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  Summer Reading, Grades 3-5  
Aquicorn Cove

KATIE O'NEILL - Oni Press
Format: Hardcover

Unable to rely on the adults in her storm-ravaged seaside town, a young girl must protect a colony of magical seahorse-like creatures she discovers in the coral reef.From the award-winning author of PRINCESS PRINCESS EVER AFTER and THE TEA DRAGON SOCIETY comes AQUICORN COVE, a heartfelt...
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The Book of Boy

CATHERINE GILBERT MURDOCK - Greenwillow Books
Format: Hardcover

A young outcast is swept up into a thrilling and perilous medieval treasure hunt in this literary page-turner by acclaimed bestselling author Catherine Gilbert Murdock.This epic and engrossing quest story is for fans of Adam Gidwitz's The Inquisitor's Tale and Grace Lin's Where the Mountain...
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The Cardboard Kingdom

Chad Sell - Knopf Books for Young Readers
Format: Hardcover

Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier, Awkward, and All's Faire in Middle School, this graphic novel follows a neighborhood of kids who transform ordinary cardboard into fantastical homemade costumes as they explore conflicts with friends, family, and their own identity."A...
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Clayton Byrd Goes Underground

RITA WILLIAMS-GARCIA - Amistad
Format: Hardcover

5 Starred Reviews!"This slim novel strikes a strong chord" - Publishers Weekly (starred review) "This complex tale of family and forgiveness has heart." - School Library Journal (starred review) "Strong characterizations and vivid musical scenes add layers...
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Front Desk

Kelly Yang - Arthur A. Levine Books
Format: Hardcover

Mia Tang has a lot of secrets.Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every day, while her immigrant parents clean the rooms, ten-year-old Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel and tends to its guests.Number 2: Her parents hide immigrants. And if the mean motel owner,...
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Granted

JOHN DAVID ANDERSON - Walden Pond Press
Format: Hardcover

From the author of beloved novels Ms. Bixby's Last Day and Posted comes a hilarious, heartfelt, and unforgettable novel about a fairy-in-training.Everyone who wishes upon a star, or a candle, or a penny thrown into a fountain knows that you're not allowed to tell anyone what you've wished...
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Indian No More

Charlene Willing McManis - Tu Books
Format: Hardcover

Regina Petit's family has always been Umpqua, and living on the Grand Ronde reservation is all ten-year-old Regina has ever known. Her biggest worry is that Sasquatch may actually exist out in the forest. But when the federal government signs a bill into law that says Regina's tribe no longer...
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Knights vs. Dinosaurs

MATT PHELAN - Greenwillow Books
Format: Hardcover

Renowned for their courage, their chivalry, and their ability to fight mythical creatures, the Knights of the Round Table must face their most dangerous opponents yet - DINOSAURS!This heavily illustrated middle grade novel from award-winning author and artist Matt Phelan is a hilarious,...
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The Last Last-Day-of-Summer

Lamar Giles - Versify
Format: Hardcover

"The Last Last-Day-of-Summer reminds me that all children deserve to exist in magical spaces where their imaginations and familial bonds will them into heroism. Every single child should have the freedom to be one of The Legendary Alstons. And I, for one, am grateful...
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The Lost Girl

Anne Ursu - Walden Pond Press
Format: Hardcover

Anne Ursu, author of the National Book Award nominee The Real Boy, returns with a story of the power of fantasy, the limits of love, and the struggles inherent in growing up.When you're an identical twin, your story always starts with someone else. For Iris, that means her story starts...
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Mananaland

Pam Munoz Ryan
Format: Hardcover

"Maanaland is that rare gift of a book. It blends dream and truth into an enthralling fantasy that quietly shows us what it is like to be unwanted, searching for a place to belong. It is a story about choosing the very difficult path of kindness and courage, and about the faith of knowing...
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Other Words for Home

Jasmine Warga - Balzer + Bray
Format: Hardcover

A gorgeously written, hopeful middle grade novel in verse about a young girl who must leave Syria to move to the United States, perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds and Aisha Saeed.Jude never thought she'd be leaving her beloved older brother and father behind, all the way across the ocean...
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The Parker Inheritance

