Service Alert
Website maintenance April 24 10pm ET
On Wednesday April 24 at 10pm ET the CELA website will be unavailable for about 15 minutes for planned maintenance.
On Wednesday April 24 at 10pm ET the CELA website will be unavailable for about 15 minutes for planned maintenance.
Showing 1 - 20 of 88 items
By Sara Saedi. 2018
Television show writer and novelist recounts her teenage years in the 1990s, and reveals how she discovered that her family…
had entered the United States as undocumented immigrants. Provides a humorous account of balancing teen angst with trying to become an American citizen. For senior high and older readers. 2018By Margarita Engle, illustrations by Rafael Lopez. 2017
By Walter Staib, Jennifer Fox, Fernando Juarez. 2010
By Margarita Engle, Rafael López. 2015
In Cuba in the 1930s, music filled the air. Millo had a dream playing drums of all kinds, but the…
country and her father only permitted boys to play drums. Millo finds a way to drum and practices in secret. Eventually her father relents and hires a music teacher for her. Millo's persistance means that she and her sisters become the first all-girl dance band in Cuba and play with and for famous people. (Story inspired by the childhood of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga.) For grades K-3By Lynne Cox, Brian Floca. 2014
Describes how an elephant seal made a home in New Zealand's narrow Avon River and loved to stretch out across…
a two-lane road, requiring volunteers to tow her farther out to sea after she kept returning repeatedly. For preschool-grade 2By Suana Verelst, Elizabeth Suneby. 2013
By John Agard, Jennifer Bent. 1989
By Leah Henderson, Floyd Cooper. 2021
Today is a special day. Eli knows it's important if he's allowed to miss one second of school, his "hard-earned…
right." Inspired by true events and told through the eyes of a young boy, this is the deeply moving story about what is regarded as the first Memorial Day on May 1, 1865. Eli dresses up in his best clothes, Mama gathers the mayflowers, Papa straightens his hat, and together they join the crowds filling the streets of Charleston, South Carolina, with bouquets, crosses, and wreaths. Abolitionists, missionaries, teachers, military officers, and a sea of faces Black, Brown, and White, they march as one and sing for all those who gave their lives fighting for freedom during the Civil War. With poignant prose and celebratory, powerful illustrations, A Day for Rememberin' shines light on the little-known history of this important holiday and reminds us never to forget the people who put their lives on the line for their country. For grades K-3By Gary Soto. 1990
Eleven vignettes set in central California feature young Mexican-Americans going about the business of growing up. Fausto, who longs for…
a guitar, fraudulently receives a hefty reward when he returns a stray pet to a wealthy neighbor, but he is guilt-ridden until he relinquishes the money in church. And Marie, who declines a boring family vacation, is angry that fun was had without her. For grades 5-8 and older readersBy Robert Lipsyte. 1993
A seventeen-year-old Harlem boy has a driving ambition to become a boxing champion. After long and challenging training, he learns…
that winning is not the only prerequisite for the title. For high school and adult readersBy Elizabeth Acevedo. 2019
Teen mother Emoni Santiago struggles with the challenges of finishing her senior year, raising her two-year-old daughter, and following her…
dream of working as a chef. Strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2019By Randy Ribay. 2018
Told from alternating perspectives, Bunny takes a basketball scholarship to an elite private school to help his family, leaving behind…
Nasir, his best friend, in their tough Philadelphia neighborhood. Strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2018By Justina Ireland. 2018
After the dead rise on the battlefields of Gettysburg, America passes the Negro and Native Reeducation Act that requires children…
of color attend combat schools to battle the undead. Jane McKeene, trained to protect the elite, gets caught up in a conspiracy. Violence and some strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2018By Terry Lynn Johnson. 2017
Eleven-year-old Travis and twelve-year-old Marina, separated from their families after being thrown into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of…
Washington, battle hypothermia as they struggle to survive. Includes Coast Guard-approved cold-water survival tips. For grades 3-6. 2017By Coe Booth, Kekla Magoon, Rita Williams-Garcia, Varian Johnson, Tracey Baptiste, Justina Ireland, Jason Reynolds, Lamar Giles, Brandy Colbert, Dhonielle Clayton, Ibi Zoboi, Leah Henderson, Renée Watson, Nic Stone, Liara Tamani, Tochi Onyebuchi, Jay Coles. 2019
Seventeen short stories explore what it is like to be young and black, and emphasize that one person's experiences, reality,…
and personal identity are different from someone else's. Contributors include René Watson, Kekla Magoon, Jason Reynolds, and Justina Ireland. Strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2019By Monica Clark-Robinson. 2018
By Terry Lynn Johnson, Jani Orban. 2018
Separated from their group during a geocaching trip, sixth-graders Jen Chiu and her mortal enemy, Martin Diaz, are caught in…
a dust storm in the desert near Las Cruces, New Mexico. Includes survival tips from the New Mexico Search and Rescue Council. For grades 3-6. 2018By Daniel José Older. 2017
After a few shadowshapers receive strange cards depicting beasts, Sierra Santiago uses her powers to battle whatever is hunting them…
in real life. She will do anything to protect her loved ones. Strong language and some violence. For junior and senior high and older readers. 2017By Kirby Larson. 2016
New Orleans, 1940s. Polio-survivor Fish Elliot and his neighbor Olympia team up in order to save a starving stray dog…
they call Liberty, and they find other unlikely allies willing to help. For grades 3-6. 2016By Kirby Larson. 2014
When her family is forced into a Japanese internment camp, Mitsi Kashino is separated from her home, her classmates, and…
her beloved dog, Dash. Heartbroken, Mitsi clings to her one connection to Dash: the letters from the kindly neighbor who is caring for him. For grades 3-6. 2014