Library

Odder

Applegate, Katherine

Blue Heron

Avi

What is magic really for?

As Maggie approaches her thirteenth birthday, she wants to believe that some kind of magic can stop the changes all around her. Her visit with her father and his new family at a lakeside cabin makes her wonder. Will he still love her as much, now that he has a new family, or will he love her baby half-sister more? Her father seems troubled and withdrawn and, while he insists nothing is wrong, she worries.

Alone with her own secret thoughts, Maggie finds comfort in the beautiful blue heron she visits at the lake every morning. With each visit, she grows more attached to the bird, and she becomes aware that someone else is watching, too — someone who's putting the bird in great danger. Through her determination to protect the bird, Maggie begins to understand the magic of change in her own life, and in the constantly changing world around her.

Crispin 1: The Cross of Lead

Avi

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Accused of a crime he did not commit, Crispin has been declared a ""wolf's head."" That means he may be killed on sight, by anyone. If he wishes to remain alive, he must flee his tiny village.

Crispin 1: The Cross of Lead

Avi

Hope Was Here

Joan Bauer

Joan Bauer's beloved Newbery Honor book—now with a great new look for middle grade readers!

When Hope and her aunt move to small-town Wisconsin to take over the local diner, Hope's not sure what to expect. But what they find is that the owner, G.T., isn't quite ready to give up yet—in fact, he's decided to run for mayor against a corrupt candidate. And as Hope starts to make her place at the diner, she also finds herself caught up in G.T.'s campaign—particularly his visions for the future. After all, as G.T. points out, everyone can use a little hope to help get through the tough times . . . even Hope herself.
Filled with heart, charm, and good old-fashioned fun, this is Joan Bauer at her best.

Buried in Ice: The Mystery of a Lost Arctic Expedition

Owen Beattie, John Geiger

Luke Smith, a fictional stoker on board one of the ships looking for the fabled Northwest Passage in 1845, tells of the events that befell the two ships, while, 135 years later, an anthropologist unravels the mystery of what happened.

The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Middle School

David Borgenicht, Ben H. Winters, Robin Epstein

Homework, hormones, heartache...middle school has no shortage of perils. Never fear, the authors of the best-selling Worst-Case Scenario series return with a survival guide for those who are facingor just about to facethis big transitional time in school and life. The handbook is packed with funny-but-useful tips for the trickiest situations that crop up in middle school, like taking charge of a too-busy homework schedule, dealing with a cold shoulder from a friend who has suddenly become just too cool, avoiding common e-mail and cell phone disasters, and more.

Shakespeare's Secret

Elise Broach

Starting sixth grade at a new school is never easy, especially when your name is Hero. Named after a character in a Shakespeare play, Hero isn’t at all interested in this literary connection. But when she’s told by an eccentric neighbor that there might be a million dollar diamond hidden in her new house and that it could reveal something about Shakespeare’s true identity, Hero is determined to live up to her name and uncover the mystery.

The Raven Heir

Burgis, Stephanie

First to Fly: How Wilbur and Orville Wright Invented the Airplane

Peter Busby

It started with a toy. As boys, Wilbur and Orville Wright loved making their helicopter fly. As adults, the brothers made their living taking things apart and putting them together again: printing presses, bicycles, planes. . . . Through trial and error, these two boys from Dayton, Ohio, built the plane that would change the world forever.
With an inspiring text, original paintings, period photographs, and detailed diagrams, First to Fly recreates the story of the Wright Brothers, from their earliest challenges to their final triumph.

Blood on the River: Jamestown, 1607

Elisa Carbone

After attempting to steal back a necklace that belonged to his deceased mother, Samuel Collier is sent to an orphanage run by Reverend Hunt. The 11-year-old joins him on a journey to the New World, serving as a page to Captain John Smith. Samuel's account of the voyage to Virginia, political intrigues among the settlers, and the harrowing first winter of the James Town settlement brings to life figures like Smith, Powhatan, and Pocahontas. Details about food and daily life add realism to the story, and quotes from historical sources begin each chapter. His initial selfishness changes as he responds to the reverend, to Smith, and to his new friends. His time in an Indian village and his changing perspectives on the Natives add interest to the story and depth to his character. While the opening chapters move slowly, the pace picks up as Samuel reaches Virginia. This title is a good choice for a tie-in with the 400th anniversary celebrations of Jamestown in 2007.

