Books You May Have Missed 2022: Middle Grade

"Overground Railroad chronicles the history of the Green Book, which was published from 1936 to 1966 and was the "Black travel guide to America." For years, it was dangerous for African Americans to travel in the United States. Because of segregation, Black travelers couldn't eat, sleep, or even get gas at most white-owned businesses. The Green Book listed hotels, restaurants, department stores, gas stations, recreational destinations, and other businesses...

"From the New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award finalist, a biography in verse and prose of science fiction visionary Octavia Butler. Acclaimed novelist Ibi Zoboi illuminates the young life of the visionary storyteller Octavia E. Butler in poems and prose. Born into the Space Race, the Red Scare, and the dawning Civil Rights Movement, Butler expereinced an American childhood that shaped her into the groundbreaking science-fiction...

When his father is killed by rebel vigilantes, Noah flees with his family to Boston. Intent on avenging his father, Noah becomes a spy for the British and firsthand witness to the power of partisan rumor to distort facts, the hypocrisy of men who demand freedom while enslaving others, and the human connections that bind people together regardless of stated allegiances. Awash in contradictory information and participating in key events leading to the...

This picture book follows one color's journey throughout history--from ancient Afghan painters to 1905, when a chemical blue dye was created--and around the world, as it becomes the blue we know today.

". . . tells the story of French-born Catherine Leroy, one of the Vietnam War's few woman photographers, who documented some of the fiercest fighting in the twenty-year conflict. Despite being told that women didn't belong in a "man's world," she was cool under fire, gravitated toward the thickest battles, went along on the soldiers' slogs through the heat and mud of the jungle, crawled through rice paddies, and became the only official photojournalist...

Tells the story of painter and teacher Alma Thomas, discussing her childhood, teaching career and activism.

From Paleolithic loincloths to Henry VII's wives wearing underwear on their heads and beyond, this hilarious--and accurate--history of underwear (as comically modeled by chickens), tells the fascinating story of our most private clothing.

A long ago "accident." An isolated girl named Aviva. A community that wants to help, but doesn't know how. And a ghostly dybbuk, that no one but Aviva can see, causing mayhem and mischief that everyone blames on her. That is the setting for this suspenseful novel of a girl who seems to have lost everything, including her best friend Kayla, and a mother who was once vibrant and popular, but who now can't always get out of bed in the morning. As tensions...

"This is a story of a life-changing friendship, a lost puffin, and a lonely artist. It's the story of an entire lifetime, and how one event can change a life forever. From masterful storyteller, Michael Morpurgo, and world-class illustrator, Benji Davies, comes a magical new story. This truly beautiful tale will enchant readers of all ages."--

Much to their initial dismay, a twelve-year-old boy and girl discover they are destined to become knights of King Arthur's legendary Round Table, but first they must find and reforge Excalibur and break a curse that has weakened the magic of the Twenty-Five and a Half Realms.