"This spellbinding National Book Award Finalist from award-winning author Martine Leavitt received starred reviews from School Library Journal and Booklist. Sixteen-year-old Keturah tells vibrant stories of her own imagining to the folk of her small village. Her talent for painting beautiful pictures with words is impressive indeed, but will it be enough to save her life when she becomes lost in the deep, dark forest? 'Readers will be carried away on the wind of Leavitt's words, and few will be able to guess how she finally ends her story.'-Booklist, starred review"
"An award-winning book from the New York Times bestselling author of Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life and The Candymakers for fans of Wonder and Counting by Sevens
Mia Winchell appears to be a typical kid, but she's keeping a big secret—sounds, numbers, and words have color for her. No one knows, and Mia wants to keep it that way. But when trouble at school finally forced Mia to reveal her secret, she must learn to accept
herself and embrace her ability, called synesthesia, the mingling of perceptions whereby a person can see sounds, smell colors, or taste shapes.
'From the moment I read a story by Wendy Mass, I knew she was a writer to watch.'—Judy Blume
Winner of the ALA Schneider Family Book Award"
"Susan Cooper talks with Symphony Space's education director about The Dark Is Rising sequence, her series of five thrilling fantasy novels for young readers, among them The Dark Is Rising and 1976 Newbery Medal winner The Grey King.
The heroic series, originally published in the 1960s and 70s, is inspired by Arthurian myths and depicts an epic struggle between good ("The Light") and evil ("The Dark") in which children like 11-year-old Sign-Seeker Will Stanton take part. (It also inspired the recent film adaptation, The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising.)
To begin this special event, recorded live at Symphony Space in New York City, actor Daniel Gerroll reads an exciting piece from The Dark Is Rising.
This event was recorded live as part of the Thalia Kids' Book Club series at Peter Norton Symphony Space in New York City. These events feature lively discussions between children's book authors and their fans ages 9-12, led by a variety of special guests. Each event includes a fun writing or drawing exercise, and kids' Q&A."
"Yes, Jack Plank started out to be a pirate. His shipmates all liked him, and their ship, the Avarice, was certainly very beautiful. But after a while it was clear that he wasn't much good at plundering. He just didn't have the knack for it. So what to do?
Jack did the only thing he could do-he went ashore to look for another line of work. The town was called Salt-wash, on the coast of the Caribbean Sea, and he had a lot of helpful advice from the people in Mrs. DelFresno's boardinghouse. Somehow, though, each career he looked into seemed to have something wrong with it. And every night at dinner in the boardinghouse he tried to explain why. For who would want to work where there might be a troll, or the danger of getting a crab caught in your beard? Or what about a music-loving crocodile? There were other things, too, that ran against every suggestion and took the wind out of his sails.
At last, Jack decided he wouldn't be good at anything onshore and would have to go back to sea, pirate or not. But sometimes, as you probably know already, things work out very nicely when you least expect it."
"In Ysabeau S. Wilce's exciting debut novel, Flora's mom is away, leaving Flora and her father home alone at Crackpot Hall with its 11,000 constantly shifting rooms. Late for school one day, Flora decides to take the elevator down to the first floor. But without her mother around, the elevator has ideas of its own and drops Flora in an unfamiliar room. Lost in her own house, Flora embarks on a harrowing quest to find her way back to where she started."
"Iqbal, a 13-year-old boy, fights for children's liberation. Bravely, he speaks out against children working long hours in carpet factories in Pakistan. Acclaimed author Francesco D'Adamo is internationally famous for his captivating adult fiction. Iqbal is D'Adamo's first young adult book to be published in the United States. Moore's sensational narration complements this remarkable story."
"Thousands of years ago - way before Christopher Columbus set sail - wandering tribes of hunters made their way from Asia across the Bering land bridge to North America. They didn't know it, but they had discovered a New World. The First Americans is a fascinating re-creation of pre-Columbian Native American life, and it's an adventure of a lifetime! Hunt seals with Inuit; harvest corn on a cliff-top mesa; hunt the mighty buffalo; and set sail with Leif Eriksson, Columbus, and all the early explorers - Cabot, Balboa, Ponce de Leon, Cortes, Henry the Navigator, and others - in this captivating history of America before it was America."
"Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction! Bribery, treachery, the God of the universe, mobs with swords and clubs, unconditional love, bullies, miracles, armed guards, soldiers, angels, dead people coming back to life...Listen to the riveting story of Jesus' life from Palm Sunday through the Last Supper, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension. This meaningful presentation used the actual Bible text from the Gospels, and corresponding Old and New Testament passages that help explain the hope we can have because of Jesus. Kids will connect to what Easter is really all about- and won't help but be amazed at God's ultra-awesome power and tremendous love for us all!"
"Nory Ryan's family has lived on Maidin Bay on the west coast of Ireland for generations, raising a pig and a few chickens, planting potatoes, getting by. Every year Nory's father goes away on a fishing boat and returns with the rent money for the English lord who owns their cottage and fields, the English lord bent upon forcing the Irish from their land so he can tumble the cottages and clear the fields for grazing. Times are never easy on Maidin Bay, but this year, a terrible blight attacks the potatoes. No crop means starvation. Twelve-year-old Nory must summon the courage and ingenuity to find food, to find hope, to find a way to help her family survive."
"Charley Maplewood has never been one for parties–that would require friends, which he doesn’t have. But now that he’s turning ten–the big one-oh–he decides to throw a birthday party for himself, complete with a “House of Horrors” theme and a big birthday cake.
Of course things don’t work out as Charley plans. In trying to make friends, he ends up inviting the class bully Cougar to come, and that’s before he ruins the cake and burns down the garage. By the time of the big day, Charley’s home really is a house of horrors. Will Charley be able to pull it together before the big one-oh becomes the big OH-NO!?
From start to finish, The Big One-Oh is a laugh-out-loud riot, and any listener will relate to the pressures Charley faces both at school and at home in planning his special day. So put on your party hat and celebrate The Big One-Oh today!"
"Clifford and his pals just can’t stay out of trouble! After a full day of mischief, they decide that next time they’ll play somewhere safe, and a lot more fun."
"From renowned Newbery-winning author Jerry Spinelli comes a powerful story about how not fitting in just might lead to an incredible life. This classic book is perfect for fans of Gordon Korman and Carl Hiaasen.
Just like other kids, Zinkoff rides his bike, hopes for snow days, and wants to be like his dad when he grows up. But Zinkoff also raises his hand with all the wrong answers, trips over his own feet, and falls down with laughter over a word like ''Jabip.''
Other kids have their own word to describe him, but Zinkoff is too busy to hear it. He doesn't know he's not like everyone else. And one winter night, Zinkoff's differences show that any name can someday become ''hero.''
With some of his finest writing to date and great wit and humor, Jerry Spinelli creates a story about a boy's individuality surpassing the need to fit in and the genuine importance of failure. As readers follow Zinkoff from first through sixth grade, it becomes impossible not to identify with and root for him through failures and triumphs. The perfect classroom read."
