Growing Social Media

Bienvenidos [Welcome] to Lucía’s home. Lucía lives in her casa [home] with her big, loud, beautiful familia, and she’s going to show you around! From la puerta [the door], where Abuela likes to wave to the neighbors and wait for packages from Puerto Rico or Spain, to la cocina [the kitchen], where Lucía watches her Mamá turn empty pots into soups and arroces, to el patio [the backyard], where Lucía and her cousins (and her cousin’s cousins!) put on magic shows, Lucía loves her busy and cozy casa [home].

Meet Chick and Brain and their friend Spot. Chick likes to follow the rules, Brain might not be as smart as he looks, and Spot just wants to eat lunch. Simple, silly, and perfectly suited to its audience, this offbeat tale of Chick and Brain’s constant misunderstandings and miscommunications is a great primer for young kids just learning about please and thank you, proving, once again, that Newbery Honor winner Cece Bell is a master at meeting kids where they are - and leaving them in a fit of giggles!

Walter had spent all summer counting down the days until the first day of school. He couldn’t wait to make new shark friends and finally swim into his classroom for the first time. But the first class picture of the year changes everything. Walter realizes there is one big difference between him and his shark classmates. After his discovery, Walter spends his day trying anything he can think of to blend in with the other sharks, only to learn that the things that make us feel like we don’t fit in are the very things that make us stand out.

It is washday. "Are you ready for work, Lizzie girl?" Grandma asks. "I am," Lizzie replies. It's hard for her to set aside her plans for a tea party, but she rolls up her sleeves. Together, Lizzie and Grandma haul the steaming washtub to the workbench and shave lye soap into the boiling water. They rub, rub, rub the clothes over the washboard, pull them through the wringer, and hang them out to dry.

Little Bear feels the world around him. He feels his bed rumble when Dad Bear wakes him up in the morning. He feels the floor shake when his teacher stomps to get his attention. But something else is missing, like when his friends tell jokes that he isn’t sure he understands, or when all around him Little Bear hears the question, “Can bears ski?” Then, one day, Dad Bear takes him to see an “aud-i-olo-gist”, and Little Bear learns that he has been experiencing deafness and will start wearing hearing aids.

Oh! Oh, oh, oh! Look what Brain found. Chick and Spot say it is an egg. Brain says it is an eyeball. Is it an egg or an eyeball? The inimitable Cece Bell is back with a second hilarious primer on good manners gone awry and arguments run amok. This offbeat story by a master of the genre builds to an exhilaratingly absurd surprise ending.

No doubt you can be close to someone who's very different from you. Ginger is excitable; she leaps into action, throwing herself headfirst into any project. Chrysanthemum is cooler-headed; she likes to plan, she's organized. She makes lists. Yet they are cousins, close as two beans in a pod. But planning Grandma's birthday together is a pretty huge challenge. There are presents to buy, decorations to pick, and a special birthday cake to bake. Together. How they manage it is a testament to affection being stronger than differences.

Emma doesn't really like hurricanes. After a busy day of school and activities, Emma likes to sit still and rest. Her little brother, Henry, does everything but. She calls him the Lemonade Hurricane. Henry is a lot of fun when he's not storming through the house, so Emma decides to teach him how to be still. By showing him how to sit, bow, and breathe, Emma is able to calm the hurricane within Henry.

On reunion morning, we rise before the sun. Daddy hums as he packs our car with suitcases and a cooler full of snacks. He says there’s nothing like going down home. Down home is Granny’s house. Down home is where Lil’ Alan and his parents and sister will join great-grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Down home is where Lil’ Alan will hear stories of the ancestors and visit the land that has meant so much to all of them.

Collin can't help himself. He has a unique condition that finds him counting every letter spoken to him. It's a quirk that makes him a prime target for bullies, and a continual frustration to the adults around him, including his father. When Collin asked to leave yet another school, his dad decides to send him to live in Minnesota with the mother he's never met.

