2026: GRADES 3 TO 5
Ava the Monster Slayer: Sleepover Superheroes
by Lisa Maggiore
Ava, Piggy, and their friends are back for their final adventure! If you know Ava, you know she's a brave warrior who wears glasses—and a good friend. So when Piggy is taken from her at a school-sponsored sleepover, of course she's going to rescue him. Piggy isn't the only best friend who has been taken, though. Ashley and Emma's stuffed animals, Uni and Raffe, have also been hidden by a group of older girls. Having heard that the school's hallways are haunted by the ghosts of teachers and mythical creatures, the courageous trio comes up with a plan to safely sneak to the library, where their stuffies are being held. The dress-up box—and a bit of imagination—provides them with exactly what they need to protect them and defeat any monsters they may encounter on their journey from the gym to the library. But when they get to their destination, they're met with a challenge they weren't expecting. Will they be able to channel their inner super heroes (with their makeshift hammer, claws, and web spray) to face their fears and to rescue Piggy, Raffe, and Uni?
Hulk Teach!
by Jeffrey Brown
A hilarious original series filled with comics, mischief, and misadventure starring the Hulk! From the mind of New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Jeffrey Brown. Bruce Banner, AKA the Hulk, is a genius scientist and super hero whose rage-outs have led him to damage way too much public property. After his latest meltdown, Tony Stark arranges a PR move to smooth things over. Hulk will perform community service -- by teaching. Can Banner make it through the school year without destroying everything? And can middle school kids really learn anything when the HULK is their teacher?
Rachel Carson’s Wonder-Filled World: How the Scientist, Writer, and Nature Lover Changed the Environmental Movement
by Kate Hannigan
Rachel Carson wasn’t always the Rachel Carson, renowned environmental activist. From her earliest years, Rachel had a passion for nature—to her, it was a fairyland, and she loved to write about her adventures and the creatures she saw. Encouraged by teachers, Rachel wanted nothing more than to study the ocean and its inhabitants. Though unable to finish her PhD due to financial constraints, Rachel found work in science and success as a nature writer. In the course of her work, Rachel learned about the harm caused by recently developed pesticides and chemicals that made their way into the environment. Desperate to protect nature for future generations even as her health declined, she penned the famous book Silent Spring—a call to action against the threat of the deadly chemicals.
Rock Paper Incisors: A Skunk and Badger Story
by Amy Timberlake
Skunk and Badger have an easy roommate rhythm—Skunk cooks! Badger cleans!—until they take in two orphaned rat pups, Zeno and Zephyr. Badger is working on an Important Rock Work article for Rock Hound Weekly and needs focus, focus, focus to write it. How much trouble could two tiny rats really be? Some scheduling, a few strategically placed naps, and all will be well! But it’s winter, and nothing goes to plan. Hibernation threatens every routine. Articles refuse to write themselves. And rats in the rock room? It will take a North Twist village to raise these rats!
The Curse of Great Winter Academy: Choose Your Own Adventure
by Jessika Fleck
Break an impossible curse or die trying in this interactive book where YOU decide what happens next! Packed with 19 possible endings! Choose Your Own Adventure books–the 4th best selling children’s series of all time–are now available with even more pages, choices, and mystery for 10- to 12-year-old readers. The Great Winter Academy for the Extraordinarily Talented is made up of students with paranormal and fantastical abilities. This year, YOU are one of three students who receive the impossible curse— retrieve a long lost heirloom stolen by the rival school, or die trying. Nobody has successfully broken the curse before, and many have met grisly ends. Will you try to find a way out of your curse? Or will you infiltrate the ranks of your rivals?
The Gift of Freedom: How Harriet Tubman Rescued Her Brothers
by Glennette Tilley Turner
This historical picture book about the legendary Underground Railroad conductor, abolitionist, and suffragist was written based on personal interviews with Tubman’s last surviving relative. A story of courage, hope, and family, The Gift of Freedom takes readers on an inspiring journey during one of America’s darkest times. Harriet Tubman was always a keen observer. She learned to use the North Star for a compass, to tell time by the stars, and to find her way by natural signs as well as any hunter could. She could navigate dense forests, locate waterways in the area, and identify the white Quakers and Black mariners who were willing to help enslaved people escape. When Tubman first fled north, she knew she might never have another chance to run away. Yet after she arrived safely in the free city of Philadelphia, she risked her own freedom again and again to help other Freedom Seekers—and those she’d had to leave behind. She never forgot her family in Maryland, and on Christmas Day in 1854, Tubman returned again, hoping to give three of her brothers the best possible gift—the gift of freedom!