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2020 Reading Beyond

2020-2021 list by librarians designed to recommend age-appropriate titles that will challenge advanced readers.

 
Ada Twist, Scientist

Ada Twist, Scientist

By: Andrea Beaty
Illustrated by:
David Roberts
ISBN: 9781419721373
Fiction, Science, , K-1 Grade
 
Anna Hibiscus

Anna Hibiscus

By: Atinuke
Illustrated by:
Lauren Tobia
ISBN: 9781610677073
Fiction, Picture Book, K-1 Grade
 
Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix

Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix

By: Jacqueline Briggs Martin and June Jo Lee
Illustrated by:
Man One
ISBN: 9780983661597
Fiction, Picture Book, K-1 Grade
 
Detective Gordon: The First Case

Detective Gordon

By: Ulf Nilsson
Illustrated by:
Gitte Spee
ISBN: 9781927271506
Fiction, Mystery / Thriller, K-1 Grade
 
Do Not Lick This Book

Do Not Lick This Book

By: Idan Ben-Barak
Illustrated by:
Julian Frost
ISBN: 9781250175366
Nonfiction, Science, K-1 Grade
 
Echo Echo: Reverso Poems about Greek Myths

Echo Echo

By: Marilyn Singer
Illustrated by:
Josée Masse
ISBN: 9780803739925
Fiction, Poetry, K-1 Grade
 
Firebird

Firebird

By: Misty Copeland
Illustrated by:
Christopher Myers
ISBN: 9780399166150
Fiction, Action / Adventure, K-1 Grade
 
Flora and Ulysses

Flora and Ulysses

By: Kate DiCamillo
Illustrated by:
K. G. Campbell
ISBN: 9780763660406
Fiction, Action / Adventure, K-1 Grade
 
I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark

I Dissent

By: Debbie Levy
Illustrated by:
Elizabeth Baddeley
ISBN: 9781481465595
Nonfiction, Biography, K-1 Grade
 
Insect Superpowers

Insect Superpowers

By: Kate Messner
Illustrated by:
Jillian Nickell
ISBN: 9781452139104
Nonfiction, Science, K-1 Grade
 
Mr. Wolf’s Class

Mr. Wolf’s Class

By: Aron Steinke
ISBN: 9781338047691
Fiction, Action / Adventure, K-1 Grade
 
National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry

National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry

By: J. Patrick Lewis
Illustrated by:
n/a
ISBN: 9781426320941
Nonfiction, Poetry, K-1 Grade
 
One Proud Penny

One Proud Penny

By: Randy Siegel
Illustrated by:
Serge Bloch
ISBN: 9781626722354
Nonfiction, History, K-1 Grade
 
Pugs of the Frozen North

Pugs of the Frozen North

By: Philip Reeve
Illustrated by:
Sarah McIntyre
ISBN: 9780385387972
Fiction, Action / Adventure, K-1 Grade
 
Sam Wu is Not Afraid of Ghosts

Sam Wu is Not Afraid of Ghosts

By: Katie Tsang, Kevin Tsang
Illustrated by:
Nathan Reed
ISBN: 9781454932550
Fiction, Action / Adventure, K-1 Grade
 
Snowman – Cold = Puddle

Snowman – Cold = Puddle

By: Laura Purdie Salas
Illustrated by:
Micha Archer
ISBN: 9781580897983
Nonfiction, Science, K-1 Grade
 
The Day the Universe Exploded My Head: Poems to Take You into Space and Back Again

The Day the Universe Exploded My Head

By: Allan Wolf
Illustrated by:
Anna Raff
ISBN: 9780763680251
Fiction, Science, K-1 Grade
 
The Princess in Black

The Princess in Black

By: Shannon and Dean Hale
Illustrated by:
LeUyen Pham
ISBN: 9780763665104
Fiction, Action / Adventure, K-1 Grade
 
The Roots of Rap: 16 Bars on the 4 Pillars of Hip-Hop

The Roots of Rap

By: Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrated by:
Frank Morrison
ISBN: 9781499804119
Nonfiction, Picture Book, K-1 Grade
 
The Stuff of Stars

The Stuff of Stars

By: Marion Bauer
Illustrated by:
Ekua Holmes
ISBN: 9780763678838
Nonfiction, Science, K-1 Grade
 
The Thing about Bees

The Thing about Bees

By: Shabazz Larkin
ISBN: 9780998047799
Nonfiction, Science, K-1 Grade
 
Trombone Shorty

Trombone Shorty

By: Troy Andrews
Illustrated by:
Bryan Collier
ISBN: 9781419714658
Nonfiction, Biography, K-1 Grade
 
Weekends with Max and His Dad

Weekends with Max and His Dad

By: Linda Urban
Illustrated by:
Katie Kath
ISBN: 9781328900197
Fiction, Action / Adventure, K-1 Grade
 
Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems

Wet Cement

By: Bob Raczka
ISBN: 9781626722361
Fiction, Poetry, K-1 Grade
 
Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions

Whoosh!

