Below are the 15 books nominated for this year's award, organized by genre.
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The Mona Lisa Vanishes
by
"The tale of a stunning art heist with a contagious love of stranger-than-fiction true stories!"--Steve Sheinkin, Newbery Honor-winning author of Bomb The true story of how Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece became the most famous painting in the world after being stolen from the Louvre, written as a "witty thriller" (The New York Times) and featuring black-and-white illustrations throughout. SIBERT MEDAL WINNER * BOSTON GLOBE--HORN BOOK AWARD WINNER * ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, NPR, The New York Public Library, The Chicago Public Library, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books On a hot August day in Paris, just over a century ago, a desperate guard burst into the office of the director of the Louvre and shouted, La Joconde, c'est partie! The Mona Lisa, she's gone! No one knew who was behind the heist. Was it an international gang of thieves? Was it an art-hungry American millionaire? Was it the young Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, who was about to remake the very art of painting? Travel back to an extraordinary period of revolutionary change: turn-of-the-century Paris. Walk its backstreets. Meet the infamous thieves--and detectives--of the era. And then slip back further in time and follow Leonardo da Vinci, painter of the Mona Lisa, through his dazzling, wondrously weird life. Discover the secret at the heart of the Mona Lisa--the most famous painting in the world should never have existed at all.
The First State of Being
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WINNER OF THE NEWBERY MEDAL A FINALIST FOR THE 2024 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER INDIE BESTSELLER Chicago Public Library Best Fiction for Older Readers of 2024 Shelf Awareness Best Books of 2024 for Kids and Teens BookPage Best Middle Grade of 2024 Common Sense Media Best Books of 2024 2025 Excellence in Children's and Young Adult Science Fiction Notable List When twelve-year-old Michael Rosario meets a mysterious boy from the future, his life is changed forever. From bestselling author Erin Entrada Kelly, also the winner of the Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe and a Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space, this novel explores themes of family, friendship, trust, and forgiveness. The First State of Being is for fans of Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me. It's August 1999. For twelve-year-old Michael Rosario, life at Fox Run Apartments in Red Knot, Delaware, is as ordinary as ever--except for the looming Y2K crisis and his overwhelming crush on his sixteen-year-old babysitter, Gibby. But when a disoriented teenage boy named Ridge appears out of nowhere, Michael discovers there is more to life than stockpiling supplies and pining over Gibby. It turns out that Ridge is carefree, confident, and bold, things Michael wishes he could be. Unlike Michael, however, Ridge isn't where he belongs. When Ridge reveals that he's the world's first time traveler, Michael and Gibby are stunned but curious. As Ridge immerses himself in 1999--fascinated by microwaves, basketballs, and malls--Michael discovers that his new friend has a book that outlines the events of the next twenty years, and his curiosity morphs into something else: focused determination. Michael wants--no, needs--to get his hands on that book. How else can he prepare for the future? But how far is he willing to go to get it? A story of time travel, friendship, found family, and first loves, this thematically rich novel is distinguished by its voice, character development, setting, and exploration of the issues that resonate with middle grade readers. Finalist for the National Book Award and Winner of the Newbery Medal.
A Rover's Story
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#1 New York Times bestseller * Best Book of the Year from The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, New York Public Library, Chicago Public Library The One and Only Ivan meets The Wild Robot in this unique and deeply moving middle grade novel about the journey of a fictional Mars rover, from the Newbery Honor-winning author of Other Words for Home. Meet Resilience, a Mars rover determined to live up to his name. Res was built to explore Mars. He was not built to have human emotions. But as he learns new things from the NASA scientists who assemble him, he begins to develop humanlike feelings. Maybe there's a problem with his programming.... Human emotions or not, launch day comes, and Res blasts off to Mars, accompanied by a friendly drone helicopter named Fly. But Res quickly discovers that Mars is a dangerous place filled with dust storms and giant cliffs. As he navigates Mars's difficult landscape, Res is tested in ways that go beyond space exploration. As millions of people back on Earth follow his progress, will Res have the determination, courage, and resilience to succeed...and survive?
Parachute Kids: a Graphic Novel
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ABA Indie BestsellerNational Book Award Longlist TitleAsian/Pacific American Award Honor Book4 Starred Reviews This funny, fast-paced, and heartrending story about three siblings living on their own as undocumented new immigrants is perfect for fans of New Kid and Front Desk. A DREAM TRIP TO AMERICA TURNS INTO A NIGHTMARE! Feng-Li can't wait to discover America with her family! But after an action-packed vacation, her parents deliver shocking news: They are returning to Taiwan and leaving Feng-Li and her older siblings in California on their own. Suddenly, the three kids must fend for themselves in a strange new world--and get along. Starting a new school, learning a new language, and trying to make new friends while managing a household is hard enough, but Bro and Sis's constant bickering makes everything worse. Thankfully, there are some hilarious moments to balance the stress and loneliness. But as tensions escalate--and all three kids get tangled in a web of bad choices--can Feng-Li keep her family together?
