Realistic Fiction For Kids

Dani and Eric have been best friends since Dani moved next door in second grade. They bond over donuts, comic books, and camping on the Cape. Until one summer when everything changes. Did Eric cause the accident that leaves Dani unable to do the one thing in the world she most cares about? The question plagues him, and he will do anything to get answers about the explosion that injured her. But Dani is hurting too much to want Eric to pursue the truth—she just wants to shut him out and move on. Besides, Eric has a history of dropping things he starts.

Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think of life before the war. It's now 1943, and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching through town. When the Jews of Denmark are "relocated," Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be one of the family. Soon Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission to save Ellen's life.

In Gold Coast, Long Island, everything from the expensive downtown shops to the manicured beaches, to the pressed uniforms of Jill Newman and her friends, looks perfect. But as Jill found out three years ago, nothing is as it seems. Freshman year Jill's best friend, the brilliant, dazzling Shaila Arnold, was killed by her boyfriend. After that dark night on the beach, Graham confessed, the case was closed, and Jill tried to move on.

It's been almost a year since Sila's mother traveled halfway around the world to Turkey, hoping to secure the immigration paperwork that would allow her to return to her family in the United States. The long separation is almost impossible for Sila to withstand. But things change when Sila accompanies her father (who is a mechanic) outside their Oregon town to fix a truck. There, behind an enormous stone wall, she meets a grandfatherly man who only months before won the state lottery.

When an unlikely friendship is sparked between relatively popular Kit Lowell and socially isolated David Drucker, everyone is surprised, most of all Kit and David. Kit appreciates David's blunt honesty - in fact, she finds it bizarrely refreshing. David welcomes Kit's attention and her inquisitive nature. When she asks for his help figuring out the how and why of her dad's tragic car accident, David is all in. But neither of them can predict what they'll find. Can their friendship survive the truth?

Being the new kid is never easy… Morgan Jones has just moved to Kent Cove with her family. Moves are always tough but she tries to see it as a new adventure. Hopefully she’ll have no trouble fitting in with the other girls in her neighborhood. The bullying and harassment start right away, turning Morgan’s life into a nightmare. Even the girl Morgan thinks is the nicest acts mean to her. How can she stop the bullying when she did nothing wrong to begin with? Morgan’s mother gives her some faith-based advice and urges her not to fight back against bullies. But Morgan doesn’t see any...

How do you cope when the impossible happens? Poppy Parker's world is collapsing. Life was so safe and easy before her Grandma Beth had a stroke and ended up in a nursing home. Now she's desperately homesick and struggling to cope with life in a children's center. Worried her grandma may need help, Poppy runs away to visit her, never expecting to witness a serious crime that lands her under the temporary protection of the lead detective. Fearing that the police will return her to the children's center once she's no longer useful, Poppy hesitates to help them identify the suspect, focusing ...

Ten-year-old Della has always had her older sister, Suki: When their mom went to prison, Della had Suki. When their mom's boyfriend took them in, Della had Suki. When that same boyfriend did something so awful they had to run fast, Della had Suki. Suki is Della's own wolf - her protector. But who has been protecting Suki? Della might get told off for swearing at school, but she has always known how to keep quiet where it counts.

Bobby Phillips is an average 15-year-old boy. Until the morning he wakes up and can't see himself in the mirror. Not blind, not dreaming, Bobby is just plain invisible. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to Bobby's new condition; even his dad the physicist can't figure it out. For Bobby that means no school, no friends, no life. He's a missing person. Then he meets Alicia. She's blind, and Bobby can't resist talking to her, trusting her.

From the critically acclaimed author of the ALA Notable and Charlotte Huck Honor Book Forever, or a Long, Long Time comes a moving own-voices story that shines a light on how one girl’s learning differences are neither right nor wrong...just perfectly individual.

Soccer season is underway, and though Zach and Zoe play on different travel teams, they're on the same team when it comes to solving mysteries. So when a package arrives in the mail addressed to Zach, the twins are surprised to find a soccer jersey identical to the one Zach wears for his team. But Zach's jersey is in his closet - so who does this jersey belong to and why did they send it? It's a soccer secret - and Zach and Zoe are on the case!

Jake volunteers at a nursing home because he likes helping people. He likes skating and singing, playing Bingo and Name That Tune, and reading mysteries and comics aloud to his teachers. He also likes avoiding people his own age . . . and the cruelty of mirrors . . . and food. Jake has read about kids like him in books—the weird one, the outsider—and would do anything not to be that kid, including shrink himself down to nothing. But the less he eats, the bigger he feels. How long can Jake punish himself before he truly disappears?

Charlotte Andrews is perfectly fine being quiet - in fact, she prefers it. When she doesn't speak, people can't make fun of her stutter. But when she witnesses bullying on the school bus and doesn't say anything, her silence comes between her and her best friend. As if that wasn't bad enough, her parents signed her up for musical theater. Charlotte doesn't want to speak onstage, but at least she doesn't stutter when she sings. Then, just as she starts to find her voice, the arts program is cut. Charlotte can't stay silent anymore.

Grace and Ellie have been best friends since second grade. Ellie's always right in the center of everything - and Grace is usually happy to be Ellie's sidekick. But this time, it's Grace who suddenly has everyone's attention when she accidentally starts a new fad at school. It's a fad that has first her class, then her grade, and then the entire school collecting and trading and even fighting over...buttons? A fad that might also get her in major trouble and could even be the end of Grace and Ellie's friendship. Because Ellie's not used to being one-upped by anybody.

Theo has been worried about his good friend Woody Lambert. Woody is struggling at school and making bad choices. But when Woody is arrested - an unwitting accomplice to armed robbery - Theo knows he is innocent. Racing the clock while Woody sits in jail, Theo will do everything in his power to help his friend and save Woody from an unforgiving system where justice is not equal for all.

Being the new kid is never easy… Tilly has just moved to Kent Cove with her family. The only thing that she can look forward to is her horse named Patches. When she is riding and jumping with Patches, Tilly is flooded with confidence. If only she had the same confidence in making friends. At her new school, Tilly struggles with her homework and the bullies who tease her. At home, she struggles with her loneliness and her brother who constantly pushes her away. When Tilly experiences a serious horse-riding accident, it’s a wakeup call for everyone. Tilly’s brother realizes just how ...

True friendship means never letting go. 11-year-old Madison had it all in Kent Cove, never expecting her life to change. But when she decides to break free from her toxic friendship with Lori, her life is met with new challenges. Madison discovers her new friends are true when they protect one another from a rabid dog and bullies at school. But Lori won’t go away. Madison struggles with pressure from Lori, who is eager to regain Madison's friendship. Will Madison ever open the friendship door for her again? This captivating story follows a young girl as she tackles the many challenges of ...

Spanning over 500 years, Pura Belpré Award winner Ruth Behar's epic novel tells the stories of four girls from different generations of a Jewish family, many of them forced to leave their country and start a new life.

Pablo is homesick. He's only 12 years old, but he's lived in more countries than he can count. After his parents divorced, he and his mother have moved from place to place for years, never settling anywhere long enough to call it home. And along the way, Pablo has collected more and more fears: of dirt, of germs, and most of all, of the ocean. Now they're living in the Philippines, and his mother, a zoologist who works at a local wildlife refuge, is too busy saving animals to notice that Pablo might need saving, too.

From the beloved author of the Mr. Terupt and Perfect Score series comes this stand-alone middle-grade novel about a girl who is dealing with the tragic loss of her best friend, and the dog that helps her forge new friendships and find happiness once again.