Special Collections

Yes No Maybe So

YES Jamie Goldberg is cool with volunteering for his local state senate candidate—as long as he’s behind the scenes. When it comes to speaking to strangers (or, let’s face it, speaking at all to almost anyone), Jamie’s a choke artist. There’s no way he’d ever knock on doors to ask people for their votes…until he meets Maya.

NO Maya Rehman’s having the worst Ramadan ever. Her best friend is too busy to hang out, her summer trip is canceled, and now her parents are separating. Why her mother thinks the solution to her problems is political canvassing—with some awkward dude she hardly knows—is beyond her.

MAYBE SO Going door to door isn’t exactly glamorous, but maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world. After all, the polls are getting closer—and so are Maya and Jamie. Mastering local activism is one thing. Navigating the cross-cultural romance of the century is another thing entirely.

Date Added: 01/05/2023

The Wonderful Things You Will Be

From Emily Winfield Martin, author/illustrator of Dream Animals, comes a new book that celebrates the dreams, acceptance, and love that parents have for their children . . . now and forever!

From brave and bold to creative and clever, the rhythmic rhyme expresses all the loving things that parents think of when they look at their children. With beautiful, and sometimes humorous, illustrations, this is a book grown-ups will love reading over and over to kids--both young and old. The Wonderful Things You Will Be has a loving and truthful message that will endure for lifetimes.

New York Times Bestseller

Date Added: 01/05/2023

With the Fire on High

From the New York Times bestselling author of the National Book Award longlist title The Poet X comes a dazzling novel in prose about a girl with talent, pride, and a drive to feed the soul that keeps her fire burning bright.

Ever since she got pregnant freshman year, Emoni Santiago’s life has been about making the tough decisions—doing what has to be done for her daughter and her abuela.

The one place she can let all that go is in the kitchen, where she adds a little something magical to everything she cooks, turning her food into straight-up goodness.

Even though she dreams of working as a chef after she graduates, Emoni knows that it’s not worth her time to pursue the impossible. Yet despite the rules she thinks she has to play by, once Emoni starts cooking, her only choice is to let her talent break free.

A New York Times Bestseller

Date Added: 01/05/2023

We Are Water Protectors

Inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, We Are Water Protectors issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth’s water from harm and corruption―a bold and lyrical picture book written by Carole Lindstrom and vibrantly illustrated by Michaela Goade. Water is the first medicine. It affects and connects us all . . . When a black snake threatens to destroy the Earth And poison her people’s water, one young water protector Takes a stand to defend Earth’s most sacred resource.

Date Added: 01/05/2023

Wandi

A young cub is snatched from his family and home by a giant eagle, then dropped, injured and alone, in a suburban garden. This is where he meets his first Human, and begins his long journey to becoming the most famous dingo in the world. He will never see his mountain home again, or his family. But it is his destiny to save alpine dingoes from extinction, and he dreams of a time when all cubs like him can live in the wild in safety, instead of facing poison and bullets and hatred. A children's literary classic in-the-making from one of Australia's most-loved authors is brought to life by Helpmann and AACTA award-winning actress Marta Dusseldorp.

Date Added: 01/04/2023

This Time Will Be Different

For fans of Jenny Han, Morgan Matson, and Sandhya Menon, critically acclaimed author Misa Sugiura delivers a richly crafted contemporary YA novel about family, community, and the importance of writing your own history.

The author of the Asian Pacific American Award-winning It’s Not Like It’s a Secret is back with another smartly drawn coming-of-age novel that weaves riveting family drama, surprising humor, and delightful romance into a story that will draw you in from the very first page.

Katsuyamas never quit—but seventeen-year-old CJ doesn’t even know where to start. She’s never lived up to her mom’s type A ambition, and she’s perfectly happy just helping her aunt, Hannah, at their family’s flower shop.

She doesn’t buy into Hannah’s romantic ideas about flowers and their hidden meanings, but when it comes to arranging the perfect bouquet, CJ discovers a knack she never knew she had. A skill she might even be proud of.

Then her mom decides to sell the shop—to the family who swindled CJ’s grandparents when thousands of Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps during WWII. Soon a rift threatens to splinter CJ’s family, friends, and their entire Northern California community; and for the first time, CJ has found something she wants to fight for.

Date Added: 01/05/2023

This Is Our Rainbow

The first LGBTQA+ anthology for middle-graders featuring stories for every letter of the acronym, including realistic, fantasy, and sci-fi stories by authors like Justina Ireland, Marieke Nijkamp, Alex Gino, and more!

