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STEM Tuesday– Amphibians– Book List

By on April 7, 2026   /   Amphibians, STEM Tuesday   /   Leave a comment

Amphibians are animals that tend to live part of their life underwater and part of their life on land. Frogs, toads, salamanders, and newts have soft, moist skin, and most can breathe through their skin – as long as it stays damp. Adult amphibians also use lungs to breathe.

Amphibian Acrobats by Leslie Bulion, illustrated by Robert Meganck

This book is filled with froggy poetry about Olympic jumpers, deep-freeze artists, salamander wrestlers, and marathon walkers that migrate to their puddle home to lay eggs every spring. From caecilians to salamanders, each poem introduces amazing amphibian behavior.

Amphibian Groups by Sue Bradford Edwards

A fascinating, photo-illustrated exploration of various frogs, salamanders, and caecilians and how they band together and cooperate to ensure their survival. It includes eye-catching graphics, multiple writing prompts, and discussion questions, as well as an awesome list of facts and a call to action.

Tree Frogs: Life in the Leaves by Moira Rose Donohue

Five chapters discuss where and how frogs live, their food, how they survive winter (some freeze!), and their life cycle from tadpole to adult. One chapter introduces frog relatives, including some that live in trees but aren’t tree frogs. The book concludes with conservation efforts.

A Day in the Life of Frogs: What do Frogs, Toads, and Tadpoles Get Up to All Day? by Itzue W. Caviedes Solis, illustrated by Henry Rancourt

After comparing frogs and toads, the conversational text follows a day from noon to 3 am, highlighting the unique and fascinating lives of frogs and toads around the world and their environments. Fun cameos from the Southeast Asian rock frog, Australian turtle frog and cane toad, Central African wolverine frog, Columbian sun glass frog, and South American Bell’s horned frog connect the narrative across the pages.   

Ribbit! The Truth About Frogs by Annette Whipple, illustrated by Juanbjuan

For younger readers, this is a great introduction to frogs, filled with close-up photos of legs and eyes and tongues – it will make you want to head to the nearest pond for some frog-watching. Sections address the difference between frogs and toads, how frogs eat, where they live, how they make sounds, and their development from eggs to adults. “Leaping Legs” sidebars explain facts from a frog’s point of view.

See-Thru Frogs (see-thru books series) by Sherry Gerstein 

Get to know frogs from the inside-out! See-thru pages help illustrate the stuff on the inside of frogs – their skeleton and internal organs. Kids can compare bones we have in common, and note some differences, such as their longer foot bones. 

Field Guides & Activity Books:

Amazing Amphibians: 30 Activities and Observations for Exploring Frogs, Toads, Salamanders, and More (Young Naturalists series) by Lisa J. Amstutz 

Taking readers on a field trip to ponds and fields in search of amphibians of all types, this book introduces us to the major frog families, newts, and caecilians. It discusses amphibian anatomy, shares their housing and meal plans, and lets us in on their secrets of defense. And best of all includes hands-on activities, like an underwater pond viewer, mixing up frog slime, and crafting an origami frog.

Everything You Need To Know About Frogs And Other Slippery Creatures DK Publishing

This browsable book has everything from frog brains and secrets of a smooth skin to how tadpoles survive to adulthood. You’ll meet flapping frogs, flying frogs, glass frogs … and a few reptiles along the way. Plus, how frogs’ legs led to the invention of the first battery.

Ultimate Explorer Field Guide: Reptiles & Amphibians by Catherine Herbert Howell

Amphibians may share this book with reptiles, but there are plenty of pages to explore salamanders, frogs, and toads. Text boxes highlight fun facts, and a longer sidebar dives into metamorphosis. Five hands-on activities include making a simple pond viewer and a toad home.

Amphibians (Field Guides) by Rachel Seigel

Engaging text, featuring 110 frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (some common and some endangered), teams up with “how to spot” statistic and “fun fact” sidebars to make amphibian hunting lots of fun.

