Nore Roberts didn't ask for a new life, but now that her mom is gone and her dad is newly married, she has to settle in at Shadow Grove, the old Civil War mansion her stepfamily calls home. When she meets her stepmother, Lisette, Nore is shocked by her youth and beauty that gives her chills- and a hint of something sinister. There's hope of becoming friends with her stepbrother and sister, until Nore realizes they're hiding something. When she begins to feel like the target of a deadly plan, Nore starts digging into her stepfamily's past. The skeletons in their closet are more real than she ever imagined. Can Nore expose her stepmother's dark secret before an old and evil magic swallows her up?
Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother. Her only friends are the shadows and the mice'until one night a ghost appears from the darkness. It is Po, who comes from the Other Side. Both Liesl and Po are lonely, but together they are less alone.
That same night, an alchemist's apprentice, Will, bungles an important delivery. He accidentally switches a box containing the most powerful magic in the world with one containing something decidedly less remarkable
Will's mistake has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.
From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver comes a luminous and magnificent novel that glows with rare magic, ghostly wonders, and a true friendship that lights even the darkest of places.
A Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book and an ALA-ALSC Notable Childrens Book, The Lily Pond continues the story of two Jewish sisters who left Austria during WWII/Holocaust and found refuge in Sweden.
A year after Stephie Steiner and her younger sister, Nellie, left Nazi-occupied Vienna, Stephie has finally adapted to life on the rugged Swedish island where she now lives. But more change awaits Stephie: her foster parents have allowed her to enroll in school on the mainland, in Goteberg. Stephie is eager to go. Not only will she be pursuing her studies, she'll be living in a cultured city again - under the same roof as Sven, the son of the lodgers who rented her foster parents' cottage for the summer.
Five years her senior, Sven dazzles Stephie with his charm, his talk of equality, and his anti-Hitler sentiments. Stephie can't help herself - she's falling in love. As she navigates a sea of new emotions, she also grapples with what it means to be beholden to others, with her constant worry about what her parents are enduring back in Vienna, and with the menacing spread of Nazi ideology, even in Sweden. In these troubled times, her true friends, Stephie discovers, are the ones she least expected.
From the Hardcover edition.
Picture Day is the best day of the year, in Nancy's opinion. She has a fancy outfit all picked out, so now all she needs is a new hairstyle! Beginning readers will laugh at this addition to the Fancy Nancy I Can Read library.
Gorgeous, uber-harsh, and uber-stylish, Kacey Simon is the undisputed social dictator of Marquette Middle School. That is, until an eye infection and a visit to the dentist leave her with coke-bottle glasses, a mouth full of metal, and... a littttthsp! Dissed and dismissed by her popular friends, Kacey is forced to hang out with a boy who wears skinny jeans and jams in his own band. But as she adjusts to life as a loser, she's surprised to find that Skinny Jeans is kind of hot and his band is pretty cool. Suddenly, hitting rock-bottom feels oddly uplifting. Could rocking braces and glasses be the best thing to ever happen to her?
In this hilarious reversal of the cool crowd versus the nerd herd, a popular girl finds herself in Loserville and realizes it's about time she paid back all the bad karma she built up as Queen Bee.
Mittens is searching for Max. He wants to play! But Max isn't in any of the places where Mittens looks for him. Where can he be?
The happy surprise that awaits Mittens in this easy-to-read story will charm the youngest of readers.
In this compelling novel, Golden Kite Award-winning children's author Tony Abbott explores Jim Crow laws and family strife from multiple perspectives. During the summer of 1959, Bobby and his family are visiting Civil War battlefields. Tempers flare as an accident cuts their trip short and forces them to return home by bus. On their journey, they witness a black family getting denied bus seats. In brief flashes of insight, young Bobby begins to question his assumptions about race.
When Grampa's friend drops off his chicken, Malicia, at the Bed and Biscuit for a well-earned vacation, Ernest the mini-pig is determined to put aside his dislike for chickens and be a good host. But Malicia is no ordinary chicken: she's magic! And she seems determined to use her magic to make the animals miserable. Together with Gabby the mynah bird, Milly the cat, and Sir Walter the Scottish terrier, Ernest must figure out a way to get Grampa to see how awful Malicia really is - before she does something truly terrible!
When Alice's aunt Polly, The Pie Queen of Ipswitch, passes away, she takes with her the secret to her world-famous piecrust recipe. Or does she? In her will, Polly leaves the recipe to her extraordinarily fat, remarkably disagreeable cat, Lardo . . . and then leaves Lardo in the care of Alice. Suddenly, the whole town is wondering how you leave a recipe to a cat. Everyone wants to be the next big pie-contest winner, and it's making them pie-crazy. It's up to Alice and her friend Charlie to put the pieces together and discover the not-so-secret recipe for happiness: Friendship. Family. And the pleasure of doing something for the right reason. With PIE, acclaimed author Sarah Weeks has baked up a sweet and satisfying delight, as inviting as a warm pie on a cold day. You'll enjoy every last bite.
Nova Ren Suma bursts onto the young adult scene with this tantalizing debut novel. During a drunken party-hosted by her beloved sister Ruby-14-year-old Chloe discovers a dead body floating in the reservoir. Sent away for two years, Chloe returns to face unsettling surprises, including a disturbing truth that Ruby has been suppressing. "Eerie and gripping and told with lush and inviting scenes, Imaginary Girls will haunt its readers."-Aimee Bender, best-selling author
Popular author Sarah Dooley offers this tale in which a 12-year-old girl loses everything. Ember's family's trailer has been burned to the ground. Now, with the school year about to start, Ember's family has no money and no place to live. Ember knows she needs to make a fresh start-but with all that's happened, is this even possible?
11 WAYS TO RUIN A PHOTOGRAPH: A Military Family Story
When her father goes soldiering for a year, a girl decides that without Dad at home, it’s not a family photo album. Though her beloved Nanny is in charge of the album that year, the girl makes sure that photographs of her never turn out well. Photos are blurred, wind blows hair in her face. April rains bring umbrellas to hide behind. Halloween means a mask. This poignant, yet funny family story, expresses a child’s anger and grief for a Dad whose work takes him away for long periods of time. It’s a tribute to the sacrifices made by military families and to those who care for children when a family needs support.
Read with your classroom for military and patriotic holidays
- Veteran’s Day
- Armed Forced Day
- Patriot’s Day
- 4th of July
Understand Military Families Who Serve the United States
- Gratitude for their sacrifices
- Understand the family challenges
- Support for deployment
Children’s book author and writing teacher Darcy Pattison gives tribute to the sacrifices made by military families and to those who care for children when a family needs help. She says, “My father was a Japanese POW during World War II. Also, I have lived near the Little Rock Air Force Base for years, and watched families as fathers and mothers deploy. I have a glimpse of the struggles facing military families, and feel a deep gratitude for the sacrifices these families make.”