The Liars Society
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A New York Times and USA Today bestselling series! The Inheritance Games and One of Us is Lying for middle grade -- beloved author Alyson Gerber's new series is an unforgettable mystery featuring a secret society, a mysterious island, and dangerous family secrets. Weatherby is a fish out of water. When she lands a scholarship to the prestigious Boston School, she's excited to be in the same world as her dad, whom she's never met, and make real friends. But Weatherby has a secret she'll risk everything to protect, one that could destroy her new life. Every member of Jack's wealthy and privileged family has made their mark at the Boston School. Everyone, that is, except for Jack, who is entirely mediocre. He's desperate to prove his worth to his influential father. But Jack has a secret of his own . . . one with the power to ruin everything. When the money for their school trip to a private island--exclusive to Boston students--is stolen, Jack and Weatherby are invited to play a high-stakes game and solve the mystery of the missing money. If they win, they'll be selected to join the oldest, most powerful secret society in the world--and they'll be Boston royalty forever. If they lose . . . well, they better not lose. Beloved author Alyson Gerber crafts an unforgettable mystery that asks--are some secrets and lies impossible to overcome?
And Then, Boom!
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A gripping new novel in verse by the author of the Printz Honor-winning Starfish, featuring a poverty-stricken boy who bravely rides out all the storms life keeps throwing at him Joe Oak is used to living on unsteady ground. His mom can't be depended on as she never stays around long once she gets "the itch," and now he and his beloved grandmother find themselves without a home. Fortunately, Joe has an outlet in his journals and drawings and takes comfort from the lessons of comic books-superheroes have a lot of "and then, boom" moments, where everything threatens to go bust but somehow they land on their feet. And that seems to happen a lot to Joe too, as in this crisis his friend Nick helps them find a home in his trailer park. But things fall apart again when Joe is suddenly left to fend for himself. He doesn't tell anyone he's on his own, as he fears foster care and has hope his mom will come back. But time is running out-bills are piling up, the electricity's been shut off, and the school year's about to end, meaning no more free meals. The struggle to feed himself gets intense, and Joe finds himself dumpster diving for meals. He's never felt so alone-until an emaciated little dog and her two tiny pups cross his path. And fate has even more in store for Joe, because an actual tornado is about to hit home-and just when it seems all is lost, his life turns in a direction that he never could have predicted.
Farther Than the Moon
by
From award-winning author Lindsay Lackey comes Farther Than the Moon, a heartfelt story about a boy who wants to become an astronaut, but wonders if his dreams can include his brother with disabilities, perfect for fans of We Dream of Space and Song for a Whale. All thirteen-year-old Houston Stewart has ever wanted is to become an astronaut. His dreams feel like they're finally coming true when he's accepted to the highly-competitive Junior Astronaut Recruitment Program - if only he could bring his little brother, Robbie, with him. Ever since their dad left, Houston and Robbie have been inseparable. It's hard to tell where Houston's love of space ends and where Robbie's begins. But Robbie's cerebral palsy and epilepsy mean he needs medical attention at home, so Houston must take this giant leap for the two of them all on his own. At camp, Houston is quickly drawn into the orbit of new friends, cosmic adventures, and a long-lost grandfather. But as Houston struggles to meet the program's rigorous demands, he's forced to reckon with the truth that Robbie may never be able to visit space like the brothers have always hoped. But Houston is determined to honor Robbie's dream, even if it seems like an impossible mission. So, like a good astronaut, he dares to make a new plan -- one that shoots for the stars. Called "a remarkable and heartfelt story that is as fun and gripping as it is profoundly moving" by #1 New York Times-bestselling author Dan Gemeinhart, this is a captivating read for aspiring astronauts and scientists, and a perfect holiday gift.
The Labors of Hercules Beal
by
From award-winning author Gary D. Schmidt, a warm and witty novel in the tradition of The Wednesday Wars, in which a seventh grader has to figure out how to fulfill a seemingly impossible school assignment--and learns about friendship, community, and himself along the way. Herc Beal knows who he's named after--a mythical hero--but he's no superhero. He's the smallest kid in his class. So when his homeroom teacher at his new middle school gives him the assignment of duplicating the mythical Hercules's amazing feats in real life, he's skeptical. After all, there are no Nemean Lions on Cape Cod--and not a single Hydra in sight. Missing his parents terribly and wishing his older brother wasn't working all the time, Herc figures out how to take his first steps along the road that the great Hercules himself once walked. Soon, new friends, human and animal, are helping him. And though his mythical role model performed his twelve labors by himself, Herc begins to see that he may not have to go it alone.
