What We're Reading Archive

Re-visit our previous book recommendations any time!

  • Mar 19, 2026, 12:00 PM

Here on The Morning Bell, we share reading recommendations for students of all ages to enjoy. While these books often fit a particular theme, they're great to enjoy throughout the whole year. Check out these books—and thousands more—on Sora, our citywide Digital Library which provides free access to hundreds of digital e-books and audiobooks for our students.

Looking for even more great recommendations? Check out our lists from the 2024–25 school year!

September 2025 – Current

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • The Day You Begin By Jacqueline Woodson
    Illustrated By Rafael López
  • First Day Jitters By Julie Danneberg
    Illustrated By Judy Love
  • Santiago's Dinosaurios By Mariana Ríos Ramírez
    Illustrated By Udayana Lugo
  • Scarecited on the First Day of School By Alliah L. Agostini
    Illustrated By Lala Watkins
  • Tomatoes in My Lunchbox By Costantia Manoli
    Illustrated By Magdalena Mora
  • Yenebi's Drive to School By Sendy Santamaria

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • The Boy at the Back of the Class By Onjali Q. Raúf
  • The First Week of School By Drew Beckmeyer
  • For the Right to Learn By Rebecca Langston-George
    Illustrated By Janna Bock
  • A New School Year By Sally Derby
    Illustrated By Mika Song
  • The Unteachables By Gordon Korman
  • Welcome Back, Maple Mehta-Cohen By Kate McGovern

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • The 47 People You'll Meet in Middle School By Kristin Mahoney
  • All's Faire in Middle School By Victoria Jamieson
  • Free Lunch By Rex Ogle
  • Martin McLean, Middle School Queen By Alyssa Zaczek
  • Muddle School By Dave Whamond
  • Planet Middle School By Nikki Grimes

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • A Dangerous Idea By Debbie Levy
  • The Map from Here to There By Emery Lord
  • Not Here to Be Liked By Michelle Quach
  • Pretty in Punxatawney By Laurie Boyle Crompton
  • Study Break Edited By Aashna Avachat
  • Where You See Yourself By Clair Forrest

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • 14 Cows for America By Camren Agra Deedy
    Illustrated By Thomas Gonzales
  • Branches of Hope By Ann Magee
    Illustrated By Nicole Wong
  • Fireboat: The Heroic Journey of the John J. Harvey By Maira Kalman
  • Me and the Sky By Beverly Bass with Cynthia Williams
    Illustrated By Joanne Stone

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • The Goat By Anne Fleming
  • The Red Bandana, Adapted for Young Readers By Tom Rinaldi
  • Saved By the Boats: The Heroic Sea Evacuation of September 11 By Julie Grassman
    Illustrated By Steve Moors
  • Towers Falling By Jewell Parker Rhodes

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • Broken Strings By Eric Walters and Kathy Kacer
  • Nine, Ten By Nora Raleigh Baskin
  • The Places We Sleep By Caroline Brooks DuBois
  • Yusuf Azeem is Not a Hero By Saadia Faruqi

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • Ground Zero By Alan Gratz
  • In the Shadow of the Fallen Towers By Don Brown
  • Love is the Higher Law By David Levithan
  • A Very Large Expanse of Sea By Tahreh Mafi

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • Fall Frolic in the City By Cathy Goldberg Fishman
    Illustrated By Melanie Hall
  • Harvest Days By Kate DePalma
    Illustrated By Martina Peluso
  • New Year at the Pier By April Halprin Wayland
    Illustrated By Stephane Jorisch
  • Summer Green to Autumn Gold By Mia Posada

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • Ghost Squad By Claribel A. Ortega
  • Jasmine is Haunted By Mark Oshiro
  • Scritch Scratch By Lindsay Currie
  • Witches of Brooklyn By Sophie Escabasse

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children By Ransom Riggs
  • Shirley and Jamila's Big Fall By Gillian Goerz
  • Thirteens By Kate Alice Marshall
  • Wildwood By Colin Meloy

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • Cemetery Boys By Aiden Thomas
  • A Curse So Dark and Lonely By Brigid Kemmerer
  • The Fall of Whit Rivera By Crystal Maldonado
  • Pumpkinheads By Rainbow Rowell; illustrated by Faith Erin Hicks

