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 2020

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Justice

Tags Black Lives Matter, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Race & Racism, Children`s Literature, World History, Social Justice, Politics & Government

Jason Reynolds’s Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You (2020) is a nonfiction book by the American authors Jason Reynolds and Dr. Ibram X. Kendi. It is a self-described “remix” of Kendi’s 2016 National Book Award winner Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America. An award-winning writer of young adult fiction and poetry, Reynolds frames America’s history of racist ideas for an audience of middle school and high school readers. Reynolds’s remix... Read Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You Summary

Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Family, Disability

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

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Family, Shame & Pride, Childhood & Youth, Self Discovery, Beauty, Mothers, Friendship

Tags Realistic Fiction, Free Verse, Bullying, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness

Publication year 2019

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Self Discovery, Hope, Family, Community, Fear

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

Publication year 2000

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Realistic Fiction, Bullying, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance

Stargirl is a young adult fiction novel published in 2000 by the American author Jerry Spinelli. In a coming of age narrative, shy eleventh-grader Leo falls in love with Stargirl, a free-spirited newcomer at Mica High. When his fellow students turn against Stargirl—and Leo—he pressures her to become ordinary like everyone else. Over the course of the novel, Leo learns the importance of staying true to yourself. Spinelli explores themes of individuality, kindness, and the... Read Stargirl Summary

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Death, Friendship, Animals

Tags Realistic Fiction, Animals, Health, Grief & Death, Trauma & Abuse, Children`s Literature, Disability

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Truth & Lies, Family

Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, World History

Set during the Great Depression in the segregated South, Stella by Starlight is a historical middle grade novel by award-winning author Sharon M. Draper. As the Ku Klux Klan exerts increasing influence over the residents of rural Bumblebee, North Carolina, 11-year-old Stella Mills must confront racism while navigating the challenges of school, family life, and friendship. First published in 2015, the novel won the Charlotte Huck Award, an honor for children’s fiction granted by the... Read Stella by Starlight Summary

Publication year 1991

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Good & Evil, War, Friendship

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

Shy, 12-year-old Margaret and her high-spirited friend Elizabeth question their beliefs about WWII when they discover that the brother of their school nemesis is a deserter in Mary Downing Hahn’s middle grade historical fiction novel, Stepping on the Cracks (1991). The novel explores themes of moral ambiguity, war, friendship, and domestic abuse, drawing on Hahn’s childhood memories of growing up in College Park, Maryland. In a short biography at the end of the novel Hahn... Read Stepping on the Cracks Summary

Publication year 1980

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Action & Adventure, Sports, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Animals, Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction

Published in 1980, John Reynolds Gardiner’s debut children’s novel, Stone Fox is a beloved children’s story. Included on the 1980 New York Times Notable Books of the Year listing, Stone Fox sold millions of copies and was even adapted into a television show in 1987. The short children’s novel tells the story of Little Willy, a young boy who lives on a farm in Wyoming with his grandfather and his dog, Searchlight. The story follows... Read Stone Fox Summary

Publication year 2000

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Truth & Lies, Science & Technology, Coming of Age

Tags Children`s Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Action & Adventure, Horror & Suspense

Stormbreaker, published in 2000, is the first novel in the Alex Rider series by British author Anthony Horowitz. It is a YA action-adventure novel that follows 14-year-old Alex Rider as he is recruited as a spy by MI6. The novel explores The Moral Complexities of Espionage, Perseverance in the Face of Difficulty, and The Interplay of Technology and Espionage. The book was adapted into the 2006 film Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker, although the movie made... Read Stormbreaker Summary

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Environment, Fate, Teamwork

Tags Action & Adventure, Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, Natural Disaster

In Roland Smith’s 2011 adventure novel, Storm Runners, three middle-grade students struggle to survive and find shelter during a hurricane after their school bus crashes. While a team of rescuers drives toward the disaster in search of the missing kids, the three students use all their skills and brainpower simply to stay alive.Award-winning author Smith spent decades working as a zookeeper and world-traveling animal rescuer. He has turned his experiences into award-winning novels and non-fiction... Read Storm Runners Summary

Publication year 1945

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Childhood & Youth, Environment, Family, Social Class, Gender Identity

Tags Historical Fiction, Agriculture, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction

Publication year 1945

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Childhood & Youth, Self Discovery

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

Stuart Little (1945) is E. B. White’s first children’s book—the collected stories of Stuart, a mouse-boy born into a human family. White was a journalist and humorist who wrote for the United Press, the Seattle Times, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, The New Yorker, and Harper’s Magazine. He received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Prize in 1970 for contributions to children’s literature for the much beloved Charlotte’s Web, and in 1973, The Trumpet of the Swan won the Sequoyah... Read Stuart Little Summary

Publication year 2000

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Horror & Suspense, Disability, Modern Classic Fiction

Stuck in Neutral is a young adult (YA) fiction novel about Shawn McDaniel, a fourteen-year-old boy with cerebral palsy. To the outside world, Shawn is in a kind of vegetative state: his condition makes it so that he has no control over any of his motor function, from moving his lips to evacuating his bowels. Shawn cannot communicate with the outside world, and so people—including his family members—believe him to have the brain function and... Read Stuck In Neutral Summary