Nonfiction & Biographies: NPS Middle School Summer Reading

Buzzkill: A Wild Wander Through the Weird and Threatened World of Bugs By Brenna Maloney, Dave Mottram (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Brenna Maloney, Dave Mottram (Illustrator)
$21.99
ISBN: 9781250801036
Availability: Not in the store. We can order it and should have it in store in 3-5 business days.
Published: Godwin Books - October 11th, 2022

The praying mantis is the only animal on Earth with one ear—and it’s in the middle of its chest. Aphids are born pregnant. Moths can’t fly during an earthquake. If you didn’t know these things, you soon will. Packed full of jaw-dropping facts, Buzzkill presents the big picture on bugs. You might think ew, gross. Insects are icky. Or scary. Or dangerous. They can be.


Call Him Jack: The Story of Jackie Robinson, Black Freedom Fighter By Yohuru Williams, Michael G. Long Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9780374389956
Availability: Not in the store. We can order it and should have it in store in 3-5 business days.
Published: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) - September 20th, 2022

An enthralling, eye-opening portrayal of this barrier-breaking American hero as a lifelong, relentlessly proud fighter for Black justice and civil rights.


The Complete Cookbook for Young Scientists: Good Science Makes Great Food: 70+ Recipes, Experiments, & Activities (Young Chefs Series) By America's Test Kitchen Kids Cover Image
$21.99
ISBN: 9781948703666
Availability: Not in the store. We can order it and should have it in store in 3-5 business days.
Published: America's Test Kitchen Kids - September 28th, 2021

America's Test Kitchen Kids brings delicious science to your kitchen! Over 75 kid-tested, kid-approved recipes and experiments teach young chefs about the fun and fascinating science of food. This is the fourth book in the New York Times bestselling cookbook series for Young Chefs.


Crash from Outer Space: Unraveling the Mystery of Flying Saucers, Alien Beings, and Roswell (Scholastic Focus) By Candace Fleming Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9781338829464
Availability: Likely on our shelves now
Published: Scholastic Focus - October 4th, 2022

Award-winning author Candace Fleming sets her gaze on the mystery at Roswell, New Mexico, and the "crash from outer space" that set the United States on edge for decades.

Scholastic Focus is the premier home of thoroughly researched, beautifully written, and thoughtfully designed works of narrative nonfiction aimed at middle-grade and young adult readers.


A First Time for Everything By Dan Santat Cover Image
$14.99
ISBN: 9781250851048
Availability: Not in the store. We can order it and should have it in store in 3-5 business days.
Published: First Second - February 28th, 2023

A middle grade graphic memoir based on bestselling author and Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat's awkward middle school years and the trip to Europe that changed his life.


Notable Native People: 50 Indigenous Leaders, Dreamers, and Changemakers from Past and Present By Adrienne Keene, Ciara Sana (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Adrienne Keene, Ciara Sana (Illustrator)
$18.99
ISBN: 9781984857941
Availability: Likely on our shelves now
Published: Ten Speed Press - October 19th, 2021

An accessible and educational illustrated book profiling 50 notable American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian people, from NBA star Kyrie Irving of the Standing Rock Lakota to Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation

An American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award Young Adult Honor Book!


Andy Warner's Oddball Histories: Pests and Pets By Andy Warner Cover Image
$12.99
ISBN: 9780316463386
Availability: Not in the store. We can order it and should have it in store in 3-5 business days.
Published: Little, Brown Ink - September 7th, 2021

The bestselling author of Brief History of Everyday Objects explores the animals we love, the ones we make use of, and the ones that make use of us in this hilarious, informative mix of storytelling and factbook.Did you know that 32 pigeons have received medals for wartime valor? And a dog named Laika was the very first creature to orbit the Earth?


