2022 Summer Reading Partners Training Books

Presents a love letter to African American children everywhere reminding them and others that they matter, have always mattered, and will always matter.

Twelve-year-old Donte is the darker-skinned brother of Trey, which in his racist, mostly-white school has earned him the nickname Black Brother. When the captain of the school fencing team successfully frames him for something he didn't do, Donte is arrested and suspended from school. Joining a local youth center, Donte meets former Olympic fencer Arden Jones and begins training to defeat his school bully and find courage to confront the racist system...

Depending on an older sister who protected her when their mother went to prison and their mother's boyfriend committed a terrible act, ten-year-old Della tries to figure out what to do when her older sister attempts suicide.

Illustrations and easy-to-read text portray the Dominican Republic in all of its hues, from the cinnamon in cocoa to the blue black seen only in dreams.--

When a child has a "bad speech day" at school, his father gives him a new perspective on his stuttering.

When a boy who stutters feels isolated, alone, and incapable of communicating in the way he'd like, it takes a kindly father and a walk by the river to help him find his voice. Through this powerful and uplifting story, poet Jordan Scott uses his own experiences to reveal what it's like to be a child who feels lost, lonely, or unable to fit in. Compassionate parents everywhere will recognize how they, too, can reconnect their children to the world...

From the award-winning and bestselling creators of Drawn Together comes the fantastic tale of a magical elevator that will lift your spirits--and press all the right buttons! Iris loves to push the elevator buttons in her apartment building, but when it's time to share the fun with a new member of the family, she's pretty put out. That is, until the sudden appearance of a mysterious new button opens up entire realms of possibility, places where she...

Twelve-year-old Max, who loves the legend Buelo tells him about a mythical gatekeeper who can guide brave travelers on a journey into tomorrow, sets out on a dangerous quest to discover if he is true of heart and what the future holds, armed with a treasured compass, a mysterious stone rubbing, and Buelo's legend as his only guides.

Contains a collection of fifteen short stories about the Muslim holiday, Eid, and the themes around it such as hope, joy, and family. Includes black-and-white illustrations.

Poems and collage art shows Ruth Ellen's train journey from North Carolina to New York City as part of the Great Migration. As the scenery changes from people working in fields to big cities and the curtain that separates the colored car is removed, Ruth Ellen and her family get glimpses of the freedom and opportunities they hope to find.