Author: Chelsea Henley

In this colorful and whimsical picture book, a little girl sits and listens to incredible stories from her aunties and begins to wonder what her own story may look like and discovers the endless possibilities.

In this fun, joyful picture book set in Zanzibar, Musa and Dada are headed to the beach. But the daladala, also known as a bus, continues to make stops leading them to wonder just how many people this bus can hold. As it turns out, there is always room for everyone if you make the room.

In this emotional novel, ten year old Fabio loves to ride his bike. He does so constantly, delivering bread to his neighbors and escaping into a land of his own, away from adults. Until Fabio forgets how to ride.

In this heartfelt middle grade novel, Miosotis is determined to improve her average grades if it will get her a forever dog like her Papi promises. But as she begins to focus on their deal, Miosotis begins to wonder about her family, including hurtful comments from her abuela, and her older sister’s relationship with her fiancé which may not be as romantic, or as safe, as everyone believes.

This middle grade adventure is cowritten with Supergirl actress Melissa Benoist and her sister, Jessica Benoist and is about twin sisters who can’t connect with each other. When they’re whisked away to Haven and learn of their legacy, the two are drawn even further apart as one of them easily finds her footing in their new home and the other only wants to go back. But if the girls can’t come together, they risk losing everything they love.

In this funny picture book, unicorn Bubble 07 heads to Earth to decide if his team of unicorns should move forward with their plan to invade Earth. Posing as a stuffed animal, he infiltrates the home of Earthling Daughter and has to put up with all manner of annoyances. He eventually has to decide if he can keep to his mission or if he’ll be overcome by Earthling Daughter’s kindness and love.

In this twisty thriller, Katrina and her family have been in the Witness Protection Program for as long as she can remember, which is only as far back as ten. Katrina’s adopted multiple names and multiple backstories to preserve their secret, until their location is revealed and her parents go missing.

This is the first LGBTQ anthology for middle grade readers and features stories from Justina Ireland, Mark Oshiro, Claribel Ortega, and more.

In this middle grade novel, Mari’s excited to spend the summer at her family’s Style High for teenagers who love fashion. But when she gets there, Mari realizes that she doesn’t fit in with everyone else, like her best friend Justice who didn’t want any special treatment in getting in. But Mari did get special treatment, and as the summer goes on, she begins to realize some difficult truths about herself and her family.

This book dives into the history of pre-colonial Africa. It explores the history of the continent through ten not often discussed figures who will prove fascinating and admirable to young readers.

Twelve year old Wren is is a makeup artist struggling with her best friend and her parent’s divorce. A move to a new town seems like the perfect chance for starting over, especially as the makeup artist on a new production. But Wren worries about her mom, who’s sleeping a lot and snapping at her, and soon Wren learns there’s something going on that can’t be concealed with makeup.

Though eleven year old Zach knows he’s too old now for his imaginary friend, Shovel, their friendship is only growing stronger. And now that he’s in middle school Zach needs Shovel more than ever. But Shovel, the narrator of the story, wonders if he’s really helping Zach cope or if he’s pushing real life friends away.

In this imaginative sci-fi novel, Petra’s longed to be a storyteller like her grandmother. But now the world is ending. Earth’s been destroyed by a comet, and Petra and her family have been chosen to move to a new planet. But when Petra awakens on the ship, she realizes she’s the only one who remembers Earth. A dangerous group aboard the ship is purging people’s memories, and Petra’s the only one with the stories of their past.

In the land of Illyria, where boys have the chance to become powerful sorcerers to fend off the Dread, girls like Marya are little more than an afterthought. But after Marya makes a mistake, she’s funneled off to Dragomir Academy, full of other girls like her. As they train to work in service of one of the sorcerers, Marya and the others learn secrets about Illyria’s magic that threaten to upend life as they know it in Illyria.

In this picture book, a young girl is the only one who pays any attention to the homeless woman who lives on the corner except for those who want her to leave. But the little girl imagines her as a queen who protects their street. When the queen raises the alarm when a fire threatens to destroy a building, the girl reminds everyone that she deserves thanks…and a home.