This month’s STEM Tuesday book list was prepared by:

Sue Heavenrich is an award-winning author, blogger, and bug-watcher. A long line of ants marching across the kitchen counter inspired her first article for kids. When not writing, she’s either in the garden or tromping through the woods. Her books for middle-grade readers include Funky Fungi: 30 Activities for Exploring Molds, Mushrooms, Lichens, and More and Diet for a Changing Climate. Visit her at www.sueheavenrich.com

Maria is a children’s author, blogger, and poet who is passionate about making nature and reading fun for children. She was a round 2 judge for the 2018 & 2017 Cybils Awards, and a judge for the #50PreciousWords competition since its inception. Two of her poems are published in The Best of Today’s Little Ditty 2016 and 2014-2015 anthologies. When not writing, critiquing, or reading, she bird watches, travels the world, bakes, and hikes. Visit her at www.mariacmarshall.com.

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When You’re Brave Enough: Interview with Author Rebecca Bendheim

By on April 6, 2026   /   Articles, Author Interviews   /   Leave a comment

I have such a great job where, not only do I get to read books before they come out, but I get to ask the author all about how the book came to be! I learned so much through my interview with Rebecca Bendheim, author of When You’re Brave Enough (due out April 7, 2026). 

About the Book

Hi Rebecca! I really enjoyed When You’re Brave Enough. This was a true coming-of-age story that addressed many things middle graders are dealing with: religion, sexuality, and friendship. I’m excited to dive in and learn more about how the book came to be. Can you please give us a brief summary of the book?

Thank you so much! When You’re Brave Enough is about introspective thirteen-year-old Lacey, who’s always had the same best friend, loud, super-enthusiastic Grace. When she finds out her family is moving Rhode Island before eighth grade, she hopes to reinvent herself and step into the spotlight on her own, so she’s ecstatic when she gets a lead role in the musical Bye Bye Birdie.

But then Lacey finds out about her new school’s longstanding, student-led tradition: the lead couple always kisses (for real!) in the final performance. Lacey’s role has two love interests, and suddenly she’s under a lot of pressure to decide. But what if she’d rather kiss the girl she has a duet with? As she prepares for her bat mitzvah and Grace plans a visit for the final performance, Lacey grapples with the concept of tradition, which ones are worth continuing, and what her perfect first kiss would look like if she were brave enough to listen to her heart.

Do you feel this book is more of a window, mirror, or both?

My biggest hope is that When You’re Brave Enough can be a mirror for queer kids and teens who are asking similar questions and grappling with similar pressures to Lacey. I read my first queer book when I was twenty, and it completely reframed my view of being a lesbian from worrying it would make my life difficult to seeing that being queer could open me up to true love and a more authentic, creative life.

While I wrote this book for LGBTQ+ kids and teens, I hope that anyone, regardless of identity, can enjoy it and get a window into one experience of a queer teen coming into her own. There are a lot of misconceptions about queer kids right now, and I hope this book shows people that they are, like all kids, working hard to figure out who they are and where they fit into their communities, and that they deserve support, love, agency, and patience as they make their way.

I loved how sexuality was shown as a fluid spectrum and how the protagonist was discovering where she was on it. What do you hope this story contributes to the landscape of LGBTQ+ literature?

I wanted this story to celebrate the importance of taking time to really sit with your inner voice and respect what it tells you. So many of my favorite middle grade books, such as The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead and Scar Like a River by Lisa Graff, are about a character who is hiding a secret from themselves because they’re in middle school, at the height of pressure to conform and be good, probably the hardest place on Earth to admit you are different. Fragments and memories come to the surface, clueing in the reader, but these characters try to push them away until they can’t anymore and must grapple with the truth. I wanted to contribute a lesbian version of this story and highlight Lacey’s coming out to herself as just as important, if not more important, than sharing who she is with the world.

 

About the Author

Me at Lacey’s age in my Bye Bye Birdie T-shirt. I still have the shirt, but no longer have the purple Uggs.

Do you see your preteen self in Lacey? Or any of the other characters?

Yes! Like Lacey, I was so confused when my friends started talking about crushes, not understanding that the complicated, yearning feelings I had for a girl in my theater group were just that. I felt behind my peers and desperate to have it all figured out.

