A wonderful middle-grade novel narrated by Kenny, 9, about his middle-class black family, the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan. When Kenny's 13-year-old brother, Byron, gets to be too much trouble, they head South to Birmingham to visit Grandma, the one person who can shape him up. And they happen to be in Birmingham when Grandma's church is blown up.
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9780440228004
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Paperback
Inside Out and Back Again
By Lai, Thanhha
Inside Out and Back Again is a New York Times bestseller, a Newbery Honor Book, and a winner of the National Book Award! Inspired by the author's childhood experience of fleeing Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon and immigrating to Alabama, this coming-of-age debut novel told in verse has been celebrated for its touching child's-eye view of family and immigration.H has only ever known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, and the warmth of her friends close by. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. H and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope - toward America. This moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing received four starred reviews, including one from Kirkus which proclaimed it "enlightening, poignant, and unexpectedly funny." An author's note explains how and why Thanhha Lai translated her personal experiences into H's story. This paperback edition also includes an interview with the author, an activity you can do with your family, tips on writing poetry, and discussion questions.Supports the Common Core State Standards
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9780061962790
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Paperback
Island War
By Giff, Patricia Reilly
A two-time Newbery Honor-winning author spins a tale of children surviving on their own on a remote Japanese-occupied island during World War II.Izzy has come to the remote Aleutian Island in 1941 because her mother is studying the rare birds there. Matt has been dragged there by his father, who has a secret job for the U.S. government. Neither is a fan of the other. But then the U.S. is suddenly at war, Japanese soldiers invade the island, and Izzy and Matt become the only Americans to evade the evacuation to a Japanese concentration camp. Differences must be put aside, now that they must rely on themselves to hide from the Japanese left behind and survive the harsh winter and Allied bombing raids.
Publisher: n/a
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9780823439546
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Hardcover
A Bear Named Trouble
By Bauer, Marion Dane
Ten-year-old Jonathan practically lives at the Anchorage Zoo, where his father is a keeper. He loves animals, and even imagines himself inside their bodies, seeing what they see, feeling what they feel.Meanwhile, a young brown bear is wandering through the woods near Anchorage, alone and hungry. One night, while searching for food, the bear crosses paths with Jonathan, who eagerly follows him onto the zoo grounds.But when the bear accidentally kills Mama Goose, Jonathan’s favorite zoo creature, the boy loses the empathy he had felt earlier. He wishes that the bearnow nicknamed Troublewould meet the same fate as his beloved goose, and he impulsively takes steps to make sure that happens.Based on an actual incident, and told in alternating chapters from the bear’s and Jonathan’s points of view, this is both an involving animal story and a thought-provoking investigation into the consequences of one’s actions.
Publisher: n/a
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618517383
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Hardcover
Curse of the Arctic Star
By Keene, Carolyn
Nancy and her friends must navigate a cruise ship crisis in the first book of the Nancy Drew Diaries, a fresh approach to a classic series. Nancy, Bess, and George are cruising dangerous waters on a tour of Alaska. Becca Wright, an old friend of Nancys, is the Assistant Cruise Director of the Arctic Star, a posh new ship. But Becca needs Nancys help when strange things keep happening aboard the opulent ocean liner The swimming pool becomes a floating grave a famous passenger is threatened and even the seemingly innocent mini-golf course becomes a perilous playground. With the majestic and mysterious Alaskan scenery as a backdrop, Nancy and company have to find out whos trying to sabotage the maiden voyage and why.,
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9781442466104
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Hardcover
Missing on Superstition Mountain
By Broach, Elise
It’s summer and the three Barker brothers—Simon, Henry, and Jack—just moved from Illinois to Arizona. Their parents have warned them repeatedly not to explore Superstition Mountain, which is near their home. But when their cat Josie goes missing, they see no other choice. There’s something unusually creepy about the mountain and after the boys find three human skulls, they grow determined to uncover the mystery. Have people really gone missing over the years, and could there be someone or some thing lurking in the woods? Together with their new neighbor Delilah, the Barker boys are dead-set on cracking the case even if it means putting themselves in harm’s way. Here’s the first book in an action-packed mystery series by a New York Times bestselling author.
Publisher: n/a
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9781250004772
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Paperback
The Homework Machine
By Gutman, Dan
Doing homework becomes a thing of the past! Meet the D Squad, a foursome of fifth graders at the Grand Canyon School made up of a geek, a class clown, a teacher's pet, and a slacker. They are bound together by one very big secret: the homework machine. Because the machine, code-named Belch, is doing their homework for them, they start spending a lot of time together, attracting a lot of attention. And attention is exactly what you don't want when you are keeping a secret. Before long, things start to get out of control, and Belch becomes much more powerful than they ever imagined. Now the kids are in a race against their own creation, and the loser could end up in jail...or worse!
Publisher: n/a
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9780689876790
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Paperback
Going Wild
By Mcmann, Lisa
Spider-Man meets Animorphs in this thrilling new middle grade series from Lisa McMann, New York Times bestselling author of the Unwanteds series. Newbery Medal-winning author Katherine Applegate calls Going Wild "gripping, action-packed, and filled with humor and heart."Charlie Wilde knew her life would change forever when her family moved from the city of Chicago to the suburbs of Arizona ... and that was before she found the bracelet. After putting it on, she notices odd things start to happen. Suddenly Charlie seems to have the speed of a cheetah and the strength of an elephant - and that's just the beginning. She would be thrilled about her transformation if she had any idea how to use the device or control her amazing powers. So Charlie is forced to put her trust in new friends to help her uncover the surprising truth behind the mysterious bracelet.
Publisher: n/a
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9780062337153
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Paperback
Al Capone Does My Shirts
By Choldenko, Gennifer
Moose Flannagan moves with his family to Alcatraz so his dad can work as a prison guard and his sister, Natalie, can attend a special school. But Natalie has autism, and when she's denied admittance to the school, the stark setting of Alcatraz begins to unravel the tenuous coping mechanisms Moose's family has used for dealing with her disorder.When Moose meets Piper, the cute daughter of the Warden, he knows right off she's trouble. But she's also strangely irresistible. All Moose wants to do is protect Natalie, live up to his parents' expectations, and stay out of trouble. But on Alcatraz, trouble is never very far away.Set in 1935, when guards actually lived on Alcatraz Island with their families. Choldenko's second novel brings humor to the complexities of family dynamics and illuminates the real struggle of a kid trying to free himself from the "good boy" stance he's taken his whole life.
Publisher: n/a
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399238611
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Hardcover
It Ain't So Awful, Falafel
By Dumas, Firoozeh
Zomorod (Cindy) Yousefzadeh is the new kid on the block . . . for the fourth time. California's Newport Beach is her family's latest perch, and she's determined to shuck her brainy loner persona and start afresh with a new Brady Bunch name - Cindy. It's the late 1970s, and fitting in becomes more difficult as Iran makes U.S. headlines with protests, revolution, and finally the taking of American hostages. Even puka shell necklaces, pool parties, and flying fish can't distract Cindy from the anti-Iran sentiments that creep way too close to home. A poignant yet lighthearted middle grade debut from the author of the best-selling Funny in Farsi.
Publisher: n/a
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9781328740960
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Paperback
Unbelievably Boring Bart
By Patterson, James
There's more than meets the eye in James Patterson's newest illustrated middle grade novel--a book so fun kids will actually put down their games to read it!Invisible creatures are attacking the school, and 12-year-old Bartholomew Bean is the only one who can stop them! Okay, so maybe Bart is only a hero in the video game app he created. But if he reveals his identity as the genius behind the game, he'll become the most popular kid in school! Or he could secretly use the game to get back at his bullies...Press Button A: RevealPress Button B: RevengeWhich would you choose?
Publisher: n/a
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9780316411530
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Hardcover
No Passengers Beyond This Point
By Choldenko, Gennifer
A reality-bending adventure from a Newbery Honor-winning authorSiblings India, Finn, and Mouse are stunned when their mom tells them they are flying that night--without her--to their Uncle Red's home in Colorado. But things take an even more dramatic turn when their plane lands in a very unusual place. A mysterious driver meets them at the airport; when he drops them off at their "destination," each kid suddenly has a clock with a different amount of time left. If the time runs out, they have to become permanent citizens in a place they don't recognize or understand. Only if they work together can they call the driver back to help get them where they really belong. Suspenseful, funny, dramatic, and thought-provoking, this is a book that will stay with you long after you read the incredible ending.Book Details:Format: PaperbackPublication Date: 2/16/2012Pages: 256Reading Level: Age 10 and Up
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9780803735347
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Hardcover
The Leanin' Dog
By Nuzum, K. A.
More than anything, Dessa Dean needed a friend. A friend to love and confide in, a friend with whom she could share her heart. A friend who would delight in all the beauty and joy and fun of Christmas, only four days away. Hope had just about run out, but then . . . there came a scratchin at the door and Dessa Deans life was forever changed.,
Publisher: n/a
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9780061139345
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Hardcover
The Smoky Corridor
By Grabenstein, Chris
Zack is about to start at his new school, and in addition to homework, school lunches, and bullies, Zack must also contend with a ruthless hit man seeking a lost treasure, a voodoo savvy ghost waiting to take possession of a new body, and a soul-sucking zombie in the basement. Suddenly homework doesn't seem so bad.Once again Chris Grabenstein proves his mastery of the frightening and funny tale. Young readers, especially reluctant ones, have found an inspiration to read in Grabenstein's quirky characters and deadly situations.
Publisher: n/a
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9780375865114
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Hardcover
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
By Speare, Elizabeth George
Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler is marked by suspicion and disapproval from the moment she arrives on the unfamiliar shores of colonial Connecticut in 1687. Alone and desperate, she has been forced to leave her beloved home on the island of Barbados and join a family she has never met. Torn between her quest for belonging and her desire to be true to herself, Kit struggles to survive in a hostile place. Just when it seems she must give up, she finds a kindred spirit. But Kits friendship with Hannah Tupper, believed by the colonists to be a witch, proves more taboo than she could have imagined and ultimately forces Kit to choose between her heart and her duty. Elizabeth George Speare won the 1959 Newbery Medal for this portrayal of a heroine whom readers will admire for her unwavering sense of truth as well as her infinite capacity to love.
Publisher: n/a
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9780547550299
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Paperback
The Rescue Begins in Delaware
By Earl, Cheri Pray
George and Gracie begin their adventure in Dover, Delaware 1776. The kids are surprised to discover that one of them changes into an animal every time they travel, and this time Gracie is a horse. All the twins want to do is return a pair of antique school desks and search for their parents. But instead they find themselves in the middle of the American Revolution and end up helping Caesar Rodney make his famous ride into Philadelphia to vote yes for the Declaration of Independence. Crowe lands in Delaware, too, and he plans to take the time machinewith George and Gracie inside!
Publisher: n/a
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9781938301742
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Paperback
The Worst Class Trip Ever
By Barry, Dave
In this hilarious novel, written in the voice of eighth-grader Wyatt Palmer, Dave Barry takes us on a class trip to Washington, DC. Wyatt, his best friend, Matt, and a few kids from Culver Middle School find themselves in a heap of trouble-not just with their teachers, who have long lost patience with them-but from several mysterious men they first meet on their flight to the nation's capital. In a fast-paced adventure with the monuments as a backdrop, the kids try to stay out of danger and out of the doghouse while trying to save the president from attack-or maybe not.
Publisher: n/a
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9781484708491
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Hardcover
Spy School Secret Service
By Gibbs, Stuart
Ben goes undercover in the White House to take on a SPYDER operative determined to assassinate the president in this latest addition to the New York Times bestselling Spy School series.Thirteen-year-old Ben Ripley has had a lot of field success despite only just beginning his second year at Spy School, something graduates rarely experience. But he'd never have survived without the help from experienced agents and his friends. Now he's been called in on a solo mission - and the fate of the United States of America is on his shoulders alone. The Mission: Prevent a presidential assassination by infiltrating the White House, and locating the enemy operative. But when the president's son is as helpful as a hamster, and a trained SPYDER agent would never appear to be up to something (they're far too clever for that) , Ben may be in over his head this time. And when everything goes wrong, Ben must rely on his Spy School friends to save his reputation ... but even friends can double-cross or be swayed to the enemy's side.
Publisher: n/a
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9781481477826
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Hardcover
The Postcard
By Abbott, Tony
She died today. One phone call changes Jason's summer vacation-and life!-forever. When Jason's grandmother dies, he's sent down to her home in Florida to help his father clean out her things. At first he gripes about spending his summer miles away from his best friend, doing chores, and sweating in the Florida heat, but he soon discovers a mystery surrounding his grandmother's murky past. An old, yellowed postcard...a creepy phone call with a raspy voice at the other end asking, "So how smart are you?"...an entourage of freakish funeral goers....a bizarre magazine story. All contain clues that will send him on a thrilling journey to uncover family secrets. Award-winning author Tony Abbott weaves an intriguing and entertaining mystery of adventure, friendship and family.
Publisher: n/a
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9780316011723
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Hardcover
Chomp
By Hiaasen, Carl
Wahoo Cray lives in a zoo. His father is an animal wrangler, so he's grown up with all manner of gators, snakes, parrots, rats, monkeys, snappers, and more in his backyard. The critters he can handle. His father is the unpredictable one. When his dad takes a job with a reality TV show called "Expedition Survival!", Wahoo figures he'll have to do a bit of wrangling himself - to keep his dad from killing Derek Badger, the show's boneheaded star, before the shoot is over. But the job keeps getting more complicated. Derek Badger seems to actually believe his PR and insists on using wild animals for his stunts. And Wahoo's acquired a shadow named Tuna - a girl who's sporting a shiner courtesy of her old man and needs a place to hide out. They've only been on location in the Everglades for a day before Derek gets bitten by a bat and goes missing in a storm. Search parties head out and promptly get lost themselves. And then Tuna's dad shows up with a gun . . .It's anyone's guess who will actually survive "Expedition Survival". . . .
Publisher: n/a
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9780375868429
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Paperback
Sunny Side Up
By Holm, Jennifer L.
Sunny Lewin has been packed off to Florida to live with her grandfather for the summer. At first she thought Florida might be fun -- it is the home of Disney World, after all. But the place where Gramps lives is no amusement park. It's full of . . . old people. Really old people. Luckily, Sunny isn't the only kid around. She meets Buzz, a boy who is completely obsessed with comic books, and soon they're having adventures of their own: facing off against golfball-eating alligators, runaway cats, and mysteriously disappearing neighbors. But the question remains -- why is Sunny down in Florida in the first place? The answer lies in a family secret that won't be secret to Sunny much longer. . .
Publisher: n/a
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9780545741668
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Paperback
Raymie Nightingale
By Dicamillo, Kate
A 2016 National Book Award Finalist!Two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo returns to her roots with a moving, masterful story of an unforgettable summer friendship.Raymie Clarke has come to realize that everything, absolutely everything, depends on her. And she has a plan. If Raymie can win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition, then her father, who left town two days ago with a dental hygienist, will see Raymie's picture in the paper and (maybe) come home. To win, not only does Raymie have to do good deeds and learn how to twirl a baton; she also has to contend with the wispy, frequently fainting Louisiana Elefante, who has a show-business background, and the fiery, stubborn Beverly Tapinski, who's determined to sabotage the contest. But as the competition approaches, loneliness, loss, and unanswerable questions draw the three girls into an unlikely friendship - and challenge each of them to come to the rescue in unexpected ways.
Publisher: n/a
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9780763681173
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Print book
Full of Beans
By Holm, Jennifer L
Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award Five Starred Reviews A New York Public Library Best Book for Kids, 2016 Grown-ups lie. That's one truth Beans knows for sure. He and his gang know how to spot a whopper a mile away, because they are the savviest bunch of barefoot conchs (that means "locals") in all of Key West. Not that Beans really minds; it's 1934, the middle of the Great Depression. With no jobs on the island, and no money anywhere, who can really blame the grown-ups for telling a few tales? Besides, Beans isn't anyone's fool. In fact, he has plans. Big plans. And the consequences might surprise even Beans himself. Return to the wonderful world of Newbery Honor Book Turtle in Paradise through the eyes of Turtle's cousin Beans "A surprising coming-of-age story with a remarkably honest message. " --The New York Times " Holm] captures this colorful slice of Depression history with her usual vivacious wit. . . . Children will love Beans. " --Shelf Awareness, Starred "A novel as entertaining as the motion pictures Beans] loves to see. "--The Horn Book Magazine, Starred"Inspired by actual events, Holm's talent for writing historical fiction is on full display. . . . Interesting family and small-town dynamics further enrich this fascinating account of a young boy's life in Florida's 'Recovery Key. '" --BOOKLIST , Starred "Filled with humor, heart, and warmth. " --Kirkus Review, Starred "Entertaining and illuminating historical fiction. " --Publishers Weekly, Starred
Publisher: n/a
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9780553510362
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Print book
Kingdom Keepers
By Pearson, Ridley
Finn Whitman and his fellow DHIs, teenagers chosen to serve as actors for a new technology, investigate strange occurrences at Disney theme park attractions, racing to uncover a supernatural force that could destroy the world.Book Details:Format: HardcoverPublication Date: 9/1/2009Pages: 325Reading Level: Age 10 and Up
Publisher: n/a
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9781423123118
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Paperback
Football Genius
By Green, Tim
Troy White has a phenomenal gift. He can predict football plays before they happen. Any position. Any player. Any team. When Troy's single mom gets a job working in public relations for the Atlanta Falcons, Troy figures it's his chance to prove what he can do. But first he has to get to the Falcons—and with tight security and a notoriously mean coach, even his mom's field passes aren't much help. Then Troy and his best friends devise a plan to get the attention of star linebacker Seth Halloway. With Seth's playing and Troy's genius, the Falcons could be unstoppable—if they'll only listen. Bestselling author and former NFL player Tim Green scores a touchdown with this exhilarating novel, his first for young readers. Football Genius is an action-packed adventure with gripping suspense, a hero you can really root for, and an insider's look at the world of professional football.
Publisher: n/a
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9780061122705
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Hardcover
More to the Story
By Khan, Hena
From the critically acclaimed author of Amina's Voice comes a new story inspired by Louisa May Alcott's beloved classic, Little Women, featuring four sisters from a modern American Muslim family living in Georgia.When Jameela Mirza is picked to be feature editor of her middle school newspaper, she's one step closer to being an award-winning journalist like her late grandfather. The problem is her editor-in-chief keeps shooting down her article ideas. Jameela's assigned to write about the new boy in school, who has a cool British accent but doesn't share much, and wonders how she'll make his story gripping enough to enter into a national media contest. Jameela, along with her three sisters, is devastated when their father needs to take a job overseas, away from their cozy Georgia home for six months. Missing him makes Jameela determined to write an epic article - one to make her dad extra proud. But when her younger sister gets seriously ill, Jameela's world turns upside down. And as her hunger for fame looks like it might cost her a blossoming friendship, Jameela questions what matters most, and whether she's cut out to be a journalist at all...
