For a reader who just finished
after Thirty Short Comedy Plays for Teens by Laurie Allen · ages 13–18
Nonfiction · grades 8–12 · 800L
A practical, genuinely funny anthology that gets teens actually performing and laughing — short enough to cast and rehearse without semester-long commitment, varied enough to appeal to different humor sensibilities.
Same style
by David Macaulay
Nonfiction · ages 8–12 · grades 3–7 · 800L
The gold standard for making mechanics irresistible — Macaulay's mammoth protagonist and slapstick drawings make physics feel like play, not work.
by Qian Julie Wang
Nonfiction · ages 10–14 · grades 5–9 · 800L
Devastating and precise—the only memoir about undocumented childhood written at a level middle-graders can access, and it lands.
![Cover of I Am Malala [Young Readers adaptation]](https://jgshbbtkxqpjkvkaiduh.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/covers/02f2b23c-729e-413c-b683-5954417fd61e.jpg)
by Malala Yousafzai
Nonfiction · ages 10–14 · grades 5–9 · 750L
The most powerful introduction to activism and civil courage available for this age—Malala's voice is unguarded and reflective, never didactic, and the young readers adaptation respects her audience's intelligence without sanitizing the stakes.
Complementing on creativity making
by Katherine Milhous
Picture book · ages 4–8 · grades K–3 · 620L
A quiet, genuinely lovely Easter book that treats Pennsylvania Dutch folk art with respect rather than nostalgia—kids are drawn into the egg-decorating process and emerge wanting to make their own.
by Jon Klassen
Picture book · ages 4–8 · grades K–3 · 460L
A masterclass in quiet picture-book storytelling—Klassen's deadpan illustrations and restrained text let kids sit with the beauty of creation and generosity without sentimentality.
by Kevin Noble Maillard
Picture book · ages 5–8 · grades K–3 · 560L
A radiant celebration of Mexican-American identity and creative expression—the illustrations by Juana Martinez-Neal are themselves the heart of the book, and the story honors art-making as an act of community care.
