The Charlotte & William Bloomberg Medford Public Library
May, 30 2024 04:08:19
A Little Bit Super
By Schmidt, Gary D.
In these hilarious stories by some of the top authors of middle grade fiction today, each young character is coping with a minor superpower - while also discovering their power to change themselves and their community, find their voice, and celebrate what makes them unique.
The kids in these humorous short stories each have a minor superpower they're learning to live with. One can shape-shift - but only part of her body, and only on Mondays. Another can always tell whether an avocado is perfectly ripe. One can even hear the thoughts of the animals in the pet store! But what these stories are really about is their young protagonists "owning" a power that contributes to their individuality, that allows them to find their place in the world, that shows them a potential they might not have imagined.
Publisher: n/a
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9780358683421
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Hardcover
Benny Ramírez and the Nearly Departed
By Iriarte, José Pablo
Benny Ramírez can see dead people . . . Well, one dead person, anyway. A hilarious and heartwarming story about a boy who can suddenly see the ghost of his famous musician grandfather!
After moving cross-country into his late grandfather's Miami mansion, Benny discovers that the ghost of his famous trumpet-playing abuelo, the great Ignacio Ramírez, is still there . . . and isn't too thrilled about it. He's been barred from the afterlife, and no one can see him except his grandson. But Benny's got problems of his own. He's enrolled in a performing arts school with his siblings, despite having no obvious talent.
Luckily, Abuelo believes they can help each other. Abuelo has until New Year's Eve to do some good in the world and thinks that teaching Benny how to play the trumpet and become a school celebrity might be the key to earning his wings.
Publisher: n/a
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9780593703700
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Hardcover
Clairboyance
By Kahakauwila, Kristiana
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard SelectionPerfect for fans of Debbi Michiko Florence and Lisa Greenwald, Clairboyance's heartfelt and sweet coming of age story with a touch of magic follows Clara as her life is turned upside down when she discovers that she has boy-specific ESP abilities.After accidentally wishing on a family heirloom to hear what boys are thinking, Clara wakes up the next day able to do just that. Every idea, every worry, every generous or petty thought crossing their minds - somehow, they now form a chorus of voices in hers.But why couldn't her newfound powers have arrived sooner? Then, maybe, she could have stopped her ex-best friend Leo from betraying her and ditching her for the more popular kids. At least her dad is open to the idea of moving her off O'ahu and out to Arizona to be with him.
Publisher: n/a
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9780063045354
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Hardcover
And Then, Boom!
By Fipps, Lisa
A gripping new novel in verse by the author of the Printz Honor-winning Starfish, featuring a poverty-stricken boy who bravely rides out all the storms life keeps throwing at him. Joe Oak is used to living on unsteady ground. His mom can't be depended on as she never stays around long once she gets "the itch," and now he and his beloved grandmother find themselves without a home. Fortunately, Joe has an outlet in his journals and drawings and takes comfort from the lessons of comic books - superheroes have a lot of "and then, boom" moments, where everything threatens to go bust but somehow they land on their feet. And that seems to happen a lot to Joe too, as in this crisis his friend Nick helps them find a home in his trailer park.
Publisher: n/a
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9780593406328
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Hardcover
Gooseberry
By Gow, Robin
Robin Gow's Gooseberry is a moving middle-grade novel about a young nonbinary person searching for family and finding it with a sweet rescue dog. There's a lot twelve-year-old B doesn't know - like what their new name should be after coming out as nonbinary. Or what it would feel like to finally feel at home after moving around to different foster families for years. But there's one thing B does know: they want to be a dog trainer when they grow up. And when they meet Gooseberry - a feisty stray dog who seems as wary of strangers as B does - B feels an instant connection. With Gooseberry, B could have everything they want: a family of their own, and a dog to train. And B's newest foster parents agree to let B adopt him. But training a dog isn't as easy as B expected.
Publisher: n/a
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9781419764424
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Hardcover
Jerry, Let Me See the Moon
By Ebbeler, Jeffrey
Things get squirrely when Jerry discovers that his new town is a sanctuary for were-creatures, humans who turn into animals when the moon is full, in an action-packed romp for younger middle grade readers.. Jerry has serious questions about the town his scientist father drags him to: why did they give up traveling the world to settle down in such a strange spot? Why won't his dad talk about his mysterious research or explain what happened to his mother, who disappeared years ago? And when he sees his friend Pearl transform into a were-squirrel under the light of the full moon, he needs to know: were exactly has he ended up?. But when criminal mayhem turns Jerry's town - a safe haven for were-creatures - into a not-so-safe haven, Jerry must uncover a twisty conspiracy and take down the instigators who are trying to tear the place that's become his home apart.
Publisher: n/a
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9780823453092
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Hardcover
Samira's Worst Best Summer
By Hamza, Nina
From the author of Ahmed Aziz's Epic Year comes another wryly humorous tween novel about finding belonging in an unexpected place. A must-read for fans of Hena Khan, Kelly Yang, and Karina Yan Glaser.Samira knows this is going to be the worst summer ever. Her best friend, Kiera, ditched her for the cool girls. Her parents and older sister are taking a trip to India, so Sammy is staring down endless weeks spent with Imran, her little brother, and her Umma. To top it all off - literally! - her house gets TP'd. The TP'ing upsets Imran, who is convinced that they're being targeted because they're the only brown family on the block. When Sammy attempts to solve the problem, she creates a bigger mess instead. But she also meets new girl Alice, who is determined to figure out who was behind the TP'ing.
Publisher: n/a
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9780063024946
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Hardcover
Just Keep Walking
By Downing, Erin Soderberg
Wild meets Gilmore Girls on the Trail, Just Keep Walking is a story of resilience and the healing and restorative power of wilderness and nature from acclaimed middle-grade and chapter-book author Erin Soderberg Downing.Two years after her parents' surprising and painful split, twelve-year-old Jo and her mom find themselves on the 100-mile hike on the Superior Hiking Trail along Lake Superior's north shore -- a journey that Jo had always looked forward to hiking with her dad. It's not a situation that either of them ever predicted they'd find themselves in, yet here they are in the wilderness with their entire lives stuffed into a pair of thirty-pound packs.Along the trail, they'll suffer through endless aches and pains, scorching heat, and crippling self-doubt.
Publisher: n/a
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9781338851304
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Paperback
Lion of the Sky
By Hemnani, Ritu
An evocative historical novel in verse about a boy and his family who are forced to flee their home and become refugees after the British Partition of India. Perfect for fans of Other Words for Home. Twelve-year-old Raj is happiest flying kites with his best friend, Iqbal. As their kites soar, Raj feels free, like his beloved India soon will be, and he can't wait to celebrate their independence.But when a British lawyer draws a line across a map, splitting India in two, Raj is thrust into a fractured world. With Partition declared, Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim families are torn apart - and Raj's Hindu and Iqbal's Muslim families are among them.Forced to flee and become refugees, Raj's family is left to start over in a new country. After suffering devastating losses, Raj must summon the courage to survive the brutal upheaval of both his country and his heart.
Publisher: n/a
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9780063284487
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Hardcover
Linus and Etta Could Use a Win
By Huntoon, Caroline
A hot-headed cynic befriends the new kid -- a shy trans boy -- when she takes on a bet to get him elected student body president in this new middle grade contemporary novel from Caroline Huntoon, author of Skating on Mars.. Linus is the new boy at school, and he's trying to keep it quiet. After coming out as trans last year and managing the attention that came with it, he's more than happy to fade into the background of his new middle school.. Etta isn't like other kids at school, and she's proud of it. The class misanthrope and the owner of the greenest hair at Doolittle Middle School, she's still reeling from a painful friendship breakup, making her more than happy to burn middle-school bridges before she heads off to the local alternative high school next year.
Publisher: n/a
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9781250897466
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Hardcover
Telephone of the Tree
By Mcghee, Alison
An unforgettable story of grief and the support of community as a young girl, faced with aching loss, begins to understand that what we love will always be with us.. Ayla and her best friend Kiri have always been tree people. They each have their own special tree, and neighbors and family know that they are most likely to be found within the branches. But after an accident on their street, Kiri has gone somewhere so far away that Ayla can only wait and wait in her birch, longing to be able to talk with Kiri again.. Then a mysterious, old-fashioned telephone appears one morning, nestled in the limbs of Ayla's birch tree. Where did it come from? she wonders. And why are people showing up to use this phone to call their loved ones? Especially loved ones who have passed on.
Publisher: n/a
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9780593698457
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Hardcover
Blue to the Sky
By Mcnicoll, Sylvia
Twelve-year-old Ella experiences a rich and vivid world through her passion for poetry and music, but the kids at school only know her as Allergic-To-Everything-Girl.After six years of homeschooling following her last anaphylactic reaction, Ella returns to school in sixth grade with a fear of another allergic reaction, a fear of losing Mom just as she lost Omi, and a fear of public speaking, which stops her from presenting her poems and sharing her passion.When her best friend, Zenia, convinces Ella to sign up for the CN Tower climb to raise money for charity, Ella is sure that performing her poem at the top of the tower will cure her of stage fright.Training to climb 1,776 steps is no small task, but even against impossible odds, Ella must find the courage to face, navigate, and conquer her fears.
Publisher: n/a
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9781770867475
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Paperback
Finn and Ezra's Bar Mitzvah Time Loop
By Levy, Joshua S.
Finn and Ezra's bar mitzvah weekend takes on a Groundhog Day twist in this hilarious and magical middle grade novel from Joshua S. Levy. Finn and Ezra don't have a lot in common - except, of course, that they're trapped in a bar mitzvah time loop, reliving their celebrations in the same New Jersey hotel over and over and over again. Not ideal, particularly when both kids were ready for their bar mitzvahs to end the moment they began. Ezra comes from a big family - four siblings, all seeming to get more attention than him, even on his bar mitzvah weekend. Finn is an only child who's tired of his parents' constant focus, even worse on his bar mitzvah weekend. They just want to get past it, just want to grow up. And now they're both stuck. Friday. Saturday.
Publisher: n/a
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9780063248243
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Hardcover
The Last Rhee Witch
By Lee-yun, Jenna
For fans of The Last Fallen Star, Witchlings, and Ghost Squad, a heartfelt middle grade debut where Korean folklore is all too real and summer camp includes a gwishin haunting.. You couldn't hold onto everything and everyone. You had to choose. And Ronnie only had two hands.. Since her mother died when she was five years old, it's always just been Ronnie Miller and her dad. Two Korean Americans who, thanks to Ronnie's dad's adoption by white parents, have never felt all that Korean. But Ronnie is okay with that - as long as she has her dad and her best friend Jack, Ronnie is 99% certain she can get through anything.. But as much as she wants everything to stay the same, the world - and her dad - has other plans. Now, Ronnie and Jack are headed away to sleepaway camp for the first time ever.
Publisher: n/a
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9781368099073
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Hardcover
The Secret Library
By Magoon, Kekla
Travel through time with National Book Award Finalist Kekla Magoon in a page-turning fantasy adventure about family secrets and finding the courage to plot your own life story. . Since Grandpa died, Dally's days are dull and restricted. She's eleven and a half years old, and her exacting single mother is already preparing her to take over the family business. Starved for adventure and release, Dally rescues a mysterious envelope from her mother's clutches, an envelope Grandpa had earmarked for her. The map she finds inside leads straight to an ancient vault, a library of secrets where each book is a portal to a precise moment in time. As Dally "checks out" adventure after adventure - including an exhilarating outing with pirates - she begins to dive deep into her family's hidden history.
Publisher: n/a
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9781536230888
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Hardcover
National Archive Hunters 1
By Landis, Matthew
Twins race to find the thief stealing valuable historical artifacts before their family's framed for the crimes in this high-octane middle grade action-adventure series starter for fans of City Spies and Alex Rider.. Ten-year-old Ike Carter has committed large chunks of American history to memory. That's what happens when you're a genius who loves the past. His twin, Iris, prefers the present (aka reality) . She's an elite athlete, dominating the competition thanks to her wicked-sharp spatial awareness.. During the opening night of a new exhibit at their mom's boutique museum in Washington, D.C., Ike and Iris inadvertently stumble onto a robbery in progress. A girl not much older than them is stealing a miniature portrait of George Washington from the collection.
Publisher: n/a
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9781645952213
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Hardcover
Tree. Table. Book.
By Lowry, Lois
From two-time Newbery medalist Lois Lowry comes this warm and resonant story of an unlikely friendship, which unfolds as a revelation on how we hold on to - and pass on - what matters most.Everyone knows the two Sophies are best friends. One is in elementary school, and one is . . . well . . . in a little trouble of late. She's elderly, sure, but she's always been on her game, the best friend any girl struggling to fit in could ever have. The Sophies drink tea, have strong opinions about pretty much everything, and love each other dearly. Now it seems the elder Sophie is having memory problems, burning teakettles, and forgetting just about everything. It looks like her son is going to come and get her and steal her away forever. Young Sophie isn't having that.
Publisher: n/a
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9780063299504
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Hardcover
The Wishkeeper's Apprentice
By Khoo, Rachel Chivers
Wishes do come true - with some help from Felix and his quirky mentor, Mr. Beewinkle - in this magical adventure brimming with the power of hope.. When ten-year-old Felix drops a penny in the wishing fountain at the center of town, he really doesn't expect his sixteen-year-old sister to suddenly like him again, or to offer to share a cinnamon bun or watch cartoons like they used to. She hasn't even remembered she was supposed to give him a ride home! But someone else is at the fountain too: a strange old man with a fishing pole who claims to be invisible. To Felix's amazement, he learns that the old man is a Wishkeeper, and he needs an apprentice! But being a Wishkeeper's apprentice isn't just about organizing incoming wishes and untangling wish snags: a strange wolf-man who's been haunting Felix's dreams is real and a threat to every wish that has ever been granted in the town of Whittlestone, the town's Wishkeeper, and Felix himself.
Publisher: n/a
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9781536231205
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Hardcover
The Things We Miss
By Stecher, Leah
"Magical and heartbreaking! You will read this book in one gulp." - Jennifer L. Holm, New York Times-bestselling author of The Fourteenth Goldfish. When You Reach Me meets Starfish in this heartfelt contemporary middle grade about a misfit girl who finds a way to skip all of the hard parts of life.. J.P. Green has always felt out of step. She doesn't wear the right clothes, she doesn't say the right things, and her body ... well, she'd rather not talk about it. And seventh grade is shaping up to be the worst year yet. So when J.P. discovers a mysterious door in her neighbor's treehouse, she doesn't hesitate before walking through. The door sends her three days forward in time. . Suddenly, J.P. can skip all the worst parts of seventh grade: Fitness tests in P.
Publisher: n/a
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9781547613021
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Hardcover
South of Somewhere
By Miller, Kalena
STARRED REVIEW! "Precise, subtle details and complete emotional honesty bring these characters to life from the first page." - Kirkus Reviews starred review
The unforgettable tale of a girl, her maybe-criminal mom, her babysitting business, and her pet pineapple.
When FBI agents swarm twelve-year-old Mavis Callahan's downtown Chicago home, her mom goes on the run. With the family's house and bank accounts seized, Mavis's dad takes her and her siblings to seek refuge with his sister just south of rural Somewhere, Illinois - a far cry from the big city lifestyle Mavis is used to. As Mavis grapples with her sudden turn in fortune, she learns to make new friends and starts a babysitting business to bring in some much-needed cash for the family.
Publisher: n/a
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9780807577141
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Hardcover
The Monarchs of Winghaven
By Moreira, Naila
Young naturalist Sammie loves to do field research in a special stretch of wilderness in the suburbs - but now she must protect it. Science and heart combine in this engaging story.. Sammie, a budding naturalist, knows of a secret and wonderful place: Winghaven, an abandoned lot in the middle of the suburbs where wildlife flourishes. She spends hours making notes and drawings in her meticulous field journal. When Bram, a new boy, turns up with his camera, Sammie worries he'll give away her hidden haven - after all, the other boys at school bully her. But Bram is a scientist like Sammie, and together they observe tiny pond creatures, a pileated woodpecker with a red crest like a pirate's bandana, and thriving monarch butterflies whose habitats are becoming scarce.
Publisher: n/a
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9781536218305
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Hardcover
Sleeping Spells and Dragon Scales
By Swore, Wendy S.
From the award-winning author Wendy S. Swore, a contemporary middle-grade novel in the tradition of A Monster Like Me, in which two friends must solve the mystery of Liam's illness using their knowledge of fairy tales. Something is wrong with Liam. He collapses during soccer practice, he can't stay awake in class, and he's starting to see a ghostly white fox that disappears into smoke. His parents and teachers accuse him of being lazy and staying up too late, but he knows it's something worse. He feels like he's disappearing bit by bit: his strength, his skills, his mind.
No one believes him except for Alaina, a friend and self-proclaimed expert in fantasy and fairy tales. She's seen this sort of thing before and believes Liam has been cursed with a powerful sleeping spell.
Publisher: n/a
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9781639932313
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Hardcover
Olive Blackwood Takes Action!
By Thomas, Sonja
An anxious aspiring filmmaker bands together with an unlikely friend group to protect their beloved state animal in this heartwarming contemporary middle grade novel perfect for fans of Jamie Sumner and Erin Entrada Kelly.. Twelve-year-old Olive Blackwood's dream is to direct blockbuster fantasy movies, just like her dad wanted to before he died. She decides to apply to the highly competitive Rose City Summer Film Camp with the help of her best friend, Kayla. But Olive isn't sure how she can cast the movie when the mere thought of talking to a stranger makes her nervous. Then a surprise project in Olive's film class presents her best chance at going to Rose City: the group who makes the best documentary trailer will receive a recommendation to the elite program! But Olive's hopes are quickly dashed when she's paired with the two worst students in class: loud Jo Willems has a flashy style of dressing just as intimidating as their outspoken opinions and David Moore is even quieter than Olive, fading into the background.
Publisher: n/a
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9781665939331
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Hardcover
Mid-Air
By Williams, Alicia D.
