Kiara has Asperger’s syndrome, and it’s hard for her to make friends. So whenever her world doesn’t make sense—which is often—she relies on Mr. Internet for answers. But there are some questions he can’t answer, like why she always gets into trouble, and how do kids with Asperger’s syndrome make friends? Kiara has a difficult time with other kids. They taunt her and she fights back. Now she’s been kicked out of school. She wishes she could be like her hero Rogue—a misunderstood X-Men mutant who used to hurt anyone she touched until she learned how to control her special power. When Chad moves in across the street, Kiara hopes that, for once, she’ll be able to make friendship stick. When she learns his secret, she’s so determined to keep Chad as a friend that she agrees not to tell. But being a true friend is more complicated than Mr. Internet could ever explain, and it might be just the thing that leads Kiara to find her own special power. In Rogue, author Lyn Miller-Lachmann celebrates everyone’s ability to discover and use whatever it is that makes them different.

An autistic boy struggles to cope with the loss of his mother in this “very moving” debut novel (Dave Eggers). Following the sudden death of Sebby’s mother, his father takes him to live in the family’s summer house, hoping it will give them both time and space to recover. But Sebby’s father deteriorates in this new isolation, leaving Sebby struggling to understand his mother’s death alone. Ultimately, he will reach out to a favorite teacher back home and to two nearby children, who force him out of the void of the past and help him to exist in the present. With an “impressive ability to connect with and portray the myopic grief of a bereft child,” this novel is filled with both sorrow and sweet humor, and with the buoyant life force of its unforgettable narrator (Kirkus Reviews). “Sebby’s innocent voice speaks for anyone bravely grasping for order and solace amid unspeakable loss.” —The Washington Post Book World “Sebby Lane will break your heart and delight your soul.” —People

Audisee® eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and sentence highlighting for an engaging read aloud experience! Standing together makes all of us stronger. Mai, a young Hmong girl, and Kiara, a young Black girl, are best friends. They do everything together—riding the bus, eating lunch, playing at recess. But one day Kiara misses school and Mai goes looking for answers. When she learns that her best friend is protesting an act of police violence against the Black community, Mai decides to join the protest too. Her parents at first want to protect her by keeping her at home, but she shows them that standing together makes all of us stronger. Written by author and actor Doua Moua, who played Po in Disney's live-action Mulan, this picture book provides an inspiring look at the value of allyship and solidarity with Black Lives Matter.

Hey, all you adventure-loving kids out there! If you're a fan of video games, get ready to dive into an epic virtual reality adventure. Meet Kiara Kole, an 11-year-old explorer—not so great at video games but a total outdoor champ with her pet pig Sparkles. But guess what? Life changes when her family moves to the futuristic city of New Eden. Buckle up, because now she's in virtual reality game school, where her sixth-grade destiny hinges on her gaming prowess. Kiara's in a crazy race against time, taking on an adventure game that's harder than trying to catch a squirrel. She's got to save the planet from a ginormous asteroid smash. Can you believe that? Uh-oh, if she fails, her sixth-grade dreams go poof! And guess what else? She finds a secret level that's super off-limits. Risky stuff, because she might just get expelled! But don't worry, a cool new friend shows up, and together they're off on a wild quest that'll test Kiara's bravery and faith. So, can Kiara overcome her fears, grab that coveted Key of Truth, and totally rule the game? Or is it going to be game over before she even starts to play? Jump into Kiara's world and brace yourself for a mind-blowing adventure that’ll ignite your imagination. Get it now.

Anika is working hard to build her new drone, but it’s much more complicated than she thought. There’s lots of parts to assemble and programming to do… she needs a little help! Her family is so busy though, they all have work, studies or things to do. How will Anika build her drone? Will anyone spend time with her? With bright, colorful illustrations, this is a great way to teach children the importance of STEM subjects, being inquisitive, as well as patience and determination. To help overcome stereotyping, the story features girls coding, mothers as working professionals, dad’s that work from home and mixed families.

Friends: Of All Types, Shapes and Sizes is a unique book created and developed by the young author, Kiara (Kiwi) Smith who is 8 years old. The perspective of this book is from a young school-aged reader for other young-school aged children. Fun Lesson-Filled story about inclusivity, diversity, and friendship. In this story, Kiara wants to teach her peers about the importance of not judging people by what they look like and that friends are so much more than appearances. Kiara wants her friends to learn how important it is to be inclusive and how hurtful it can be to those that are excluded. Kiara shares that friends can be diverse in types, shapes, size, and color. Differences can be shared and welcomed in friendships. The book has themes of empathy, inclusivity, and diversity in friendships Great resource for Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) for grade school, elementary school, and middle school aged children as well as teachers and families of kids those ages. (Children Ages 4-9) The book is the perfect activity book with workbook style questions that will engage the young readers about the topic discussed as well as coloring pages and a word search that includes key words from the book. The book has adorable furry creature friends that is the perfect family friendly book to start mindful discussions about friendship, inclusivity, diversity, empathy, and characteristics that are important in building strong friendships.

When eight-year-old Kiara discovers that her recently deceased grandmother left her a genie, trapped in a bottle of garam-masala, she’s elated. She’ll be a modern-day Aladdin and have someone to do her bidding. And Kiara could really use a little magic. Third grade is just about to start and she’s spent the summer worried about being in class with Matt, a bully who seems to have nothing else to do but make Kiara and her best friend Bai’s lives miserable. Unfortunately, the genie has decided he's on vacation after working for ten thousand years and is looking for someone to do his bidding. A battle of wills ensues, and Kiara realizes that you don’t really need magic to solve your problems. The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.