Intermediate (ages 9-14)

Material appropriate for intermediate age groups

The Swallows’ Flight

In England, Ruby has no friends because of the speckled blotches on her face that kids say look like dirt. And Kate is sickly all the time, her older siblings each taking turns looking after her. Ruby and Kate’s first meeting is nearly disastrous, but the two lonely girls soon strike up a friendship. Their connection becomes all the more important when England joins the war against Germany and the blitz begins overhead. In Germany, Erik and Hans are best friends filled with plans for their future: Erik taking over their beloved local zoo, and Hans serving pastries right outside the gates. They never expected to be forced to join the national service, training as pilots and tasked with hurting people. And in London a mistreated dog roams the streets looking for handouts, and for a friend. All of these lives will cross in the most surprising ways in this heartrending tale of war and compassion, and hope that can be found in even the most unexpected friendships, brought to life by award-winning author Hilary McKay.

Born Behind Bars

Kabir has been in jail since the day he was born, because his mom is serving time for a crime she didn’t commit. He’s never met his dad, so the only family he’s got are their cellmates, and the only place he feels the least bit free is in the classroom, where his kind teacher regales him with stories of the wonders of the outside world. Then one day a new warden arrives and announces Kabir is too old to stay. He gets handed over to a long-lost “uncle” who unfortunately turns out to be a fraud, and intends to sell Kabir. So Kabir does the only thing he can–run away as fast as his legs will take him. How does a boy with nowhere to go and no connections make his way? Fortunately, he befriends Rani, another street kid, and she takes him under her wing. But plotting their next move is hard–and fraught with danger–in a world that cares little for homeless, low caste children. This is not the world Kabir dreamed of–but he’s discovered he’s not the type to give up. Kabir is ready to show the world that he–and his mother–deserve a place in it.

Sight: Glimmer, Glow, Spark, Flash!

With compelling visual sophistication and infographics about all aspects of sight, this volume joins Sound: Shhh . Bang . Pop . Boom! as far more than just a groundbreaking introduction to our vivid, sensory world! At once an immediately accessible, science-intensive illumination of an endlessly fascinating subject as well as a sensitive exploration of how sight essentially impacts our everyday lives.

Solimar: the sword of the Monarchs

Ever since Solimar was a little girl, she has gone to the ouamel forest bordering her kingdom to observe the monarch butterflies during their migration, but always from a safe distance. Now, on the brink of her quinceañera and her official coronation, Solimar crosses the dangerous creek to sit among the butterflies. There, a mysterious event gives her a gift and a burden–the responsibility to protect the young and weak butterflies with her magical rebozo, or silk shawl.

Amber And Clay

A Thracian slave in a Greek household, Rhaskos is as common as clay, a stable boy worth less than a donkey, much less a horse. Wrenched from his mother at a tender age, he nurtures in secret, aided by Socrates, his passions for art and philosophy. Melisto is a spoiled aristocrat, a girl as precious as amber but willful and wild. She’ll marry and be tamed—the curse of all highborn girls—but risk her life for a season first to serve Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Bound by destiny, Melisto and Rhaskos—Amber and Clay—never meet in the flesh. By the time they do, one of them is a ghost. But the thin line between life and death is just one boundary their unlikely friendship crosses. It takes an army of snarky gods and fearsome goddesses, slaves and masters, mothers and philosophers to help shape their story into a gorgeously distilled, symphonic tour de force.

Amber & Clay is featured in A Dozen Poetry Books.

Borders

A boy and his mother refuse to identify themselves as American or Canadian at the border and become caught in the limbo between nations when they claim their citizenship as Blackfoot.

Borders is a WOW Recommends: Book of the Month for January 2022.

Parlamento De Lechuzas / The Witch Owl Parliament

Resurrected by her brother using a forbidden combination of alchemy and engineering, apprentice curandera Cristina vows to protect the Republic of Santander against the lechuzas terrorizing immigrants and plaguing the country.

Isla To Island

Marisol loves her colorful island home. Cuba is vibrant with flowers and food and people but things are changing. The home Marisol loves is no longer safe, and then it’s no longer her home at all. Her parents are sending her to the United States. Alone.
Nothing about Marisol’s new life in cold, gray Brooklyn feels like home, not the language, school, or even her foster parents. But Marisol starts to realize that home isn’t always a place. And finding her way can be as simple as staying true to herself.

Featured in WOW Review Volume XIV, Issue 4.

Healer Of The Water Monster

When Nathan goes to visit his grandma, Nali, at her mobile summer home on the Navajo reservation, he knows he’s in for a pretty uneventful summer, with no electricity or cell service. Still, he loves spending time with Nali and with his uncle Jet, though it’s clear when Jet arrives that he brings his problems with him.