A tender-souled boy reeling from the death of his best friend struggles to fit into a world that wants him to grow up tough and unfeeling in this stunning middle grade novel in verse from the Newbery Honor-winning author of Genesis Begins Again.. It's the last few months of eighth grade, and Isaiah feels lost. He thought his summer was going to be him and his boys Drew and Darius, hanging out, doing wheelies, watching martial arts movies, and breaking tons of Guiness World Records before high school. But now, more and more, Drew seems to be fading from their friendship, and though he won't admit it, Isaiah knows exactly why. Because Darius is ... gone. A hit and run killed Darius in the midst of a record-breaking long wheelie when Isaiah should have been keeping watch, ready to warn: "CAR!" Now, Drew can barely look at Isaiah.
Publisher: n/a
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9781481465830
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Hardcover
The Day I Fell Into a Fairytale
By Miller, Ben
Enter a world of wonder with the bestselling new novel from actor, comedian and author, Ben Miller - out in paperback 1st April.. Lana loves stories. Especially the ones she and her brother, Harrison, share in their make-believe games. But when Harrison decides he's too grown-up to play with Lana she finds herself feeling lonely. Until something magical happens . . . Hidden in the strange new supermarket in town, Lana discovers a portal to a fairytale world! But these aren't the happy-ever-after fairytales that Lana knows, they are darker and more dangerous, and the characters need Lana's help to defeat an evil witch. But she can't do it alone. Can she convince Harrison to believe in stories again and journey to the world with her . . . before it's too late? Fall into this bestselling classic adventure about the power of stories, with beautiful illustrations throughout from Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini.
Publisher: n/a
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9781665949736
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Paperback
With Just One Wing
By Woods, Brenda
Coretta Scott King Honor-winner Brenda Woods's poignant, heartfelt story of an adopted boy and the bird he rescues. Everyone expects Coop to be musical like his beloved parents, but he's not. That's one of the few things he finds awkward about being adopted - well, that and the fact that he sometimes wonders why his birth mother didn't love him enough to keep him. This summer, he's stuck at home with a broken arm after falling out of a tree trying to get a closer peek at a mockingbird nest. Later, when the eggs in the nest have hatched and the fledglings fly away, he and his friend Zandi notice that one of them stays behind. Taking a closer look, they realize the bird only has one wing. Since it won't survive in the wild, they adopt it and name it Hop, and then learn everything they can about birds so they can care for Hop properly.
Publisher: n/a
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9780593461532
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Hardcover
True Colors
By Cooper, Abby
Turning Red meets The Giver in this novel about a town where everyone agrees to think positively - but one girl, whose emotions manifest as colors, can't hide her true feelings.. In Serenity, Minnesota, everyone looks on the bright side, and that's on purpose: to live in this town, people have to agree to talk positively and only focus on the good things in life. For twelve-year-old Mackenzie Werner, who has the rare gift of her emotions showing up as a colorful haze around her body, this town seems like the perfect place; she'll never face the embarrassment of a grumbly grapefruit smog if everyone and everything is set up to be happy. But when a documentary maker comes to town and starts asking questions, Mackenzie, overwhelmed with emotion, can't hold her haze back - and it explodes onto the whole town.
Publisher: n/a
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9781662620614
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Hardcover
Lily Xiao Speaks Out
By Chen, Nicole
From the author of It's Boba Time for Pearl Li! comes an empowering, heartfelt middle grade novel about a grunge-loving Taiwanese American tween who must use her voice to fight for ESL support at her school.Lily Xiao can't wait to go to Camp Rock Out this summer, where she'll finally be able to shed her "class robot" good girl reputation and start her journey to becoming the next Eddie Vedder! And she can't wait to do it with her best friend and cousin, Vivian, who's just moved from Taiwan to Lily's California hometown. But as the two cousins work their way through seventh grade, Vivian struggles more and more with her schoolwork, which is all taught in English. If Vivian can't get her grades up, her parents won't let her go to rock camp.Determined to help, Lily embarks on a mission to push their school to provide more support for English-as-a-Second-Language learners like Vivian.
Publisher: n/a
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9780063329454
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Hardcover
Keep It Like a Secret
By Anderson, John David
A heartfelt and unexpected novel about an inseparable brother and sister, from the beloved author of Posted.From the first moment Morgan can remember, Claire has always been there. Big sister and little brother. Cat and Mouse. They've always understood each other, saved each other, seen each other. And they stuck to their own personal code, unwritten but understood, that siblings were inseparable, that they had each other's backs, no matter what.At least, they used to.Somewhere along the line, things between them shifted. Claire started fighting more with Mom, storming out of the house, spending more and more time away, and Morgan felt his sister and best friend slipping away. Now he spends nearly every night sitting awake in his room, waiting for the sound of her key in the lock.
Publisher: n/a
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9780063279315
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Audiobook
Taming Papa
By Goupil, Mylène
Mélie doesn't know how to relate to her father, a political prisoner in another country whom she has never met, when he is released and immigrates to join her family in Montreal."Where I come from, you have to say the same things as everyone else or keep quiet," Mélie's mother tells her. "And your father is not someone who knows how to keep quiet. Or say the same thing as everyone else. So that got him in trouble."However, ever since he came into Mélie's life, keeping quiet is the only thing her father has done. Partly because Sami doesn't speak the same language as his daughter, and partly because he doesn't know how to live as a free man anymore. Mélie has to tame him, like the kitten that she just found, and like Mr. Xavier and his partner seem to be doing with Mei-Li, the little girl they recently adopted.
Publisher: n/a
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9781773067230
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Hardcover
The Door Is Open
By Hiranandani, Veera
Discover stories of fear, triumph, and spectacular celebration in this warm-hearted novel of interconnected stories that celebrates the diversity of South Asian American experiences in a local community center.. Discover stories of fear, triumph, and spectacular celebration in the fictional town of Maple Grove, New Jersey, where the local kids gather at the community center to discover new crushes, fight against ignorance, and even save a life. Cheer for Chaya as she wins chess tournaments (unlike Andrew, she knows stupid sugary soda won't make you better at chess) , and follow as Jeevan learns how to cook traditional food (it turns out he can cook sabji-- he just can't eat it) .. These stories, edited by bestselling and award-winning Pakistani-American author Hena Khan, are filled with humor, warmth, and possibility.
Publisher: n/a
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9780316450638
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Hardcover
Things That Shimmer
By Lakritz, Deborah
In the spring of 1973, Melanie Adler desperately wants to be accepted by the Shimmers, the popular kids in her class. But the secret of her mother's PTSD stands in the way. As hard as she tries, Melanie can't act as effortlessly confident and fun as the Shimmers. She's convinced no one knows what it's like to have a parent who's afraid of everything -- until Dorit Shoshani moves to town. Clever, independent Dorit understands Melanie's home life thanks to her own family's struggles. The girls become fast friends.But when the Shimmers finally start to pay attention to Melanie, she's torn between her bond with Dorit and her chance at popularity.
Publisher: n/a
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9781728476261
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Hardcover
Painting the Game
By Maclachlan, Patricia
In this final middle grade novel by Newbery Award-winning author Patricia MacLachlan, a young girl tries to untangle her love of baseball from complicated relationship with her professional pitcher father.. Lucy's father is a minor league baseball player, a professional pitcher hoping to get called up to the majors, and Lucy inherited his passion for the game. But she's never played pitcher. She worries her skills would be compared to her dad's and she'd never measure up. And his pitching may mean big things for his career and their family, but it's also what keeps him away from home so much of the year. Sometimes, Lucy isn't sure what would be worse: being bad at pitching or being great. Still, this summer, Lucy wants to learn to throw the perfect knuckleball.
Publisher: n/a
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9781534499942
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Hardcover
Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All
By Miller, Chanel
New York Times bestselling author and artist Chanel Miller tells a fun, funny, and poignant story of friendship and community starring Magnolia Wu, a ten-year-old sock detective bent on returning all the lonely only socks left behind in her parents' NYC laundromat.. Down at the bottom of the tall buildings of New York City, Magnolia Wu sits inside her parents' laundromat. She has pinned every lost sock from the laundromat onto a bulletin board, in hopes that customers will return to retrieve them. But no one seems to have noticed. In fact, barely anyone has noticed Magnolia at all. . What she doesn't know is that this is about to be her most exciting summer yet. When Iris, a new friend from California arrives, they set off across the city to solve the mystery of each missing sock, asking questions in subways and delis and plant stores and pizzerias, meeting people and uncovering the unimaginable.
Publisher: n/a
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9780593624524
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Hardcover
Running in Flip Flops from the End of the World
By Reynolds, Justin A.
When twelve-year-old Eddie Gordon Holloway and his friends are left home from Beach Bash, aka the greatest party of the year, only to realize that everyone in town has disappeared without a trace, they do what any smart, responsible kids would do . . . have the best day ever!No parental supervision sounds fun for a while, but forever is a long time. And soon the gang starts to notice strange things happening around town, and they're only getting stranger. They have to figure out what happened to their families. It seems like getting to the beach will answer all their questions . . . but the only problem is that some mysterious force seems determined to prevent them from making it there.Eddie knows that this is a clear sign - obviously they should be focused on having as much fun as possible for as long as possible.
Publisher: n/a
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9781338815160
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Hardcover
Zevi Takes the Spotlight
By Matas, Carol
Key Selling PointsThirteen-year-old Zevi uses his psychic powers to save the life of a famous actor during the filming of a movie.This story examines the effects of fame and the importance of choices, while exploring themes of responsibility, empathy and doing the right thing.Carol Matas is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning author of dozens of books for young people. She's written in a variety of genres, including historical fiction, sci-fi, supernatural and thriller. She is also a graduate of the Actor's Lab in London, England, and pursued an acting career for a few years.The accuracy of the movie set and filming scenes was expert reviewed by filmmaker John Kozak, a professor of film at the University of Winnipeg.Enhanced features (dyslexia-friendly font, cream paper, larger trim size) to increase reading accessibility for dyslexic and other striving readers.
Publisher: n/a
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9781459838826
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Hardcover
Keeping Pace
By Morrison, Laurie
Laurie Morrison's Keeping Pace is a poignant middle-grade novel about friends-turned-rivals training for a half-marathon - and rethinking what it means to win and what they mean to each other. Grace has been working for years to beat her former friend Jonah Perkins's GPA so she can be named top scholar of the eighth grade. But when Jonah beats her for the title, it feels like none of Grace's academic accomplishments have really mattered. They weren't enough to win - or to impress her dad. And then the wide, empty summer looms. With nothing planned and no more goals or checklists, she doesn't know what she's supposed to be working toward. Eager for something to occupy her days, Grace signs up for a half-marathon race that she and Jonah used to talk about running together.
Publisher: n/a
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9781419768750
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Hardcover
Sunny Parker Is Here to Stay
By Finnegan, Margaret
A determined girl spends the summer before middle school learning to stand up for her low-income community in this funny, fast-paced read just right for fans of Kelly Yang's Front Desk.
Sunny Parker loves the Del Mar Garden Apartments, the affordable housing complex where she lives. And she especially loves her neighbors. From her best friend, Haley Michaels, to Mrs. Garcia and her two kids - developmentally disabled son AJ and bitter but big-hearted daughter Izzy - every resident has a story and a special place in Sunny's heart.
Sunny never thought living at the Del Mar Garden Apartments made her different - until the city proposes turning an old, abandoned school into a new affordable housing complex and the backlash of her affluent neighborhood teaches Sunny the hard way that not everyone appreciates the community she calls home.
Publisher: n/a
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9781665930086
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Hardcover
The Cats of Silver Crescent
By Noel, Kaela
In this stand-alone novel with themes of friendship and family, twelve-year-old Elsby discovers a family of talking cats living in the house next door and must help them harness the magic that made them that way. From the author of the acclaimed Coo, The Cats of Silver Crescent is for fans of Kathi Appelt and Katherine Applegate.
With her mother busy traveling for work, Elsby isn't thrilled to be spending a few weeks with her great-aunt Verity. Luckily, she has her notebook and a lush garden to sketch to help pass the time. But a visitor takes Elsby by surprise: a cat standing on its two hind legs and dressed like a sailor dashes across the garden and into the neighboring woods!
Elsby can't believe her eyes, and she can't imagine that Aunt Verity would believe her, either.
Publisher: n/a
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9780062956002
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Hardcover
The Night War
By Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker
From the two-time Newbery Honor-winning author of The War That Saved My Life and Fighting Words comes a middle grade novel set at the border between freedom and fear in World War II France, at the Chateau de Chenonceau, where a Jewish girl who has lost everything but her life must decide whether to risk even that to bring others to freedom.. "We don't choose how we feel, but we choose how we act.". It's 1942. German Nazis occupy much of France. And twelve-year-old Miriam, who is Jewish, is not safe. With help and quick thinking, Miri is saved from the roundup that takes her entire Jewish neighborhood. She escapes Paris, landing in a small French village, where the spires of the famous Chateau de Chenonceau rise high into the sky, its bridge across the River Cher like a promise, a fairy tale.
Publisher: n/a
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9780735228566
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Hardcover
This Again?
By Borba, Adam
How far would you go to have the best day of your life? This funny and thrilling time travel adventure tackles questions of fate and free will. Noah Nicholson has plenty to be grateful for. He has solid grades and great friends, he's finally becoming closer with Lucy Martinez - his crush since second grade - and he just might have a chance to be elected class president next week. But despite all that, Noah fixates on the should've-beens and could've-beens and the belief that he can make his life perfect. Then Noah comes upon an opportunity to do just that. At the local bowling alley, Noah runs into someone most unexpected: himself. The look-alike is him from nine days in the future, and he insists that if Noah does every ridiculous thing he says - from quacking like a duck in science class to painting himself green - they can achieve their dream of perfection.
Publisher: n/a
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9780316553186
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Hardcover
Ghost Forest
By Dasgupta, Sayantani
Kiya and Kinjal return to the Kingdom Beyond.For their next adventure in the Kingdom Beyond, twins Kiya and Kinjal must help the flying horses with a sudden invasion of their lands. It turns out that the tree ghosts are losing their forest! To save the trees, and the Kingdom, they must use their collective knowledge of this world and of course their magic!
Publisher: n/a
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9781338766776
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Hardcover
War of the Wind
By Williamson, Victoria
A Financial Times Book of the YearShortlisted for The Week Junior Book Prize in 2023 An award-winning climate fiction novel that explores unlikely friendships as a group of children with disabilities find themselves at the heart of an eco-mystery.On a remote Scottish island, 14-year-old Max's life is changed forever when he loses his hearing in a boating accident. Now, he has to navigate a new silent world alone - even his parents don't understand that wearing a hearing aid doesn't mean he can actually hear them, and he's placed in a special educational needs class surrounded by kids he once picked on.When people start acting strangely and Max's hearing aid picks up odd sounds from a new wind farm off the coast, he suspects a sinister scientist is using wind turbines to experiment on the islanders.
Publisher: n/a
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9781915584618
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Paperback
The Second Favorite Daughters Club 1
By Oakes, Colleen
For fans of Sisters and Netflix's The Baby-sitter's Club, a contemporary series for the siblings who always come in last.. Santana Barnes is tired of playing second fiddle to her ballet protégé, honor student older sister Victoria. Casey Hammond is sick of her cute-as-a-button, adventurous little sister Sage, who steals all of their dad's attention.. When the girls meet in their middle school library, they learn they have a lot in common: they both love reading, they hate after-school activities, and most important, they are clearly their parents' second-favorite children.. So they decide to do something about it. They create the Second Favorite Daughters Club. The members? Just the two of them. The mission? To become their parents' favorite children by undermining their love-hoarding siblings.
Publisher: n/a
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9781645952077
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Hardcover
Winnie Nash Is Not Your Sunshine
By Melleby, Nicole
In this powerful novel by an award-winning author, 12-year-old Winnie Nash is forced to live with her grandma for the summer and finds herself torn between her family's secrets and the joy of celebrating Pride. Winnie Nash never used to have so many secrets.. But then she agreed to stay with her grandma for the summer so her mom can take care of her health during her latest pregnancy. Now Winnie plays card games with Grandma's friends (boring) , joins the senior citizen book club (fine, even if no one thinks she'll read the books) , and absolutely does not talk about her mom's sad days (she never used to be so sad ... ) .. The biggest secret is that her parents asked Winnie not to mention she's gay to Grandma. And there's a really cute girl who also hangs out with the senior citizens.
Publisher: n/a
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9781643753133
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Hardcover
Cruzita and the Mariacheros
By Granillo, Ashley
Cruzita is going to be a pop star. All she has to do is win a singing contest at her favorite theme park and get famous. But she can't go to the theme park this summer. Instead, she has to help out at her family's bakery, which has been struggling ever since Tío Chuy died. Cruzita's great-uncle poured his heart into the bakery -- the family legacy -- and now that he's gone, nothing is the same.When Cruzita's not rolling uneven tortillas or trying to salvage rock-hard conchas, she has to take mariachi lessons, even though she doesn't know how to play her great-grandpa's violin and she's not fluent in Spanish. At first, she's convinced her whole summer will be a disaster. But as she discovers the heart and soul of mariachi music, she realizes that there's more than one way to be a star -- and more than one way to carry on a legacy.
Publisher: n/a
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9798765608500
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Hardcover
Sona and the Golden Beasts
By Larocca, Rajani
From Newbery Honor and Walter Award-winning author Rajani LaRocca comes a gripping middle grade fantasy perfect for fans of The Serpent's Secret and The Last Mapmaker. Though music is outlawed in the land of Devia, Sona hears it everywhere. Sona is a Malech, a member of the ruling class that conquered Devia centuries ago. Malechs forbade music to prevent the native Devans from using their magic, and Sona hides her abilities lest they put her in danger.Then Sona discovers an orphaned wolf pup. She believes the pup, with its golden ears, might be related to one of the five sacred beasts of Devia, and she vows to keep it safe. That means bringing the pup in tow when Sona embarks on a perilous quest, along with a Devan boy, to secure the nectar of life for a loved one who has fallen gravely ill.
Publisher: n/a
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9780063295407
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Hardcover
Finding Normal
By Faris, Stephanie
Perfect for fans of Jamie Sumner and Barbara Dee, this heartfelt middle grade novel about friendship, belonging, and the power of community follows a girl whose family is uprooted after a flood destroys their house.. After a horrible storm floods her neighborhood, twelve-year-old Temple and her family are forced to move to a new town. They are some of the lucky ones, able to secure temporary housing relatively quickly. But Temple doesn't feel so lucky starting over at a brand-new school halfway through the year and feeling a weird spotlight on her family's situation from her new classmates. At home, things aren't any better as her family struggles to adjust while figuring out how they can afford to rebuild. When Temple sees a flyer for a local fundraiser, she decides she can do the same thing for her family.
