National Network for Equitable Library Service

Krista and Jason have been best friends since preschool. It never mattered that he was a boy with reddish-brown hair and she was the "Korean girl" at school. Now in fifth grade, everyone in their class is preparing their Heritage Month projects. Jason has always loved Krista's Korean family, and particularly her mom's cooking, but Krista is conflicted about being her school's "Korean Ambassador". She's also worried about asking her intimidating grandma to teach the class how to make their traditional kim-bap.

Aline hides under the hay when her father takes her to school in their horse-drawn sled. She's embarrassed that her mother raises chickens in their yard, and doesn't want her school friends to find out that their family has taken in boarders for the extra money. When she learns that her sworn enemy, Jeanine, can buy chewing gum, Aline is furious at the unfairness. She knows that Jeanine's family is even poorer than her own. When Aline's mother can't spare any money for a charity drive at school, Aline decides to steal a coin from her purse.

Walter is a young child when his parents decide to leave their home in Germany and start a new life in the Netherlands. As Jews, they know they are not safe under the Nazi regime. Walter is at first too young to appreciate the danger that he is in, and everything seems like a great adventure. But as his family is forced to move again and again, from city to countryside to, eventually, a hidden village deep in the Dutch woods, Walter's eyes are opened to the threat that surrounds them every day and to the network of people who are risking their lives to help them stay hidden.

In 1492, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain signed the Edict of Expulsion, giving all Jews three months to leave the country. In the aftermath, twelve-year-old Joseph escapes to Lisbon, Portugal with his parents and younger sister, Gracia. After only eight months of safety, Joseph and Gracia, along with hundreds of other Jewish children, are kidnapped from the port in Lisbon and put on a ship. They then make a dangerous journey to the island of São Tomé, off the coast of West Africa. Now slaves, they are forced to work on a sugarcane plantation.

Modo, who first made his appearance in The Hunchback Assignments, is a young, disfigured spy trained to be the ultimate secret agent. Not only is Modo brilliant and strong, but he also has a special ability: he can temporarily take on the appearance of other people. While on holiday, Modo and fellow spy Octavia Milkweed find themselves in Ember's End. Created by the slightly mad scientific genius Dr. Ebenezer Ember, this is no ordinary wild-west town. It is surrounded by an energy field that prevents gunpowder from firing, and messages are sent via pneumatic tubes.

Filip, the ten-year-old son of Croatian immigrants, lives in a boring suburb of the big city, where he passes his time either at school or in his cozy kitchen, googling everything from dinosaurs to the Hubble Space Telescope. When his favorite uncle gets sick, Filip turns to Google for answers. Instead he receives a visit from the Great Googlini, a tiny woman in Converse sneakers who swirls out of the computer vents. She's not really a genie, she explains: "I'm more of an archivist." Her visit is a little bit of magic that lets Filip see the magic all around him.

This is an enhanced ebook with a read-along function. No matter how hard he tries, even with the help of his classroom aide, Ian Goobie can't do the things that the other children in his class can do. Every day he dreads going to school. Then he finds a rock, a rock that fits perfectly in his pocket, a rock that touches all his senses and whisks him away into a whole other world. From then on, as long as he has a rock in his pocket, Ian Goobie can manage his daily challenges.

This is an enhanced ebook with a read-along function. A Whale's World follows a pod of spy-hopping orcas as they explore the ecosystems of the Great Bear Sea while hunting for their next meal. Past rocky shores and through kelp forests, they observe foraging wolves, hungry grizzly bears, curious black bears, graceful fin whales, splashing porpoises, slippery seals and other members of the Pacific coastal food web. The book gives readers a fun introduction to the many ways that marine and land animals interact with their environments and with each other.

What a crappy way to spend a weekend. The always-sarcastic Abby would rather be playing soccer, and the cagily quiet Christopher thinks a grief retreat is a waste of time. Neither of them wants to spend two days talking about their feelings. But despite their best efforts to stay aloof, Abby and Christopher are drawn into the lives of the other kids at the retreat. Maybe their stories will make them rethink how they are dealing with their own losses.

This is an enhanced ebook with a read-along function. Toes have long had their place in songs, where they head off to market and enjoy roast beef, but they have been overlooked and underrepresented in children's books. That's all about to change with this rhyming board book featuring piggledy-wiggledy digits in all their delightful glory. Toesy Toes head to the beach, jump around, take a bath and delight in being one of a baby's most adorable parts.