A boyband fandom becomes a conduit to coming out. A former bully becomes a first-kiss prospect. One nonbinary kid searches for an inclusive athletic community after quitting gymnastics. Another nonbinary kid, who happens to be a pirate, makes a wish that comes true–but not how they thought it would. A tween girl navigates a crush on her friend’s mom. A young witch turns herself into a puppy to win over a new neighbor. A trans girl empowers her online bestie to come out.

From wind-breathing dragons to first crushes, This Is Our Rainbow features story after story of joyful, proud LGBTQA+ representation. You will fall in love with this insightful, poignant anthology of queer fantasy, historical, and contemporary stories from authors including: Eric Bell, Lisa Jenn Bigelow, Ashley Herring Blake, Lisa Bunker, Alex Gino, Justina Ireland, Shing Yin Khor, Katherine Locke, Mariama J. Lockington, Nicole Melleby, Marieke Nijkamp, Claribel A. Ortega, Mark Oshiro, Molly Knox Ostertag, Aisa Salazar, and AJ Sass.

Date Added: 01/05/2023

They Call Me Guero

Twelve-year-old Guero, a red-headed, freckled Mexican American border kid, discovers the joy of writing poetry, thanks to his seventh grade English teacher.

Date Added: 01/05/2023

Starfish

Ellie is tired of being fat-shamed and does something about it in this poignant debut novel-in-verse.

Ever since Ellie wore a whale swimsuit and made a big splash at her fifth birthday party, she's been bullied about her weight. To cope, she tries to live by the Fat Girl Rules--like "no making waves," "avoid eating in public," and "don't move so fast that your body jiggles." And she's found her safe space--her swimming pool--where she feels weightless in a fat-obsessed world. In the water, she can stretch herself out like a starfish and take up all the room she wants.

It's also where she can get away from her pushy mom, who thinks criticizing Ellie's weight will motivate her to diet. Fortunately, Ellie has allies in her dad, her therapist, and her new neighbor, Catalina, who loves Ellie for who she is. With this support buoying her, Ellie might finally be able to cast aside the Fat Girl Rules and starfish in real life--by unapologetically being her own fabulous self.

Date Added: 01/05/2023

Spirit Hunters

We Need Diverse Books founder Ellen Oh returns with Spirit Hunters, a high-stakes middle grade mystery series about Harper Raine, the new seventh grader in town who must face down the dangerous ghosts haunting her younger brother. A riveting ghost story and captivating adventure, this tale will have you guessing at every turn!

Harper doesn’t trust her new home from the moment she steps inside, and the rumors are that the Raine family’s new house is haunted. Harper isn’t sure she believes those rumors, until her younger brother, Michael, starts acting strangely. The whole atmosphere gives Harper a sense of déjà vu, but she can’t remember why. She knows that the memories she’s blocking will help make sense of her brother’s behavior and the strange and threatening sensations she feels in this house, but will she be able to put the pieces together in time?

Date Added: 01/05/2023

Soul Food Sunday

Granny teaches her grandson to cook the family meal in this loving celebration of food, traditions, and gathering together at the table A 2022 Coretta Scott King Book Award Illustrator Honor Book On Sundays, everyone gathers at Granny's for Soul Food. But today, I don't go to the backyard or the great room. I follow Granny instead. "You're a big boy now," Granny says. "Time for you to learn." At Granny's, Sunday isn't Sunday without a big family gathering over a lovingly prepared meal. Old enough now, our narrator is finally invited to help cook the dishes for the first time: He joins Granny in grating the cheese, cleaning the greens, and priming the meat for Roscoe Ray's grill. But just when Granny says they're finished, her grandson makes his own contribution, sweetening this Sunday gathering and the many more to come. Evocatively written and vividly illustrated, this mouthwatering story is a warm celebration of tradition and coming together at a table filled with love and delicious food.

Date Added: 01/05/2023

A Snake Falls to Earth

Nina is a Lipan girl in our world. She's always felt there was something more out there. She still believes in the old stories.Oli is a cottonmouth kid, from the land of spirits and monsters. Like all cottonmouths, he's been cast from home. He's found a new one on the banks of the bottomless lake.Nina and Oli have no idea the other exists. But a catastrophic event on Earth, and a strange sickness that befalls Oli's best friend, will drive their worlds together in ways they haven't been in centuries.And there are some who will kill to keep them apart.Darcie Little Badger introduced herself to the world with Elatsoe. In A Snake Falls to Earth, she draws on traditional Lipan Apache storytelling structure to weave another unforgettable tale of monsters, magic, and family. It is not to be missed.