In this middle grade novel, ten year old Anthony is finally old enough to compete in the Spades tournament the men in his family have dominated at for years. When he loses his partner, Anthony thinks his chances of proving himself to his dad have gone up in smoke. A new potential partner arrives in Shirley, but Anthony’s dad probably won’t like him playing with a girl. Anthony keeps their partnership a secret, not realizing that his dad has his own secrets that could tear the Joplin family apart.

In this rollicking middle grade adventure, bank robber Scarlett encounters Albert, the sole survivor of a horrible incident. Together the two are thrust into an adventure, avoiding determined pursuers who chase them across the fractured Britain setting.

The Tristan Strong trilogy concludes with Tristan’s final confrontation with King Cotton. Traveling up the Mississippi toward his hometown of Chicago, Tristan will need all of his friends and all of his strength to take on the haints trying to stop their progress and finally stop King Cotton for good.

In this historical graphic novel, Sandy Saito and his family adore the Vancouver Asahi team, the pride of their Japanese-Canadian community. When Sandy and his family are forced into an internment camp, joined by some of the Asahi players themselves, Sandy finds a way to cope through baseball.

This biographical picture book retells the story of musical legend Nina Simone, born Eunice Kathleen Waymond. It traces her musical childhood and her rise to performing as Nina Simone and how she used her incredible voice to speak out during the Civil Rights Movement.

This lyrical picture book uses the principles of Kwanzaa to retell the history of African descendants in America. It begins in Africa, where people were taken from their homes and forced onto ships that crossed the sea, and ends in the modern world where they combine old traditions with new to thrive in a new place.

The popular Rebel Girls franchise expands yet again in this collection of biographies that feature the work of female and nonbinary writers and artists to retell the stories of Black women like Kamala Harris, Naomi Osaka, Toni Morrison and Meghan Markle.

In this touching graphic novel/memoir, Damian is new in school and determined to avoid the bullying that he endured at his last school. But it’s like his new classmate can tell something’s different about him. He plays with Barbies and is being raised by his grandparents after his mom’s murder, and as Damian begins to develop a crush on another boy, seventh grade only gets harder.

With witches banned for years, Milly just ignores the tingle of magic she feels in her palms sometimes, focusing instead on the many responsibilities she has at the orphanage where she lives. But when Milly’s friend Cilla is thought to have magic and is kidnapped by an exiled witch, Milly has to embrace her magic and bring her back.

This inspiring and lyrical picture book is the much-hyped, highly-anticipated work of inaugural poet Amanda Gorman. This is a magical call to action that reminds kids that they have the power to make change in the world.

In this spooky picture book, Naya sets off to find a Jumbie. Though her mom says they only exist in stories, Naya’s sure they’re real and is determined to see one for herself.

When his grandma moves from India to the island of Mariposa with his family, Muki is miserable. He has to share his room with her, tolerate her snoring and her early morning yoga. But when Mariposa’s president begins dividing the citizens into Butterflies, who have lived there for several generations, and Moths, who have recently emigrated, Muki’s grandmother is captured and taken to a camp for Moths. And Muki begins plotting her escape.

When Amira and her brother Hamza stumble upon the Box of the Moon, they accidentally set off a chain reaction that risks destroying the world. Visited by two jinn, Amira and Hamza learn of their role in an ancient prophecy and travel to the world of Qaf to stop a great evil that threatens to set loose terrifying creatures onto earth.

When Hector has to move to a new town, he quickly becomes unhappy at his new school where he’s targeted by both a school security officer and a relentless bully. But one day Hector discovers a room behind the door of a janitor’s closet, open whenever he needs it, that leads to new friends from other parts of the country.

In this picture book biography of Japanese-American chef Niki Nakayama, her story is told using the structure of a traditional kaiseki meal.

In this vibrant picture book, Zubi is looking forward to her first day in school until she sees her mom looking at herself in the mirror and worrying about being “too big”. Then Zubi also begins to wonder if there’s something wrong with her body too.

