Discover incredible titles and free resources about fierce, fearless, and remarkable women to celebrate Women’s History Month!
Celebrate Women’s History Month!
Discussion Guide: The Song of Orphan’s Garden by Nicole M. Hewitt
The Song of Orphan’s Garden
By Nicole M. Hewitt
Ages 8-12
On Sale Now!
A Junior Library Guild Selection
Combining the gentleness of Miyazaki, the wintry wonderland of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and the whimsicality of Newbery winner The Girl Who Drank the Moon, Nicole M. Hewitt’s debut middle-grade novel, The Song of Orphan’s Garden, is an enchanting fantasy tale with all the makings of a new classic.
In an arctic world that’s getting colder every day, Lyriana’s only hope of survival is to get her little brother Zave and herself to the fabled Orphan’s Garden. It’s rumored to be the one place in the world not controlled by deadly Winter Spirits or ruled by the tyrant Giant king. In Orphan’s Garden, healing trees will melt away Winter’s pains, and Lyriana and Zave can live safely in the warmth of Spring. If the garden exists, they must find it. They won’t live much longer without it.
Brob, a Giant boy, also needs sanctuary. When the Giant king banishes his family to the Winter Blight, it’s a death sentence. Orphan’s Garden is his family’s only hope, and as far as Brob’s concerned, it belongs to him. After all, he was the one who accidentally used an ancient magic to grow the garden years ago. He has no intention of sharing his haven with pesky humans, who will just use up its magic and ruin it.
When it becomes clear that Orphan’s Garden is in danger of being destroyed, Lyriana and Brob are the only ones who can save it—but only if they can put the ages-old battle between Humans and Giants aside and find a way to work together.
Read More »Teacher’s Guide: Onyx & Beyond by Amber McBride
Onyx & Beyond
By Amber McBride
Ages 8-12
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A National Council of Teachers of English Notable Verse Novel
Praised as “a story of perseverance and love” in a starred review by Kirkus, here is a story about keeping dreams alive.
Onyx lives with his mother, who is showing signs of early-onset dementia. He doesn’t want to bring attention to his home — if Child Protective Services finds out, they’ll put him into foster care.
As he’s trying to keep his life together, the Civil Rights Movement is accelerating. Is there anywhere that’s safe for a young Black boy? Maybe, if only Onyx can fulfill his dream of becoming an astronaut and exploring space, where none of these challenges will follow him. In the meantime, Onyx can dream. And try to get his mom the help she needs.
Based on her own father’s story of growing up in the 1960s and facing the same challenge with his own mother, award winner Amber McBride delivers another affecting depiction of being young and Black in America.
Read More »State Awards
Browse a catalog of our state award winners and nominees for 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 and add these books to your TBR! Highlights include:
- Farther Than the Moon by Lindsay Lackey
- Odder by Katherine Applegate; illustrated by Charles Santoso
- Promise Boys by Nick Brooks
- A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat
- Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley
- Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang; illustrated by LeUyen Pham
Click the image below to browse!
Books for Mental Health Awareness Month
These books for kids and teens sensitively deal with tough topics and big emotions. Perfect for SEL units, these stories normalize mental health issues, promote the importance of self-care, and provide more resources for young readers who are struggling to process big emotions like anger, sadness, anxiety, and loss. Share these stories with young readers to let them know they are not alone.
Read More »Actvity Kit: Together, a Forest by Roz MacLean
Together, a Forest: Drawing Connections Between Nature’s Diversity and Our Own
By Roz MacLean
Ages 4-8
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Explore a forest with a curious classroom in this breathtaking new picture book by the author of the beloved More Than Words, and experience the essential beauty of diversity in humanity and nature.
Joy and her peers are eager to visit a nearby forest for a class trip. But Joy’s excitement quickly turns into anxiety when she is asked to choose one thing in the area for a school assignment.
Seeing her classmates connecting with the natural environment, Joy discovers how each of their choices reflect the ways they relate to and interact with the world.
