Rebecca Caudill Book List for 2021

Becoming Kareem by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar & Raymond Obstfeld
An autobiography about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his life growing up in New York, becoming the basketball star he’s known to be, and getting involved in the world around him as an activist for social change

This title is available in eBook format on Overdrive.

 

Small Spaces by Katherine Arden
After eleven-year-old Ollie’s school bus mysteriously breaks down on a field trip, she has to take a trip through scary woods, and must use all of her wits to survive. She must stick to small spaces.

This title is available in eAudiobook format and eBook format on Overdrive.

 

Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier
In nineteenth-century England, after her father’s disappearance Nan Sparrow, ten, works as a “climbing boy,” aiding chimney sweeps, but when her most treasured possessions end up in a fireplace, she unwittingly creates a golem.

This title is available in eBook format on hoopla and Overdrive.

 

Drum Roll, Please by Lisa Jenn Bigelow
Melly only joined the school band because her best friend, Olivia, begged her to. But to her surprise, quiet Melly loves playing the drums. It’s the only time she doesn’t feel like a mouse. Now she and Olivia are about to spend the next two weeks at Camp Rockaway, jamming under the stars in the Michigan woods. But this summer brings a lot of big changes for Melly: her parents split up, her best friend ditches her, and Melly finds herself unexpectedly falling for another girl at camp. To top it all off, Melly’s not sure she has what it takes to be a real rock n’ roll drummer. Will she be able to make music from all the noise in her heart?

This title is available in eBook format on Overdrive.

 

Twelve Days in May: Freedom Ride 1961 by Larry Dane Brimner
For twelve history-making days in May 1961, thirteen black and white civil rights activists, also known as the Freedom Riders, traveled by bus into the South to draw attention to the unconstitutional segregation still taking place. Despite their peaceful protests, the Freedom Riders were met with increasing violence the further south they traveled.

This title is available in eBook format on Overdrive.

 

Me, Frida, and the Secret of Peacock Ring by Angela Cervantes
When Lizzie and Gael share an irresistible challenge, to find the peacock ring that once belonged to artist Frida Kahlo, Paloma decides it is the perfect way to honor her father

This title is available in eBook format on Overdrive.

 

 

New Kid by Jerry Craft
After his parents send him to a prestigious private school known for its academics, Jordan Banks finds himself torn between two worlds.

This title is available in eAudiobook format and eBook format on hoopla & eBook format on Overdrive.

 

The Only Road by Alexandra Diaz
Twelve-year-old Jaime makes the treacherous journey from his home in Guatemala to his older brother in New Mexico after his cousin is murdered by a drug cartel.

This title is available in eAudiobook format on hoopla and eBook format on Overdrive.

 

 

The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
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 to find the inheritance, exonerate her grandmother, and expose an injustice once committed against an African American family in Lambert.

This title is available on eAudiobook format on hoopla and Overdrive & eBook format on Overdrive.

 

Stormy Seas: Stories of Young Boat Refugees by Mary Beth Leatherdale
A desperate last hope for safety and freedom. The plight of refugees risking their lives at sea has, unfortunately, made the headlines all too often in the past few years. This book presents five true stories, from 1939 to today, about young people who lived through the harrowing experience of setting sail in search of asylum: Ruth and her family board the St. Louis to escape Nazism; Phu sets out alone from war-torn Vietnam; José tries to reach the United States from Cuba; Najeeba fl es Afghanistan and the Taliban; and after losing his family, Mohamed abandons his village on the Ivory Coast in search of a new life.

This title is available in eBook format on hoopla.

 

Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh
Fourteen-year-old Ahmed, a Syrian refugee, and thirteen-year-old Max, an American boy, are bound by a secret that sets them on the adventure of a lifetime.

This title is available in eAudiobook format on hoopla and eBook format on Overdrive.

