Outstanding collection of short stories by a truly spectacular collection of current authors. By turns funny, inspiring, heart-rending, fascinating, this is a read that will keep you engaged, and that is particularly well targeted for a upper elementary to young middle school audience. . ( )

This was a great collection of diverse stories about middle school age kids. There were a variety of backgrounds and ethnicities represented in the stories. Most of the stories were realistic and contemporary but there was one that was historical fiction as well. I really enjoyed all of the stories and would definitely recommend it to all kids in that age group. ( )

children's middlegrade (4th-7th grade) short stories (everyday diversity). Mostly contemporary stories (Grace Lin had one set in historic China) that are highly readable and that would be of interest to most kids. Even if you don't know of or care about the #weneeddiversebooks movement (which you should), this is a fantastic compilation. ( )

This is a strong group of stories with a strong intention: diversity in race, physical ability, economics, ethnicity and sexuality (though the last is more hinted at than stated outright) in this collection for middle/junior high readers. As editor and co-founder of We Need Diverse Stories, Ellen Oh has assembled a great group of writers (Kwame Alexander, Grace Lin, Jacqueline Woodson, Walter Dean Myers among others) whose work will be familiar to the target audience. They are sure to see themselves or gain empathy for others through these varied works. Some are funny (Choctaw Bigfoot, Seventy-Six Dollars and Forty-Nine Cents), some are touching (Main Street, Flying Lessons) but all will resonate with the 11-14 year-old demographic and their tulmultuous mishmash of emotions, opinions, and experiences. Soman Chainani captures it best in Flying Lessons: "At your age, sometimes it's hard to know whether you like someone....or whether you just want to be them." ( )

So, so good. I love short stories anyway, but these are such fun and they're all so different. I highly recommend the audiobook if you can get your hands on it, because each story is read by a different reader and they're all perfect. (Some of the authors read their stories!) Pick this up for summer, because you'll love it. ( )