Publisher: n/a
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9781665938907
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Hardcover
Lightningborn
By Kagawa, Julie
In a world in the clouds where only the rich own dragons, a poor boy named Remy finds a wild baby dragon - believed to be extinct - and becomes the focus of an evil pirate's vengeance.. REMY spends his days trying to survive the mean streets of Cutthroat Wedge - one of the many islands floating in the gravitational pull of the magical Maelstrom raging below. But his life changes forever when a violent storm brings a baby dragon to his doorstep, and he feels a bond he has never felt with anyone. Remy names the dragon Storm and vows to protect this new friend, no matter the cost. . GEM longs for the day when she call herself a true mage. That is, if she can convince her teachers and peers that just because she's a princess doesn't mean she's lazy and spoiled.
Publisher: n/a
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9781368090308
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Hardcover
The Wrong Way Home
By O'shaughnessy, Kate
Twelve-year-old Fern believes she's living a noble life--but what if everything she's been told is a lie? This is a huge-hearted story about a girl learning to question everything - and to trust in herself.. Fern's lived at the Ranch, an off-the-grid, sustainable community in upstate New York, since she was six. The work is hard, but Fern admires the Ranch's leader, Dr. Ben. So when Fern's mother sneaks them away in the middle of the night and says Dr. Ben is dangerous, Fern doesn't believe it. She wants desperately to go back, but her mom just keeps driving.. Suddenly thrust into the treacherous, toxic, outside world, Fern thinks only about how to get home again. She has a plan, but it will take time. As that time goes by, though, Fern realizes there are things she will miss from this place - the library, a friend from school, the ocean - and there are things she learned at the Ranch that are just.
Publisher: n/a
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9780593650738
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Hardcover
Deep Water
By Sumner, Jamie
"Readers will feel every wave of Tully's emotions as she risks everything to try to get her mom's attention. A powerful novel in verse." - Lisa Fipps, author of Printz Honor book Starfish An impactful, gripping middle grade novel in verse from acclaimed author Jamie Sumner that spans one girl's marathon swim over twelve miles and six hours, calling her mom back home with every stroke. . Six hours. One marathon swim. That's all Tully Birch needs to get her life straightened out. With the help of her best friend, Arch, Tully braves the waters of Lake Tahoe to break the record for the youngest person ever to complete the famous "Godfather swim." She wants to achieve something no one in the world has done, because if she does, maybe, just maybe, her mom will come back.
Publisher: n/a
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9781665935067
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Hardcover
Isabel in Bloom
By Respicio, Mae
A girl discovers a connection between her home in the Philippines and her new home in the U.S. through a special garden in this middle grade novel that celebrates nourishment and growth.. Twelve-year-old Isabel is the new kid in her San Francisco middle school. It's the first time in many years that she'll be living with her mother again. Mama's job in the US allowed Isabel and her grandparents to live more comfortably in the Philippines, but now Isabel doesn't really know her own mother anymore.. Making new friends in a new city, a new country, is hard, but joining the gardening and cooking club at school means Isabel will begin to find her way, and maybe she too, will begin to bloom. . In this beautifully rendered novel-in-verse, Mae Respicio explores how growth can take many forms, offering both the challenges and joy of new beginnings.
Publisher: n/a
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9780593302712
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Hardcover
Spotting Dottie
By Anderson-dargatz, Gail
Charlotte is going to prove her grandma is right -- the lake monster is real!When Charlotte gets a drone for her fourteenth birthday, she's determined to get footage of Dottie, the elusive lake monster of Dorothy Lake. Her grandma, who has dedicated her life to searching for the monster, is the joke of the town. But when Charlotte manages to capture a video of the monster and posts it online, she's the sudden target of a media storm. Now everyone is making fun of her too. Worse, droves of monster hunters arrive in her town, crowding the lake. When their boat propellers threaten to hurt Dottie, Charlotte is faced with a difficult choice.This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don't like to read! The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.
Publisher: n/a
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9781459834828
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Paperback
The Equinox Test
By Montague, Liz
Three friends discover magic and mayhem around every corner of their school in this brand-new illustrated series from New Yorker cartoonist and NAACP Image Award nominee Liz Montague.It's time to put their magic to the test!Welcome to the Brooklyn School of Magic, where seeds of enchantment are planted and magic sprouts in every corner. And where each fall, fifth years must pass the Equinox Test if they want to move up to Middle Magic.Rose is worried. She's never been the best student. And if she doesn't pass with flying colors, Principal Ivy says she may have to transfer to a boring, non-magical school.Amethyst knows she's got the skills to ace the test. But to really impress her mom, she's got her eye on the school's top prize.Lavender just wants to fit in.
Publisher: n/a
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9781338792515
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Hardcover
Olivetti
By Millington, Allie
A heartfelt debut middle-grade told from the unique vantage points of a witty typewriter and an introverted boy -- for fans of Wishtree and A Rover's Story.Being a typewriter is not as easy as it looks. Surrounded by books (notorious attention hogs) and recently replaced by a computer, Olivetti has been forgotten by the Brindle family -- the family he's lived with for years. The Brindles are busy humans, apart from 12-year-old Ernest, who would rather be left alone with his collection of Oxford English Dictionaries. The least they could do was remember Olivetti once in a while, since he remembers every word they've typed on him. It's a thankless job, keeping memories alive.. Olivetti gets a rare glimpse of action from Ernest's mom, Beatrice -- his used-to-be most frequent visitor -- only for her to drop him off at Heartland Pawn Shop and leave him helplessly behind.
Publisher: n/a
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9781250326935
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Hardcover
The Secret Language of Birds
By Kelly, Lynne
From the award-winning author of Song for a Whale comes a poignant and heartwarming tale about a girl who discovers a pair of endangered birds about to lay eggs in the marshes of her summer camp...and the secret plan she hatches to help them.. Nina is used to feeling like the odd one out, both at school and in her large family. But while trying to fit in at summer camp, she discovers something even more peculiar: two majestic birds have built a nest in the marsh behind an abandoned infirmary. They appear to be whooping cranes, but that's impossible - Nina is an amateur bird-watcher, and all her resources tell her that those rare birds haven't nested in Texas for over a hundred years.. When Nina reports the sighting to wildlife officials, more questions arise.
Publisher: n/a
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9781524770273
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Hardcover
Paige Not Found
By Wilde, Jen
An adventure story that examines consent and privacy in a way that books have not had to before this generation where everything is online.A week ago, if someone had told Paige she'd be stuck in traffic with three total strangers on a mission to stop a global organization from controlling their minds, she would have laughed. But somehow this is real life. She adjusts her noise cancelling headphones, trying to drown out more of the car horns and music blaring from a neighboring sedan. Her fists clench and unclench. Inside her shoes, her toes wiggle, trying to let out some of her nervous energy.As much as Paige hates the word normal, it's a pretty good word to describe her life, and the kind of night she was having just before a single email turned her world upside down.
Publisher: n/a
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9781338880564
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Hardcover
A Game of Noctis
By Fagan, Deva
A thrilling middle grade fantasy about a girl who must participate in a deadly game with a ragtag team of players to save her grandfather from a terrible fate - perfect for fans of James Riley and Shannon Messenger!. In the opulent, sinking city of Dantessa, the Great Game rules all. Pia Paro believes that so long as you follow the rules, you always have a chance at winning. But after her beloved Gramps is sentenced to a life of servitude, Pia accepts a dangerous offer and joins a team of players seeking to win the most perilous game of all: Noctis. The Seafoxes - Pia's new teammates - are unlike anyone she's ever met. There's brash, bold Carlo; macabre Serafina; kindhearted Pasquale; and their dashing ringleader, Vittoria. Each has their own reason for playing, and soon, Pia begins to question all her long-held beliefs.
Publisher: n/a
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9781665930192
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Hardcover
Trouble at the Tangerine
By Mcdunn, Gillian
Award-winning author Gillian McDunn pens a delightfully quirky mystery that examines the meaning of home, perfect for fans of The Vanderbeekers series.. Simon's family is always on the move. Every few months, they load up their van, "Vincent Van Go," and set off for a new adventure. According to his dad, you can't live an extraordinary life by staying in one place. But all Simon wants is to settle down, so he's hatched a plan: to make their latest apartment in the Tangerine Pines building his forever home.. When a priceless necklace is stolen, clues indicate the thief might actually be another neighbor. Simon worries he'll have to move again if the thief isn't caught. He usually doesn't go looking for trouble, but if retrieving the necklace means establishing home, Simon is willing to risk it.
Publisher: n/a
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9781547611003
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Hardcover
Uprising
By Nielsen, Jennifer A.
#1 New York Times bestselling author of Iceberg, Jennifer A. Nielsen inspires readers with a brand-new thriller based on the remarkable true story of a young Polish girl who bravely fought, participating in the Warsaw city uprising, and took a stand in the name of freedom.Twelve-year-old Lidia is outside her grandfather's house when planes fly overhead, bearing the Nazi cross on each wing. Before the bombs hit the ground, Lidia realizes her life is about to change forever. Poland has fallen under German occupation, and her father makes the brave decision to join the Polish army to fight against the Nazis. Lidia wants to follow him into war, but she's far too young, and she's needed by her mother and brother.After her family returns to Warsaw, where life has changed irrevocably, Lidia continues to play the piano, finding comfort in Chopin, Bach, and Beethoven.
Publisher: n/a
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9781338795080
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Hardcover
Gut Reaction
By Larson, Kirby
Critically acclaimed, bestselling author and Newbery Honor-winner, Kirby Larson, and her daughter, debut author, Quinn Wyatt, pen this gorgeously moving and often funny story that explores what living with a chronic illness is like. Inspired by Quinn's own personal journey, Gut Reaction is full of heart and humor and highlights the importance of asking for help when it comes to mental and physical health alike.Tess Medina is still dealing with the loss of her father when she starts at a new school. One way she is still able to feel close to him is by doing what she does best: baking. He taught her everything she knows. But when tasting her creations causes a deep stabbing pain in her abdomen, she tries to power through and be strong in the same way she powers through her emotional pain.
Publisher: n/a
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9781338893137
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Hardcover
Mani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal Voice
By Lapera, Anna
"Anna Lapera expertly voices a young girl's middle school trials, but with a voice so unique and heartfelt you will be cringing one moment and cheering the next. She weaves a distinctive story filled with humor, family heartache, and secrets while a young girl releases the fear of her voice and grasps its power."
- Newbery Medalist Donna Barba Higuera
For fans of Donna Barba Higuera's Lupe Wong Won't Dance and Aida Salazar's The Moon Within, comes Mani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal Voice -- a contemporary middle grade novel full of spunk and activist heart. Manuela "Mani" Semilla wants two things: To get her period, and to thwart her mom's plan of taking her to Guatemala, a place that has always been more of a mystery than an answer.
Publisher: n/a
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9781646143719
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Hardcover
Sing It Like Celia
By Mancillas, Mónica
Perfect for fans of The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise and Merci Suárez Changes Gears, Sing It Like Celia is a revelatory story about a Mexican American girl who finds her voice and herself with the help of her role model and icon, Celia Cruz.
Twelve-year-old Salva Sanchez has always been a fan of Celia Cruz, also known as "the queen of salsa." Her love of Celia stems from her mother, who leaves Salva without explanation one awful day. Now Salva is stuck with her investigative journalist father in an RV campground. In the middle of nowhere.
As Salva acclimates to her new environment and desperately tries to figure out why her mother left, she befriends a posse of campground kids who have started a band. When the kids discover that Salva has an amazing singing voice, they convince her to join their group.
Publisher: n/a
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9780593659304
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Hardcover
Garden Surprise
By Mazas, Marie
Two friends dream up plans to build a tree house in a hidden garden and learn valuable lessons on STEAM, growth mindset, and community.. Nine-year-old besties Nour and August stumble upon the perfect place for their dream hideaway - a hidden garden full of majestic trees.. Excited to build a tree house, they design blueprints, research plant care, and collect necessary tools and materials. What was intended to be a secret hideaway becomes the perfect place for a once-hidden garden to come to life for their families to celebrate a very important birthday . . . and a long-lost friendship.. Through creativity, hard work, and a bit of mischief, the two friends realize their dreams, bring people together, and create an unforgettable summer.. The Garden Surprise is book one in the new Kaleidoscope Club chapter book series, with full-color illustrations throughout - a perfect series for readers 7 to 10 interested in friendship and learning more about nature, skill-building, and STEAM.
Publisher: n/a
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9798985849462
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Hardcover
Louder Than Hunger
By Schu, John
"Every so often a book comes along that is so brave and necessary, it extends a lifeline when it's needed most. This is one of those books." - Katherine Applegate, author of the Newbery Medal-winning, The One and Only IvanRevered teacher, librarian, and story ambassador John Schu explores anorexia - and self-expression as an act of survival - in a wrenching and transformative novel-in-verse.. But another voice inside me says, We need help. We're going to die.Jake volunteers at a nursing home because he likes helping people. He likes skating and singing, playing Bingo and Name That Tune, and reading mysteries and comics aloud to his teachers. He also likes avoiding people his own age . . . and the cruelty of mirrors . . . and food. Jake has read about kids like him in books - the weird one, the outsider - and would do anything not to be that kid, including shrink himself down to nothing.
Publisher: n/a
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9781536229097
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Hardcover
The World Divided by Piper
By Carter, Caela
From the critically acclaimed author of the ALA Notable and Charlotte Huck Honor Book Forever, or a Long, Long Time comes the story of Piper Franklin, the girl who is way too busy to grow up . . . until she has to. Perfect for fans of Alyson Gerber and Rebecca Stead. Piper Franklin has big plans. First, she'll win the Academic Decathlon with her best friend, Tallulah. Then, she'll finish her life's work: Metaphorical Math. And in the meantime, she and Tallulah will maintain their secret, El Jardin Muerto. Nothing can stop Piper . . . except for puberty.Piper was diagnosed with early-onset puberty, and she's been taking blockers to keep it at bay since she was six years old. But now her doctor thinks it's time for her treatment to end, and Piper's eyes are opened to a completely new world.
Publisher: n/a
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9780062996664
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Hardcover
The Mystery of Locked Rooms
By Currie, Lindsay
Crack the codes. Find the treasure. Escape the house.From the acclaimed author of Scritch Scratch and What Lives in the Woods comes a action-packed adventure novel about three friends who team up to find a hidden treasure in an abandoned 1950's funhouse.Twelve-year-old Sarah Greene wants nothing more from her seventh-grade year than to beat the hardest escape room left in her town with her best friends, West, and Hannah. But when a foreclosure notice shows up on Sarah's front door, everything changes. Since her father became ill two years ago, things have been bad, but not lose your house bad...until now. Sarah feels helpless until the day Hannah mentions a treasure rumored to be hidden in the walls of an abandoned funhouse. According to legend, Hans, Stefan, and Karl Stein were orphaned at eight years old and lived with different families until they were able to reunite as adults.
Publisher: n/a
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9781728259536
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Hardcover
We Built This City
By Patrick, Cat
Award-winning author Cat Patrick returns with a charming tale full of first crushes and new friendships, as one girl learns a little more about who she is and who she wants to be all while on the road trip of lifetime.. It's the summer of 1985, when air guitar, jelly bracelets, and huge hair are all the rage, and twelve-year-old Stevie is finally old enough to go on her performing troupe's annual cross-country tour. Twenty-six teen cast members will lip-synch and dance their way through more than twenty cities, and Stevie and her best friend, Wes, can't wait - for more reasons than one!
Publisher: n/a
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9780593462164
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Hardcover
Listen to This
By Blecher, Jennifer
Secrets, rumors, shifting friendships, overbearing parents, and, on top of all that, a first dance - how does anyone survive seventh grade? Told from dual points of view, this novel about two tweens finding their voices and standing up for themselves is for fans of Lisa Yee, Leslie Connor, and Janae Marks. Lily, Maddie, and Sasha have always been the perfect friendship trio. But this year, everything is changing. Maddie and Sasha made the elite soccer team, and Lily feels that they're always leaving her behind. And everyone seems to have secrets now: Maddie, and Sasha, and Lily's sister, and even Lily herself. Lily's classmate Will wishes he had some secrets. After all, his life is already out there for the whole world to hear about, thanks to his dad's super-popular parenting podcast.
Publisher: n/a
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9780063140738
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Hardcover
Lo Simpson Starts a Revolution
By Florence, Melanie
In this funny yet moving coming-of-age novel, a girl finds comfort, and eventually her voice, by writing letters to The Doctor from her favorite TV show, Doctor Who.Lo and Jazz have been best friends ever since Jazz defended her when Bobby Zucker called her a horse face in second grade. But lately Jazz has seemed more interested in bikinis, boys and bras (ugh) , and Lo is still perfectly happy with her comic books and Doctor Who. When Jazz ditches Lo for the It Girls, Lo feels completely adrift...until she overhears someone talking about the latest FanCon. There are others like her!With help from her new friends, and taking a cue from the Doctor (in whom she confides by writing letters) , Lo begins to find her voice. Between giving Bobby Zucker a wedgie for harassing the It Girls, to bringing an abrupt end to spin-the-bottle at a party, to speaking up to the principal and demanding period supplies in student bathrooms, Lo finds her inner activist and the self-confidence that comes with growing up -- on her own terms.
Publisher: n/a
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9781459838505
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Paperback
The Other Side of Perfect
By Florence, Melanie
Two kids from two different worlds form an unexpected friendship in this lens into the interworking of empathy. Told in alternating narratives, The Other Side of Perfect is infused with themes of identity, belonging, and compassion, reminding us that we are all more than our circumstances, and we are all more connected than we think.Cody's home life is a messy, too-often terrifying story of neglect and abuse. Cody himself is a smart kid, a survivor with a great sense of humor that helps him see past his circumstances and begin to try to get himself out. Autumn is a wealthy girl from an indigenous family, who has found herself in with the popular crowd even though it's hard for her to want to keep up.But one night, while returning home from a movie, Autumn comes across Cody, face down in the laneway behind her house.
