Build Your Stack: New and Notable Titles for 4-12 Literacy Learners Karen Biggs-Tucker Literacy in Motion Conference Judson University [email protected] @litcup www.litcup.net Picture Books for All Readers: Agee, J. (2018). The wall in the middle of the book. New York, NY: Dial Books. A young knight bravely guards the wall that protects one side of the book from the other. He knows that there are very scary things on the other side, but when he finally faces what is actually on the other side, he realizes that the things may not have been as scary as he once believed. Amato, M. (2019). Perfect. New York, NY: Scholastic. Eraser does his best to keep the pages clean from what Pencil is doing. But what would could they create if they actually decide to work together? Aronson, B. & J. Oxley. (2018). Melia and Jo. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Melia loves science and creates amazing things in her backyard. Jo has an artistic spirit and comes along to make suggestions to Melia about her creations. Initially, Melia disregards Jo’s suggestions, but then realizes that maybe science and art can work together to create amazing things! Bailey, J. (2019). A friend for Henry. (M. Song, Illus.). San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. Henry is on the lookout for a friend. A friend who listens, shares, and likes things orderly, just like Henry does. Unfortunately, all he hears is noise and all he sees is chaos. Just when he fears all hope is lost, the perfect friend actually finds Henry. Barnett, M. (2019). Circle. (J. Klassen, Illus.). Sommerville, MA: Candlewick Press. This is Circle’s story, but it also includes her friends Square and Triangle. It is about a rule that Circle makes that is broken and how she tries to help her friends when that rule is broken. Barton, P. (2018). Quiet please, Owen McPhee!! New York, NY: Alfred P. Knopf. Owen loves to talk. He loves to talk so much that he never lets anyone else say anything, even his teachers. One day he wakes up with a bad case of laryngitis and gets the chance to do something that he hasn’t done in a long time…listen! Becker, A. (2018). A stone for Sascha. Sommerville, MA: Candlewick Press. A young girl is grieving the loss of her dog. As she spends her family vacation on the beach, she finds a way to deal with her grief and ultimately honor her beloved pet. Campbell, M. (2018). Adrian Simcox does not have a horse. (C. Luyken, Illus.). New York, NY: Dial Books. Adrian Simcox tells everyone that he has a horse. Chloe does not believe him. The more Adrian talks, the angrier Chloe gets until her mother takes her for a walk and she sees where Adrian lives. When she actually sees Adrian face to face at his house, she begins to see a side of Adrian that she never took the time to see. Cherry, M. (2019). Hair love. (V. Harrison, Illus.). New York, NY: Kokila. Zuri’s hair is as special as she is, but it takes quite a lot to tame it. When her dad steps in to style it for a special occasion, he realizes that he has taken on more than he can handle pretty quickly. But one thing he knows, he loves Zuri, her hair, and will do anything to make her happy. Colon, R. (2018). Imagine! New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. A boy enters a museum and sees a painting that will change his life forever. In this wordless picture book, images come to life showing a young man a path to his future filled with possibility and imagination. Cummings, T. (2018). Can I be your dog? New York, NY: Random House. Arfy is a homeless dog who is looking for a home. He writes letters to families in the community telling them of all his positive qualities, including the fact that he is housebroken! Who will give Arfy a home? Czajak, P. The book tree. (R. Kheiriyeh, Illus.). Cambridge, MA: Barefoot Books. When Arlo drops a book on the Mayor’s head, the Mayor proclaims that all books are banned. Arlo is devastated and uses his imagination to bring stories back to his town. Daywalt, D. (2018). The epic adventures of Huggie & Stick. (D. Spencer, Illus.). New York, NY: Philomel. When a cheerful stick and a grumpy bunny accidently get tossed from a boy’s backpack their adventure begins. As their story unfolds, we see that their story is told in two very different, yet hilarious perspectives. Degman, L. (2019). Just Read! (V. Tentler-Krylov, Illus.). New York, NY: Sterling. A celebration of reading in many forms – from learning to read words to reading in Braille, from reading alone to reading together, from reading while swinging to reading in a fort – no matter where you are or what you are reading, just read!! De La Pena, M. (2018). Carmela full of wishes. (C. Robinson, Illus.). New York, NY: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. Carmela wakes up on her birthday thrilled to be old enough to go with her older brother brother on the family errands. To make her day even better, she finds a dandelion on which she can make a wish. Before she can blow off the white fluff to make her wish, she falls, and the dandelion is crushed. Just when she thinks her wishes are lost forever, her big brother has a surprise for her. Wishes can be found in many places. deSeve, R. (2018). Zola’s elephant. (P. Zagarenski, Illus.). New York, NY: HMH. Zola moves into the neighborhood and her neighbor next door is too shy to come over and introduce herself. Also, Zola already has a friend, an elephant. In a story that tells about how to brave, friendship, and the power of imagination, Zola and her elephant teach us the lessons of life. Frazee, M. (2018). Little Brown. New York, NY: Beach Lane. Little Brown is a crabby dog because no one will play with him. He gets so upset with the other dogs in the yard at the shelter that he takes all of the toys and won’t give them back. Now what will happen when all of these dogs end up in the ultimate stand-off. Freedman, D. (2019). Carl and the meaning of life. New York, NY: Viking Books for Young Readers. Carl is an earthworm who is trying to find his purpose in life. As he searches for the answer to the answer to his question, he asks his animal friends in the forest what they were put on the earth to do. As he listens, he begins to understand not only how important he is, but also that we all have a unique purpose and that we all depend on each other. Jacoby, S. (2018). Forever or a day. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. An exploration of the wonder of time from the idea that time can move either quickly or slowly to the concept of appreciate the moments that we share with those that we hold dear. John, J. (2019). The good egg. (P. Oswald, Illus.). New York, NY: Harper. The Good Egg is good, even when all the other eggs around him are not. But being good is so hard that he finds that he is beginning to crack under all the pressure. What can he do to save himself before he falls apart completely?!? Jonker, T. (2018). The very last castle. (M. Pett, Illus.). New York, NY: Abrams. A young girl becomes fascinated by watching the man who guards the very last castle in her small town. She finally gathers the courage to go and knock on the door of the mysterious castle. When she finds herself inside, she is surprised to learn about not only the guard, but the other secrets that the castle holds for both her and the inhabitants of the town. Khan, H. (2019). Under my hijab. (A. Jaleel, Illus.). New York, NY: Lee & Low Books. A young girl observes six different women in her life and how they all wear their hijab differently as a way to celebrate who they are. She dreams of all that she will do in her future as she where she hijab proudly as she grows up as a proud Muslim woman. Ledyard, S. (2019). Home is a window. (C. Sasaki, Illus.). New York, NY: Roaring Brook Press. A window is an important and familiar part of any home, until that home changes. A young girl and her family moves to a new home and she is faced with leaving the only home that she has known and loved until she realizes that the people that are the most important part of her home are coming with her to her new home. Lies, B. (2018). The rough patch. New York, NY: Greenwillow. Evan and his dog are the best of friends. They do everything together, including cultivating a beautiful garden. One day the unthinkable happens and Evan is left to face life on his own. He must figure out a way to create beauty out of chaos and move on to find happiness on his own. Luyken, C. (2019). my heart. New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers. The story of your heart. Your heart may be open. It may also be a window to the world. It can be whatever you want it to be as you open it to all the possibilities that life offers you. MacLachlan, P.