 

 

The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty
lightning strike made Lucy, twelve, a math genius but, after years of homeschooling, her grandmother enrolls her in middle school and she learns that life is more than numbers.

This title is available in eAudiobook format and eBook format on Overdrive.

 

 

Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielson
In 1942 sixteen-year-old Chaya Lindner is a Jewish girl living in Nazi-occupied Poland, a courier who smuggles food and documents to the isolated Jewish ghettos in southern Poland, depending on her forged papers and “Aryan” features–but when a mission goes wrong and many of her colleagues are arrested she finds herself on a journey to Warsaw, where an uprising is in the works.

This title is available in eBook format on Overdrive.

 

Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh
Harper doesn’t trust her new home from the moment she steps inside, and the rumors are that the Raine family’s new house is haunted. Harper isn’t sure she believes those rumors, until her younger brother, Michael, starts acting strangely. The whole atmosphere gives Harper a sense of déjà vu, but she can’t remember why. She knows that the memories she’s blocking will help make sense of her brother’s behavior and the strange and threatening sensations she feels in this house, but will she be able to put the pieces together in time?

This title is available in eAudiobook format on hoopla & eBook format on hoopla and Overdrive.

 

A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee
Twelve-year-old Shayla is allergic to trouble. All she wants to do is to follow the rules. But in junior high, it’s like all the rules have changed. Now she’s suddenly questioning who her best friends are and some people at school are saying she’s not black enough. After experiencing a powerful protest, though, Shay decides some rules are worth breaking. She starts wearing an armband to school in support of the Black Lives movement. Soon everyone is taking sides. And she is given an ultimatum. Shay is scared to do the wrong thing (and even more scared to do the right thing), but if she doesn’t face her fear, she’ll be forever tripping over the next hurdle. Now that’s trouble, for real.

This title is available in eAudiobook format on hoopla and eBook format on Overdrive.

 

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
As Will, fifteen, sets out to avenge his brother Shawn’s fatal shooting, seven ghosts who knew Shawn board the elevator and reveal truths Will needs to know.

This title is available in eAudiobook format and eBook format on Overdrive.

 

 

Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
Twelve-year-old Amal’s dream of becoming a teacher one day is dashed in an instant when she accidentally insults a member of her Pakistani village’s ruling family. As punishment for her behavior, she is forced to leave her heartbroken family behind and go work at their estate. Amal is distraught but has faced setbacks before. So she summons her courage and begins navigating the complex rules of life as a servant, with all its attendant jealousies and pecking-order woes. Most troubling, though, is Amal’s increasing awareness of the deadly measures the Khan family will go to in order to stay in control. It’s clear that their hold over her village will never loosen as long as everyone is too afraid to challenge them–so if Amal is to have any chance of ensuring her loved ones’ safety and winning back her freedom, she must find a way to work with the other servants to make it happen.

This title is available in eAudiobook format and eBook format on Overdrive.

 

Speechless by Adam P. Schmitt
If being stuffed into last year’s dress pants at his cousin Patrick’s wake weren’t uncomfortable enough, Jimmy is told by his mother that he has to give the eulogy at the funeral the next day. What could he possibly say? Patrick ruined everything they did, and Jimmy can’t recall one birthday party, family gathering, or school event with him that didn’t result in injury or destruction. With humor, heartfelt concern, and a good deal of angst, Jimmy racks his brain for a decent and meaningful memory to share while navigating the odd social norms of a wake. Then he realizes that sometimes it’s not the words spoken, but what is heard that truly matters.

This title is available in eBook format on Overdrive.

 

Nightbooks by J.A. White
Imprisoned by Natacha, a witch, in a New York apartment, Alex must tell her a new scary story every night in order to stay alive.

This title is available in eAudiobook format on hoopla and eBook format on Overdrive.

 

 

 

Front Desk by Kelly Yang
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 class, the other being Mr. Yao’s son, Jason.

This title is available in eAudiobook format and eBook format on Overdrive.