I also see a lot of my younger self in Grace, since I was loud and silly as a middle schooler. I loved hiding in lockers and jumping out at people, singing terribly in school hallways, and dressing up in weird, mismatched costumes and wigs to walk to CVS with my best friend. There are parts of me in all my characters, and learning to love and understand them helps me do the same with myself.

What’s your connection to school productions? And why did you choose Bye, Bye Birdie?

I LOVE musical theater and was in Bye Bye Birdie twice growing up, once in fourth grade and once in sixth. I chose this show because of its emphasis on conformity and expectations; it’s set in the 1950s and centers around a group of poodle-skirt-clad teenage fangirls who are all obsessed with teen idol Conrad Birdie (AKA Elvis) and one girl, Kim, who is chosen for the “honor” of being Conrad’s last kiss before going to the army and is suddenly thrust into the spotlight. The start of Lacey’s journey mirrors Kim’s, as a new student facing pressure to kiss one of her co-leads onstage. But more importantly, as an author, I have to put my characters through the ringer so they can grow, and I thought this show about many, many girls obsessed with a boy would be the hardest one for Lacey to disrupt by being true to herself.

How did you come up with the idea of a closing night kiss?

During my fourth grade production of Bye Bye Birdie, the eighth graders who played Albert and Rosie actually did kiss in the final performance! I remember being terrified that I’d have to do that too, and what if I had a co-lead I didn’t want to kiss? I never got a lead role, so I thankfully didn’t have to worry about this, but the fear stayed with me and I loved seeing how it played out with Lacey’s story.

I love how this ended—I think it’s a great message for kids. Did you always plan the closing-night kiss ending how it did or did you play with various endings?

I always knew who Lacey’s first kiss would be, but I played with a few different versions of where and when, public or not public. When I thought of the current ending, I knew that was it. It felt so perfectly Lacey-and-_______. No spoilers!

 

Research/Writing

Tell us a little about your MFA thesis and how it impacted writing this book.

I wrote my critical thesis at Vermont College of Fine Arts on the impact of positive queer representation in middle grade fiction. Through this, I learned that my experience having my first crushes on girls from nine to eleven but not coming out until years later was normal. Most queer and trans kids realize they’re queer or trans by early adolescence, but middle school is also the time when they’re most likely to be inundated with negative messaging about being LGBTQ+. I also learned that a supportive adult or a positive queer role model can have a real impact on improving the mental health of an LGBTQ+ child, so I made sure to add characters who fill both these roles in the book. I wrote the first draft of When You’re Brave Enough in 2020 and kept going through years of revision and rejection by remembering the impact books like these can have if they get into the hands of a kid who needs them.

Are you more of a plotter or pantser?

A plotter! I usually start by coming up with one character or situation, and then I love the brainstorming phase where I get to think of a million ideas of how their story could unfold. In that phase, I often spend more time in the character’s world than in my own life. But as I write my (terrible) first draft, the characters usually decide they want to do something totally different than I had planned, and I have to go back and revise the outline. Still, I like having it there instead of a blank page!

I liked how there was a parallel with Anne Frank and her diary. When in your writing journey did you create the connection to The Diary of Anne Frank?

The Diary of Anne Frank wasn’t part of my first few drafts of the novel, but when I got a copy of it for my sixth grade students, I decided to re-read it. I was shocked to read the same part Lacey is shocked by, where Anne writes about kissing her best friend and being attracted to the women in her art history books. I realized that when I was in middle school, I read a version of Anne’s diary with many passages omitted, including this one. I wished I could have gone back and given my younger self the unedited, unabridged version. Instead, I gave it to Lacey.

What was the most difficult part in writing this book?

The hardest part was making Grace feel like a well-rounded, fully there character from two thousand miles away. Much of my revising focused on putting memories of Grace in places that made sense, adding her visit, and making the emails between Lacey and Grace come alive through video transcripts, photos of flowers, and even songs, which my audiobook narrator actually plays ukulele and sings in the audiobook!

What was something you didn’t expect that was super beneficial in writing/finishing/publishing this book?