The Wish List

Eoin Colfer

From the author of the international bestseller ARTEMIS FOWL comes an unforgettable novel about a girl and a choice - between the ultimate good and an eternal evil....

Meg Finn is in a tough spot. Really tough. For her last act on Earth, she committed a crime - and lost her life as a result. Now Meg's spirit is stuck in limbo, due to a dead-even tally of good and evil deeds. Meg's only chance at salvation is to return to Earth and stack on a few more good deeds - namely, helping the old man whose apartment she was robbing during her last appearance. For better or worse, that man needs a lot of help. In fact, he has a whole list of wishes he wants to fill before he dies. And it's up to Meg to make those wishes come true - before her own time is up....

The Dark Is Rising Sequence 5: Silver on the Tree

Susan Cooper

The Dark is rising in its last and greatest bid to control the world. And Will Stanton — last-born of the immortal Old Ones, dedicated to keeping the world free — must join forces with this ageless master Merriman and Bran, the Welsh boy whose destiny ties him to the Light. Drawn in with them are the three Drew children, who are mortal, but have their own vital part in the story. These six fight fear and death in the darkly brooding Welsh hills, in a quest through time and space that touches the most ancient myths of the British Isles, and that brings Susan Cooper's masterful sequence of novels to a satysfying close.

Walk Two Moons

Sharon Creech

Young Adult Edition with Reader's Guide

"Sometimes you know in your heart you love someone, but you have to go away before your head can figure it out."

To trace the path of her missing mother, Sal embarks on a journey from Ohio to Idaho with her grandparents. On the road, Sal tells the strange and exciting story of her friend Phoebe. As the miles pass, Phoebe's tale becomes more and more outrageous, while Sal's own story begins to emerge. In unraveling Phoebe's mystery, Sal comes ever closer to finding out the truth behind her own bittersweet journey. What will she find at the end of the road?

Walk Two Moons

Sharon Creech

Secondhand Dogs

Crimi, Carolyn

My Name Is America: The Journal of William Thomas Emerson, A Revolutionary War Patriot

Barry Denenberg

Boston, Massachusetts, 1774

The Boy at the End of the World

Greg van Eekhout

This is what he knew:

His name was Fisher.

The world was dangerous.

And he was alone.

Fisher is the last boy on Earth - and things are not looking good for the human race. The carefully crafted survival dome where Fisher and dozens of other humans have been sleeping for millenia has been destroyed. Through a lucky accident, only Fisher survived.

The world Fisher wakes up in is a lot like ours - but it's changed, too. After the human race wiped itself out, nature took over, and wild creatures evolved into barely familiar beasts. Fisher must face them all as they set off on a journey that seems hopeless - at first. Then Fisher uncovers evidence that there may be a second survival dome far to the west. What was once a struggle for one boy's survival becomes a journey of hope.

With a broken robot and a friendly mammoth as his only companions, Fisher heads West. But something is watching them... something that wants to find the second survival dome just as badly as they do.

Once Upon a Marigold

Jean Ferris

Who knew love could be so amazing — and stupefying? Not Christian. He was clueless when he started spying on the royal family through his telescope. He lived in a cave with a troll for a dad, after all. If his dad had only warned him about all that mind-boggling love stuff, maybe things wouldn't be such a mess. Christian wasn't warned. And now that he's fallen for the princess, it's up to him to untwist an odd love triangle—er, rectangle—and foil a scheming queen who wants to take over the kingdom, even if it means bumping off her own daughter. This lively tale turns "Once upon a time..." upside down, inside out, and completely over the top!

Once Upon a Marigold

Jean Ferris

Whirligig

Paul Fleischman

Brent Bishop longs to have the popular Brianna strolling around school on his arm. But when she rejects him at a classmate's party, Brent's hopes for popularity are instantly shattered. Devastated, he tries to destroy himself in a car crash... but instead kills an innocent girl named Lea.

