Grade: 7

This collection of vignettes about Chicago’s Hispanic quarter are told from the point of view of Esperanza Cordero who is coming of age. Through her unique descriptions of the neighborhood and its residents, the reader is given a glimpse of the barrio as well as an understanding of Esperanza’s hopes and fears.

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can’t seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse — Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy’s mom finds out, she knows it’s time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he’ll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends — one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena — Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

Few stories are as widely read and as universally cherished by children and adults alike as The Little Prince. Richard Howard’s new translation of the beloved classic-published to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s birth-beautifully reflects Saint-Exupéry’s unique and gifted style. Howard, an acclaimed poet and one of the preeminent translators of our time, has excelled in bringing the English text as close as possible to the French, in language, style, and most important, spirit. The artwork in this new edition has been restored to match in detail and in color Saint-Exupéry’s original artwork.

Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who treated him with the utmost care and adored him completely. And then, one day, he was lost. Kate DiCamillo and Bagram Ibatoulline take us on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the top of a garbage heap to the fireside of a hobies’ camp, from the bedside of an ailing child to the streets of Memphis. And along the way, we are shown a true miracle — that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.

Addie is super tall and super smart. Joe is gay. Skeezie is sloppy and tough looking, and Bobbie, the narrator, is overweight and vulnerable since the death of his mother. They’ve been friends for years and hold a forum once a week to talk about important things. Although they’ve been called names all their lives, they have had one another for support. For their seventh-grade election, they form a new political party, called the No-Name Party whose slogan is, “Sticks and stones may break our bones, but names will break our spirit.” They propose a moratorium on name-calling for one day and promise to work hard to make all voices heard on the student council. Although the No-Name Party doesn’t win the election, they learn important things about themselves and teach the rest of the school about the importance of individuality.

In this award-winning book, a traveling woolly mammoth helps demonstrate how things work, from levers and plows to zippers and microchips. With colorful, kid-friendly illustrations on almost every one of its 400 pages, this engaging reference covers electricity, computers, machines, motors, magnetism, and more!

A textbook in disguise, this fascinating volume embraces both the math enthusiast and the clock-watching math victim holding his breath until the period is over. It’s not Alice in Wonderland, but it has that feel when Robert, who is no math wizard, has recurrent dreams of a number devil set on teaching him math concepts. In a series of 12 dreams Robert discovers the amazing world of numbers from the meaning of zero to numbers that expand without end. This international best-seller adds fun and adventure to math and teaches readers about logic in the process.

This ingenious fantasy centers around Milo, a bored ten-year-old who comes home to find a large toy tollbooth sitting in his room. Joining forces with a watchdog named Tock, Milo drives through the tollbooth’s gates and begins a memorable journey. He meets such characters as the foolish, yet lovable Humbug, the Mathemagician, and the not-so-wicked “Which,” Faintly Macabre, who gives Milo the “impossible” mission of returning two princesses to the Kingdom of Wisdom.