Like Ruta Sepetys for middle grade, Anne Blankman pens a poignant and timeless story of friendship that twines together moments in underexplored history.
On a spring morning, neighbors Valentina Kaplan and Oksana Savchenko wake up to an angry red sky. A reactor at the nuclear power plant where their fathers work--Chernobyl--has exploded. Before they know it, the two girls, who've always been enemies, find themselves on a train bound for Leningrad to stay with Valentina's estranged grandmother, Rita Grigorievna. In their new lives in Leningrad, they begin to learn what it means to trust another person. Oksana must face the lies her parents told her all her life. Valentina must keep her grandmother's secret, one that could put all their lives in danger. And both of them discover something they've wished for: a best friend. But how far would you go to save your best friend's life? Would you risk your own?
Told in alternating perspectives among three girls--Valentina and Oksana in 1986 and Rifka in 1941--this story shows that hatred, intolerance, and oppression are no match for the power of true friendship.
The third book in the funny and joyful series Katherine Applegate has called “tender and important,” by National Book Award finalist Elana K. Arnold.
Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat) has been the caretaker for Thor, the best skunk kit in the world...but the last day of third grade is quickly approaching, and Thor is almost ready to be released into the wild.
The end of school also means that Bat has to say good-bye to his favorite teacher, and he worries about the summer care of Babycakes, their adorable class pet. Not only that, but his best friend is leaving for a long vacation in Canada.
Summer promises good things, too, like working with his mom at the vet clinic and hanging out with his sister, Janie. But Bat can’t help but feel that everything is coming to an end.
National Book Award finalist Elana K. Arnold returns with the third story starring an unforgettable boy on the autism spectrum.
For anyone who has ever felt like a potato in middle school, this hilarious story about a boy forced to become the dorkiest school mascot ever will have listeners cheering!
'A grade A, spudtastic (not to mention FUNNY) debut. Arianne Costner sure knows middle school and middle schoolers!' --Chris Grabenstein, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library
Ben Hardy believes he's cursed by potatoes. And now he's moved to Idaho, where the school's mascot is Steve the Spud! Yeah, this cannot be good.
After accidentally causing the mascot to sprain an ankle, Ben is sentenced to Spud duty for the final basketball games of the year. But if the other kids know he's the Spud, his plans for popularity are likely to be a big dud! Ben doesn't want to let the team down, so he lies to his friends to keep it a secret. No one will know it's him under the potato suit . . . right?
Life as a potato is all about not getting mashed!
'A hilarious, relatable story for any kid who has ever felt out of place.' --Stacy McAnulty, author of The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl
Readers who love Leslie Connor and Ann M. Martin will adore this story of a citywide scavenger hunt and a girl who learns that family—and weirdness—is relative.
Summer Coding Camp
Incoming 7th graders only
Eight-week session begins June 28
This is it, my summer plan.
Hoping to ditch two months of chicken coops, kale, and her parents’ antiscreen rules, Mac MacLeod sets out to win a citywide food cart scavenger hunt and the money she needs for the summer coding camp of her dreams.
But Mac discovers more than just clues during her cross-city sprint—like how her weird parents might not be the worst thing compared to the circumstances of those around her.
With the same humor and hope of her debut novel, Mostly the Honest Truth, Jody J. Little gives readers another spunky, unforgettable character to root for.
My Life as a Stuntboy is the follow-up to the acclaimed My Life as a Book starring the irrepressible Derek Fallon. Janet and Jake Tashjian’s award-winning My Life series, praised by Kirkus Reviews as “a kinder, gentler Wimpy Kid with all the fun”, follows the coming-of-age misadventures of middle-grader Derek Fallon in school and through his attempts to follow his bliss.
Derek Fallon gets the opportunity of a lifetime—to be a stuntboy in a major movie featuring a pretty teen starlet. After accepting the job he learns that he is the star's stunt double and must wear a wig! His friends are never going to let him live this down.
If that weren't his only problem, his parents are threatening to give away his pet monkey, and his best friend just posted an embarrassing video of him on YouTube. Can life get any worse? Still the irrepressible Derek takes it all in stride and even manages to save the day.
A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt and Company
In the tradition of Clementine and Ramona Quimby, meet Bat. Author Elana K. Arnold returns with another irresistible story of friendship in this widely acclaimed series starring an unforgettable boy on the autism spectrum.
For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life is pretty great. He’s the caretaker of the best baby skunk in the world—even Janie, his older sister, is warming up to Thor.
When Janie gets a part in the school play and can’t watch Bat after school, it means some pretty big changes. Someone else has to take care of the skunk kit in the afternoons, Janie is having sleepovers with her new friends, and Bat wants everything to go back to normal.
He just has to make it to the night of Janie’s performance. . . .