Publisher: n/a
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9781339002859
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Hardcover
Maple's Theory of Fun
By Mcmillan, Kate
Perfect for fans of Dork Diaries and Emmie & Friends, this first book in a diary-style illustrated middle grade series follows an anxious, science-minded sixth grader determined to become fun and win back her friend.. Sixth grade has been pretty disaster-free for aspiring astronaut Maple McNutt - which is impressive, given the number of worries and possible catastrophes that run through her head every day. (So far, Earth hasn't been devoured by a black hole and a cockroach hasn't crawled out of her toothpaste mid-squeeze. Phew!) But then her best friend of seven-point-two years, Sunny Gwon, accuses her of being unfun and starts hanging around with a new group of friends. In order to win Sunny back, Maple decides to undergo a serious scientific transformation to become fun by 1.
Publisher: n/a
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9781665941037
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Hardcover
The Liars Society
By Gerber, Alyson
The Inheritance Games and One of Us is Lying for middle grade -- beloved author Alyson Gerber's new series is an unforgettable mystery featuring a secret society, a mysterious island, and dangerous family secrets.Weatherby is a fish out of water. When she lands a scholarship to the prestigious Boston School, she's excited to be in the same world as her dad, whom she's never met, and make real friends. But Weatherby has a secret she'll risk everything to protect, one that could destroy her new life.Every member of Jack's wealthy and privileged family has made their mark at the Boston School. Everyone, that is, except for Jack, who is entirely mediocre. He's desperate to prove his worth to his influential father. But Jack has a secret of his own . . . one with the power to ruin everything.
Publisher: n/a
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9781338859218
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Hardcover
Warriors
By Hunter, Erin
Erin Hunter's #1 bestselling Warriors series continues! Discover more thrilling adventures in this third book in the Starless Clan arc.A crossroads for the Clans - and the warrior code!The warrior code now allows a cat to formally change Clans, but ShadowClan's newest arrival feels increasingly unwelcome - and though ShadowClan warrior Sunbeam thinks every cat deserves a chance, one of the loudest voices of opposition is her own mother. Meanwhile medicine cat apprentice Frostpaw scrambles to help RiverClan stay afloat under the watchful eye of a second Tigerstar, and the shadow of growing conflict looms over them all ... This seventh epic Warriors series is full of action, intrigue, and adventure - a perfect introduction for new readers and for long-time fans eager to discover what unfolds after the events of The Broken Code.
Publisher: n/a
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9780063050228
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Paperback
The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry
By Johnson, Anna Rose
Lucy, a spirited French-Ojibwe orphan, is sent to the stormy waters of Lake Superior to live with a mysterious family of lighthouse-keepers - and, she hopes, to find the legendary necklace her father spent his life seeking ... . Selena Lucy Landry (named for a ship, as every sailor's child should be) has been frightened of the water ever since she lost her father at sea. But with no one else to care for her, she's sent to foster with the Martins - a large Anishinaabe family living on a lighthouse in the middle of stormy Lake Superior. . The Martin family is big, hard-working, and close, and Lucy - who has always been a dreamer - struggles to fit in. Can she go one day without ruining the laundry or forgetting the sweeping? Will she ever be less afraid of the lake?.
Publisher: n/a
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9780823453634
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Hardcover
The Lumbering Giants of Windy Pines
By Netz, Mo
In this debut spooky adventure, Jerry and her trusty wheelchair move into a creepy motel at the edge of the woods where nothing is as it seems. When her mom disappears, it's up to Jerry to brave the forest and its demons so she can save what's left of her family.
Ever since her dad died, 11-year-old Jerry Blum and her mom have bounced around dead-end towns, staying in a series of rundown motels where her mother picks up housekeeping work and Jerry can get around in her wheelchair.
But the Slumbering Giant motel is different. Lights blink on and off in the surrounding trees, a mysterious radio station plays only at midnight, and people disappear into the woods, never to been seen again. Not to mention that Jerry's mom keeps vanishing to do "special work" that she refuses to discuss.
Publisher: n/a
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9780063266537
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Hardcover
Maybe It's a Sign
By Shen, E. L.
An uplifting middle-grade novel about loss, luck . . . and deep-dish chocolate chip cookies - perfect for fans of King and the Dragonflies and The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise. . Seventh-grader Freya June Sun has always believed in the Chinese superstitions spoon-fed to her since birth. Ever since her dad's death a year ago, she's become obsessed with them, and believes that her father is sending her messages from beyond. Like how, on her way to an orchestra concert where she's dreading her viola solo, a pair of lucky red birds appear - a sure indication that Dad wants Freya to stick with the instrument and make him proud.. Then Freya is partnered with Gus Choi, a goofy and super annoying classmate, for a home economics project. To her surprise, as they experiment with recipes and get to know each other, Freya finds that she may love baking more than music.
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9780374390778
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Hardcover
Walkin' the Dog
By Lynch, Chris
"Lynch is back and better, smarter, and funnier than ever." - Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award Winner A boy learns how to be a friend from man's best friend in this funny and moving middle grade novel about humans being able to change and dogs changing us from acclaimed author Chris Lynch.. In a family of strong personalities with very strong points of view, Louis is what his mother lovingly calls "the inactivist," someone who'd rather kick back than stand out. He only hopes he can stay under the radar when he starts high school in the fall, his first experience with public school after years of homeschooling. But when a favor for a neighbor and his stinky canine companion unexpectedly turns into a bustling dog-walking business, Louis finds himself meeting an unprecedented number of new friends - both human and canine.
Publisher: n/a
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9781481459204
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Hardcover
Daughters of the Lamp
By Lewers, Nedda
Percy Jackson meets Arabian fairy tales in this stunning middle grade fantasy debut about a girl who becomes the guardian of Ali Baba's legendary treasure.. Believe in fairy tales.. Sahara Rashad lives by logic. Loves science. And always has a plan. Except her dad just whisked her away to her uncle's wedding in Egypt, upending every single plan she had for the summer.. In Cairo, Sahara's days are filled with family - and mystery. First, Sahara's cousins claim the pretentious bride-to-be is actually a witch. Then her late mother's necklace starts glowing - and disappears.. Sahara's attempts to recover the necklace lead her to the greatest mystery yet. Deep in an underground chamber lies Ali Baba's magical treasure. Hidden from a line of sorcerers who threatened to use its powers for evil, the treasure was given to Sahara's ancestor Morgana for safekeeping and passed down from mother to daughter for generations.
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9780593619308
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Hardcover
Kyra, Just for Today
By Zarr, Sara
From award-winning author Sara Zarr comes a gorgeously crafted and deeply personal story about a young girl, her alcoholic mother, and the hope that ties them together.Krya has always felt like she's a bit too much. Too tall. Too loud. Too earnest. But she's okay with that, because she's got her mom. Ever since Mom got sober about five years ago, she and Kyra have always been there for each other - something Kyra is thankful for every week when she attends her group meetings with other kids of alcoholics. When Mom is managing her cleaning business and Kyra is taking care of things at home, maybe, she thinks, she's not too much. Maybe, she's just enough.Then seventh grade starts, and everything Kyra used to be able to count on feels unsure. Kyra's best friend, Lu, is hanging out with eighth graders, and Mom is unusually distant.
Publisher: n/a
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9780063045132
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Hardcover
Lucky Duck
By Kurtz, Chris
From the critically acclaimed author of The Adventures of a South Pole Pig comes a heartwarming middle grade animal adventure story about Frank, the odd one out in a family of ducks, who discovers both his courage and unique identity as he braves the unknown to save his family from an invading fox. Between his unusually giant feet and early hatching, Frank is notably different from his siblings Darryl and Darlene.Determined to make his mom proud, Frank strives to be the best duckling he can be. Despite his efforts, Frank seems drawn to unduckly pursuits and doesn't understand why certain rules exist, such as not speaking to the friendly turtle who moonlights as a rock.When the pond community is threatened by a fox, Frank is the one to venture into the forest where danger - and discoveries - lurk at every turn on his quest to save his home.
Publisher: n/a
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9780063311343
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Hardcover
Gigi Shin Is Not a Nerd
By Lee, Lyla
This first book in a sparkling middle grade series giving a fresh take on The Baby-Sitters Club follows a young Korean American girl who starts a business with her best friends to support her artistic dreams.Jiyoung "Gigi" Shin loves to create, from her zany outfits to self-executed haircuts. She dreams of becoming an artist and doodles every chance she gets - at school instead of taking notes, in choir instead of singing, and at home instead of homework. Art is her way of escaping her boring life in suburban Middle of Nowhere, Texas. Unfortunately, her working class, immigrant parents want her to focus on her studies and pursue something more "practical." Gigi only really feels like herself in art class and at lunch with her best friends, Carolina and Zeina.
Publisher: n/a
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9781665939171
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Audiobook
The First State of Being
By Kelly, Erin Entrada
When twelve-year-old Michael Rosario meets a mysterious boy from the future, his life is changed forever. From bestselling author Erin Entrada Kelly, winner of the Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe and a Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space, this novel explores themes of family, friendship, trust, and forgiveness. The First State of Being is for fans of Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me.It's August 1999. For twelve-year-old Michael Rosario, life at Fox Run Apartments in Red Knot, Delaware, is as ordinary as ever - except for the looming Y2K crisis and his overwhelming crush on his fifteen-year-old babysitter, Gibby. But when a disoriented teenage boy named Ridge appears out of nowhere, Michael discovers there is more to life than stockpiling supplies and pining over Gibby.
Publisher: n/a
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9780063337312
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Hardcover
Warrior on the Mound
By Headen, Sandra W.
Narrated by twelve-year-old Cato, this intense and evocative story of racial unrest in prewar North Carolina ends with a dramatic match between white and Black little league teams.. 1935. Twelve-year-old Cato wants nothing more than to play baseball, perfect his pitch, and meet Mr. Satchel Paige--the best pitcher in Negro League baseball. But when he and his teammates "trespass" on their town's whites-only baseball field for a practice, the resulting racial outrage burns like a brushfire through the entire community, threatening Cato, his family, and every one of his friends.. There's only one way this can end without violence: It has to be settled on the mound, between the white team and the Black. Winner takes all. . Written in first person with a rich, convincing voice, Warrior on the Mound is about the experience of segregation; about the tinderbox environment of the prewar South; about having a dream; about injustice, and, finally, about dialogue.
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9780823453788
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Hardcover
The Color of Sound
By Isler, Emily Barth
Twelve-year-old Rosie is a musical prodigy whose synesthesia allows her to see music in colors. Her mom has always pushed her to become a concert violinist, but this summer Rosie refuses to play, wanting a "normal" life. Forced to spend the summer with her grandparents, Rosie is excited to meet another girl her age hanging out on their property. The girl is familiar, and Rosie quickly pieces it together: somehow, this girl is her mother, when her mother was twelve. With help from this glitch in time -- plus her grandparents, an improv group, and a new instrument -- Rosie comes to understand her mother, herself, and her love of music in new ways.
Publisher: n/a
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9781728487779
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Hardcover
Bumps in the Night
By Howard, Amalie
The creepy middle grade debut from USA Today bestselling author Amalie Howard in which a girl stays with her grandmother in Trinidad for the summer and discovers that she comes from a long line of powerful witches.. Darika "Rika" Lovelace is in trouble. The kind of trouble that sends her to her grandmother's estate in Trinidad for the whole summer. But something about the island feels ... different. As soon as she steps off the plane, strange things start happening!. Rika meets a group of kids called Minders, who seem to have elemental powers. Even worse, she can sense jumbies lurking in the shadows. Needless to say, she wants a ticket home. But when the Minders let slip that her long-lost mom is in danger, she knows she can't leave.. Thrust into a magical adventure involving bloodcurdling monsters, a supernatural silk cotton tree, and an endless maze, Rika must defeat the fearsome jumbie king to save her family and new friends.
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9780593645871
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Hardcover
The Partition Project
By Faruqi, Saadia
In this engaging and moving middle grade novel, Saadia Faruqi writes about a contemporary Pakistani American girl whose passion for journalism starts a conversation about her grandmother's experience of the Partition of India and Pakistan - and the bond that the two form as she helps Dadi tell her story. When her grandmother comes off the airplane in Houston from Pakistan, Mahnoor knows that having Dadi move in is going to disrupt everything about her life. She doesn't have time to be Dadi's unofficial babysitter - her journalism teacher has announced that their big assignment will be to film a documentary, which feels more like storytelling than what Maha would call "journalism."As Dadi starts to settle into life in Houston and Maha scrambles for a subject for her documentary, the two of them start talking.
Publisher: n/a
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9780063115811
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Hardcover
Max in the House of Spies
By Gidwitz, Adam
"Max in the House of Spies is everything you could hope for in a book," -R. J. Palacio, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wonder, White Bird, and Pony. "Espionage! Secrets! Suspense! If you've ever dreamed of being a spy, this book is for you." -Alan Gratz, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Refugee and Projekt 1065. Max Bretzfeld doesn't want to move to London.. Leaving home is hard and Max is alone for the first time in his life. But not for long. Max is surprised to discover that he's been joined by two unexpected traveling companions, one on each shoulder, a kobold and a dybbuk named Berg and Stein.. Germany is becoming more and more dangerous for Jewish families, but Max is determined to find a way back home, and back to his parents.
Publisher: n/a
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9780593112083
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Hardcover
The Curse of Eelgrass Bog
By Averling, Mary
Dark secrets and unnatural magic abound when a twelve-year-old girl ventures into a bog full of monsters to break a mysterious curse.. Nothing about Kess Pedrock's life is normal. Not her home (she lives in her family's Unnatural History Museum) , not her interests (hunting for megafauna fossils and skeletons) , and not her best friend (a talking demon's head in a jar named Shrunken Jim) .. But things get even stranger than usual when Kess meets Lilou Starling, the new girl in town. Lilou comes to Kess for help breaking a mysterious curse - and the only clue she has leads straight into the center of Eelgrass Bog.. Everyone knows the bog is full of witches, demons, and possibly worse, but Kess and Lilou are determined not to let that stop them. As they investigate the mystery and uncover long-buried secrets, Kess begins to realize that the curse might hit closer to home than she'd ever expected, and she'll have to summon all her courage to find a way to break it before it's too late.
Publisher: n/a
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9780593624906
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Hardcover
Maya Plays the Part
By Erb, Calyssa
A heartwarming middle-grade debut with autism representation and a musical flair.Maya lives and breathes musicals. When her chance to finally be a part of the summer musical program at the community theater comes up, Maya is convinced she will get the lead. After all, who knows The Drowsy Chaperone better than she does? However, things don't turn out exactly the way Maya's planned, and the summer turns out to be jam-packed with problems: dealing with her best friend's move, her parents' busy jobs, and -- since her autism diagnosis -- the ongoing puzzle of how to be Maya in Public. But perhaps most important of all, Maya has to figure out how to play the part that truly feels like her own.
Publisher: n/a
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9781773218502
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Hardcover
Ferris
By Dicamillo, Kate
The masterful Kate DiCamillo has outdone herself with a hilarious and achingly real love story about a girl, a ghost, a grandmother, and growing up.. It's the summer before fifth grade, and for Ferris Wilkey, it is a summer of sheer pandemonium: Her little sister, Pinky, has vowed to become an outlaw. Uncle Ted has left Aunt Shirley and, to Ferris's mother's chagrin, is holed up in the Wilkey basement to paint a history of the world. And Charisse, Ferris's grandmother, has started seeing a ghost at the threshold of her room, which seems like an alarming omen given that she is also feeling unwell. But the ghost is not there to usher Charisse to the Great Beyond. Rather, she has other plans - wild, impractical, illuminating plans. How can Ferris satisfy a specter with Pinky terrorizing the town, Uncle Ted sending Ferris to spy on her aunt, and her father battling an invasion of raccoons?.
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9781536231052
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Hardcover
The Thirteenth Circle
By Connolly, Marcykate
The X-Files meets Scooby-Doo in THE THIRTEENTH CIRCLE, a middle-grade mystery from MarcyKate Connolly and Kathryn Holmes, featuring two unexpected friends, crop circles, science fairs, and Men in Black, perfect for both the highly scientific and cryptid enthusiasts alike.. Cat knows aliens are real, and she's determined to prove it. By studying the Weston Farm Circles, her town's legendary crop circle phenomenon, she'll not only demonstrate the existence of extraterrestrial life, but also win the grand prize in the McMurray Youth Science Competition -- a feat she's sure will impress her distant NASA scientist father.. Dani most certainly does not believe in aliens. How can she, when they go against every scientific principle she's been taught? So when Dani is paired with Cat to enter the McMurray Youth Science Competition -- which she has to win to avoid going to her parents' artsy summer camp -- she knows she's at a disadvantage.
Publisher: n/a
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9781250891594
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Hardcover
One Big Open Sky
By Cline-ransome, Lesa
Three women narrate a perilous wagon journey westward that could set them free - or cost them everything they have - in this intergenerational verse novel that explores the history of the Black homesteader movement.. 1879, Mississippi. Young dreamer Lettie may have her head in the stars, but her body is on a covered wagon heading westward. Her father, Thomas, promises that Nebraska will be everything the family needs: an opportunity to claim the independence they've strived for over generations on their very own plot of land.. But Thomas' hopes - and mouth - are bigger than his ability to follow through. With few supplies and even less money, the only thing that feels certain is danger.. Right after the war ended/and we were free/we believed/all of us did/that couldn't nothing hurt us/the way master had when we were slaves/Couldn't no one tell us/how to live/how to die.
Publisher: n/a
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9780823450169
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Hardcover
Lost Kites and Other Treasures
By Carr, Cathy
Cathy Carr's Lost Kites and Other Treasures is a moving and heartfelt middle-grade novel about mental illness, the transformative power of art, and the ever-changing complications and joys of family life.
"Sincere and funny . . . leaves readers with a sense of hope." -Sara Zarr, author of A Song Called Home
"Will be treasured by readers everywhere." -Megan E. Freeman, award-winning author of Alone
Twelve-year-old Franny Petroski never lets anyone know how often she thinks of the charismatic, troubled mom who left her years ago - any more than she talks about the unaccountable things Mom did while she was still in the picture. Life with Nana is safe and secure, and Franny's innovative art projects fill in any lonesome times.
But when Nana has an accident and Franny's estranged uncle comes home to help out for a while, some long-guarded family secrets come to light.