Instead of sending him to jail, Lea's parents challenge Brent to create four whirligigs modeled on a picture of Lea and position them at the four corners of the United States. Lea's mother hopes that the whirligig that used to delight Lea will be a fitting memorial for her precious daughter. She sends Brent off with an unlimited bus ticket, a few pieces of wood, and the tools to memorialize Lea. On his mission to preserve his victim's memory, Brent ultimately rediscovers his own love of life.

You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton?

Jean Fritz

Who says women shouldn't speak in public? And why can't they vote? These are questions Elizabeth Cady Stanton grew up asking herself. Her father believed that girls didn't count as much as boys, and her own husband once got so embarrassed when she spoke at a convention that he left town. Luckily Lizzie wasn't one to let society stop her from fighting for equality for everyone. And though she didn't live long enough to see women get to vote, our entire country benefited from her fight for women's rights. "Fritz?imparts not just a sense of Stanton's accomplishments but a picture of the greater society Stanton strove to change?.Highly entertaining and enlightening." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) "This objective depiction of AStanton's? life and times?makes readers feel invested in her struggle." — School Library Journal (starred review) "An accessible, fascinating portrait." — The Horn Book

You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton?

Jean Fritz

You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton?

Jean Fritz

Coraline

Neil Gaiman

"Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house. . . ."

When Coraline steps through a door to find another house strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem marvelous.

But there's another mother there, and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.

Coraline will have to fight with all her wit and courage if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life.

Celebrating ten years of Neil Gaiman's first modern classic for young readers, this edition is enriched with a brand-new foreword from the author, a reader's guide, and more.

Coraline: The Graphic Novel

Neil Gaiman, P. Craig Russell

Coraline discovered the door a little after they moved into the house.

When Coraline steps through a door in her family's new house, she finds another house strangely similar to her own (only better). But there's another mother there and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.

Acclaimed artist P. Craig Russell brings Neil Gaiman's enchanting, nationally bestselling children's book Coraline to new life in this gorgeously illustrated graphic novel adaptation.

Dragon Slippers 1

George, Jessica Day

America Votes

Linda Granfield

America Votes

Linda Granfield

The Great Railroad Race: The Diary of Libby West, Utah Territory, 1868

Kristiana Gregory

In Kristiana Gregory's third book for the Dear America series, a fourteen-year-old girl records the momentous building of the Transcontinental Railroad.

Shadow Children 1: Among the Hidden

Margaret Peterson Haddix

Luke has never been to school. He's never had a birthday party, or gone to a friend's house for an overnight. In fact, Luke has never had a friend.

Luke is one of the shadow children, a third child forbidden by the Population Police. He's lived his entire life in hiding, and now, with a new housing development replacing the woods next to his family's farm, he is no longer even allowed to go outside.

Then, one day Luke sees a girl's face in the window of a house where he knows two other children already live. Finally, he's met a shadow child like himself. Jen is willing to risk everything to come out of the shadows — does Luke dare to become involved in her dangerous plan? Can he afford not to?

A History of US: A Reconstructing America (1865-1890)

Joy Hakim

Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text.

Covering a time of great hope and incredible change, Reconstruction and Reform is a dramatic look at life after the Civil War in the newly re United States. Railroad tycoons were roaring across the country. New cities sprang up across the plains, and a new and different American West came into being: a land of farmers, ranchers, miners, and city dwellers. Back East, large scale immigration was also going on, but not all Americans wanted newcomers in the country. Technology moved forward: Thomas Edison lit up the world with his electric light. And social justice was on everyone's mind with Carry Nation wielding a hatchet in her battle against drunkenness and Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois counseling newly freed African Americans to behave in very different ways. Through it all, the reunited nation struggles to keep the promises of freedom in this exciting chapter in the A History of US.