Publisher: n/a
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9781481492096
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Hardcover
A Boy at War
By Mazer, Harry
They rowed hard, away from the battleships and the bombs. Water sprayed over them. The rowboat pitched one way and then the other. Then, before his eyes, the Arizona lifted up out of the water. That enormous battleship bounced up in the air like a rubber ball and split apart. Fire burst out of the ship. A geyser of water shot into the air and came crashing down. Adam was almost thrown out of the rowboat. He clung to the seat as it swung around. He saw blue skies and the glittering city. The boat swung back again, and he saw black clouds, and the Arizona, his father's ship, sinking beneath the water. -- from A Boy at War "He kept looking up, afraid the planes would come back. The sky was obscured by black smoke....It was all unreal: the battleships half sunk, the bullet holes in the boat, Davi and Martin in the water." December 7, 1941: On a quiet Sunday morning, while Adam and his friends are fishing near Honolulu, a surprise attack by Japanese bombers destroys the fleet at Pearl Harbor. Even as Adam struggles to survive the sudden chaos all around him, and as his friends endure the brunt of the attack, a greater concern hangs over his head: Adam's father, a navy lieutenant, was stationed on the USS Arizona when the bombs fell. During the subsequent days Adam -- not yet a man, but no longer a boy -- is caught up in the war as he desperately tries to make sense of what happened to his friends and to find news of his father. Harry Mazer, whose autobiographical novel, The Last Mission, brought the European side of World War II to vivid life, now turns to the Pacific theater and how the impact of war can alter young lives forever.
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They rowed hard, away from the battleships and the bombs. Water sprayed over them. The rowboat pitched one way and then the other. Then, before his eyes, the Arizona lifted up out of the water. That enormous battleship bounced up in the air like a rubber ball and split apart. Fire burst out of the ship. A geyser of water shot into the air and came crashing down. Adam was almost thrown out of the rowboat. He clung to the seat as it swung around. He saw blue skies and the glittering city. The boat swung back again, and he saw black clouds, and the Arizona, his father's ship, sinking beneath the water. -- from A Boy at War "He kept looking up, afraid the planes would come back. The sky was obscured by black smoke....It was all unreal: the battleships half sunk, the bullet holes in the boat, Davi and Martin in the water." December 7, 1941: On a quiet Sunday morning, while Adam and his friends are fishing near Honolulu, a surprise attack by Japanese bombers destroys the fleet at Pearl Harbor. Even as Adam struggles to survive the sudden chaos all around him, and as his friends endure the brunt of the attack, a greater concern hangs over his head: Adam's father, a navy lieutenant, was stationed on the USS Arizona when the bombs fell. During the subsequent days Adam -- not yet a man, but no longer a boy -- is caught up in the war as he desperately tries to make sense of what happened to his friends and to find news of his father. Harry Mazer, whose autobiographical novel, The Last Mission, brought the European side of World War II to vivid life, now turns to the Pacific theater and how the impact of war can alter young lives forever.
Publisher: n/a
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689841612
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Walk Two Moons
By Creech, Sharon
In her own singularly beautiful style, Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech intricately weaves together two tales, one funny, one bittersweet, to create a heartwarming, compelling, and utterly moving story of love, loss, and the complexity of human emotion.Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle, proud of her country roots and the "Indian-ness in her blood," travels from Ohio to Idaho with her eccentric grandparents. Along the way, she tells them of the story of Phoebe Winterbottom, who received mysterious messages, who met a "potential lunatic," and whose mother disappeared. As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe's outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold--the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother.Supports the Common Core State Standards
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In her own singularly beautiful style, Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech intricately weaves together two tales, one funny, one bittersweet, to create a heartwarming, compelling, and utterly moving story of love, loss, and the complexity of human emotion.Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle, proud of her country roots and the "Indian-ness in her blood," travels from Ohio to Idaho with her eccentric grandparents. Along the way, she tells them of the story of Phoebe Winterbottom, who received mysterious messages, who met a "potential lunatic," and whose mother disappeared. As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe's outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold--the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother.Supports the Common Core State Standards
Publisher: n/a
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9780060233341
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Book
Camille McPhee Fell Under the Bus ...
By Tracy, Kristen
Fair: just, equitable, what is right.Unfair: the life of Camille McPhee.Imagine being Camille McPhee. She has low blood sugar, so she carries extra food in a cooler. Would you want to do that?Didn’t think so.And you wouldn’t want to fall under the school bus. That happened to Camille, too!Her cat, Checkers, is lost. And her best friend, Sally, moved to Japan. It would be hard to stay optimistic, right? But Camille is what her mom calls hopeful. Because really? There are plenty of things to be positive about: gifted reading, a nonsqueaky mattress, eating banned foods, the big blue butterfly.Even making a new friend. Imagine that!
Publisher: n/a
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9780385736879
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Hardcover
A Year Down Yonder
By Peck, Richard
Winner of the Newbery Medal "Peck charms readers once again with this entertaining sequel to A Long Way from Chicago" - School Library Journal (starred review) It was within the pages of Richard Peck's Newbery Honor-winning A Long Way from Chicago that Mary Alice and Grandma Dowdel first made their captivating debut. Now they're back for more astonishing, laugh-out-loud tales when fifteen-year-old Mary Alice moves in with her spicy grandmother for the year. Expect moonlit schemes, romances both foiled and founded, and a whole parade of fools made to suffer in unusual (and always hilarious) ways.Wise, exuberant, and slyly heartwarming, this is a satisfying companion to Grandma Dowdel's adventures in A Long Way from Chicago and A Season of Gifts. Newbery Medal WinnerALA Best Book for Young AdultsALA Notable BookBOOKLIST Best Books of the YearSchool Library Journal Best Books of the YearNew York Times Best Seller "Audience members will breathe a sigh of regret when the eventful year "down yonder" draws to a close." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Wit, gentleness, and outrageous farce." - Booklist (starred review)
Publisher: n/a
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9780803725188
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Book
Project Mulberry
By Park, Linda Sue
Julia Song and her friend Patrick would love to win a blue ribbon, maybe even two, at the state fair. They've always done projects together, and they work well as a team. This time, though, they're having trouble coming up with just the right plan. Then Julia's mother offers a suggestion: They can raise silkworms, as she did when she was a girl in Korea.Patrick thinks it's a great idea. Of course there are obstacles - for example, where will they get mulberry leaves, the only thing silkworms eat? - but nothing they can't handle.Julia isn't so sure. The club where kids do their projects is all about traditional American stuff, and raising silkworms just doesn't fit in. Moreover, the author, Ms. Park, seems determined to make Julia's life as complicated as possible, no matter how hard Julia tries to talk her out of it.
Publisher: n/a
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9780618477869
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Print book
Rosetown
By Rylant, Cynthia
From Newbery Medalist Cynthia Rylant comes the charming story of nine-year-old Flora Smallwood and the eventful year she spends in the quiet community of Rosetown, Indiana.For nine-year-old Flora Smallwood, Rosetown, Indiana, is full of surprises, many of the best of which happen at the Wing and a Chair Used Book Shop, where she loves to read vintage children's books after school in the faded purple chair by the window. But lately, those surprises haven't been so good. Her dear old dog, Laurence, recently passed away. Not long after, her parents decided to take a breather from their marriage, and now Flora has to move back and forth between their two houses. Plus, she's just begun fourth grade, and it is so much different than third. Luckily Flora has two wonderful friends - one old and one new. And with them around to share thoughts and laughs and adventures big and small, life in Rosetown still has many sweet moments - and even some very happy surprises!
Publisher: n/a
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9781534412774
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Hardcover
The Rookie Bookie
By Wertheim, L. Jon
Using the tips, truths, and stats they explore in their New York Times bestseller Scorecasting, two dads pack super sports savvy and important math and financial concepts into a fun and heartwarming first novel for kids.
Publisher: n/a
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9780316249812
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Hardcover
The Mostly True Story of Jack
By Barnhill, Kelly
Enter a world where magic bubbles just below the surface. . . .When Jack is sent to Hazelwood, Iowa, to live with his strange aunt and uncle, he expects a summer of boredom. Little does he know that the people of Hazelwood have been waiting for him for quite a long time.When he arrives, three astonishing things happen: First, he makes friends -- not imaginary friends but actual friends. Second, he is beaten up by the town bully; the bullies at home always ignored him. Third, the richest man in town begins to plot Jack's imminent, and hopefully painful, demise. It's up to Jack to figure out why suddenly everyone cares so much about him. Back home he was practically, well, invisible.The Mostly True Story of Jack is an eerie tale of magic, friendship, and sacrifice. It's about things broken and things put back together. Above all, it's about finding a place to belong.
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9780316056700
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Hardcover
Old Town in the Green Groves
By Rylant, Cynthia
After grasshoppers ruin the crops, eight-year-old Laura Ingalls and her family leave Plum Creek and move to Burr Oak, Iowa, where they experience life in a small town and help manage a hotel. 75,000 first printing.
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60295619
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Moon Over Manifest
By Vanderpool, Clare
The movement of the train rocked me like a lullaby. I closed my eyes to the dusty countryside and imagined the sign Id seen only in Gideons stories: Manifest - a town with a rich past and a bright future. Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was.. Having heard stories about Manifest, Abilene is disappointed to find that its just a dried-up, worn-out old town. But her disappointment quickly turns to excitement when she discovers a hidden cigar box full of mementos, including some old letters that mention a spy known as the Rattler. These mysterious letters send Abilene and her new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne, on an honest-to-goodness spy hunt, even though they are warned to "Leave Well Enough Alone.". Abilene throws all caution aside when she heads down the mysterious Path to Perdition to pay a debt to the reclusive Miss Sadie, a diviner who only tells stories from the past. It seems that Manifests history is full of colorful and shadowy characters - and long-held secrets. The more Abilene hears, the more determined she is to learn just what role her father played in that history. And as Manifests secrets are laid bare one by one, Abilene begins to weave her own story into the fabric of the town. Powerful in its simplicity and rich in historical detail, Clare Vanderpools debut is a gripping story of loss and redemption.
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9780385738835
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Hardcover
The Talent Show
By Gutman, Dan
When their town gets destroyed by a tornado, everyone is pretty depressed. So in order to cheer everyone up and raise some money, the community decides to put on a talent show. Unfortunately, no one in town is particularly talented. But that doesnt stop everyone from giving it their all! Especially the one star in town. She just might have what it takesif she can get to the show on time. When another tornado hits, the kids make every effort to put the show on, but there may be more surprises in store! Dan Gutman delivers another hilarious tale about school adventures!,
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9781416990031
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Hardcover
Trouble the Water
By Dowell, Frances Oroark
From the award-winning author of Dovey Coe comes a "powerful" (School Library Journal) tale of the friendship between a black girl and a white boy and the prejudices they must overcome in segregated Kentucky as they try to solve the mystery surrounding a lonely old dog.. Eleven-year-old Callie is fearless, stubborn, and a little nosy. So when she sees an old yellow dog wandering around town by itself, you can bet shes going to figure out who he belongs to. But when her sleuthing leads her to cross paths with a white boy named Wendell who wants to help, the segregated town doesnt take too kindly to their budding friendship. Meanwhile, a nearly invisible boy named Jim is stuck in a cabin in the woods. Hes lost his dog, but cant remember exactly when his pups disappeared. When his companion, a little boy named Thomas, whos been invisible much longer than he, explains that they are ghosts, the two must figure out why they cant seem to cross the river to the other side just yet ... And as Callie and Wendells search for the old dog brings them closer and closer to the cabin in the woods, the simmering prejudices of the townspeople boil over.
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9781481424639
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Hardcover
My Louisiana Sky
By Holt, Kimberly Willis
Tiger Ann Parker wants nothing more than to get out of the rural town of Saitter, Louisiana--far away from her mentally disabled mother, her "slow" father who can't read an electric bill, and her classmates who taunt her. So when Aunt Dorie Kay asks Tiger to sp the summer with her in Baton Rouge, Tiger can't wait to go. But before she leaves, the sudden revelation of a dark family secret prompts Tiger to make a decision that will ultimately change her life.Set in the South in the late 1950s, this coming-of-age novel explores a twelve-year-old girl's struggle to accept her grandmother's death, her mentally deficient parents, and the changing world around her. It is a novel filled with beautiful language and unforgettable characters, and the importance of family and home.
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805052518
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Hardcover
My Diary from the Edge of the World
By Anderson, Jodi Lynn
Told in diary form by an irresistible heroine, this playful and perceptive novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the May Bird trilogy sparkles with science, myth, magic, and the strange beauty of the everyday marvels we sometimes forget to notice.Spirited, restless Gracie Lockwood has lived in Cliffden, Maine, her whole life. She's a typical girl in an atypical world: one where sasquatches helped to win the Civil War, where dragons glide over Route 1 on their way south for the winter (sometimes burning down a T.J. Maxx or an Applebee's along the way) , where giants hide in caves near LA and mermaids hunt along the beaches, and where Dark Clouds come for people when they die. To Gracie it's all pretty ho-hum ... until a Cloud comes looking for her little brother Sam, turning her small-town life upside down. Determined to protect Sam against all odds, her parents pack the family into a used Winnebago and set out on an epic search for a safe place that most people say doesn't exist: The Extraordinary World. It's rumored to lie at the ends of the earth, and no one has ever made it there and lived to tell the tale. To reach it, the Lockwoods will have to learn to believe in each other - and to trust that the world holds more possibilities than they've ever imagined.
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9781442483873
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Print book
Moo
By Creech, Sharon
This uplifting New York Times bestseller reminds us that if we're open to new experiences, life is full of surprises.Fans of Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech's Love That Dog and Hate That Cat will love her newest tween novel, Moo. Following one family's momentous move from the city to rural Maine, an unexpected bond develops between twelve-year-old Reena and one very ornery cow.When Reena, her little brother, Luke, and their parents first move to Maine, Reena doesn't know what to expect. She's ready for beaches, blueberries, and all the lobster she can eat. Instead, her parents "volunteer" Reena and Luke to work for an eccentric neighbor named Mrs. Falala, who has a pig named Paulie, a cat named China, a snake named Edna - and that stubborn cow, Zora.This heartwarming story, told in a blend of poetry and prose, reveals the bonds that emerge when we let others into our lives.
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9780062415240
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Hardcover
The Get Rich Quick Club
By Gutman, Dan
I'm just lying out there in the backyard one night, staring up at the sky. Then suddenly a dollar bill lands on my face. I pick it up. It looks real. I have no idea where it came from. Then another one falls. And another. I look up and see bills fluttering down from the clouds above me. First they come in flurries, and then it turns into a snowstorm of money. This is the dazzling tale of five kids who make a pact to earn a million dollars by the end of the summer, led by the clever and daring Gina Tumolo. They come up with a fantastic scheme that involves a photograph of a UFO. Before they are through, they will have their photos in newspapers across the country and even meet face to face with . . . well, you don't think we'll give the story away right here, do you? Look inside and see for yourself what happens! .
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60534400
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Audio CD
Touch Blue
By Lord, Cynthia
Touch Blue and your wish will come true."Why take chances?" says eleven-year-old Tess Brooks. "Especially when its so easy to let the universe know what you want by touching blue or turning around three times or crossing your fingers."But Tess is coming to know that its not always that simple.The state of Maine plans to shut down her islands schoolhouse, which would force Tesss family to move to the mainland--and Tess to leave the only home she has ever known. Fortunately, the islanders have a plan too: increase the numbers of students by having several families take in foster children. So now Tess and her family are taking a chance on Aaron, a thirteen-year-old trumpet player who has been bounced from home to home. And Tess needs a plan of her own--and all the luck she can muster. Will Tesss wish come true or will her luck run out?Newbery Honor author Cynthia Lord offers a warm-hearted, humorous, and thoughtful look at what it means to belong--and how lucky we feel when we do. Touch Blue, sure as certain, will touch your heart.Honors for Touch Blue: 2011 Lupine Award, Maine Library Association. 2011 Maine Literary Award, Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance. 2010 Best Books For Children, Christian Science Monitor. Best Childrens Books of 2010, Book Page. Best Childrens Books of the Year (2011) , Bank Street College (starred for outstanding merit) Editors Pick, Adoptive Families magazine.Nominated for: Pennsylvania Young Readers Choice Award Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award (Vermont) Rhode Island Childrens Book Award Rhode Island Teen Book Award Indian Paintbrush Award (Wyoming) North Carolina Childrens Book Award The Charlotte Award (New York) Louisiana Young Readers Choice Award Horn Toad Tales, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, Texas
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9780545035316
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Hardcover
Shakespeare's Secret
By Broach, Elise
Hero changed into a T-shirt, grabbed a book, and padded barefoot into her sister's room. The large windows overlooked the backyard. She could see the moonlight streaming over the trees and bushes, making long, crazy shadows across the grass. Was there a diamond hidden out there somewhere? She looked at Beatrice, already settled under the covers. She wanted to tell her about the Murphys, but at the same time, she didn't. She wanted to keep the secret. To have something that belonged only to her.A missing diamond, a mysterious neighbor, a link to Shakespeare-can Hero uncover the connections?When Hero starts sixth grade at a new school, she's less concerned about the literary origins of her Shakespearean name than about the teasing she's sure to suffer because of it. So she has the same name as a girl in a book by a dusty old author. Hero is simply not interested in the connections. But that's just the thing; suddenly connections are cropping up all over, and odd characters and uncertain pasts are exactly what do fascinate Hero. There's a mysterious diamond hidden in her new house, a curious woman next door who seems to know an awful lot about it, and then, well, then there's Shakespeare. Not to mention Danny Cordova, only the most popular boy in school. Is it all in keeping with her namesake's origin-just much ado about nothing? Hero, being Hero, is determined to figure it out. In this fast-paced novel, Elise Broach weaves an intriguing literary mystery full of historical insights and discoveries.A JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD SELECTION
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805073876
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Print book
Starting with Alice
By Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds
Alice at EIGHTand boy was she a pistol! The very youngest book in the beloved series gets a makeover. Eight-year-old Alice McKinley wants pierced ears, really long hair, a pet, and, most of all, a mother. Oh, and some friends would be nice. As the new girl in third grade, Alice doesnt know a single kid in Takoma Park, Maryland, except her next-door neighbor Donald Sheavers, who is not only a boy, but seems a bit peculiar, too! Desperate to meet people, Alice learns that making friends is harder than it seems when she runs into a group of girls whom she nicknames the Terrible Triplets after they make it very clear that they do not want to get to know Alice. As Alice navigates the ins and outs of third grade, there are plenty of bumps, giggles, and surprises along the way.
