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.

Publication year 2014

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Politics & Government, Science & Technology

Tags Health, US History, Politics & Government, Race & Racism, American Revolution, Children`s Literature, Science & Nature, World History

Published in 2003, Jim Murphy’s An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 is a historical nonfiction book for young adults that provides a detailed look into Philadelphia’s yellow fever epidemic of 1793. As Murphy documents how yellow fever emerged and spread throughout the city, he demonstrates how society operated in what was then the nation’s capital and largest city in the late 1700s. He focuses on urban... Read An American Plague Summary

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Food, Family, Grandparents, Social Class, Economics, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt

Tags Children`s Literature

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Military & War, World History, Historical Fiction

A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen dramatizes the experiences of the division of Germany after World War II and tells a tale of family separation from a child’s perspective. The novel explores the effects of repressive government on intimate relationships as the main character, 12-year-old Gerta, watches friendships and partnerships dissolve due to the Cold War. It is a story of individual heroism and family devotion. The novel became an ILA-CBC Children’s Choices Reading... Read A Night Divided Summary

Publication year 2010

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Family, Fate, Community

Tags Trauma & Abuse, Coming of Age, Poverty, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Children`s Literature, Biography

Author Laura Schroff’s 2012 New York Times bestseller An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-Year-Old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting with Destiny recounts a fateful meeting between two vastly different individuals: Maurice, a young boy living in poverty and a broken home, and Schroff, a successful ad executive enjoying a fast-paced career. In the memoir, the author posits that an invisible thread joins their lives. It is beyond her... Read An Invisible Thread Summary

Publication year 1991

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Good & Evil, Family, Immigration, Race, Coming of Age, Community

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Arts & Culture

Tony Johnston’s Any Small Goodness: A Novel of the Barrio is a young adult novel originally published in 2001 by Scholastic, Inc. As a meditation on the value of friendship, family, and community, the novel centers the Mexican American Rodriguez family as they adapt to life in a lower-income Los Angeles barrio (Spanish for “neighborhood”). In school, their son Arturo bonds with other Mexican American students, joining them as they reclaim their Mexican roots. Ever... Read Any Small Goodness Summary

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Coming of Age

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

Nora Raleigh Baskin won the Schneider Family Book Award for the young adult novel Anything But Typical, published in 2009. Anything But Typical tells the first-person fictional story of a 12-year-old boy diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Jason Blake struggles with adolescence in the same ways most 12-year-old boys do, but his disorder makes it more difficult for him to verbally express his experience. Instead, he turns to writing to share his inner world... Read Anything But Typical Summary

Publication year 1970

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Religion & Spirituality, Self Discovery, Community, Mothers, Grandparents, Friendship

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is a 1970 middle-grade novel by bestselling American author Judy Blume (Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Tiger Eyes). The story focuses on 11-year-old Margaret Ann Simon and her family’s move to New Jersey at the beginning of her sixth-grade year. As Margaret navigates her new public school and new friend dynamics, she struggles to form a positive self-image about her changing body and starts exploring her religious... Read Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret Summary

Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Perseverance, Wins & Losses, Safety & Danger, Power & Greed, Justice, Trust & Doubt, Teamwork, Environment, Coming of Age, Family

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Mythology, Children`s Literature

Artemis Fowl (2001) is the first of 11 fantasy novels in the Fowl Adventures series. It was written by Eoin Colfer, an Irish writer, and details the titular character’s attempt to restore his family’s fortune by kidnapping an elf named Holly Short. Taking place in Colfer’s home country of Ireland, the novel is also his first foray into the fantasy genre. The novel explores themes of community, environmentalism, and the line between magic and science.In... Read Artemis Fowl Summary

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Masculinity, Guilt, Siblings, Coming of Age, Family

Tags Race & Racism, Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Animals, Anthropology, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

As Brave as You is a middle grade novel written by American author Jason Reynolds and published in 2016. It won several awards, including the Kirkus Award, the NCAAP Image award for children’s literature, and the Schneider Family Book Award, which recognizes superior depictions of disability in children’s literature. It was also chosen as a Coretta Scott King Honor book, awarded to African-American writers and illustrators for excellence in conveying the African-American experience in children’s... Read As Brave As You Summary

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory

Tags Historical Fiction, Colonial America, Children`s Literature, Military & War, Realistic Fiction, World History, American Revolution

Ashes (2016), a young adult historical novel by American author Laurie Halse Anderson, is the third and final book in the Seeds of America series. This guide refers to the 2016 Atheneum eBook edition.Plot SummaryIsabel Gardener and Curzon Smith, two black teenagers who escaped slavery during the American Revolution, have been on the run together for five years. After serving at Valley Forge, they’re travelling through the Eastern states, looking for Isabel’s little sister Ruth... Read Ashes Summary