Date Added: 01/05/2023

Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix

A NATIONAL BOOK AWARD LONGLIST SELECTIONIn the Remixed Classics series, authors from marginalized backgrounds reinterpret classic works through their own cultural lens to subvert the overwhelming cishet, white, and male canon. This YA reimagining of The Great Gatsby centers trans love in a cast removed from its cishet white default, finally exploring those longing glances and wistful sighs between Nick and Jay.New York City, 1922. Nicolás Caraveo, a 17-year-old transgender boy from Wisconsin, has no interest in the city’s glamor. Going to New York is all about establishing himself as a young professional, which could set up his future—and his life as a man—and benefit his family.Nick rents a small house in West Egg from his 18-year-old cousin, Daisy Fabrega, who lives in fashionable East Egg near her wealthy fiancé, Tom—and Nick is shocked to find that his cousin now goes by Daisy Fay, has erased all signs of her Latine heritage, and now passes seamlessly as white.Nick’s neighbor in West Egg is a mysterious young man named Jay Gatsby, whose castle-like mansion is the stage for parties so extravagant that they both dazzle and terrify Nick. At one of these parties, Nick learns that the spectacle is all meant to impress a girl from Jay’s past—Daisy. And he learns something else: Jay is also transgender.As Nick is pulled deeper into the glittery culture of decadence, he spends more time with Jay, aiming to help his new friend reconnect with his lost love. But Nick's feelings grow more complicated when he finds himself falling hard for Jay's openness, idealism, and unfounded faith in the American Dream.Praise for Self-Made Boys:"Anna-Marie McLemore cracks the Gatsby story wide open, breathing fresh life into these familiar characters with wisdom, honesty, and real tenderness. An all-time favorite—I was completely transported." —Becky Albertalli, New York Times-bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda"Tenderly written and achingly romantic, Anna-Marie McLemore has crafted a romance for the ages. Their Latinx lens provides more nuance and depth to the classic story. With a breath of fresh life, Self-Made Boys shows us how queer love has flourished in quiet corners across history." —Aiden Thomas, New York Times-bestselling author of Cemetery BoysThe Remixed Classics SeriesA Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix by C.B. LeeSo Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. MorrowTravelers Along the Way: A Robin Hood Remix by Aminah Mae SafiWhat Souls Are Made Of: A Wuthering Heights Remix by Tasha SuriSelf-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix by Anna-Marie McLemoreMy Dear Henry: A Jekyll & Hyde Remix by Kalynn BayronTeach the Torches to Burn: A Romeo & Juliet Remix by Caleb RoehrigInto the Bright Open: A Secret Garden Remix by Cherie DimalineMost Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Gabe Cole Novoa

Date Added: 01/05/2023

Running

When fifteen-year-old Cuban American Mariana Ruiz&’s father runs for president, Mari starts to see him with new eyes. A novel about waking up and standing up, and what happens when you stop seeing your dad as your hero—while the whole country is watching. In this authentic, humorous, and gorgeously written debut novel about privacy, waking up, and speaking up, Senator Anthony Ruiz is running for president. Throughout his successful political career he has always had his daughter&’s vote, but a presidential campaign brings a whole new level of scrutiny to sheltered fifteen-year-old Mariana and the rest of her Cuban American family, from a 60 Minutes–style tour of their house to tabloids doctoring photos and inventing scandals. As tensions rise within the Ruiz family, Mari begins to learn about the details of her father&’s political positions, and she realizes that her father is not the man she thought he was. But how do you find your voice when everyone&’s watching? When it means disagreeing with your father—publicly? What do you do when your dad stops being your hero? Will Mari get a chance to confront her father? If she does, will she have the courage to seize it?     

Date Added: 01/05/2023

Prairie Lotus

Prairie Lotus is a powerful, touching, multilayered book about a girl determined to fit in and realize her dreams: getting an education, becoming a dressmaker in her father&’s shop, and making at least one friend. Acclaimed, award-winning author Linda Sue Park has placed a young half-Asian girl, Hanna, in a small town in America&’s heartland, in 1880. Hanna&’s adjustment to her new surroundings, which primarily means negotiating the townspeople&’s almost unanimous prejudice against Asians, is at the heart of the story. Narrated by Hanna, the novel has poignant moments yet sparkles with humor, introducing a captivating heroine whose wry, observant voice will resonate with readers. Afterword.