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9781442446427
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Paperback
The Penderwicks
By Birdsall, Jeanne
With over one million copies sold, this series of modern classics about the charming Penderwick family from National Book Award winner and New York Times bestseller Jeanne Birdsall is perfect for fans of Noel Streatfeild and Edward Eager. This summer the Penderwick sisters have a wonderful surprise: a holiday on the grounds of a beautiful estate called Arundel. Soon they are busy discovering the summertime magic of Arundel's sprawling gardens, treasure-filled attic, tame rabbits, and the cook who makes the best gingerbread in Massachusetts. But the best discovery of all is Jeffrey Tifton, son of Arundel's owner, who quickly proves to be the perfect companion for their adventures. The icy-hearted Mrs. Tifton is not as pleased with the Penderwicks as Jeffrey is, though, and warns the new friends to stay out of trouble. Which, of course, they will - won't they? One thing's for sure: it will be a summer the Penderwicks will never forget. Deliciously nostalgic and quaintly witty, this is a story as breezy and carefree as a summer day.
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9780375831430
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Print book
Last Man Out
By Lupica, Mike
From the #1 bestselling author of Heat, Travel Team and Fantasy League comes a story of heroes, family, the thrills of skateboarding, and football.When the Brighton Bears suit up on game day, 12-year-old Tommy Gallagher is the toughest kid on the football field. And the bravest. After all, his father Patrick is a Boston firefighter--one of Boston's bravest. Tommy's dad taught him everything he knows about football--and life.Yet even Tommy isn't strong enough for what happens when the sirens ring and, for the first time, they're racing away from the fire. "First man in; last man out" had always been his dad's motto . . . yet he never said anything about leaving in an ambulance. What kind of risk had his dad taken? Now Tommy's biggest battle has nothing to do with football. And the kid who always had such respect for risk on the gridiron finds himself drawn to it off the field.Set in New England, home of the Patriots' football dynasty, Mike Lupica shows off his trademark knack for spinning a tale that's equal parts sports action and heart. Last Man Out is a thoughtful tribute to the bravery of firefighters and the need we all have to live up to the level of our heroes.Praise for Last Man Out"Lupica stirs equal quantities of grief and gridiron action into his latest outing. Lupica effectively puts readers into the center of the action . . . [I]n the best traditionsof sports writing, this will leave readers both breathless and thoughtful."--BOOKLIST
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9780399172793
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Print book
Beyond the Bright Sea
By Wolk, Lauren
'Harper Lee has a worthy successor. Wolk is a big new talent' - The Times Crow has lived her whole life on a tiny, starkly beautiful island. Her only companions are Osh, the man who rescued her from a washed-up skiff as a baby and raised her, and Miss Maggie, their neighbour acro
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552574309
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The Danger Box
By Balliett, Blue
An all-new mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Chasing Vermeer and The Calder Game.A boy in a small town who has a different way of seeing.A mischievous girl who doesn't belong.A mysterious notebook .A fire.A stranger.A death.These are some of the things you'll find within The Danger Box, the new mystery from bestselling author Blue Balliett.
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9780439852098
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Hardcover
Bud, not Buddy
By Curtis, Christopher Paul
Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father--the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids.
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9780553494105
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Paperback
Willow Run
By Giff, Patricia Reilly
1944Meggie Dillons life has been turned upside down by World War II. Her older brother Eddie enlisted and was shipped off to fight in Europe. And people say that anywhere else Grandpa would be turned in because hes German, and people might think hes a spy. Is it true? Could Grandpa be taken away?Meggies father has announced that they must help the war effort and move to Willow Run, Michigan, where hell work nights in a factory building important war planes that will help fight the enemy in Europe. Willow Run will be the greatest adventure ever, Meggie thinks. There she meets Patches and Harlan, other kids like her whose parents have come here to do their part in the war. And there she faces questions about courage, and what it takes to go into battle, like Eddie, and how to keep hope alive on the home front.
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385730675
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Hardcover
Wonderstruck
By Selznick, Brian
In this groundbreaking tour de force, Caldecott Medalist and bookmaking pioneer Brian Selznick sails into uncharted territory and takes readers on an awe-inspiring journey. Ben and Rose secretly wish their lives were different. Ben longs for the father he has never known. Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a puzzling clue in his mother's room and Rose reads an enticing headline in the newspaper, both children set out alone on desperate quests to find what they are missing. Set fifty years apart, these two independent stories--Ben's told in words, Rose's in pictures--weave back and forth with mesmerizing symmetry. How they unfold and ultimately intertwine will surprise you, challenge you, and leave you breathless with wonder. Rich, complex, affecting, and beautiful--with over 460 pages of original artwork--Wonderstruckis a stunning achievement from a gifted artist and visionary.
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9780545027892
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Hardcover
Revolution
By Wiles, Deborah
*A 2014 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST* It's 1964, and Sunny's town is being invaded. Or at least that's what the adults of Greenwood, Mississippi, are saying. All Sunny knows is that people from up north are coming to help people register to vote. They're calling it Freedom Summer. Meanwhile, Sunny can't help but feel like her house is being invaded, too. She has a new stepmother, a new brother, and a new sister crowding her life, giving her little room to breathe. And things get even trickier when Sunny and her brother are caught sneaking into the local swimming pool -- where they bump into a mystery boy whose life is going to become tangled up in theirs. As she did in her groundbreaking documentary novel COUNTDOWN, award-winning author Deborah Wiles uses stories and images to tell the riveting story of a certain time and place -- and of kids who, in a world where everyone is choosing sides, must figure out how to stand up for themselves and fight for what's right.
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9780545106078
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Hardcover
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
By Twain, Mark
Who could forget the pranks, the adventures, the sheer fun of Tom Sawyer? It's something every child should experience and every child will love. From Tom's sly trickery with the whitewashed fence - when he cleverly manipulates everyone so they happily do his work for him - to his
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1402714602
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Print book
All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook
By Connor, Leslie
From Leslie Connor, award-winning author of Waiting for Normal and Crunch, comes a soaring and heartfelt story about love, forgiveness, and how innocence makes us all rise up. All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook is a powerful story, perfect for fans of Wonder and When You Reach Me.Eleven-year-old Perry was born and raised by his mom at the Blue River Co-ed Correctional Facility in tiny Surprise, Nebraska. His mom is a resident on Cell Block C, and so far Warden Daugherty has made it possible for them to be together. That is, until a new district attorney discovers the truth - and Perry is removed from the facility and forced into a foster home.When Perry moves to the "outside" world, he feels trapped. Desperate to be reunited with his mom, Perry goes on a quest for answers about her past crime. As he gets closer to the truth, he will discover that love makes people resilient no matter where they come from . . . but can he find a way to tell everyone what home truly means?
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62333461
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Print book
So B. It
By Weeks, Sarah
You couldnt really tell about Mamas brain just from looking at her, but it was obvious as soon as she spoke. She had a high voice, like a little girls, and she only knew twenty-three words. I know this for a fact, because we kept a list of the things Mama said tacked to the
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9780066236223
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Print book
Half a Chance
By Lord, Cynthia
*"With winning results, Lord brings the same sensitivity to the subject of dementia that she brought to autism in her Newbery Honor book, Rules." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred reviewA moving middle-grade novel from the Newbery Honor author of Rules.When Lucys family moves to an old house on a lake, Lucy tries to see her new home through her cameras lens, as her father has taught her -- hes a famous photographer, away on a shoot. Will her photos ever meet his high standards? When she discovers that hes judging a photo contest, Lucy decides to enter anonymously. She wants to find out if her eye for photography is really special -- or only good enough.As she seeks out subjects for her photos, Lucy gets to know Nate, the boy next door. But slowly the camera reveals what Nate doesnt want to see: his grandmothers memory is slipping away, and with it much of what he cherishes about his summers on the lake. This summer, Nate will learn about the power of art to show truth. And Lucy will learn how beauty can change lives...including her own.
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9780545035330
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Paperback
The Left Behinds
By Potter, David
Percy Jackson fans will embrace this humorous time travel adventure, the first in a series, about an iPhone malfunction that sends three kids back to 1776 in time to rescue George Washington. On Christmas Day, Mel finds General George Washington lying dead as a doornail in a stable. But Mel knows that George Washington must cross the Delaware River, or the course of American history will be changed forever. Could Mels iPhone have sent him back in time to 1776? And can Mel and his schoolmates, know-it-all Bev and laid-back Brandon, come to the rescue? Perhaps, with a little help from two colonial kids and Benjamin Franklin himself. Debut novelist David Potter cleverly combines time travel, humor, and American history in this fast-paced adventure. For American Revolution enthusiasts, theres information about historical reenactments, additional reading, and websites.
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9780385390569
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Hardcover
The Green Glass Sea
By Klages, Ellen
It is 1943, and 11-year-old Dewey Kerrigan is traveling west on a train to live with her scientist father - but no one, not her father nor the military guardians who accompany her, will tell her exactly where he is. When she reaches Los Alamos, New Mexico, she learns why: he's working on a top secret government program. Over the next few years, Dewey gets to know eminent scientists, starts tinkering with her own mechanical projects, becomes friends with a budding artist who is as much of a misfit as she is - and, all the while, has no idea how the Manhattan Project is about to change the world. This book's fresh prose and fascinating subject are like nothing you've read before.
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670061344
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Hardcover
Better Nate Than Ever
By Federle, Tim
Now on CD! In this New York Times Notable Book of the Year, Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, Slate Favorite Book of the Year, Odyssey Award Honor Audiobook, and Stonewall Book Award Book, a small-town boy hops a bus to New York City to crash an audition for E.T.: The Musical.Nate Foster has big dreams. His whole life, he's wanted to star in a Broadway show. (Heck, he'd settle for seeing a Broadway show.) But how is Nate supposed to make his dreams come true when he's stuck in Jankburg, Pennsylvania, where no one (except his best pal Libby) appreciates a good show tune? With Libby's help, Nate plans a daring overnight escape to New York. There's an open casting call for E.T.: The Musical, and Nate knows this could be the difference between small-town blues and big-time stardom. Tim Federle's "hilarious and heartwarming debut novel" (Publishers Weekly) is full of broken curfews, second chances, and the adventure of growing up - because sometimes you have to get four hundred miles from your backyard to finally feel at home.
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9781442446892
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Audiobook
The Goat
By Fleming, Anne
When Kid accompanies her parents to New York City for a six-month stint of dog-sitting and home-schooling, she sees what looks like a tiny white cloud on the top of their apartment building. Rumor says there s a goat living on the roof, but how can that be? As Kid soon discovers, a goat on the roof may be the least strange thing about her new home, whose residents are both strange and fascinating. In the penthouse lives Joff Vanderlinden, the famous skateboarding fantasy writer, who happens to be blind. On the ninth floor are Doris and Jonathan, a retired couple trying to adapt to a new lifestyle after Jonathan s stroke. Kenneth P. Gill, on the tenth, loves opera and tends to burble on nervously about his two hamsters or are they guinea pigs? Then there s Kid s own high-maintenance mother, Lisa, who is rehearsing for an Off Broadway play and is sure it will be the world s biggest flop.
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9781554989164
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Print book
The Tapper Twins Go to War
By Rodkey, Geoff
This bestselling first book in the Tapper Twins seriesis a hilariously authentic showcase of what it's like to be in middle school in our digitally-saturated world, told as a colorful "oral history" with photos, screenshots, text messages, chat logs, and online gaming digital art. Twelve-year-old twins, Claudia and Reese, who couldn't be more different...except in their determination to come out on top in a vicious prank war. But when the competition escalates into an all-out battle that's fought from the cafeteria of their New York City private school all the way to the fictional universe of an online video game, the twins have to decide if their efforts to destroy each other are worth the price. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly declared "This uproarious series opener... is packed with both laugh-out-loud moments and heart."
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9780316297790
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Hardcover
York
By Ruby, Laura
"The pleasures of the novel go far beyond the crackling, breathless plot and the satisfaction of watching the puzzle fall into place. The book is shot through with humor, both laugh-out-loud and subtle." - New York Times Book ReviewFrom National Book Award finalist and Printz Award winner Laura Ruby comes an epic alternate history series about three kids who try to solve the greatest mystery of the modern world: a puzzle and treasure hunt laid into the very streets and buildings of New York City. It was 1798 when the Morningstarr twins arrived in New York with a vision for a magnificent city: towering skyscrapers, dazzling machines, and winding train lines, all running on technology no one had ever seen before. Fifty-seven years later, the enigmatic architects disappeared, leaving behind for the people of New York the Old York Cipher - a puzzle laid into the shining city they constructed, at the end of which was promised a treasure beyond all imagining. By the present day, however, the puzzle has never been solved, and the greatest mystery of the modern world is little more than a tourist attraction.Tess and Theo Biedermann and their friend Jaime Cruz live in a Morningstarr apartment - until a real estate developer announces that the city has agreed to sell him the five remaining Morningstarr buildings. Their likely destruction means the end of a dream long held by the people of New York. And if Tess, Theo, and Jaime want to save their home, they have to prove that the Old York Cipher is real. Which means they have to solve it.
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9780062306937
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Hardcover
Liar & Spy
By Stead, Rebecca
An instant New York Times bestseller,Liar Spy is a story about games and friendship. Seventh-grader Georges moves into a Brooklyn apartment building and meets Safer, a twelve-year-old self-appointed spy. Georges becomes Safers first spy recruit. His assignment Tracking the mysterious Mr. X, who lives in the apartment upstairs. But as Safer becomes more demanding, Georges starts to wonder How far is too far to go for your only friendLike Steads dazzling Newbery-winnerWhen You Reach Me, Liar Spy will keep readers guessing until the end.A New York Times bestseller ANew York Times Book ReviewNotable Childrens Book of 2012Kirkus Reviews Best of Childrens Books 2012 ListPublishers Weekly Best of Childrens Fiction 2012School Library Journal Best of Childrens Fiction 2012 ListThe Horn Books Best of 2012 List The Bulletin of the Center for Childrens Books2012 Blue Ribbons List Barnes Noble Best Books of 2012 for Kids List NPR Outstanding Backseat Reads for Ages 9-14, NPRs Backseat Book ClubAmazons Top 5 Best of the Year Middle Grade BooksTheWall Street Journals Best Childrens Books of 2012The Chicago Public Library Best of the Best 2012 A Junior Library Guild Selection,.
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9780385737432
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Hardcover
Not If I Can Help It
By Mackler, Carolyn
From award-winning Carolyn Mackler, the story of Willa, who has been living with Sensory Processing Disorder but is thrown for a BIG loop when her dad announces he's dating Willa's best friend's mom.Willa likes certain things to be certain ways. Her socks have to be soft . . . and definitely can't have irritating tags on the inside. She loves the crunch of popcorn and nachos . . . but is grossed out by the crunch of a baby carrot. And slimy foods? Those are the worst.Willa can manage all these things -- but there are some things she can't deal with, like her father's big news. He's been keeping a big secret from her . . . that he's been dating the mom of Willa's best friend Ruby. Willa does NOT like the idea of them being together. And she does NOT like the idea of combining families. And she does NOT like the idea of her best friend becoming her sister overnight. Will she go along with all of these changes? NOT if she can help it!
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9780545709484
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Hardcover
Stella by Starlight
By Draper, Sharon M.
When the Ku Klux Klans unwelcome reappearance rattles Stellas segregated southern town, bravery battles prejudice in this New York Times bestselling Depression-era novel that soars The New York Times Book Review that School Library Journal called storytelling at its finest in a starred review. Stella lives in the segregated Southin Bumblebee, North Carolina, to be exact about it. Some stores she can go into. Some stores she cant. Some folks are right pleasant. Others are a lot less so. To Stella, it sort of evens out, and heck, the Klan hasnt bothered them for years. But one late night, later than she should ever be up, much less wandering around outside, Stella and her little brother see something theyre never supposed to see, something that is the first flicker of change to come, unwelcome change by any stretch of the imagination.
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9781442494985
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Hardcover
Greetings from Nowhere
By O'connor, Barbara
Aggie isn't expecting visitors at the Sleepy Time Motel in the Great Smoky Mountains. Since her husband died, she is all alone with her cat, Ugly, and keeping up with the bills and repairs has become next to impossible. The pool is empty, the garden is overgrown, and not a soul has come to stay in nearly three months. When she reluctantly places a For Sale ad in the newspaper, Aggie doesn't know that Kirby and his mom will need a room when their car breaks down on the way to Kirby's new reform school. Or that Loretta and her parents will arrive in her dad's plumbing company van on a trip meant to honor the memory of Loretta's birth mother. Or that Clyde Dover will answer the For Sale ad in such a hurry and move in with his daughter, Willow, looking for a brand-new life to replace the one that was fractured when Willow's mom left.
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9780374399375
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Print book
How to Steal a Dog
By O'connor, Barbara
Half of me was thinking, Georgina, don’t do this. Stealing a dog is just plain wrong. The other half of me was thinking, Georgina, you’re in a bad fix and you got to do whatever it takes to get yourself out of it. Georgina Hayes is desperate. Ever since her father left and they were evicted from their apartment, her family has been living in their car. With her mama juggling two jobs and trying to make enough money to find a place to live, Georgina is stuck looking after her younger brother, Toby. And she has her heart set on improving their situation. When Georgina spots a missing-dog poster with a reward of five hundred dollars, the solution to all her problems suddenly seems within reach. All she has to do is “borrow” the right dog and its owners are sure to offer a reward.
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9780374334970
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Hardcover
Codename Zero
By Rylander, Chris
From Chris Rylander, author of the breakout hit Fourth Stall saga, comes an incredibly funny and clever mash-up of middle grade school story and spy adventure.There are places in the world where heroes are born. There are places where brave men and women fight a never-ending battle against evil in order to keep our country and all other countries safe. There are places where the fate of our planet is being decided, even at this very moment, the consequences of which will echo through history.None of these places is in North Dakota.Carson Fender, seventh grader and notorious prankster, knows this. He's lived in North Dakota for his entire life, going to the same boring school every day, the same boring movie theater every week, the same boring state fair every year. Nothing ever changes, and nothing ever happens. That is, until today. Because today a desperate man hands him a package with a dire set of instructions. And that package is going to lead Carson to discover that there's a secret government agency operating in his small, quiet North Dakota hometown. And that this agency needs his help.
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9780062120083
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Print book
Soar
By Bauer, Joan
Newbery Honor winner Joan Bauer hits a home run with her newest protagonist, who always sees the positive side of any situation. Jeremiah is not one to let anything keep him down. Starting with his adoption by computer genius Walt, Jeremiah has looked on his life as a series of lucky breaks. When a weak heart keeps him from playing his beloved baseball, Jeremiah appoints himself the team coach. When Walt has to move for another new assignment, Jeremiah sees it as a great chance to explore a new town. But no sooner do they arrive than a doping scandel is revealed and the town feels betrayed and disgraced. Jeremiah takes it as his personal mission to restore the town's morale and help the teams bounce back and remember how to soar. Full of humor, heart, and baseball lore, Soar is Joan Bauer at her best.
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9780147513151
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Print book
Out Of The Dust
By Hesse, Karen
In a series of poems, fifteen-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family's wheat farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl years of the Depression.
