The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate.  Return to our favorite characters Ivan, Bob, and Ruby as Ruby tells of her life before, during, and after the Mall Circus tourist attraction.  For all fans of The One and Only Ivan. 

When Impossible Happens by Jane De Suza.  During the pandemic lockdown in India, almost-nine-year-old Swara's irrepressible spirit helps her come to terms with the death of her grandmother and solve a neighborhood mystery.  Grades 3-5 

To Catch a Thief by Martha Brockenbrough.  Urchin Beach isn’t the sort of place where bad things happen.  But then one day, a thief steals something precious—the town’s dragonfly staff, which is the source of all its good fortune and the most important part of the upcoming Dragonfly Day Festival.  Eleven-year-old Amelia MacGuffin is no detective, but she loves her town. If Amelia doesn’t find the staff, the Dragonfly Day Festival will be canceled. The town needs that tourist money to survive.  Gr 4-6. 

I am the Walrus by Neal Shusterman.  Everything but the kitchen sink in this wild tale: sci fi, a secret government agency, unexplained events, and snarky kids will draw readers in with the prolific imagination of veteran writer Shusterman and co-writer Elfman.  Gr 5-8. 

Deadlands: Hunted by Skye Melki-Wegner. Warring dinosaur factions (carnivores vs herbivores) struggle to survive after nearly total extinction.  Exciting action for fans of fighting animal series such as Warriors and Redwall.  Gr 4-7. 

Home Away from Home by Cynthia Lord.  Mia is spending her summer with her grandmother in a small Maine town, expecting it to be an oasis of stability in her changing life, but there is a new know-it-all boy next door, and soon she finds herself competing with Cayman in identifying an injured bird of prey--and pretty much everything else.  Lord often writes sensitive books about rescuing/caring for animals.  Gr 3-5. 

The Wilds: The Amazon by Roland Smith.  Ring and Asia Wilde's life is anything but ordinary.  Instead of attending middle school, they accompany their parents (scientists who work to save endangered species) on adventures around the world.  But a research trip to the Amazon rainforest turns into a dangerous mystery when their mother goes missing. Gr 4-7. 

Ghosts of Rancho Espanto by Adriana Cuevas.  A contemporary fantasy about a Cuban American boy who's sent to work on a New Mexico ranch as punishment for a school prank gone wrong, where's he's confronted with a mystery as inexplicable as it is familiar and discovers that uncovering secrets will lead to learning hard truths about himself.  Gr 5-8. 

Elf Dog and Owl Head by M.T. Anderson.  From the moment the elegant little dog with the ornate collar appears like an apparition among the trees, Clay sees something uncanny in her. With this mysterious Elphinore as a guide, he’ll glimpse ancient secrets folded all but invisibly into the forest. Each day the dog leads Clay down paths he never knew existed, deeper into the unknown. But they aren’t alone in their surreal adventures. There are traps and terrors in the woods, too, and if Clay isn’t careful, he might stray off the path and lose his way forever.  Gr 3-6. 

Come See the Fair by Gavriel Savit.  A mystery set at the famous Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 (the Columbian Exposition) involving seances and spiritualists, both real (?) and fake.  Gr 5+ 

A Sky Full of Song by Susan L. Meyer.  Ukrainian Jewish immigrants settle in North Dakota in 1905.  Evokes Little House on the Prairie.  Gr 4-7. 

Wild Bird by Diane Zahler.  Unusual historical fiction. In fourteenth-century Norway, the plague has destroyed Rype's entire village, and as the sole survivor, she embarks on a sweeping adventure across Europe with the son of an English ship captain and a band of troubadours in search of a brighter future and a new home. 

Paper Daughters of Chinatown (Young Readers Edition) by Heather Moore.  When Tien Fu Wu, a young Chinese girl, is sold into slavery by her gambler father, she is rescued by the women of the Occidental Mission Home for Girls in San Francisco, where she befriends missionary Dolly Cameron 

Once There Was by Kiyash Monsef.  A complex, thrilling novel rich in detail and stories about an Iranian American girl who discovers that her father was secretly a veterinarian to mythical creatures—and that she must take up his mantle, despite the many dangers.  Gr 5+ 

Arthur The Always King by Kevin Crossley-Holland.  The classic stories of King Arthur are woven together in this lavishly illustrated, almost coffee-table size book.  Gr 6+ 

GRAPHIC NOVELS 

The Mighty Bite by Nathan Hale. The cartoonist/author of Nathan Hale’s Hazardous [historical] Tales takes off in a different direction with an absurd story about supposedly extinct creatures and oddities of nature.  Determined to become internet stars, two prehistoric creatures--Trilobite and Amber, a walking whale--face off against a host of creatures vying for fame and fortune, using their newfound skills to take the online world by storm.  Gr 3+ 

Parachute Kids by Betty Tang.  For fans of Kelly Yang (Front Desk, et al).  After their two-week family tour of Los Angeles, ten-year-old Feng Li Lin and her older brother and sister learn they will remain in California while their parents return to Taiwan, forcing them to navigate a new school, a new language, bullies, racism, and the pressures of running a household.  Gr 3-7. 

Fox Point’s Own Gemma Hopper by Brie Spangler.  Gemma Hopper’s brother, Teddy, is supposed to be the baseball superstar, until the day Gemma strikes him out.  Gr 5-8. 

Sherlock Holmes: The Final Problem by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A graphic novelization of the famous confrontation between Holmes and Moriarty.  Good introduction into the Sherlockian world. 

Global by Eoin Colfer. After his successful Illegal, another absorbing graphic novel by Colfer about a significant issue.  Told in alternating voices, twelve-year-old Sami, from a village along the Bay of Bengal, and fourteen-year-old Yuki, from Northern Canada, strive to protect their homes from the encroaching damage brought on by climate change.  Gr  5+ 

POPULAR SERIES NOW AS GRAPHIC NOVELS 

Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty. A suspenseful history mystery set at the Biltmore Estate. 

Spy Camp by Stuart Gibbs.  Part of the popular Spy School series, wherein Ben Ripley is recruited to become an agent for CIA’s “student” division.