Juvenile Literature

The books in this collection navigate themes and ideas appropriate for younger readers. Whether you're looking for contemporary hits like Front Desk by Kelly Yang or beloved classics like Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, you can explore this collection to find a title that will excite the young readers in your life.

Publication year 2019

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Society: Class

Tags Humor, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Diversity, Race / Racism, Bullying, Class, African American Literature, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

New Kid by Jerry Craft is a 2019 graphic novel and winner of the Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award. Jim Callahan is responsible for the coloring. Craft is the creator of the 1990 comic strip Mama’s Boyz, as well as Class Act, the 2020 companion story to this book. New Kid focuses on an artistic middle school student who makes friends and builds confidence in himself as he navigates race and class... Read New Kid Summary


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Children's Literature, Fantasy


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger

Tags Fantasy, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Children's Literature


Publication year 1993

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Equality, Society: Education, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Identity: Race

Tags Historical Fiction, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, History: World, Race / Racism

Nightjohn is a young adult historical fiction novel written by Gary Paulsen. The story is told from the perspective of a young slave girl, as she faces the cruelty of life as a slave and learns to read and write. It was published in 1993 and adapted into a Disney Channel TV film of the same name in 1996. The idea for the novel was born when Paulsen began to research Sally Hemings, a slave... Read Nightjohn Summary


Publication year 1984

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Environment, Society: Community, Relationships: Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Natural Disaster, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Historical Fiction, Action / Adventure

SummaryNight of the Twisters is a young adult realistic fiction novel written by award-winning author Ivy Ruckman. The book was the recipient of several awards, including the Golden Sower Award, the Iowa Children’s Choice Award, and the Sequoyah Children’s Book Award. It was also recommended as an Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children by the National Science Teachers Association and Children’s Book Council. A movie of the same name based loosely on the book was... Read Night of the Twisters Summary


Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family, Natural World: Environment

Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Relationships, Natural Disaster, African American Literature, Children's Literature, Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Action / Adventure

Jewell Parker Rhodes’s Ninth Ward is a realistic middle grade novel that follows 12-year-old Lanesha, a resident of New Orleans’s Ninth Ward neighborhood, in the days surrounding Hurricane Katrina, a devastating storm that hit the Gulf Coast in 2005. Lanesha must rely on her resourcefulness, resilience, and fortitude to survive the storm and subsequent flooding of the Ninth Ward. First published in 2010 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, the book earned a School... Read Ninth Ward Summary


Publication year 2000

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Relationships: Friendship, Life/Time: Coming of Age

Tags Realistic Fiction, Humor, Education, Children's Literature, Education, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Animals

No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman (Hyperion Books, 2002) is a humorous middle-grade fiction book about how one boy’s unwillingness to lie changes his life and the lives of everyone at his school. No More Dead Dogs won the 2002 Young Reader’s Choice Award (intermediate), one of many award-winners penned by Korman. Gordon Korman published his first book (This Can’t be Happening at Macdonald Hall, first in the Macdonald Hall series) when he was... Read No More Dead Dogs Summary


Publication year 1970

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Community, Society: Economics, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Relationships: Family, Identity: Masculinity, Self Discovery

Tags Historical Fiction, Great Depression, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Food, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, History: World, Action / Adventure, Classic Fiction

No Promises in the Wind is a young-adult historical novel that takes place at the height of the Great Depression. The first-person narrative tells the coming-of-age story of a 15-year-old boy who leaves home with his younger brother because their family doesn’t have enough to eat. Josh and Joey Grondowski use their musical talents to survive on their own as they travel through a country of angry and impoverished people. First published in 1970, the... Read No Promises In The Wind Summary


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Self Discovery, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Place

Tags Historical Fiction, Action / Adventure, Survival Fiction, Children's Literature, History: World


Publication year 2014

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Place, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Beauty

Tags Sports, Action / Adventure, Animals, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Travel Literature, Biography

No Summit out of Sight (2014) is a young adult memoir written by Jordan Romero and Linda LeBlanc. Jordan Romero is the youngest person to ever climb the Seven Summits. The novel explores themes including The Power of Setting and Achieving Goals, Focusing on a Personal Best, and The Value of Teamwork.This guide uses the 2014 Simon & Schuster edition of the memoir.SummaryFourth grader Jordan Romero gazes at a mural of the Seven Summits (the... Read No Summit Out Of Sight Summary


Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Teams, Values/Ideas: Equality

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Humor

No Talking (2007) is a children’s novel by Andrew Clements, and the 2010 recipient of the California Young Reader Medal. In the novel, fifth-grade boys and girls compete to see who can talk the least at school. The competition causes an uproar among teachers and staff, exploring questions of authority in the school setting and building friendships across differences. Andrew Clements was a teacher, author, editor, and book publisher, best known for his debut novel, Frindle... Read No Talking Summary


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery, Society: Community

Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Children's Literature


Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Music

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Music, Humor

The novel opens on Alex choosing to get drunk and drive to his father’s in order to get revenge. Alex’s parents are recently divorced after his father starts to date Alex’s third-grade teacher. After crashing his mother’s car into a garden gnome, a very drunk Alex is taken into the police station and then transferred to the hospital with a concussion and alcohol poisoning. Alex’s mother grounds him for a month, until a judge punishes... Read Notes From The Midnight Driver Summary


Publication year 1991

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Children's Literature, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Nothing but the Truth is a Newbery-Award-winning documentary novel published by Avi in 1991. Set in the small New Hampshire town of Harrison, the novel is the story of how ninth-grader Philip Malloy’s efforts to get out of a class with Ms. Narwin, his English teacher, is transformed into a viral story that casts Philip as a patriotic hero and his teacher as a villain. In keeping with the documentary novel genre, Avi tells the... Read Nothing But The Truth Summary


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Action / Adventure, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2002

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Siblings, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: War, Relationships: Fathers

Tags Historical Fiction, Children's Literature, Auto/Biographical Fiction, American Civil War, Race / Racism, History: U.S., Military / War, History: World


Publication year 1989

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil

Tags Children's Literature, Education, Education, WWII / World War II, History: World, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

Number the Stars is a 1989 middle-grade novel by Lois Lowry. A work of historical fiction, it focuses on the experiences of Annemarie Johansen, a 10-year-old Danish girl, living in Copenhagen during World War II. The book follows Annemarie and her family as they attempt to save their Jewish friends, the Rosens, from being sent to a Nazi concentration camp. The novel was critically acclaimed at the time of its release and won the 1990... Read Number the Stars Summary


Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Children's Literature, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness

OCDaniel (2016), a young adult novel by American author Wesley King, follows Daniel Leigh, a teenager with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), who struggles with the symptoms of his condition along with his social rejection for being odd. More than anything else, Daniel wants to be “normal” and to meet the expectations of his father. Daniel’s world changes when he befriends Sara Malvern, a selectively mute girl known to the school as “Psycho Sara.” Daniel and Sara embark... Read OCDaniel Summary


Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Disability, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Environment, Relationships: Family, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality

Tags Children's Literature, Fantasy, Mythology, Historical Fiction, Action / Adventure


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Place, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger

Tags Animals, Science / Nature, Realistic Fiction, Action / Adventure, Children's Literature