About the Series:
Master storyteller Joy Hakim has excited millions of young minds with the great drama of American history in her award-winning series A History of US. Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text, A History of US weaves together exciting stories that bring American history to life. Hailed by reviewers, historians, educators, and parents for its exciting, thought-provoking narrative, the books have been recognized as a break-through tool in teaching history and critical reading skills to young people. In ten books that span from Prehistory to the 21st century, young people will never think of American history as boring again.

A History of US: An Age of Extremes (1880-1917)

Joy Hakim

Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text.

For the captains of industry men like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan, and Henry Ford the Gilded Age is a time of big money. Technology boomed with the invention of trains, telephones, electric lights, harvesters, vacuum cleaners, and more. But for millions of immigrant workers, it is a time of big struggles, with adults and children alike working 12 to 14 hours a day under extreme, dangerous conditions. The disparity between the rich and the poor was dismaying, which prompted some people to action. In An Age of Extremes, you'll meet Mother Jones, Ida Tarbell, Big Bill Haywood, Sam Gompers, and other movers and shakers, and get swept up in the enthusiasm of Teddy Roosevelt. You'll also watch the United States take its greatest role on the world stage since the Revolution, as it enters the bloody battlefields of Europe in World War I.
About the Series:
Master storyteller Joy Hakim has excited millions of young minds with the great drama of American history in her award-winning series A History of US. Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text, A History of US weaves together exciting stories that bring American history to life. Hailed by reviewers, historians, educators, and parents for its exciting, thought-provoking narrative, the books have been recognized as a break-through tool in teaching history and critical reading skills to young people. In ten books that span from Prehistory to the 21st century, young people will never think of American history as boring again.

A History of US: From Colonies to Country (1735-1791)

Joy Hakim

Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text.

How did compliant colonials with strong ties to Europe get the notion to become an independent nation? Perhaps the seeds of liberty were planted in the 1735 historic courtroom battle for the freedom of the press. Or maybe the French and Indian War did it, when colonists were called "Americans" for the first time by the English, and the great English army proved itself not so formidable after all. But for sure when King George III started levying some heavy handed taxes on the colonies, the break from the motherland was imminent. With such enthralling characters as George Washington, Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, Eliza Pinckney, and Alexander Hamilton throughout, From Colonies to Country is an amazing story of a nation making transformation.

About the Series:
Master storyteller Joy Hakim has excited millions of young minds with the great drama of American history in her award-winning series A History of US. Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text, A History of US weaves together exciting stories that bring American history to life. Hailed by reviewers, historians, educators, and parents for its exciting, thought-provoking narrative, the books have been recognized as a break-through tool in teaching history and critical reading skills to young people. In ten books that span from Prehistory to the 21st century, young people will never think of American history as boring again.

A History of US: Liberty for All?: (1820-1860)

Joy Hakim

Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text.

Early nineteenth century America could just about be summed up by Henry David Thoreau's words when he said, "Eastward I go only by force, but westward I go free." It was an exuberant time for the diverse citizens of the United States, who included a range of folk, from mountain men and railroad builders to whalers and farmers, as they pushed forward into the open frontier and all their hopes and fears are captured in Liberty for All? In addition to colorful accounts of the massive westward migration, the California Gold Rush, a war with Mexico, the Oregon boundary conflict, Texas and the Alamo, Liberty for All? takes a deep look at the issue that began to gnaw at the country's core: How, in the land where "all men are created equal," could there be slaves?

About the Series:
Master storyteller Joy Hakim has excited millions of young minds with the great drama of American history in her award-winning series A History of US. Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text, A History of US weaves together exciting stories that bring American history to life. Hailed by reviewers, historians, educators, and parents for its exciting, thought-provoking narrative, the books have been recognized as a break-through tool in teaching history and critical reading skills to young people. In ten books that span from Prehistory to the 21st century, young people will never think of American history as boring again.

A History of US: Making Thirteen Colonies (1600-1740)

Joy Hakim

Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text.

All kinds of people are coming to America. If you're European, you come in search of freedom or riches. If you're African, you come in chains. And what about the Indians, what is happening to them? Soon with the influx of so many people, thirteen unique colonies are born, each with its own story. Meet Pocahontas and John Smith in Jamestown. Join William Penn and the Quakers in Pennsylvania. Sit with the judges at the Salem witch trials. Hike over the mountains with Daniel Boone. And let Ben Franklin give you some salty advice in his Poor Richard's Almanac in this remarkable journey through the dynamic creation of what one day becomes the United States.

