Books for Kids and Tweens March 2026 |
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Basil & Dahlia: A Tragical Tale of Sinister Sweetness by Joy McCulloughIt’s hard to imagine things could get worse after one’s parents die in a greenhouse explosion. But that is precisely what happens to Basil and his younger sister, Dahlia. They escape from the social worker who wants to split them up to different foster homes by jumping off a moving train, only to find themselves wounded and bedraggled and without a soul to care for them. What’s more, they’re lost in the wilds of New York City.
Famished and alone, they wander into Cravings, the delectable bakery owned by Laurel Fox, disgraced celebrity chef with a soft spot for poor, hungry orphans. When she offers them luxurious accommodations and all the éclairs they can eat, Basil and Dahlia dare to hope their luck has changed at last. But the savvy reader will know it can’t be as simple as all that! Laurel Fox is out for redemption, and she’ll do anything to get the sinister secret ingredient she requires.
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Grady Jones has spent nearly all twelve years of his life trying to find a way to be great at something. So when a mysterious note is delivered to his door, addressed to him, asking Grady to solve the murder of his town’s reclusive millionaire, Grady believes his search is over. He’ll be a Great Detective! The only problem is he is not known for being very observant…or intuitive…or clever.
Oh, and he has no idea how to solve a mystery.
Luckily, he has some friends who have skills of deduction, and together, they might have the chops to figure out the murderer. Then a stranger also named Grady Jones comes to town, and Grady fears the note might not have been meant for him at all. And if that’s the case, how will he ever become Great?
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| A Kid Like Me by Norm Feuti Ethan doesn’t want to stand out, he just wants to fit in. But fitting in is tough when your peers call out your ancient cell phone, busted backpack, and discount clothing. To make matters worse, his best friend, Ricky, insists on hanging out with a group of guys who just don’t get him. They’re more interested in playing pranks than playing his favorite card game Bio Battle. Things start looking up, though, when Ethan befriends Aiden, a new kid in school, but it’s only matter of time before even that goes sideways. Can Ethan figure out where he belongs without forgetting who he is and who he wants to be? |
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The City of Lost Cats by Tanya Lloyd KyiWhen Fiona wanders into an abandoned mansion she discovers the house is full of stray cats (and two chaotic parakeets). Fiona understands what it's like to need a safe home. Ever since her parents died, she's been struggling to adjust to the tiny apartment where she and her Aunt Tanis now live. And Aunt Tanis has little time to spare for Fiona, between her job at The Municipal Hall and her horrible, hair-gelled boyfriend.
When the mansion is threatened by a demolition team, Fiona is determined to save "The City" and its residents. But the cats have their own priorities. Cottonball Fluffikins has lived in the mansion for two years and is the self-proclaimed king. He's convinced the demolition effort has been organized by the recently arrived parakeets. Those birds have got to go!
His feline rival, Piper, is sure she can intimidate the demolition team and force them to leave, if Fiona will simply stay out of her way.
As the demolition team begins tearing down the house next door, Fiona looks for any help she can find — at the library, the butcher shop, and even at The Municipal Hall. Can the efforts of one small girl and an assortment of animals stop a luxury condo development? Can they create something better in its place?
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Holding on for Dear Life by Dusti BowlingThirteen-year-old Canyon loves bull riding, but the sport doesn't exactly love him back. His body is in constant pain and doctors have warned him about the dangers of his repeated concussions, but bull riding is the only thing he and his dad connect on ever since Canyon's mom died. Canyon is convinced winning the Junior World Bull Riding championship will be the thing to bring them together again, that once he has that shiny belt buckle all the pain will be worth it. Besides, Canyon has a secret way to help his hurt: playing the fiddle.
When Canyon is unexpectedly chosen for a music competition show, a new dream begins to form. But Dad is getting worse, and Canyon feels more pressure than ever to hold his family together--even if it means choosing to hurt himself bull riding over healing through music. Soon Canyon begins to wonder if he's holding on to all the right things, or if there are some he needs to let go of.
