Book Finder

Two best friends, Peter and Tommy, spend their summer finishing their Discovery Journal, a chronicle of all the wildlife they’ve come across in their native Florida. Can Peter help the manatee they discover in a nearby canal as well as help take care of his grandfather like he promised? The poignant story is both fast-paced and believable, with likeable and relatable characters.

Middle school is passing far too quickly, as the dance crew prepares for its final competition. But then Cory discovers a new passion he shares with a classmate. Learn how trick yoyo, dance routines, and friendships work together in this warm and lively graphic novel.

Badger and Bear are separated by the salty, wet sea. Being apart is hard, until Badger looks more closely and sees all the beauty — and all the connections to Bear — around her. Delicately textured watercolors add depth to the unusual look at friends separated by time and distance.

Truffle has fluffy reddish hair, a loving family, an interest in music, and a heart that loves a girl named after Nina Simone. In lighthearted illustrations, speech bubbles, and narration, his life comes into focus. Lively and childlike, Truffle and his world are sure to make readers’ hearts sing.

Expressive ink and watercolor illustrations detail the story of a playground mishap. Alex tosses a ball that accidentally knocks another child’s artwork into a puddle. Other kids pick up on that child’s unhappiness and give Alex the cold shoulder until the child whose artwork got wet asks Alex to play ball again. Suggestions for readers conclude this engaging and relatable book. 

The young narrator thinks her life in Hong Kong in the alley of Tai Yuen Street is boring — until a stranger down-on-his luck helps her realize that she is indeed quite lucky. Readers will appreciate the gentle reminder that kindness is contagious, when after the girl gives the man her special mooncake, the entire community steps up to help the man. 

The king sends Albie to deliver a message to a neighboring castle, but Albie is delayed along the way as he helps others and falls in love. Meanwhile, life at the castle goes on. Albie and the king’s tales are told in twin narratives: Albie’s with text and humorous illustration; the king’s below in an illustrated wordless banner. Stories merge again for a satisfying conclusion.

A loving celebration of school and all it may signify: work and play, creativity and trust, and a supportive community that extends beyond walls. A school isn’t just a building — it is all the people who work and learn together. It is a place for discovery and asking questions. A place for sharing, for helping, and for community.

Teachers build a sense of community within their classrooms, creating a home away from home where they make their students feel safe, included, and loved. This is a book that will help build and strengthen that class community. Kids learn that their classroom is a place where it’s safe to be themselves, it’s okay to make mistakes, and it’s important to be a friend to others. 

Musa’s feeling nervous about his first day of school. He’s not used to being away from home and he doesn’t know any of the other kids in his class. And when he meets classmates Moisés, Mo, and Kevin, Musa isn’t sure they’ll have much in common. But over the course of the year, the four boys learn more about each other, the holidays they celebrate, their favorite foods, and what they like about school. The more they share with each other, the closer they become, until Musa can’t imagine any better friends.

Is hiding who you are worth staying invisible? That’s what Jillian confronts as she navigates 5th grade. Can Jillian break out of her shell as fast as her chick in the classroom experiment? Readers will relate to the plausible characters in a realistic setting in this debut novel.

Two boys, best friends, live next-door to each other. Marco is academically talented and short; Isaac is a basketball whiz but struggles with his studies. How the boys help each other cope with school, parents, and more is realistic, plausible, and totally engaging.

When a young and very hungry chickadee wants to eat a caterpillar, Sir Ladybug must cook up a delicious alternative. This easier to read graphic book is humorously illustrated and broken into chapters by a Caldecott honor winning creator. 

“A rooftop garden is what we need — Friends and family all agree.” So, the diverse residents of the apartment gather tools, seeds and begin! Lively, rhyming language combines with bright illustrations to present the activity. Information needed to grow a rooftop garden and music to sing the narrative conclude the book. Be sure to link to the QR code to hear a toe-tapping rendition of the song.

Though most donkeys would find it difficult, Hakim manages to knit a sweater for his friend Daisy who lives atop the mountain. Fog makes everything and everyone that Hakim meets on his journey appear monstrous, but are things always as they appear? Cartoonlike illustrations reveal the humorous truth of mountain trail travel.

Arnold was always a seafaring elephant. Luckily, he found a small island when his boat sank. With his built-in trumpet, he called for help. Help arrives and together, animals combine efforts to make a distinctive island and create unusual friendships in this unique nautical tall tale.

Being a teen or tween is tough for anyone. And if you’re on the Autism Spectrum, life can feel like a game you’re playing without knowing the rules. This bestselling handbook is the key to unlocking those unwritten, often confusing, not-so-obvious social guidelines and bolstering confidence, all at once. The 10th Anniversary Edition reveals the essential secrets behind the baffling social codes surrounding making and keeping friends, dating, and catastrophic conversation pitfalls, with all-new content on social media and talking about neurodiversity. 

When five-year-old Luli joins her new English as a Second Language class, the playroom is quiet. Luli can’t speak English, neither can anyone else. That’s when she has a brilliant idea to host a tea party and bring them all together. Luli removes her teapot, thermos, and teacups from her bag and calls out “Chá!” in her native Chinese. One by one, her classmates pipe up in recognition: in Russian, Hindi, Turkish, Persian, Arabic, and Spanish, Portuguese, and Swahili. Tea is a tasty language they all know well, and it gives them a chance to share and enjoy each other’s company. 

A young immigrant from South Korea finds community and friendship in an apartment house filled with other newly arrived kids. When Jae looks out the window of his new home, he wishes he could still see his old village, his old house, and his old friends. Jae just arrived from South Korea and doesn’t even speak the new language. Yet, he soon meets a girl with a colorful bird perched on her shoulder. Rosa knows just how Jae feels and the two become fast friends. Not only does Rosa show Jae his new neighborhood but she shows him how his imagination can bring back memories of his old home. 

Manu and her best friend, Josefina, live at a magical school for girls, where Manu is always getting into trouble. Drawing from her own Dominican experience, the author weaves together religion, and lore and creates a world where magical powers bestowed by saints and evil eye necklaces work hand in hand. This fast-paced, funny adventure is about friendship, defying expectations, and finding your place. 

Black seventh grader Jordan Banks learns to navigate the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School while keeping his neighborhood friends and working to staying true to himself.

Set in the modern-day suburbs of Las Vegas, biracial sixth-grader Ella Cartwright finds herself caught between two worlds. She is drawn to the popular new boy, Bailey — the only other black student in the school — but also loyal to her best friend, Z, a geeky boy whose social status, like hers, is bottom-rung, and with whom she has shared an incomparable friendship. A relationship with Bailey means a chance at popularity for Ella, but Z is far too weird to ever be accepted by his classmates. When push comes to shove, where will Ella turn for real friendship?

Caleb Franklin and his big brother Bobby Gene are excited to have adventures in the woods behind their house. But Caleb dreams of venturing beyond their ordinary small town. Then Caleb and Bobby Gene meet new neighbor Styx Malone. Styx is sixteen and oozes cool — and he leads the brothers on a one-thing-leads-to-another adventure in which friendships are forged and loyalties are tested.

Owl just wants some peace and quiet to read his books — alone. But when the forest youngsters ruffle his feathers, he enlists the local bookshop owner to send him handpicked books to help cope with the chaos and the mess. It’s not long before Owl discovers Squirrel and learns that just as important as solitude are companionship and community. Told entirely in letters, this charming picture book celebrates books and bookshops, letter writing, and love.