About the Series:
Master storyteller Joy Hakim has excited millions of young minds with the great drama of American history in her award-winning series A History of US. Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text, A History of US weaves together exciting stories that bring American history to life. Hailed by reviewers, historians, educators, and parents for its exciting, thought-provoking narrative, the books have been recognized as a break-through tool in teaching history and critical reading skills to young people. In ten books that span from Prehistory to the 21st century, young people will never think of American history as boring again.

A History of US: Sourcebook and Index

Joy Hakim

Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text.

Designed to accompany Joy Hakim's ten volume A History of US or as a stand alone reference, this collection of great American documents is ideal for all students of American history. Filled with primary sources, the Sourcebook and Index traces the gradual unfolding of ideas of freedom in America through letters, declarations, proclamations, court decisions, speeches, laws, acts, the Constitution, and other writings.

About the Series:
Master storyteller Joy Hakim has excited millions of young minds with the great drama of American history in her award-winning series A History of US. Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text, A History of US weaves together exciting stories that bring American history to life. Hailed by reviewers, historians, educators, and parents for its exciting, thought-provoking narrative, the books have been recognized as a break-through tool in teaching history and critical reading skills to young people. In ten books that span from Prehistory to the 21st century, young people will never think of American history as boring again.

A History of US: The First Americans (Prehistory-1600)

Joy Hakim

Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text.

Thousands of years—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 the Inuit; harvest corn on a cliff-top mesa; hunt the mighty buffalo; and set sail with Leif Erickson, Columbus, and all the early great explorers—Cabot, Balboa, Ponce de Leon, Cortes, Henry the Navigator, and more—in this brilliantly told story of America before it was America.

About the Series:
Master storyteller Joy Hakim has excited millions of young minds with the great drama of American history in her award-winning series A History of US. Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text, A History of US weaves together exciting stories that bring American history to life. Hailed by reviewers, historians, educators, and parents for its exciting, thought-provoking narrative, the books have been recognized as a break-through tool in teaching history and critical reading skills to young people. In ten books that span from Prehistory to the 21st century, young people will never think of American history as boring again.

A History of US: The New Nation (1789-1850)

Joy Hakim

Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text.

Beginning with George Washington's inauguration and continuing into the nineteenth century, The New Nation tells the story of the remarkable challenges that the freshly formed United States faced. Thomas Jefferson's purchase of the Louisiana Territories (bought from France at a mere four cents an acre!), Lewis and Clark's daring expedition through this wilderness, the War of 1812 a.k.a. "Revolutionary War, Part II," Tecumseh's effort to form an Indian confederacy, the growth of Southern plantations, the beginning of the abolitionist movement, and the disgraceful Trail of Tears are just a few of the setbacks, sidetracks, and formidable tasks put in the new nation's path. Master storyteller Joy Hakim weaves these dramatic events and more into a seamless tale that's so exciting, how could it be true? But it is- it's A History of US.

A History of US: War, Peace, and All That Jazz (1918-1945)

Joy Hakim

Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text.

From woman's suffrage to Babe Ruth's home runs, from Louis Armstrong's jazz to Franklin Delano Roosevelt's four presidential terms, from the finale of one world war to the dramatic close of the second, War, Peace, and All That Jazz presents the story of some of the most exciting years in U.S. history. With the end of World War I, many Americans decided to live it up, going to movies, driving cars, and cheering baseball games a plenty. But alongside this post WWI spree was high unemployment, hard times for farmers, ever present racism, and, finally, the Depression, the worst economic disaster in U.S. history, flip flopping the nation from prosperity to scarcity. Along came one of our country's greatest leaders, F.D.R., who promised a New Deal, gave Americans hope, and then saw them through the horrors and victories of World War II. These three decades full of optimism and despair, progress and Depression, and, of course, War, Peace, and All That Jazz forever changed the United States.
About the Series:
Master storyteller Joy Hakim has excited millions of young minds with the great drama of American history in her award-winning series A History of US. Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text, A History of US weaves together exciting stories that bring American history to life. Hailed by reviewers, historians, educators, and parents for its exciting, thought-provoking narrative, the books have been recognized as a break-through tool in teaching history and critical reading skills to young people. In ten books that span from Prehistory to the 21st century, young people will never think of American history as boring again.

