Confetti Kids: Early Chapter Books

Girl carrying box with parents in front of apartment

This early chapter book series from Lee and Low features a diverse group of friends in New York City. Follow Lily and her friends Padma, Pablo, Henry, and Mei on their imaginative adventures throughout the city, from a block party to a trip out to Coney Island. An activity guide for the series is available from Lee and Low.

Block Party (Confetti Kids)

Illustrated by: Shirley Ng-Benitez
Age Level: 3-6
Language: English

The neighborhood is having a block party where everyone is responsible for bringing a food dish. Padma is excited about the party until she learns that her mother is planning to bring lentil soup. Padma thinks soup is so boring! Everyone else will bring fun things like pizza or hot dogs. Plus Padma worries that her friends won’t like the soup—but to her delight, she discovers that they not only like the soup, they want to learn how to make it.

Buddy Bench (Confetti Kids)

Five kids around a bench that is covered in colored hand prints.
Illustrated by: Shirley Ng-Benitez
Age Level: 6-9
Language: English

Five friends from diverse backgrounds learn how to navigate common childhood challenges, new experiences, and the world around them in the realistic and kid-friendly Confetti Kids early chapter books. In this story, Padma is excited about meeting new people at school. Making friends comes easily to her, but she soon discovers that it can be hard for others. When she notices a boy sitting by himself every day, Padma enlists her friends to create a buddy bench, where kids can go if they need a friend.

Follow That Map! (Confetti Kids)

FIve kids on a bus looking at a map.
By: Sheri Tan
Illustrated by: Shirley Ng-Benitez
Age Level: 6-9

Five friends from diverse backgrounds learn how to navigate common childhood challenges, new experiences, and the world around them in the realistic and kid-friendly Confetti Kids early chapter books.Pablo and his friends want to spend the last day of summer at Coney Island. They can ride bumper cars or play ring toss--there's so much to do! But first, they need to figure out how to get to Coney Island from their neighborhood.

Lily's New Home (Confetti Kids)

Lily's New Home
By: Paula Yoo
Age Level: 3-6
Language: English

Lily and her parents move from their suburban neighborhood to New York City. Lily is used to living in a house on a quiet street. When they arrive at their new apartment, Lily notices the amount of activity all around. Kids play jump rope on one corner. Buses and taxis zoom by. Lily feels like a small ant on such a busy block and worries that she’ll never feel at home. As she and her parents explore their new, multicultural neighborhood, Lily discovers that sometimes change can be a good thing.

Music Time (Confetti Kids)

Kids playing instruments
Illustrated by: Shirley Ng-Benitez
Age Level: 3-6

Henry dreams of becoming a rock star drummer and practices at home whenever he can. One day while Henry is drumming, his mom has to work, and asks him to stop playing. Henry decides to go outside to play his drum and he sees his friends. Henry wants to keep practicing, but he also wants to play with his friends. By playing Freeze Dance, he can do both. And when his mother finishes work that evening, they figure out how to enjoy music together too.

Pablo's Pet (Confetti Kids)

Pablo's Pet
By: Sheri Tan
Illustrated by: Shirley Ng-Benitez
Age Level: 3-6

Pablo is sad when he discovers his pet fish Ruby has died. While he misses her and has to cope with the loss, luckily, he's not alone. Pablo's friends and family are there to comfort him and help him remember all the good times he had with Ruby. In the end, Pablo realizes that the things we love never really leave us.

The Perfect Gift (Confetti Kids)

By: Paula Yoo
Illustrated by: Shirley Ng-Benitez
Age Level: 3-6
Language: English

In this story, Mei’s family is throwing a 100-days birthday party for her little brother — a traditional Chinese celebration after the arrival of a baby. Mei’s grandma is in town for the festivities and teaches Mei about the different customs. Mei can’t wait for the party, but she worries about what to give her little brother. With help from her friends and grandma, Mei discovers that the best gifts are those from the heart.

The Protest (Confetti Kids)

Illustration of diverse kids marching with a sign that says "Save the Garden"
Illustrated by: Shirley Ng-Benitez
Age Level: 6-9

Lily learns that the community garden is going to be torn down and made into a parking lot. Lily and her friends are upset by the news. They decide to form a protest and call on friends, neighbors, and reporters to participate and save their beloved garden. On the morning of the protest, Lily is unsure if their efforts will work. After all, she and her friends are just kids, and no one is going to listen to them. . . . Or can they prove that kids can make a difference too?

Want to Play? (Confetti Kids)

By: Paula Yoo
Illustrated by: Shirley Ng-Benitez
Age Level: 3-6
Language: English

It’s a warm, sunny day, and the gang heads to the neighborhood playground to play. What should they play? Henry wants to play basketball, and Padma wants to play Follow the Leader. Finally Pablo comes up with a great idea: to play pretend. It’s a game that everyone can do easily. They can pretend to be archaeologists, astronauts, and explorers. There’s no limit to what they imagine they can be!