The most powerful pirate in history was a woman who was born into poverty in Guangzhou, China, in
the late eighteenth century. When pirates attacked Zheng Yi Saos town and the captain took a liking to
her, she saw a way out. She agreed to marry him only if she got an equal share of his business. When her
husband died, she took command of the fleet.
On land and sea, Zheng Yi Saos power rivaled that of the emperor himself. Over the next decade, the
pirate queen built a fleet of more than 1,800 ships and 70,000 men. Time and again, her ships triumphed
over the emperors ships.
When she was ready to retire, the pirate queen surrendered on her own terms, of course.
Zheng Yi Saos story is told in lyrical prose by award-winning author Helaine Becker. Liz Wongs
colorful, engaging illustrations capture the courage and grit of this remarkable woman.
An authors note provides historical context and outlines the challenges of researching a figure about
whom little is known.
A dirty, skinny dog shows up in Sam and Katies neighborhood. They start to follow it,
and they dont like what they see: the Wilson sisters yell at the dog because it is digging
in their garden and the Tracy twins chase it on their bikes and throw things at it.
Sam and Katie want the dog to know theyll be its friends. They think it should have a
name. Most of all, they want it to like them.
But they make a big mistake, and after that, its hard to make things right. Because how
can you apologize to a dog? Especially one that wont come near you.
How they earn the dogs trust and help it find its place in their town, and how the dog
gets its name, make for a heartwarming story told in two voices using prose and poetry.
Award-winning YA author Brandy Colbert's debut middle-grade novel about the only two black girls in town who discover a collection of hidden journals revealing shocking secrets of the past.
Beach-loving surfer Alberta has been the only black girl in town for years. Alberta's best friend, Laramie, is the closest thing she has to a sister, but there are some things even Laramie can't understand. When the bed and breakfast across the street finds new owners, Alberta is ecstatic to learn the family is black-and they have a 12-year-old daughter just like her.
Alberta is positive she and the new girl, Edie, will be fast friends. But while Alberta loves being a California girl, Edie misses her native Brooklyn and finds it hard to adapt to small-town living.
When the girls discover a box of old journals in Edie's attic, they team up to figure out exactly who's behind them and why they got left behind. Soon they discover shocking and painful secrets of the past and learn that nothing is quite what it seems.
A sensitive, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful novel in verse about one girl's journey in the aftermath of abuse.
One day after school, on the couch in the basement, Tori's uncle did something bad. Afterward, Tori tells her mom. Even though telling was a brave thing to do, her mom still doesn't believe her at first. Her grandma still takes his side. And Tori doesn't want anyone else -- even her best friend -- to know what happened.
Now Tori finds herself battling mixed emotions -- anger, shame, and sadness -- as she deals with the trauma. But with the help of her mom, her little sister, her best friend, and others, can Tori find a way to have the last word?
From debut author Sonja K. Solter comes a heartbreaking yet powerful novel that will strike a chord with readers of Jacqueline Woodson and Tony Abbott.
A touching tale of a grandmother and her granddaughter exploring and cherishing the natural world.
Words, the woods, and the world illuminate this quest to save the most important pieces of our language—by saving the very things they stand for.
When Mimi finds out her favorite words—simple words, like apricot, blackberry, buttercup—are disappearing from the English language, she elects her granddaughter Brook as their Keeper. And did you know? The only way to save words is to know them.
• With its focus on the power of language and social change, The Keeper of Wild Words is ideal for educators and librarians as well as young readers.
• For any child who longs to get outside and learn more about nature and the environment
• A loving portrait of the special relationship that grandparents have with their grandchildren
For children who love such books as Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature, And Then It's Spring, and Finding Wild.
Brooke Smith is a poet and children's book author. She lives in Bend, Oregon, at the end of a long cinder lane. Brooke writes daily from her studio, looking at the meadow and many of the wild words she cherishes.
Madeline Kloepper is a Canadian artist with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Major in Illustration from Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Her work is influenced by childhood, nostalgia, and the relationships we forge with nature. She lives in Prince George, British Columbia.
Max loves stories, especially the fantastical tale Buelo tells him about a mystical gatekeeper who can guide brave travellers on a
journey into tomorrow.
If Max could see tomorrow, he would know if he'd make Santa Maria's celebrated fútbol team, and whether he'd ever find his
mother, who left when he was a baby. Papa refuses to talk about her, so Max has learned to stop asking.
But when Papa is forced to reveal his involvement in an underground network of guardians that led people fleeing a neighboring
country to safety, and the surprising reason Max's spot on the fútbol team may be threatened, everything he knew about himself
and his family is upended.
A treasured compass, a haunted tower, a mysterious stone rubbing, and a peregrine falcon propel Max on a dangerous search for
clues about who he is and what the future holds.