The Secret Battle of Evan Pao
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Middle school can be a battlefield... From award-winning author Wendy Wan-Long Shang comes a poignant and timely take on prejudice, bullying, and claiming our own histories, perfect for fans of Front Desk. A fresh start. That's all Evan Pao wants as he, along with his mother and sister, flee from California to Haddington, Virginia, hoping to keep his father's notoriety a secret. But Haddington is a southern town steeped in tradition, and moving to a town immersed in the past has its own price. Although Evan quickly makes friends, one boy, Brady Griggs, seems determined to make sure that as a Chinese American, Evan feels that he does not belong. When Evan finds a unique way to make himself part of the school's annual Civil War celebration, the reaction is swift and violent. As all of his choices at home and at school collide, Evan must decide whether he will react with the same cruelty shown to him, or choose a different path. Wendy Wan-Long Shang, the critically acclaimed author of Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association Award for Children's Literature winner The Great Wall of Lucy Wu, weaves a timely and deeply moving portrait of all the secret battles Evan Pao must fight as he struggles to figure out how he fits into this country's past and how he will shape its future.
Kyra, Just for Today
by
Named one of the Best Books of 2024 by Kirkus! From award-winning author Sara Zarr comes a gorgeously crafted and deeply personal story about a young girl, her alcoholic mother, and the hope that ties them together. Krya has always felt like she's a bit too much. Too tall. Too loud. Too earnest. But she's okay with that, because she's got her mom. Ever since Mom got sober about five years ago, she and Kyra have always been there for each other--something Kyra is thankful for every week when she attends her group meetings with other kids of alcoholics. When Mom is managing her cleaning business and Kyra is taking care of things at home, maybe, she thinks, she's not too much. Maybe, she's just enough. Then seventh grade starts, and everything Kyra used to be able to count on feels unsure. Kyra's best friend, Lu, is hanging out with eighth graders, and Mom is unusually distant. When Mom starts missing work, sleeping in, and forgetting things, Kyra doesn't dare say "relapse." But soon not saying that word means not saying anything at all--to Lu or to her support group. And when Kyra suspects that her worst fears might be real, she starts to question whether being just enough is not enough at all. With sensitivity and candor, acclaimed author Sara Zarr tells a heartfelt, personal story about finding hope in even the most difficult places, and love in even the most complicated relationships.
Nic Blake and the Remarkables: the Manifestor Prophecy
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Instant #1 New York Times bestseller! Internationally bestselling superstar author Angie Thomas makes her middle grade debut with the launch of an inventive, hilarious, and suspenseful new contemporary fantasy trilogy inspired by African American history and folklore. It's not easy being a Remarkable in the Unremarkable world. Some things are cool--like getting a pet hellhound for your twelfth birthday. Others, not so much--like not being trusted to learn magic because you might use it to take revenge on an annoying neighbor. All Nic Blake wants is to be a powerful Manifestor like her dad. But before she has a chance to convince him to teach her the gift, a series of shocking revelations and terrifying events launch Nic and two friends on a hunt for a powerful magic tool she's never heard of...to save her father from imprisonment for a crime she refuses to believe he committed.
Olivetti
by
The heartfelt national bestseller novel praised by Tom Hanks in the New York Times as "a great favor" to readers; perfect for fans of Kate DiCamillo and Peter Brown. "Perfect for young readers and nostalgic grownups alike."--Maria Shriver's Sunday Paper, summer reading recommendations Being a typewriter is not as easy as it looks. Surrounded by books (notorious attention hogs) and recently replaced by a computer, Olivetti has been forgotten by the Brindle family--the family he's lived with for years. The Brindles are busy humans, apart from 12-year-old Ernest, who would rather be left alone with his collection of Oxford English Dictionaries. The least they could do was remember Olivetti once in a while, since he remembers every word they've typed on him. It's a thankless job, keeping memories alive. Olivetti gets a rare glimpse of action from Ernest's mom, Beatrice--his used-to-be most frequent visitor--only for her to drop him off at Heartland Pawn Shop and leave him helplessly behind. When Olivetti learns Beatrice has mysteriously gone missing afterward, he believes he can help find her. He breaks the only rule of the "typewriterly code" and types back to Ernest, divulging Beatrice's memories stored inside him. Their search takes them across San Francisco--chasing clues, maybe committing a few misdemeanors. As Olivetti spills out the past, Ernest is forced to face what he and his family have been running from, The Everything That Happened. Only by working together will they find Beatrice, belonging, and the parts of themselves they've lost.
