Karen English Books in Order

A coastal family boards windows, stores water, and gathers with neighbors as a hurricane closes in. The storm is frightening, but the story stays rooted in the small choices and brave moments that help people endure.

Essie waits eagerly for her cousin Neeny to visit Daufuskie Island, then finds that city life has changed her. Their uneasy reunion becomes a gentle story about family, pride, and holding on to home.

As her family cooks a special birthday stew, a young girl runs errands and listens to everyone argue about the one missing ingredient. She may be the only person who knows how to make the pot come out just right.

This short biography introduces Jackie Robinson's childhood, his rise in baseball, and the prejudice he faced along the way. It gives young readers a clear look at the courage behind his breakthrough into the major leagues.

Nadia is excited to be her aunt's flower girl until intricate mehndi designs are painted on her hands for the wedding. She worries what school friends will think, then begins to see the beauty of her family's tradition.

Marisol is hurrying home to see whether her cat has had kittens, but everyone in the neighborhood keeps stopping her to translate. Her busy trip home becomes a lively look at family, language, and responsibility.

During a drive to Auntie Dot's house, Junie tells her children about the year she spent there as a girl during her parents' separation. It is a tender story of loneliness, friendship, and learning how to wait.

On the hottest day of summer, Kishi and Renee sit apart after a painful fight and wait for the other to give in. Games in the street and the pull of friendship slowly bring them back together.

In a cycle of poems set over one school day, six children reveal what they fear, want, and notice. Their separate voices turn an ordinary classroom into a vivid map of hurt, hope, and small acts of kindness.

While working in a rooftop garden, Jamal asks his grandmother if she was ever a baby. Her answer becomes a warm family story about her birth, old customs, and the people who welcomed her into the world.

Best friends and next-door neighbors Nikki and Deja do everything together, until a bossy new girl stirs up jealousy and clique-making. What starts as a schoolyard plan soon threatens the friendship they count on most.

Deja has been counting down to her birthday, then Auntie Dee leaves on a business trip and the whole plan feels shaky. Rivalry, disappointment, and family changes make the big day harder than she expected.

In pre-civil rights Alabama, Francie helps her mother, waits for word from her father in Chicago, and dreams of a different life. When a Black boy is falsely accused, her sense of right and wrong pulls her into danger.

Nikki and Deja decide their block and school need real reporting, so they launch a homemade newsletter. It is exciting at first, until a mistake reminds them that sharing news also means getting it right.

Deja throws herself into a race for school president and expects Nikki to help run the campaign. But as speeches, posters, and hurt feelings pile up, the election starts to cost more than either girl expected.

A slave family slips into the night and heads north, knowing one wrong sound could destroy their chance at freedom. The story keeps its focus on fear, courage, and the dangerous hope of escape.

Ms. Shelby is getting married, and Nikki and Deja are thrilled when they are chosen to attend. But jealousy at school and money worries at home turn the happy event into another test of their friendship.

New kid Gavin wants to fit in at school and impress his friend Richard, but one bad choice leads to a broken snow globe and a debt to his sister. Walking Aunt Myrtle's tiny dog becomes his unexpected punishment.

When Ms. Shelby-Ortiz is hurt and a substitute takes over Room Ten, the class quickly starts testing limits. Nikki and Deja have to decide whether to join the chaos, tell on their classmates, or find a better way through it.

Richard cannot wait for a birthday party at the skate park, but a note home from his teacher threatens everything. He keeps stalling instead of facing the truth, and the lie only grows trickier to manage.

Carlos tries to welcome his cousin Bernardo, but it gets harder when Bernardo takes over his room, his routines, and even bothers his prized geckos. Family loyalty and frustration collide in this tense, funny school story.

Calvin is upset when friendly neighbors move away and the biggest bully at Carver Elementary moves in next door. While working on the science fair, he learns that first impressions can hide a much more complicated story.

In 1965 Los Angeles, twelve-year-old Sophie wants a normal summer, but family strain, prejudice, and the wider turmoil around her keep breaking in. As the city changes, she starts seeing race, class, and color in sharper ways.

Gavin and his friends are not sure what to make of Khufu, the unusual new boy in class, especially when Gavin's bike goes missing. As tempers rise, Gavin has to decide whether his suspicions are fair.

Richard's class is only days away from earning a pizza party when their teacher gets sick and a strict substitute takes over. Then suspicion of cheating spreads, and Richard must help save the celebration before it disappears.

Malika treasures the shiny red shoes her nana buys her and wears them everywhere. When she outgrows them, the shoes begin a new journey to another girl, turning one child's joy into a shared story of love and letting go.