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Fourth grade is not going at all how Benny Barrows hoped. He hasn’t found a new best friend at school. He’s still not a great bike rider — even though his brother George, who’s autistic, can do tricks. And worst of all, he worries his dad’s recent accident might be all his fault. Benny tries to take his mom’s advice and focus on helping others, and to take things one step at a time, but Benny doesn’t know how he and his family will overcome all the bad luck that life seems to have thrown their way.

Seven-year-old Anthony has autism. He flaps his hands. He makes strange noises. He can’t speak or otherwise communicate his thoughts. Treatments, therapies, and theories about his condition define his daily existence. Yet Anthony isn’t improving much. This debut work of fiction sheds light on the inner and outer lives of children with nonspeaking autism, and on their two worlds — and how they navigate their way through the multitude of theories about autism that have affected the lives of many children and their families. As one of the few works of fiction written by a person with non-speaking autism, it offers readers an insider’s point-of-view into autism and life in silence, with warmth, humor, and sharp intellect.

Vivy Cohen, an 11-year-old with autism, won’t let anything stop her from playing baseball — not when she has a major-league star as her pen pal. This novel-in-letters captures Vivy’s growing sense of her own capabilities. It’s a satisfying baseball story that never minimizes the challenges of autism but celebrates skill, determination, and love for the game.

Even though she’s a math whiz, sixth grader Ally struggles to make sense of words on a page — that is until she meets Mr. Daniels. Ally discovers that she has dyslexia. Mr. Daniels is studying for a degree in helping children learn to read using different techniques — which open Ally’s world in many ways. Based on the author’s own experiences, Ally’s voice is successfully used to create a realistic and touching novel.

Willow Chance is a 12-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. Willow is also an outsider, a girl possibly somewhere on the autism/Asperger’s spectrum (although that is never stated). Suddenly Willow’s world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world. This story is about her journey to find a fascinatingly diverse and fully believable surrogate family.

Tally is smart, compassionate, and she has a superpower: autism. Inspired by young coauthor Libby Scott’s own experiences with autism, this is an honest and moving middle-school story of friends, family, and finding one’s place.

“Ezra looks like any other sixth grader with faded jeans, turned around cap and a mess of chestnut curls. You see, my brother is like any other eleven-year-old except when he isn’t.“ This story follows 14-year-old Jenny as she describes her day-to-day life with her younger autistic brother, Ezra. Ezra can be both her best friend as well as her biggest obstacle to living a normal life, and Jenny often finds herself stuck worrying about her younger brother. Through taking care of Ezra and a very special school project, Jenny ends up learning about her own character and strengths, and a way to shine despite everything else.

A story told entirely from the point of view of Jason, an autistic boy who is a creative-writing whiz and deft explainer of literary devices, but markedly at a loss in social interactions with “neurotypicals” both at school and at home. He is most comfortable in an online writing forum called Storyboard, where his stories kindle an e-mail-based friendship with a girl. The author describes Jason’s attempts to interpret body language and social expectations, and ultimately how Jason moves through his failures and triumphs with the same depth of courage and confusion of any boy his age.

Rip and Red are best friends whose fifth-grade year is nothing like what they expected. They have a crazy new tattooed teacher named Mr. Acevedo, who doesn’t believe in tests or homework and who likes off-the-wall projects. Easy-going Rip is knocked completely out of his comfort zone. And for Red, who has autism and really needs things to be exactly a certain way, the changes are even more of a struggle. But together these two make a great duo who know how to help each other ― and find ways to make a difference ― in the classroom and on the court.

Written by Naoki Higashida, a very smart, very self-aware, and very charming 13-year-old boy with autism, it is a one-of-a-kind memoir that provides a window into how an autistic mind thinks, feels, perceives, and responds. It is a “… wise, beautiful, intimate and courageous explanation of autism as it is lived every day by one remarkable boy.”

When Temple Grandin was born, her parents knew that she was different. Years later she was diagnosed with autism. Her mother believed in her abilitie and supported her education, and Temple eventually went on to graduate school. Today, Dr. Temple Grandin is a scientist and professor of animal science at Colorado State University. Through her work she revolutionized the livestock industry. As an advocate for autism, Temple uses her experience as an example of the unique contributions that autistic people can make. This biography, complete with personal photos, takes us inside Temple’s extraordinary mind and opens the door to a broader understanding of autism.

This book opens a window into nonverbal autism through dozens of short, autobiographical essays each offering new insights into autism symptoms, effective and ineffective treatments, and the inner emotional life of a severely autistic boy. In his essays, author Ido Kedar, a brilliant 16-year-old with autism, challenges what he believes are misconceptions in many theories that dominate autism treatment today while he chronicles his personal growth in his struggles to overcome his limitations.

Naoki Higashida shares his thoughts and experiences as a young man living each day with severe autism. In short, powerful chapters, Higashida explores school memories, family relationships, the exhilaration of travel, and the difficulties of speech. He also allows readers to experience profound moments we take for granted, like the thought-steps necessary for him to register that it’s raining outside. Acutely aware of how strange his behavior can appear to others, he aims throughout to foster a better understanding of autism and to encourage society to see people with disabilities as people, not as problems.

