Pavi Sharma's Guide to Going Home

Pavi Sharma's Guide to Going Home
Author: Bridget Farr
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 186
Release: 2019-09-17
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 031649108X

The Fosters meets The Great Gilly Hopkins in this moving novel of a young girl who as sets off on an important mission to save a fellow foster kid from the home that still haunts her nightmares. Twelve-year-old Pavi Sharma is an expert at the Front Door Face: the perfect mix of puppy dog eyes and a lemonade smile, the exact combination to put foster parents at ease as they open their front door to welcome you in. After being bounced around between foster families and shelter stays, Pavi is a foster care expert, and she runs a "business" teaching other foster kids all she has learned. With a wonderful foster family in mom Marjorie and brother Hamilton, things are looking up for Pavi. Then Pavi meets Meridee: a new five-year-old foster kid, who is getting placed at Pavi's first horrendous foster home. Pavi knows no one will trust a kid about what happened on Lovely Lane, even one as mature as she is, so it's up to her to save Meridee. With help from Hamilton, brooding eighth grader Santos, and Hamilton's somewhat obnoxious BFF Piper, they set off on an important mission with life-changing stakes. Pavi will stop at nothing to keep Meridee safe.

Margie Kelly Breaks the Dress Code

Margie Kelly Breaks the Dress Code
Author: Bridget Farr
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 191
Release: 2021-07-13
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0316461563

A timely and thought-provoking novel about one girl's fight against gender inequality at her middle school and the lessons about her own privilege she learns along the way. Margie Kelly's perfect skirt was dress coded on her very first day of middle school. Upset and embarrassed, Margie spends the whole day wearing oversized gym shorts. So much for starting sixth grade with confidence! But when Margie realizes that the dress code is only applied to the female students and not the boys, Margie gets mad. Really mad. The dress code is keeping girls stuck in detention all day and away from learning. The boys act like they own the school. And the teachers turn a blind eye to the hypocrisies taking place in the halls, classrooms, and clubs. Something has to change! And Margie knows just how to do it. She'll plan a school-wide protest with her best friend, Daniela, and fellow classmates Jamiya and Gloria. But as Margie moves forward with her plans, she comes to realize some hard truths about herself. Will Margie recognize her own privilege and make meaningful change for all students?

Merci Suárez Can't Dance

Merci Suárez Can't Dance
Author: Meg Medina
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2021-04-06
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0763690503

In Meg Medina's follow-up to her Newbery Medal-winning novel, Merci takes on seventh grade, with all its travails of friendship, family, love--and finding your rhythm.

The House That Wasn't There

The House That Wasn't There
Author: Elana K. Arnold
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2021-03-30
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0062937081

"In this luminous story full of mystery and magic, Elana K. Arnold weaves a shimmering tapestry about the lovely and surprising ways we’re connected to each other. Heart-healing, hopeful, and wonderfully inventive, this beautiful novel by a master storyteller is not to be missed." —Katherine Applegate, Newbery Medal-winning author of The One and Only Ivan Alder has always lived in his cozy little house in Southern California. And for as long as he can remember, the old, reliable, comforting walnut tree has stood between his house and the one next door. That is, until a new family—with a particularly annoying girl his age—moves into the neighboring house and, without warning, cuts it down. Oak doesn’t understand why her family had to move to Southern California. She has to attend a new school, find new friends, and live in a new house that isn’t even ready—her mother had to cut down a tree on their property line in order to make room for a second floor. And now a strange boy next door won’t stop staring at her, like she did something wrong moving here in the first place. As Oak and Alder start school together, they can’t imagine ever becoming friends. But the two of them soon discover a series of connections between them—mysterious, possibly even magical puzzles they can’t put together. At least not without each other’s help. Award-winning author Elana K. Arnold returns with an unforgettable story of the strange, wondrous threads that run between all of us, whether we know they’re there or not.

Bear Has a Story to Tell

Bear Has a Story to Tell
Author: Philip C. Stead
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 38
Release: 2012-09-04
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1596437456

Bear, with the help of his animal friends, remembers the story he had hoped to tell before the onset of winter. Full color.

Chirp

Chirp
Author: Kate Messner
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2020-02-04
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1547602821

"[A] deftly layered mystery about family, friendship, and the struggle to speak up." - Laurie Halse Anderson, bestselling author of Speak and Shout From acclaimed author Kate Messner comes the powerful story of a young girl with the courage to make her voice heard, set against the backdrop of a summertime mystery. When Mia moves to Vermont the summer after seventh grade, she's recovering from the broken arm she got falling off a balance beam. And packed away in the moving boxes under her clothes and gymnastics trophies is a secret she'd rather forget. Mia's change in scenery brings day camp, new friends, and time with her beloved grandmother. But Gram is convinced someone is trying to destroy her cricket farm. Is it sabotage or is Gram's thinking impaired from the stroke she suffered months ago? Mia and her friends set out to investigate, but can they uncover the truth in time to save Gram's farm? And will that discovery empower Mia to confront the secret she's been hiding--and find the courage she never knew she had? In a compelling story rich with friendship, science, and summer fun, a girl finds her voice while navigating the joys and challenges of growing up.

