Upper Elementary: UE Summer Reading 2025

(Picture Book - Fiction) Every great adventure needs a hero—or two! This playful take on storytelling proves that two tellers can make a rhyming tale twice as nice.

(Picture Book - Fiction) Dictionary wishes she could tell a story like other books. So one day, she decides to bring her words to life. How exciting it is to finally have an adventure on her very own pages! But what will she do when her characters collide and everything gets all in a jumble, causing the most enormous tantrum to explode?

(Picture Book - Fiction) A dog and a strawberry find themselves nose to stem and an epic battle ensues—who will come out on top in this hilarious story?

(Informational Picture Book) Winner of the 2025 Robert F. Sibert Medal & 2025 Cook Prize. Follow a blue whale’s enormous body to the bottom of the ocean, where it sets the stage for a bustling new ecosystem to flourish.

(Animal Fiction) Orris the rat lives alone in an old barn surrounded by his treasures, until the day his solitude is disrupted by a sudden flutter of wings and a loud screech. A small owl has gotten caught in a trap in the barn. Can Orris 'make the good and noble choice' and rescue the owl, despite the fact that owls and rats are natural enemies? And if he does, will he be ready for the consequences?

(Fantasy) When eleven-year-old Hailey and her friend Kyle make a wish on a Chinese lion statue, they accidentally bring a dragon to life.

(Animal Fiction) Get ready for a wild ride with Bunny and Clyde! These by-the-rules buddies, a rabbit and a chipmunk, are sick and tired of being good. For once, they want to know what it’s like to be baddies—rotten to the core! A hilarious caper of criminal intentions gone awry.

(Realistic Fiction) Millie Magnus has huge love for many things—her mom, her friends, her baby chicken, and even her hot pink rain boots. She loves school too, and can’t wait for Field Day. Then Millie learns that Buckley, who bullies Millie, is assigned to compete against her in the three-legged race. What will she do? But Millie’s can-do spirit is hard to keep down and her big feelings come in handy.

(Realistic Fiction) From the bestselling author of Ivy + Bean comes the first book in a new series about sisters - older sister Stella, is kind, a good storyteller, and ponders big questions, while younger sister Marigold tells imaginative stories (that her mother calls “fibs”) and likes to wear her favorite Halloween costume year-round. Stella and Marigold do all the regular things—like going to school, playing, getting sick sometimes, and visiting the zoo—but even the most regular things have a secret side.

(Realistic Fiction) Leela, Jaden, and the rest of the Jackson family travel the country and respond to natural disasters, helping people in need and rescuing animals along the way. In this first adventure, the Jacksons are called to Northern California. There are people and animals in danger! Will the Disaster Squad be able to keep their cool and lend a helping hand?

(Fantasy) Cordelia is a girl raised by squirrels in Central Park. She acts just like any other young squirrel, leaping across treetops, chasing her squirrel friends, and sleeping in her treehouse. Still, she wonders what it would be like to have a human friend, and when she stumbles into a gymnastics class, it seems like she might have her chance.

(Realistic Fiction) Meet the kids in Mrs. Z’s wacky and wonderful third-grade class! Cheerleader Emma McKenna is thrilled for the first day of school… until her frenemy shows up and all of Emma’s plans for a social do-over take a tumble!

(Animal/Historical Fiction) In a park of Regency-era London, Penelope, a little pug, gets separated from her Lady and is found by Lady Diggleton, so Penelope does her best to mind her manners in spite of a dreadful squirrel who keeps poking its nose in wherever Penelope happens to be.

(Animal Fiction) A heartwarming, funny, illustrated story told in the alternating voices of a bodega owner's son, Miguel, and his newly-rescued furry friend, Lolo, with a focus on family, community and art.

(Realistic Fiction) Ten-year-old Ben Cutler loves soccer and likes to have fun while playing, but when he joins a travel team that takes winning very seriously, he starts to wonder if there is more to the game than just getting a W.

(Realistic Fiction) Lissie, her dad, and her grandmother travel to Central America to visit a friend in this illustrated novel by Newbery Medal winner Lynne Rae Perkins. Lissie doesn’t know how to speak Spanish, but Lissie is a fearless explorer, and soon she is embracing the sights and sounds, delicious foods, family stories, and people. There are memorable discoveries and almost disasters, but mostly there are new friends.

(Realistic Fiction) As a member of the Vipers Swim Team, Julia Nam is always in the pool doing her favorite thing -- swimming. She can't wait for Personal Best Day; if their times are good enough, they can enter a big regional swim meet. But then an ear infection forbids her to swim for ten days. How can she get timed when she's not allowed in the water? Julia is desperate, but her solution lands her in a sticky situation.

(Graphic Novel - Science Fiction) Think your wildest wish can’t come true? Just wait! It’s his first day at a new school, and Stanley wishes he could disappear. He can hardly believe it when, after a big spill at the science fair, POOF! Stanley is invisible! Now a wild and hilarious adventure begins.

(Fantasy) While her mother cleans rooms at the Hotel Balzaar, Marta slips down the back staircase to the grand lobby to chat with the bellman, study the painting over the fireplace, and watch a cat chase a mouse around the face of the grandfather clock, all the while dreaming of the return of her soldier father, who has gone missing. One day, a mysterious countess with a parrot checks in, promising seven stories. As the stories unfold, Marta begins to wonder: could the secret to her father’s disappearance lie in the countess’s tales?

(Realistic Fiction) Winner of the 2025 John Newbery Medal Honor. Magnolia Wu has pinned every lost sock from her parents’ NYC laundromat onto a bulletin board in hopes that customers will return to retrieve them. But no one seems to have noticed. In fact, barely anyone has noticed Magnolia at all. However, it turns out this is about to be her most exciting summer yet. Magnolia and a new friend, Iris, set off across the city to solve the mystery of each missing sock, asking questions in subways, delis, plant stores, and pizzerias. With each new encounter, Magnolia learns that when you’re bold enough to head into the unknown, things start falling into place.