I first wrote this novel in verse and changed it to prose for and revise and resubmit request with an editor. That editor, Jessica Anderson, wasn’t able to acquire the book, but I so appreciate her wise idea to take the emotional heart of each poem and build it into a short scene, adding more dialogue, setting description, and physicality for the characters. Now, when I’m struggling with a project, I write the scene as a poem, figure out the emotional heart that way, and then build it into a prose scene.

 

For Teachers

Are you doing school visits related to this book?

Yes! As a former middle school teacher, I love doing school visits, especially for grades 5-8. I’m doing two main formats right now. One is a presentation about emotional bravery that ends with a chance for students to make a promise to themselves of something they’d like to be emotionally brave enough to do. If they want, they can write it down on this five foot sign!

The other is a writing workshop where students write a poem describing how a certain emotion feels in their body and then use that poem to build out a scene. I also combined these in my most recent visit! My goal during visits is to add enough visuals and opportunities to participate that even the most distractable student (AKA my younger self) is locked in, thinking, and learning. I also love to speak at pride events or to GSAs!

 

How can we learn more about you?

You can find me on social media @rebeccabendheim or at my website rebeccabendheim.com!

Thank you for your time, Rebecca!

Thank you for these thoughtful questions and for spotlighting When You’re Brave Enough!

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April New Releases

By on April 2, 2026   /   Articles, New Releases   /   Leave a comment

April showers bring….a storm of brand new Middle Grade Releases. Take a look at the books coming your way this month.

 

 

A Potion, a Powder, a Little Bit of Magic
Or, Like Lightning in an Umbrella Storm
by Philip C. Stead

A plucky young goatkeeper sets out on a misadventurous rescue mission in this uproarious debut novel with premium hardcover features, perfect for fans of Kate DiCamillo and Lemony Snicket.

In a kingdom ruled by a capricious king, the castle rests on the backs of twenty-four goats, and the welfare of those goats rests on the back of a girl called Bernadette. So when one goat escapes, it’s up to her—with the help of a very forgetful wizard and a Boat That Does Not Grant Wishes—to bring it back safely.

Her task may be straightforward, but this book is anything but. Like a swirling herd of restless goats, the chapters are all out of order. The ending may prove to have been the beginning all along. All the while, the author of Bernadette’s saga—a character himself—hurries to write her a resolution, with very mixed results. And if you’re feeling lost, don’t worry; the story has twenty-four morals, of varying advisability, to edify you along the way.

Award-winning picture book author and illustrator Philip Stead makes a confident debut as a novelist in this laugh-out-loud, one-of-a-kind illustrated tale, chock-full of running gags, broken fourth walls, and underdog triumph.

 

 

Are Octopuses from Another World? Discover the Science Behind Teuthology
By Rosie Rowntree (Author) and Valeria Abatzoglu (Illustrated by)

It’s a big question–are octopuses from another world? These animals and their incredible, unique features help reveal fascinating facts about the animal kingdom.

Discover how teuthologists study octopuses and learn about . . .

  • The incredible adaptations that let octopuses thrive in the world’s harshest conditions
  • How octopuses can edit their own genes!
  • Why these tentacled animals need nine brains and three hearts
  • Incredible ways octopuses interact with the natural world around them . . . and so much more!

Beautifully bound with gorgeous illustrations, The Big Questions Answered is more than just a series of books–it’s a complete resource for kids, teachers, and parents to collect. Start a lifelong interest in science–it can change the world!

 

 

The Genie Game by Jordan Ifueko 

Harriet the Spy meets Black Mirror in The Genie Game, the start of a thrilling new middle-grade series from Jordan Ifueko, author of the New York Times bestselling fantasy Raybearer.

Valentine Adesanya has two missions: 1) become a Feared and Fabulous Film Director and 2) find her missing big sister, Mango. She suspects The Trio Trust, a collection of creepy mega-companies that now rule the United States, made Mango disappear.

A text lures Valentine to a magical boba shop, which comes to life and tells Valentine she is now a GENIE: a member of the General Employee Network of Immortal Engineers, an underground workforce run by the Trio Trust. Genies may only leave their bottles to grant the wishes of mortals. With each granted wish, The Trio Trust gains more magic, and so the Trio hosts a glamorous wish-granting competition, rewarding top players with fabulous prizes. The twist?

