This collection of books highlights the many ways young people navigate school, friendship, challenges, and self-discovery. From Emily’s cupcake adventures and Mindy Kim’s creative snack business to Frankie Sparks’ inventive ideas for a class pet, readers see how kids use teamwork, creativity, and persistence to solve problems. Stories like Very Bad at Math and Dive explore deeper struggles with learning differences and pressures, showing that success looks different for everyone and that resilience matters most. Heartwarming tales such as The One and Only Ivan and Isadora Moon Goes to School encourage empathy, embracing uniqueness, and finding your place in the world.

Even the more imaginative and adventurous titles like The School Is Alive! and The Berenstain Bears Go Back to School remind readers that school can be full of surprises, excitement, and lessons that go beyond the classroom. Altogether, these stories celebrate perseverance, creativity, and the courage to be yourself, making them perfect for inspiring both young readers and the adults who guide them.

Emily’s Cupcake Chaos

Emily and her friends cater a school dance in this fifth book in the Cupcake Diaries: The New Batch chapter book series, the little sister series to the bestselling Cupcake Diaries. Includes black and white illustrations throughout and eye-catching glitter on the cover!

Emily can’t believe it when her older sister, Katie, asks the Mini Cupcake Club to bake cupcakes for the school dance. Emily really wants to impress Katie and make her proud. She tells the Mini Cupcake Club their cupcakes have to be absolutely perfect. But as soon as she says that, things start to go wrong. Can Emily save the day—and her cupcakes?

Fresh off the Boat

Fresh Off the Boat meets Junie B. Jones in this first novel in an adorable new chapter book series about Mindy Kim, a young Asian American girl who is starting a snack business!

Mindy Kim just wants three things:
1. A puppy!
2. To fit in at her new school
3. For her dad to be happy again

But, getting all three of the things on her list is a lot trickier than she thought it would be. On her first day of school, Mindy’s school snack of dried seaweed isn’t exactly popular at the lunch table. Luckily, her new friend, Sally, makes the snacks seem totally delicious to Mindy’s new classmates, so they decide to start the Yummy Seaweed Business to try and raise money for that puppy!

When another student decides to try and sabotage their business, Mindy loses more than she bargained for—and wonders if she’ll ever fit in. Will Mindy be able to overcome her uncertainty and find the courage to be herself?

Frankie and Sparks and the Class Pet

Ivy and Bean meets Aliens in my Pocket in this start to a brand-new chapter book series about Frankie Sparks, a third grader who uses her love for science and math to help her solve problems she comes across in her daily life.

The best thing EVER is happening in Frankie Sparks’s third grade class: They are getting a class pet! Their teacher, Miss Cupid, tells them they will vote on their pet, but it has to meet some “parameters.” Their pet must:

1. Fit in aquarium.
2. Cost less than $50.
3. Be easily portable.
4. Be able to be left alone for the weekend.

Frankie thinks that a rat—just like the rats in her beloved Aunt Gina’s lab—would be the perfect fit. But her best friend, Maya, doesn’t think a rat would be great at all. They are kind of gross and not as cool as a hermit crab, which is Maya’s top choice. Using her special workshop, can Frankie find a way to convince her teacher and her best friend that Team Rat is the way to go?

The Berenstain Bears Go Back to School

On the first day of the school year, Brother and Sister Bear are nervous and excited. But with tons of new stuff to learn and explore, by the closing bell they can hardly wait for day two! There’s something for everyone in this quintessential back-to-school book from Stan, Jan, and Mike Berenstain.

The One and Only Ivan

This unforgettable novel from renowned author Katherine Applegate celebrates the transformative power of unexpected friendship. Inspired by the true story of a captive gorilla known as Ivan, this illustrated book is told from the point of view of Ivan himself. 

Having spent twenty-seven years behind the glass walls of his enclosure in a shopping mall, Ivan has grown accustomed to humans watching him. He hardly ever thinks about his life in the jungle. Instead, Ivan occupies himself with television, his friends Stella and Bob, and painting. But when he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from the wild, he is forced to see their home, and his art, through new eyes.

In the tradition of timeless stories like Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little, Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create an unforgettable story of friendship, art, and hope.

The One and Only Ivan features first-person narrative; author’s use of literary devices (personification, imagery); and story elements (plot, character development, perspective).