Publisher: n/a
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9781419767999
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Hardcover
Wayfinders
By Chick, Bryan
From the author of the bestselling Secret Zoo series, Wayfinders is a delightful tale of a father and daughter who set out on a quest to save a group of fairy tale creatures.Between school and family drama, Chloe Summers has more than enough on her plate.But when a giant literally crashes into her house--not to mention the mermaid in the bathtub and the unicorn in the barn--Chloe and her dad find themselves on a wild adventure to save a group of fairy tale creatures and help return them to their home.To do so, they must find a way to reopen a secret portal to a magical world while preventing others from taking the magic for themselves. Chloe and her dad must be brave, work together, and face their biggest fears, or they risk losing their magical new friends forever.
Publisher: n/a
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9798212276863
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Paperback
Amil and the After
By Hiranandani, Veera
A hopeful and heartwarming story about finding joy after tragedy, Amil and the After is a companion to the beloved and award-winning Newbery Honor novel The Night Diary, by acclaimed author Veera Hiranandani. At the turn of the new year in 1948, Amil and his family are trying to make a home in India, now independent of British rule.. Both Muslim and Hindu, twelve-year-old Amil is not sure what home means anymore. The memory of the long and difficult journey from their hometown in what is now Pakistan lives with him. And despite having an apartment in Bombay to live in and a school to attend, life in India feels uncertain.. Nisha, his twin sister, suggests that Amil begin to tell his story through drawings meant for their mother, who died when they were just babies.
Publisher: n/a
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9780525555063
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Hardcover
Light and Air
By Wendell, Mindy Nichols
It's 1935, and tuberculosis is ravaging the nation. Everyone is afraid of this deadly respiratory illness. But what happens when you actually have it?. When Halle and her mother both come down with TB, they are shunned - and then they are sent to the J.N. Adam Tuberculosis Hospital: far from home, far from family, far from the world.. Tucked away in the woods of upstate New York, the hospital is a closed and quiet place. But it is not, Halle learns, a prison. Free of her worried and difficult father for the first time in her life, she slowly discovers joy, family, and the healing power of honey on the children's ward, where the girls on the floor become her confidantes and sisters. But when Mama suffers a lung hemorrhage, their entire future - and recovery - is thrown into question.
Publisher: n/a
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9780823454433
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Hardcover
Heroes
By Gratz, Alan
A new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Alan Gratz (Refugee; Ground Zero; Two Degrees) is a major publishing moment. A new World War II novel from Alan Gratz? That's even bigger! Get ready for an action-packed, inventive, and powerful take on the attack on Pearl Harbor, as only Alan Gratz can tell it. December 6, 1941: Best friends Frank and Stanley have it good. Their dads are Navy pilots stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and the boys get a front-row view of the huge battleships and the sparkling water. Yes, World War II is raging in Europe and in Asia, but the US isn't involved in the war, and the boys are free to dream about becoming comic book creators. They've even invented a superhero of their own, in the style of Batman, Superman, Captain America, and other stars of the Golden Age of Comics.
A Little Bit Super
By Schmidt, Gary D.
In these hilarious stories by some of the top authors of middle grade fiction today, each young character is coping with a minor superpower - while also discovering their power to change themselves and their community, find their voice, and celebrate what makes them unique. The kids in these humorous short stories each have a minor superpower they're learning to live with. One can shape-shift - but only part of her body, and only on Mondays. Another can always tell whether an avocado is perfectly ripe. One can even hear the thoughts of the animals in the pet store! But what these stories are really about is their young protagonists "owning" a power that contributes to their individuality, that allows them to find their place in the world, that shows them a potential they might not have imagined.
Benny Ramírez and the Nearly Departed
By Iriarte, José Pablo
Benny Ramírez can see dead people . . . Well, one dead person, anyway. A hilarious and heartwarming story about a boy who can suddenly see the ghost of his famous musician grandfather! After moving cross-country into his late grandfather's Miami mansion, Benny discovers that the ghost of his famous trumpet-playing abuelo, the great Ignacio Ramírez, is still there . . . and isn't too thrilled about it. He's been barred from the afterlife, and no one can see him except his grandson. But Benny's got problems of his own. He's enrolled in a performing arts school with his siblings, despite having no obvious talent. Luckily, Abuelo believes they can help each other. Abuelo has until New Year's Eve to do some good in the world and thinks that teaching Benny how to play the trumpet and become a school celebrity might be the key to earning his wings.
Clairboyance
By Kahakauwila, Kristiana
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard SelectionPerfect for fans of Debbi Michiko Florence and Lisa Greenwald, Clairboyance's heartfelt and sweet coming of age story with a touch of magic follows Clara as her life is turned upside down when she discovers that she has boy-specific ESP abilities.After accidentally wishing on a family heirloom to hear what boys are thinking, Clara wakes up the next day able to do just that. Every idea, every worry, every generous or petty thought crossing their minds - somehow, they now form a chorus of voices in hers.But why couldn't her newfound powers have arrived sooner? Then, maybe, she could have stopped her ex-best friend Leo from betraying her and ditching her for the more popular kids. At least her dad is open to the idea of moving her off O'ahu and out to Arizona to be with him.
And Then, Boom!
By Fipps, Lisa
A gripping new novel in verse by the author of the Printz Honor-winning Starfish, featuring a poverty-stricken boy who bravely rides out all the storms life keeps throwing at him. Joe Oak is used to living on unsteady ground. His mom can't be depended on as she never stays around long once she gets "the itch," and now he and his beloved grandmother find themselves without a home. Fortunately, Joe has an outlet in his journals and drawings and takes comfort from the lessons of comic books - superheroes have a lot of "and then, boom" moments, where everything threatens to go bust but somehow they land on their feet. And that seems to happen a lot to Joe too, as in this crisis his friend Nick helps them find a home in his trailer park.
Gooseberry
By Gow, Robin
Robin Gow's Gooseberry is a moving middle-grade novel about a young nonbinary person searching for family and finding it with a sweet rescue dog. There's a lot twelve-year-old B doesn't know - like what their new name should be after coming out as nonbinary. Or what it would feel like to finally feel at home after moving around to different foster families for years. But there's one thing B does know: they want to be a dog trainer when they grow up. And when they meet Gooseberry - a feisty stray dog who seems as wary of strangers as B does - B feels an instant connection. With Gooseberry, B could have everything they want: a family of their own, and a dog to train. And B's newest foster parents agree to let B adopt him. But training a dog isn't as easy as B expected.
Jerry, Let Me See the Moon
By Ebbeler, Jeffrey
Things get squirrely when Jerry discovers that his new town is a sanctuary for were-creatures, humans who turn into animals when the moon is full, in an action-packed romp for younger middle grade readers.. Jerry has serious questions about the town his scientist father drags him to: why did they give up traveling the world to settle down in such a strange spot? Why won't his dad talk about his mysterious research or explain what happened to his mother, who disappeared years ago? And when he sees his friend Pearl transform into a were-squirrel under the light of the full moon, he needs to know: were exactly has he ended up?. But when criminal mayhem turns Jerry's town - a safe haven for were-creatures - into a not-so-safe haven, Jerry must uncover a twisty conspiracy and take down the instigators who are trying to tear the place that's become his home apart.
Samira's Worst Best Summer
By Hamza, Nina
From the author of Ahmed Aziz's Epic Year comes another wryly humorous tween novel about finding belonging in an unexpected place. A must-read for fans of Hena Khan, Kelly Yang, and Karina Yan Glaser.Samira knows this is going to be the worst summer ever. Her best friend, Kiera, ditched her for the cool girls. Her parents and older sister are taking a trip to India, so Sammy is staring down endless weeks spent with Imran, her little brother, and her Umma. To top it all off - literally! - her house gets TP'd. The TP'ing upsets Imran, who is convinced that they're being targeted because they're the only brown family on the block. When Sammy attempts to solve the problem, she creates a bigger mess instead. But she also meets new girl Alice, who is determined to figure out who was behind the TP'ing.
Just Keep Walking
By Downing, Erin Soderberg
Wild meets Gilmore Girls on the Trail, Just Keep Walking is a story of resilience and the healing and restorative power of wilderness and nature from acclaimed middle-grade and chapter-book author Erin Soderberg Downing.Two years after her parents' surprising and painful split, twelve-year-old Jo and her mom find themselves on the 100-mile hike on the Superior Hiking Trail along Lake Superior's north shore -- a journey that Jo had always looked forward to hiking with her dad. It's not a situation that either of them ever predicted they'd find themselves in, yet here they are in the wilderness with their entire lives stuffed into a pair of thirty-pound packs.Along the trail, they'll suffer through endless aches and pains, scorching heat, and crippling self-doubt.
Lion of the Sky
By Hemnani, Ritu
An evocative historical novel in verse about a boy and his family who are forced to flee their home and become refugees after the British Partition of India. Perfect for fans of Other Words for Home. Twelve-year-old Raj is happiest flying kites with his best friend, Iqbal. As their kites soar, Raj feels free, like his beloved India soon will be, and he can't wait to celebrate their independence.But when a British lawyer draws a line across a map, splitting India in two, Raj is thrust into a fractured world. With Partition declared, Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim families are torn apart - and Raj's Hindu and Iqbal's Muslim families are among them.Forced to flee and become refugees, Raj's family is left to start over in a new country. After suffering devastating losses, Raj must summon the courage to survive the brutal upheaval of both his country and his heart.
Linus and Etta Could Use a Win
By Huntoon, Caroline
A hot-headed cynic befriends the new kid -- a shy trans boy -- when she takes on a bet to get him elected student body president in this new middle grade contemporary novel from Caroline Huntoon, author of Skating on Mars.. Linus is the new boy at school, and he's trying to keep it quiet. After coming out as trans last year and managing the attention that came with it, he's more than happy to fade into the background of his new middle school.. Etta isn't like other kids at school, and she's proud of it. The class misanthrope and the owner of the greenest hair at Doolittle Middle School, she's still reeling from a painful friendship breakup, making her more than happy to burn middle-school bridges before she heads off to the local alternative high school next year.
Telephone of the Tree
By Mcghee, Alison
An unforgettable story of grief and the support of community as a young girl, faced with aching loss, begins to understand that what we love will always be with us.. Ayla and her best friend Kiri have always been tree people. They each have their own special tree, and neighbors and family know that they are most likely to be found within the branches. But after an accident on their street, Kiri has gone somewhere so far away that Ayla can only wait and wait in her birch, longing to be able to talk with Kiri again.. Then a mysterious, old-fashioned telephone appears one morning, nestled in the limbs of Ayla's birch tree. Where did it come from? she wonders. And why are people showing up to use this phone to call their loved ones? Especially loved ones who have passed on.
Blue to the Sky
By Mcnicoll, Sylvia
Twelve-year-old Ella experiences a rich and vivid world through her passion for poetry and music, but the kids at school only know her as Allergic-To-Everything-Girl.After six years of homeschooling following her last anaphylactic reaction, Ella returns to school in sixth grade with a fear of another allergic reaction, a fear of losing Mom just as she lost Omi, and a fear of public speaking, which stops her from presenting her poems and sharing her passion.When her best friend, Zenia, convinces Ella to sign up for the CN Tower climb to raise money for charity, Ella is sure that performing her poem at the top of the tower will cure her of stage fright.Training to climb 1,776 steps is no small task, but even against impossible odds, Ella must find the courage to face, navigate, and conquer her fears.
Finn and Ezra's Bar Mitzvah Time Loop
By Levy, Joshua S.
Finn and Ezra's bar mitzvah weekend takes on a Groundhog Day twist in this hilarious and magical middle grade novel from Joshua S. Levy. Finn and Ezra don't have a lot in common - except, of course, that they're trapped in a bar mitzvah time loop, reliving their celebrations in the same New Jersey hotel over and over and over again. Not ideal, particularly when both kids were ready for their bar mitzvahs to end the moment they began. Ezra comes from a big family - four siblings, all seeming to get more attention than him, even on his bar mitzvah weekend. Finn is an only child who's tired of his parents' constant focus, even worse on his bar mitzvah weekend. They just want to get past it, just want to grow up. And now they're both stuck. Friday. Saturday.
The Last Rhee Witch
By Lee-yun, Jenna
For fans of The Last Fallen Star, Witchlings, and Ghost Squad, a heartfelt middle grade debut where Korean folklore is all too real and summer camp includes a gwishin haunting.. You couldn't hold onto everything and everyone. You had to choose. And Ronnie only had two hands.. Since her mother died when she was five years old, it's always just been Ronnie Miller and her dad. Two Korean Americans who, thanks to Ronnie's dad's adoption by white parents, have never felt all that Korean. But Ronnie is okay with that - as long as she has her dad and her best friend Jack, Ronnie is 99% certain she can get through anything.. But as much as she wants everything to stay the same, the world - and her dad - has other plans. Now, Ronnie and Jack are headed away to sleepaway camp for the first time ever.
The Secret Library
By Magoon, Kekla
Travel through time with National Book Award Finalist Kekla Magoon in a page-turning fantasy adventure about family secrets and finding the courage to plot your own life story. . Since Grandpa died, Dally's days are dull and restricted. She's eleven and a half years old, and her exacting single mother is already preparing her to take over the family business. Starved for adventure and release, Dally rescues a mysterious envelope from her mother's clutches, an envelope Grandpa had earmarked for her. The map she finds inside leads straight to an ancient vault, a library of secrets where each book is a portal to a precise moment in time. As Dally "checks out" adventure after adventure - including an exhilarating outing with pirates - she begins to dive deep into her family's hidden history.
National Archive Hunters 1
By Landis, Matthew
Twins race to find the thief stealing valuable historical artifacts before their family's framed for the crimes in this high-octane middle grade action-adventure series starter for fans of City Spies and Alex Rider.. Ten-year-old Ike Carter has committed large chunks of American history to memory. That's what happens when you're a genius who loves the past. His twin, Iris, prefers the present (aka reality) . She's an elite athlete, dominating the competition thanks to her wicked-sharp spatial awareness.. During the opening night of a new exhibit at their mom's boutique museum in Washington, D.C., Ike and Iris inadvertently stumble onto a robbery in progress. A girl not much older than them is stealing a miniature portrait of George Washington from the collection.
Tree. Table. Book.
By Lowry, Lois
From two-time Newbery medalist Lois Lowry comes this warm and resonant story of an unlikely friendship, which unfolds as a revelation on how we hold on to - and pass on - what matters most.Everyone knows the two Sophies are best friends. One is in elementary school, and one is . . . well . . . in a little trouble of late. She's elderly, sure, but she's always been on her game, the best friend any girl struggling to fit in could ever have. The Sophies drink tea, have strong opinions about pretty much everything, and love each other dearly. Now it seems the elder Sophie is having memory problems, burning teakettles, and forgetting just about everything. It looks like her son is going to come and get her and steal her away forever. Young Sophie isn't having that.
The Wishkeeper's Apprentice
By Khoo, Rachel Chivers
Wishes do come true - with some help from Felix and his quirky mentor, Mr. Beewinkle - in this magical adventure brimming with the power of hope.. When ten-year-old Felix drops a penny in the wishing fountain at the center of town, he really doesn't expect his sixteen-year-old sister to suddenly like him again, or to offer to share a cinnamon bun or watch cartoons like they used to. She hasn't even remembered she was supposed to give him a ride home! But someone else is at the fountain too: a strange old man with a fishing pole who claims to be invisible. To Felix's amazement, he learns that the old man is a Wishkeeper, and he needs an apprentice! But being a Wishkeeper's apprentice isn't just about organizing incoming wishes and untangling wish snags: a strange wolf-man who's been haunting Felix's dreams is real and a threat to every wish that has ever been granted in the town of Whittlestone, the town's Wishkeeper, and Felix himself.
The Things We Miss
By Stecher, Leah
"Magical and heartbreaking! You will read this book in one gulp." - Jennifer L. Holm, New York Times-bestselling author of The Fourteenth Goldfish. When You Reach Me meets Starfish in this heartfelt contemporary middle grade about a misfit girl who finds a way to skip all of the hard parts of life.. J.P. Green has always felt out of step. She doesn't wear the right clothes, she doesn't say the right things, and her body ... well, she'd rather not talk about it. And seventh grade is shaping up to be the worst year yet. So when J.P. discovers a mysterious door in her neighbor's treehouse, she doesn't hesitate before walking through. The door sends her three days forward in time. . Suddenly, J.P. can skip all the worst parts of seventh grade: Fitness tests in P.
South of Somewhere
By Miller, Kalena
STARRED REVIEW! "Precise, subtle details and complete emotional honesty bring these characters to life from the first page." - Kirkus Reviews starred review The unforgettable tale of a girl, her maybe-criminal mom, her babysitting business, and her pet pineapple. When FBI agents swarm twelve-year-old Mavis Callahan's downtown Chicago home, her mom goes on the run. With the family's house and bank accounts seized, Mavis's dad takes her and her siblings to seek refuge with his sister just south of rural Somewhere, Illinois - a far cry from the big city lifestyle Mavis is used to. As Mavis grapples with her sudden turn in fortune, she learns to make new friends and starts a babysitting business to bring in some much-needed cash for the family.
The Monarchs of Winghaven
By Moreira, Naila
Young naturalist Sammie loves to do field research in a special stretch of wilderness in the suburbs - but now she must protect it. Science and heart combine in this engaging story.. Sammie, a budding naturalist, knows of a secret and wonderful place: Winghaven, an abandoned lot in the middle of the suburbs where wildlife flourishes. She spends hours making notes and drawings in her meticulous field journal. When Bram, a new boy, turns up with his camera, Sammie worries he'll give away her hidden haven - after all, the other boys at school bully her. But Bram is a scientist like Sammie, and together they observe tiny pond creatures, a pileated woodpecker with a red crest like a pirate's bandana, and thriving monarch butterflies whose habitats are becoming scarce.
Sleeping Spells and Dragon Scales
By Swore, Wendy S.
From the award-winning author Wendy S. Swore, a contemporary middle-grade novel in the tradition of A Monster Like Me, in which two friends must solve the mystery of Liam's illness using their knowledge of fairy tales. Something is wrong with Liam. He collapses during soccer practice, he can't stay awake in class, and he's starting to see a ghostly white fox that disappears into smoke. His parents and teachers accuse him of being lazy and staying up too late, but he knows it's something worse. He feels like he's disappearing bit by bit: his strength, his skills, his mind. No one believes him except for Alaina, a friend and self-proclaimed expert in fantasy and fairy tales. She's seen this sort of thing before and believes Liam has been cursed with a powerful sleeping spell.