Obayda’s family is in need of some good fortune, and her aunt has an idea to bring the family luck — dress Obayda, the youngest of four sisters, as a boy, a bacha posh. Life in this in-between place is confusing, but once Obayda meets another bacha posh, everything changes. Their transformation won’t last forever, though — unless the two best friends can figure out a way to make it stick and make their newfound freedoms endure.

In a time of war, a mysterious child appears at the monastery of the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing. Gentle Brother Edik finds the girl, Beatryce, curled in a stall, wracked with fever, coated in dirt and blood, and holding fast to the ear of Answelica the goat. As the monk nurses Beatryce to health, he uncovers her dangerous secret, one that imperils them all—for the king of the land seeks just such a girl, and Brother Edik, who penned the prophecy himself, knows why.

And so it is that a girl with a head full of stories—powerful tales-within-the-tale of queens and kings, mermaids and wolves—ventures into a dark wood in search of the castle of one who wishes her dead. But Beatryce knows that, should she lose her way, those who love her—a wild-eyed monk, a man who had once been king, a boy with a terrible sword, and a goat with a head as hard as stone—will never give up searching for her, and to know this is to know everything. With its timeless themes, unforgettable cast, and magical medieval setting, Kate DiCamillo’s lyrical tale, paired with resonant black-and-white illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Sophie Blackall, is a true collaboration between masters.

Once upon a time, in a gray endless place called Cementland, a boy finds a treasure box. It’s filled with tiny specks and a wrinkled note that says, “Put these wondrous riches in the earth and enjoy.” But a special treasure requires a special guardian, so the boy conjures a creature to protect the specks: Frog Belly Rat Bone. 

Langston Hughes famous poem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, speaks to his life and the broader African-American experience. Illustrator E.B. Lewis pays tribute to his words using beautiful watercolor images.

Morrigan Crow is a cursed child. Born on eventide, the unluckiest birthday possible, she is constantly blamed for every large and small misfortune that befalls her corner of the Wintersea Republic. Oh, and did I mention that she’s doomed to die at midnight on her 11^th birthday…! With her birthday upon her, Morrigan is resigned to her fate until she’s whisked away by the mysterious Jupiter North to Nevermoor—a magical city in the secret and heavily guarded Free State—and a chance to win a spot in the city’s most prestigious institution: the Wundrous Society. Four trials and hundreds of other children stand between Morrigan and the deadly Hunt of Smoke and Shadow awaiting her in the Wintersea Republic. Step boldly into this fresh new take on magic and magical schools that will leave readers begging for the next books! There are currently 3 books out in this series (Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow, Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow, and Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow) with a fourth book expect in the fall of 2022.

There are only three things that matter to twelve-year-old Alice Alexis Queensmeadow: Mother, who wouldn’t miss her; magic and color, which seem to elude her; and Father, who always loved her. The day Father disappears from Ferenwood he takes nothing but a ruler with him. But it’s been almost three years since then, and Alice is determined to find him. She loves her father even more than she loves adventure, and she’s about to embark on one to find the other.

But bringing Father home is no small matter. In order to find him she’ll have to travel through the mythical, dangerous land of Furthermore, where down can be up, paper is alive, and left can be both right and very, very wrong. Her only companion is a boy named Oliver whose own magical ability is based in lies and deceit—and with a liar by her side in a land where nothing is as it seems, it will take all of Alice’s wits (and every limb she’s got) to find Father and return home to Ferenwood in one piece. On her quest to find Father, Alice must first find herself—and hold fast to the magic of love in the face of loss.

Higuera’s middle-grades dystopian novel, weaves together Mexican folklore and science fiction through the eyes of aspiring storyteller Petra Peña who awakens on a new planet hundreds of years after Earth’s destruction, the only person alive who holds the stories of the past, and any hope for the future.

Ellie is a middle school girl who is bullied every day for her weight. Whether it comes from classmates, siblings, or even her mother, Ellie is constantly bombarded with comments about her size. Luckily, her friends help keep her head up most of the time. When her best friend Viv moves away, a new friend, Catalina, fits right into her place. Ellie’s dad is also an ally; he stands up to Ellie’s mom and decides to take Ellie to a therapist. With the help of Dr. Wood, Ellie learns how to feel comfortable in her own skin.

Revolution in Our Time puts the Panthers in the proper context of Black American history, from the first arrival of enslaved people to the Black Lives Matter movement of today. Kekla Magoon’s eye-opening work invites a new generation of readers grappling with injustices in the United States to learn from the Panthers’ history and courage, inspiring them to take their own place in the ongoing fight for justice.

Something is bothering Russel Susskit. He hates waking up to the sound of his father’s coughing, the smell of diesel oil, the noise of snow machines starting up. Only Oogruk, the shaman who owns the last team of dogs in the village, understands Russel’s longing for the old ways and the songs that celebrated them. But Oogruk cannot give Russel the answers he seeks; the old man can only prepare him for what he must do alone. Driven by a strange, powerful dream of a long-ago self and by a burning desire to find his own song, Russel takes Oogruk’s dogs on an epic journey of self-discovery that will change his life forever.