May 2025 list by K. Pearson |
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The Beat I Drum
by Dusti Bowling
Finding the beat of the drums helps teenage Connor navigate his Tourette's Syndrome, friendships, and family problems.
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Benny On the Case
by Wesley King
Eleven-year-old Benny, a boy with Mosaic Down syndrome, navigates a new mainstream classroom, standing up to bullies, making new friends, and uncovering a government conspiracy threatening to close down the retirement home owned by his mother.
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A Day at the Beach
by Gary D. Schmidt
This novel told from multiple points of view follows a diverse cast of young people whose lives intersect in surprising and hilarious ways over the course of a summer day at the beach.
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The Double Trouble Puzzle
by James Patterson
Minerva Keen faces competition in her middle school detective club as they race to solve the mystery of a once-beloved teacher's alarming behavior.
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The Dragon's Apprentice Book 1
by James Riley
Twelve-year-old Ciara accidentally summons an ancient and ornery dragon named Scorch and strikes a deal to learn the magic she needs to save her mother and unravel the lies of the empire.
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Dreamslinger
by Graci Kim
Fourteen-year-old Aria Loveridge lives at the Resthaven Home for Dreamslingers, a safe haven for children born with a genetic mutation that transports them to a powerfully magical realm while they sleep, but this magic can be unpredictable--even deadly.
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El Niäno
by Pam Muänoz Ryan
Over the course of a California summer, Kai, a competitive swimmer in training, learns about a legendary Amazonian queen, about El Nino and about letting go of grief.
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Emily Windsnap and the Crystal Caves
by Liz Kessler
Adventure always seems to find Emily Windsnap! So when she discovers a bangle with a unique crystal under Rainbow Rocks, she and her friends are soon unraveling a whole new mystery. After learning that the crystal originally came from a familiar place—Halflight Castle!—Shona and Emily reunite there with Aaron . . . and none other than Neptune, king of the oceans. The bangle leads the mermaids to a cave full of crystals, and, with Mandy's help, they discover the truth about the jewel’s origin—and what’s at stake if they don’t make things right.
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The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon
by Grace Lin
Stone spirit Ji is stuck in the People's world, but with the help of his new friends Lulu and Worm, he hopes to find a way back home through the Old City Gate before it disappears forever.
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The Green Kingdom
by Cornelia Funke
Twelve-year-old Caspia hates big cities, especially New York. So, she isn't thrilled by the news that her parents are taking her to Brooklyn for the whole summer. But everything changes when Caspia discovers a bundle of letters, written by a blind girl many years ago, and hidden in an old chest of drawers. Each letter contains a 'green' riddle, with clues leading to a different plant. Caspia sets out to solve the riddles and, as she does, she meets friends she could never have imagined and finds, to her surprise, that sometimes you can put down roots where you least expect it.
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Kaya Morgan's Crowning Achievement
by Jill Tew
Twelve-year-old African American Kaya struggles to remain true to herself when she encounters bias while competing for the role of queen at the Renaissance Faire camp.
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Lost and Found
by Kate DiCamillo
Orris the rat and Timble the owl are unlikely friends. Each night, Timble visits Orris in the barn and listens to his stories. But Timble is growing up, and one evening when the owl doesn't appear as usual Orris wonders if Timble has forgotten him. Is their friendship over? Or could it be that Timble has a tale of his own to share?
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Please Pay Attention
by Jamie Sumner
After surviving a school shooting that left her feeling helpless in her wheelchair, Bea finds healing and empowerment through horseback riding therapy and begins to advocate for change.
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Return to Sender
by Vera Brosgol
Ten-year-old Oliver discovers that the wish-granting mailbox in his new apartment may make his dreams come true, but they come with a cost.
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The Right Call
by Tommy Greenwald
Cal Klondike’s life revolves around baseball. He’s the Walthorne Baseball Academy’s star pitcher, and everyone from his coach to his dad to the town sports blogger is telling Cal he has an unlimited future in the sport. But with all this attention comes a lot of added stress, especially as the season kicks into high gear and college and pro scouts start to show up at the games.
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Running Hot and Cold!
by Caleb Zane Huett
When the Evoker King transformed himself into the Evoker Kid, a total noob who only wants to experience everything the world of Minecraft has to offer, he didn’t leave a clue as to what he wanted Harper and her friends to do. Now that the team is closer than ever to facing the Ender Dragon, Harper takes it upon herself to figure out their whole plan down to the last detail—but she doesn’t know how they’re going to make it work with the odds stacked against them. Everything starts to feel overwhelming, especially since they don’t really know what will happen to Eek after they beat the Ender Dragon.
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Sea Swept
by Leah Cypess
Mermaid Daria travels to the human world to save her older sister Meria, who left her life under the sea for a prince and now needs her help.
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Stink and the Big Bad Badgers
by Megan McDonald
Stink and his friends are raring to learn wilderness survival skills and form their own troop, the Big Bad Badgers, but there is more for the squabbling scouts to learn than tying knots, reading animal tracks and eating insects.
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Storm Singer
by Sarwat Chadda
Twelve-year-old Nargis forms an unlikely alliance with a young prince and uses her power to control the elements to save the kingdom from an evil overthrower.
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The Story of Gumluck and the Heroes
by Adam Rex
A visit from the Very Wise Wizard Who Lives in the Moon sends the absent-minded Gumluck on a quest with three companions who claim to be heroes.
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The Trouble With Heroes
by Kate Messner
Finn Connelly is nothing like his dad, a star athlete and firefighter hero who always ran toward danger until he died two years ago. Finn is about to fail seventh grade and has never made headlines . . . until now. Caught on camera vandalizing a cemetery, he's in big trouble for knocking down some dead old lady's headstone. Turns out that grave belongs to a legendary local mountain climber, and her daughter makes Finn an unusual offer.
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You and Me and the Land of Lost Things
by Andy Griffiths
Hey, you and me sure have had a lot of amazing adventures together, haven't we? Remember the time we flew to the moon without a rocket? And remember the time we went to the bottom of the ocean and fought a high-voltage giant octopus? And how about the time we got lost in The Land of Lost Things? What? You don't remember? Really? Well, let me refresh your memory. It all started like this...
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