Eighth grade is hard. When you’re 180 pounds and six feet tall, it can be even harder. Most of the kids in Marcus Vega’s school are terrified of him. Marcus uses his intimidating size to help protect smaller kids from the real school bully, Stephen. He uses the money he earns at school to help…
Picks by Katie D.
Her Fearless Run: Kathrine Switzer’s Historic Boston Marathon by Kim Caffee
Kathrine Switzer grew up in a time when people believed girls were too fragile and weak to participate in sports. So, whenever she would go run and sweat, people found it strange. Eventually, she gained attention of the running coach of a local school. He let her train with the men’s team. When she hears…
The Many Worlds of Albie Bright by Christopher Edge
What if an infinite number of universes with an infinite number of possibilities exist? What if you’re the person you love the most? After Albie Bright’s mother dies, his famous scientist father tries to comfort him by telling him about parallel universes. He tells Albie that according to this theory, there is a universe where…
The Missing Piece of Charlie O’Reilly by Rebecca K.S. Ansari
Charlie O’Reilly’s younger brother Liam does things to bother Charlie just like many other younger brothers. One year for his birthday, Charlie wishes that his brother Liam would disappear. When he wakes up the next morning, Charlie realizes that his wish came true, and he is the only person who remembers Liam exists. Charlie’s best…
Pocket Full of Colors: The Magical World of Mary Blair, Disney Artist Extraordinaire by Amy Guglielmo and Jacqueline Tourville
Have you ever wondered what it takes to be an artist? In Pocket Full of Colors by Amy Guglielmo and Jacqueline Tourville, we learn about a little girl named Mary who loved to collect all the different colors she saw in the world around her. As Mary grew up, she sketched and continued to collect colors in…
Princess Pulverizer: Grilled Cheese and Dragons by Nancy Krulik
Princess Serena isn’t afraid of anything or anyone. She is the bravest girl in all of Empiria (and possible the world). She swings from the rafters, smashes into tables, and accidentally breaks things. Since she is neither calm nor peaceful, Serena decides she needs a different name. The princess decides she should be called Princess…
Can Somebody Please Scratch My Back? By Jory John
Obviously, when you’re an elephant, scratching your own back can be difficult. In this story, an elephant goes to many different animals to try to find someone to scratch his back. He talks to a turtle, a crocodile, a hippo, a sloth, and other animals too. Some of them say they’ll help, but it’s hard…
Roll by Darcy Miller
Ren’s family decides to move to the outskirts of town. He misses being close to his best friend, Aiden, and he just wants things to go back to normal. Imagine his surprise when he looks up in the sky and sees birds just falling towards the ground. He watches closer and begins to think they’re…
Real Friends by Shannon Hale
Growing up can be rough: sometimes your friends move away, sometimes your friends aren’t as kind as they should be, and sometimes you just feel out of place. Shannon Hale writes about how she viewed the world while she was in elementary school. Like most kids, she had trouble with her sibling and friends. As…
Margaret and the Moon: How Margaret Hamilton Saved the First Lunar Landing by Dean Robbins
Margaret Hamilton grew up wondering why more women weren’t deciding to be doctors or scientists. So, she decided to study hard. Margaret loved mathematics and learning about the universe. As she got older, she discovered computers and made the decision to program them. All of her hard work eventually led to her working for NASA!…
