All summer Sara Godfrey has fretted over herself, her impossible body, her terrible new haircut. One moment she's elated, the next, she's in tears. And she can't figure out why. Maybe her wildly changing moods are tied to the sudden and unaccountable appearance of the swans, which hold the rapt attention of Charlie, Sara's mentally handicapped brother, who she loves far more than herself these days. In fact, it will be the sudden disappearance of Charlie that will compel Sara to abandon her own small, annoying miseries, and lose herself in searching for him. In her anguish, Sara turns to Joe Melby, whom she has long despised, and together they search through the dense woods and rough fields to find him. Sara knows that she will never be the same again.
What happens when Joey and his sister, Mary Alice--two city slickers from Chicago--make their annual summer visits to Grandma Dowdel's seemingly sleepy Illinois town?
August 1929: They see their first corpse, and he isn't resting easy.
August 1930: The Cowgilll boys terrorize the town, and Grandma fights back with a dead mouse and a bottle of milk.
August 1931: Joey and Mary Alice help Grandma to trespass, pinch property, poach, catch the sheriff in his underwear, and feed the hungry--all in one day.
And there's more--much more--as Joey and Mary Alice make seven summer trips to Grandma's, each one funnier and more surprising than the year before. In the grand storytelling tradition of American humorists from Mark Twain to Flannelly O'Connor, Richard Peck has created a memorable world filled with characters who, like Grandma herself, are larger than life and twice as entertaining. And year round, you are sure to enjoy your stay with them.
Fifteen-year-old Kendra hasn’t felt safe since she began to recall devastating memories of childhood sexual abuse, especially because she still can’t remember the most important detail: her abuser’s identity. Frightened, Kendra believes someone is always watching and following her, leaving menacing messages only she understands. If she lets her guard down even for a minute, it could cost Kendra her life. To relieve the pressure, Kendra cuts; aside from her brilliantly expressive artwork, it’s her only way of coping. Since her own mother is too self-absorbed to hear her cries for help, Kendra finds support in others instead, from her therapist and her art teacher, from Sandy, the close family friend who encourages her artwork, and from Meghan, the classmate who’s becoming a friend—and maybe more. But the truth about Kendra’s abuse is just waiting to explode, with startling, unforeseen consequences. Scars is the unforgettable story of one girl’s frightening path to the truth.
“Scars is a brave novel, a read-in-one-sitting-except-when-you-have-to-put-it-down-to-breathe novel.”—Ellen Hopkins, National Book Award nominee and New York Times bestselling author
J.J. Tully is a former search-and rescue dog who is trying to enjoy his retirement after years of performing daring missions saving lives. So he's not terribly impressed when two chicks named Dirt and Sugar (who look like popcorn on legs) and their chicken mom show up demanding his help to track down their missing siblings. Driven by the promise of a cheeseburger, J.J. begins to track down clues. Is Vince the Funnel hiding something? Are there dark forces at work'or is J.J. not smelling the evidence that's right in front of him?
Bestselling author Doreen Cronin uses her deadpan humor to pitch-perfect effect in her first novel for young readers. Heavily illustrated with black-and-white artwork from Kevin Cornell, this new series is destined to become a classic.
For Clementine, spring is a really big deal. It's the time for seeing her apple tree start to grow, for watching her friend Margaret go crazy with spring cleaning, and for going on the school trip to Plimoth Plantation. Clementine is ready for Ye Olden Times, but she isn't so sure about surviving lunch there-the fourth graders have strict rules about no eating sounds. (What is snicking, anyway? ) If that wasn't enough, Clementine also faces the challenges of learning Olive-language and surviving The Cloud on Bus 7. Hearing the pilgrim lady talk about why she made the long journey from England makes Clementine think about rules. Who makes them, and what do they mean to the people who have to live with them? Today Clementine has to decide which rules are made to be broken.
Winner of a Pura Belpré Award, this middle grade Cuban American coming-of-age novel is inspired by the author’s own experience.
When Julian’s parents make the heartbreaking decision to send him and his two brothers away from Cuba to Miami via the Pedro Pan operation, the boys are thrust into a new world where bullies run rampant and it’s not always clear how best to protect themselves.
“This novel is deeply affecting…the writing is poetic, yet clear as glass, and the gorgeous sentences do not slow down the briskly paced plot.”—School Library Journal
A companion book to his bestselling and Newbery winning book The Crossover, The Playbook is Kwame Alexander's dynamic, sports-infused guide to life! You gotta know the rules to play the game. Ball is life. Take it to the hoop. Soar. What can we imagine for ourselves? What if we were the star players, moving and grooving through the game of life? What if we had our own rules of the game to help us get what we want, what we aspire to, what will enrich our lives? The Playbook is intended to provide inspiration for kids ages ten and up to help them succeed on and off the court. Each rule contains wisdom from inspiring athletes and role models such as Nelson Mandela, Serena Williams, LeBron James, Carli Lloyd, Steph Curry and Michelle Obama. Kwame Alexander also provides his own words of inspiration and uplift, as he shares his stories of overcoming obstacles and winning games.
Jordan Johnson is average. Not short, not tall. Not plump, not slim. Not blonde, not brunette. Not gifted, not flunking out. Even her shoe size is average. She's ordinary for her school, for her town, for even the whole wide world, it seems. And everyone else--on TV, in movies, books, magazines, and every e-mail publicity blast--is remarkable. Tremendously talented. Stunningly beautiful. Wildly gifted. And, they're kids hardly older than she is. Jordan feels doomed to a life wallowing around somewhere in that vast, soggy middle. So, she makes a goal: by the end of the year, she will discover her great talent in life. By the end of the year, she will no longer be average. She will find a way to become extraordinary, and everyone will know about it!
Kit Corrigan always dreamed of being a star. In order to get there she needs to break up with Billy and leave her family in Rhode Island behind for the bright lights of New York City. After Kit meets with Billy's father, Nate, things get easier until she realizes that Nate's help comes with "strings attached." Kit soon uncovers a mystery she must solve in order to protect the ones she loves in this stunning story.
An original novel based on the hit television series, Reign.
Since Mary, Queen of Scotland was a child, the English have wanted her country and her crown. She is sent to France to wed its next king--to save herself and her people. It's a bond that should protect her, but there are forces that conspire...forces of darkness, forces of the heart. Mary's rule, and her life, has never been safe.
Find out what happens to Mary, Francis, Bash, and the rest of the French court after the season one finale.
Long may she reign.
Erin Entrada Kelly, the author of the acclaimed Blackbird Fly, writes with grace, imagination, and deepest heart about family, sisters, and friendship, and about finding and holding on to hope in difficult times.
Two sisters from the Philippines, abandoned by their father and living with their stepmother in Louisiana, fight to make their lives better in this remarkable story for readers of Cynthia Kadohata and Rita Williams-Garcia, and for anyone searching for the true meaning of family.
In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. This seemingly small act triggered civil rights protests across America and earned Rosa Parks the title "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement."