This acclaimed middle grade novel is an excellent choice for tween readers in grades 5 to 8, for independent reading, homeschooling, and sharing in the classroom.

Plus don’t miss The One and Only Bob, Katherine Applegate’s return to the world of Ivan, Bob, and Ruby!

Dive

From the beloved author of Posted comes a powerful, poignant, and unexpected coming-of-age story about the rules in life that box us in—and the determination it takes to break out.

From the moment Kassandra Conner leaps from the diving board to the moment she hits the water, everything feels in control.

The rest of her life does not.

St. Lawrence Academy is supposed to have everything Kass’s old school didn’t: safe hallways, small classes, and, most important, a chance to dive. But since transferring, all Kass can think about is what’s missing. Like her best friend, Aleah, who’s starting to pull away. Or the comfortable life so many of her classmates enjoy while Kass’s family’s restaurant struggles to stay afloat. Even the excitement she always felt in the pool, now that she’s on the same team as Amber Moore—the best diver in the state, who’s barely said two words to her all year.

Kass feels like she’s drowning, until she meets a boy named Miles. He’s a diver, too—someone who searches through dumpsters in the posh side of town for things he can salvage or sell. Miles knows what it’s like to be boxed in by things you can’t control, and as Kass spends more and more time with him, she starts to wonder what would happen if she tried to break out of her own box—and what she might lose by doing so.

Very Bad at Math

From New York Times bestselling and Eisner Award–winning author Hope Larson comes a middle grade graphic novel full of hijinks, unexpected friendships, and pizza, perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Kayla Miller.

Verity “Very” Nelson can do it all.

She’s student body president, debate club whiz, and first chair clarinetist. You could say she’s pretty much the best at everything…Well, almost everything. Everything except math.

And it’s not like she doesn’t try. Math just doesn’t make sense in her brain. But it better start soon, or else she can kiss her presidency—and her campaign promises—goodbye. Soon Verity finds herself enrolled in a remedial math class where, despite her best efforts, failure persists. All seems lost until a teacher helps her discover the truth: Verity has dyscalculia, a learning disability that causes her to mix up numbers.

Armed with a new diagnosis and improved grades, Verity is confident her math struggles will remain secret. But when a gossipy podcaster dismantles her perfect image, Verity must choose: remain part of a broken system or fight to fix it.

Isadora Moon Goes to School (Isadora Moon Series #1)
Read the enchanting books that inspired the new animated series! Isadora Moon is half-fairy, half-vampire, and totally unique!

Isadora Moon loves sunshine—and nighttime. She loves her magic wand—and her black tutu. She loves spooky bats—and Pink Rabbit. Isadora is half-fairy, half-vampire, and she’s special because she is different!

Now Isadora’s parents want her to start school, but she’s not sure where she belongs—fairy school or vampire school?

The School Is Alive! (Eerie Elementary Series #1)

Eerie Elementary is one scary school!This series is part of Scholastic’s early chapter book line called Branches, which is aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!In this first book in the series, Sam Graves discovers that his elementary school is ALIVE! Sam finds this out on his first day as the school hall monitor. Sam must defend himself and his fellow students against the evil school! Is Sam up to the challenge? He’ll find out soon enough: the class play is just around the corner. Sam teams up with friends Lucy and Antonio to stop this scary school before it’s too late!

Chronciles of a Lizard Nobody

From the best-selling author of A Monster Calls, this funny, wise middle-grade series explodesevery stereotype—including what it means to be a hero—in a brilliant reptilian take on surviving school.

When Principal Wombat makes monitor lizards Zeke, Daniel, and Alicia hall monitors, Zeke gives up on popularity at his new school. Brought in as part of a district blending program, the monitor lizards were mostly ignored before. Reptiles aren’t bullied any more than other students, but they do stick out among zebras, ostriches, and elk. Why would Principal Wombat make them hall monitors? Alicia explains that it’s because mammals are afraid of being yelled (hissed) at by reptiles. The principal’s just a good general, deploying her resources. Zeke balks, until he gets on the wrong side of Pelicarnassus. More than a bully, the pelican is a famed international supervillain—at least when his mother isn’t looking. Maybe the halls are a war zone, and the school needs a hero. Too bad it isn’t . . . Zeke. Smart, relatable, and densely illustrated in black and white for graphic appeal, this middle-grade series debut by a revered author returns to his themes of grief, bullying, and negotiating differences—but with zeal and comic relief to spare.

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