Children's Staff Favorites

Recent immigrants from China and desperate for work and money, ten-year-old Mia Tang's parents take a job managing a rundown motel in Southern California, even though the owner, Mr. Yao is a nasty skinflint who exploits them; while her mother (who was an engineer in China) does the cleaning, Mia works the front desk and tries to cope with demanding customers and other recent immigrants--not to mention being only one of two Chinese in her fifth grade...

Irish orphans Molly, fourteen, and Kip, ten, travel to England to work as servants in a crumbling manor house where nothing is quite what it seems to be, and soon the siblings are confronted by a mysterious stranger and secrets of the cursed house.

Twelve-year-old Candice Miller is spending the summer in Lambert, South Carolina, in the old house that belonged to her grandmother, who died after being dismissed as city manager for having the city tennis courts dug up looking for buried treasure--but when she finds the letter that sent her grandmother on the treasure hunt, she finds herself caught up in the mystery and, with the help of her new friend and fellow book-worm, Brandon, she sets out...

Depending on an older sister who protected her when their mother went to prison and their mother’s boyfriend committed a terrible act, 10-year-old Della tries to figure out what to do when her older sister attempts suicide

Twelve-year-old Lilla wants to make everyone happy, so when her best friend Vivi dares her to start telling the truth as part of their Summer of Brave, Lilla hesitates because if she says out loud what she really wants, her whole life might crash down around her.

Eleven-year-old Joey navigates family, friendships, and her first crush, while looking for answers to why she feels so angry sometimes and by searching for the donor her moms chose.

"An illustrated picture book autobiography in which award-winning author Yuyi Morales tells her own immigration story"-- Provided by publisher.

While Milo and his sister travel to a detention center to visit their incarcerated mother, he observes strangers on the subway and draws what he imagines their lives to be.

"[Presents a] graphic novel about a girl who would rather do anything other than celebrate her quinceañera!"--Amazon.

Charlotte, twelve, and Ben, eleven, are highly-skilled competitors at online Scrabble and that connection helps both as they face family issues and the turmoil of middle school.