The greedy Trio forbids genies from using magic. Genies must grant wishes using nothing but smarts, luck, and elbow grease.

To free her sister Mango and escape the Genie Game, Valentine must score more wish-granting points than any other Genie. But how did the Trio Trust get so powerful in the first place? Why is a magical monster stomping through her home city of Gloss Angeles?

And why does the Trio Trust seem so afraid of 13-year-old Valentine Adesanya?

 

Lightfall: A Place Between by Tim Probert 

In the fourth installment of the award-winning, critically acclaimed Lightfall series, Bea, Cad, and their friends continue their quest to restore light on their dark world. Perfect for fans of Amulet and Avatar, this next book dives deeper into the magical world of Irpa, where ancient secrets and adventures abound.

After surviving a shipwreck on the Fuerre Sea, Cad washes ashore on the shores of Pellidyr. There, he searches for Lorgon, the Water Spirit, but instead finds the other spirits of Irpa who question if their planet can be saved. One of them offers to help Cad and transports him to A Place Between, a strange liminal realm between the living and the dead, where Cad works to uncover the reason Lorgon summoned them to Pellidyr in the first place.

Meanwhile, Bea awakens within the walls of the capital city. While Pellidyr’s leader has heard the tales of Bea’s derring-do and believes her to be a hero with all the answers, she’s never felt more uncertain about the future. What she does know is that she can’t accomplish anything without her crew. When Bea’s escape plan also brings her to A Place Between, she makes a shocking discovery that changes her understanding of everything that came before her…and what could soon follow.

 

 

Auntie Q’s Golden Claws Nail Salon by Van Hoang

A funny and heartwarming middle grade novel about first jobs and second chances where one girl’s summer punishment becomes a mission to save a struggling nail salon and bring her family together—perfect for fans of Front Desk and Millionaires for the Month.

Twelve-year-old Domi Pham had the perfect summer planned: lounging by the pool, making art with her best friend, and celebrating her escape from seventh grade. But one costly mistake puts her dream summer on hold. Instead, she finds herself deep in debt to her parents, and shipped off to New Mexico to work at her Auntie Q’s nail salon for the next three months.

At first, Domi is miserable—surrounded by nosy aunties, constant nail polish fumes, and endless work. But as she gets to know Auntie Q and the people in the salon, she starts to see their struggles and resilience in a new light. When she discovers that the salon is at risk of closing, Domi puts her creativity and determination to the test to help save it.

Dawn on the Coast: A Graphic Novel (The Baby-sitters Club #19) by Arley Nopra (Adapted by), Arley Nopra (Illustrated by), Ann M. Martin (Author)

A Baby-sitters Club graphic novel adapted and illustrated by New York Times bestselling cartoonist Arley Nopra!

Dawn can’t wait for her trip to California. Aside from all the sun and fun, it’s her first visit since her brother, Jeff, moved back to live with their dad. California is better than Dawn ever remembered it. The beaches are beautiful, the local theme park is a blast, and Dawn is enjoying all her favorite foods. Plus, Dawn’s best friend, Sunny, has even started her own baby-sitting club! Things are going so well that Dawn begins to wonder if she might want to stay in California with her dad and Jeff.

Dawn is a California girl at heart, but could she really leave Stoneybrook — and her mom and The Baby-sitters Club — for good?

 

 

Laleh and the Language of the Birds by Perin Gurel (Author), Marjane Searl (Contributions by)

Thirteen-year-old Laleh Lateef’s world shatters when her ornithologist father vanishes from the bird sanctuary they called home. She’s forced to live with her grouchy uncle, quiet aunt, and rebellious cousin Ivy, who delights in calling her “Bird Nerd.” Life feels hopeless-until two crow brothers, Gold and Silver, begin delivering strange gifts.

When the gifts fit together into a magical device that lets Laleh talk to birds, she uncovers a breathtaking secret: Her father’s disappearance is part of a larger menace haunting the sanctuary. And her uncle is the likely culprit.

