to. In Wiley Blevins’s thoroughly charming "Trevor Lee and the Big Uh-Oh!", Trevor is in third grade and struggling to... Read More

"You Gotta Have Heart" is a beautiful story, both sad and hopeful. Bruce Bernstein’s emotional "You Gotta Have Heart" follows a young boy who lives in a group home as he searches out his place in the world—and people he can share it... Read More

Drawing on ancient tradition and modern experience, "The Circle of Nine" describes nine female archetypes and the ways women can utilize them to enrich their lives and strengthen their spirits. Cherry Gilchrist’s book is an intelligent... Read More