“Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea” by Sy Montgomery is a nonfiction book that follows scientist Lisa Dabek and a team of researchers as they travel into the remote cloud forests of Papua New Guinea to study the elusive Matschie’s tree kangaroo.  The book describes their difficult journey up the mountain, the planning and teamwork required for a field expedition, and the process of locating, safely capturing, and fitting radio collars on tree kangaroos so scientists can learn about their behavior, habitat, and how to protect them.  Along the way, readers see the beauty and challenges of the cloud forest environment and get a sense of what daily life is like for field scientists working in rugged, unpredictable conditions.​

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is an epistolary coming-of-age novel told through a series of letters written by a quiet, observant teenager named Charlie to an anonymous “friend.”  As Charlie begins his freshman year of high school in the early 1990s, he is grieving the recent suicide of a close friend and struggling with buried trauma connected to his beloved Aunt Helen, which contributes to his anxiety, periods of emotional withdrawal, and feelings of detachment.  Over the school year, he is taken under the wing of two eccentric, kind-hearted seniors, Sam and Patrick, who introduce him to new music, parties, and a wider social world, while his English teacher, Bill, nurtures his love of books and writing.​

In Amulet: Book 1, siblings Emily and Navin move with their mother to an old family home after the tragic death of their father.  While exploring the house, Emily discovers a powerful amulet that awakens an ancient force.  When their mother is kidnapped by a monstrous creature and taken into a dangerous underground world, Emily and Navin must follow her into a realm filled with robots, talking animals, and mysterious magic.  Guided by the amulet, that has a power Emily must learn to control, the siblings begin a perilous journey to save their mother and uncover the secrets of their family’s past.

A Wrinkle in Time follows Meg Murry, her younger brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O’Keefe as they go on an inter-dimensional journey to rescue Meg’s father, a scientist who has gone missing while experimenting with time travel.  Guided by three mysterious beings, Mrs. Whats-it, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which, the children “tesser” through space and encounter strange worlds, including the dark planet Camazotz, where a powerful force known as IT controls the minds of its inhabitants.  Through courage, love, and Meg’s determination, the children confront the darkness threatening not only her family but the universe.

Linda Sue Park's "When My Name Was Keoko" is a powerful historical fiction novel set during the Japanese occupation of Korea from 1940 to 1945, told through the alternating perspectives of ten-year-old Sun-hee and her older brother Tae-yul. The story begins when the Japanese government forces all Koreans to adopt Japanese names, transforming Sun-hee into Keoko as part of a broader cultural assimilation policy designed to erase Korean identity. As the family struggles to balance outward compliance with secret preservation of their heritage, they face escalating dangers including Sun-hee's uncle's involvement in the resistance movement and Tae-yul's potential forced conscription into the Japanese military. Through their personal experiences, Park masterfully illustrates how war and occupation affect civilian families, exploring themes of identity, resistance, survival, and hope while providing middle-grade readers with an accessible introduction to this lesser-known period of history. The dual narrative structure allows students to understand how the same historical events can be experienced differently based on age and perspective, making this Newbery Honor book an excellent tool for teaching historical empathy and the importance of cultural preservation in the face of systematic oppression.