You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?!

You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?! by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Andre Carrilho

In this picture book biography, an old-timer tells us what made Sandy Koufax so amazing. We learn that the beginning of his career with the Brooklyn Dodgers was rocky, that he was shy with his teammates, and experienced discrimination as one of the only Jews in the game. We hear that he actually quit, only to return the next season--different--firing one rocket after another over the plate. We watch him refuse to play in the 1965 World Series because it is a Jewish high holy day. And we see him in pain because of an overused left arm, eventually retiring at the peak of his career. Finally, we are told that people are still "scratchin' their heads over Sandy," who remains a modest hero and a mystery to this day.

Puppet

Puppet by Eva Wiseman
The year is 1882. A young servant girl named Esther disappears from a small Hungarian village. Several Jewish men from the village of Tisza Eszvar face the ‘blood libel’ — the centuries-old calumny that Jews murder Christian children for their blood. A fourteen-year-old Jewish boy named Morris Scharf becomes the star witness of corrupt authorities who coerce him into testifying against his fellow Jews, including his own father, at the trial.

Girls Against Girls: Why We Are Mean to Each Other and How We Can Change

Girls Against Girls: Why We Are Mean to Each Other and How We Can Change by Bonnie Burton
This guide for teenage girls explains why girls can sometimes be mean to each other, what to do if you are a victim of bullying, and the importance of treating other girls with respect.

Top of the Order

Top of the Order by John Coy
Ten-year-old Jackson lives for baseball, but becomes distracted by the approach of middle school, his mother's latest boyfriend, and the presence of a girl--his good friend's sister--on his team. Read more about John Coy and his books here.

The September Sisters

The September Sisters by Jillian Cantor
Abigail Reed and her younger sister, Becky, are always at each other's throats. Their mother calls them the September Sisters, because their birthdays are only a day apart, and pretends that they're best friends. But really, they delight in making each other miserable. Then Becky disappears in the middle of the night, and a torn gold chain with a sapphire heart charm is the only clue to the mystery of her kidnapping.

Same Difference

Same Difference by Siobhan Vivian
Feeling left out since her long-time best friend started a serious relationship, sixteen-year-old Emily looks forward to a summer program at the Philadelphia College of Art but is not sure she is up to the challenges to be faced there, including finding herself and learning to balance life and art.

Baseball Great

Baseball Great by Tim Green
All twelve-year-old Josh wants to do is play baseball but when his father, a minor league pitcher, signs him up for a youth championship team, Josh finds himself embroiled in a situation with potentially illegal consequences.

Young Samurai: The Way of the Warrior

Young Samurai: The Way of the Warrior by Chris Bradford
Orphaned by a ninja pirate attack off the coast of Japan in 1611, twelve-year-old English lad Jack Fletcher is determined to prove himself, despite the bullying of fellow students, when the legendary sword master who rescued him begins training him as a samurai warrior.

Sunny Side Up

Sunny Side Up by Marion Roberts
As the hot Australian summer draws to an end, eleven-year-old Sunny, content to be an only child with amicably divorced parents, finds her life getting much too complicated when her mother's boyfriend moves in with his two children, her best friend begins to develop an interest in boys, and she is contacted by her long-estranged grandmother.

The Genie Scheme

The Genie Scheme by Kimberly K. Jones
When twelve-year-old Janna, who lives in a small house with her single mother, helps a homeless woman who turns out to be a genie, she discovers how interconnected the world really is.

The Bearskinner: A Tale of the Brothers Grimm

The Bearskinner: A Tale of the Brothers Grimm by retold by Laura Amy Schlitz illustrated by Max Grafe
A retelling of the Grimm fairy tale in which a despondent soldier makes a pact to do the devil's bidding for seven years in return for as much money and property as he could ever want.

A Finder's Magic

A Finder's Magic by Philippa Pearce, Helen Craig (Illustrator)
After a mysterious stranger offers to help Till find his dog, they embark on a magical quest, interviewing various witnesses including a heron, a mole, a riddling cat, and Miss Mousey, whose sketch of a peaceful riverbank offers a vital clue. Read this short essay by Frank Cottrell Boyce in the Guardian about Pearce's final book. He says that this, her final book, is a moving farewell to fiction, family and life.

The Brooklyn Nine: A Novel in Nine Innings

The Brooklyn Nine: A Novel in Nine Innings by Alan Gratz
Follows the fortunes of a German immigrant family through nine generations, beginning in 1845, as they experience American life and play baseball.
"...He looked for it again now and there it was, all around him. The kind of day where a little dirt on his hands felt good, where the high blue sky was just right for catching fly balls, where grounders always bounced into his outstretched glove. It had been that way all along, but it hadn't belonged to him or to anybody else. It was baseball's day..."/Eighth Inning: The Perfectionist, page 262

The Roar

The Roar by Emma Clayton

In an overpopulated world where all signs of nature have been obliterated and a wall has been erected to keep out plague-ridden animals, twelve-year-old Mika refuses to believe that his twin sister was killed after being abducted, and continues to search for her in spite of the dangers he faces in doing so.

Flight Volume Six

Flight Volume Six by Kazu Kibuishi

Flight is a full-color anthology of short stories by some of the hottest creators in the field. The artists range from top animators working at Pixar and other major studios, to emerging web cartoonists and established comic book and graphic novel creators. Each contributor's story in the anthology represents a labor of love, and that fact shines through in the overall quality of the anthology. It's no wonder Flight has ascended so rapidly, developing such a rabid following.

The Carbon Diaries 2015

The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd
In 2015, when England becomes the first nation to introduce carbon dioxide rationing in a drastic bid to combat climate change, sixteen-year-old Laura documents the first year of rationing as her family spirals out of control.

Serendipity Market

Serendipity Market by Penny Blubaugh
When the world begins to seem unbalanced, Mama Inez calls ten storytellers to the Serendipity Market and, through the power of their magical tales, the balance of the world is corrected once again.

Lucky Breaks

Lucky Breaks by Susan Patron, Matt Phelan (Illustrator)
Having reached the mature age of eleven in the tiny California town of Hard Pan (population 43), Lucky discovers that there is still much to learn about friendship, parental trust, and the Milky Way galaxy. "...we humans look up and see what we call stars, but really they are just bits of the immense light from beyond, shining through the jagged holes...If someone lifted that domed lid, the light would be so intense and so beautiful that all the people looking up would lie down on their backs, tears pouring out of their eyes, and die..."

The Girl Who Threw Butterflies

The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Mick Cochrane
Eighth-grader Molly's ability to throw a knuckleball earns her a spot on the baseball team, which not only helps her feel connected to her recently deceased father, who loved baseball, it helps in other aspects of her life, as well. Visit the author's website here.

All the Wrong People Have Self-Esteem: An Inappropriate Book for Young Ladies (Or, Frankly, Anybody Else)

All the Wrong People Have Self-Esteem: An Inappropriate Book for Young Ladies (Or, Frankly, Anybody Else) written and illustrated by Laurie Rosenwald
Here’s a look at life from artist and professional nonconformist Laurie Rosenwald, who insists that she doesn’t want to tell anyone what to do. But when you are as irreverent as she is people sort of DO want to know what you think. All the Wrong People Have Self Esteem is for young women and, frankly anyone else, who asks good questions about life and then likes to laugh at the answers.