Kids Books: What's New

Based on the advertising aimed at young teens, you could assume that only toothless, insipid products are available—or wanted. Luckily, a number of writers are willing to accommodate the depth of the 12-and-older crowd. The 10 experiences shared in the anthology First Crossing: Stories About Teen Immigrants (Candlewick) range from a Kazakh girl’s attempts to balance the fun of her American school with the demands of her parents’ traditionalism to a Mexican boy’s first illegal trip to California to find work. Arthur Dorros’ Under the Sun (Amulet) recounts the travels of 13-year-old Ehmet, a refugee of the Bosnian fighting in the early 1990s. He wants to locate a village he’s heard about, where adults and orphaned children of all backgrounds are rebuilding their lives cooperatively. The book is inspired by a similar community, Nadomak...