Together, a Forest begins as an exciting journey into nature and blossoms into a meditation on how our unique personalities and ways of being help create a more vibrant and beautiful world. The forest reveals that everyone—including those of us with disabilities and neurodivergence—belong to nature. There is no one right way for a mind, body, or person to be.
Perfect for classrooms and home libraries with accessible social-emotional and STEM themes, this picture book highlights the importance of interdependence, inclusion and celebrating diversity in our communities.
Read More »Activity Kit for Odder: An Otter’s Story by Katherine Applegate
Odder: An Otter’s Story by Katherine Applegate; illustrated by Charles Santoso
Ages 3 to 6
A stunning picture book from acclaimed author Katherine Applegate, adapted from the #1 bestselling middle-grade novel that spent over 52 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list!
Odder spends her days playing underwater and learning life lessons from her mother. But when Odder’s life takes a dramatic turn, she is rescued by humans. The people are kind, and introduce Odder to other rescues. Soon, it’s clear that Odder has a talent for teaching other pups how to otter. Adapted from Katherine Applegate’s bestselling novel of the same name (with over 80 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list!), and inspired by the true story of a program that pairs orphaned otter pups.
Read More »Teacher’s Guide: Impossible Escape by Steve Sheinkin
Impossible Escape: A True Story of Survival and Heroism in Nazi Europe
By Steve Sheinkin
Ages 12-18
On Sale Now!
A Sydney Taylor Honor Book
From three-time National Book Award finalist and Newbery Honor author Steve Sheinkin, a true story of two Jewish teenagers racing against time during the Holocaust—one in hiding in Hungary, and the other in Auschwitz, plotting escape.
It is 1944. A teenager named Rudolf (Rudi) Vrba has made up his mind. After barely surviving nearly two years in the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, he knows he must escape. Even if death is more likely.
Rudi has learned the terrible secret hidden behind the heavily guarded fences of concentration camps across Nazi-occupied Europe: the methodical mass killing of Jewish prisoners. As trains full of people arrive daily, Rudi knows that the murders won’t stop until he reveals the truth to the world—and that each day that passes means more lives are lost.
Lives like Rudi’s schoolmate Gerta Sidonová. Gerta’s family fled from Slovakia to Hungary, where they live under assumed names to hide their Jewish identity. But Hungary is beginning to cave under pressure from German Nazis. Her chances of survival become slimmer by the day.
The clock is ticking. As Gerta inches closer to capture, Rudi and his friend Alfred Wetzler begin their crucial steps towards an impossible escape.
This is the true story of one of the most famous whistleblowers in the world, and how his death-defying escape helped save over 100,000 lives.
Read More »MacKids Spotlight: Maddalena Bearzi and Alex Boersma
This month’s Author Spotlight features The Secret Life of a Sea Turtle author Maddalena Bearzi and illustrator Alex Boersma—a dazzling nonfiction picture book that explores one sea turtle’s extraordinary life from hatchling to adulthood.
Read More »Books for Jewish American Heritage Month
In May, we celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month by reading and sharing stories by Jewish American authors and illustrators. Celebrate in your school or library by uplifting these voices all year round! Enter a sweepestakes below for the chance to win an advance reading copy of Caldecott Medalist Uri Shulevitz’s final work, The Sky Was My Blanket. Find more resources on the Jewish American Heritage Month website.
THE SKY WAS MY BLANKET SWEEPSTAKES
Enter for a chance to win a galley of Caldecott Medalist Uri Shulevitz’s final work, The Sky Was My Blanket: A Young Man’s Journey Across Wartime Europe. From celebrated Caldecott Award-winning illustrator Uri Shulevitz comes the gripping and revealing true story of a young Polish exile fighting to survive in war-torn Europe. Inspired by the true story of Uri’s uncle and stunningly illustrated by the author, this is a unique and riveting account of one man’s courage and resilience amidst one of the darkest periods in global history.
Read More »Graphic Novel Preview: You and Me on Repeat
Our Graphic Novel Preview series invites readers to look inside new graphic novels! This month, we’re highlighting a debut young adult graphic novel, You and Me on Repeat by Mary Shyne—on sale May 13th!
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