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9780590360807
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Hardcover(1st Edition)
Vanishing Acts
By Margolin, Phillip
From tracking down her best friend, who's nowhere to be found, to secretly helping her attorney father solve a missing-person case, Madison Kincaid is a busy seventh-grade sleuth. Teaming up with new classmate Jake, she hits the sidewalks of Portland, Oregon, determined to find out what's behind two mysterious vanishing acts.In his first book for young readers, New York Times bestselling author Phillip Margolin and his daughter, Ami Margolin Rome, deliver a fast-paced, compelling mystery that's perfect for reluctant readers and sure to appeal to fans of Masterpiece, The Calder Game, and Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer.
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9780061885563
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Hardcover
Bat 6
By Wolff, Virginia Euwer
Set in a small Oregon town just after World War II, this is the powerful tale of a community shattered by its reaction to two young newcomers, Aki and Shazam. Told from 21 different points of view, "Bat 6" explores the subject of Japanese-American racial prejudice after the war.
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Set in a small Oregon town just after World War II, this is the powerful tale of a community shattered by its reaction to two young newcomers, Aki and Shazam. Told from 21 different points of view, "Bat 6" explores the subject of Japanese-American racial prejudice after the war.
Publisher: n/a
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590897993
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Fever 1793
By Anderson, Laurie Halse
An epidemic of fever sweeps through the streets of 1793 Philadelphia in this novel from Laurie Halse Anderson where "the plot rages like the epidemic itself" (The New York Times Book Review) .During the summer of 1793, Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee shop with her widowed mother and grandfather. Mattie spends her days avoiding chores and making plans to turn the family business into the finest Philadelphia has ever seen. But then the fever breaks out. Disease sweeps the streets, destroying everything in its path and turning Mattie's world upside down. At her feverish mother's insistence, Mattie flees the city with her grandfather. But she soon discovers that the sickness is everywhere, and Mattie must learn quickly how to survive in a city turned frantic with disease.
Publisher: n/a
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9780689848919
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Paperback
Macaroni Boy
By Ayres, Katherine
During the Great Depression, a boy who faces bullying stumbles upon a mystery and comes of age in this novel that integrates fact and opinion and has a rich 1930's vocabulary. Extra material: An Author's Note is included in the back of the book.Mike Costa has lived
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9780440418849
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Paperback
Dead End in Norvelt
By Gantos, Jack
Dead End in Norvelt is the winner of the 2012 Newbery Medal for the years best contribution to childrens literature and the Scott ODell Award for Historical Fiction!Melding the entirely true and the wildly fictional, Dead End in Norvelt is a novel about an incredible two months for a kid named Jack Gantos, whose plans for vacation excitement are shot down when he is "grounded for life" by his feuding parents, and whose nose spews bad blood at every little shock he gets. But plenty of excitement (and shocks) are coming Jacks way once his mom loans him out to help a feisty old neighbor with a most unusual chore -- typewriting obituaries filled with stories about the people who founded his utopian town. As one obituary leads to another, Jack is launched on a strange adventure involving molten wax, Eleanor Roosevelt, twisted promises, a homemade airplane, Girl Scout cookies, a man on a trike, a dancing plague, voices from the past, Hells Angels . . . and possibly murder. Endlessly surprising, this sly, sharp-edged narrative is the author at his very best, making readers laugh out loud at the most unexpected things in a dead-funny depiction of growing up in a slightly off-kilter place where the past is present, the present is confusing, and the future is completely up in the air.
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9780374379933
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Paperback
Fleabrain Loves Franny
By Rocklin, Joanne
This gem of a novel takes place in Pittsburgh in 1952. Franny Katzenback, while recovering from polio, reads and falls in love with the brand-new book Charlotte's Web. Bored and lonely and yearning for a Charlotte of her own, Franny starts up a correspondence with an eloquent flea named Fleabrain who lives on her dog's tail. While Franny struggles with physical therapy and feeling left out of her formerly active neighborhood life, Fleabrain is there to take her on adventures based on his extensive reading. It's a touching, funny story set in the recent past, told with Rocklin's signature wit and thoughtfulness.Awards Bank Street Children's Books "Best Books of the Year," Fiction Ages 9-12 Sydney Taylor Notable Book for Older ReadersPraise for Fleabrain Loves Franny "Heartwarming and endlessly funny, Fleabrain Loves Franny will delight readers of all ages.
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9781419710681
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Hardcover
The Forbidden Library
By Wexler, Django
The Forbidden Library kicks off an action-packed fantasy series with classic appeal, a resourceful heroine, a host of magical creatures, and no shortage of narrow escapes--perfect for fans of Story Thieves, Coraline, Inkheart, and Harry PotterAlice always thought fairy tales had happy endings. That--along with everything else--changed the day she met her first fairyWhen Alice's father goes down in a shipwreck, she is sent to live with her uncle Geryon--an uncle she's never heard of and knows nothing about. He lives in an enormous manor with a massive library that is off-limits to Alice. But then she meets a talking cat. And even for a rule-follower, when a talking cat sneaks you into a forbidden library and introduces you to an arrogant boy who dares you to open a book, it's hard to resist.
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9780803739758
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Hardcover
The Parker Inheritance
By Johnson, Varian
Four starred reviews!"Powerful.... Johnson writes about the long shadows of the past with such ambition that any reader with a taste for mystery will appreciate the puzzle Candice and Brandon must solve." -- The New York Times Book ReviewWhen Candice finds a letter in an old attic in Lambert, South Carolina, she isn't sure she should read it. It's addressed to her grandmother, who left the town in shame. But the letter describes a young woman. An injustice that happened decades ago. A mystery enfolding its writer. And the fortune that awaits the person who solves the puzzle. So with the help of Brandon, the quiet boy across the street, she begins to decipher the clues. The challenge will lead them deep into Lambert's history, full of ugly deeds, forgotten heroes, and one great love; and deeper into their own families, with their own unspoken secrets. Can they find the fortune and fulfill the letter's promise before the answers slip into the past yet again?
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9780545946179
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Hardcover
The Journey of Little Charlie
By Curtis, Christopher Paul
Twelve-year-old Charlie is down on his luck: His sharecropper father just died and Cap'n Buck -- the most fearsome man in Possum Moan, South Carolina -- has come to collect a debt. Fearing for his life, Charlie strikes a deal with Cap'n Buck and agrees to track down some folks accused of stealing from the cap'n and his boss. It's not too bad of a bargain for Charlie... until he comes face-to-face with the fugitives and discovers their true identities. Torn between his guilty conscience and his survival instinct, Charlie needs to figure out his next move -- and soon. It's only a matter of time before Cap'n Buck catches on.
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9780545156660
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Hardcover
The Long Winter
By Wilder, Laura Ingalls
The adventures of Laura Ingalls and her family continue as Pa, Ma, Laura, Mary, Carrie, and little Grace bravely face the hard winter of 1880-81 in their little house in the Dakota Territory. Blizzards cover the little town with snow, cutting off all supplies from the outside. Soon there is almost no food left, so young Almanzo Wilder and a friend make a dangerous trip across the prairie to find some wheat. Finally a joyous Christmas is celebrated in a very unusual way in this most exciting of all the Little House books.
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9780060264604
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Hardcover
Paperboy
By Vawter, Vince
Reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird.Booklist, Starred An unforgettable boy and his unforgettable story. I loved it! ROB BUYEA, author of Because of Mr. Terupt and Mr. Terupt Falls Again This Newbery Honor winner is perfect for fans of To Kill a Mockingbird, The Kings Speech, and The Help. A boy who stutters comes of age in the segregated South, during the summer that changes his life. Little Man throws the meanest fastball in town. But talking is a whole different ball game. He can barely say a word without stutteringnot even his own name. So when he takes over his best friends paper route for the month of July, hes not exactly looking forward to interacting with the customers. But its the neighborhood junkman, a bully and thief, who stirs up real trouble in Little Mans life.
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9780307931511
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Book
Belly Up
By Gibbs, Stuart
12 year old Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt Fitzroy has got a murder on his hands and trouble on his tail. Henry, the hippopatamus at the brand-new nationally known FunJungle, has gone belly up. Even though it's claimed he died of natural causes, Teddy smells something fishy and it sure ain't the polar bear's lunch. Dealing with the zoo's top brass proves to be nothing but a waste of time. They want to see any trace of Henry's death disappear like yesterday's paper. So Teddy sets out to find the truth. With the help of Summer McCraken, a fiesty girl with secrets of her own, the two narrow down their prime suspects. Is it Martin Del Gato, FunJungle's head of operations who hates kids and hates animals even more? Or J.J McCraken, the owner of FunJungle and and hates animals even more? Or J.
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9781416987314
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Hardcover
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales
By Hale, Nathan
From Nathan Hale, #1 New York Times bestselling author and Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List maker, comes the definitive graphic novel about the Alamo. Hale relays the facts, politics, military actions, and prominent personalities that defined the Texas Revolution in factual yet humorous scenes that will capture the attention of reluctant readers and fans of history alike. In the early 1800s, Texas was a wild and dangerous land fought over by the Mexican government, Native Americans, and settlers from the United States. Beginning with the expeditions of the so-called "Land Pirates," through the doomed stand at the Alamo, and ending with the victory over Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto, the entire Texas saga is on display. Leading the charge to settle this new frontier is Stephen F. Austin, with a cast of dangerous and colorful characters, including Jim Bowie, William Travis, David Crockett, and others. Through his vivid depiction and additional maps, and biographies located in the back of the book, Nathan Hale brings new insight for students, teachers, and historians into one of the most iconic structures in the United States.
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9781419719028
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Print book
Blooming at the Texas Sunrise Motel
By Holt, Kimberly Willis
With unwavering emotion and masterful storytelling, National Book Award-winning author Kimberly Willis Holt explores themes of loss, family, love, and the importance of finding a place to call home.Stevie's life seems safe and full of love until the day tragedy strikes. Stevie is sent to live with her estranged grandfather Winston at his rundown motel. Though the colorful tenants who inhabit the motel are quickly charmed by Stevie, she struggles to connect with her grandfather. What dark secret is he keeping from her? It will take another difficult departure before Winston realizes just how strongly Stevie has taken root at the motel--and in his heart.A Christy Ottaviano Book
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9781627793247
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Hardcover
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
By Kelly, Jacqueline
Calpurnia Virginia Tate is eleven years old in 1899 when she wonders why the yellow grasshoppers in her Texas backyard are so much bigger than the green ones.With a little help from her notoriously cantankerous grandfather, an avid naturalist, she figures out that the green grasshoppers are easier to see against the yellow grass, so they are eaten before they can get any larger. As Callie explores the natural world around her, she develops a close relationship with her grandfather, navigates the dangers of living with six brothers, and comes up against just what it means to be a girl at the turn of the century. Debut author Jacqueline Kelly deftly brings Callie and her family to life, capturing a year of growing up with unique sensitivity and a wry wit.
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9780312659301
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Paperback
Lone Stars
By Lupica, Mike
An uplifting story about role models, football, and tackling fear set in the heart of Friday Night Lights country - from the bestselling author of Heat, Travel Team, and Fantasy League.Clay is a quarterback's dream. When he zips across the field, arms outstretched, waiting for the ball to sail into his hands, there's no denying him the catch. Like most Texans, Clay is never more at home than when playing football. And his coach, a former star player for the Dallas Cowboys, is just like a second father.But as the football season kicks off, Clay begins to notice some odd behavior from his coach--lapses in his memory and strange mood swings. The conclusion is painful, but obvious: Coach Cooper is showing side effects of the many concussions he sustained during his playing days. As Clay's season wears on, it becomes clear that the real victory will be to help his coach walk onto that famous star logo in the middle of Cowboys Field one last time--during a Thanksgiving day ceremony honoring him and his former Super Bowl-winning teammates.In Lone Stars, #1 New York Times bestseller Mike Lupica demonstrates once again that there is no children's sports novelist today who can match his ability to weave a story of vivid sports action and heartfelt emotion. A touching story that proves life is bigger than a game.Praise for Lone Stars"Lupica has crafted another fine sports story for the middle school reader." - VOYA"Young readers, no matter their level of interest in the game, will be drawn in by this touching, timely story." - BOOKLIST "There is plenty of great football action to keep the sports enthusiasts engaged, and the information about concussive injury is easily understood and applied. This is an entertaining read that also imparts an important message." - School Library Connection
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9780399172809
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Hardcover
The Light in the Lake
By Baughman, Sarah R.
A remarkable debut novel that takes readers on a journey of discovery, magic, science, and hope. Twelve-year-old Addie should stay away from Maple Lake. After all, her twin brother, Amos, drowned there only a few months ago. But its crisp, clear water runs in Addie's veins, and the notebook Amos left behind -- filled with clues about a mysterious creature that lives in the lake's inky-blue depths -- keeps calling her back. So despite her parents' fears, Addie accepts a Young Scientist position studying the lake for the summer, promising she'll stick to her job of measuring water pollution levels under adult supervision. Still, Addie can't resist the secrets of Maple Lake. She enlists the lead researcher's son, Tai, to help her investigate Amos's clues.
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9780316422420
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Hardcover
The Next Great Paulie Fink
By Benjamin, Ali
In this highly anticipated second novel by the author of the award-winning, bestselling The Thing About Jellyfish, being the new kid at school isn't easy, especially when you have to follow in the footsteps of a classroom prankster like Paulie Fink.When Caitlyn Breen enters the tiny Mitchell School in rural Mitchell, Vermont, she is a complete outsider: the seventh grade has just ten other kids, and they've known each other since kindergarten. Her classmates are in for a shock of their own: Paulie Fink--the class clown, oddball, troublemaker, and evil genius--is gone this year. As stories of Paulie's hijinks unfold, his legend builds, until they realize there's only one way to fill the Paulie-sized hole in their class. They'll find their next great Paulie Fink through a reality-show style competition, to be judged by the only objective person around: Caitlyn, who never even met Paulie Fink. Who was this kid, anyway--prankster, performance artist, philosopher, or fool? Caitlyn's quest to understand Paulie is about to teach her more about herself than she ever imagined.Told via multiple voices, interviews, and other documents, The Next Great Paulie Fink is a lighthearted yet surprisingly touching exploration of how we build up and tear down our own myths...about others, our communities, and ourselves.
Publisher: n/a
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9780316380881
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Hardcover
The League of Unexceptional Children
By Daneshvari, Gitty
Are you average? Normal? Forgettable? If so, the League of Unexceptional Children is for you This first book in a hilarious new adventure series is for anyone who's struggled to be noticed in a sea of above-average overachievers. What "is" the League of Unexceptional Children? I'm glad you asked. You didn't ask? Well, you would have eventually and I hate to waste time. The League of Unexceptional Children is a covert network that uses the nation's most average, normal, and utterly unexceptional children as spies. Why the average kids? Why not the brainiacs? Or the beauty queens? Or the jocks? It's simple: People "remember "them. But not the unexceptionals. They are the forgotten ones. Until now
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9780316405706
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Hardcover
Harper Collins Publishers Bridge To Terabithia
By Paterson, Katherine
This Newbery Medal-winning novel by bestselling author Katherine Paterson is a modern classic of friendship and loss.Jess Aarons has been practicing all summer so he can be the fastest runner in the fifth grade. And he almost is, until the new girl in school, Leslie Burke, outpaces him. The two become fast friends and spend most days in the woods behind Leslie's house, where they invent an enchanted land called Terabithia. One morning, Leslie goes to Terabithia without Jess and a tragedy occurs. It will take the love of his family and the strength that Leslie has given him for Jess to be able to deal with his grief. In addition to being a Newbery Medal winner, Bridge to Terabithia was also named an ALA Notable Children's Book and has become a touchstone of children's literature, as have many of Katherine Paterson's other novels, including The Great Gilly Hopkins and Jacob Have I Loved.Supports the Common Core State Standards
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9780064401845
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Print book
Mabel Opal Pear and the Rules for Spying
By Hosch, Amanda
A young spy gets entangled in an action-filled, whodunit mystery! When Mabel's parents leave town without warning, she isn't worried. They're spies, after all. But when her beloved Aunt Gertie is arrested for leading a smuggling ring, then her obnoxious Uncle Frank and Aunt Stella show up, demanding to be let into the family's private museum . . . things begin to look fishy. Especially since Mabel hasn't heard from her parents in days. Tackling a mystery like this one is what she has been training for her whole, short life. Using her self-authored spy handbook, will Mabel be able to find her parents and unmask the real criminal before it's too late? Rife with quirky characters, zany twists, and an unflinching look at the difficulty of learning to trust, Amanda Hosch's debut is sure to capture the hearts of secret-keepers, sleuths, and everyone in between.
Publisher: n/a
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9781623708054
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Hardcover
Our Only May Amelia
By Holm, Jennifer L.
She may be a miracle, but she's no proper young lady!It isn't easy being a pioneer in the state of Washington in 1899, but it's particularly hard when you are the only girl ever born in the new settlement. With seven older brothers and a love of adventure, May Amelia Jackson just can't seem to abide her family's insistence that she behave like a Proper Young Lady. Not when there's fishing to be done, sheep to be herded, and real live murderers to be captured! May is sure she could manage better if only there were at least one other girl living along the banks of the Nasel River. And now that Mama's going to have a baby, maybe there's hope....00-01 Utah Book Award (Gr. 3-6) and 00-01 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Bk Award Masterlist Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies 2000, National Council for SS & Child.
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60278226
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Print book
The Boys Start the War
By Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds
FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. The Hatford brothers expected three boys to move into the house where their best friends used to live. When the Malloy sisters arrive instead, the boys make a plan to drive them back to Ohio.,
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9780440418412
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Paperback
Shiloh
By Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds
Eleven-year-old Marty Preston loves to spend time up in the hills behind his home near Friendly, West Virginia. Sometimes he takes his .22 rifle to see what he can shoot, like some cans lined up on a rail fence. Other times he goes up early in the morning just to sit and watch the fox and deer. But one summer Sunday, Marty comes across something different on the road just past the old Shiloh schoolhouses -- a young beagle -- and the trouble begins. What do you do when a dog you suspect is being mistreated runs away and comes to you? When it is someone else's dog? When the man who owns him has a gun? This is Marty's problem, and he finds it is one he has to face alone. When his solution gets too big for him to handle, things become more frightening still. Marty puts his courage on the line, and discovers in the process that it is not always easy to separate right from wrong. Sometimes, however, you do almost anything to save a dog.
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689316143
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Hardcover
Once Was a Time
By Sales, Leila
In the war-ravaged England of 1940, Charlotte Bromley is sure of only one thing: Kitty McLaughlin is her best friend in the whole world. But when Charlotte's scientist father makes an astonishing discovery that the Germans will covet for themselves, Charlotte is faced with an impossible choice between danger and safety. Should she remain with her friend or journey to another time and place? Her split-second decision has huge consequences, and when she finds herself alone in the world, unsure of Kitty's fate, she knows that somehow, some way, she must find her way back to her friend. Written in the spirit of classic time-travel tales, this book is an imaginative and heartfelt tribute to the unbreakable ties of friendship.