By: Chris Barton
Illustrated by:
Don Tate
ISBN: 9781580892971
Fiction, Biography, K-1 Grade
 
A Place to Belong

A Place to Belong

By: Cynthia Kadohata
Illustrated by:
Julia Kuo
ISBN: 9781481446655
Fiction, Historical Fiction, 2-3 Grade
 
Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart

Amelia Lost

By: Candace Fleming
ISBN: 9780593177846
Nonfiction, Biography, 2-3 Grade
 
Echo

Echo

By: Pam Muñoz Ryan
ISBN: 9780439874021
Fiction, Historical Fiction, 2-3 Grade
 
Genius!: The most astonishing inventions of all time

Genius!

By: Deborah Kespert
ISBN: 9780500650431
Nonfiction, Science, 2-3 Grade
 
Go for the Moon: A Rocket, a Boy, and the First Moon Landing

Go for the Moon

By: Chris Gall
ISBN: 9781250155795
Nonfiction, History, 2-3 Grade
 
Her Own Two Feet: A Rwandan Girl’s Brave Fight to Walk

Her Own Two Feet

By: Meredith Davis & Rebeka Uwitonze
ISBN: 9781338356373
Nonfiction, Biography, 2-3 Grade
 
Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond #1: The Serpent’s Secret

Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond #1

By: Sayantani DasGupta
ISBN: 9781338185706
Fiction, 7-12, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
 
Migrations: Open Hearts, Open Borders

Migrations

By: ICPBS (various authors)
Illustrated by:
various illustrators
ISBN: 9781536209617
Nonfiction, Novel, 2-3 Grade
 
Mountain Dog

Mountain Dog

By: Margarita Engle
Illustrated by:
Aleksey and Olga Ivanov
ISBN: 9781250044242
Fiction, 7-12, Animals
 
Random Body Parts: Gross Anatomy Riddles in Verse

Random Body Parts

By: Leslie Bulion
Illustrated by:
Mike Lowery
ISBN: 9781561457373
Nonfiction, Science, 2-3 Grade
 
Science Comics: Trees: Kings of the Forest

Science Comics

By: Andy Hirsch
ISBN: 9781250143105
Nonfiction, 7-12, Science
 
Secret Coders

Secret Coders

By: Gene Luen Yang
Illustrated by:
Mike Holmes
ISBN: 9781626720756
Fiction, Action / Adventure, 2-3 Grade
 
Smile

Smile

By: Raina Telgemeier
ISBN: 9780545132053
Fiction, Novel, 2-3 Grade
 
The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science

The Girl Who Drew Butterflies

By: Joyce Sidman
ISBN: 9780544717138
Nonfiction, Biography, 2-3 Grade
 
The One and Only Ivan

The One and Only Ivan

By: Katherine Applegate
Illustrated by:
Patricia Castelao
ISBN: 9780062641946
Nonfiction, Biography, 2-3 Grade
 
The Parker Inheritance

The Parker Inheritance

By: Varian Johnson
ISBN: 9780545946179
Fiction, Mystery / Thriller, 2-3 Grade
 
The Poetry of US

The Poetry of US

By: J. Patrick Lewis
ISBN: 9781426331855
Nonfiction, Poetry, 2-3 Grade
 
The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus

The Right Word

By: Jen Bryant
Illustrated by:
Melissa Sweet
ISBN: 9780802853851
Nonfiction, History, 2-3 Grade
 
The Way Things Work Now

The Way Things Work Now

By: David Macaulay
ISBN: 9780544824386
Nonfiction, Science, 2-3 Grade
 
The Wild Robot

The Wild Robot

By: Peter Brown
ISBN: 9780316382014
Fiction, 7-12, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
 
What Do You Do with a Voice Like That?

What Do You Do with a Voice Like That?