Olive Blackwood Takes Action!
By Thomas, Sonja
An anxious aspiring filmmaker bands together with an unlikely friend group to protect their beloved state animal in this heartwarming contemporary middle grade novel perfect for fans of Jamie Sumner and Erin Entrada Kelly.. Twelve-year-old Olive Blackwood's dream is to direct blockbuster fantasy movies, just like her dad wanted to before he died. She decides to apply to the highly competitive Rose City Summer Film Camp with the help of her best friend, Kayla. But Olive isn't sure how she can cast the movie when the mere thought of talking to a stranger makes her nervous. Then a surprise project in Olive's film class presents her best chance at going to Rose City: the group who makes the best documentary trailer will receive a recommendation to the elite program! But Olive's hopes are quickly dashed when she's paired with the two worst students in class: loud Jo Willems has a flashy style of dressing just as intimidating as their outspoken opinions and David Moore is even quieter than Olive, fading into the background.
Mid-Air
By Williams, Alicia D.
A tender-souled boy reeling from the death of his best friend struggles to fit into a world that wants him to grow up tough and unfeeling in this stunning middle grade novel in verse from the Newbery Honor-winning author of Genesis Begins Again.. It's the last few months of eighth grade, and Isaiah feels lost. He thought his summer was going to be him and his boys Drew and Darius, hanging out, doing wheelies, watching martial arts movies, and breaking tons of Guiness World Records before high school. But now, more and more, Drew seems to be fading from their friendship, and though he won't admit it, Isaiah knows exactly why. Because Darius is ... gone. A hit and run killed Darius in the midst of a record-breaking long wheelie when Isaiah should have been keeping watch, ready to warn: "CAR!" Now, Drew can barely look at Isaiah.
The Day I Fell Into a Fairytale
By Miller, Ben
Enter a world of wonder with the bestselling new novel from actor, comedian and author, Ben Miller - out in paperback 1st April.. Lana loves stories. Especially the ones she and her brother, Harrison, share in their make-believe games. But when Harrison decides he's too grown-up to play with Lana she finds herself feeling lonely. Until something magical happens . . . Hidden in the strange new supermarket in town, Lana discovers a portal to a fairytale world! But these aren't the happy-ever-after fairytales that Lana knows, they are darker and more dangerous, and the characters need Lana's help to defeat an evil witch. But she can't do it alone. Can she convince Harrison to believe in stories again and journey to the world with her . . . before it's too late? Fall into this bestselling classic adventure about the power of stories, with beautiful illustrations throughout from Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini.
With Just One Wing
By Woods, Brenda
Coretta Scott King Honor-winner Brenda Woods's poignant, heartfelt story of an adopted boy and the bird he rescues. Everyone expects Coop to be musical like his beloved parents, but he's not. That's one of the few things he finds awkward about being adopted - well, that and the fact that he sometimes wonders why his birth mother didn't love him enough to keep him. This summer, he's stuck at home with a broken arm after falling out of a tree trying to get a closer peek at a mockingbird nest. Later, when the eggs in the nest have hatched and the fledglings fly away, he and his friend Zandi notice that one of them stays behind. Taking a closer look, they realize the bird only has one wing. Since it won't survive in the wild, they adopt it and name it Hop, and then learn everything they can about birds so they can care for Hop properly.
True Colors
By Cooper, Abby
Turning Red meets The Giver in this novel about a town where everyone agrees to think positively - but one girl, whose emotions manifest as colors, can't hide her true feelings.. In Serenity, Minnesota, everyone looks on the bright side, and that's on purpose: to live in this town, people have to agree to talk positively and only focus on the good things in life. For twelve-year-old Mackenzie Werner, who has the rare gift of her emotions showing up as a colorful haze around her body, this town seems like the perfect place; she'll never face the embarrassment of a grumbly grapefruit smog if everyone and everything is set up to be happy. But when a documentary maker comes to town and starts asking questions, Mackenzie, overwhelmed with emotion, can't hold her haze back - and it explodes onto the whole town.
Lily Xiao Speaks Out
By Chen, Nicole
From the author of It's Boba Time for Pearl Li! comes an empowering, heartfelt middle grade novel about a grunge-loving Taiwanese American tween who must use her voice to fight for ESL support at her school.Lily Xiao can't wait to go to Camp Rock Out this summer, where she'll finally be able to shed her "class robot" good girl reputation and start her journey to becoming the next Eddie Vedder! And she can't wait to do it with her best friend and cousin, Vivian, who's just moved from Taiwan to Lily's California hometown. But as the two cousins work their way through seventh grade, Vivian struggles more and more with her schoolwork, which is all taught in English. If Vivian can't get her grades up, her parents won't let her go to rock camp.Determined to help, Lily embarks on a mission to push their school to provide more support for English-as-a-Second-Language learners like Vivian.
Keep It Like a Secret
By Anderson, John David
A heartfelt and unexpected novel about an inseparable brother and sister, from the beloved author of Posted.From the first moment Morgan can remember, Claire has always been there. Big sister and little brother. Cat and Mouse. They've always understood each other, saved each other, seen each other. And they stuck to their own personal code, unwritten but understood, that siblings were inseparable, that they had each other's backs, no matter what.At least, they used to.Somewhere along the line, things between them shifted. Claire started fighting more with Mom, storming out of the house, spending more and more time away, and Morgan felt his sister and best friend slipping away. Now he spends nearly every night sitting awake in his room, waiting for the sound of her key in the lock.
Taming Papa
By Goupil, Mylène
Mélie doesn't know how to relate to her father, a political prisoner in another country whom she has never met, when he is released and immigrates to join her family in Montreal."Where I come from, you have to say the same things as everyone else or keep quiet," Mélie's mother tells her. "And your father is not someone who knows how to keep quiet. Or say the same thing as everyone else. So that got him in trouble."However, ever since he came into Mélie's life, keeping quiet is the only thing her father has done. Partly because Sami doesn't speak the same language as his daughter, and partly because he doesn't know how to live as a free man anymore. Mélie has to tame him, like the kitten that she just found, and like Mr. Xavier and his partner seem to be doing with Mei-Li, the little girl they recently adopted.
The Door Is Open
By Hiranandani, Veera
Discover stories of fear, triumph, and spectacular celebration in this warm-hearted novel of interconnected stories that celebrates the diversity of South Asian American experiences in a local community center.. Discover stories of fear, triumph, and spectacular celebration in the fictional town of Maple Grove, New Jersey, where the local kids gather at the community center to discover new crushes, fight against ignorance, and even save a life. Cheer for Chaya as she wins chess tournaments (unlike Andrew, she knows stupid sugary soda won't make you better at chess) , and follow as Jeevan learns how to cook traditional food (it turns out he can cook sabji-- he just can't eat it) .. These stories, edited by bestselling and award-winning Pakistani-American author Hena Khan, are filled with humor, warmth, and possibility.
Things That Shimmer
By Lakritz, Deborah
In the spring of 1973, Melanie Adler desperately wants to be accepted by the Shimmers, the popular kids in her class. But the secret of her mother's PTSD stands in the way. As hard as she tries, Melanie can't act as effortlessly confident and fun as the Shimmers. She's convinced no one knows what it's like to have a parent who's afraid of everything -- until Dorit Shoshani moves to town. Clever, independent Dorit understands Melanie's home life thanks to her own family's struggles. The girls become fast friends.But when the Shimmers finally start to pay attention to Melanie, she's torn between her bond with Dorit and her chance at popularity.
Painting the Game
By Maclachlan, Patricia
In this final middle grade novel by Newbery Award-winning author Patricia MacLachlan, a young girl tries to untangle her love of baseball from complicated relationship with her professional pitcher father.. Lucy's father is a minor league baseball player, a professional pitcher hoping to get called up to the majors, and Lucy inherited his passion for the game. But she's never played pitcher. She worries her skills would be compared to her dad's and she'd never measure up. And his pitching may mean big things for his career and their family, but it's also what keeps him away from home so much of the year. Sometimes, Lucy isn't sure what would be worse: being bad at pitching or being great. Still, this summer, Lucy wants to learn to throw the perfect knuckleball.
Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All
By Miller, Chanel
New York Times bestselling author and artist Chanel Miller tells a fun, funny, and poignant story of friendship and community starring Magnolia Wu, a ten-year-old sock detective bent on returning all the lonely only socks left behind in her parents' NYC laundromat.. Down at the bottom of the tall buildings of New York City, Magnolia Wu sits inside her parents' laundromat. She has pinned every lost sock from the laundromat onto a bulletin board, in hopes that customers will return to retrieve them. But no one seems to have noticed. In fact, barely anyone has noticed Magnolia at all. . What she doesn't know is that this is about to be her most exciting summer yet. When Iris, a new friend from California arrives, they set off across the city to solve the mystery of each missing sock, asking questions in subways and delis and plant stores and pizzerias, meeting people and uncovering the unimaginable.
Running in Flip Flops from the End of the World
By Reynolds, Justin A.
When twelve-year-old Eddie Gordon Holloway and his friends are left home from Beach Bash, aka the greatest party of the year, only to realize that everyone in town has disappeared without a trace, they do what any smart, responsible kids would do . . . have the best day ever!No parental supervision sounds fun for a while, but forever is a long time. And soon the gang starts to notice strange things happening around town, and they're only getting stranger. They have to figure out what happened to their families. It seems like getting to the beach will answer all their questions . . . but the only problem is that some mysterious force seems determined to prevent them from making it there.Eddie knows that this is a clear sign - obviously they should be focused on having as much fun as possible for as long as possible.
Zevi Takes the Spotlight
By Matas, Carol
Key Selling PointsThirteen-year-old Zevi uses his psychic powers to save the life of a famous actor during the filming of a movie.This story examines the effects of fame and the importance of choices, while exploring themes of responsibility, empathy and doing the right thing.Carol Matas is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning author of dozens of books for young people. She's written in a variety of genres, including historical fiction, sci-fi, supernatural and thriller. She is also a graduate of the Actor's Lab in London, England, and pursued an acting career for a few years.The accuracy of the movie set and filming scenes was expert reviewed by filmmaker John Kozak, a professor of film at the University of Winnipeg.Enhanced features (dyslexia-friendly font, cream paper, larger trim size) to increase reading accessibility for dyslexic and other striving readers.
Keeping Pace
By Morrison, Laurie
Laurie Morrison's Keeping Pace is a poignant middle-grade novel about friends-turned-rivals training for a half-marathon - and rethinking what it means to win and what they mean to each other. Grace has been working for years to beat her former friend Jonah Perkins's GPA so she can be named top scholar of the eighth grade. But when Jonah beats her for the title, it feels like none of Grace's academic accomplishments have really mattered. They weren't enough to win - or to impress her dad. And then the wide, empty summer looms. With nothing planned and no more goals or checklists, she doesn't know what she's supposed to be working toward. Eager for something to occupy her days, Grace signs up for a half-marathon race that she and Jonah used to talk about running together.
Sunny Parker Is Here to Stay
By Finnegan, Margaret
A determined girl spends the summer before middle school learning to stand up for her low-income community in this funny, fast-paced read just right for fans of Kelly Yang's Front Desk. Sunny Parker loves the Del Mar Garden Apartments, the affordable housing complex where she lives. And she especially loves her neighbors. From her best friend, Haley Michaels, to Mrs. Garcia and her two kids - developmentally disabled son AJ and bitter but big-hearted daughter Izzy - every resident has a story and a special place in Sunny's heart. Sunny never thought living at the Del Mar Garden Apartments made her different - until the city proposes turning an old, abandoned school into a new affordable housing complex and the backlash of her affluent neighborhood teaches Sunny the hard way that not everyone appreciates the community she calls home.
The Cats of Silver Crescent
By Noel, Kaela
In this stand-alone novel with themes of friendship and family, twelve-year-old Elsby discovers a family of talking cats living in the house next door and must help them harness the magic that made them that way. From the author of the acclaimed Coo, The Cats of Silver Crescent is for fans of Kathi Appelt and Katherine Applegate. With her mother busy traveling for work, Elsby isn't thrilled to be spending a few weeks with her great-aunt Verity. Luckily, she has her notebook and a lush garden to sketch to help pass the time. But a visitor takes Elsby by surprise: a cat standing on its two hind legs and dressed like a sailor dashes across the garden and into the neighboring woods! Elsby can't believe her eyes, and she can't imagine that Aunt Verity would believe her, either.
The Night War
By Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker
From the two-time Newbery Honor-winning author of The War That Saved My Life and Fighting Words comes a middle grade novel set at the border between freedom and fear in World War II France, at the Chateau de Chenonceau, where a Jewish girl who has lost everything but her life must decide whether to risk even that to bring others to freedom.. "We don't choose how we feel, but we choose how we act.". It's 1942. German Nazis occupy much of France. And twelve-year-old Miriam, who is Jewish, is not safe. With help and quick thinking, Miri is saved from the roundup that takes her entire Jewish neighborhood. She escapes Paris, landing in a small French village, where the spires of the famous Chateau de Chenonceau rise high into the sky, its bridge across the River Cher like a promise, a fairy tale.
This Again?
By Borba, Adam
How far would you go to have the best day of your life? This funny and thrilling time travel adventure tackles questions of fate and free will. Noah Nicholson has plenty to be grateful for. He has solid grades and great friends, he's finally becoming closer with Lucy Martinez - his crush since second grade - and he just might have a chance to be elected class president next week. But despite all that, Noah fixates on the should've-beens and could've-beens and the belief that he can make his life perfect. Then Noah comes upon an opportunity to do just that. At the local bowling alley, Noah runs into someone most unexpected: himself. The look-alike is him from nine days in the future, and he insists that if Noah does every ridiculous thing he says - from quacking like a duck in science class to painting himself green - they can achieve their dream of perfection.
Ghost Forest
By Dasgupta, Sayantani
Kiya and Kinjal return to the Kingdom Beyond.For their next adventure in the Kingdom Beyond, twins Kiya and Kinjal must help the flying horses with a sudden invasion of their lands. It turns out that the tree ghosts are losing their forest! To save the trees, and the Kingdom, they must use their collective knowledge of this world and of course their magic!
War of the Wind
By Williamson, Victoria
A Financial Times Book of the YearShortlisted for The Week Junior Book Prize in 2023 An award-winning climate fiction novel that explores unlikely friendships as a group of children with disabilities find themselves at the heart of an eco-mystery.On a remote Scottish island, 14-year-old Max's life is changed forever when he loses his hearing in a boating accident. Now, he has to navigate a new silent world alone - even his parents don't understand that wearing a hearing aid doesn't mean he can actually hear them, and he's placed in a special educational needs class surrounded by kids he once picked on.When people start acting strangely and Max's hearing aid picks up odd sounds from a new wind farm off the coast, he suspects a sinister scientist is using wind turbines to experiment on the islanders.
The Second Favorite Daughters Club 1
By Oakes, Colleen
For fans of Sisters and Netflix's The Baby-sitter's Club, a contemporary series for the siblings who always come in last.. Santana Barnes is tired of playing second fiddle to her ballet protégé, honor student older sister Victoria. Casey Hammond is sick of her cute-as-a-button, adventurous little sister Sage, who steals all of their dad's attention.. When the girls meet in their middle school library, they learn they have a lot in common: they both love reading, they hate after-school activities, and most important, they are clearly their parents' second-favorite children.. So they decide to do something about it. They create the Second Favorite Daughters Club. The members? Just the two of them. The mission? To become their parents' favorite children by undermining their love-hoarding siblings.
Winnie Nash Is Not Your Sunshine
By Melleby, Nicole
In this powerful novel by an award-winning author, 12-year-old Winnie Nash is forced to live with her grandma for the summer and finds herself torn between her family's secrets and the joy of celebrating Pride. Winnie Nash never used to have so many secrets.. But then she agreed to stay with her grandma for the summer so her mom can take care of her health during her latest pregnancy. Now Winnie plays card games with Grandma's friends (boring) , joins the senior citizen book club (fine, even if no one thinks she'll read the books) , and absolutely does not talk about her mom's sad days (she never used to be so sad ... ) .. The biggest secret is that her parents asked Winnie not to mention she's gay to Grandma. And there's a really cute girl who also hangs out with the senior citizens.
Cruzita and the Mariacheros
By Granillo, Ashley
Cruzita is going to be a pop star. All she has to do is win a singing contest at her favorite theme park and get famous. But she can't go to the theme park this summer. Instead, she has to help out at her family's bakery, which has been struggling ever since Tío Chuy died. Cruzita's great-uncle poured his heart into the bakery -- the family legacy -- and now that he's gone, nothing is the same.When Cruzita's not rolling uneven tortillas or trying to salvage rock-hard conchas, she has to take mariachi lessons, even though she doesn't know how to play her great-grandpa's violin and she's not fluent in Spanish. At first, she's convinced her whole summer will be a disaster. But as she discovers the heart and soul of mariachi music, she realizes that there's more than one way to be a star -- and more than one way to carry on a legacy.
Sona and the Golden Beasts
By Larocca, Rajani
From Newbery Honor and Walter Award-winning author Rajani LaRocca comes a gripping middle grade fantasy perfect for fans of The Serpent's Secret and The Last Mapmaker. Though music is outlawed in the land of Devia, Sona hears it everywhere. Sona is a Malech, a member of the ruling class that conquered Devia centuries ago. Malechs forbade music to prevent the native Devans from using their magic, and Sona hides her abilities lest they put her in danger.Then Sona discovers an orphaned wolf pup. She believes the pup, with its golden ears, might be related to one of the five sacred beasts of Devia, and she vows to keep it safe. That means bringing the pup in tow when Sona embarks on a perilous quest, along with a Devan boy, to secure the nectar of life for a loved one who has fallen gravely ill.
Finding Normal
By Faris, Stephanie
Perfect for fans of Jamie Sumner and Barbara Dee, this heartfelt middle grade novel about friendship, belonging, and the power of community follows a girl whose family is uprooted after a flood destroys their house.. After a horrible storm floods her neighborhood, twelve-year-old Temple and her family are forced to move to a new town. They are some of the lucky ones, able to secure temporary housing relatively quickly. But Temple doesn't feel so lucky starting over at a brand-new school halfway through the year and feeling a weird spotlight on her family's situation from her new classmates. At home, things aren't any better as her family struggles to adjust while figuring out how they can afford to rebuild. When Temple sees a flyer for a local fundraiser, she decides she can do the same thing for her family.