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9781452140094
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Print book
Little House in the Big Woods
By Wilder, Laura Ingalls
Based on the real-life adventures of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House in the Big Woods is the first book in the award-winning Little House series, which has captivated generations of readers. This edition features the classic black-and-white artwork from Garth Williams.Little House in the Big Woods takes place in 1871 and introduces us to four-year-old Laura, who lives in a log cabin on the edge of the Big Woods of Wisconsin. She shares the cabin with her Pa, her Ma, her sisters Mary and Carrie, and their lovable dog, Jack.Pioneer life isn't easy for the Ingalls family, since they must grow or catch all their own food as they get ready for the cold winter. But they make the best of every tough situation. They celebrate Christmas with homemade toys and treats, do their spring planting, bring in the harvest in the fall, and make their first trip into town. And every night, safe and warm in their little house, the sound of Pa's fiddle lulls Laura and her sisters into sleep.The nine books in the timeless Little House series tell the story of Laura's real childhood as an American pioneer, and are cherished by readers of all generations. They offer a unique glimpse into life on the American frontier, and tell the heartwarming, unforgettable story of a loving family.
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60264314
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Library Binding
Little Blog on the Prairie
By Bell, Cathleen Davitt
Gen's family is more comfortable spending time apart than together. Then Gen's mom signs them up for Camp Frontier—a vacation that promises the "thrill" of living like 1890s pioneers. Forced to give up all of her modern possessions, Gen nevertheless manages to email her friends back home about life at "Little Hell on the Prairie," as she's renamed the camp. It turns out frontier life isn't without its good points—like the cute boy who lives in the next clearing. And when her friends turn her emails into a blog, Gen is happily surprised by the fanbase that springs up. But just when it seems Gen and family might pull through the summer, disaster strikes as a TV crew descends on the camp, intent on discovering the girl behind the nationwide blogging sensation—and perhaps ruining the best vacation Gen has ever had.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963
By Curtis, Christopher Paul
A wonderful middle-grade novel narrated by Kenny, 9, about his middle-class black family, the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan. When Kenny's 13-year-old brother, Byron, gets to be too much trouble, they head South to Birmingham to visit Grandma, the one person who can shape him up. And they happen to be in Birmingham when Grandma's church is blown up.
Inside Out and Back Again
By Lai, Thanhha
Inside Out and Back Again is a New York Times bestseller, a Newbery Honor Book, and a winner of the National Book Award! Inspired by the author's childhood experience of fleeing Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon and immigrating to Alabama, this coming-of-age debut novel told in verse has been celebrated for its touching child's-eye view of family and immigration.H has only ever known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, and the warmth of her friends close by. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. H and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope - toward America. This moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing received four starred reviews, including one from Kirkus which proclaimed it "enlightening, poignant, and unexpectedly funny." An author's note explains how and why Thanhha Lai translated her personal experiences into H's story. This paperback edition also includes an interview with the author, an activity you can do with your family, tips on writing poetry, and discussion questions.Supports the Common Core State Standards
Island War
By Giff, Patricia Reilly
A two-time Newbery Honor-winning author spins a tale of children surviving on their own on a remote Japanese-occupied island during World War II.Izzy has come to the remote Aleutian Island in 1941 because her mother is studying the rare birds there. Matt has been dragged there by his father, who has a secret job for the U.S. government. Neither is a fan of the other. But then the U.S. is suddenly at war, Japanese soldiers invade the island, and Izzy and Matt become the only Americans to evade the evacuation to a Japanese concentration camp. Differences must be put aside, now that they must rely on themselves to hide from the Japanese left behind and survive the harsh winter and Allied bombing raids.
A Bear Named Trouble
By Bauer, Marion Dane
Ten-year-old Jonathan practically lives at the Anchorage Zoo, where his father is a keeper. He loves animals, and even imagines himself inside their bodies, seeing what they see, feeling what they feel.Meanwhile, a young brown bear is wandering through the woods near Anchorage, alone and hungry. One night, while searching for food, the bear crosses paths with Jonathan, who eagerly follows him onto the zoo grounds.But when the bear accidentally kills Mama Goose, Jonathan’s favorite zoo creature, the boy loses the empathy he had felt earlier. He wishes that the bearnow nicknamed Troublewould meet the same fate as his beloved goose, and he impulsively takes steps to make sure that happens.Based on an actual incident, and told in alternating chapters from the bear’s and Jonathan’s points of view, this is both an involving animal story and a thought-provoking investigation into the consequences of one’s actions.
Curse of the Arctic Star
By Keene, Carolyn
Nancy and her friends must navigate a cruise ship crisis in the first book of the Nancy Drew Diaries, a fresh approach to a classic series. Nancy, Bess, and George are cruising dangerous waters on a tour of Alaska. Becca Wright, an old friend of Nancys, is the Assistant Cruise Director of the Arctic Star, a posh new ship. But Becca needs Nancys help when strange things keep happening aboard the opulent ocean liner The swimming pool becomes a floating grave a famous passenger is threatened and even the seemingly innocent mini-golf course becomes a perilous playground. With the majestic and mysterious Alaskan scenery as a backdrop, Nancy and company have to find out whos trying to sabotage the maiden voyage and why.,
Missing on Superstition Mountain
By Broach, Elise
It’s summer and the three Barker brothers—Simon, Henry, and Jack—just moved from Illinois to Arizona. Their parents have warned them repeatedly not to explore Superstition Mountain, which is near their home. But when their cat Josie goes missing, they see no other choice. There’s something unusually creepy about the mountain and after the boys find three human skulls, they grow determined to uncover the mystery. Have people really gone missing over the years, and could there be someone or some thing lurking in the woods? Together with their new neighbor Delilah, the Barker boys are dead-set on cracking the case even if it means putting themselves in harm’s way. Here’s the first book in an action-packed mystery series by a New York Times bestselling author.
The Homework Machine
By Gutman, Dan
Doing homework becomes a thing of the past! Meet the D Squad, a foursome of fifth graders at the Grand Canyon School made up of a geek, a class clown, a teacher's pet, and a slacker. They are bound together by one very big secret: the homework machine. Because the machine, code-named Belch, is doing their homework for them, they start spending a lot of time together, attracting a lot of attention. And attention is exactly what you don't want when you are keeping a secret. Before long, things start to get out of control, and Belch becomes much more powerful than they ever imagined. Now the kids are in a race against their own creation, and the loser could end up in jail...or worse!
Going Wild
By Mcmann, Lisa
Spider-Man meets Animorphs in this thrilling new middle grade series from Lisa McMann, New York Times bestselling author of the Unwanteds series. Newbery Medal-winning author Katherine Applegate calls Going Wild "gripping, action-packed, and filled with humor and heart."Charlie Wilde knew her life would change forever when her family moved from the city of Chicago to the suburbs of Arizona ... and that was before she found the bracelet. After putting it on, she notices odd things start to happen. Suddenly Charlie seems to have the speed of a cheetah and the strength of an elephant - and that's just the beginning. She would be thrilled about her transformation if she had any idea how to use the device or control her amazing powers. So Charlie is forced to put her trust in new friends to help her uncover the surprising truth behind the mysterious bracelet.
Al Capone Does My Shirts
By Choldenko, Gennifer
Moose Flannagan moves with his family to Alcatraz so his dad can work as a prison guard and his sister, Natalie, can attend a special school. But Natalie has autism, and when she's denied admittance to the school, the stark setting of Alcatraz begins to unravel the tenuous coping mechanisms Moose's family has used for dealing with her disorder.When Moose meets Piper, the cute daughter of the Warden, he knows right off she's trouble. But she's also strangely irresistible. All Moose wants to do is protect Natalie, live up to his parents' expectations, and stay out of trouble. But on Alcatraz, trouble is never very far away.Set in 1935, when guards actually lived on Alcatraz Island with their families. Choldenko's second novel brings humor to the complexities of family dynamics and illuminates the real struggle of a kid trying to free himself from the "good boy" stance he's taken his whole life.
It Ain't So Awful, Falafel
By Dumas, Firoozeh
Zomorod (Cindy) Yousefzadeh is the new kid on the block . . . for the fourth time. California's Newport Beach is her family's latest perch, and she's determined to shuck her brainy loner persona and start afresh with a new Brady Bunch name - Cindy. It's the late 1970s, and fitting in becomes more difficult as Iran makes U.S. headlines with protests, revolution, and finally the taking of American hostages. Even puka shell necklaces, pool parties, and flying fish can't distract Cindy from the anti-Iran sentiments that creep way too close to home. A poignant yet lighthearted middle grade debut from the author of the best-selling Funny in Farsi.
Unbelievably Boring Bart
By Patterson, James
There's more than meets the eye in James Patterson's newest illustrated middle grade novel--a book so fun kids will actually put down their games to read it!Invisible creatures are attacking the school, and 12-year-old Bartholomew Bean is the only one who can stop them! Okay, so maybe Bart is only a hero in the video game app he created. But if he reveals his identity as the genius behind the game, he'll become the most popular kid in school! Or he could secretly use the game to get back at his bullies...Press Button A: RevealPress Button B: RevengeWhich would you choose?
No Passengers Beyond This Point
By Choldenko, Gennifer
A reality-bending adventure from a Newbery Honor-winning authorSiblings India, Finn, and Mouse are stunned when their mom tells them they are flying that night--without her--to their Uncle Red's home in Colorado. But things take an even more dramatic turn when their plane lands in a very unusual place. A mysterious driver meets them at the airport; when he drops them off at their "destination," each kid suddenly has a clock with a different amount of time left. If the time runs out, they have to become permanent citizens in a place they don't recognize or understand. Only if they work together can they call the driver back to help get them where they really belong. Suspenseful, funny, dramatic, and thought-provoking, this is a book that will stay with you long after you read the incredible ending.Book Details:Format: PaperbackPublication Date: 2/16/2012Pages: 256Reading Level: Age 10 and Up
The Leanin' Dog
By Nuzum, K. A.
More than anything, Dessa Dean needed a friend. A friend to love and confide in, a friend with whom she could share her heart. A friend who would delight in all the beauty and joy and fun of Christmas, only four days away. Hope had just about run out, but then . . . there came a scratchin at the door and Dessa Deans life was forever changed.,
The Smoky Corridor
By Grabenstein, Chris
Zack is about to start at his new school, and in addition to homework, school lunches, and bullies, Zack must also contend with a ruthless hit man seeking a lost treasure, a voodoo savvy ghost waiting to take possession of a new body, and a soul-sucking zombie in the basement. Suddenly homework doesn't seem so bad.Once again Chris Grabenstein proves his mastery of the frightening and funny tale. Young readers, especially reluctant ones, have found an inspiration to read in Grabenstein's quirky characters and deadly situations.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
By Speare, Elizabeth George
Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler is marked by suspicion and disapproval from the moment she arrives on the unfamiliar shores of colonial Connecticut in 1687. Alone and desperate, she has been forced to leave her beloved home on the island of Barbados and join a family she has never met. Torn between her quest for belonging and her desire to be true to herself, Kit struggles to survive in a hostile place. Just when it seems she must give up, she finds a kindred spirit. But Kits friendship with Hannah Tupper, believed by the colonists to be a witch, proves more taboo than she could have imagined and ultimately forces Kit to choose between her heart and her duty. Elizabeth George Speare won the 1959 Newbery Medal for this portrayal of a heroine whom readers will admire for her unwavering sense of truth as well as her infinite capacity to love.
The Rescue Begins in Delaware
By Earl, Cheri Pray
George and Gracie begin their adventure in Dover, Delaware 1776. The kids are surprised to discover that one of them changes into an animal every time they travel, and this time Gracie is a horse. All the twins want to do is return a pair of antique school desks and search for their parents. But instead they find themselves in the middle of the American Revolution and end up helping Caesar Rodney make his famous ride into Philadelphia to vote yes for the Declaration of Independence. Crowe lands in Delaware, too, and he plans to take the time machinewith George and Gracie inside!
The Worst Class Trip Ever
By Barry, Dave
In this hilarious novel, written in the voice of eighth-grader Wyatt Palmer, Dave Barry takes us on a class trip to Washington, DC. Wyatt, his best friend, Matt, and a few kids from Culver Middle School find themselves in a heap of trouble-not just with their teachers, who have long lost patience with them-but from several mysterious men they first meet on their flight to the nation's capital. In a fast-paced adventure with the monuments as a backdrop, the kids try to stay out of danger and out of the doghouse while trying to save the president from attack-or maybe not.
Spy School Secret Service
By Gibbs, Stuart
Ben goes undercover in the White House to take on a SPYDER operative determined to assassinate the president in this latest addition to the New York Times bestselling Spy School series.Thirteen-year-old Ben Ripley has had a lot of field success despite only just beginning his second year at Spy School, something graduates rarely experience. But he'd never have survived without the help from experienced agents and his friends. Now he's been called in on a solo mission - and the fate of the United States of America is on his shoulders alone. The Mission: Prevent a presidential assassination by infiltrating the White House, and locating the enemy operative. But when the president's son is as helpful as a hamster, and a trained SPYDER agent would never appear to be up to something (they're far too clever for that) , Ben may be in over his head this time. And when everything goes wrong, Ben must rely on his Spy School friends to save his reputation ... but even friends can double-cross or be swayed to the enemy's side.
The Postcard
By Abbott, Tony
She died today. One phone call changes Jason's summer vacation-and life!-forever. When Jason's grandmother dies, he's sent down to her home in Florida to help his father clean out her things. At first he gripes about spending his summer miles away from his best friend, doing chores, and sweating in the Florida heat, but he soon discovers a mystery surrounding his grandmother's murky past. An old, yellowed postcard...a creepy phone call with a raspy voice at the other end asking, "So how smart are you?"...an entourage of freakish funeral goers....a bizarre magazine story. All contain clues that will send him on a thrilling journey to uncover family secrets. Award-winning author Tony Abbott weaves an intriguing and entertaining mystery of adventure, friendship and family.
Chomp
By Hiaasen, Carl
Wahoo Cray lives in a zoo. His father is an animal wrangler, so he's grown up with all manner of gators, snakes, parrots, rats, monkeys, snappers, and more in his backyard. The critters he can handle. His father is the unpredictable one. When his dad takes a job with a reality TV show called "Expedition Survival!", Wahoo figures he'll have to do a bit of wrangling himself - to keep his dad from killing Derek Badger, the show's boneheaded star, before the shoot is over. But the job keeps getting more complicated. Derek Badger seems to actually believe his PR and insists on using wild animals for his stunts. And Wahoo's acquired a shadow named Tuna - a girl who's sporting a shiner courtesy of her old man and needs a place to hide out. They've only been on location in the Everglades for a day before Derek gets bitten by a bat and goes missing in a storm. Search parties head out and promptly get lost themselves. And then Tuna's dad shows up with a gun . . .It's anyone's guess who will actually survive "Expedition Survival". . . .
Sunny Side Up
By Holm, Jennifer L.
Sunny Lewin has been packed off to Florida to live with her grandfather for the summer. At first she thought Florida might be fun -- it is the home of Disney World, after all. But the place where Gramps lives is no amusement park. It's full of . . . old people. Really old people. Luckily, Sunny isn't the only kid around. She meets Buzz, a boy who is completely obsessed with comic books, and soon they're having adventures of their own: facing off against golfball-eating alligators, runaway cats, and mysteriously disappearing neighbors. But the question remains -- why is Sunny down in Florida in the first place? The answer lies in a family secret that won't be secret to Sunny much longer. . .
Raymie Nightingale
By Dicamillo, Kate
A 2016 National Book Award Finalist!Two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo returns to her roots with a moving, masterful story of an unforgettable summer friendship.Raymie Clarke has come to realize that everything, absolutely everything, depends on her. And she has a plan. If Raymie can win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition, then her father, who left town two days ago with a dental hygienist, will see Raymie's picture in the paper and (maybe) come home. To win, not only does Raymie have to do good deeds and learn how to twirl a baton; she also has to contend with the wispy, frequently fainting Louisiana Elefante, who has a show-business background, and the fiery, stubborn Beverly Tapinski, who's determined to sabotage the contest. But as the competition approaches, loneliness, loss, and unanswerable questions draw the three girls into an unlikely friendship - and challenge each of them to come to the rescue in unexpected ways.
Full of Beans
By Holm, Jennifer L
Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award Five Starred Reviews A New York Public Library Best Book for Kids, 2016 Grown-ups lie. That's one truth Beans knows for sure. He and his gang know how to spot a whopper a mile away, because they are the savviest bunch of barefoot conchs (that means "locals") in all of Key West. Not that Beans really minds; it's 1934, the middle of the Great Depression. With no jobs on the island, and no money anywhere, who can really blame the grown-ups for telling a few tales? Besides, Beans isn't anyone's fool. In fact, he has plans. Big plans. And the consequences might surprise even Beans himself. Return to the wonderful world of Newbery Honor Book Turtle in Paradise through the eyes of Turtle's cousin Beans "A surprising coming-of-age story with a remarkably honest message. " --The New York Times " Holm] captures this colorful slice of Depression history with her usual vivacious wit. . . . Children will love Beans. " --Shelf Awareness, Starred "A novel as entertaining as the motion pictures Beans] loves to see. "--The Horn Book Magazine, Starred"Inspired by actual events, Holm's talent for writing historical fiction is on full display. . . . Interesting family and small-town dynamics further enrich this fascinating account of a young boy's life in Florida's 'Recovery Key. '" --BOOKLIST , Starred "Filled with humor, heart, and warmth. " --Kirkus Review, Starred "Entertaining and illuminating historical fiction. " --Publishers Weekly, Starred
Kingdom Keepers
By Pearson, Ridley
Finn Whitman and his fellow DHIs, teenagers chosen to serve as actors for a new technology, investigate strange occurrences at Disney theme park attractions, racing to uncover a supernatural force that could destroy the world.Book Details:Format: HardcoverPublication Date: 9/1/2009Pages: 325Reading Level: Age 10 and Up
Football Genius
By Green, Tim
Troy White has a phenomenal gift. He can predict football plays before they happen. Any position. Any player. Any team. When Troy's single mom gets a job working in public relations for the Atlanta Falcons, Troy figures it's his chance to prove what he can do. But first he has to get to the Falcons—and with tight security and a notoriously mean coach, even his mom's field passes aren't much help. Then Troy and his best friends devise a plan to get the attention of star linebacker Seth Halloway. With Seth's playing and Troy's genius, the Falcons could be unstoppable—if they'll only listen. Bestselling author and former NFL player Tim Green scores a touchdown with this exhilarating novel, his first for young readers. Football Genius is an action-packed adventure with gripping suspense, a hero you can really root for, and an insider's look at the world of professional football.
More to the Story
By Khan, Hena
From the critically acclaimed author of Amina's Voice comes a new story inspired by Louisa May Alcott's beloved classic, Little Women, featuring four sisters from a modern American Muslim family living in Georgia.When Jameela Mirza is picked to be feature editor of her middle school newspaper, she's one step closer to being an award-winning journalist like her late grandfather. The problem is her editor-in-chief keeps shooting down her article ideas. Jameela's assigned to write about the new boy in school, who has a cool British accent but doesn't share much, and wonders how she'll make his story gripping enough to enter into a national media contest. Jameela, along with her three sisters, is devastated when their father needs to take a job overseas, away from their cozy Georgia home for six months. Missing him makes Jameela determined to write an epic article - one to make her dad extra proud. But when her younger sister gets seriously ill, Jameela's world turns upside down. And as her hunger for fame looks like it might cost her a blossoming friendship, Jameela questions what matters most, and whether she's cut out to be a journalist at all...
