Unidentified Suburban Object

If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period

Words Between Us

Spanish is the Language of My Family

Sunnyside Plaza

A Song for Bijou

Hundred Percent

My Town / Mi Pueblo

It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. It’s an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped.

Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. She’s tired of the rude stares, the degrading comments - even the physical violence - she endures as a result of her race, her religion, and the hijab she wears every day. So she’s built up protective walls and refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her. Instead, she drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother.

But then she meets Ocean James. He’s the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin. It terrifies her - they seem to come from two irreconcilable worlds - and Shirin has had her guard up for so long that she’s not sure she’ll ever be able to let it down.

Discover Your Child's Next Read

Unidentified Suburban Object

Mike Jung, 2016

If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period

Gennifer Choldenko, 2007

Words Between Us

Angela Pham Krans, Dung Ho, 2023

Spanish is the Language of My Family

Michael Genhart, John Parra, 2023

Sunnyside Plaza

Scott Simon, 2020

A Song for Bijou

Josh Farrar, 2013

Hundred Percent

Karen Romano Young, 2016

My Town / Mi Pueblo

Luisa Uribe, Nicholas Solis, 2022