Summer Reading Upper School 2024

In the summer before middle school, eleven-year-old Bug must contend with best friend Moira suddenly caring about clothes, makeup, and boys; a ghost haunting; and the truth about Bug's gender identity.

A young girl’s school project on ancestry prompts her grandmother to share the history of their people, spanning their roots in Africa, through enslavement, and into the present.

Thirteen-year-old Amari, a poor African American girl from the projects, gets an invitation from her missing brother to join the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs and join in the fight against an evil magician.

"When a mysterious child appears at the monastery of the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing, Brother Edik nurses her back to health, but when he uncovers her dangerous secret, she is sent away into the world with a goat and a boy"--BTCat.

For Indigenous People's Day, 12 students present on historical and contemporary issues related to Native Americans.

This graphic novel interweaves historical fiction and surreal adventure as Mei reimagines the tale of Paul Bunyan with a Chinese heroine to cope with ramifications of the Chinese Exclusion Act.

For centuries, accomplished women--of all races--have fallen out of the historical records. The same is true for gifted, prolific, women poets of the Harlem Renaissance who are little known, especially as compared to their male counterparts.

In this poetry collection, bestselling author Nikki Grimes uses "The Golden Shovel" poetic method to create wholly original poems based on the works of these groundbreaking women-and to introduce readers to their work.

"Presents a collection of stories from nations and cultures across two continents [North and South America], the Sea-Ringed World, as the Aztecs called it, from the edge of Argentina all the way up to Alaska"--OCLC.

A powerful look into the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, one of the worst racial attacks in American history.

"As World War II comes to a close, the United States and the Soviet Union emerge as the two greatest world powers on extreme opposites of the political spectrum. After the United States showed its hand with the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, the Soviets refuse to be left behind. With communism sweeping the globe, the two nations begin a neck-and-neck competition to build even more destructive bombs and conquer the Space Race. In their battle for dominance, spy planes fly above, armed submarines swim deep below, and undercover agents meet in the dead of night. The Cold War game grows more precarious as weapons are pointed towards each other, with fingers literally on the trigger. The decades-long showdown culminates in the Cuban Missile Crisis, the world's close call with the third-and final-world war"-- Provided by publisher.

Eugene Yelchin recounts growing up in Cold War Russia.

This graphic novel tells the story of a mother and son trapped between Canada and America because their Blackfoot citizenship is not recognized by border security.

This picture-book biography of Luz Jiménez explores her life and efforts to preserve the Nahua language and culture.

Sofia’s life and values change when she is affected by the injustices of 1970s New Zealand and learns about the Polynesian Panthers' fight for civil rights.

In this novel in verse set during the 1980s, Reha struggles with her cultural identity as an Indian American girl while coping with the realities of her mother’s leukemia.

When her Gullah Geechee family is threatened by racist policemen and supernatural entities, Jezebel embraces her cultural heritage to protect her family and herself.

Set in Ancient Greece, this epic novel in verse traces the converging journeys of two children, a slave and an aristocrat.

Sami loves his life in Damascus, Syria, but when war breaks out his parents decide they must flee their home for the safety of the UK.

Petra dreams of going to school and learning how to read. Instead, she must lead her grandmother and younger siblings to safety across the US border during the Mexican Revolution.

This young reader’s adaptation of Stamped explores the origin of racist ideas, their impact today, and how readers can work to practice antiracism.

Ellie’s struggles to find her voice and self-worth unfold in verse as she stands up to those who bully and fat-shame her.

This novel, based on the author’s childhood, chronicles 12-year-old Waka’s culture shock as she spends a summer in Japan with her grandmother to improve her Japanese language skills.

Upon seeing a ghostly figure slip out of his home, Kazu grows convinced it’s connected to an ancient temple and the sudden appearance of a mysterious new classmate.