"Borden Watson goes to the giant redwood forest for one reason: to shoot spotted owls. They are the reason his dad has lost his job as a logger, and Borden hates them. But when he comes across a baby owl who has fallen out of its nest, Borden can't resist the tiny elf-like creature. And luckily, this owlet doesn't have spots, so it must be a barred owl-not the enemy. Borden takes the little owl home and names it Bardy. Before long, Bardy wins over each member of Borden's owl-hating family. Even his father pitches in to take care of the hungry owlet. But what will happen when they find out that Bardy is really a spotted owl? Award-winning nature writer Jean Craighead George weaves valuable ecological information into this heartwarming story of a family's love affair with a very special little owl. Young listeners will be fascinated as they learn about owls and their endangered forest habitat."
"Christmas is coming and everyone around 16-year-old Liz Kitchell is busy with preparations. The big houses in her neighborhood are shimmering inside and out with luxurious decorations. And her parents are trying to impress all their friends with extravagant parties and expensive gifts. But Liz feels empty inside. In her English class, her group has to write a composition: How do you get what you want for Christmas? While Liz and her classmates write jokes, she wonders-what is the real reason for the celebration? As Liz begins to reach out to others who are hurting, she discovers the true joy of the season. Best-selling author for young adults, Caroline B. Cooney pens a memorable story about a modern Christmas miracle. Ed Sala's heartwarming narration will inspire you to believe in the power of love and hope for the impossible."
"When the boys' parents are called away by a family emergency, Doug and his older brother Gordon are left on their own in their Rocky Mountain campsite. The brothers are fighting, though, so it isn't long before Gordon stomps away from the campsite, leaving Doug completely alone. When neither Gordon nor his parents return after three days, 12-year-old Doug fears the worst. He knows Gordon has gone to a high ridge in the Comanche Peak Wilderness-the Fear Place. Will Doug and a newfound friend-a cougar-find his brother, or will Doug's terror of heights prevent a rescue? Newberry Medal-winning author Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is the author of more than eighty children's books. She drew on her own fear of heights to write The Fear Place, which is destined to become a children's adventure classic. The combination of her award-winning, realistic writing style and Ed Sala's well-paced narration is irresistible."
"IRA/CBC Teachers' Choice
Junior Library Guild Selection
ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults
American Bookseller Pick of the Lists
ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults
IRA/CBC Young Adults’ Choice
Just fourteen, Rick Walder is alone, on the run, and desperate. Stowing away in the back of a truck, he suddenly finds himself at a dead end, out in the middle of nowhere. The Maze. In this surreal landscape of stark redrock spires and deep sandstone canyons, Rick stumbles into the remote camp of Lon Perigrino, a bird biologist who is releasing fledgling California condors back into the wild. Intrigued by the endangered condors and the strange bearded man dedicated to saving them, Rick decides to stay on. When two men with a vicious dog drive up in a battered old Humvee, Rick discovers that Lon and his birds are in grave danger.
Will he be able to save them?
In a heart-stopping adventure infused with the spirit of the Icarus myth and a boy's dreams of flight, Will Hobbs brings readers a unique tale of identity, personal growth, and friendship."
"The Big Wander is a trip 14-year-old Clay Lancaster and his older brother Mike have planned for years. It's Clay's dream to find his ex-rodeo star uncle, who quit the tour and disappeared somewhere in the vast and colorful Monument Valley. But Mike-heartbroken and unfocused after losing his girlfriend-soon heads for home. Clay, however, will not give up. He finds a job in a remote trading post, and follows a lead on his uncle's whereabouts that takes him deep into Navajo country. There he learns the ways of the tribe, the dangers of the wilderness, and discovers, just in time, the secret of his long lost uncle's fate. Best-selling young adult author Will Hobbs won an ALA Best Book Award for The Big Wander. Hobb's prose paired with Sala's perfect pacing and authentic accents will make you feel you are in the American Southwest."
"From beloved author Lois Duncan comes a frightening novel about a group of students who set out to teach their malicious teacher a lesson—only to learn that one of them could be a killer.
Mr. Griffin is the strictest teacher at Del Norte High, with a penchant for endless projects and humiliating students. Even straight-A student Susan can’t believe how mean he is to her crush, Dave, and to the charismatic Mark Kinney. So when Dave asks Susan to help a group
of students teach Mr. Griffin a lesson of their own, she goes along with them. After all, it’s a harmless prank, right?
But things don’t go according to plan. When one “accident” leads to another and people begin to die, Susan and her friends must face the awful truth: one of them is a killer."
"Thirteen-year-old Josh McGuire knows an orphaned bear cub he's found will be given to researchers if the game warden tracks it to his dog house. Instead, he runs away with the cub to the mountains, vowing to protect it until hunting laws are changed. But the Montana wilderness is a dangerous place, and saving the cub's life may cost Josh his own. Rescue Josh McGuire has won the International Reading Association Award and Western Writers of America Spur Award. Its popular author Ben Mikaelsen lives in Montana with his wife and Buffy, a 600-pound black bear."
"Winner of the Joan Fassler Memorial Book Award: The triumphant story of a boy who overcomes his disease with help from horses
If Colt Vittorio had a motto, it would be I Don’t Want To! Colt has spina bifida—a condition that makes the bones in his legs weak and confines him to a wheelchair. When Colt is introduced to horseback riding in a program for disabled kids, he is beyond nervous. He wants nothing to do with these terrifying animals. After all, there’s no chance he’ll ever be able to use his legs anyway. What’s the point?
Once he gets in the saddle astride a horse named Liverwurst, Colt’s whole world changes. With the horse’s powerful, muscular body beneath him, Colt no longer feels small and limited. After all, if he can control this huge, strong animal, he can do anything. And with Liverwurst’s help, Colt’s back and legs start getting stronger. But when his doctor warns that horseback riding is too dangerous and the risks are too great, will Colt’s riding lessons be history?"
"Three years after leaving her family behind on the idyllic lighthouse island where she grew up, 17-year-old Elizabeth 'Squid' McCrae returns, full of anger and accusations and eager to confront her father about a family tragedy. But as a ghostly voice from the past sparks her memories, Squid soon realizes that nothing is exactly as she thought it was, and no one-not even herself-is completely free from blame. The award-winning author of The Wreckers presents a keen exploration of the way family works to make us who we are."
"Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (Vermont)
This contemporary classic explores the role of boys who fought in the Civil War. No reader’s vision of America’s most brutal and bloody war will be the same after reading this book.
“This wrenching look at our nation’s bloodiest conflict through the eyes of its youthful participants serves up history both heartbreaking and enlightening.”—Publishers Weekly
Some Union and Confederate soldiers were as young as twelve when they went off to fight in the Civil War. It is thought that as many as ten to twenty percent of all Civil War soldiers may have been under sixteen.
The Boys' War follows these young soldiers through the rigors of camp life and drilling, right into the chaos of the battlefield. Jim Murphy skillfully weaves together firsthand accounts and personal letters of these countless young men with historical context to paint their portrait—young soldiers who, either seeking escape from the drudgery of farm work or embracing fantasies of glory, participated in the Civil War.
Handsomely produced with numerous period photographs and drawings, The Boys' War is a winner of the Golden Kite Award for Nonfiction and an ALA Best Book for Young Adults."