Rachel Brooks is excited for the new school year. She's finally earned a place as a forward on her soccer team. Her best friends make everything fun. And she really likes Tate, and she's pretty sure he likes her back. After one last appointment with her scoliosis doctor, this will be her best year yet. Then the doctor delivers some terrible news: The sideways curve in Rachel's spine has gotten worse, and she needs to wear a back brace 23 hours a day. The brace wraps her in hard plastic from shoulder blades to hips.

This exploration of the natural world and family bonds through the eyes of a young mixed-race narrator is a living, breathing, dazzlingly multi-faceted, exuberant masterpiece, firmly grounded in her sense of self-worth and belonging. If Walt Whitman were reborn as a vibrant young woman of color, this is the book he might write. America, we hear you singing! Samara Cole Doyon sings a carol for the plenitude that surrounds us and the self each of us is meant to inhabit.

Astrid has loved the stars and space for as long as she can remember. “I want to be an astronaut!” she says to everyone who will listen. While her mama is away, Astrid and her papa have fun acting out the challenges an astronaut faces on a space mission - like being in zero gravity (“I can do that all day long!” she says), eating food from a kind of tube, and doing science experiments with the help of cookie sheets. When at last it’s time to meet Mama at the airbase, Astrid wears her favorite space T-shirt to greet her. But where exactly has Mama been?

When Maria's family moves to a new town, her parents sign her up for the summer soccer team to help her meet new friends. But Maria has never tried soccer before. She would rather be back on her old swim team. Maria is afraid that she'll be the worst player and that no one will like her. Coach Tony and Coach Lauren remind Maria that everything is new at first. Maria will have to give soccer a try to see if she likes it.

Undocumented is the story of immigrant workers who have come to the United States without papers. Everyday these men and women join the workforce and contribute positively to society. Juan grew up in Mexico working in the fields to help provide for his family. Struggling for money, he crosses over into the United States and becomes an undocumented worker, living in a poor neighborhood and working hard to survive. Although he is able to get a job as a busboy at a restaurant, he is severely undercompensated - he receives less than half of the minimum wage!

Each day is full of possibilities, and Zoe wants to be ready for everything this one might bring. But that makes getting dressed really, really hard! If it's a twirling day, she'll need to wear the purple skirt. But if it's a cartwheeling day, she'll want the polka-dot tights. Or it might be a hiding day, perfect for the flower crown that will help her blend into the garden...or a flying day, which demands butterfly wings!

As the year passes, the narrator's favorite dress goes through a series of creative changes, from dress to shirt to tank top to scarf and so on, until all that's left of it is a good memory. Assisted by her patient and crafty mama, the narrator finds that when disaster strikes her favorite things, she doesn't need to make mountains out of molehills - she makes molehills out of mountains instead!

Life on the farm with Granddaddy is full of hard work, but despite all the chores, Granddaddy always makes time for play, especially fishing trips. Even when there isn't a bite to catch, he reminds young Michael that it takes patience to get what's coming to you. One morning, when Granddaddy heads into town in his fancy suit, Michael knows that something very special must be happening. For the very first time, Granddaddy is allowed to vote, and he couldn't be more proud. But can Michael be patient when it seems that justice just can't come soon enough?

In the hills above Port-au-Prince, a young girl named Fallon wants more than anything to carry a large woven basket to the market, just like her Manman. As she watches her mother wrap her hair in a mouchwa, Fallon tries to twist her own braids into a scarf and balance the empty panye atop her head, but it’s much harder than she thought. Boom! Is she ready after all?

Evelyn Del Rey is Daniela’s best friend. They do everything together and even live in twin apartments across the street from each other: Daniela with her mami and hamster, and Evelyn with her mami, papi, and cat. But not after today - not after Evelyn moves away. Until then, the girls play amid the moving boxes until it’s time to say goodbye, making promises to keep in touch, because they know that their friendship will always be special.