March On!

March On!
Author: Christine King Farris
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 36
Release: 2008
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0545035376

From Dr. Martin Luther King's sister, the definitive tribute to the man, the march, and the speech that changed a nation.On a hot August day in 1963, hundreds of thousands of people made history when they marched into Washington, D.C., in search of equality. Martin Luther King, Jr., the younger brother of Christine King Farris, was one of them.Martin was scheduled to speak to the crowds of people on that day. But before he could stand up and inspire a nation, he had to get down to business. He first had to figure out what to say and how to say it. So he spent all night working on his "I Have a Dream" speech, one that would underscore a landmark moment in civil rights history--the Great March on Washington. This would be one of the first events televised all over the globe. The world would be listening, as one of the greatest orators of our time shared his vision for a new day.From the sister of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., comes this moving account of what that day was like for her, and for the man who inspired a crowd--and convinced a nation to let freedom ring.London Ladd's beautiful full-color illustrations bring to life the thousands of people from all over the country who came to the nation's capital. They sing, they join hands, they march, and they listen as speaker after speaker inspires social change, culminating in Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

Prairie Lotus

Prairie Lotus
Author: Linda Sue Park
Publisher: Clarion Books
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2020
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 132878150X

Dakota Territory, 1880. When Hanna arrives in the town of LaForge, she sees possibiltiies. Her father coupld open a shop on the main street. She could go to school, if there is a school, and even realize her dream of becoming a dressmaker--provided she can convince Papa, that is. She and Papa could make a home here. But Hanna is half-Chinese, and she knows from experience that most white people don't want neighbors who aren't white themselves. The people of LaForge have never seen an Asian person before; most are unwelcoming and unfriendly--but they don't even know her! Hannah is determined to stay in LaForge and persuade them to see byond her surface. In a setting that will be recognized by fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books, this compelling story of resolution and persistence, told with humor, insight, and charm, offers a fresh look at a long-established view of history. -- From dust jacket.

Parked

Parked
Author: Danielle Svetcov
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 402
Release: 2021-02-02
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0399539026

For fans of Rebecca Stead and Joan Bauer comes a scrappy, poignant, uplifting debut about family, friendship, and the importance of learning both how to offer help and how to accept it. "A big-hearted novel with characters I wish were my friends in real life." —Gennifer Choldenko, author of the Al Capone at Alcatraz series Jeanne Ann is smart, stubborn, living in an orange van, and determined to find a permanent address before the start of seventh grade. Cal is awkward, sensitive, living in a humongous house across the street, and determined to save her. Jeanne Ann wants Cal's help just about as much as she wants to live in a van. As the two form a tentative friendship that grows deeper over alternating chapters, they're buoyed by a cast of complex, oddball characters, who let them down, lift them up, and leave you cheering. Debut novelist Danielle Svetcov shines a light on a big problem without a ready answer, pulling it off with the perfect balance of humor, heartbreak, and hope. "Insightful [and] touching...Not to be missed." —Karen Cushman, author of The Midwife's Apprentice "For readers of Dan Gemeinhart [and] Katherine Applegate." —The Children's Book Review "You won't be able to put it down. Trust." —ScaryMommy.com "Relatable and beautifully told." —Commonsense Media "Pertinent....Honest...Uplifting...Fresh." —PW "Utterly of this moment." —Jack Cheng, author of See You in the Cosmos "Absorbing and warmhearted." —Annie Barrows, author of the Ivy & Bean series "Realistically hopeful...Recommended." —SLC "Sharp...Perceptive." —BCCB "Unforgettable." —Brightly

I Can Make This Promise

I Can Make This Promise
Author: Christine Day
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2019-10-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0062872036

In her debut middle grade novel—inspired by her family’s history—Christine Day tells the story of a girl who uncovers her family’s secrets—and finds her own Native American identity. All her life, Edie has known that her mom was adopted by a white couple. So, no matter how curious she might be about her Native American heritage, Edie is sure her family doesn’t have any answers. Until the day when she and her friends discover a box hidden in the attic—a box full of letters signed “Love, Edith,” and photos of a woman who looks just like her. Suddenly, Edie has a flurry of new questions about this woman who shares her name. Could she belong to the Native family that Edie never knew about? But if her mom and dad have kept this secret from her all her life, how can she trust them to tell her the truth now?