It’s great when kids have something fun and educational on which to focus their minds beyond the classroom. Enjoy these books about activities that build community, skill and friendships.
Preschool
“Jump In!”
 by Shadra Strickland This book celebrates a community coming together through their love of double Dutch. |
| “I Like Hoops” by Juwanda G. Ford A close game of basketball, played by a diverse group of first and second graders, is full of suspense, joy and good sportsmanship, too! |
| “Gymnastica Fantastica!”
by Briony Stewart Join Gymnastica, a small person with big energy, as they bend and balance, bounce and roll, attempt a cartwheel and a spectacular trapeze flip-out finale. Elementary |
 “Boogie Bass, Sign Language Star” by Claudia Mills Boogie Bass feels his best friend, Nolan, is better than he is at everything, even caring for Boogie’s little brothers. But an after-school camp reveals Boogie’s talent at communicating using American Sign Language. |
| “Pizza and Taco: Coolest Club Ever!”
by Stephen Shaskan Pizza and Taco are serving up more awesomeness with a cool new club! They can’t wait to talk about all their favorite interests including making comic books. Lots of people signed up, so they know it’s going to be popular! |
| “Animal Rescue Friends” (Volume 1)
by Meika Hashimoto, Gina Loveless and Genevieve Kote A lonely girl living in the suburbs finds happiness with a stray pit bull. Middle School |
 by Saadia Faruqi Sixth graders Sara, a Pakistani American, and Elizabeth, a Jewish girl, connect in an after-school cooking club and bond over food and their mothers’ struggles to become United States citizens. |
| “Chess Club: The Winning Move”
by Rebecca Donnelly Chess is Halima Kasim’s favorite thing in the world. But with no local chess club in her small town, she has no one to practice with offline. Yearning for worthy opponents IRL, she recruits newbies. High School |
 “Become an App Inventor: The Official Guide from MIT App Inventor” by Karen Lang With the help of this companion guide chock-full of colorful graphics and easy-to-follow instructions, readers can learn how to create six different apps, including a working piano, a maze game and even their own chat app to communicate with friends. |
| “The Complete Cookbook for Teen Chefs”
by America’s Test Kitchen For the first time ever, America’s Test Kitchen Kids is bringing its rigorous testing, kitchen knowhow and hands-on learning to teenagers in the kitchen. |