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by Dayna Lorentz Great horned owl Rufus is eight months old and still can’t hunt. When his mother is hit by a car, he discovers just how dangerous the forest can be. Reenie has given up on adults and learned how to care for herself―a good thing, since she’s sent to live with an aunt she’s never met. Yet this aunt has a wonderful secret: she’s a falconer who agrees to help Reenie catch an injured passage hawk in the wild and rehabilitate it. When Reenie traps bedraggled Rufus, his eyes lock onto her heart, and they form a powerful friendship. But can Rufus learn to trust in the outside world and fly free? And can Reenie open her heart enough to truly soar? |
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All big sister Abby wants is to spend more time with her friends, far away from the sticky fingers and snooping eyes of her annoying brothers and sisters. But when a case of the chickenpox leaves the Lai kids covered in scratchy red spots and stuck at home together for two weeks of nonstop mayhem, Abby thinks this might be the end . . . of her sanity. Yet she feels responsible for the situation since her best friend was Patient Zero and brought chickenpox into their home.
Will the itch to escape her siblings overwhelm Abby or will she realize being a big sister isn’t all bad?
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A Field Guide to Broken Promises by Leah StecherWhen Evie's family moves right before seventh grade, she promises her dad that she'll make sure everything goes perfectly. Maybe if she keeps her promise, he'll finally forgive her for accidentally ruining the biggest moment of his cryptozoology career last spring.
Perfect means taking care of her little sister, fitting in at her new school, and never complaining or causing problems. Perfect definitely doesn't mean being bullied by a girl who's turning the whole school against her and failing math class.
Evie needs to fix her life before anyone finds out she's struggling. When she uses her cryptozoologist skills to figure out the real reason her bully decided to target her, Evie realizes that she holds the key to fixing everything. She just needs proof. But how far is Evie willing to go to reveal the truth?
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When Noah falls from the trees on his classmate Sahara, he doesn’t understand how, or why, he would have been up there. It’s just one more in a string of strange things happening to Noah lately.
Like when he keels over and every muscle in his body freezes when confronted by bullies. And when he vanishes into the background at a moment he doesn’t want to be noticed. And when he unexpectedly blasts Sahara with a bird shriek while flapping his arms uncontrollably in the middle of a school dance. What does it all mean? And why do there suddenly seem to be so many mysterious people trying to kill him?
Noah’s friend Ogden has an idea…but like all of Ogden’s ideas, it’s out there. Way out there… |
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Nansi has never lost a race … until snobby Tania beats her in an unofficial event. Surely it’s Tania’s flashy shoes that gave her the edge. Nansi has to get a pair before the track tryouts! But how will she kick up $338? Incorporating Jamaican culture and the West African trickster character, Anansi - Nansi always goes the distance – even if it’s the wrong way. |
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The Doughnut Fix by Jessie Janowitz Tristan isn't Gifted or Talented like his sister Jeanine, and he's always been okay with that because he can make a perfect chocolate chip cookie and he lives in the greatest city in the world. But his life takes a turn for the worse when his parents decide to move to middle-of-nowhere Petersville―a town with one street and no restaurants. It's like suddenly they're supposed to be this other family, one that can survive without bagels and movie theaters. His suspicions about his new town are confirmed when he's tricked into believing the local general store has life-changing chocolate cream doughnuts, when in fact the owner hasn't made them in years. And so begins the only thing that could make life in Petersville worth living: getting the recipe, making the doughnuts, and bringing them back to the town through his very own doughnut stand. But Tristan will soon discover that when starting a business, it helps to be both Gifted and Talented, and it's possible he's bitten off more than he can chew...
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George the Flybot and the Lost Camera on Mount Everest by Nessa Bellido SchwarzMeet GEORGE the flybot, a one-of-a-kind robotic fly on his first official mission! With instructions from Darcy Luna, his boss at Fly on the Wall Inc., GEORGE zips off to the Himalayas to search for a camera that went missing during an ill-fated 1924 Mount Everest summit attempt. GEORGE understands that he might change history by discovering who really conquered Mount Everest. But GEORGE has a mission of his own: to learn more about how humans act and feel, and maybe - just maybe - find a friend.
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