Summer Reading for Kids & Teens

An outstanding STEM picture book documenting the transformation of an aircraft carrier that was gutted and turned into the world’s largest artificial reef.

What happens when something designed to be unsinkable gets bombed to the bottom of the ocean floor? With careful preparation, new life can take root!

This incredible story brings young readers along on the journey of the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany—the Mighty O—as it gets stripped down to a steel shell for a new life below the waves.

After 25 years of service, launching more aircraft than any other carrier of its time, the ship found a new mission as an artificial reef off the coast of Florida. The Mighty O was prepped and reefed by a team of more than 150 scientists, engineers, and technicians. Today, it is home to a flourishing variety of marine animals. 

Designed to encourage regrowth and protect vulnerable marine life, artificial reefs are a crucial tool in the fight against overfishing, pollution, and warming water temperatures. Extensive back matter reveals more about the Mighty O’s history, the diseases eating away at the world’s natural reef systems, and the role artificial reefs play under the sea, and budding marine biologists will love poring over the exquisite illustrations.

Books for a Better Earth are designed to inspire children to become active, knowledgeable participants in caring for the planet they live on.
 

In this strikingly illustrated debut with a quirky, surreal sensibility, the tale of an Arctic expedition invites readers to discover an elusive creature.

Dr. Morley absolutely loves jellyfish. Her entire life, she has been fascinated by one specific species, a legendary creature that no one has ever seen. Does the giant Arctic jellyfish even exist? After years of research, Dr. Morley and her crew don their red parkas and set off to icy northern waters in hopes of finding the mysterious creature. The Arctic Circle is filled with wonders: playful orcas, the glowing aurora borealis, and formidable ice shelves—but will Dr. Morley find what she is searching for? Or, perhaps, will it find her? Bringing the stark and breathtaking beauty of the Arctic to life, author-illustrator Chloe Savage’s whimsical and charming adventure into the unknown is sure to capture the imaginations of young explorers.

Okay, maybe that last one isn't entirely the truth.

Of course, there's nothing Harriet doesn't like about Marble Island, the small island off the coast of California where her nanu runs a cozy little bed and breakfast. And nobody doesn't love Moneypenny, Nanu's old basset hound. But Harriet doesn't like the fact that Dad made this decision without even asking her.

When Harriet arrives on Marble Island, however, she discovers that it's full of surprises, and even a mystery. One that seems to involve her Dad, back when he was a young boy living on Marble Island. One that Harriet is absolutely going to solve. And that's the truth.

Remember, Humphrey; never run, never jump, and NEVER. EVER. sit on a wall!

This middle-grade graphic novel tells the story of Humphrey - an egg with very overprotective parents; "Never run, never jump and NEVER EVER EVER sit on a wall. You remember what happened to your uncle..."

Humphrey lives a cautious life, until the day he bumps into Princess Jean (PJ) in the park. An adventurer through and through, PJ regales Humphrey with tales of all her antics and mishaps and they don't notice the park is closing. Oh no! How will Humphrey get home? There's only one way out. Over. The. Wall!

The Egg Incident is a joyous reversal of the traditional Humpty Dumpty tale of caution that will delight readers aged 7-12 who are tiptoeing towards independence themselves.

Ever since mysterious bones were found in 1822, scientists and artists have tried to figure out what the creature they came from looked like. But it seems that every time they've made up their minds, someone makes a new discovery, and they have to start all over. That's only fair, though--after all, it's how knowledge advances!

With an inviting tone and detail-filled art, Sean Rubin traces the process of defining--and redefining--the dinosaur called Iguanodon. Entertaining, accessible, and beautiful, his tale will delight dinosaur fans, budding artists, and anyone curious about how science really works.

Charles Darwin is widely known for his Origin of Species book, yet Darwin had another great love, and that was for worms.

Told for the first time for children, this is the silly and fascinating true story of how Charles Darwin came to discover that the humble earthworm is the most important species on our planet.

Darwin suspected worms were special but his scientist friends laughed at him. In a quest to find out the worms’ special talent, Darwin played the bassoon to the worms to see if they could hear, laid out a picnic treasure hunt for them to see how well they could smell, among many other bizarre but entirely true experiments.