Date Added: 01/05/2023

A Place at the Table

A timely, accessible, and beautifully written story exploring themes of food, friendship, family and what it means to belong, featuring sixth graders Sara, a Pakistani American, and Elizabeth, a white, Jewish girl taking a South Asian cooking class taught by Sara’s mom.

Sixth graders Sara and Elizabeth could not be more different. Sara is at a new school that is completely unlike the small Islamic school she used to attend. Elizabeth has her own problems: her British mum has been struggling with depression. The girls meet in an after-school South Asian cooking class, which Elizabeth takes because her mom has stopped cooking, and which Sara, who hates to cook, is forced to attend because her mother is the teacher. The girls form a shaky alliance that gradually deepens, and they make plans to create the most amazing, mouth-watering cross-cultural dish together and win a spot on a local food show. They make good cooking partners . . . but can they learn to trust each other enough to become true friends?

Date Added: 01/05/2023

Piecing Me Together

2018 Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner

Acclaimed author Renee Watson offers a powerful story about a girl striving for success in a world that too often seems like it's trying to break her.

Jade believes she must get out of her poor neighborhood if she's ever going to succeed.

Her mother tells her to take advantage of every opportunity that comes her way. And she has.

She accepted a scholarship to a mostly-white private school and even Saturday morning test prep opportunities. But some opportunities feel more demeaning than helpful.

Like an invitation to join Women to Women, a mentorship program for "at-risk" girls. Except really, it's for black girls. From "bad" neighborhoods.

And just because Maxine, her college-graduate mentor, is black doesn't mean she understands Jade.

And maybe there are some things Jade could show these successful women about the real world and finding ways to make a real difference.

NPR’s Best Books of 2017
A 2017 New York Public Library Best Teen Book of the Year
Chicago Public Library’s Best Books of 2017
A School Library Journal Best Book of 2017
Kirkus Reviews’ Best Teen Books of 2017
2018 Josette Frank Award Winner
A New York Times Bestseller

Jane Addams Children's Book Award Honors Book

Date Added: 01/05/2023

Perfect On Paper

A bisexual girl who gives anonymous love advice to her school friends is hired by the hot new kid to help him get his ex back. Leah on the Offbeat meets To All the Boys I've Loved Before - the new queer YA rom-com from Sophie Gonzales.'Perfectly wonderful' - Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda Her advice, spot on. Her love life, way off. Darcy Phillips: Can give you the solution to any of your relationship woes - for a fee. Uses her power for good. Most of the time. Really cannot stand the new Australian jock at school, Alexander Brougham. Has maybe not the best judgement when it comes to her best friend, Brooke...who is in love with someone else. Does not appreciate being blackmailed. But when Brougham catches Darcy in the act of collecting letters from locker 89 - out of which she's been running her questionably legal, anonymous relationship advice service - that's exactly what happens. In exchange for keeping her secret, Darcy begrudgingly agrees to become his personal dating coach. The goal? To help him win his ex-girlfriend back. Darcy has good reason to keep her identity secret. If word gets out that she's behind the locker, some things she's not proud of will come to light, and there's a good chance Brooke will never speak to her again. Okay, so all she has to do is help an entitled, bratty, (annoyingly hot) guy win over a girl who's already fallen for him once? What could possibly go wrong?(P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Date Added: 01/04/2023

Out of Wonder

Out of gratitude for the poet's art form, Newbery Award-winning author and poet Kwame Alexander, along with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth, present original poems that pay homage to twenty famed poets who have made the authors' hearts sing and their minds wonder. Stunning mixed-media images by Ekua Holmes, winner of a Caldecott Honor and a John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award, complete the celebration and invite the reader to listen, wonder, and perhaps even pick up a pen.

Date Added: 01/05/2023

Other Words for Home

A gorgeously written, hopeful middle grade novel in verse about a young girl who must leave Syria to move to the United States, perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds and Aisha Saeed.

Jude never thought she’d be leaving her beloved older brother and father behind, all the way across the ocean in Syria.

But when things in her hometown start becoming volatile, Jude and her mother are sent to live in Cincinnati with relatives.