(Realistic Fiction) In the long-awaited follow-up to the beloved classic Frindle, a new generation of kids discovers the power of words and imagination to solve a mystery and change their world. Clements’s final novel is a timely one—about the importance of language, the changes that come along with technology (good and bad), and how sometimes you have to challenge what you think you know.

(Historical Fiction/Mystery) Best friends Rachel and Joon are ready to spend their summer practicing spycraft. When eavesdropping leads them to a ring rumored to have belonged to Anna "Nancy" Smith Strong, the only female member of George Washington's famed Culper Spy Ring, they think they've hit the jackpot. Soon, they discover Nancy left a coded message in the ring! Decoding her message leads to another cryptic clue, and soon Rachel and Joon are racing to decipher a series of puzzles that must surely lead to hidden treasure! Can they solve the final mystery before Joon's moving day?

(Paranormal Fiction/Mystery) When Rami sees a floating girl in the museum, he knows he has seen her somewhere before. Then he realizes: she looks just like the girl in the painting that has gone missing. But how does her appearance connect to the theft? Agatha the turtle knows--she has been watching from the garden. But she can't exactly tell anyone--can she?"

(Realistic Fiction/Mystery) Simon's family is always on the move. Every few months, they load up their van and set off for a new adventure. According to his dad, you can't live an extraordinary life by staying in one place. But all Simon wants is to settle down, so he's hatched a plan: find a recently stolen necklace and make their latest apartment in the Tangerine Pines his forever home. With the help of his neighbor Amaya, pet sitter, plant-waterer, and podcaster extraordinaire, Simon is determined to crack the case and finally put down roots.

(Realistic Fiction/Adventure) The space rock is just the latest thing to land, uninvited, in Vega Lucero’s road-stop hometown. But when she discovers how much a chunk of the meteorite might be worth, she realizes it’s exactly the treasure she’s been hoping to find. Determined to find more pieces of the sky, stubbornly independent Vega must team up with Jasper (a would-be rival), and her tagalong cousin Mila. Together, this ragtag group battles against coyotes, a flood, and scorpions. But what they will ultimately discover is that no treasure is big enough to prevent unwelcome change. Only family and friends can help weather the unexpected that life brings.

(Realistic Fiction) Jiyoung “Gigi” Shin loves to create, from her zany outfits to self-executed haircuts. She dreams of becoming an artist and doodles every chance she gets. When Gigi learns about an elite art camp, she’s determined to go. But she knows her parents won’t let her, much less pay for it. After overhearing her little brother, Tommy, complain about how hard math is and how his teacher goes too fast for him, Gigi has a brilliant idea: form a tutoring club with her friends to make enough money for the art camp.

(Realistic Fiction/Mystery) Opal Watson loves being a detective. When her neighbor’s cat goes missing or her grandmother loses her cherished cookbook, Opal is on the case. And there is no mystery she cannot solve. Returning home to Chicago after spending the summer with her Meme in New Orleans, Opal is nervous to begin school. But school quickly becomes the least of her worries. There are mysterious noises in the walls of her apartment building. Even worse, the old building is the target of developers wanting to tear it down. Can Opal solve the mystery and save her home?

(Historical Fiction/Adventure) Marissa and Clara’s mom is the newly elected president of the United States, and they haven’t experienced much freedom lately. While exploring the White House they discover a hidden tunnel that leads to an underground clubhouse full of antique curiosities, doors heading in all directions―and a mysterious invitation to join the ranks of White House kids. So they sign the pledge. Suddenly, the lights go out, and Marissa and Clara find themselves back in time.

(Historical Fiction/Mystery) In 1948 Milwaukee, twelve-year-old Nick's expectations for summer start to crumble when he ends up working at his Uncle Spiro’s frozen custard stand at the zoo instead of hanging out with his two best pals. But, with a custard competitor who plays dirty tricks and a runaway polar bear, Nick's summer turns out more eventful than he imagined.

(Animal Fantasy) Shadow the fox does not trust humans. Well, except for Nan, who feeds her chunks of fish behind a lakeside motel every night. When Nan goes missing, a man from the mysterious Whistlenorth Island comes ashore to seek the aid of Nan's granddaughter, Bee, whom he thinks is destined not only to help Nan, but also to save Whistlenorth from the greedy and destructive Night Islanders. The plans go topsy-turvy when it becomes obvious that Bee does not have the magic powers of a chosen one-but Shadow does! Can a fox really rescue an island of people?

(Realistic Fiction) Shira and Esther are identical strangers living on opposite sides of town. Shira, daughter of a rabbi, dreams of a life onstage, while Esther wants to devote her life to her faith, so they switch places to pursue their dreams. Working together, they uncover the truth about their mysterious connection and prevent a beloved local theater from being destroyed.

(Realistic Fiction/Mystery/Adventure) From the author of Framed and City Spies comes an action-packed, new series starter. Alex Sherlock and his older sister Zoe with the help of their friends Lina and Yadi decide to spend their summer in Miami investigating the many "cold cases" their grandfather accumulated during his years as a reporter--first up, Al Capone and a buried treasure.

(Fantasy/Adventure) For centuries mystical creatures were gathered into a hidden sanctuary called Fablehaven to prevent their extinction. Author Brandon Mull returns to Fablehaven with this first installment of a new spin-off series. Satyrs Newel and Doren travel from Fablehaven to Key West to seek counsel from the Listening Doll on how to stop a dangerous gorgon threatening Fablehaven-and win the annual Satyrs Games.