By: Chris Barton
Illustrated by:
Ekua Holmes
ISBN: 9781481465618
Nonfiction, Biography, 2-3 Grade
 
What Elephants Know

What Elephants Know

By: Eric Dinerstein
ISBN: 9781484746479
Fiction, Action / Adventure, 2-3 Grade
 
When the Sea Turned to Silver

When the Sea Turned to Silver

By: Grace Lin
Illustrated by:
Grace Lin
ISBN: 9780316125925
Fiction, Action / Adventure, 2-3 Grade
 
Wings of Fire (novel or graphic novel)

Wings of Fire (novel or graphic novel)

By: Tui Sutherland
Illustrated by:
Mike Holmes
ISBN: 9780545349185
Fiction, 7-12, Action / Adventure
 
Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World

Women in Science

By: Rachel Ignotofsky
ISBN: 9781607749769
Nonfiction, Biography, 2-3 Grade
 
Front Desk

Front Desk

By: Kelly Yang
ISBN: 9781338157796
Fiction, Novel, 4-5 Grade
 
Girl Rising: Changing the World One Girl at a Time

Girl Rising

By: Tanya Lee Stone
ISBN: 9780553511499
Nonfiction, Biography, 4-5 Grade
 
Gracefully Grayson

Gracefully Grayson

By: Ami Polonsky
ISBN: 9781423187929
Fiction, Novel, 4-5 Grade
 
Harbor Me

Harbor Me

By: Jacqueline Woodson
ISBN: 9780525515142
Fiction, Novel, 4-5 Grade
 
Hurricane Child

Hurricane Child

By: Kacen Callender
ISBN: 9781338129304
Fiction, Novel, 4-5 Grade
 
Illegal

Illegal

By: Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin
Illustrated by:
Giovanni Rigano
ISBN: 9781492662143
Fiction, Historical Fiction, 4-5 Grade
 
Internment

Internment

By: Samira Ahmed
ISBN: 9780316522663
Fiction, 7-12, Sci-Fi / Fantasy
 
Legends, Icons & Rebels: Music that Changed the World

Legends, Icons & Rebels

By: Robbie Robertson et al.
ISBN: 9781101918685
Nonfiction, Biography, 4-5 Grade
 
Lincoln’s Grave Robbers

Lincoln’s Grave Robbers

By: Steve Sheinkin
ISBN: 9780545405720
Nonfiction, Mystery / Thriller, 4-5 Grade
 
Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95

Moonbird

By: Phillip Hoose
ISBN: 9780374304683
Nonfiction, Science, 4-5 Grade
 
One Last Word

One Last Word

By: Nikki Grimes
ISBN: 9781681196022
Nonfiction, Poetry, 4-5 Grade
 
Pathfinders: The Journeys of 16 Extraordinary Black Souls

Pathfinders

By: Tonya Bolden
ISBN: 9781419714559
Nonfiction, History, 4-5 Grade
 
Refugee

Refugee

By: Alan Gratz
ISBN: 9780545880831
Fiction, Action / Adventure, 4-5 Grade
 
Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor’s Story

Sachiko

By: Caren Stelson
ISBN: 9781467789035
Nonfiction, History, 4-5 Grade
 
Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune

Samurai Rising

By: Pamela S. Turner
Illustrated by:
Gareth Hinds
ISBN: 9781580895842
Nonfiction, Biography, 4-5 Grade
 
The Best at It

The Best at It

By: Maulik Pancholy
ISBN: 9780062866417
Fiction, Novel, 4-5 Grade
 
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

By: William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
Illustrated by:
Anna Hymas
ISBN: 9781984816122
Nonfiction, 7-12, Biography / Memoir
 
The Bridge Home

The Bridge Home

By: Padma Venkatraman
ISBN: 9781524738136
Fiction, Action / Adventure, 4-5 Grade
 
The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog

The Inquisitor’s Tale

By: Adam Gidwitz
Illustrated by:
Hatem Aly
ISBN: 9780142427378
Fiction, Action / Adventure, 4-5 Grade
 
The Journey of Little Charlie

The Journey of Little Charlie

By: Christopher Paul Curtis
ISBN: 9780545156660
Fiction, Historical Fiction, 4-5 Grade
 
The Lightning Queen

The Lightning Queen

By: Laura Resau
ISBN: 9780545800846
Fiction, 7-12, Historical Fiction
 
The Night Diary

The Night Diary

By: Veera Hiranandani
ISBN: 9780735228528
Fiction, Historical Fiction, 4-5 Grade
 
The Watch that Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic

The Watch that Ends the Night

By: Allan Wolf
ISBN: 9780763663315
Nonfiction, History, 4-5 Grade
 
This Promise of Change:  One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality

This Promise of Change

By: Jo Ann Allen Boyce
Illustrated by:
Debbie Levy
ISBN: 9781681198521
Nonfiction, History, 4-5 Grade
 
We Will Not Be Silent

We Will Not Be Silent

By: Russell Freedman
ISBN: 9780544223790
Nonfiction, Biography, 4-5 Grade
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