National Network for Equitable Library Service

Percy Jackson meets Tristan Strong in this hilarious, action-packed middle grade contemporary fantasy that follows a young boy as he journeys across China to seal the underworld shut and save the mortal realm. Zachary Ying never had many opportunities to learn about his Chinese heritage. His single mom was busy enough making sure they got by, and his schools never taught anything except Western history and myths.

When a child is asked to "Please, be quiet!" they sit silent ... and their imagination sweeps them away on a breathtaking journey. Through the window, the child can hear the trees breathe and watches them sway back and forth as they begin to dance. Then bears join in, accompanied by the child on their drum, making so much noise they wake up a dragon! The dragon's smoky breath fills the sky, and the wind forms a knight on a steed that gallops through the stars.

From the critically acclaimed, award-winning creators of Ocean Meets Sky and The Night Gardener comes a whimsical and sweet tale of a young girl who cares for her pet cloud as it grows.

If you could be anything, what would you be? I’d be a tall ship, racing fast on the sea I’d fill up my sails with the salty cool breeze If I could be anything. If it were up to me. This lyrical lullaby from educator and musician Jen Britton, with illustrations by celebrated artist Briana Corr Scott (Mermaid Lullaby, Wildflower) asks young readers, If you could be anything, what would you be? Responses run the gamut from lupins to sea glass to a lighthouse shining bright to the pull of the tides, celebrating the abundant natural and cultural landscapes of the East Coast.

It's everyone's favorite day of winter semester: the class field trip to the museum! Jordan is excited to see the mummies and Max can't wait for his first trip to the big city without his big sisters watching over him. But when Jordan gets distracted by an extraordinary costume display and Max flies off to the depths of the Bat Cave, the group carries on to lunch without them. Before the two friends know it, their class has left the museum and they're all alone downtown!

New York City in the 1960s is the humming backdrop for this poignant, gritty story about a girl who sees her parents as flawed human beings for the first time, and finds the courage to make a fresh start. Missy’s mother has gone back to school to pursue her dream of becoming an artist. Missy’s father works in advertising and takes Missy on secret midnight excursions to Harlem and the Village so she can share his love of jazz.

In this powerful collection of short stories, children around the world turn eleven and take a step into their futures. Each one is changed in ways both big and small. Annoyed at having to walk his sister's dog on his birthday, Connor heads into an undeveloped subdivision, where he comes across chilling evidence of a stranger's unhappiness. A girl sneaks away from her class camping trip to a local conservation area and experiences, for the first time, the terror and joy of fending for herself for the first time.

Adopted into a mixed family, thirteen-year-old Jacob Jollimore is having the worst summer of his life helping to care for an elderly Vietnamese woman that he ran into and injured while trying to escape a bully. Worse still, he’s Vietnamese. But a hundred-year old letter hidden in a bureau in the Edwardian hotel his parents are renovating sends him on a treasure hunt that will require him to think like Sherlock Holmes and just may prove to be everyone’s salvation.

A charming early chapter book series that explores Vietnamese culture and identity through the eyes of the Nguyen siblings, with elements of the supernatural, spirituality, and social justice woven in. Organized and introspective nine-year-old Anne Nguyen misses her Grandma Nội, a lot. But even though Grandma Nội passed away, it doesn't mean she's disappeared. When Anne and her younger siblings Jacob and Liz are given gifts passed on to them by Grandma, Anne soon realizes that hers--a beautiful jade bangle--has a secret power.

Charming, creative Salma takes on big feelings with even bigger ideas as she navigates life in a new country, Syrian identity, family changes and new friendships in this engaging and heartfelt early chapter book series. After a year, eleven months, and six days apart, Salma's dad is finally joining her family in their new home. Salma is so happy to see her baba-but she's also worried. What if he misses Syria so much that he leaves them again?