With the sanctuary and its feathered residents in danger, Laleh and Ivy must team up-whether they like it or not-and follow the clues through an ancient Middle Eastern legend known as The Language of the Birds. Their destination: Avesia, the mythical sky realm of perfect bird habitats.

The catch? No one has ever reached it without wings.

 

Rialto by Kate Milford

A standalone mystery from a New York Times bestselling, Edgar Award-winning author set in a contemporary world tinged with magic, in which two sisters spend summer vacation in a small town in the shadows of abandoned amusement park that is not what it seems.

Ivy and Dahlia Vicar know this summer’s trip to visit friends in Rialto, Missouri, is going to be different from their usual family vacations.

Twelve-year-old Dahlia, an artist who lives with anxiety, is looking forward to something new. Rialto, after all, has its own abandoned theme park! But mystery-loving, fourteen-year-old Ivy is struggling with how to be the right kind of big sister to Dahlia, and longs for the way things—especially vacations—were when they were younger.

In Rialto, it quickly becomes clear that this vacation will also be different in totally unexpected ways. For one thing, the town stands in the middle of an improbable forest that, according to local legend, swallowed it overnight decades before. Then there are Dahlia’s even more improbable sightings of impossible creatures—a giraffe with antlers and a leopard with wings. And there’s their new friend Remy, whose family inherited the house they’re all staying in from an aunt who left bequests for local friends that Remy must personally distribute.

When he enlists Ivy and Dahlia to help deliver these gifts, they find themselves drawn into a mystery going back to the time when Rialto Park was still open. And it begins to seem that, if they are going to help Remy solve it, they will have to find a way to believe in magic.

Themes of friendship, family, mental health, and resilience are expertly woven through this magical, richly imagined story of two sisters and an enigmatic town that transforms everyone who visits it.

 

 

Forbidden Mountain by Brandon Mull

CHOOSE YOUR GUARDIAN. CHOOSE YOUR DESTINY.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Fablehaven and Beyonders series comes an epic new fantasy set in a world where every child bonds with a spiritual guide—some promising greatness and glory, while others, destruction and death.

Every Anoran child dreams of the day they will enter the sacred bonding hut and match with a guardian—a spiritual guide who grants magically enhanced abilities. A lucky few will bond with Advocates, who promise greatness and glory. Others will be tempted by forbidden offers from the Accursed—dangerous spirits who bring nothing but destruction and a penalty of death to any Anoran who chooses them. But when Mako discovers that the worst of these agents of chaos has returned to spread an ancient evil through the empire, he faces an unthinkable choice: Will he bond with one of the Accursed to gain the power to stop another?

Halfway across the empire, Arden has no guardian and no prospects of adventure…until she infiltrates an underground criminal network to find her missing friend. Relying on her knack for sensing the truth through even the smoothest lies, Arden finds herself at the center of a sinister conspiracy that runs much deeper than she ever imagined.

Soon Mako’s and Arden’s fates collide, and together they must face bandit armies, dark secrets, and untold dangers to fight an enemy who could destroy all they’ve ever known.

 

Life on the Moon by Matthew Swanson (Author) and Robbi Behr (Illustrated by)

The extraordinary tale of a curious boy sent to live on the moon, the wondrous discoveries he makes, and the courage it takes to speak a truth no one wants to believe.

The first rule of life on the moon is: There is no life on the moon.
The second rule is: Don’t ask questions.

12-year-old Leo gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join the very first Moon colony. He’s excited to be part of the top-secret mission, but things quickly go off the rails. Right after his family lands on the Moon, Leo’s dad is called off on an urgent mission from which he never returns. The authorities claim the mission never existed, and Leo’s dad is accused of desertion.

Leo goes looking for his dad and discovers far more than he bargained for. Everyone in the colony insists there’s NO life on the Moon. But Leo’s explorations reveal a landscape brimming with extraordinary creatures—with baffling behaviors and beliefs.

Leo’s big question is: why keep Moon life a secret? Who stands to gain? And how can he find a way to save his new Moon friends before the lie becomes a reality?

 

See anything you can’t wait to add to your Spring and Summer To Read Pile? Let us know in the comments below.

 

 

 

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