Juvenile Literature

The books in this collection navigate themes and ideas appropriate for younger readers. Whether you're looking for contemporary hits like Front Desk by Kelly Yang or beloved classics like Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, you can explore this collection to find a title that will excite the young readers in your life.

Serafina and the Black Cloak

by Robert Beatty

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Coming of Age, Good & Evil

Tags Fantasy, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Coming of Age, Animals, Children`s Literature, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure

Serafina and the Black Cloak is a middle-grade mystery/fantasy by Robert Beatty. First published in 2015, the novel is set in 1899 at the historic Biltmore Estate near Asheville, North Carolina. The story features 12-year-old Serafina, a girl of mysterious origins and many unusual skills who lives secretly in the mansion’s basement. When some of the Biltmore guests’ children go missing, Serafina discovers that an evil intruder—the Man in the Black Cloak—is responsible. Serafina sets... Read Serafina and the Black Cloak Summary

Shades of Gray

by Carolyn Reeder

Publication year 1989

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Self Discovery, Family, Shame & Pride, Hate & Anger, War, Coming of Age

Tags Historical Fiction, American Civil War, Coming of Age, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, US History, Military & War, World History

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Sheep

by Valerie Hobbs

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Memory, Coming of Age, Animals, Self Discovery, Trust & Doubt

Tags Realistic Fiction, Action & Adventure, Animals, Children`s Literature, Fantasy

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Shiloh

by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Publication year 1991

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Animals, Justice, Truth & Lies, Coming of Age

Tags Children`s Literature, Coming of Age, Realism, Education, Education, Animals, Realistic Fiction, Classic Fiction

Eleven-year-old Marty Preston fights to save an abused beagle from its cruel owner in Shiloh (1991). Marty bonds with the dog, Shiloh, and learns more about himself and others as he struggles to reconcile the letter of the law with what he knows in his heart is right. Acclaimed children’s author Phyllis Reynolds Naylor based Shiloh on a poignant, personal encounter with a mistreated dog. Marty’s character struggles with the same issues that troubled Naylor... Read Shiloh Summary

Shipwreck

by Gordon Korman

Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Hope, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Environment, Friendship, Teamwork, Safety & Danger

Tags Action & Adventure, Realistic Fiction, Survival Fiction, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

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Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World

by Jennifer Armstrong

Publication year 1998

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Safety & Danger, Place, Teamwork

Tags Action & Adventure, Inspirational, World History, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Biography

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance by American author Jennifer Armstrong is a work of narrative non-fiction that tells the story of the survival of explorer Ernest Henry Shackleton and the crew of the ship Endurance after they were shipwrecked in the Antarctic Circle. Published in 1998, the book was the winner of the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction and was also named an... Read Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World Summary

Shooting Kabul

by N. H. Senzai

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family

Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Military & War, Realistic Fiction, Arts & Culture

Shooting Kabul is a middle-grade novel published in 2010 by American author N. H. Senzai. In July 2001, 11-year-old Fadi Nurzai and his family flee Afghanistan, where the Taliban are taking power, to live in San Francisco. While boarding the truck in Kabul that will take them across the Pakistani border, Fadi loses his six-year-old sister, Mariam, in the melee, and she is left behind. The novel focuses on Fadi’s struggle with his conscience over losing... Read Shooting Kabul Summary

Silverwing

by Kenneth Oppel

Publication year 1997

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Animals, Teamwork, Fear, Shame & Pride, Good & Evil

Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Animals, Relationships, Children`s Literature

Kenneth Oppel’s 1997 award-winning middle-grade novel Silverwing is a high-fantasy work that follows a young bat’s journey to find his colony. The novel has sold over a million copies and been adapted for television as an animated children’s series. This book is the first of four in The Silverwing Book Series.Other works by this author include Inkling, Bloom, Half Brother, and Airborn.Plot SummaryThe novel is divided into three parts, and it shifts point of view... Read Silverwing Summary

Simon Sort of Says

by Erin Bow

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Memory, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Space, Family, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness, Humor

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Sing Down the Moon

by Scott O'Dell

Publication year 1970

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Community, Gender Identity, Colonialism

Tags Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, US History, Children`s Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

Scott O’Dell’s children’s novel Sing Down the Moon (1970) is a work of historical fiction focusing on a mid-19th-century Navajo teen girl who calls herself Bright Morning. She and her people live as shepherds and farmers in Canyon de Chelly in Arizona. Bright Morning faces a series of trials in the novel: First, she is taken captive and sold into slavery; after she escapes home, white soldiers force her people to leave their village and... Read Sing Down the Moon Summary

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

by Ann Brashares

Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Family, Love

Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a young adult (YA) bildungsroman published in 2001 by Ann Brashares. It is the first in the eponymous series of five best-selling novels, two of which were adapted into feature films. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants follow Carmen, Lena, Bridget, and Tibby, four teenage girls who share an inseparable bond and a pair of “magical” pants that fit each of them perfectly. During their first summer apart... Read Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Summary