But so far Darwin didn’t find anything extra special about worms. Until, one day he realized that worms do have a superpower. They POOP! Without their life-sustaining, nutrient-rich poop, there would be no plants and no animals on earth. 

Darwin’s 40 years studying worms is still essential to our understanding of worms today, and ever since, scientists have taken him VERY seriously, and never again laughed at his love of worms. 

Trex’s experimental brain implant saved his life—but it also made his life a lot harder. Now he shocks everything he touches. When his overprotective mother finally agrees to send him to a real school for sixth grade, Trex is determined to fit in.

He wasn’t counting on Mellie the Mouse. She lives in the creepiest house in Hopewell Hill, where she spends her time scowling, lurking, ignoring bullies, and training to be a spy. Mellie is convinced she saw lightning shoot from Trex’s fingertips, and she is Very Suspicious.

And she should be . . . but not of Trex. Someone mysterious is lurking in the shadows . . . someone who knows a dangerous secret.

Frankie knows who they are. They’re a drummer, they’re nonbinary, and they’re... the Dog Knight?

One day Frankie is a relatively normal middle schooler, with relatively normal challenges, like finding the perfect outfit to wear during their drum solo during the upcoming band concert. The next, they save a friendly golden retriever from bullies and suddenly find themselves in a giant magical doghouse, with a funny looking helmet, talking to a group of dog superheroes called the Pawtheon about a job offer.

If Frankie can prove that they possess the six dog virtues of loyalty, kindness, honesty, justice, stubbornness, and smell, they will be named the Dog Knight and be given the power to fight alongside the Pawtheon and save the world from the forces of chaos.

Maybe there is more to Frankie than they thought?

Dogtown is a shelter for stray dogs, misbehaving dogs, and discarded robot dogs, whose owners have outgrown them.
 

Chance, a real dog, has been in Dogtown since her owners unwittingly left her with irresponsible dog-sitters who skipped town.

Metal Head is a robot dog who dreams of being back in a real home.

And Mouse is a mouse who has the run of Dogtown, pilfering kibble, and performing clever feats to protect the dogs he loves.

When Chance and Metal Head embark on an adventure to find their forever homes, there is danger, cheese sandwiches, a charging station, and some unexpected kindnesses along the way.

Centuries ago, Earth’s plants turned toxic, rendering life on the planet impossible, and humanity took to space to cultivate new homes. Myra Hodger is in her first year at an elite school on the Moon to train and develop her Creer in math as a Number Whisper—like her famous Number Whisperer parents. But she’s crumbling under the pressure, she doesn’t fit in, and worst of all, the tattoos that signal her Creer growing aren’t developing. In her heart, she knows she doesn’t have a Creer, and soon, everyone else will, too.

Wandering the school while cutting class one day, she discovers a secret lab hidden behind one of the unused classrooms, and beyond that, a secret garden overflowing with plants. Dangerous toxic plants. 

But as Myra learns the garden isn’t a threat, she begins to wonder if she does have a Creer—one that died out when the Earth did. If she wants to learn the truth about the garden and herself, she’ll have to hurry. There are those who'll do anything to take these secrets to the grave.

Re-envisioning The Secret Garden for a new generation, Moongarden introduces a dynamic heroine who just might grow a revolution.
 

Twelve-year-old Garnet regrets that she doesn’t know her family. Her mother has done her best to keep it that way, living far from the rest of the magical Carrefour clan and their dark, dangerous mansion known as Crossroad House.

But when Garnet finally gets summoned to the estate, it isn’t quite what she hoped for. Her relatives are strange and quarrelsome, each room in Crossroad House is more dilapidated than the last, and she can’t keep straight which dusty hallways and cobwebbed corners are forbidden. 

Then Garnet learns the family secret: their dying patriarch fights to retain his life by stealing power from others. Every accident that isn’t an accident, every unexpected illness and unexplained disappearance grants Jasper Carrefour a little more time. While the Carrefours squabbles over who will inherit his role when (if) he dies, Garnet encounters evidence of an even deeper curse. Was she brought to Crossroad House as part of the curse . . . or is she meant to break it?