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • The Cot in the Living Room By Hilda Eunice Burgos
    Illustrated By GaBy D'Alessandro
  • Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln By Margarita Engle; illustrated by Rafael López
  • Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People By Monica Brown
    Illustrated By Julie Paschkis
  • Paletero Man By Lucky Diaz; illustrated by Micah Player
  • Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré By Anika Aldamuy Denise; illustrated by Paola Escobar

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • Cuba in My Pocket By Adrianna Cuevas
  • Frizzy By Claribel A. Ortega
  • Latinitas: Celebrating 40 Big Dreamers By Juliet Menendez
  • Paola Santiago and the River of Tears By Tehlor Kay Mejia
  • Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and her Family's Fight for Desegregation By Duncan Tonatiuh

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • Esperanza Rising By Pam Muñoz Ryan
  • Isla to Island By Alexis Castellanos
  • Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish By Pablo Cartaya
  • Miss Quinces By Kat Fajardo
  • Tumble By Celia C. Pérez

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • Breathe and Count Back from Ten By Natalia Sylvester
  • Clap When you Land By Elizabeth Acevedo
  • The Distance Between Us By Reyna Grande
  • Never Look Back By Lilliam Rivera
  • Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed: 15 Voices from the Latinx Diaspora edited By Saraciea J. Fennell

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • All the Way to America: The Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel By Dan Yaccarino
  • The Music of Life: Bartolomeo Cristofori & the Invention of the Piano By Elizabeth Rusch
    Illustrated By Marjorie Priceman

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • Francesco Tirelli’s Ice Cream Shop By Tamar Meir
    Illustrated By Yael Albert
  • The Streak: How Joe DiMaggio Became America’s Hero By Barb Rosenstock
    Illustrated By Terry Widener

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • Granny Torrelli Makes Soup By Sharon Creech
  • Penny From Heaven By Jennifer L. Holm

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • Blood Water Paint By Joy McCullough
  • The Long Run By James Acker

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • 10 Spooky Pumpkins By Gris Grimley
  • Boo Stew By Donna L. Washington
    Illustrated By Jeffrey Ebbeler
  • Gustavo, the Shy Ghost By Flavia Z. Drago
  • The Ofrenda That We Built By Jolene Gutierrez and Shaian Guiterrez
    Illustrated By Gabby Zapata
  • Trick-or-Treating in the City By Tiffany D. Jackson
    Illustrated By Sawyer Cloud
  • Zombelina By Kristyn Crow
    Illustrated By Molly Idle

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • A Bite Above the Rest By Christine Virnig
  • The Creepening of Dogwood House By Eden Royce
  • Embassy of the Dead By Will Mabbit
    Illustrated By Chris Mould
  • The Ghoul Next Door By Cullen Bunn and Cat Farris
  • Read at Your Own Risk By Remy Lai
  • Witches of Brooklyn By Sophie Escabasse

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • Hoodoo By Ronald L. Smith
  • More Bones: Scary Stories from Around the World By Arielle North Olson and Howard Schwartz
    Illustrated By E.M. Gist
  • Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave By Ally Russell
  • Nightmare Island By Shakirah Bourne
  • Spirit Hunters By Ellen Oh
  • The Witch Boy By Molly Knox Ostertag

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • Burn Down, Rise Up By Vincent Tirado
  • Cemetery Boys By Aiden Thomas
  • Come Out, Come Out By Natalie C. Parker
  • Our Shadows Have Claws Edited by Yamile Saied Méndez and Amparo Ortiz; Illustrated by Ricardo López Ortiz
  • The Ghosts of Rose Hill By R. M. Romero
  • The Taking of Jake Livingston By Ryan Douglass

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • At the Mountain's Base By Traci Sorell
    Illustrated By Weshoyot Alvitre
  • Boyogi By David Barclay Moore
    Illustrated By Noa Denmon
  • A Life of Service By Christina Soontornvat
    Illustrated By Dow Phimuruk
  • Tana Cooks for a Special Veterans Day By Stacy Wells
    Illustrated By Maria Gabriela Gama dos Santos
  • The Poppy Lady By Barbara E. Walsh
    Illustrated By Layne Johnson
  • Soldier for Equality By Duncan Tonatiuh

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • Grace Banker and Her Hello Girls Answer the Call By Claudia Fridell
  • Infinite Hope By Ashley Bryan
  • Moving Forward By Chris Barton
    Illustrated By Steffi Walthall
  • Nurse, Soldier, Spy: The Story of Sarah Edmonds, A Civil War Hero By Marissa Moss and John Hendrix
  • Twenty-One Steps By Jeff Gottesfeld
    Illustrated By Matt Tavares
  • Unbreakable: The Spies Who Cracked the Nazis' Secret Code By Rebecca E. F. Barone