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The Lost Year
by
*A National Book Award Finalist* From the author of Nowhere Boy - called "a resistance novel for our times" by The New York Times - comes a brilliant middle-grade survival story that traces a harrowing family secret back to the Holodomor, a terrible famine that devastated Soviet Ukraine in the 1930s. Thirteen-year-old Matthew is miserable. His journalist dad is stuck overseas indefinitely, and his mom has moved in his one-hundred-year-old great-grandmother to ride out the pandemic, adding to his stress and isolation. But when Matthew finds a tattered black-and-white photo in his great-grandmother's belongings, he discovers a clue to a hidden chapter of her past, one that will lead to a life-shattering family secret. Set in alternating timelines that connect the present-day to the 1930s and the US to the USSR, Katherine Marsh's latest novel sheds fresh light on the Holodomor - the horrific famine that killed millions of Ukrainians, and which the Soviet government covered up for decades. An incredibly timely, page-turning story of family, survival, and sacrifice, inspired by Marsh's own family history, The Lost Year is perfect for fans of Ruta Sepetys' Between Shades of Gray and Alan Gratz's Refugee. Lexile 710 L.
The Night War
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From the two-time Newbery Honor-winning author of The War That Saved My Life and Fighting Words comes a middle grade novel set at the border between freedom and fear in World War II France, at the Chateau de Chenonceau, where a Jewish girl who has lost everything but her life must decide whether to risk even that to bring others to freedom. "We don't choose how we feel, but we choose how we act." It's 1942. German Nazis occupy much of France. And twelve-year-old Miriam, who is Jewish, is not safe. With help and quick thinking, Miri is saved from the roundup that takes her entire Jewish neighborhood. She escapes Paris, landing in a small French village, where the spires of the famous Chateau de Chenonceau rise high into the sky, its bridge across the River Cher like a promise, a fairy tale. But Miri's life is no fairy tale. Her parents are gone--maybe alive, maybe not. Taken in at the boarding school near the chateau, pretending to be Catholic to escape Nazi capture, Miri volunteers one night to undertake a deadly task, one that spans the castle grounds, its bridge, and the very border to freedom. Here is her chance to escape--hopefully to find her parents. But will she take it? One thing is certain: The person Miri meets that night will save her life. And the person Miri becomes that night could save the lives of many more. In her return to the era of The War that Saved My Life and The War I Finally Won, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley brings a new and different story, one with a mystical twist, that explores a little-known slice of World War II history, a highly unusual friendship, and the power of choosing courage even when--especially when--there are no good choices to be had. * Map and detailed author's note included. * "Compelling [with] a hint of magic [that] becomes as satisfying as the whole of this fine novel." --Booklist "Historical fiction at its finest. [A] masterpiece . . . Readers will be wholeheartedly rewarded." --SLJ (starred review) "Poignant . . . A gripping, humane tale." --Kirkus (starred review) "A thrilling plot [and] thought-provoking read." --Common Sense Media (a Common Sense Selection) "Fast-paced, suspenseful, and heart-wrenching. . . . Highly recommended." --Historical Novel Society "A deeply sympathetic character facing increasingly dangerous and suspenseful circumstances." --PW "Engaging [and] imaginative [with] emotional weight and contemporary appeal." --The Horn Book "A must-read." --YA and Kids Books Central
Fast Pitch
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From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nic Stone comes a challenging and heartwarming coming-of-age story about a softball player looking to prove herself on and off the field. Shenice Lockwood, captain of the Fulton Firebirds, is hyper-focused when she steps up to the plate. Nothing can stop her from leading her team to the U12 fast-pitch softball regional championship. But life has thrown some curveballs her way. Strike one: As the sole team of all-brown faces, Shenice and the Firebirds have to work twice as hard to prove that Black girls belong at bat. Strike two: Shenice's focus gets shaken when her great-uncle Jack reveals that a career-ending--and family-name-ruining--crime may have been a setup. Strike three: Broken focus means mistakes on the field. And Shenice's teammates are beginning to wonder if she's captain-qualified. It's up to Shenice to discover the truth about her family's past--and fast--before secrets take the Firebirds out of the game forever.
To access the Mountain Laurel Book Award Program on Schoology, use the appropriate code for your grade. Remember to use the code to join a GROUP, not a course.
6th Grade: D9CT2-MDF4J
7th Grade: 5FMSJ-TT4G8
8th Grade: RKS2Q-P6HZ6
Use "Resources" on the left side menu to find the forms after you read each book.
