Amalee's world is out of order. She's used to things being all over the place, because of the frequent presence of her father's bantering, bickering group of friends. But now everything is a big question mark. School isn't what it used to be, and Amalee's not really sure she likes her friends anymore. Life is a mystery that's weighing her down. Then Amalee's dad becomes seriously ill, and life becomes even more complicated. The world quiets to a whisper... until Amalee finds help from some very unexpected places. "A poignant, funny debut... readers will be charmed by Williams' eccentric, lovable characters and her sharp observations about the world of both middle-schoolers and adults." -Booklist "An uplifting story that will grab young readers." -Horn Book
"This is a gripping drama about a fascinating fragment of time in history - the expulsion of Indians from Uganda in 1972. Fifteen-year-old Sabine poignantly straddles two worlds - those of the landed Indian gentry and of the native Ugandans amid wrenching turmoil. Quietly and crisply written, all of Nanji's characters are beautifully realized, morally nuanced and compellingly crafted." --- Governor General's Literary Awards - Canada Council for the Arts. In August 1972, President Idi Amin declares that a message from God has come to him in a dream: all foreign Indians must be "weeded out" of Uganda in the next ninety days. Fifteen-year-old Sabine and her father, a successful businessman, are confident that their family will not be affected, since they are Ugandan citizens, but Sabine's fearful mother is certain that they will have to leave. As the ninety days tick by, the President's message - the "countdown monster," as Sabine calls it - is broadcast every day on the radio, and life becomes more difficult for her family and other Indians in Uganda. Sabine tries to hold on to her optimism, counting on her best friend, Zena, and her grandfather, Bapa, to keep her spirits up, but after her beloved uncle Zulfiqar disappears and Zena turns against her, Sabine begins to share her mother's fears. When a new law is declared on the radio - all Indians must leave - Sabine and her family have a hard decision to make. Should they stay and defend their rights, or should they go? And how will they begin a new life in a different land?
When George Brown spends the day at a water park, he ends up making a huge splash, just not the kind he intended. That's because trouble follows him like a shadow. It's not his fault. Really! Poor George is at the mercy of magic burps, burps that make him do wild and crazy things. Perfect for reluctant readers, this funny chapter book series is illustrated with more than forty black-and-white drawings that mirror the goofy mayhem.
Fourteen-year-old Matt Collier, a die-hard New York Yankee fan, gets a chance to time travel to any baseball game in history. Accompanied by the universe's guardian of Time, Matt becomes the batboy for his beloved team and tries to change the outcome of the 1960 World Series, the first ever to end with a homerun.
Sicilee and Maya have been rivals since elementary school. Now in high school, they dislike each other more than ever. Sicilee is the center of the most popular group at Clifton Springs, and Maya is the heart of the hip, trendy set. And neither of them is likely to notice Waneeda, who prefers to eat candy and work as little as possible. None of these girls has a thing in common until Cody Lightfoot, the most drop-dead gorgeous boy imaginable, joins the student body, causing every girl's head to turn. But all Cody seems to care about is the Environmental Club, which has the distinction of being the most unpopular club in the history of the school. Nerdy club or not, none of the three girls can let the other be the first to get a date with Cody. But how far are they prepared to go? Will Waneeda actually join a club? Will Sicilee start reading labels rather than wearing them? Will Maya take up riding her bike to school and eating tofu? With her trademark quick-fire wit, Dyan Sheldon shows just what girls will do for love - and what earth-changing realizations they might have along the way, despite themselves.
Zander Scott and his friends Kambui, LaShonda, and Bobbi are in trouble. Even though they're students at DaVinci Academy for the Gifted and Talented in Harlem, their grades are slipping, and Mr. Culpepper, the assistant principal and chief executioner, is ready to be rid of them. When the school starts a unit on the Civil War, and kids split up into Union and Confederate sympathizers, Zander and his crew are given a charge - to negotiate a peace between both sides before the war actually breaks out. That's when Zander comes up with the idea to launch an alternative school newspaper called The Cruiser. What he and his friends learn is that their writing has power to keep the peace, but that words can be weapons, too. Soon everyone at DaVinci is forced to consider the true meaning of democracy and what it costs to stand up for a cause. The result is nothing they could have expected - and everything they could have hoped for. Acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers delivers the first book in a series that will have boys and girls cheering for a group of outsiders who just may be the coolest kids in town.
