Books for Kids and Tweens
November 2025

Busted
by Dan Gemeinhart

Oscar Aberdeen is a bit of an oddball. He's an ace at playing bridge, loves Frank Sinatra, and attends a whole lot of funerals. He's also the youngest resident of Sunny Days retirement home by more than a half-century―and he wouldn't have it any other way. So when his grandpa's suddenly served an eviction notice that threatens their place at Sunny Days, he needs to find some cash. Fast.

Enter Jimmy Deluca, a shady elderly man with a reputation for being bad news, who makes Oscar an offer he can't refuse. He's got the drop on riches hidden away on the "outside" and he'll share the loot with Oscar on one condition: he busts him out of Sunny Days. Will Oscar succeed in saving the only home he's ever known? 
The Windeby Puzzle: History and Story by Lois Lowry
The Windeby Puzzle: History and Story
by Lois Lowry
 
 
Estrild is not like the other girls in her village; she wants to be a warrior. Varick, the orphan boy who helps her train in spite of his twisted back, also stands apart. In a world where differences are poorly tolerated, just how much danger are they in?
 
The story is inspired by the true discovery of the 2,000-year-old Windeby child who was found in a bog in Northern Germany.  
 
Explorers at Stardust City by Alex Bell
Explorers at Stardust City
by Alex Bell

Ursula and her friends are in a race against time. The Collector has taken Stella captive, and is hungrily snatching up all the beautiful places of the world in her snow globe prisons. She needs to be stopped, but first they must find her.

To aid them in their quest, the explorers seek help from new allies, including a Pirate Queen, with a ghost ship that can defy time and space, and then take to the skies in a galaxy fairy rocket. But their journey is fraught with danger, as the future of the planet hangs in the balance.

 
The Apothecary. Maile Meloy by Maile Meloy
The Apothecary. Maile Meloy
by Maile Meloy

It's 1952 and the Scott family has just moved from Los Angeles to London. Here, fourteen-year-old Janie meets a mysterious apothecary and his son, Benjamin Burrows - a fascinating boy who's not afraid to stand up to authority and dreams of becoming a spy.
 
When Benjamin's father is kidnapped, Janie and Benjamin must uncover the secrets of the apothecary's sacred book, the Pharmacopoeia, in order to find him, all while keeping it out of the hands of their enemies - Russian spies in possession of nuclear weapons. Discovering and testing potions they never believed could exist, Janie and Benjamin embark on a dangerous race to save the apothecary and prevent impending disaster.
Coach
by Jason Reynolds

Otie, a seventh-grade sprinter obsessed with Olympic track star Carl Lewis, hopes to become an Olympian himself. Then his dad, who is always away on business trips, comes home with a pair of Jordans. JORDANS. Fine as fine can be. Otie puts them on and feels like he can leap to the moon…maybe even leap like Mr. 9.99 when he won the Olympic gold medal in the long jump. But one morning he wakes up to find his brand-new secret weapon kicks are missing—right off his feet! And Otie just might have a fuzzy memory of his dad easing them off as Otie was sleeping, but that can’t be right, can it? When his dad goes missing, Otie has to balance hope against hard truths. 
The Christmas Thief (Book 9): Ava & Carol Detective Agency by Thomas Lockhaven
The Christmas Thief
by Thomas Lockhaven
 
It's the time of year that’s full of cheer--but this December, not everything is quite so merry for Ava and Carol Detective Agency. Their holiday house-sitting gig has gone ho-ho-horribly wrong, and now Mr. Parker’s prized painting is missing! With Christmas Eve approaching, the girls have little time to tie this burglary up in a bow, and so they’ll need some help from their best friend Derik.
 
Using state-of-the-art hacking skills and the trained brains of the best super-sleuths in the business, Ava and Carol set out to unwrap this mystery. However, when the trail of clues leads them to a devastating personal discovery, all bets are off on whether this Christmas will be very merry after all. How can the girls reconcile terrible deeds when they are done by good people? And how can they turn their backs on a friend at a time like this?
 
Scurry by Mac Smith
Scurry
by Mac Smith

The humans are gone, the sun is rarely seen, and a cold, dark rain befouls everything it touches.

As a group of house mice struggle to survive a long and strange winter, they stubbornly cling to their old ways, looting the abandoned homes nearby for any scraps they can find.

And while food is scarce, danger is everywhere. From mousetraps and poison to feral cats roaming The Neighborhood, every day is a struggle for survival...and the colony is becoming desperate.

But when the rumors of a wrecked truck filled with food gives the mice newfound hope, the colony's best scouts, including the brave Wix, embark on a perilous journey beyond the fence. For outside The Neighborhood lurks creatures much more dangerous than stray cats, and a world much larger than they know...
The Faraway Forest: Wally's Route by Debbie Fong
The Faraway Forest: Wally's Route
by Debbie Fong

Wally, the Faraway Forest’s mail carrier, always tries his best. In addition to delivering packages of every shape and size, he and Bo, his best friend, also deliver kindness and a helping hand along the way. But can they win over their grumpiest neighbor, the cantankerous Mr. Sternbill? Wally and Bo are definitely going to try! Follow this pair of friends as they discover the power of kindness and community
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