Lightningborn
By Kagawa, Julie
In a world in the clouds where only the rich own dragons, a poor boy named Remy finds a wild baby dragon - believed to be extinct - and becomes the focus of an evil pirate's vengeance.. REMY spends his days trying to survive the mean streets of Cutthroat Wedge - one of the many islands floating in the gravitational pull of the magical Maelstrom raging below. But his life changes forever when a violent storm brings a baby dragon to his doorstep, and he feels a bond he has never felt with anyone. Remy names the dragon Storm and vows to protect this new friend, no matter the cost. . GEM longs for the day when she call herself a true mage. That is, if she can convince her teachers and peers that just because she's a princess doesn't mean she's lazy and spoiled.
The Wrong Way Home
By O'shaughnessy, Kate
Twelve-year-old Fern believes she's living a noble life--but what if everything she's been told is a lie? This is a huge-hearted story about a girl learning to question everything - and to trust in herself.. Fern's lived at the Ranch, an off-the-grid, sustainable community in upstate New York, since she was six. The work is hard, but Fern admires the Ranch's leader, Dr. Ben. So when Fern's mother sneaks them away in the middle of the night and says Dr. Ben is dangerous, Fern doesn't believe it. She wants desperately to go back, but her mom just keeps driving.. Suddenly thrust into the treacherous, toxic, outside world, Fern thinks only about how to get home again. She has a plan, but it will take time. As that time goes by, though, Fern realizes there are things she will miss from this place - the library, a friend from school, the ocean - and there are things she learned at the Ranch that are just.
Deep Water
By Sumner, Jamie
"Readers will feel every wave of Tully's emotions as she risks everything to try to get her mom's attention. A powerful novel in verse." - Lisa Fipps, author of Printz Honor book Starfish An impactful, gripping middle grade novel in verse from acclaimed author Jamie Sumner that spans one girl's marathon swim over twelve miles and six hours, calling her mom back home with every stroke. . Six hours. One marathon swim. That's all Tully Birch needs to get her life straightened out. With the help of her best friend, Arch, Tully braves the waters of Lake Tahoe to break the record for the youngest person ever to complete the famous "Godfather swim." She wants to achieve something no one in the world has done, because if she does, maybe, just maybe, her mom will come back.
Isabel in Bloom
By Respicio, Mae
A girl discovers a connection between her home in the Philippines and her new home in the U.S. through a special garden in this middle grade novel that celebrates nourishment and growth.. Twelve-year-old Isabel is the new kid in her San Francisco middle school. It's the first time in many years that she'll be living with her mother again. Mama's job in the US allowed Isabel and her grandparents to live more comfortably in the Philippines, but now Isabel doesn't really know her own mother anymore.. Making new friends in a new city, a new country, is hard, but joining the gardening and cooking club at school means Isabel will begin to find her way, and maybe she too, will begin to bloom. . In this beautifully rendered novel-in-verse, Mae Respicio explores how growth can take many forms, offering both the challenges and joy of new beginnings.
Spotting Dottie
By Anderson-dargatz, Gail
Charlotte is going to prove her grandma is right -- the lake monster is real!When Charlotte gets a drone for her fourteenth birthday, she's determined to get footage of Dottie, the elusive lake monster of Dorothy Lake. Her grandma, who has dedicated her life to searching for the monster, is the joke of the town. But when Charlotte manages to capture a video of the monster and posts it online, she's the sudden target of a media storm. Now everyone is making fun of her too. Worse, droves of monster hunters arrive in her town, crowding the lake. When their boat propellers threaten to hurt Dottie, Charlotte is faced with a difficult choice.This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don't like to read! The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.
The Equinox Test
By Montague, Liz
Three friends discover magic and mayhem around every corner of their school in this brand-new illustrated series from New Yorker cartoonist and NAACP Image Award nominee Liz Montague.It's time to put their magic to the test!Welcome to the Brooklyn School of Magic, where seeds of enchantment are planted and magic sprouts in every corner. And where each fall, fifth years must pass the Equinox Test if they want to move up to Middle Magic.Rose is worried. She's never been the best student. And if she doesn't pass with flying colors, Principal Ivy says she may have to transfer to a boring, non-magical school.Amethyst knows she's got the skills to ace the test. But to really impress her mom, she's got her eye on the school's top prize.Lavender just wants to fit in.
Olivetti
By Millington, Allie
A heartfelt debut middle-grade told from the unique vantage points of a witty typewriter and an introverted boy -- for fans of Wishtree and A Rover's Story.Being a typewriter is not as easy as it looks. Surrounded by books (notorious attention hogs) and recently replaced by a computer, Olivetti has been forgotten by the Brindle family -- the family he's lived with for years. The Brindles are busy humans, apart from 12-year-old Ernest, who would rather be left alone with his collection of Oxford English Dictionaries. The least they could do was remember Olivetti once in a while, since he remembers every word they've typed on him. It's a thankless job, keeping memories alive.. Olivetti gets a rare glimpse of action from Ernest's mom, Beatrice -- his used-to-be most frequent visitor -- only for her to drop him off at Heartland Pawn Shop and leave him helplessly behind.
The Secret Language of Birds
By Kelly, Lynne
From the award-winning author of Song for a Whale comes a poignant and heartwarming tale about a girl who discovers a pair of endangered birds about to lay eggs in the marshes of her summer camp...and the secret plan she hatches to help them.. Nina is used to feeling like the odd one out, both at school and in her large family. But while trying to fit in at summer camp, she discovers something even more peculiar: two majestic birds have built a nest in the marsh behind an abandoned infirmary. They appear to be whooping cranes, but that's impossible - Nina is an amateur bird-watcher, and all her resources tell her that those rare birds haven't nested in Texas for over a hundred years.. When Nina reports the sighting to wildlife officials, more questions arise.
Paige Not Found
By Wilde, Jen
An adventure story that examines consent and privacy in a way that books have not had to before this generation where everything is online.A week ago, if someone had told Paige she'd be stuck in traffic with three total strangers on a mission to stop a global organization from controlling their minds, she would have laughed. But somehow this is real life. She adjusts her noise cancelling headphones, trying to drown out more of the car horns and music blaring from a neighboring sedan. Her fists clench and unclench. Inside her shoes, her toes wiggle, trying to let out some of her nervous energy.As much as Paige hates the word normal, it's a pretty good word to describe her life, and the kind of night she was having just before a single email turned her world upside down.
A Game of Noctis
By Fagan, Deva
A thrilling middle grade fantasy about a girl who must participate in a deadly game with a ragtag team of players to save her grandfather from a terrible fate - perfect for fans of James Riley and Shannon Messenger!. In the opulent, sinking city of Dantessa, the Great Game rules all. Pia Paro believes that so long as you follow the rules, you always have a chance at winning. But after her beloved Gramps is sentenced to a life of servitude, Pia accepts a dangerous offer and joins a team of players seeking to win the most perilous game of all: Noctis. The Seafoxes - Pia's new teammates - are unlike anyone she's ever met. There's brash, bold Carlo; macabre Serafina; kindhearted Pasquale; and their dashing ringleader, Vittoria. Each has their own reason for playing, and soon, Pia begins to question all her long-held beliefs.
Trouble at the Tangerine
By Mcdunn, Gillian
Award-winning author Gillian McDunn pens a delightfully quirky mystery that examines the meaning of home, perfect for fans of The Vanderbeekers series.. Simon's family is always on the move. Every few months, they load up their van, "Vincent Van Go," and set off for a new adventure. According to his dad, you can't live an extraordinary life by staying in one place. But all Simon wants is to settle down, so he's hatched a plan: to make their latest apartment in the Tangerine Pines building his forever home.. When a priceless necklace is stolen, clues indicate the thief might actually be another neighbor. Simon worries he'll have to move again if the thief isn't caught. He usually doesn't go looking for trouble, but if retrieving the necklace means establishing home, Simon is willing to risk it.
Uprising
By Nielsen, Jennifer A.
#1 New York Times bestselling author of Iceberg, Jennifer A. Nielsen inspires readers with a brand-new thriller based on the remarkable true story of a young Polish girl who bravely fought, participating in the Warsaw city uprising, and took a stand in the name of freedom.Twelve-year-old Lidia is outside her grandfather's house when planes fly overhead, bearing the Nazi cross on each wing. Before the bombs hit the ground, Lidia realizes her life is about to change forever. Poland has fallen under German occupation, and her father makes the brave decision to join the Polish army to fight against the Nazis. Lidia wants to follow him into war, but she's far too young, and she's needed by her mother and brother.After her family returns to Warsaw, where life has changed irrevocably, Lidia continues to play the piano, finding comfort in Chopin, Bach, and Beethoven.
Gut Reaction
By Larson, Kirby
Critically acclaimed, bestselling author and Newbery Honor-winner, Kirby Larson, and her daughter, debut author, Quinn Wyatt, pen this gorgeously moving and often funny story that explores what living with a chronic illness is like. Inspired by Quinn's own personal journey, Gut Reaction is full of heart and humor and highlights the importance of asking for help when it comes to mental and physical health alike.Tess Medina is still dealing with the loss of her father when she starts at a new school. One way she is still able to feel close to him is by doing what she does best: baking. He taught her everything she knows. But when tasting her creations causes a deep stabbing pain in her abdomen, she tries to power through and be strong in the same way she powers through her emotional pain.
Mani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal Voice
By Lapera, Anna
"Anna Lapera expertly voices a young girl's middle school trials, but with a voice so unique and heartfelt you will be cringing one moment and cheering the next. She weaves a distinctive story filled with humor, family heartache, and secrets while a young girl releases the fear of her voice and grasps its power." - Newbery Medalist Donna Barba Higuera For fans of Donna Barba Higuera's Lupe Wong Won't Dance and Aida Salazar's The Moon Within, comes Mani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal Voice -- a contemporary middle grade novel full of spunk and activist heart. Manuela "Mani" Semilla wants two things: To get her period, and to thwart her mom's plan of taking her to Guatemala, a place that has always been more of a mystery than an answer.
Sing It Like Celia
By Mancillas, Mónica
Perfect for fans of The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise and Merci Suárez Changes Gears, Sing It Like Celia is a revelatory story about a Mexican American girl who finds her voice and herself with the help of her role model and icon, Celia Cruz. Twelve-year-old Salva Sanchez has always been a fan of Celia Cruz, also known as "the queen of salsa." Her love of Celia stems from her mother, who leaves Salva without explanation one awful day. Now Salva is stuck with her investigative journalist father in an RV campground. In the middle of nowhere. As Salva acclimates to her new environment and desperately tries to figure out why her mother left, she befriends a posse of campground kids who have started a band. When the kids discover that Salva has an amazing singing voice, they convince her to join their group.
Garden Surprise
By Mazas, Marie
Two friends dream up plans to build a tree house in a hidden garden and learn valuable lessons on STEAM, growth mindset, and community.. Nine-year-old besties Nour and August stumble upon the perfect place for their dream hideaway - a hidden garden full of majestic trees.. Excited to build a tree house, they design blueprints, research plant care, and collect necessary tools and materials. What was intended to be a secret hideaway becomes the perfect place for a once-hidden garden to come to life for their families to celebrate a very important birthday . . . and a long-lost friendship.. Through creativity, hard work, and a bit of mischief, the two friends realize their dreams, bring people together, and create an unforgettable summer.. The Garden Surprise is book one in the new Kaleidoscope Club chapter book series, with full-color illustrations throughout - a perfect series for readers 7 to 10 interested in friendship and learning more about nature, skill-building, and STEAM.
Louder Than Hunger
By Schu, John
"Every so often a book comes along that is so brave and necessary, it extends a lifeline when it's needed most. This is one of those books." - Katherine Applegate, author of the Newbery Medal-winning, The One and Only IvanRevered teacher, librarian, and story ambassador John Schu explores anorexia - and self-expression as an act of survival - in a wrenching and transformative novel-in-verse.. But another voice inside me says, We need help. We're going to die.Jake volunteers at a nursing home because he likes helping people. He likes skating and singing, playing Bingo and Name That Tune, and reading mysteries and comics aloud to his teachers. He also likes avoiding people his own age . . . and the cruelty of mirrors . . . and food. Jake has read about kids like him in books - the weird one, the outsider - and would do anything not to be that kid, including shrink himself down to nothing.
The World Divided by Piper
By Carter, Caela
From the critically acclaimed author of the ALA Notable and Charlotte Huck Honor Book Forever, or a Long, Long Time comes the story of Piper Franklin, the girl who is way too busy to grow up . . . until she has to. Perfect for fans of Alyson Gerber and Rebecca Stead. Piper Franklin has big plans. First, she'll win the Academic Decathlon with her best friend, Tallulah. Then, she'll finish her life's work: Metaphorical Math. And in the meantime, she and Tallulah will maintain their secret, El Jardin Muerto. Nothing can stop Piper . . . except for puberty.Piper was diagnosed with early-onset puberty, and she's been taking blockers to keep it at bay since she was six years old. But now her doctor thinks it's time for her treatment to end, and Piper's eyes are opened to a completely new world.
The Mystery of Locked Rooms
By Currie, Lindsay
Crack the codes. Find the treasure. Escape the house.From the acclaimed author of Scritch Scratch and What Lives in the Woods comes a action-packed adventure novel about three friends who team up to find a hidden treasure in an abandoned 1950's funhouse.Twelve-year-old Sarah Greene wants nothing more from her seventh-grade year than to beat the hardest escape room left in her town with her best friends, West, and Hannah. But when a foreclosure notice shows up on Sarah's front door, everything changes. Since her father became ill two years ago, things have been bad, but not lose your house bad...until now. Sarah feels helpless until the day Hannah mentions a treasure rumored to be hidden in the walls of an abandoned funhouse. According to legend, Hans, Stefan, and Karl Stein were orphaned at eight years old and lived with different families until they were able to reunite as adults.
We Built This City
By Patrick, Cat
Award-winning author Cat Patrick returns with a charming tale full of first crushes and new friendships, as one girl learns a little more about who she is and who she wants to be all while on the road trip of lifetime.. It's the summer of 1985, when air guitar, jelly bracelets, and huge hair are all the rage, and twelve-year-old Stevie is finally old enough to go on her performing troupe's annual cross-country tour. Twenty-six teen cast members will lip-synch and dance their way through more than twenty cities, and Stevie and her best friend, Wes, can't wait - for more reasons than one!
Listen to This
By Blecher, Jennifer
Secrets, rumors, shifting friendships, overbearing parents, and, on top of all that, a first dance - how does anyone survive seventh grade? Told from dual points of view, this novel about two tweens finding their voices and standing up for themselves is for fans of Lisa Yee, Leslie Connor, and Janae Marks. Lily, Maddie, and Sasha have always been the perfect friendship trio. But this year, everything is changing. Maddie and Sasha made the elite soccer team, and Lily feels that they're always leaving her behind. And everyone seems to have secrets now: Maddie, and Sasha, and Lily's sister, and even Lily herself. Lily's classmate Will wishes he had some secrets. After all, his life is already out there for the whole world to hear about, thanks to his dad's super-popular parenting podcast.
Lo Simpson Starts a Revolution
By Florence, Melanie
In this funny yet moving coming-of-age novel, a girl finds comfort, and eventually her voice, by writing letters to The Doctor from her favorite TV show, Doctor Who.Lo and Jazz have been best friends ever since Jazz defended her when Bobby Zucker called her a horse face in second grade. But lately Jazz has seemed more interested in bikinis, boys and bras (ugh) , and Lo is still perfectly happy with her comic books and Doctor Who. When Jazz ditches Lo for the It Girls, Lo feels completely adrift...until she overhears someone talking about the latest FanCon. There are others like her!With help from her new friends, and taking a cue from the Doctor (in whom she confides by writing letters) , Lo begins to find her voice. Between giving Bobby Zucker a wedgie for harassing the It Girls, to bringing an abrupt end to spin-the-bottle at a party, to speaking up to the principal and demanding period supplies in student bathrooms, Lo finds her inner activist and the self-confidence that comes with growing up -- on her own terms.
The Other Side of Perfect
By Florence, Melanie
Two kids from two different worlds form an unexpected friendship in this lens into the interworking of empathy. Told in alternating narratives, The Other Side of Perfect is infused with themes of identity, belonging, and compassion, reminding us that we are all more than our circumstances, and we are all more connected than we think.Cody's home life is a messy, too-often terrifying story of neglect and abuse. Cody himself is a smart kid, a survivor with a great sense of humor that helps him see past his circumstances and begin to try to get himself out. Autumn is a wealthy girl from an indigenous family, who has found herself in with the popular crowd even though it's hard for her to want to keep up.But one night, while returning home from a movie, Autumn comes across Cody, face down in the laneway behind her house.
Maple's Theory of Fun
By Mcmillan, Kate
Perfect for fans of Dork Diaries and Emmie & Friends, this first book in a diary-style illustrated middle grade series follows an anxious, science-minded sixth grader determined to become fun and win back her friend.. Sixth grade has been pretty disaster-free for aspiring astronaut Maple McNutt - which is impressive, given the number of worries and possible catastrophes that run through her head every day. (So far, Earth hasn't been devoured by a black hole and a cockroach hasn't crawled out of her toothpaste mid-squeeze. Phew!) But then her best friend of seven-point-two years, Sunny Gwon, accuses her of being unfun and starts hanging around with a new group of friends. In order to win Sunny back, Maple decides to undergo a serious scientific transformation to become fun by 1.
The Liars Society
By Gerber, Alyson
The Inheritance Games and One of Us is Lying for middle grade -- beloved author Alyson Gerber's new series is an unforgettable mystery featuring a secret society, a mysterious island, and dangerous family secrets.Weatherby is a fish out of water. When she lands a scholarship to the prestigious Boston School, she's excited to be in the same world as her dad, whom she's never met, and make real friends. But Weatherby has a secret she'll risk everything to protect, one that could destroy her new life.Every member of Jack's wealthy and privileged family has made their mark at the Boston School. Everyone, that is, except for Jack, who is entirely mediocre. He's desperate to prove his worth to his influential father. But Jack has a secret of his own . . . one with the power to ruin everything.