Written with loads of creepy atmosphere and an edge-of-your-seat magical mystery, this thrilling story reads like The Haunting of Hill House for preteens. Perfect for late-night reading under the covers.

Four kids meet at an airport for one unforgettable night in this middle-grade novel by four bestselling and award-winning authors--Aisha Saeed, Huda Al-Marashi, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, and S. K. Ali

When a thunderstorm grounds all flights following a huge Muslim convention, four unlikely kids are thrown together. Feek is stuck babysitting his younger sister, but he'd rather be writing a poem that's good enough for his dad, a famous poet and rapper. Hanna is intent on finding a lost cat in the airport--and also on avoiding a conversation with her dad about him possibly remarrying. Sami is struggling with his anxiety and worried that he'll miss the karate tournament that he's trained so hard for. And Nora has to deal with the pressure of being the daughter of a prominent congresswoman, when all she really wants to do is make fun NokNok videos. These kids don't seem to have much in common--yet.

Told in alternating points of view, Grounded tells the story of one unexpected night that will change these kids forever.

An action-packed, empowering middle grade novel about a girl who has to speak up when her wheelchair motocross dreams get turned upside down.

Twelve-year-old Emmie is working to raise money for a tricked-out wheelchair to get serious about WCMX, when a mishap on a poorly designed ramp at school throws her plans into a tailspin. Instead of replacing the ramp, her school provides her with a kind but unwelcome aide—and, seeing a golden media opportunity, launches a public fundraiser for her new wheels. Emmie loves her close-knit rural town, but she can’t shake the feeling that her goals—and her choices—suddenly aren’t hers anymore. With the help of her best friends, Emmie makes a plan to get her dreams off the ground—and show her community what she wants, what she has to give, and how ready she is to do it on her own terms.

Air is a smart, energetic middle grade debut from Monica Roe about thinking big, working hard, and taking flight.

Twelve-year-old Mia is just trying to navigate a world that doesn't understand her true autistic self. While she wishes she could stand up to her bullies, she's always been able to express her feelings through singing and songwriting, even more so with her best friend, Charlie, who is nonbinary, putting together the best beats for her.

Together, they've taken the internet by storm; little do Mia's classmates know that she's the viral singer Elle-Q! But while the chance to perform live for a local talent show has Charlie excited, Mia isn't so sure.

She'll have to decide whether she'll let her worries about what other people think get in the way of not only her friendship with Charlie, but also showing everyone, including the bullies, who she is and what she has to say.

Lahore, Pakistan. Then.
Misbah is a dreamer and storyteller, newly married to Toufiq in an arranged match. After their young life is shaken by tragedy, they come to the United States and open the Clouds' Rest Inn Motel, hoping for a new start.
 
Juniper, California. Now.
Salahudin and Noor are more than best friends; they are family. Growing up as outcasts in the small desert town of Juniper, California, they understand each other the way no one else does. Until The Fight, which destroys their bond with the swift fury of a star exploding.  
 
Now, Sal scrambles to run the family motel as his mother Misbah’s health fails and his grieving father loses himself to alcoholism. Noor, meanwhile, walks a harrowing tightrope: working at her wrathful uncle’s liquor store while hiding the fact that she’s applying to college so she can escape him—and Juniper—forever.
 
When Sal’s attempts to save the motel spiral out of control, he and Noor must ask themselves what friendship is worth—and what it takes to defeat the monsters in their pasts and the ones in their midst.  
 
From one of today’s most cherished and bestselling young adult authors comes a breathtaking novel of young love, old regrets, and forgiveness—one that’s both tragic and poignant in its tender ferocity.

"Marlene loves three things: books, her cool Tía Ruby and hanging out with her best friend Camila. But according to her mother, Paola, the only thing she needs to focus on is school and "growing up." That means straightening her hair every weekend so she could have "presentable", "good hair".

But Marlene hates being in the salon and doesn't understand why her curls are not considered pretty by those around her. With a few hiccups, a dash of embarrassment, and the much-needed help of Camila and Tia Ruby—she slowly starts a journey to learn to appreciate and proudly wear her curly hair." - Description from publisher