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles By Tanya Lee Stone
  • Fly Girls By P. O'Connell Pearson
  • A Galaxy of Sea Stars By Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo
  • The Things a Brother Knows By Dana Reinhardt
  • The Unsung Hero of Birdsong, USA By Brenda Woods
  • Wolf Hollow By Lauren Wolk

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • 1776 By David McCullough
  • Boots on the Ground By Elizabeth Partridge
  • Great Falls By Steve Watkins
  • The Impossible Knife of Memory By Laurie Halse Anderson
  • Mare's War By Tanita S. Davis
  • Men of the 65th By Talia Aikens-Nunez

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope By Jodie Patterson
    Illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow
  • I Am Jazz By Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings
    Illustrated By Shelagh McNicholas
  • My Rainbow By DeShanna Neal and Trinity Neal
    Illustrated By Art Twink
  • When Aidan Became a Brother By Kyle Lukoff
    Illustrated By Kaylani Juanita

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • Flor Fights Back By Joy Michael Ellison
    Illustrated by Francesca Ficorilli
  • Sylvia and Marsha Start a Revolution! By Joy Michael Ellison and Teshika Silver
  • Too Bright to See By Kyle Lukoff
  • Zenobia July By Lisa Bunker

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • Lily and Dunkin By Donna Gephart
  • Linus and Etta Could Use a Win By Caroline Huntoon
  • Melissa By Alex Gino
  • The One Who Loves You the Most By medina

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • Felix Ever AfterBy Kacen Callender
  • Self-Made Boys By Anna-Marie McLemore
  • The Sunbearer Trials By Aiden Thomas
  • Transmogrify! Edited By g. haron davis

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • Ancient Night By David Bowles
    Illustrated By David Álvarez
  • Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer By Traci Sorell
    Illustrated By Natasha Donovan
  • Fry Bread By Kevin Noble Maillard
    Illustrated By Juana Martinez-Neal
  • The Water Walker By Joanne Robertson
  • Why We Dance By Deidre Havrelock
    Illustrated By Aly McKnight

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • The Birchbark House By Louise Erdrich
  • JoJo Makoons: The Use-To-Be Best Friend By Dawn Quigley
    Illustrated By Tara Audibert
  • Sisters of the Neversea By Cynthia Leitich Smith
  • We Are Still Here! Native American Truths Everyone Should Know By Traci Sorell
    Illustrated By Frané Lessac

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids edited By Cynthia Leitich Smtih
  • Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians but Were Afraid to Ask (Young Readers Edition) By Anton Trueur
  • In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse By Joseph Marshall III
  • The Sea in Winter By Christine Day
  • A Snake Falls to Earth By Darcie Little Badger

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • Firekeeper’s Daughter By Angeline Boulley
  • An Indigenous People’s History of the United States for Young People By Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz; adapted By Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza
  • The Marrow Thieves By Cherie Dimaline
  • Rez Ball By Byron Graves
  • Those Pink Mountain Nights By Jen Ferguson

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • All the Way to the Top: How One Girl's Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything By Annette Bay Pimentel
    Illustrated By Nabi H. Ali
  • Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You By Sonia Sotomayor
    Illustrated by Rafael López
  • Rescue & Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship By Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes
    Illustrated by Scott Magoon
  • Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille By Jen Bryant
    Illustrated by Boris Kulikov

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • Brilliant Bea By Shaina Rudolph and Mary Vukadinovich
    Illustrated By Fiona Lee
  • El Deafo By Cece Bell
  • Not So Different: What You Really Want to Ask About Having a Disability By Shane Burcaw
    Images by Matt Car
  • We Want to Go to School!: The Fight for Disability Rights By Maryann Cocca-Leffler and Janine Leffler
    Illustrated by Vivien Mildenberger

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • The Outdoor Scientist: The Wonder of Observing the Natural World By Temple Grandin
  • Out of My Mind By Sharon M. Draper
  • Rolling Warrior: The Incredible, Sometimes Awkward, True Story of a Rebel Girl on Wheels Who Helped Spark a Revolution By Judith Heumann with Kristen Joiner
  • Roll With It By Jamie Sumner