Unsolved Case Files: The 500 Million Dollar Heist: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Thirteen Missing Masterpieces By Tom Sullivan, Tom Sullivan (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Tom Sullivan, Tom Sullivan (Illustrator)
$12.99
ISBN: 9780062991577
Availability: Likely on our shelves now
Published: Balzer + Bray - August 30th, 2022

The third book in this graphic nonfiction series about real FBI cases details the Isabella Stewart Gardner heist—the largest, and one of the most famous, art thefts in the world.

CASE NO. 003: THE GARDNER

MARCH 18, 1990

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

1:24 a.m.


The Wonders We Seek: Thirty Incredible Muslims Who Helped Shape the World By Saadia Faruqi, Saffa Khan (Illustrator), Aneesa Mumtaz Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9780062973443
Availability: Likely on our shelves now
Published: Quill Tree Books - June 7th, 2022

In this biographical collection, with stunning portraits and illustrations by Saffa Khan, authors Saadia Faruqi and Aneesa Mumtaz highlight some of the talented Muslim physicians, musicians, athletes, poets, and more who helped make the world we know today.

A brilliant surgeon heals patients in the first millennium.

A female king rules the Indian subcontinent.


Code Name Badass: The True Story of Virginia Hall By Heather Demetrios Cover Image
$12.99
ISBN: 9781534431881
Availability: Likely on our shelves now
Published: Atheneum Books for Young Readers - September 6th, 2022

“Bringing together rigorous research and a vibrant writing style” (School Library Journal), Code Name Verity meets Inglourious Basterds in this riotous, spirited biography of the most dangerous of all Allied spies, courageous and kickass Virginia Hall.

When James Bond was still in diapers, Virginia Hall was behind enemy lines, playing a dangerous game


Ethel's Song: Ethel Rosenberg’s Life in Poems By Barbara Krasner Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781635926255
Availability: Not in the store. We can order it and should have it in store in 3-5 business days.
Published: Calkins Creek - September 13th, 2022

Convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union against the United States, Ethel Rosenberg shares the story of her beliefs, loves, secrets, betrayals, and injustices in this compelling YA novel in verse.


Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American By Laura Gao, Laura Gao (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Laura Gao, Laura Gao (Illustrator)
$18.99
ISBN: 9780063067769
Availability: Not in the store. We can order it and should have it in store in 3-5 business days.
Published: Balzer + Bray - March 8th, 2022

Messy Roots is a laugh-out-loud, heartfelt, and deeply engaging story of their journey to find themself--as an American, as the daughter of Chinese immigrants, as a queer person, and as a Wuhanese American in the middle of a pandemic.”—Malaka Gharib, author of I Was Their American Dream


Murder Among Friends: How Leopold and Loeb Tried to Commit the Perfect Crime By Candace Fleming Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9780593177426
Availability: Likely on our shelves now
Published: Anne Schwartz Books - March 29th, 2022

How did two teenagers brutally murder an innocent child...and why? And how did their brilliant lawyer save them from the death penalty in 1920s Chicago? Written by a prolific master of narrative nonfiction, this is a compulsively readable true-crime story based on an event dubbed the "crime of the century."


Semi-Famous: A True Story of Near Celebrity By Josh Sundquist Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9780316629799
Availability: Not in the store. We can order it and should have it in store in 3-5 business days.
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - July 19th, 2022

"A clever, irreverent, and laugh-out-loud funny crash course on fame." —Hank Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Social media star and comedian Josh Sundquist takes readers on his hilarious journey to the fringes of viral stardom to discover if it’s possible to be both very famous and very happ


Strongman: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy By Kenneth C. Davis Cover Image
$12.99
ISBN: 9781250853264
Availability: Backordered at our distributor but we can check availability from the publisher.
Published: Square Fish - October 4th, 2022

From the bestselling author of the Don’t Know Much About® books comes a dramatic account of the origins of democracy, the history of authoritarianism, and the reigns of five of history's deadliest dictators.

A Washington Post Best Book of the Year! A Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year! A YALSA 2021 Nonfiction Award Nominee!