Warriors
By Hunter, Erin
Erin Hunter's #1 bestselling Warriors series continues! Discover more thrilling adventures in this third book in the Starless Clan arc.A crossroads for the Clans - and the warrior code!The warrior code now allows a cat to formally change Clans, but ShadowClan's newest arrival feels increasingly unwelcome - and though ShadowClan warrior Sunbeam thinks every cat deserves a chance, one of the loudest voices of opposition is her own mother. Meanwhile medicine cat apprentice Frostpaw scrambles to help RiverClan stay afloat under the watchful eye of a second Tigerstar, and the shadow of growing conflict looms over them all ... This seventh epic Warriors series is full of action, intrigue, and adventure - a perfect introduction for new readers and for long-time fans eager to discover what unfolds after the events of The Broken Code.
The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry
By Johnson, Anna Rose
Lucy, a spirited French-Ojibwe orphan, is sent to the stormy waters of Lake Superior to live with a mysterious family of lighthouse-keepers - and, she hopes, to find the legendary necklace her father spent his life seeking ... . Selena Lucy Landry (named for a ship, as every sailor's child should be) has been frightened of the water ever since she lost her father at sea. But with no one else to care for her, she's sent to foster with the Martins - a large Anishinaabe family living on a lighthouse in the middle of stormy Lake Superior. . The Martin family is big, hard-working, and close, and Lucy - who has always been a dreamer - struggles to fit in. Can she go one day without ruining the laundry or forgetting the sweeping? Will she ever be less afraid of the lake?.
The Lumbering Giants of Windy Pines
By Netz, Mo
In this debut spooky adventure, Jerry and her trusty wheelchair move into a creepy motel at the edge of the woods where nothing is as it seems. When her mom disappears, it's up to Jerry to brave the forest and its demons so she can save what's left of her family. Ever since her dad died, 11-year-old Jerry Blum and her mom have bounced around dead-end towns, staying in a series of rundown motels where her mother picks up housekeeping work and Jerry can get around in her wheelchair. But the Slumbering Giant motel is different. Lights blink on and off in the surrounding trees, a mysterious radio station plays only at midnight, and people disappear into the woods, never to been seen again. Not to mention that Jerry's mom keeps vanishing to do "special work" that she refuses to discuss.
Maybe It's a Sign
By Shen, E. L.
An uplifting middle-grade novel about loss, luck . . . and deep-dish chocolate chip cookies - perfect for fans of King and the Dragonflies and The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise. . Seventh-grader Freya June Sun has always believed in the Chinese superstitions spoon-fed to her since birth. Ever since her dad's death a year ago, she's become obsessed with them, and believes that her father is sending her messages from beyond. Like how, on her way to an orchestra concert where she's dreading her viola solo, a pair of lucky red birds appear - a sure indication that Dad wants Freya to stick with the instrument and make him proud.. Then Freya is partnered with Gus Choi, a goofy and super annoying classmate, for a home economics project. To her surprise, as they experiment with recipes and get to know each other, Freya finds that she may love baking more than music.
Walkin' the Dog
By Lynch, Chris
"Lynch is back and better, smarter, and funnier than ever." - Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award Winner A boy learns how to be a friend from man's best friend in this funny and moving middle grade novel about humans being able to change and dogs changing us from acclaimed author Chris Lynch.. In a family of strong personalities with very strong points of view, Louis is what his mother lovingly calls "the inactivist," someone who'd rather kick back than stand out. He only hopes he can stay under the radar when he starts high school in the fall, his first experience with public school after years of homeschooling. But when a favor for a neighbor and his stinky canine companion unexpectedly turns into a bustling dog-walking business, Louis finds himself meeting an unprecedented number of new friends - both human and canine.
Daughters of the Lamp
By Lewers, Nedda
Percy Jackson meets Arabian fairy tales in this stunning middle grade fantasy debut about a girl who becomes the guardian of Ali Baba's legendary treasure.. Believe in fairy tales.. Sahara Rashad lives by logic. Loves science. And always has a plan. Except her dad just whisked her away to her uncle's wedding in Egypt, upending every single plan she had for the summer.. In Cairo, Sahara's days are filled with family - and mystery. First, Sahara's cousins claim the pretentious bride-to-be is actually a witch. Then her late mother's necklace starts glowing - and disappears.. Sahara's attempts to recover the necklace lead her to the greatest mystery yet. Deep in an underground chamber lies Ali Baba's magical treasure. Hidden from a line of sorcerers who threatened to use its powers for evil, the treasure was given to Sahara's ancestor Morgana for safekeeping and passed down from mother to daughter for generations.
Kyra, Just for Today
By Zarr, Sara
From award-winning author Sara Zarr comes a gorgeously crafted and deeply personal story about a young girl, her alcoholic mother, and the hope that ties them together.Krya has always felt like she's a bit too much. Too tall. Too loud. Too earnest. But she's okay with that, because she's got her mom. Ever since Mom got sober about five years ago, she and Kyra have always been there for each other - something Kyra is thankful for every week when she attends her group meetings with other kids of alcoholics. When Mom is managing her cleaning business and Kyra is taking care of things at home, maybe, she thinks, she's not too much. Maybe, she's just enough.Then seventh grade starts, and everything Kyra used to be able to count on feels unsure. Kyra's best friend, Lu, is hanging out with eighth graders, and Mom is unusually distant.
Lucky Duck
By Kurtz, Chris
From the critically acclaimed author of The Adventures of a South Pole Pig comes a heartwarming middle grade animal adventure story about Frank, the odd one out in a family of ducks, who discovers both his courage and unique identity as he braves the unknown to save his family from an invading fox. Between his unusually giant feet and early hatching, Frank is notably different from his siblings Darryl and Darlene.Determined to make his mom proud, Frank strives to be the best duckling he can be. Despite his efforts, Frank seems drawn to unduckly pursuits and doesn't understand why certain rules exist, such as not speaking to the friendly turtle who moonlights as a rock.When the pond community is threatened by a fox, Frank is the one to venture into the forest where danger - and discoveries - lurk at every turn on his quest to save his home.
Gigi Shin Is Not a Nerd
By Lee, Lyla
This first book in a sparkling middle grade series giving a fresh take on The Baby-Sitters Club follows a young Korean American girl who starts a business with her best friends to support her artistic dreams.Jiyoung "Gigi" Shin loves to create, from her zany outfits to self-executed haircuts. She dreams of becoming an artist and doodles every chance she gets - at school instead of taking notes, in choir instead of singing, and at home instead of homework. Art is her way of escaping her boring life in suburban Middle of Nowhere, Texas. Unfortunately, her working class, immigrant parents want her to focus on her studies and pursue something more "practical." Gigi only really feels like herself in art class and at lunch with her best friends, Carolina and Zeina.
The First State of Being
By Kelly, Erin Entrada
When twelve-year-old Michael Rosario meets a mysterious boy from the future, his life is changed forever. From bestselling author Erin Entrada Kelly, winner of the Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe and a Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space, this novel explores themes of family, friendship, trust, and forgiveness. The First State of Being is for fans of Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me.It's August 1999. For twelve-year-old Michael Rosario, life at Fox Run Apartments in Red Knot, Delaware, is as ordinary as ever - except for the looming Y2K crisis and his overwhelming crush on his fifteen-year-old babysitter, Gibby. But when a disoriented teenage boy named Ridge appears out of nowhere, Michael discovers there is more to life than stockpiling supplies and pining over Gibby.
Warrior on the Mound
By Headen, Sandra W.
Narrated by twelve-year-old Cato, this intense and evocative story of racial unrest in prewar North Carolina ends with a dramatic match between white and Black little league teams.. 1935. Twelve-year-old Cato wants nothing more than to play baseball, perfect his pitch, and meet Mr. Satchel Paige--the best pitcher in Negro League baseball. But when he and his teammates "trespass" on their town's whites-only baseball field for a practice, the resulting racial outrage burns like a brushfire through the entire community, threatening Cato, his family, and every one of his friends.. There's only one way this can end without violence: It has to be settled on the mound, between the white team and the Black. Winner takes all. . Written in first person with a rich, convincing voice, Warrior on the Mound is about the experience of segregation; about the tinderbox environment of the prewar South; about having a dream; about injustice, and, finally, about dialogue.
The Color of Sound
By Isler, Emily Barth
Twelve-year-old Rosie is a musical prodigy whose synesthesia allows her to see music in colors. Her mom has always pushed her to become a concert violinist, but this summer Rosie refuses to play, wanting a "normal" life. Forced to spend the summer with her grandparents, Rosie is excited to meet another girl her age hanging out on their property. The girl is familiar, and Rosie quickly pieces it together: somehow, this girl is her mother, when her mother was twelve. With help from this glitch in time -- plus her grandparents, an improv group, and a new instrument -- Rosie comes to understand her mother, herself, and her love of music in new ways.
Bumps in the Night
By Howard, Amalie
The creepy middle grade debut from USA Today bestselling author Amalie Howard in which a girl stays with her grandmother in Trinidad for the summer and discovers that she comes from a long line of powerful witches.. Darika "Rika" Lovelace is in trouble. The kind of trouble that sends her to her grandmother's estate in Trinidad for the whole summer. But something about the island feels ... different. As soon as she steps off the plane, strange things start happening!. Rika meets a group of kids called Minders, who seem to have elemental powers. Even worse, she can sense jumbies lurking in the shadows. Needless to say, she wants a ticket home. But when the Minders let slip that her long-lost mom is in danger, she knows she can't leave.. Thrust into a magical adventure involving bloodcurdling monsters, a supernatural silk cotton tree, and an endless maze, Rika must defeat the fearsome jumbie king to save her family and new friends.
The Partition Project
By Faruqi, Saadia
In this engaging and moving middle grade novel, Saadia Faruqi writes about a contemporary Pakistani American girl whose passion for journalism starts a conversation about her grandmother's experience of the Partition of India and Pakistan - and the bond that the two form as she helps Dadi tell her story. When her grandmother comes off the airplane in Houston from Pakistan, Mahnoor knows that having Dadi move in is going to disrupt everything about her life. She doesn't have time to be Dadi's unofficial babysitter - her journalism teacher has announced that their big assignment will be to film a documentary, which feels more like storytelling than what Maha would call "journalism."As Dadi starts to settle into life in Houston and Maha scrambles for a subject for her documentary, the two of them start talking.
Max in the House of Spies
By Gidwitz, Adam
"Max in the House of Spies is everything you could hope for in a book," -R. J. Palacio, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wonder, White Bird, and Pony. "Espionage! Secrets! Suspense! If you've ever dreamed of being a spy, this book is for you." -Alan Gratz, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Refugee and Projekt 1065. Max Bretzfeld doesn't want to move to London.. Leaving home is hard and Max is alone for the first time in his life. But not for long. Max is surprised to discover that he's been joined by two unexpected traveling companions, one on each shoulder, a kobold and a dybbuk named Berg and Stein.. Germany is becoming more and more dangerous for Jewish families, but Max is determined to find a way back home, and back to his parents.
The Curse of Eelgrass Bog
By Averling, Mary
Dark secrets and unnatural magic abound when a twelve-year-old girl ventures into a bog full of monsters to break a mysterious curse.. Nothing about Kess Pedrock's life is normal. Not her home (she lives in her family's Unnatural History Museum) , not her interests (hunting for megafauna fossils and skeletons) , and not her best friend (a talking demon's head in a jar named Shrunken Jim) .. But things get even stranger than usual when Kess meets Lilou Starling, the new girl in town. Lilou comes to Kess for help breaking a mysterious curse - and the only clue she has leads straight into the center of Eelgrass Bog.. Everyone knows the bog is full of witches, demons, and possibly worse, but Kess and Lilou are determined not to let that stop them. As they investigate the mystery and uncover long-buried secrets, Kess begins to realize that the curse might hit closer to home than she'd ever expected, and she'll have to summon all her courage to find a way to break it before it's too late.
Maya Plays the Part
By Erb, Calyssa
A heartwarming middle-grade debut with autism representation and a musical flair.Maya lives and breathes musicals. When her chance to finally be a part of the summer musical program at the community theater comes up, Maya is convinced she will get the lead. After all, who knows The Drowsy Chaperone better than she does? However, things don't turn out exactly the way Maya's planned, and the summer turns out to be jam-packed with problems: dealing with her best friend's move, her parents' busy jobs, and -- since her autism diagnosis -- the ongoing puzzle of how to be Maya in Public. But perhaps most important of all, Maya has to figure out how to play the part that truly feels like her own.
Ferris
By Dicamillo, Kate
The masterful Kate DiCamillo has outdone herself with a hilarious and achingly real love story about a girl, a ghost, a grandmother, and growing up.. It's the summer before fifth grade, and for Ferris Wilkey, it is a summer of sheer pandemonium: Her little sister, Pinky, has vowed to become an outlaw. Uncle Ted has left Aunt Shirley and, to Ferris's mother's chagrin, is holed up in the Wilkey basement to paint a history of the world. And Charisse, Ferris's grandmother, has started seeing a ghost at the threshold of her room, which seems like an alarming omen given that she is also feeling unwell. But the ghost is not there to usher Charisse to the Great Beyond. Rather, she has other plans - wild, impractical, illuminating plans. How can Ferris satisfy a specter with Pinky terrorizing the town, Uncle Ted sending Ferris to spy on her aunt, and her father battling an invasion of raccoons?.
The Thirteenth Circle
By Connolly, Marcykate
The X-Files meets Scooby-Doo in THE THIRTEENTH CIRCLE, a middle-grade mystery from MarcyKate Connolly and Kathryn Holmes, featuring two unexpected friends, crop circles, science fairs, and Men in Black, perfect for both the highly scientific and cryptid enthusiasts alike.. Cat knows aliens are real, and she's determined to prove it. By studying the Weston Farm Circles, her town's legendary crop circle phenomenon, she'll not only demonstrate the existence of extraterrestrial life, but also win the grand prize in the McMurray Youth Science Competition -- a feat she's sure will impress her distant NASA scientist father.. Dani most certainly does not believe in aliens. How can she, when they go against every scientific principle she's been taught? So when Dani is paired with Cat to enter the McMurray Youth Science Competition -- which she has to win to avoid going to her parents' artsy summer camp -- she knows she's at a disadvantage.
One Big Open Sky
By Cline-ransome, Lesa
Three women narrate a perilous wagon journey westward that could set them free - or cost them everything they have - in this intergenerational verse novel that explores the history of the Black homesteader movement.. 1879, Mississippi. Young dreamer Lettie may have her head in the stars, but her body is on a covered wagon heading westward. Her father, Thomas, promises that Nebraska will be everything the family needs: an opportunity to claim the independence they've strived for over generations on their very own plot of land.. But Thomas' hopes - and mouth - are bigger than his ability to follow through. With few supplies and even less money, the only thing that feels certain is danger.. Right after the war ended/and we were free/we believed/all of us did/that couldn't nothing hurt us/the way master had when we were slaves/Couldn't no one tell us/how to live/how to die.
Lost Kites and Other Treasures
By Carr, Cathy
Cathy Carr's Lost Kites and Other Treasures is a moving and heartfelt middle-grade novel about mental illness, the transformative power of art, and the ever-changing complications and joys of family life. "Sincere and funny . . . leaves readers with a sense of hope." -Sara Zarr, author of A Song Called Home "Will be treasured by readers everywhere." -Megan E. Freeman, award-winning author of Alone Twelve-year-old Franny Petroski never lets anyone know how often she thinks of the charismatic, troubled mom who left her years ago - any more than she talks about the unaccountable things Mom did while she was still in the picture. Life with Nana is safe and secure, and Franny's innovative art projects fill in any lonesome times. But when Nana has an accident and Franny's estranged uncle comes home to help out for a while, some long-guarded family secrets come to light.
Wayfinders
By Chick, Bryan
From the author of the bestselling Secret Zoo series, Wayfinders is a delightful tale of a father and daughter who set out on a quest to save a group of fairy tale creatures.Between school and family drama, Chloe Summers has more than enough on her plate.But when a giant literally crashes into her house--not to mention the mermaid in the bathtub and the unicorn in the barn--Chloe and her dad find themselves on a wild adventure to save a group of fairy tale creatures and help return them to their home.To do so, they must find a way to reopen a secret portal to a magical world while preventing others from taking the magic for themselves. Chloe and her dad must be brave, work together, and face their biggest fears, or they risk losing their magical new friends forever.
Amil and the After
By Hiranandani, Veera
A hopeful and heartwarming story about finding joy after tragedy, Amil and the After is a companion to the beloved and award-winning Newbery Honor novel The Night Diary, by acclaimed author Veera Hiranandani. At the turn of the new year in 1948, Amil and his family are trying to make a home in India, now independent of British rule.. Both Muslim and Hindu, twelve-year-old Amil is not sure what home means anymore. The memory of the long and difficult journey from their hometown in what is now Pakistan lives with him. And despite having an apartment in Bombay to live in and a school to attend, life in India feels uncertain.. Nisha, his twin sister, suggests that Amil begin to tell his story through drawings meant for their mother, who died when they were just babies.
Light and Air
By Wendell, Mindy Nichols
It's 1935, and tuberculosis is ravaging the nation. Everyone is afraid of this deadly respiratory illness. But what happens when you actually have it?. When Halle and her mother both come down with TB, they are shunned - and then they are sent to the J.N. Adam Tuberculosis Hospital: far from home, far from family, far from the world.. Tucked away in the woods of upstate New York, the hospital is a closed and quiet place. But it is not, Halle learns, a prison. Free of her worried and difficult father for the first time in her life, she slowly discovers joy, family, and the healing power of honey on the children's ward, where the girls on the floor become her confidantes and sisters. But when Mama suffers a lung hemorrhage, their entire future - and recovery - is thrown into question.
Heroes
By Gratz, Alan
A new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Alan Gratz (Refugee; Ground Zero; Two Degrees) is a major publishing moment. A new World War II novel from Alan Gratz? That's even bigger! Get ready for an action-packed, inventive, and powerful take on the attack on Pearl Harbor, as only Alan Gratz can tell it. December 6, 1941: Best friends Frank and Stanley have it good. Their dads are Navy pilots stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and the boys get a front-row view of the huge battleships and the sparkling water. Yes, World War II is raging in Europe and in Asia, but the US isn't involved in the war, and the boys are free to dream about becoming comic book creators. They've even invented a superhero of their own, in the style of Batman, Superman, Captain America, and other stars of the Golden Age of Comics.