A Boy at War
By Mazer, Harry
They rowed hard, away from the battleships and the bombs. Water sprayed over them. The rowboat pitched one way and then the other. Then, before his eyes, the Arizona lifted up out of the water. That enormous battleship bounced up in the air like a rubber ball and split apart. Fire burst out of the ship. A geyser of water shot into the air and came crashing down. Adam was almost thrown out of the rowboat. He clung to the seat as it swung around. He saw blue skies and the glittering city. The boat swung back again, and he saw black clouds, and the Arizona, his father's ship, sinking beneath the water. -- from A Boy at War "He kept looking up, afraid the planes would come back. The sky was obscured by black smoke....It was all unreal: the battleships half sunk, the bullet holes in the boat, Davi and Martin in the water." December 7, 1941: On a quiet Sunday morning, while Adam and his friends are fishing near Honolulu, a surprise attack by Japanese bombers destroys the fleet at Pearl Harbor. Even as Adam struggles to survive the sudden chaos all around him, and as his friends endure the brunt of the attack, a greater concern hangs over his head: Adam's father, a navy lieutenant, was stationed on the USS Arizona when the bombs fell. During the subsequent days Adam -- not yet a man, but no longer a boy -- is caught up in the war as he desperately tries to make sense of what happened to his friends and to find news of his father. Harry Mazer, whose autobiographical novel, The Last Mission, brought the European side of World War II to vivid life, now turns to the Pacific theater and how the impact of war can alter young lives forever. Show more Show less #outer_postBodyPS { display: none; } #psGradient { display: none; } #psPlaceHolder { display: none; } #psExpand { display: none; } They rowed hard, away from the battleships and the bombs. Water sprayed over them. The rowboat pitched one way and then the other. Then, before his eyes, the Arizona lifted up out of the water. That enormous battleship bounced up in the air like a rubber ball and split apart. Fire burst out of the ship. A geyser of water shot into the air and came crashing down. Adam was almost thrown out of the rowboat. He clung to the seat as it swung around. He saw blue skies and the glittering city. The boat swung back again, and he saw black clouds, and the Arizona, his father's ship, sinking beneath the water. -- from A Boy at War "He kept looking up, afraid the planes would come back. The sky was obscured by black smoke....It was all unreal: the battleships half sunk, the bullet holes in the boat, Davi and Martin in the water." December 7, 1941: On a quiet Sunday morning, while Adam and his friends are fishing near Honolulu, a surprise attack by Japanese bombers destroys the fleet at Pearl Harbor. Even as Adam struggles to survive the sudden chaos all around him, and as his friends endure the brunt of the attack, a greater concern hangs over his head: Adam's father, a navy lieutenant, was stationed on the USS Arizona when the bombs fell. During the subsequent days Adam -- not yet a man, but no longer a boy -- is caught up in the war as he desperately tries to make sense of what happened to his friends and to find news of his father. Harry Mazer, whose autobiographical novel, The Last Mission, brought the European side of World War II to vivid life, now turns to the Pacific theater and how the impact of war can alter young lives forever.
Walk Two Moons
By Creech, Sharon
In her own singularly beautiful style, Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech intricately weaves together two tales, one funny, one bittersweet, to create a heartwarming, compelling, and utterly moving story of love, loss, and the complexity of human emotion.Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle, proud of her country roots and the "Indian-ness in her blood," travels from Ohio to Idaho with her eccentric grandparents. Along the way, she tells them of the story of Phoebe Winterbottom, who received mysterious messages, who met a "potential lunatic," and whose mother disappeared. As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe's outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold--the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother.Supports the Common Core State Standards Show more Show less #outer_postBodyPS { display: none; } #psGradient { display: none; } #psPlaceHolder { display: none; } #psExpand { display: none; } In her own singularly beautiful style, Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech intricately weaves together two tales, one funny, one bittersweet, to create a heartwarming, compelling, and utterly moving story of love, loss, and the complexity of human emotion.Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle, proud of her country roots and the "Indian-ness in her blood," travels from Ohio to Idaho with her eccentric grandparents. Along the way, she tells them of the story of Phoebe Winterbottom, who received mysterious messages, who met a "potential lunatic," and whose mother disappeared. As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe's outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold--the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother.Supports the Common Core State Standards
Camille McPhee Fell Under the Bus ...
By Tracy, Kristen
Fair: just, equitable, what is right.Unfair: the life of Camille McPhee.Imagine being Camille McPhee. She has low blood sugar, so she carries extra food in a cooler. Would you want to do that?Didn’t think so.And you wouldn’t want to fall under the school bus. That happened to Camille, too!Her cat, Checkers, is lost. And her best friend, Sally, moved to Japan. It would be hard to stay optimistic, right? But Camille is what her mom calls hopeful. Because really? There are plenty of things to be positive about: gifted reading, a nonsqueaky mattress, eating banned foods, the big blue butterfly.Even making a new friend. Imagine that!
A Year Down Yonder
By Peck, Richard
Winner of the Newbery Medal "Peck charms readers once again with this entertaining sequel to A Long Way from Chicago" - School Library Journal (starred review) It was within the pages of Richard Peck's Newbery Honor-winning A Long Way from Chicago that Mary Alice and Grandma Dowdel first made their captivating debut. Now they're back for more astonishing, laugh-out-loud tales when fifteen-year-old Mary Alice moves in with her spicy grandmother for the year. Expect moonlit schemes, romances both foiled and founded, and a whole parade of fools made to suffer in unusual (and always hilarious) ways.Wise, exuberant, and slyly heartwarming, this is a satisfying companion to Grandma Dowdel's adventures in A Long Way from Chicago and A Season of Gifts. Newbery Medal WinnerALA Best Book for Young AdultsALA Notable BookBOOKLIST Best Books of the YearSchool Library Journal Best Books of the YearNew York Times Best Seller "Audience members will breathe a sigh of regret when the eventful year "down yonder" draws to a close." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Wit, gentleness, and outrageous farce." - Booklist (starred review)
Project Mulberry
By Park, Linda Sue
Julia Song and her friend Patrick would love to win a blue ribbon, maybe even two, at the state fair. They've always done projects together, and they work well as a team. This time, though, they're having trouble coming up with just the right plan. Then Julia's mother offers a suggestion: They can raise silkworms, as she did when she was a girl in Korea.Patrick thinks it's a great idea. Of course there are obstacles - for example, where will they get mulberry leaves, the only thing silkworms eat? - but nothing they can't handle.Julia isn't so sure. The club where kids do their projects is all about traditional American stuff, and raising silkworms just doesn't fit in. Moreover, the author, Ms. Park, seems determined to make Julia's life as complicated as possible, no matter how hard Julia tries to talk her out of it.
Rosetown
By Rylant, Cynthia
From Newbery Medalist Cynthia Rylant comes the charming story of nine-year-old Flora Smallwood and the eventful year she spends in the quiet community of Rosetown, Indiana.For nine-year-old Flora Smallwood, Rosetown, Indiana, is full of surprises, many of the best of which happen at the Wing and a Chair Used Book Shop, where she loves to read vintage children's books after school in the faded purple chair by the window. But lately, those surprises haven't been so good. Her dear old dog, Laurence, recently passed away. Not long after, her parents decided to take a breather from their marriage, and now Flora has to move back and forth between their two houses. Plus, she's just begun fourth grade, and it is so much different than third. Luckily Flora has two wonderful friends - one old and one new. And with them around to share thoughts and laughs and adventures big and small, life in Rosetown still has many sweet moments - and even some very happy surprises!
The Rookie Bookie
By Wertheim, L. Jon
Using the tips, truths, and stats they explore in their New York Times bestseller Scorecasting, two dads pack super sports savvy and important math and financial concepts into a fun and heartwarming first novel for kids.
The Mostly True Story of Jack
By Barnhill, Kelly
Enter a world where magic bubbles just below the surface. . . .When Jack is sent to Hazelwood, Iowa, to live with his strange aunt and uncle, he expects a summer of boredom. Little does he know that the people of Hazelwood have been waiting for him for quite a long time.When he arrives, three astonishing things happen: First, he makes friends -- not imaginary friends but actual friends. Second, he is beaten up by the town bully; the bullies at home always ignored him. Third, the richest man in town begins to plot Jack's imminent, and hopefully painful, demise. It's up to Jack to figure out why suddenly everyone cares so much about him. Back home he was practically, well, invisible.The Mostly True Story of Jack is an eerie tale of magic, friendship, and sacrifice. It's about things broken and things put back together. Above all, it's about finding a place to belong.
Old Town in the Green Groves
By Rylant, Cynthia
After grasshoppers ruin the crops, eight-year-old Laura Ingalls and her family leave Plum Creek and move to Burr Oak, Iowa, where they experience life in a small town and help manage a hotel. 75,000 first printing.
Moon Over Manifest
By Vanderpool, Clare
The movement of the train rocked me like a lullaby. I closed my eyes to the dusty countryside and imagined the sign Id seen only in Gideons stories: Manifest - a town with a rich past and a bright future. Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was.. Having heard stories about Manifest, Abilene is disappointed to find that its just a dried-up, worn-out old town. But her disappointment quickly turns to excitement when she discovers a hidden cigar box full of mementos, including some old letters that mention a spy known as the Rattler. These mysterious letters send Abilene and her new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne, on an honest-to-goodness spy hunt, even though they are warned to "Leave Well Enough Alone.". Abilene throws all caution aside when she heads down the mysterious Path to Perdition to pay a debt to the reclusive Miss Sadie, a diviner who only tells stories from the past. It seems that Manifests history is full of colorful and shadowy characters - and long-held secrets. The more Abilene hears, the more determined she is to learn just what role her father played in that history. And as Manifests secrets are laid bare one by one, Abilene begins to weave her own story into the fabric of the town. Powerful in its simplicity and rich in historical detail, Clare Vanderpools debut is a gripping story of loss and redemption.
The Talent Show
By Gutman, Dan
When their town gets destroyed by a tornado, everyone is pretty depressed. So in order to cheer everyone up and raise some money, the community decides to put on a talent show. Unfortunately, no one in town is particularly talented. But that doesnt stop everyone from giving it their all! Especially the one star in town. She just might have what it takesif she can get to the show on time. When another tornado hits, the kids make every effort to put the show on, but there may be more surprises in store! Dan Gutman delivers another hilarious tale about school adventures!,
Trouble the Water
By Dowell, Frances Oroark
From the award-winning author of Dovey Coe comes a "powerful" (School Library Journal) tale of the friendship between a black girl and a white boy and the prejudices they must overcome in segregated Kentucky as they try to solve the mystery surrounding a lonely old dog.. Eleven-year-old Callie is fearless, stubborn, and a little nosy. So when she sees an old yellow dog wandering around town by itself, you can bet shes going to figure out who he belongs to. But when her sleuthing leads her to cross paths with a white boy named Wendell who wants to help, the segregated town doesnt take too kindly to their budding friendship. Meanwhile, a nearly invisible boy named Jim is stuck in a cabin in the woods. Hes lost his dog, but cant remember exactly when his pups disappeared. When his companion, a little boy named Thomas, whos been invisible much longer than he, explains that they are ghosts, the two must figure out why they cant seem to cross the river to the other side just yet ... And as Callie and Wendells search for the old dog brings them closer and closer to the cabin in the woods, the simmering prejudices of the townspeople boil over.
My Louisiana Sky
By Holt, Kimberly Willis
Tiger Ann Parker wants nothing more than to get out of the rural town of Saitter, Louisiana--far away from her mentally disabled mother, her "slow" father who can't read an electric bill, and her classmates who taunt her. So when Aunt Dorie Kay asks Tiger to sp the summer with her in Baton Rouge, Tiger can't wait to go. But before she leaves, the sudden revelation of a dark family secret prompts Tiger to make a decision that will ultimately change her life.Set in the South in the late 1950s, this coming-of-age novel explores a twelve-year-old girl's struggle to accept her grandmother's death, her mentally deficient parents, and the changing world around her. It is a novel filled with beautiful language and unforgettable characters, and the importance of family and home.
My Diary from the Edge of the World
By Anderson, Jodi Lynn
Told in diary form by an irresistible heroine, this playful and perceptive novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the May Bird trilogy sparkles with science, myth, magic, and the strange beauty of the everyday marvels we sometimes forget to notice.Spirited, restless Gracie Lockwood has lived in Cliffden, Maine, her whole life. She's a typical girl in an atypical world: one where sasquatches helped to win the Civil War, where dragons glide over Route 1 on their way south for the winter (sometimes burning down a T.J. Maxx or an Applebee's along the way) , where giants hide in caves near LA and mermaids hunt along the beaches, and where Dark Clouds come for people when they die. To Gracie it's all pretty ho-hum ... until a Cloud comes looking for her little brother Sam, turning her small-town life upside down. Determined to protect Sam against all odds, her parents pack the family into a used Winnebago and set out on an epic search for a safe place that most people say doesn't exist: The Extraordinary World. It's rumored to lie at the ends of the earth, and no one has ever made it there and lived to tell the tale. To reach it, the Lockwoods will have to learn to believe in each other - and to trust that the world holds more possibilities than they've ever imagined.
Moo
By Creech, Sharon
This uplifting New York Times bestseller reminds us that if we're open to new experiences, life is full of surprises.Fans of Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech's Love That Dog and Hate That Cat will love her newest tween novel, Moo. Following one family's momentous move from the city to rural Maine, an unexpected bond develops between twelve-year-old Reena and one very ornery cow.When Reena, her little brother, Luke, and their parents first move to Maine, Reena doesn't know what to expect. She's ready for beaches, blueberries, and all the lobster she can eat. Instead, her parents "volunteer" Reena and Luke to work for an eccentric neighbor named Mrs. Falala, who has a pig named Paulie, a cat named China, a snake named Edna - and that stubborn cow, Zora.This heartwarming story, told in a blend of poetry and prose, reveals the bonds that emerge when we let others into our lives.
The Get Rich Quick Club
By Gutman, Dan
I'm just lying out there in the backyard one night, staring up at the sky. Then suddenly a dollar bill lands on my face. I pick it up. It looks real. I have no idea where it came from. Then another one falls. And another. I look up and see bills fluttering down from the clouds above me. First they come in flurries, and then it turns into a snowstorm of money. This is the dazzling tale of five kids who make a pact to earn a million dollars by the end of the summer, led by the clever and daring Gina Tumolo. They come up with a fantastic scheme that involves a photograph of a UFO. Before they are through, they will have their photos in newspapers across the country and even meet face to face with . . . well, you don't think we'll give the story away right here, do you? Look inside and see for yourself what happens! .
Touch Blue
By Lord, Cynthia
Touch Blue and your wish will come true."Why take chances?" says eleven-year-old Tess Brooks. "Especially when its so easy to let the universe know what you want by touching blue or turning around three times or crossing your fingers."But Tess is coming to know that its not always that simple.The state of Maine plans to shut down her islands schoolhouse, which would force Tesss family to move to the mainland--and Tess to leave the only home she has ever known. Fortunately, the islanders have a plan too: increase the numbers of students by having several families take in foster children. So now Tess and her family are taking a chance on Aaron, a thirteen-year-old trumpet player who has been bounced from home to home. And Tess needs a plan of her own--and all the luck she can muster. Will Tesss wish come true or will her luck run out?Newbery Honor author Cynthia Lord offers a warm-hearted, humorous, and thoughtful look at what it means to belong--and how lucky we feel when we do. Touch Blue, sure as certain, will touch your heart.Honors for Touch Blue: 2011 Lupine Award, Maine Library Association. 2011 Maine Literary Award, Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance. 2010 Best Books For Children, Christian Science Monitor. Best Childrens Books of 2010, Book Page. Best Childrens Books of the Year (2011) , Bank Street College (starred for outstanding merit) Editors Pick, Adoptive Families magazine.Nominated for: Pennsylvania Young Readers Choice Award Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award (Vermont) Rhode Island Childrens Book Award Rhode Island Teen Book Award Indian Paintbrush Award (Wyoming) North Carolina Childrens Book Award The Charlotte Award (New York) Louisiana Young Readers Choice Award Horn Toad Tales, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, Texas
Shakespeare's Secret
By Broach, Elise
Hero changed into a T-shirt, grabbed a book, and padded barefoot into her sister's room. The large windows overlooked the backyard. She could see the moonlight streaming over the trees and bushes, making long, crazy shadows across the grass. Was there a diamond hidden out there somewhere? She looked at Beatrice, already settled under the covers. She wanted to tell her about the Murphys, but at the same time, she didn't. She wanted to keep the secret. To have something that belonged only to her.A missing diamond, a mysterious neighbor, a link to Shakespeare-can Hero uncover the connections?When Hero starts sixth grade at a new school, she's less concerned about the literary origins of her Shakespearean name than about the teasing she's sure to suffer because of it. So she has the same name as a girl in a book by a dusty old author. Hero is simply not interested in the connections. But that's just the thing; suddenly connections are cropping up all over, and odd characters and uncertain pasts are exactly what do fascinate Hero. There's a mysterious diamond hidden in her new house, a curious woman next door who seems to know an awful lot about it, and then, well, then there's Shakespeare. Not to mention Danny Cordova, only the most popular boy in school. Is it all in keeping with her namesake's origin-just much ado about nothing? Hero, being Hero, is determined to figure it out. In this fast-paced novel, Elise Broach weaves an intriguing literary mystery full of historical insights and discoveries.A JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD SELECTION
Starting with Alice
By Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds
Alice at EIGHTand boy was she a pistol! The very youngest book in the beloved series gets a makeover. Eight-year-old Alice McKinley wants pierced ears, really long hair, a pet, and, most of all, a mother. Oh, and some friends would be nice. As the new girl in third grade, Alice doesnt know a single kid in Takoma Park, Maryland, except her next-door neighbor Donald Sheavers, who is not only a boy, but seems a bit peculiar, too! Desperate to meet people, Alice learns that making friends is harder than it seems when she runs into a group of girls whom she nicknames the Terrible Triplets after they make it very clear that they do not want to get to know Alice. As Alice navigates the ins and outs of third grade, there are plenty of bumps, giggles, and surprises along the way.