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • The Disability Experience: Working Toward Belonging By Hannalora Leavitt
    Illustrated by Belle Wuthrich
  • Disability Visibility (Adapted for Young Adults) Edited by Alice Wong
  • Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens Edited by Marieke Nijkamp
  • Where You See Yourself By Claire Forrest

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • Blips on a Screen: How Ralp Baer Invented TV Video Gaming and Launched a Worldwide Obsession By Kate Hannigan
    Illustrated By Zachariah Ohora
  • Coding Capers: Luci and the Missing Robot By Angela Cleveland and Tamara Zentic
    Illustrated by Juan Manuel Moreno
  • A Computer Called Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Helped Put America on the MoonBy Suzanne Slade
    Illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • Dreaming in Code: Ada Byron Lovelace, Computer Pioneer By Emily Arnold McCully
  • Grace Hopper, Queen of Computer Code By Laurie Wallmark
    Illustrated by Katy Wu
  • Lauren Ipsum By Carlos Bueno

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • Emmy in the Key of Code By Aimee Lucido
  • Jinxed By Amy McCulloch
  • Secret Coders By Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • Girl Code By Andrea Gonzales and Sophie Houser
  • Google It, A History of Google: How Two Students' Mission to Organize the Internet Changed the World By Anna Crowley Redding
  • Warcross By Marie Lu

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • Charlotte and the Nutcracker: The True Story of a Girl Who Made Ballet History By Charlotte Nebres
    Illustrated by Alea Marley
  • Ice Cycle: Poems About the Life of Ice By Maria Gianferrari
    Illustrated by Jieting Chen
  • Miracle on 133rd Street By Sonia Manzano
    Illustrated by Marjorie Priceman
  • My Footprints By Bao Phi
    Illustrated by Basia Tran
  • The People Remember By Ibi Zoboi
    Illustrated by Loveis Wise
  • Winter Walk in the City By Cathy Goldberg Fishman
    Illustrated by Melanie Hall

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • Escape from Aurora By Jamie Littler
  • The Forgotten Girl By India Hill Brown
  • Lake Placid Miracle By Blake Hoena
    Illustrated by Eduardo Garcia
  • The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe By C.S. Lewis
  • The Lost Frost Girl By Amy Wilson
  • The Storyteller’s Candle By Lucía González
    Illustrated by Lulu Delacre

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • The Cardboard Kingdom: Snow and Sorcery By Chad Sell
  • The Grace of Wild Things By Heather Fawcett
  • Greenglass House By Kate Milford
    Illustrated by Jaime Zollars
  • One Way or Another By Kara McDowel
  • The Stars Beneath Our Feet By David Barclay Moore
  • Tilly and the Bookwanderers By Anna James

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • Little Women By Louisa May Alcott
  • My True Love Gave to Me Edited by Stephanie Perkins
  • Recommended for You By Laura Silverman
  • The Resolutions By Mia Garcia
  • Stealing Snow By Danielle Paige
  • Whiteout By Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • Feivel’s Flying Horses By Heidi Smith Hyde
    Illustrated by Joanna van der Sterre
  • Immigrant Architect By Berta de Miguel and Kent Diebolt
    Illustrated by Virginia Lorente
  • Lost in NYC: A Subway Adventure By Nadja Spiegelman
    Illustrated by Sergio García Sánchez
  • Sky Boys By Deborah Hopkinson
    Illustrated by James E. Ransome
  • Sugar Hill: Harlem’s Historic Neighborhood By Carole Boston Weatherford
    Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • Alice Austen Lived Here By Alex Gino
  • All the Greys on Greene Street By Laura Tucker
  • The Doorman’s Repose By Chris Raschka
  • Four Streets and a Square By Marc Aronson
  • Magnolia Wu Unfolds it All By Chanel Miller

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • The Bridge By Peter J. Romasi
  • The Long Ride By Marina Budhos
  • Some Places More Than Others By Renée Watson
  • The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street By Karina Yan Glaser
  • When You Reach Me By Rebecca Stead

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • 145th Street: Short Stories By Walter Dean Myers
  • Brownstone By Samuel Teer
    Illustrated by Mar Julia
  • Flamboyants By George M. Johnson
  • Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim By Patricia Park
  • Rats By Robert Sullivan

