New Kid offers a fresh and funny graphic-novel take on the middle-school blues. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 8-10 Recommended for: ages 8-14 From Washington Heights to Riverdale Academy is a big leap that Jordan Banks isn’t sure he wants to make. A black kid from a middle-class neighborhood attending a fancy prep? He’d rather just go straight to art school (he’s into drawing, not basketball), but this scholarship came through and his mom is convinced it’s an opportunity too good to pass up. Dad too, though he’s not quite as gung-ho. The first day of school comes with more than the usual jitters: will there be any other students…

Krosoczka, author of the Lunch Lady graphic novels, tells his own story in Hey Kiddo, a graphic novel memoir that is by turns harsh and tender. Hey Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. Graphix, 2018. 320 pages. Reading Level: Ages 12-15 Recommended For: Ages 15 and up, with cautions His first memory of someone serving him breakfast was at his grandparents’, aged three. Before that, Jarrett fended for himself. When his teacher asks his kindergarten class to draw their families, complete with a mommy and a daddy, Jarrett blanks. That doesn’t describe his family at all. There comes a time when Jarrett doesn’t even send his mother a Mother’s Day card; he…

In The Enchanted Hour, Meghan Cox Gurdon makes the intellectual, social, and emotional case for reading aloud, at any age, to any age. The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction by Meghan Cox Gurdon.  Harper, 2019, 261 pages Does anyone need convincing that it’s important to read aloud to toddlers and preschoolers—even babies?  The concensus is pretty clear on that one, even among parents who don’t do it.  Study after study has shown that there’s nothing like curling up with a kid and a book for improving language skills, literary appreciation, and simple cuddle time.  The Enchanted Hour goes beyond those basic virtues…

A beleaguered planet, flight school, and one young woman’s quest to prove herself and clear her family honor combine in this excellent YA. Skyward by Brandon Sanderson. Delacorte Press, 2018, 528 pages. Ever since her late father was branded a coward, Spensa has dreamed of becoming a pilot and reclaiming her family’s honor. The motto of her cave-dwelling people is Defiant and it suits Spensa to a T. Someday she will fly, just like her father, and defeat the alien Krell who threaten her planet. As Spensa nears the age of determining her career, she realizes the odds against her are overwhelming. When an unexpected ally helps her join flight school as a cadet,…