At first, everything in America seems too fast and too loud. The American movies that Jude has always loved haven’t quite prepared her for starting school in the US—and her new label of “Middle Eastern,” an identity she’s never known before.

But this life also brings unexpected surprises—there are new friends, a whole new family, and a school musical that Jude might just try out for. Maybe America, too, is a place where Jude can be seen as she really is.

This lyrical, life-affirming story is about losing and finding home and, most importantly, finding yourself.

A New York Times Bestseller

Date Added: 01/04/2023

Nina

A 2022 Coretta Scott King Book Award Honoree! This luminous, defining picture book biography illustrated by Caldecott Honoree Christian Robinson, tells the remarkable and inspiring story of acclaimed singer Nina Simone and her bold, defiant, and exultant legacy. Cover may vary.Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in small town North Carolina, Nina Simone was a musical child. She sang before she talked and learned to play piano at a very young age. With the support of her family and community, she received music lessons that introduced her to classical composers like Bach who remained with her and influenced her music throughout her life. She loved the way his music began softly and then tumbled to thunder, like her mother's preaching, and in much the same way as her career. During her first performances under the name of Nina Simone her voice was rich and sweet but as the Civil Rights Movement gained steam, Nina's voice soon became a thunderous roar as she raised her voice in powerful protest in the fight against racial inequality and discrimination.

Date Added: 01/05/2023

Mi papi tiene una moto

Un homenaje al amor entre un padre y su hija, y a un dinámico barrio de inmigrantes, del galardonado dúo de Isabel Quintero y Zeke Peña.

Cuando Daisy Ramona recorre su barrio en motocicleta con su papi, ve a la gente y los lugares que siempre ha conocido. También ve a una comunidad que está cambiando rápidamente a su alrededor. Pero mientras el sol azul púrpura y dorado se va poniendo a sus espaldas, Daisy Ramona comprende que el amor que siente por su ciudad nunca cambiará. Con brillantes ilustraciones y un texto lleno de sentimiento, Mi papi tiene una motocicleta es un mensaje lleno de amor de una niña a su padre, esforzado trabajador, y a los recuerdos que todos guardamos de nuestro hogar a pesar de los cambios o la distancia.

Date Added: 01/05/2023

Merci Suárez Changes Gears

Merci Suárez knew that sixth grade would be different, but she had no idea just how different.

For starters, Merci has never been like the other kids at her private school in Florida, because she and her older brother, Roli, are scholarship students. They don’t have a big house or a fancy boat, and they have to do extra community service to make up for their free tuition.

So when bossy Edna Santos sets her sights on the new boy who happens to be Merci’s school-assigned Sunshine Buddy, Merci becomes the target of Edna’s jealousy.

Things aren't going well at home, either: Merci’s grandfather and most trusted ally, Lolo, has been acting strangely lately — forgetting important things, falling from his bike, and getting angry over nothing.

No one in her family will tell Merci what's going on, so she’s left to her own worries, while also feeling all on her own at school.

In a coming-of-age tale full of humor and wisdom, award-winning author Meg Medina gets to the heart of the confusion and constant change that defines middle school — and the steadfast connection that defines family.

Newbery Award Winner

Date Added: 01/05/2023

Melissa

BE WHO YOU ARE.

When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she's not a boy. She knows she's a girl.

George thinks she'll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte's Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can't even try out for the part . . . because she's a boy.

With the help of her best friend, Kelly, George comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte—but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all.

Date Added: 01/04/2023

The Many Mysteries of the Finkel Family

Fans of the Penderwicks and the Vanderbeekers, meet the Finkel family in this middle grade novel about two autistic sisters, their detective agency, and life's most consequential mysteries.

When twelve-year-old Lara Finkel starts her very own detective agency, FIASCCO (Finkel Investigation Agency Solving Consequential Crimes Only), she does not want her sister, Caroline, involved. She and Caroline don't have to do everything together. But Caroline won't give up, and when she brings Lara the firm's first mystery, Lara relents, and the questions start piling up.

But Lara and Caroline’s truce doesn&’t last for long. Caroline normally uses her tablet to talk, but now she's busily texting a new friend. Lara can't figure out what the two of them are up to, but it can't be good. And Caroline doesn't like Lara's snooping—she's supposed to be solving other people's crimes, not spying on Caroline!

As FIASCCO and the Finkel family mysteries spin out of control, can Caroline and Lara find a way to be friends again?

Date Added: 01/04/2023