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • Be A King: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream and You By Carole Boston Weatherford
    Illustrated by James E. Ransome
  • Coretta By Coretta Scott King
    Illustrated by Ekua Holmes
  • Let the Children March By Monica Clark-Robinson
    Illustrated by Frank Morrison
  • March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World By Christine King Darris
    Illustrated by London Ladd
  • Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. By Doreen Rappaport
    Illustrated by Bryan Collier

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • Martin Rising: Requiem for a King By Andrea Davis Pinkney
    Illustrated by Brian Pinkney
  • Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968 By Alice Faye Duncan
    Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
  • More Than a Dream: The Radical March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom By Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long
  • My Selma: True Stories of a Southern Childhood at the Height of the Civil Rights Movement By Willie Mae Brown
  • A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech that Inspired a Nation By Barry Wittenstein
    Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round: My Story of the Making of Martin Luther King Day By Kathlyn J. Kirkwood
    Illustrated by Steffi Whitehall
  • Marching to the Mountaintop: How Poverty, Labor Fights, and Civil Rights Set the Stage for Martin Luther King Jr.'s Final Hours By Ann Bausum
  • Threads of Peace By Uma Krishnaswami
  • Troublemaker for Justice By Jacqueline Houtman, Walter Naegle, and Michael G. Long
  • We Were the Fire: Birmingham 1963 By Shelia P. Moses

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • And We Rise By Erica Martin
  • Dear Martin By Nic Stone
  • Into the Streets: A Young Person's Visual History of Protest in the United States By Marke Bieschke
  • March: Book One By John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
  • Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March By Lynda Blackmon Lowery, Elspeth Leacock, and Susan Buckley

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • Lucy Tries Luge By Lisa Bowes
    Illustrated by James Hearne
  • Marvelous Mabel By Crystal Hubbard
    Illustrated by Alleanna Harris
  • When the Moon Comes By Paul Harbridge
    Illustrated by Matt James

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • Breaking the Ice By Angie Bullaro
    Illustrated by C.F. Payne
  • The Comeback By E.L. Shen
  • The Longest Shot By Chad Soon and George Chiang
    Illustrated by Amy Qi

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • Bea Mullins Takes a Shot By Emily Deibert
  • Lake Placid Miracle By Blake Hoena
  • Ski Soldier By Louise Borden

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • Dreamer By Akim Aliu; written with Greg Anderson Elysee
    Illustrated by Karen de la Vega
  • Spinning By Tillie Walden
  • Thrill Seekers By Ann McCallum

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • Game Changers: The Story of Venus and Serena Williams By Lesa Cline-Ransome
    Illustrated by James E. Ransome
  • Hair Love By Matthew A. Cherry
    Illustrated by Vashti Harrison
  • Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad By Ellen Levine
    Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
  • When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop By Laban Carrick Hill
    Illustrated by Theodore Taylor III

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race By Margot Lee Shetterly and Winifred Conkling
    Illustrated by Laura Freeman
  • Ice Breaker: How Mabel Fairbanks Changed Figure Skating By Rose Viña
    Illustrated by Claire Almon
  • The Magic in Changing Your Stars By Leah Henderson
  • The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales By Virginia Hamilton
    Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • As Brave as You By Jason Reynolds
  • Ophie's Ghosts By Justina Ireland
  • Streetcar to Justice: How Elizabeth Jennings Won the Right to Ride in New York By Amy Hill Hearth
  • Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky By Kwame Mbalia

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre By Brandy Colbert
  • The Hate U Give By Angie Thomas
  • It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood (Adapted for Young Readers) By Trevor Noah
  • Pride: A Pride and Prejudice Remix By Ibi Zoboi

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • Iqbal and His Ingenious Idea: How a Science Project Helps One Family and the Planet By Elizabeth Suneby
    Illustrated by Rebecca Green
  • Our Green City By Tanya Lloyd Kyi
    Illustrated by Colleen Larmour
  • Solar Story: How One Community Lives Alongside the World’s Biggest Solar Plant By Allan Drummond

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • Buried Sunlight: How Fossil Fuels Have Changed the Earth By Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm
  • Earth Hour: A Lights-Out Event for Our Planet By Nanette Heffernan
    Illustrated by Bao Luu
  • Planet Power: Explore the World’s Renewable Energy By Stacy P. Clark
    Illustrated by Annalisa Beghelli

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Young Readers Edition By William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
  • Forest World By Margarita Engle
  • Nowhere Better than Here By Sarah Guillory

