Preschool
Tiny T. Rex and the Tricks of Treating
by Jonathan Stutzman, illustrations by Jay Fleck
Tiny and Pointy love Halloween, and they are eager to share their tips and tricks so that readers can have a perfect treat-filled Halloween! A heartwarming story, Tiny T. Rex and the Tricks of Treating reminds each of us that the sweetest Halloween treat has nothing to do with eating candy after all.
Ten Little Birds/Diez Pajaritos
by Andrés Salguero, illustrations by Sara Palacios
Count to ten and back again with Latin Grammy Award–winning children's musical duo 123 Andrés in this bilingual board book!
The popular song from the album is cleverly and beautifully brought to life in this bright, bouncy board book. Each of the ten birds is given a fun and silly personality, and children will love to follow along as each bird flies away — and escapes a lurking kitty!
Primary (Kindergarten–Grade 2)
Creepy Crayon!
by Aaron Reynolds, illustrations by Peter Brown
Jasper Rabbit has a problem: he is not doing well in school. His spelling tests? Disasters. His math quizzes? Frightening to behold. But one day, he finds a crayon lying in the gutter. Purple. Pointy. Perfect. Somehow . . . it looked happy to see him. And it wants to help.
At first, Jasper is excited. Everything is going great. His spelling is fantastic. His math is stupendous. And best of all, he doesn't have to do any work! But then the crayon starts acting weird. It's everywhere and it wants to do everything. Jasper must find a way to get rid of it before it takes over his life. The only problem? The creepy crayon will not leave.
Sweet Dreams, Mis Hijos: Inspiring Bedtime Stories about Latino Leaders
by Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, illustrations by Yocelyn Riojas
Thoroughly engaging stories about amazing trailblazers include contemporary figures in many fields — from science and business to journalism and visual arts. Five-minute biographies provide an interesting window into each person's origins and accomplishments as well as describe the way that their heritage factored into their lives.
Intermediate (Grades 3–5)
Amari and the Night Brothers
by B. B. Alston
Amari Peters has never stopped believing that her missing brother, Quinton, is alive. Not even when the police told her otherwise or when she got into trouble for standing up to bullies who said that he was gone for good.
So when she finds a ticking briefcase in his closet containing a nomination for a summer tryout at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, she is certain that the secretive organization holds the key to locating Quinton — if only she can wrap her head around the idea of magicians, fairies, aliens, and other supernatural creatures all being real.
Now she must compete for a spot against kids who have known about magic their whole lives. No matter how hard she tries, Amari can't seem to escape their intense doubt and scrutiny, especially once her supernaturally enhanced talent is deemed "illegal." With an evil magician threatening the supernatural world and her own classmates thinking that she is an enemy, Amari has never felt more alone. But if she doesn't stick it out and pass the tryouts, she may never find out what happened to Quinton.
Areli Is a Dreamer/Areli es una Dreamer: A True Story by a DACA Recipient
by Areli Morales, illustrations by Luisa Uribe
When Areli was just a baby, her mama and papa moved from Mexico to New York with her brother — and when she was in kindergarten, they sent for her too.
Everything in New York was different. Gone were the Saturdays at Abuela's house filled with cousins and sunshine. Instead, things were busy and fast and noisy. But time passed, and Areli slowly became a New Yorker . . . although not an American citizen.
Middle School (Grades 6–8)
Daybreak on Raven Island
by Fleur Bradley
Tori, Marvin, and Noah would rather be anywhere else than on the seventh-grade class field trip to Raven Island Prison. Tori would rather be on the soccer field, but her bad grades have benched her until further notice. Marvin would rather be at the first day of a film festival with his best friend Kevin. Noah isn't looking forward to having to make small talk with his classmates at this new school.
But when the three of them stumble upon a dead body in the woods, miss the last ferry back home, and then have to spend the night on Raven Island, they find that they need each other now more than ever. They must work together to uncover a killer, outrun a motley ghost-hunting crew, and expose the age-old secrets of the island — all before daybreak.
They Call Her Fregona: A Border Kid's Poems
by David Bowles
"You can be my boyfriend." It takes only five words to change Güero's life at the end of seventh grade. They call Joanna "fregona" because she is tough, always sticking up for her family and keeping the school bully in check. But Güero sees her softness. Together they cook dollar-store spaghetti and hold hands in the orange grove, learning more about themselves and each other than they could have imagined. But when they start eighth grade, Joanna faces a tragedy that requires Güero to reconsider what it means to show up for someone you love.
High School (Grades 9–12)
This Poison Heart
by Kalynn Bayron
Briseis has a gift: with a single touch, she can grow plants from tiny seeds to rich blooms.
When Briseis's aunt dies and wills her a dilapidated estate in rural New York, Bri and her parents hope that, surrounded by plants and flowers, she will finally learn to control her gift. But their new home is sinister in ways that they never expected — it comes with a mysterious set of instructions, a walled garden filled with the deadliest botanicals in the world, and generations of secrets. There is more to Bri's sudden inheritance than she could have imagined, and she is determined to uncover it.
Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx/Ser María: amor y caos en el Bronx
by Sonia Manzano
Set in the 1950s in the Bronx, this is the story of a girl with a dream. Emmy Award–winning actress and writer Sonia Manzano plunges us into the daily lives of a Latino family that is loving . . . and troubled.
Books in Spanish
Camino a las estrellas: mi recorrido de Girl Scout a ingeniera astronáutica (grades 5–7)
de Sylvia Acevedo
Sylvia Acevedo amaba todo lo que tenía en la vida. Un día se enfermó su hermanita, y todo cambió.
Mientras su familia luchaba por salir adelante después de esa devastadora enfermedad, la vida de la pequeña Sylvia se transformó cuando ingresó a las Brownies. En Girl Scouts le enseñaron a crear sus propias oportunidades. Con renovada seguridad, Sylvia navegó a través de las diferentes expectativas culturales de su escuela y su hogar, abriéndose su propio camino hasta convertirse en una de lxs primerxs latinx en obtener una maestría en ingeniería de la Universidad de Stanford y en una de las pocas ingenieras astronáuticas en el Laboratorio de Propulsión a Chorro de la NASA.
To access the books on our monthly MPS Reads book lists, visit your school library or local library, or go online to OverDrive* and log in with your MPS student ID number.
*Some titles are not available through OverDrive.