Book Finder

Michael Arroyo has a pitching arm that throws serious heat along with aspirations of leading his team all the way to the Little League World Series. But his firepower is nothing compared to the heat Michael faces in his day-to-day life. Newly orphaned after his father led the family’s escape from Cuba, Michael’s only family is his seventeen-year-old brother Carlos. If Social Services hears of their situation, they will be separated in the foster-care system—or worse, sent back to Cuba.

Sam is a metal-head. Sure, he bangs his head, drinks, and smokes, but none of that has ever kept him from getting great grades at his prep school. Then he starts dating Melissa. Real raw language and a fast pace make this a good choice for reluctant readers too.

Having withstood the horrors of Auschwitz and made it out alive, eighteen-year-old Elli is more than ready to leave behind the painful memories and start fresh in America. What she is not fully prepared for, though, are all the challenges of creating a new life in a completely new place — especially one as hectic as New York City! 

Four lives are intertwined and changed when a bully’s prank lands shy Virgil at the bottom of a well and Valencia, Kaori, and Gen band together in an epic quest to find and rescue him. 

Knox was a Boston bookseller in Colonial America who would go on to join the Continental Army and later become the young country’s first Secretary of War. Silvey presents the “dramatic story of his achievements [which is a…] little-known episode in the history of the American Revolution. 

Three outrageous tales told by Josh McBroom, the farmer of an amazing one-acre farm, are compiled here, just right for reading and laughing out loud: “McBroom Makes Rain,” “McBroom’s Ghost,” and “McBroom’s Zoo.”

Yolen wrote all of these varied entries about the delightful dragon, and relates the poems, and short stories from a variety of genres, complete with a background as to their inspiration.

The powerful graphic memoir from Jarrett Krosoczka about growing up with a drug-addicted mother, a missing father, and two opinionated grandparents. Hey, Kiddo is a profoundly important story about a family grappling with addiction and finding the art that helps you survive. National Book Award finalist.

You can see related interviews with Jarrett about Hey, Kiddo on Jarrett's website, as well as his TED talk in which he shares his personal story.

This somewhat controversial book investigates the relationship between physics and metaphysics, science and religion, but doesn’t provide any specific answers. It will evoke a sense of wonder about the cosmos and life itself for those who have an open mind.

This book brings to life the stories of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden, who lived through the Civil Rights era, the Space Race, the Cold War, and the movement for gender equality, and whose work forever changed the face of NASA and the country.

Every time Martin opens his mouth, he gets in trouble. He’s just been dumped at the last place that will take him; a school filled with freaks and psychotic bullies. His roommate starts fires, his new friends are cheats, and his teachers hate him. Then things really get weird.

This attractive book presents a brief but comprehensive look at the 35th U.S. President and the issues he confronted during his brief time in office including the Cuban missile crisis and more. Additional resources are included in this useful and attractive book.

Ten-year old Lucky lives in a small California desert town with her guardian Brigitte, her father’s ex. Lucky’s “family” also includes the adults at the 12-Step meetings she eavesdrops on. When Lucky begins to worry that Brigitte will return to her native France, she searches for her own “higher power.” This title is a Newbery Award winner.

Pulitzer Prize winner John Hersey interviewed survivors of Hiroshima’s bomb while the ashes were still warm. Hersey describes the lives of six people — a clerk, a widowed seamstress, a physician, a Methodist minister, a surgeon, and a German Catholic priest — shortly before and for about a year after the bombing. While describing the ordeals of these individuals, Hersey manages to convey the devastation and the suffering experienced by the people of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. A final chapter was added in 1985 that continues with the lives of these six people.

When Griffin’s first love and ex-boyfriend, Theo, dies in a drowning accident, his universe implodes. Even though Theo had moved to California for college, Griffin never doubted Theo would come back to him when the time was right. But now, the future he’s been imagining for himself has gone far off course.

To make things worse, the only person who truly understands his heartache is Theo’s new boyfriend, Jackson. But no matter how much they open up to each other, Griffin’s downward spiral continues. He’s losing himself in his obsessive compulsions and destructive choices, and the secrets he’s been keeping are tearing him apart. If Griffin is ever to rebuild his future, he must first confront his history, every last heartbreaking piece in the puzzle of his life.

In 1920, Susan B. Anthony passed a law that gave voting rights to women in the United States. RIGHT? WRONG! Susan B. Anthony wasn’t even alive when the 19th Amendment was ratified. Did you know that when women’s rights activists picketed President Wilson to get his support for voting rights, some men beat them up, tore down their banners, and stole from them?

Through illustrations, graphic panels, photographs, sidebars, and more, author Kate Messner smashes history by exploring the little-known details behind the fight for women’s suffrage.

Brit’s parents go on vacation, leaving her with her 85-year old grandmother. But Nannie has vacation plans of her own — she is going to her 65th college reunion, and she’s taking her classmates with her. As the “girls” head up Interstate 95, the plot expands to include everything from kidnapping to the rights of the elderly. This is a fast-paced and fun intergenerational adventure.

How were otherwise kind, intelligent teenagers drawn into an organization like the Hitler Youth? This well-researched and well-documented book examines the rise of the Nazi party and its sway over teens. Using primary sources, including interviews, the author features the stories of several teens who came of age during Hitler’s years of power.

That night Ingrid told Caitlin, I’ll go wherever you go. But by dawn Ingrid, and her promise, were gone. Ingrid’s suicide immobilizes Caitlin, leaving her unsure of her place in a new life she hardly recognizes. A life without the art, the laughter, the music, and the joy that she shared with her best friend…. But Ingrid left something behind. In words and drawings, Ingrid documented a painful farewell in her journal. Journeying through Ingrid’s final days, Caitlin fights back through unspeakable loss to find renewed hope.

The emotional honesty of Gantos’ fiction for tweens and teens is evident in this nonfiction memoir for older, more sophisticated readers. Here, he shares his low self-esteem as a young person who gets caught up in dealing drugs. This book makes for tough but powerful reading — especially since Gantos is now on the other side of those early, difficult years.

This handsome addition to the series demonstrates the similarities between Christmas celebrations in different cultures and commonalities shared throughout the world. Lush photographs illuminate the straightforward text.

Crisp photographs are used to illustrate this truly American holiday while revealing its origins in harvest festivals. A table of contents, index, and more are included.

Even though she’s a little on the small side, Termite can take care of herself-and has been through twelve foster homes. Her newest “home” in Forest Glen, California, is home to many other foster kids. As logging operations there have been suspended due to the discovery of a rare owl, many logging families have taken in foster kids to help ends meet. After coming to appreciate the beauty of the forest and getting attached to a giant redwood, Termite finds herself between those whose lives depend on trees and those who live to protect the trees and the wildlife that depends on them.

Sunita, a volunteer at the Wild at Heart Animal Clinic, desperately wants a cat of her own, but her parents won’t hear of it. Eventually, Sunita gets her animal as readers learn about feral cats and the need for animal control.