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • Black Gold: The Story of Oil in Our Lives By Albert Marrin
  • Hothouse Earth: The Climate Crisis and the Importance of Carbon Neutrality By Stephanie Sammartino McPherson
  • The Twenty-One: The True Story of the Youth Who Sued the US Government Over Climate Change By Elizabeth Rusch

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13 By Helaine Becker
    Illustrated by Dow Phumiruk
  • The Kid from Diamond Street: The Extraordinary Story of Baseball Legend Edith Houghton By Audrey Verick
    Illustrated by Steven Salerno
  • Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean's Most Fearless Scientist By Jess Keating
    Illustrated by Marta Álvarez Miguéns
  • Secret Engineer: How Emily Roebling Built the Brooklyn Bridge By Rachel Dougherty

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909 By Michelle Markel
    Illustrated by Melissa Sweet
  • Fight of the Century: Alice Paul Battles Woodrow Wilson for the Vote By Barb Rosenstock
    Illustrated by Sarah Green
  • Shining Star: The Anna May Wong Story By Paula Yoo
    Illustrated by Lin Wang
  • Yours For Justice, Ida B. Wells By Philip Dray
    Illustrated by Stephen Alcorn

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • Go With the Flow> By Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann
  • Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX, the Law that Changed the Future of Girls in America By Karen Blumenthal
  • Lifting As We Climb: Black Women’s Battle for the Ballot Box By Evette Dionne
  • The Radium Girls: The Scary but True Story of the Poison that Made People Glow in the Dark (Young Readers’ Edition) By Kate Moore

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women’s Fight for Their Rights By Mikki Kendall
    Illustrated by A. D’Amico
  • Off the Record By Camryn Garrett
  • Uprising By Margaret Peterson Haddix
  • Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts By Rebecca Hall
    Illustrated by Hugo Martinez

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • Fiona’s Lace By Patricia Polacco
  • How to Catch a Leprechaun By Adam Wallace
    Illustrated by Andy Elkerton
  • The Indestructible Tom Crean: Heroic Explorer of the Antarctic By Jennifer Thermes
  • Mother Jones and Her Army of Mill Children By Jonah Winter
    Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • The Faerie Isle By Síne Quinn
    Illustrated by Dermot Flynn
  • Leprechaun in Late Winter By Mary Pope Osborne
  • My Journey to the Stars By Scott Kelly
    Illustrated by Andre Ceolin
  • The Storm Keeper’s Island By Catherine Doyle

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • The Monsters of Rookhaven By Pádraig Kenny
    llustrated by Edward Bettison
  • The Night Gardener By Jonathan Auxier
  • A Slip of a Girl By Patricia Reilly Giff
  • Ten Days a Madwoman By Deborah Noyes

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • All Our Hidden Gifts By Caroline O'Donoghue
  • Black & Irish: Legends, Trailblazers, and Everyday Heroes By Leon Diop and Briana Fitzsimons
    Illustrated by Jessica Louis
  • Hunger: A Tale of Courage By Donna Jo Napoli
  • The Incredible Nellie Bly: Journalist, Investigator, Feminist, and Philanthropist By Luciana Cimino
    Illustrated by Sergio Algozzino

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • Above the Rim: How Elgin Baylor Changed Basketball By Jen Bryant
    Illustrated by Frank Morrison
  • More than Just a Game By Madison Moore
    Illustrated by Lonnie Ollivierre
  • Wat Takes His Shot: The Life and Legacy of Basketball Hero Wataru Misaka By Cheryl Kim
    Illustrated by Nat Iwata
  • Why Does a Basketball Bounce? By Marne Ventura

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • Game Changer: John McLendon and the Secret Game By John Coy
    Illustrated by Randy DuBurke
  • Hardcourt: Stories from 75 Years of the National Basketball Association By Fred Bowen
    Illustrated by James E. Ransome
  • Hoop Genius: How a Desperate Teacher and a Rowdy Gym Class Invented Basketball By John Coy
    Illustrated by Joe Morse
  • We Are Big Time By Hena Khan
    Illustrated by Safiya Zerrougui

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • The Crossover By Kwame Alexander
  • Fast Break By Mike Lupica
  • Hoops By Matt Tavares
  • They Better Call Me Sugar By Sugar Rodgers

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • Becoming Kareem: Growing Up On and Off the Court By Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld
  • Here to Stay By Sara Farizan
  • Inaugural Ballers: The True Story of the First US Women’s Olympic Basketball Team By Andrew Maraniss
  • Rez Ball By Byron Graves