DEIB Beginning of Year Resources: New Chapter Books

In this full-color early chapter book series, Priya starts a party-planning business to help save the planet -- one party at a time! Pick a book. Grow a Reader! This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line, Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow! Priya is excited to plan her aunty's birthday party. She will donate the money she makes to help the cutest endangered animal on the planet, the quokka! But the party is this Saturday! With so many items on her to-do list, can she get it all done in time? Priya sends out handmade invitations, makes DIY decorations, and sets an orange-only snacks menu -- including pumpkin samosas! Will Priya's very first party be a success? With speech bubbles, easy-to-read text, and vibrant artwork on every page, this series is perfect for newly independent readers!

Meet the ever-curious Isla Verde, a young girl with a secret--she can speak with animals--in the first book of an all-new chapter book series! Welcome to the adventurous island of Sol! For eight-year-old Isla Verde, Sol is the perfect place to live. The sun shines bright, the markets brim with delicious food and music, there are animal friends around every corner, and her best gecko buddy, Fitz, is up for almost every adventure! Yes, Isla's best friend is a gecko. In fact, that's part of her big secret...she can speak to animals--and they speak right back! No one else knows about her special talent, not even Mama, Abuelo, or Abuela! But when new girl Tora moves in next door, Isla starts finding it harder to keep her secret under wraps. With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, the Isla of Adventure chapter books are perfect for beginning readers.

Nadia and Nadir spend a fun autumn day playing in the leaves. After things get a little too rough, they decide to create natural art while waiting for their Abu and Ammi to make a cozy barbecue lunch. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards.

Middle school is hard--but it's way harder when a fairy godmother puts you under a truth-telling spell! June has always been a people-pleaser, telling harmless little lies to make her friends and family happy. She's convinced being honest about her feelings will only hurt the people she loves!   Until, out of nowhere, a secret fairy godmother appears to "bless" her with the ability to only tell the truth! Seriously?! As if June didn't have enough to worry about!   Now, June has no choice but to be honest about how she feels. And the truth is: what June feels is stressed out. Middle school is no joke--between field hockey, friend drama, and her parents' high expectations, June feels so overwhelmed that sometimes it's hard to breathe.   When everything spirals out of control, will June find freedom in telling the whole truth and nothing but--or is she destined to battle the curse for the rest of her life?     

"The little girl I was would have been thrilled to encounter Meilan... having found a character who embraces the complexity of being both Chinese and American, I would have been able to echo her words- 'I am not alone.'" -New York Times Book Review by Jean Kwok A family feud before the start of seventh grade propels Meilan from Boston's Chinatown to rural Ohio, where she must tap into her inner strength and sense of justice to make a new place for herself in this resonant debut. Meilan Hua's world is made up of a few key ingredients- her family's beloved matriarch, Nai Nai; the bakery her parents, aunts, and uncles own and run in Boston's Chinatown; and her favorite Chinese fairy tales. After Nai Nai passes, the family has a falling-out that sends Meilan, her parents, and her grieving grandfather on the road in search of a new home. They take a winding path across the country before landing in Redbud, Ohio. Everything in Redbud is the opposite of Chinatown, and Meilan's not quite sure who she is--being renamed at school only makes it worse. She decides she is many Meilans, each inspired by a different Chinese character with the same pronunciation as her name. Sometimes she is Mist, cooling and invisible; other times, she's Basket, carrying her parents' hopes and dreams and her guilt of not living up to them; and occasionally she is bright Blue, the way she feels around her new friend Logan. Meilan keeps her facets separate until an injustice at school shows her the power of bringing her many selves together.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Front Desk comes a "involving, realistic" (Booklist, starred review) middle grade novel about a young girl who leaves China to live with her parents and sister, after five years apart, and learns about family, friendship, and the power of being finally seen. My sister got to grow up with my parents. Me? I grew up with postcards from my parents. When ten-year-old Lina Gao steps off the plane in Los Angeles, it's her first time in America and the first time seeing her parents and her little sister in five years! She's been waiting for this moment every day while she lived with her grandmother in Beijing, getting teased by kids at school who called her "left behind girl." Finally, her parents are ready for her to join their fabulous life in America! Except, it's not exactly like in the postcards: 1. School's a lot harder than she thought. When she mispronounces some words in English on the first day, she decides she simply won't talk. Ever again. 2. Her chatty little sister has no problem with English. And seems to do everything better than Lina, including knowing exactly the way to her parents' hearts. 3. They live in an apartment, not a house like in Mom's letters, and they owe a lot of back rent from the pandemic. And Mom's plan to pay it back sounds more like a hobby than a moneymaker. As she reckons with her hurt, Lina tries to keep a lid on her feelings, both at home and at school. When her teacher starts facing challenges for her latest book selection, a book that deeply resonates with Lina, it will take all of Lina's courage and resilience to get over her fear and choose a future where she's finally seen.

Slime entrepreneurs face off in an epic battle to see who can sell the most slime, while navigating sticky situations with friends and family. From the award-winning author of The House That Lou Built comes another story about a creative kid with something to prove. Alex Manalo and his dad have just moved back to Sacramento to revive their extended family's struggling Filipino market. While Alex likes helping at the store, his true passion is making slime! He comes up with his own recipes, playing with ingredients, colors, and textures, which make his slime truly special. Encouraged by a new friend at school, Alex begins to sell his creations, leading to a sell-off battle with a girl who previously had a slime-opoly. Winner gets bragging rights and the right to be the only slime game in town. But Alex's dad thinks Alex should be focused more on "traditional" boy pastimes and less on slime. As the new soccer coach, Dad wants Alex to join the team. Alex is battling on multiple fronts--with his new friends at school, and with his dad at home. It will be a sticky race to the finish to see who oozes out on top.

In a satisfying finale to her trilogy, Newbery Medalist Meg Medina follows Merci Suárez into an eighth-grade year full of changes--evolving friendships, new responsibilities, and heartbreaking loss. For Merci Suárez, eighth grade means a new haircut, nighttime football games, and an out-of-town overnight field trip. At home, it means more chores and keeping an eye on Lolo as his health worsens. It's a year filled with more responsibility and independence, but also with opportunities to reinvent herself. Merci has always been fine with not being one of the popular kids like Avery Sanders, who will probably be the soccer captain and is always traveling to fun places and buying new clothes. But then Avery starts talking to Merci more, and not just as a teammate. Does this mean they're friends? Merci wants to play it cool, but with Edna always in her business, it's only a matter of time before Merci has to decide where her loyalty stands. Whether Merci is facing school drama or changing family dynamics, readers will empathize as she discovers who she can count on--and what can change in an instant--in Meg Medina's heartfelt conclusion to the trilogy that began with the Newbery Medal-winning novel.

A neurodivergent girl campaigns for a memorial when she learns that her small Scottish town used to burn witches simply because they were different. "A must-read for students and adults alike." -School Library Journal, Starred Review   Ever since Ms. Murphy told us about the witch trials that happened centuries ago right here in Juniper, I can't stop thinking about them. Those people weren't magic. They were like me. Different like me.   I'm autistic. I see things that others do not. I hear sounds that they can ignore. And sometimes I feel things all at once. I think about the witches, with no one to speak for them. Not everyone in our small town understands. But if I keep trying, maybe someone will. I won't let the witches be forgotten. Because there is more to their story. Just like there is more to mine.   Award-winning and neurodivergent author Elle McNicoll delivers an insightful and stirring debut about the European witch trials and a girl who refuses to relent in the fight for what she knows is right.