Another incredible Spotlight this week! Once again, middle grades are my favorite.
Details about the February 18th Spotlight:
Canva presentation of New Release Spotlight for all of February (YA books)
Click the link above, save a copy in your own Canva account, and edit from there. Canva presentation links for middle grades and picture books are included in those sections below.
Author: Lili Wilkinson
Genre: fantasy, supernatural, gothic romance, horror
Setting: Agathion College, moors of Scotland
Themes: classic literature, boarding schools, secret societies, dark magic, endometriosis, ancient conspiracies, identity, Greek philosophy, Scottish mythology
Recommended for: Grades 9-12
Protagonist: female, American, white; secondary characters are diverse ethnicities and identities; Scottish love interest is genderqueer
Starred reviews: Kirkus and Publishers Weekly
Give this atmospheric fantasy to fans of The Spirit Bares Its Teeth (Andrew White) or The Darkest Part of the Forest (Holly Black).
SUMMARY: Page Whittaker, a Florida teen with a troubled past, accepts a scholarship to the mysterious Agathion College in Scotland, seeking intellectual fulfillment.
But as she uncovers dark secrets about the school’s magical curriculum and its sinister leaders, Page realizes she may be part of a dangerous plot.
Author: Elle Gonzalez Rose
Genre: mystery, thriller
Setting: Kingswood Academy, an elite private boarding school
Themes: twins, sisters, parent alcoholism (father), murder, rape, violence, justice, poverty, dropouts
Recommended for: Grades 9-12
Protagonist: female, twin, Puerto Rican, high school dropout
Starred reviews: Kirkus and SLJ
This thriller about a teen investigating her twin sister’s murder will appeal to high school readers that loved One of Us Is Lying (McManus) or A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (Jackson).
SUMMARY: Luna Flores is a Puerto Rican teen whose identical twin sister, Solina, was found dead under suspicious circumstances.
Determined to find the truth, Luna impersonates Solina at Kingswood Academy, an elite boarding school full of secrets. As she navigates the social hierarchies and unravels lies about her sister’s life, Luna faces a complex web of privilege, power, and hidden motives.
Author: Nathanael Lessore
Genre: realistic fiction, humor
Setting: London, England
Themes: music, rap, music competitions, friendship, overcoming adversity, embarrassment, cyberbullying, going viral, crushes, quirkiness
Protagonist: male, age 13, Black, British
Recommended for: Grades 7+
Starred reviews: SLJ
A much-needed realistic fiction story featuring a 13-year old Black male protagonist intent on winning a rap battle. Booktalk this title with 8th and 9th graders, especially classes with lots of boys who “don’t like to read.”
SUMMARY: Thirteen-year-old aspiring rapper Shaun “Growls” Thompson’s plan to impress his crush by winning a rap battle. But his plan backfires when an embarrassing livestream makes him and his best friend Shanks laughingstocks.
As Shanks spirals from the ridicule, Growls navigates friendship, new love, and dreams of fame while learning about loyalty and self-belief.
Canva presentation – February 2025 – Middle Grade New Releases
Author: Guojing
Genre: graphic fiction, science fiction, post-apocalypse
Setting: desolate desert near the luxurious Oasis City; set in a future world affected by pollution and climate change
Themes: siblings, environmental disasters, robots, abandonment, motherhood, family, loneliness, impact of technology on humans, AI
Recommended for: Grades 2-8
Protagonist: older sister and younger brother, East Asian, most likely Chinese
Starred reviews: Kirkus, Booklist, BCCB, Hornbook, and Publishers Weekly
FIVE STARRED REVIEWS – There is massive early praise for this middle grade graphic novel! Give it to readers who loved The Wild Robot (Brown) and Robot Dreams (Varon).
SUMMARY: Siblings JieJie and DiDi wait for their mother in a desert near the rich Oasis City. They find a broken robot in the city’s trash, fix it, and it becomes a caring mother figure for them.
As they wait and hope for their real mom to return, they learn about family and love in a harsh, lonely world.
Author and Illustrator: Wahab Algarmi
Genre: graphic fiction, realistic fiction
Setting: contemporary suburban American community during the month of Ramadan
Themes: Ramadan, fasting, soccer, middle school, community, friendship, feeling left out, difficulty of fasting and going to public school, perseverance
Protagonist: male, age 12-13, Yemeni American, Muslim, seventh grader
Recommended for: Grades 3-8
Starred reviews: SLJ
This graphic novel is a MUST for elementary and middle school libraries! It features a 7th grade Muslim boy who is fasting for Ramadan. It is honest about the difficulties he encounters during the school day and on the soccer field. An important read for elementary and middle school students, both Muslim and non-Muslim.