The tenth collaboration between Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell celebrates the everyday bravery of trying new things for the very first time. While our spunky heroine, Frankie, learns to ride a bike, tie her shoes, make new friends, love her first dog, borrow a book from the library, say when she's wrong, try yucky food and work with her dad, she also learns that trying new things is how she grows-and that being brave enough to do so is what growing up is all about.
Ian was the 0ne who chased the majestic buck into the forest. (His motto: Act first, think later.) Kendra didn't want to become separated from the other sixth graders, but she followed Ian anyway, despite what her analytical mind told her. PJ followed him too. Even though he was scared, he figured he might catch some amazing footage with his video camera.
They all hoped to return to the hiking trail before anyone noticed they were gone. However, the mountain had other plans for them: dark, sinister plans that only nightmares are made of.
Now they don't know where they are. They don't know how to get home. They don't know what gruesome creatures lurk in the shadows-but when they find out these grisly ghouls are actually ravenous zombies, will they be able to escape the mountain with their lives?
This first book in the Gravediggers series is a scary, mysterious, wild ride that will thrill readers to the very last page.
Don't get yourself noticed and you won't get yourself hanged.
In the faery slums of Bath, Bartholomew Kettle and his sister Hettie live by these words. Bartholomew and Hettie are changelings-Peculiars-and neither faeries nor humans want anything to do with them.
One day a mysterious lady in a plum-colored dress comes gliding down Old Crow Alley. Bartholomew watches her through his window. Who is she? What does she want? And when Bartholomew witnesses the lady whisking away, in a whirling ring of feathers, the boy who lives across the alley-Bartholomew forgets the rules and gets himself noticed.
First he's noticed by the lady in plum herself, then by something darkly magical and mysterious, by Jack Box and the Raggedy Man, by the powerful Mr. Lickerish . . . and by Arthur Jelliby, a young man trying to slip through the world unnoticed, too, and who, against all odds, offers Bartholomew friendship and a way to belong.
Part murder mystery, part gothic fantasy, part steampunk adventure, The Peculiar is Stefan Bachmann's riveting, inventive, and unforgettable debut novel.
"Anna Hibiscus lives in Africa. Amazing Africa. She lives with her whole family in a wonderful house. There is always somebody to laugh or play with. She loves to splash in the sea with her cousins and have parties with her aunties. But more than anything else in the world, Anna Hibiscus would love to see snow.
Ever since local boy Lester Ward got drafted by the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and football fever hit Goodhue, Iowa, scrawny Ned Button can think of nothing but the game. Sure, Lester's younger bully of a brother is determined to keep Ned and his gang from ever getting near a real pickup game. But Ned has a few tricks up his sleeve: he can catch and sometimes even throw, much to his surprise. And he's got his eccentric grandpa Ike, who has less get-up-and-go these days but no shortage of down-home wisdom to pass along. Like that being a football star is less about being big and more about strategy and playing as part of a team. And that having friends and family in your corner is a bigger prize than a lucky football will ever be. From the acclaimed author of The Luck of the Buttons comes another story about a sometimes hapless, always winning family that scores big points for humor and heart.
Why is there a great big tree in the house?!?
And why are all these boxes underneath it?
Hey-what is that?!? Where did it come from?
Uh-oh. This isn't good. . . . This isn't good at all!
In this hilarious follow-up to the New York Times bestselling picture book Charlie the Ranch Dog, Ree Drummond-the Pioneer Woman herself-delivers a story about getting into the holiday spirit and finding the good in all. Even though Charlie may not have put a kitty on his Christmas list, he learns that if you keep an open heart, new friends can come in unexpected packages.