The Penderwicks
By Birdsall, Jeanne
With over one million copies sold, this series of modern classics about the charming Penderwick family from National Book Award winner and New York Times bestseller Jeanne Birdsall is perfect for fans of Noel Streatfeild and Edward Eager. This summer the Penderwick sisters have a wonderful surprise: a holiday on the grounds of a beautiful estate called Arundel. Soon they are busy discovering the summertime magic of Arundel's sprawling gardens, treasure-filled attic, tame rabbits, and the cook who makes the best gingerbread in Massachusetts. But the best discovery of all is Jeffrey Tifton, son of Arundel's owner, who quickly proves to be the perfect companion for their adventures. The icy-hearted Mrs. Tifton is not as pleased with the Penderwicks as Jeffrey is, though, and warns the new friends to stay out of trouble. Which, of course, they will - won't they? One thing's for sure: it will be a summer the Penderwicks will never forget. Deliciously nostalgic and quaintly witty, this is a story as breezy and carefree as a summer day.
Last Man Out
By Lupica, Mike
From the #1 bestselling author of Heat, Travel Team and Fantasy League comes a story of heroes, family, the thrills of skateboarding, and football.When the Brighton Bears suit up on game day, 12-year-old Tommy Gallagher is the toughest kid on the football field. And the bravest. After all, his father Patrick is a Boston firefighter--one of Boston's bravest. Tommy's dad taught him everything he knows about football--and life.Yet even Tommy isn't strong enough for what happens when the sirens ring and, for the first time, they're racing away from the fire. "First man in; last man out" had always been his dad's motto . . . yet he never said anything about leaving in an ambulance. What kind of risk had his dad taken? Now Tommy's biggest battle has nothing to do with football. And the kid who always had such respect for risk on the gridiron finds himself drawn to it off the field.Set in New England, home of the Patriots' football dynasty, Mike Lupica shows off his trademark knack for spinning a tale that's equal parts sports action and heart. Last Man Out is a thoughtful tribute to the bravery of firefighters and the need we all have to live up to the level of our heroes.Praise for Last Man Out"Lupica stirs equal quantities of grief and gridiron action into his latest outing. Lupica effectively puts readers into the center of the action . . . [I]n the best traditionsof sports writing, this will leave readers both breathless and thoughtful."--BOOKLIST
Beyond the Bright Sea
By Wolk, Lauren
'Harper Lee has a worthy successor. Wolk is a big new talent' - The Times Crow has lived her whole life on a tiny, starkly beautiful island. Her only companions are Osh, the man who rescued her from a washed-up skiff as a baby and raised her, and Miss Maggie, their neighbour acro
The Danger Box
By Balliett, Blue
An all-new mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Chasing Vermeer and The Calder Game.A boy in a small town who has a different way of seeing.A mischievous girl who doesn't belong.A mysterious notebook .A fire.A stranger.A death.These are some of the things you'll find within The Danger Box, the new mystery from bestselling author Blue Balliett.
Bud, not Buddy
By Curtis, Christopher Paul
Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father--the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids.
Willow Run
By Giff, Patricia Reilly
1944Meggie Dillons life has been turned upside down by World War II. Her older brother Eddie enlisted and was shipped off to fight in Europe. And people say that anywhere else Grandpa would be turned in because hes German, and people might think hes a spy. Is it true? Could Grandpa be taken away?Meggies father has announced that they must help the war effort and move to Willow Run, Michigan, where hell work nights in a factory building important war planes that will help fight the enemy in Europe. Willow Run will be the greatest adventure ever, Meggie thinks. There she meets Patches and Harlan, other kids like her whose parents have come here to do their part in the war. And there she faces questions about courage, and what it takes to go into battle, like Eddie, and how to keep hope alive on the home front.
Wonderstruck
By Selznick, Brian
In this groundbreaking tour de force, Caldecott Medalist and bookmaking pioneer Brian Selznick sails into uncharted territory and takes readers on an awe-inspiring journey. Ben and Rose secretly wish their lives were different. Ben longs for the father he has never known. Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a puzzling clue in his mother's room and Rose reads an enticing headline in the newspaper, both children set out alone on desperate quests to find what they are missing. Set fifty years apart, these two independent stories--Ben's told in words, Rose's in pictures--weave back and forth with mesmerizing symmetry. How they unfold and ultimately intertwine will surprise you, challenge you, and leave you breathless with wonder. Rich, complex, affecting, and beautiful--with over 460 pages of original artwork--Wonderstruckis a stunning achievement from a gifted artist and visionary.
Revolution
By Wiles, Deborah
*A 2014 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST* It's 1964, and Sunny's town is being invaded. Or at least that's what the adults of Greenwood, Mississippi, are saying. All Sunny knows is that people from up north are coming to help people register to vote. They're calling it Freedom Summer. Meanwhile, Sunny can't help but feel like her house is being invaded, too. She has a new stepmother, a new brother, and a new sister crowding her life, giving her little room to breathe. And things get even trickier when Sunny and her brother are caught sneaking into the local swimming pool -- where they bump into a mystery boy whose life is going to become tangled up in theirs. As she did in her groundbreaking documentary novel COUNTDOWN, award-winning author Deborah Wiles uses stories and images to tell the riveting story of a certain time and place -- and of kids who, in a world where everyone is choosing sides, must figure out how to stand up for themselves and fight for what's right.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
By Twain, Mark
Who could forget the pranks, the adventures, the sheer fun of Tom Sawyer? It's something every child should experience and every child will love. From Tom's sly trickery with the whitewashed fence - when he cleverly manipulates everyone so they happily do his work for him - to his
All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook
By Connor, Leslie
From Leslie Connor, award-winning author of Waiting for Normal and Crunch, comes a soaring and heartfelt story about love, forgiveness, and how innocence makes us all rise up. All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook is a powerful story, perfect for fans of Wonder and When You Reach Me.Eleven-year-old Perry was born and raised by his mom at the Blue River Co-ed Correctional Facility in tiny Surprise, Nebraska. His mom is a resident on Cell Block C, and so far Warden Daugherty has made it possible for them to be together. That is, until a new district attorney discovers the truth - and Perry is removed from the facility and forced into a foster home.When Perry moves to the "outside" world, he feels trapped. Desperate to be reunited with his mom, Perry goes on a quest for answers about her past crime. As he gets closer to the truth, he will discover that love makes people resilient no matter where they come from . . . but can he find a way to tell everyone what home truly means?
So B. It
By Weeks, Sarah
You couldnt really tell about Mamas brain just from looking at her, but it was obvious as soon as she spoke. She had a high voice, like a little girls, and she only knew twenty-three words. I know this for a fact, because we kept a list of the things Mama said tacked to the
Half a Chance
By Lord, Cynthia
*"With winning results, Lord brings the same sensitivity to the subject of dementia that she brought to autism in her Newbery Honor book, Rules." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred reviewA moving middle-grade novel from the Newbery Honor author of Rules.When Lucys family moves to an old house on a lake, Lucy tries to see her new home through her cameras lens, as her father has taught her -- hes a famous photographer, away on a shoot. Will her photos ever meet his high standards? When she discovers that hes judging a photo contest, Lucy decides to enter anonymously. She wants to find out if her eye for photography is really special -- or only good enough.As she seeks out subjects for her photos, Lucy gets to know Nate, the boy next door. But slowly the camera reveals what Nate doesnt want to see: his grandmothers memory is slipping away, and with it much of what he cherishes about his summers on the lake. This summer, Nate will learn about the power of art to show truth. And Lucy will learn how beauty can change lives...including her own.
The Left Behinds
By Potter, David
Percy Jackson fans will embrace this humorous time travel adventure, the first in a series, about an iPhone malfunction that sends three kids back to 1776 in time to rescue George Washington. On Christmas Day, Mel finds General George Washington lying dead as a doornail in a stable. But Mel knows that George Washington must cross the Delaware River, or the course of American history will be changed forever. Could Mels iPhone have sent him back in time to 1776? And can Mel and his schoolmates, know-it-all Bev and laid-back Brandon, come to the rescue? Perhaps, with a little help from two colonial kids and Benjamin Franklin himself. Debut novelist David Potter cleverly combines time travel, humor, and American history in this fast-paced adventure. For American Revolution enthusiasts, theres information about historical reenactments, additional reading, and websites.
The Green Glass Sea
By Klages, Ellen
It is 1943, and 11-year-old Dewey Kerrigan is traveling west on a train to live with her scientist father - but no one, not her father nor the military guardians who accompany her, will tell her exactly where he is. When she reaches Los Alamos, New Mexico, she learns why: he's working on a top secret government program. Over the next few years, Dewey gets to know eminent scientists, starts tinkering with her own mechanical projects, becomes friends with a budding artist who is as much of a misfit as she is - and, all the while, has no idea how the Manhattan Project is about to change the world. This book's fresh prose and fascinating subject are like nothing you've read before.
Better Nate Than Ever
By Federle, Tim
Now on CD! In this New York Times Notable Book of the Year, Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, Slate Favorite Book of the Year, Odyssey Award Honor Audiobook, and Stonewall Book Award Book, a small-town boy hops a bus to New York City to crash an audition for E.T.: The Musical.Nate Foster has big dreams. His whole life, he's wanted to star in a Broadway show. (Heck, he'd settle for seeing a Broadway show.) But how is Nate supposed to make his dreams come true when he's stuck in Jankburg, Pennsylvania, where no one (except his best pal Libby) appreciates a good show tune? With Libby's help, Nate plans a daring overnight escape to New York. There's an open casting call for E.T.: The Musical, and Nate knows this could be the difference between small-town blues and big-time stardom. Tim Federle's "hilarious and heartwarming debut novel" (Publishers Weekly) is full of broken curfews, second chances, and the adventure of growing up - because sometimes you have to get four hundred miles from your backyard to finally feel at home.
The Goat
By Fleming, Anne
When Kid accompanies her parents to New York City for a six-month stint of dog-sitting and home-schooling, she sees what looks like a tiny white cloud on the top of their apartment building. Rumor says there s a goat living on the roof, but how can that be? As Kid soon discovers, a goat on the roof may be the least strange thing about her new home, whose residents are both strange and fascinating. In the penthouse lives Joff Vanderlinden, the famous skateboarding fantasy writer, who happens to be blind. On the ninth floor are Doris and Jonathan, a retired couple trying to adapt to a new lifestyle after Jonathan s stroke. Kenneth P. Gill, on the tenth, loves opera and tends to burble on nervously about his two hamsters or are they guinea pigs? Then there s Kid s own high-maintenance mother, Lisa, who is rehearsing for an Off Broadway play and is sure it will be the world s biggest flop.
The Tapper Twins Go to War
By Rodkey, Geoff
This bestselling first book in the Tapper Twins series is a hilariously authentic showcase of what it's like to be in middle school in our digitally-saturated world, told as a colorful "oral history" with photos, screenshots, text messages, chat logs, and online gaming digital art. Twelve-year-old twins, Claudia and Reese, who couldn't be more different...except in their determination to come out on top in a vicious prank war. But when the competition escalates into an all-out battle that's fought from the cafeteria of their New York City private school all the way to the fictional universe of an online video game, the twins have to decide if their efforts to destroy each other are worth the price. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly declared "This uproarious series opener... is packed with both laugh-out-loud moments and heart."
York
By Ruby, Laura
"The pleasures of the novel go far beyond the crackling, breathless plot and the satisfaction of watching the puzzle fall into place. The book is shot through with humor, both laugh-out-loud and subtle." - New York Times Book ReviewFrom National Book Award finalist and Printz Award winner Laura Ruby comes an epic alternate history series about three kids who try to solve the greatest mystery of the modern world: a puzzle and treasure hunt laid into the very streets and buildings of New York City. It was 1798 when the Morningstarr twins arrived in New York with a vision for a magnificent city: towering skyscrapers, dazzling machines, and winding train lines, all running on technology no one had ever seen before. Fifty-seven years later, the enigmatic architects disappeared, leaving behind for the people of New York the Old York Cipher - a puzzle laid into the shining city they constructed, at the end of which was promised a treasure beyond all imagining. By the present day, however, the puzzle has never been solved, and the greatest mystery of the modern world is little more than a tourist attraction.Tess and Theo Biedermann and their friend Jaime Cruz live in a Morningstarr apartment - until a real estate developer announces that the city has agreed to sell him the five remaining Morningstarr buildings. Their likely destruction means the end of a dream long held by the people of New York. And if Tess, Theo, and Jaime want to save their home, they have to prove that the Old York Cipher is real. Which means they have to solve it.
Liar & Spy
By Stead, Rebecca
An instant New York Times bestseller,Liar Spy is a story about games and friendship. Seventh-grader Georges moves into a Brooklyn apartment building and meets Safer, a twelve-year-old self-appointed spy. Georges becomes Safers first spy recruit. His assignment Tracking the mysterious Mr. X, who lives in the apartment upstairs. But as Safer becomes more demanding, Georges starts to wonder How far is too far to go for your only friendLike Steads dazzling Newbery-winnerWhen You Reach Me, Liar Spy will keep readers guessing until the end.A New York Times bestseller ANew York Times Book ReviewNotable Childrens Book of 2012Kirkus Reviews Best of Childrens Books 2012 ListPublishers Weekly Best of Childrens Fiction 2012School Library Journal Best of Childrens Fiction 2012 ListThe Horn Books Best of 2012 List The Bulletin of the Center for Childrens Books2012 Blue Ribbons List Barnes Noble Best Books of 2012 for Kids List NPR Outstanding Backseat Reads for Ages 9-14, NPRs Backseat Book ClubAmazons Top 5 Best of the Year Middle Grade BooksTheWall Street Journals Best Childrens Books of 2012The Chicago Public Library Best of the Best 2012 A Junior Library Guild Selection,.
Not If I Can Help It
By Mackler, Carolyn
From award-winning Carolyn Mackler, the story of Willa, who has been living with Sensory Processing Disorder but is thrown for a BIG loop when her dad announces he's dating Willa's best friend's mom.Willa likes certain things to be certain ways. Her socks have to be soft . . . and definitely can't have irritating tags on the inside. She loves the crunch of popcorn and nachos . . . but is grossed out by the crunch of a baby carrot. And slimy foods? Those are the worst.Willa can manage all these things -- but there are some things she can't deal with, like her father's big news. He's been keeping a big secret from her . . . that he's been dating the mom of Willa's best friend Ruby. Willa does NOT like the idea of them being together. And she does NOT like the idea of combining families. And she does NOT like the idea of her best friend becoming her sister overnight. Will she go along with all of these changes? NOT if she can help it!
Stella by Starlight
By Draper, Sharon M.
When the Ku Klux Klans unwelcome reappearance rattles Stellas segregated southern town, bravery battles prejudice in this New York Times bestselling Depression-era novel that soars The New York Times Book Review that School Library Journal called storytelling at its finest in a starred review. Stella lives in the segregated Southin Bumblebee, North Carolina, to be exact about it. Some stores she can go into. Some stores she cant. Some folks are right pleasant. Others are a lot less so. To Stella, it sort of evens out, and heck, the Klan hasnt bothered them for years. But one late night, later than she should ever be up, much less wandering around outside, Stella and her little brother see something theyre never supposed to see, something that is the first flicker of change to come, unwelcome change by any stretch of the imagination.
Greetings from Nowhere
By O'connor, Barbara
Aggie isn't expecting visitors at the Sleepy Time Motel in the Great Smoky Mountains. Since her husband died, she is all alone with her cat, Ugly, and keeping up with the bills and repairs has become next to impossible. The pool is empty, the garden is overgrown, and not a soul has come to stay in nearly three months. When she reluctantly places a For Sale ad in the newspaper, Aggie doesn't know that Kirby and his mom will need a room when their car breaks down on the way to Kirby's new reform school. Or that Loretta and her parents will arrive in her dad's plumbing company van on a trip meant to honor the memory of Loretta's birth mother. Or that Clyde Dover will answer the For Sale ad in such a hurry and move in with his daughter, Willow, looking for a brand-new life to replace the one that was fractured when Willow's mom left.
How to Steal a Dog
By O'connor, Barbara
Half of me was thinking, Georgina, don’t do this. Stealing a dog is just plain wrong. The other half of me was thinking, Georgina, you’re in a bad fix and you got to do whatever it takes to get yourself out of it. Georgina Hayes is desperate. Ever since her father left and they were evicted from their apartment, her family has been living in their car. With her mama juggling two jobs and trying to make enough money to find a place to live, Georgina is stuck looking after her younger brother, Toby. And she has her heart set on improving their situation. When Georgina spots a missing-dog poster with a reward of five hundred dollars, the solution to all her problems suddenly seems within reach. All she has to do is “borrow” the right dog and its owners are sure to offer a reward.
Codename Zero
By Rylander, Chris
From Chris Rylander, author of the breakout hit Fourth Stall saga, comes an incredibly funny and clever mash-up of middle grade school story and spy adventure.There are places in the world where heroes are born. There are places where brave men and women fight a never-ending battle against evil in order to keep our country and all other countries safe. There are places where the fate of our planet is being decided, even at this very moment, the consequences of which will echo through history.None of these places is in North Dakota.Carson Fender, seventh grader and notorious prankster, knows this. He's lived in North Dakota for his entire life, going to the same boring school every day, the same boring movie theater every week, the same boring state fair every year. Nothing ever changes, and nothing ever happens. That is, until today. Because today a desperate man hands him a package with a dire set of instructions. And that package is going to lead Carson to discover that there's a secret government agency operating in his small, quiet North Dakota hometown. And that this agency needs his help.
Soar
By Bauer, Joan
Newbery Honor winner Joan Bauer hits a home run with her newest protagonist, who always sees the positive side of any situation. Jeremiah is not one to let anything keep him down. Starting with his adoption by computer genius Walt, Jeremiah has looked on his life as a series of lucky breaks. When a weak heart keeps him from playing his beloved baseball, Jeremiah appoints himself the team coach. When Walt has to move for another new assignment, Jeremiah sees it as a great chance to explore a new town. But no sooner do they arrive than a doping scandel is revealed and the town feels betrayed and disgraced. Jeremiah takes it as his personal mission to restore the town's morale and help the teams bounce back and remember how to soar. Full of humor, heart, and baseball lore, Soar is Joan Bauer at her best.
Out Of The Dust
By Hesse, Karen
In a series of poems, fifteen-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family's wheat farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl years of the Depression.
Vanishing Acts
By Margolin, Phillip
From tracking down her best friend, who's nowhere to be found, to secretly helping her attorney father solve a missing-person case, Madison Kincaid is a busy seventh-grade sleuth. Teaming up with new classmate Jake, she hits the sidewalks of Portland, Oregon, determined to find out what's behind two mysterious vanishing acts.In his first book for young readers, New York Times bestselling author Phillip Margolin and his daughter, Ami Margolin Rome, deliver a fast-paced, compelling mystery that's perfect for reluctant readers and sure to appeal to fans of Masterpiece, The Calder Game, and Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer.
Bat 6
By Wolff, Virginia Euwer
Set in a small Oregon town just after World War II, this is the powerful tale of a community shattered by its reaction to two young newcomers, Aki and Shazam. Told from 21 different points of view, "Bat 6" explores the subject of Japanese-American racial prejudice after the war. Show more Show less #outer_postBodyPS { display: none; } #psGradient { display: none; } #psPlaceHolder { display: none; } #psExpand { display: none; } Set in a small Oregon town just after World War II, this is the powerful tale of a community shattered by its reaction to two young newcomers, Aki and Shazam. Told from 21 different points of view, "Bat 6" explores the subject of Japanese-American racial prejudice after the war.