SUMMARY: Hassan, a seventh grade soccer player, struggles to balance his faith, school, and soccer during Ramadan. While fasting for Ramadan, Hassan faces challenges like slipping grades, soccer setbacks, and feeling isolated from his friends.
Author and Illustrator: Dean Stuart
Genre: graphic fiction, magical realism
Setting: a mazelike building shaped like the protagonist's grandfather's head
Themes: memory loss, dementia, grandfathers, storytelling, accepting loss, imagination, aging, Alzheimer's Disease
Protagonist: female tween, white
Recommended for: Grades 3-7
Starred reviews: SLJ, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and BCCB
FOUR starred reviews! This is an excellent example of middle grade magical realism. Use it to teach symbolism, metaphor, color symbolism, or storytelling with dual perspectives.
SUMMARY: Cassi ventures into a surreal, mazelike house shaped like her grandfather’s head. Inside, she explores his fading memories as he battles dementia.
This is a graphic novel and magical realism.
Author: Anne Blankman
Genre: historical fiction
Setting: 1915, onboard the Lusitania (ocean) and later in York, England, during WWI
Themes: Lusitania sinking, shipwrecks, prejudice, blame, WWI, patriotism, friendship across cultural lines, real historical events, world history, war, discrimination
Protagonist: female, age 12, white, German
Recommended for: Grades 4-7
Starred reviews: SLJ
This middle grade novel is set during WWI, something I don’t see too often! Give this book to fans of The War That Saved My Life (Bradley, 2015) or Lines of Courage (Nielsen, 2022).
SUMMARY: After surviving the Lusitania‘s sinking in 1915, 12-year-old Marta poses as Dutch to avoid anti-German prejudice in England. Taken in by the Irish O’Sullivans, Marta grapples with guilt, fear, and unexpected friendship with Clare, all while hiding her true identity and longing to reunite with her father.
Canva presentation – February 2025 – Picture Books New Releases
Click the link above, save a copy in your own Canva account, and edit from there. Canva presentation links for middle grades and picture books are included in those sections below.
Author and Illustrator: Lindsay Moore
Genre: informational picture book
Setting: Arctic, Antarctica, and the open sea
Themes: Arctic animals, birds, Arctic tern, animal migration, long journeys, sea life, nature
Recommended for: PreS-Grade 3
Starred reviews: Kirkus and Booklist
This informational picture book is great for storytime about animal migrations, the Arctic or Antarctica, or winter.
This informational picture book is great for storytime about animal migrations, the Arctic or Antarctica, or winter. You could also show artwork by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (see the iconic painting The Great Wave Off Kanagawa) to compare the artistic styles. (see the painting here).
SUMMARY: An Arctic tern journeys from the Arctic to Antarctica, facing predators and challenges while feeding its chicks and navigating vast seas. Along the way, it encounters other animals and experiences the beauty of the ocean.
Author and Illustrator: Brendan Wenzel
Genre: picture book
Setting: a single day, from sunrise to sunset
Themes: the sun, nature, interconnectedness of life, energy cycle, energy transfer, curiosity, wonder, life and death, ecosystems, rhyming stories, our world
Recommended for: PreS-Grade 3
Starred reviews: SLJ
Caldecott Honor Winner Brendan Wenzel (2017, They All Saw a Cat) brings us a gorgeous new picture book about the sun’s journey across the sky. This is a great choice for nature-themed storytimes or to preface a nature walk.
SUMMARY: This picture book explores the sun’s journey across the sky and its interconnected impact on all living things.
Author and Illustrator: Jacqueline Alcántara
Genre: picture book
Setting: Honduras
Themes: language barriers, extended family, love, speaking Spanish, family traditions
Protagonist: young girl, Honduran American
Recommended for: PreS-Grade 3
Starred reviews: Kirkus
Notes: Publishes simultaneously in Spanish.
A great choice for bilingual (Spanish and English) storytimes! The colorful illustrations include speech bubbles in Spanish. Students who do not speak Spanish should be able to use context clues to figure out some of their meanings.
SUMMARY: A young girl travels to Honduras to meet her extended family. She’s excited, but she also feels nervous because she doesn’t speak much Spanish.
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