Varian Johnson - Arthur A. Levine Books
Format: Hardcover

Four starred reviews!"Powerful.... Johnson writes about the long shadows of the past with such ambition that any reader with a taste for mystery will appreciate the puzzle Candice and Brandon must solve." -- The New York Times Book ReviewWhen Candice finds a letter in an old attic...
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Rocket to the Moon!: Big Ideas That Changed the World #1

Don Brown - Amulet Books
Format: Hardcover

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong took "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" when the Apollo 11 landed on the moon. But it wasn't just one man who got us to the moon. Rocket to the Moon! explores the people and technology that made the moon landing possible....
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Ruby in the Sky

Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo - Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Format: Hardcover

Twelve-year-old Ruby Moon Hayes does not want her new classmates to ask about her father. She does not want them to know her mother has been arrested. And she definitely does not want to make any friends. Ruby just wants to stay as silent and invisible as a new moon in the frozen sky. She and her mother...
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Sanity & Tallulah

Molly Brooks - Disney-Hyperion
Format: Paperback

Sanity Jones and Tallulah Vega are best friends on Wilnick, the dilapidated space station they call home at the end of the galaxy. So naturally, when gifted scientist Sanity uses her lab skills and energy allowance to create a definitely-illegal-but-impossibly-cute three-headed kitten,...
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Sarai and the Meaning of Awesome

SARAI GONZALEZ - Scholastic Inc.
Format: Paperback

Sarai Gonzalez is AWESOME. Fourth grader Sarai Gonzalez can do anything. She can bake, dance, and run her own cupcake business. But when Sarai's grandparents are forced to move, even Sarai's not sure what to do. So she hatches a super-awesome plan with her younger sisters and cousin...
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Stanley Will Probably Be Fine

Sally J Pla - HarperCollins
Format: Paperback

A New York Public Library Best Kids Book of 2018 * A Kirkus Best Book of 2018 * A Bank Street Best Childrens Book of 2019This funny and moving second novel from the author of The Someday Birds features comic trivia, a safety superhero, and a super-cool scavenger hunt all over downtown San Diego,...
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Sweeping Up the Heart

Kevin Henkes - Greenwillow Books
Format: Hardcover

From two-time Newbery Honor and New York Times-bestselling author Kevin Henkes, this timeless novel about loss, loneliness, and friendship tells the story of the spring break that changes seventh-grader Amelia Albright's life forever.Amelia Albright dreams about going to Florida for spring...
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Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster

JONATHAN AUXIER - Amulet Books
Format: Hardcover

For nearly a century, Victorian London relied on "climbing boys" - orphans owned by chimney sweeps - to clean flues and protect homes from fire. The work was hard, thankless, and brutally dangerous. Eleven-year-old Nan Sparrow is quite possibly the best climber who ever lived...
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To Night Owl From Dogfish

Holly Goldberg Sloan - Dial Books
Format: Hardcover

From two extraordinary authors comes a moving, exuberant, laugh-out-loud novel about friendship and family, told entirely in emails and letters.Avery Bloom, who's bookish, intense, and afraid of many things, particularly deep water, lives in New York City. Bett Devlin, who's fearless, outgoing,...
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We're Not from Here

Geoff Rodkey - Crown Books for Young Readers
Format: Hardcover

Imagine being forced to move to a new planet where YOU are the alien! From the creator of the Tapper Twins, New York Times bestselling author Geoff Rodkey delivers a topical, sci-fi middle-grade novel that proves friendship and laughter can transcend even a galaxy of differences.The...
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What a Waste: Trash, Recycling, and Protecting our Planet

Jess French - DK Children
Format: Hardcover

Everything you need to know about what we're doing to our environment, good and bad, from pollution and litter to renewable energy and plastic recycling.This environmental book will teach young ecologists about how our actions affect planet Earth. Discover shocking facts about the waste...
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