Fever 1793
By Anderson, Laurie Halse
An epidemic of fever sweeps through the streets of 1793 Philadelphia in this novel from Laurie Halse Anderson where "the plot rages like the epidemic itself" (The New York Times Book Review) .During the summer of 1793, Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee shop with her widowed mother and grandfather. Mattie spends her days avoiding chores and making plans to turn the family business into the finest Philadelphia has ever seen. But then the fever breaks out. Disease sweeps the streets, destroying everything in its path and turning Mattie's world upside down. At her feverish mother's insistence, Mattie flees the city with her grandfather. But she soon discovers that the sickness is everywhere, and Mattie must learn quickly how to survive in a city turned frantic with disease.
Macaroni Boy
By Ayres, Katherine
During the Great Depression, a boy who faces bullying stumbles upon a mystery and comes of age in this novel that integrates fact and opinion and has a rich 1930's vocabulary. Extra material: An Author's Note is included in the back of the book.Mike Costa has lived
Dead End in Norvelt
By Gantos, Jack
Dead End in Norvelt is the winner of the 2012 Newbery Medal for the years best contribution to childrens literature and the Scott ODell Award for Historical Fiction!Melding the entirely true and the wildly fictional, Dead End in Norvelt is a novel about an incredible two months for a kid named Jack Gantos, whose plans for vacation excitement are shot down when he is "grounded for life" by his feuding parents, and whose nose spews bad blood at every little shock he gets. But plenty of excitement (and shocks) are coming Jacks way once his mom loans him out to help a feisty old neighbor with a most unusual chore -- typewriting obituaries filled with stories about the people who founded his utopian town. As one obituary leads to another, Jack is launched on a strange adventure involving molten wax, Eleanor Roosevelt, twisted promises, a homemade airplane, Girl Scout cookies, a man on a trike, a dancing plague, voices from the past, Hells Angels . . . and possibly murder. Endlessly surprising, this sly, sharp-edged narrative is the author at his very best, making readers laugh out loud at the most unexpected things in a dead-funny depiction of growing up in a slightly off-kilter place where the past is present, the present is confusing, and the future is completely up in the air.
Fleabrain Loves Franny
By Rocklin, Joanne
This gem of a novel takes place in Pittsburgh in 1952. Franny Katzenback, while recovering from polio, reads and falls in love with the brand-new book Charlotte's Web. Bored and lonely and yearning for a Charlotte of her own, Franny starts up a correspondence with an eloquent flea named Fleabrain who lives on her dog's tail. While Franny struggles with physical therapy and feeling left out of her formerly active neighborhood life, Fleabrain is there to take her on adventures based on his extensive reading. It's a touching, funny story set in the recent past, told with Rocklin's signature wit and thoughtfulness.Awards Bank Street Children's Books "Best Books of the Year," Fiction Ages 9-12 Sydney Taylor Notable Book for Older ReadersPraise for Fleabrain Loves Franny "Heartwarming and endlessly funny, Fleabrain Loves Franny will delight readers of all ages.
The Forbidden Library
By Wexler, Django
The Forbidden Library kicks off an action-packed fantasy series with classic appeal, a resourceful heroine, a host of magical creatures, and no shortage of narrow escapes--perfect for fans of Story Thieves, Coraline, Inkheart, and Harry PotterAlice always thought fairy tales had happy endings. That--along with everything else--changed the day she met her first fairyWhen Alice's father goes down in a shipwreck, she is sent to live with her uncle Geryon--an uncle she's never heard of and knows nothing about. He lives in an enormous manor with a massive library that is off-limits to Alice. But then she meets a talking cat. And even for a rule-follower, when a talking cat sneaks you into a forbidden library and introduces you to an arrogant boy who dares you to open a book, it's hard to resist.
The Parker Inheritance
By Johnson, Varian
Four starred reviews!"Powerful.... Johnson writes about the long shadows of the past with such ambition that any reader with a taste for mystery will appreciate the puzzle Candice and Brandon must solve." -- The New York Times Book ReviewWhen Candice finds a letter in an old attic in Lambert, South Carolina, she isn't sure she should read it. It's addressed to her grandmother, who left the town in shame. But the letter describes a young woman. An injustice that happened decades ago. A mystery enfolding its writer. And the fortune that awaits the person who solves the puzzle. So with the help of Brandon, the quiet boy across the street, she begins to decipher the clues. The challenge will lead them deep into Lambert's history, full of ugly deeds, forgotten heroes, and one great love; and deeper into their own families, with their own unspoken secrets. Can they find the fortune and fulfill the letter's promise before the answers slip into the past yet again?
The Journey of Little Charlie
By Curtis, Christopher Paul
Twelve-year-old Charlie is down on his luck: His sharecropper father just died and Cap'n Buck -- the most fearsome man in Possum Moan, South Carolina -- has come to collect a debt. Fearing for his life, Charlie strikes a deal with Cap'n Buck and agrees to track down some folks accused of stealing from the cap'n and his boss. It's not too bad of a bargain for Charlie... until he comes face-to-face with the fugitives and discovers their true identities. Torn between his guilty conscience and his survival instinct, Charlie needs to figure out his next move -- and soon. It's only a matter of time before Cap'n Buck catches on.
The Long Winter
By Wilder, Laura Ingalls
The adventures of Laura Ingalls and her family continue as Pa, Ma, Laura, Mary, Carrie, and little Grace bravely face the hard winter of 1880-81 in their little house in the Dakota Territory. Blizzards cover the little town with snow, cutting off all supplies from the outside. Soon there is almost no food left, so young Almanzo Wilder and a friend make a dangerous trip across the prairie to find some wheat. Finally a joyous Christmas is celebrated in a very unusual way in this most exciting of all the Little House books.
Paperboy
By Vawter, Vince
Reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird.Booklist, Starred An unforgettable boy and his unforgettable story. I loved it! ROB BUYEA, author of Because of Mr. Terupt and Mr. Terupt Falls Again This Newbery Honor winner is perfect for fans of To Kill a Mockingbird, The Kings Speech, and The Help. A boy who stutters comes of age in the segregated South, during the summer that changes his life. Little Man throws the meanest fastball in town. But talking is a whole different ball game. He can barely say a word without stutteringnot even his own name. So when he takes over his best friends paper route for the month of July, hes not exactly looking forward to interacting with the customers. But its the neighborhood junkman, a bully and thief, who stirs up real trouble in Little Mans life.
Belly Up
By Gibbs, Stuart
12 year old Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt Fitzroy has got a murder on his hands and trouble on his tail. Henry, the hippopatamus at the brand-new nationally known FunJungle, has gone belly up. Even though it's claimed he died of natural causes, Teddy smells something fishy and it sure ain't the polar bear's lunch. Dealing with the zoo's top brass proves to be nothing but a waste of time. They want to see any trace of Henry's death disappear like yesterday's paper. So Teddy sets out to find the truth. With the help of Summer McCraken, a fiesty girl with secrets of her own, the two narrow down their prime suspects. Is it Martin Del Gato, FunJungle's head of operations who hates kids and hates animals even more? Or J.J McCraken, the owner of FunJungle and and hates animals even more? Or J.
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales
By Hale, Nathan
From Nathan Hale, #1 New York Times bestselling author and Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List maker, comes the definitive graphic novel about the Alamo. Hale relays the facts, politics, military actions, and prominent personalities that defined the Texas Revolution in factual yet humorous scenes that will capture the attention of reluctant readers and fans of history alike. In the early 1800s, Texas was a wild and dangerous land fought over by the Mexican government, Native Americans, and settlers from the United States. Beginning with the expeditions of the so-called "Land Pirates," through the doomed stand at the Alamo, and ending with the victory over Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto, the entire Texas saga is on display. Leading the charge to settle this new frontier is Stephen F. Austin, with a cast of dangerous and colorful characters, including Jim Bowie, William Travis, David Crockett, and others. Through his vivid depiction and additional maps, and biographies located in the back of the book, Nathan Hale brings new insight for students, teachers, and historians into one of the most iconic structures in the United States.
Blooming at the Texas Sunrise Motel
By Holt, Kimberly Willis
With unwavering emotion and masterful storytelling, National Book Award-winning author Kimberly Willis Holt explores themes of loss, family, love, and the importance of finding a place to call home.Stevie's life seems safe and full of love until the day tragedy strikes. Stevie is sent to live with her estranged grandfather Winston at his rundown motel. Though the colorful tenants who inhabit the motel are quickly charmed by Stevie, she struggles to connect with her grandfather. What dark secret is he keeping from her? It will take another difficult departure before Winston realizes just how strongly Stevie has taken root at the motel--and in his heart.A Christy Ottaviano Book
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
By Kelly, Jacqueline
Calpurnia Virginia Tate is eleven years old in 1899 when she wonders why the yellow grasshoppers in her Texas backyard are so much bigger than the green ones.With a little help from her notoriously cantankerous grandfather, an avid naturalist, she figures out that the green grasshoppers are easier to see against the yellow grass, so they are eaten before they can get any larger. As Callie explores the natural world around her, she develops a close relationship with her grandfather, navigates the dangers of living with six brothers, and comes up against just what it means to be a girl at the turn of the century. Debut author Jacqueline Kelly deftly brings Callie and her family to life, capturing a year of growing up with unique sensitivity and a wry wit.
Lone Stars
By Lupica, Mike
An uplifting story about role models, football, and tackling fear set in the heart of Friday Night Lights country - from the bestselling author of Heat, Travel Team, and Fantasy League.Clay is a quarterback's dream. When he zips across the field, arms outstretched, waiting for the ball to sail into his hands, there's no denying him the catch. Like most Texans, Clay is never more at home than when playing football. And his coach, a former star player for the Dallas Cowboys, is just like a second father.But as the football season kicks off, Clay begins to notice some odd behavior from his coach--lapses in his memory and strange mood swings. The conclusion is painful, but obvious: Coach Cooper is showing side effects of the many concussions he sustained during his playing days. As Clay's season wears on, it becomes clear that the real victory will be to help his coach walk onto that famous star logo in the middle of Cowboys Field one last time--during a Thanksgiving day ceremony honoring him and his former Super Bowl-winning teammates.In Lone Stars, #1 New York Times bestseller Mike Lupica demonstrates once again that there is no children's sports novelist today who can match his ability to weave a story of vivid sports action and heartfelt emotion. A touching story that proves life is bigger than a game.Praise for Lone Stars"Lupica has crafted another fine sports story for the middle school reader." - VOYA"Young readers, no matter their level of interest in the game, will be drawn in by this touching, timely story." - BOOKLIST "There is plenty of great football action to keep the sports enthusiasts engaged, and the information about concussive injury is easily understood and applied. This is an entertaining read that also imparts an important message." - School Library Connection
The Light in the Lake
By Baughman, Sarah R.
A remarkable debut novel that takes readers on a journey of discovery, magic, science, and hope. Twelve-year-old Addie should stay away from Maple Lake. After all, her twin brother, Amos, drowned there only a few months ago. But its crisp, clear water runs in Addie's veins, and the notebook Amos left behind -- filled with clues about a mysterious creature that lives in the lake's inky-blue depths -- keeps calling her back. So despite her parents' fears, Addie accepts a Young Scientist position studying the lake for the summer, promising she'll stick to her job of measuring water pollution levels under adult supervision. Still, Addie can't resist the secrets of Maple Lake. She enlists the lead researcher's son, Tai, to help her investigate Amos's clues.
The Next Great Paulie Fink
By Benjamin, Ali
In this highly anticipated second novel by the author of the award-winning, bestselling The Thing About Jellyfish, being the new kid at school isn't easy, especially when you have to follow in the footsteps of a classroom prankster like Paulie Fink.When Caitlyn Breen enters the tiny Mitchell School in rural Mitchell, Vermont, she is a complete outsider: the seventh grade has just ten other kids, and they've known each other since kindergarten. Her classmates are in for a shock of their own: Paulie Fink--the class clown, oddball, troublemaker, and evil genius--is gone this year. As stories of Paulie's hijinks unfold, his legend builds, until they realize there's only one way to fill the Paulie-sized hole in their class. They'll find their next great Paulie Fink through a reality-show style competition, to be judged by the only objective person around: Caitlyn, who never even met Paulie Fink. Who was this kid, anyway--prankster, performance artist, philosopher, or fool? Caitlyn's quest to understand Paulie is about to teach her more about herself than she ever imagined.Told via multiple voices, interviews, and other documents, The Next Great Paulie Fink is a lighthearted yet surprisingly touching exploration of how we build up and tear down our own myths...about others, our communities, and ourselves.
The League of Unexceptional Children
By Daneshvari, Gitty
Are you average? Normal? Forgettable? If so, the League of Unexceptional Children is for you This first book in a hilarious new adventure series is for anyone who's struggled to be noticed in a sea of above-average overachievers. What "is" the League of Unexceptional Children? I'm glad you asked. You didn't ask? Well, you would have eventually and I hate to waste time. The League of Unexceptional Children is a covert network that uses the nation's most average, normal, and utterly unexceptional children as spies. Why the average kids? Why not the brainiacs? Or the beauty queens? Or the jocks? It's simple: People "remember "them. But not the unexceptionals. They are the forgotten ones. Until now
Harper Collins Publishers Bridge To Terabithia
By Paterson, Katherine
This Newbery Medal-winning novel by bestselling author Katherine Paterson is a modern classic of friendship and loss.Jess Aarons has been practicing all summer so he can be the fastest runner in the fifth grade. And he almost is, until the new girl in school, Leslie Burke, outpaces him. The two become fast friends and spend most days in the woods behind Leslie's house, where they invent an enchanted land called Terabithia. One morning, Leslie goes to Terabithia without Jess and a tragedy occurs. It will take the love of his family and the strength that Leslie has given him for Jess to be able to deal with his grief. In addition to being a Newbery Medal winner, Bridge to Terabithia was also named an ALA Notable Children's Book and has become a touchstone of children's literature, as have many of Katherine Paterson's other novels, including The Great Gilly Hopkins and Jacob Have I Loved.Supports the Common Core State Standards
Mabel Opal Pear and the Rules for Spying
By Hosch, Amanda
A young spy gets entangled in an action-filled, whodunit mystery! When Mabel's parents leave town without warning, she isn't worried. They're spies, after all. But when her beloved Aunt Gertie is arrested for leading a smuggling ring, then her obnoxious Uncle Frank and Aunt Stella show up, demanding to be let into the family's private museum . . . things begin to look fishy. Especially since Mabel hasn't heard from her parents in days. Tackling a mystery like this one is what she has been training for her whole, short life. Using her self-authored spy handbook, will Mabel be able to find her parents and unmask the real criminal before it's too late? Rife with quirky characters, zany twists, and an unflinching look at the difficulty of learning to trust, Amanda Hosch's debut is sure to capture the hearts of secret-keepers, sleuths, and everyone in between.
Our Only May Amelia
By Holm, Jennifer L.
She may be a miracle, but she's no proper young lady!It isn't easy being a pioneer in the state of Washington in 1899, but it's particularly hard when you are the only girl ever born in the new settlement. With seven older brothers and a love of adventure, May Amelia Jackson just can't seem to abide her family's insistence that she behave like a Proper Young Lady. Not when there's fishing to be done, sheep to be herded, and real live murderers to be captured! May is sure she could manage better if only there were at least one other girl living along the banks of the Nasel River. And now that Mama's going to have a baby, maybe there's hope....00-01 Utah Book Award (Gr. 3-6) and 00-01 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Bk Award Masterlist Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies 2000, National Council for SS & Child.
The Boys Start the War
By Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds
FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. The Hatford brothers expected three boys to move into the house where their best friends used to live. When the Malloy sisters arrive instead, the boys make a plan to drive them back to Ohio.,
Shiloh
By Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds
Eleven-year-old Marty Preston loves to spend time up in the hills behind his home near Friendly, West Virginia. Sometimes he takes his .22 rifle to see what he can shoot, like some cans lined up on a rail fence. Other times he goes up early in the morning just to sit and watch the fox and deer. But one summer Sunday, Marty comes across something different on the road just past the old Shiloh schoolhouses -- a young beagle -- and the trouble begins. What do you do when a dog you suspect is being mistreated runs away and comes to you? When it is someone else's dog? When the man who owns him has a gun? This is Marty's problem, and he finds it is one he has to face alone. When his solution gets too big for him to handle, things become more frightening still. Marty puts his courage on the line, and discovers in the process that it is not always easy to separate right from wrong. Sometimes, however, you do almost anything to save a dog.
Once Was a Time
By Sales, Leila
In the war-ravaged England of 1940, Charlotte Bromley is sure of only one thing: Kitty McLaughlin is her best friend in the whole world. But when Charlotte's scientist father makes an astonishing discovery that the Germans will covet for themselves, Charlotte is faced with an impossible choice between danger and safety. Should she remain with her friend or journey to another time and place? Her split-second decision has huge consequences, and when she finds herself alone in the world, unsure of Kitty's fate, she knows that somehow, some way, she must find her way back to her friend. Written in the spirit of classic time-travel tales, this book is an imaginative and heartfelt tribute to the unbreakable ties of friendship.
Little House in the Big Woods
By Wilder, Laura Ingalls
Based on the real-life adventures of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House in the Big Woods is the first book in the award-winning Little House series, which has captivated generations of readers. This edition features the classic black-and-white artwork from Garth Williams.Little House in the Big Woods takes place in 1871 and introduces us to four-year-old Laura, who lives in a log cabin on the edge of the Big Woods of Wisconsin. She shares the cabin with her Pa, her Ma, her sisters Mary and Carrie, and their lovable dog, Jack.Pioneer life isn't easy for the Ingalls family, since they must grow or catch all their own food as they get ready for the cold winter. But they make the best of every tough situation. They celebrate Christmas with homemade toys and treats, do their spring planting, bring in the harvest in the fall, and make their first trip into town. And every night, safe and warm in their little house, the sound of Pa's fiddle lulls Laura and her sisters into sleep.The nine books in the timeless Little House series tell the story of Laura's real childhood as an American pioneer, and are cherished by readers of all generations. They offer a unique glimpse into life on the American frontier, and tell the heartwarming, unforgettable story of a loving family.
Little Blog on the Prairie
By Bell, Cathleen Davitt
Gen's family is more comfortable spending time apart than together. Then Gen's mom signs them up for Camp Frontier—a vacation that promises the "thrill" of living like 1890s pioneers. Forced to give up all of her modern possessions, Gen nevertheless manages to email her friends back home about life at "Little Hell on the Prairie," as she's renamed the camp. It turns out frontier life isn't without its good points—like the cute boy who lives in the next clearing. And when her friends turn her emails into a blog, Gen is happily surprised by the fanbase that springs up. But just when it seems Gen and family might pull through the summer, disaster strikes as a TV crew descends on the camp, intent on discovering the girl behind the nationwide blogging sensation—and perhaps ruining the best vacation Gen has ever had.