In this graphic novel, Charise’s usual good behavior begins to go downhill when her baby brother Daniel is born. In fact, despite being so good at other things, Charise is a bad sister. On purpose. And when she goes too far, she has to figure out if she can redeem herself or if she can even be forgiven for it.

When money troubles force Joy and her family to move to a tiny apartment, she finds refuge in a secret spot known as the Hideout. And she begins exchanging mystery letters with another kid in the building. But when her partner stops writing back, Joy’s determined to figure out who they are and what’s happened to them.

Addy’s parents were killed in a fire, and she was left to be raised by her grandmother. When she’s sent to a summer wilderness camp, Addy learns numerous survival skills, and then there’s a massive forest fire.

This uplifting and meditative picture book features affirmations and yoga poses for little readers.

In this bright, busy picture book Auntie Nina and her nephew head out for lunch at a club that serves jazz for lunch. The party ends up at Auntie Nina’s house where together they cook up incredible music.

In this graphic novel, a mother and son embark on a road trip that’s quickly derailed when, as they reach the American/Canadian border, they’re asked their nationality. They can only answer Canadian or American, but they are Blackfoot.

In this timely middle grade book, Pakistani American Yusuf is hopeful about his sixth grade year. But that’s before he meets a bully whose father is part of a white nationalist group fighting the construction of a mosque in their town in Texas. And as the 20th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, Yusuf discovers his uncle’s journal from that period and realizes that the Islamaphobia his family and other Muslims suffered at that time hasn’t changed much.

This fun adventure story is packed full of Hmong mythology, following sixth-grader Pahua as she embarks on a quest to save her brother after he’s trapped in the spirit realm.

As we approach the 20th anniversary of 9/11, anyone looking to explain the attack to kids may like this hopeful book about the tree that grew beneath the towers. After being replanted elsewhere to grow and heal, it was replanted at the memorial where it remains.

In this picture book, a family stays inside together to wait out a storm. In the meantime, they’re frustrated and bored, but come together when the storm becomes scary.

Shenice “Lightning” Lockwood is determined to lead her team to victory in the softball regional championship. But her intense focus is rocked by her great uncle’s admission that the crime that ruined his reputation (and his baseball career) was all a set up.

In this funny middle grade book, Hugo moves to a new school where he’s instantly miserable, with no friends and already being teased for being so small. His hidden talent for sifting through people’s garbage and uncovering people’s secrets makes him a hot commodity for the first time ever.

Enjoying peaceful days after saving their city, Hannah and Ever are thrust into another adventure in this sequel to City of Secrets. An abduction forces them to join together with a pair of thieving street magicians to save their city again.

In this enchanting picture book, a king and queen unable to have children are gifted a son and daughter in the form of a wooden robot and a log princess. But the log princess turns back into a log each night, and when she’s accidentally taken away, the robot takes off to find her. Along the way, both robot and princess must rescue one another.

While this is far from lighthearted fare, this is a powerful and moving picture book about the anguish of war. For anyone looking for a way to start a conversation about it, especially considering the current crisis in Afghanistan, this may be a good starting point.

In this sweet picture book, a mother, daughter, and grandmother take a trip to the end of the earth, the southern tip of India, where three oceans meet. Along the way they reconnect with old friends, revisit memories, and experience new sights.

In this funny book, Lin is a cuddly, cute panda whose adorableness makes her a star at the zoo. But all she really wants is to return to the panda sanctuary where her brother is. Lin reasons that if being a good panda landed her in the zoo, being a bad one would ensure her return to her brother so she sets off a plan to be a bad panda but finds her cuteness may be insurmountable.

Elvis is a Calico kitten recently adopted by Georgina. Elvis misses his sister, Etta, left behind, and Georgina is still struggling after her parents have split. As Elvis looks for a way to reunite with Etta, he begins to admire Georgina and her intricate Lego builds, and they both begin to consider they may be able to build a world that they love even if its not what they’d have first chosen for themselves.