A History of US: War, Terrible War (1855-1865)

Joy Hakim

Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text.

Riveting, moving, and impossible to put down, War, Terrible War takes us into the heart of the Civil War, from the battle of Manassas to the battle of Gettysburg and on to the South's surrender at Appomattox Court House. Follow the common soldiers in blue and gray as they endure long marches, freezing winter camps, and the bloodiest battles ever fought on American soil. Off the war fields, War, Terrible War captures the passion and commitment of abolitionists and slaveowners alike in their fiery debates throughout the land. With profiles of Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, John Brown, Harriet Tubman, Jefferson Davis, soldiers on both sides, slave owners, abolitionists, average citizens, and others, War, Terrible War is the compelling story of a people affected by the horrors of war during this tragic and dramatic period in A History of US.

About the Series:
Master storyteller Joy Hakim has excited millions of young minds with the great drama of American history in her award-winning series A History of US. Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text, A History of US weaves together exciting stories that bring American history to life. Hailed by reviewers, historians, educators, and parents for its exciting, thought-provoking narrative, the books have been recognized as a break-through tool in teaching history and critical reading skills to young people. In ten books that span from Prehistory to the 21st century, young people will never think of American history as boring again.

Bird Lake Moon

Kevin Henkes

Twelve-year-old Mitch Sinclair is spending the summer after his parents separate with his grandparents at Bird Lake, and ten-year-old Spencer Stone returns to the lake where his brother drowned long ago. The whole time Spencer and Mitch hang out together at Bird Lake, there are secrets keeping them apart — and maybe a secret knowledge keeping them together.
There are ghosts at Bird Lake, and they're haunting Mitch and Spencer. Not the Halloween kind, but ghosts of the past. Memories of how life was before — before the divorce, before the accident. Can their ghosts bring Mitch and Spencer together, as friends? Or will their secrets keep them apart?
Either way, it is a summer that neither Mitch nor Spencer will ever forget.
This novel by Newbery Honor author Kevin Henkes tells a story about that pivotal growing-up moment when one stops telling everything and starts holding some things in.

Phoenix Rising

Karen Hesse

An accident at the nearby nuclear power plant disrupts the peaceful lives of Nyle and her grandmother, as they confront death, anguish, and disaster. By the author of Letters from Rifka. Reprint. SLJ. K. AB.

Stowaway

Karen Hesse

It is known that in the summer of 1768, Captain James Cook sailed from England on H.M.S. Endeavour, beginning a three-year voyage around the world on a secret mission to discover an unknown continent at the bottom of the globe. What is less known is that a boy by the name of Nicholas Young was a stowaway on that ship.

Witness

Karen Hesse

Leanora Sutter. Esther Hirsh. Merlin Van Tornhout. Johnny Reeves . . .

These characters are among the unforgettable cast inhabiting a small Vermont town in 1924. A town that turns against its own when the Ku Klux Klan moves in. No one is safe, especially the two youngest, twelve-year-old Leanora, an African-American girl, and six-year-old Esther, who is Jewish.
In this story of a community on the brink of disaster, told through the haunting and impassioned voices of its inhabitants, Newbery Award winner Karen Hesse takes readers into the hearts and minds of those who bear witness.

Stick and Whittle: Wanted for Mischief, Adventurous Behavior, and a Tendency to Get into Trouble

Sid Hite

Aquamarine

Alice Hoffman

Best-selling author Alice Hoffman's luminous tale of nostalgia and enchantment, for readers both young and old.

Hailey and Claire are spending their last summer together when they discover something at the bottom of the murky pool at the Capri Beach Club. There in the depths is a mysterious and beautiful creature with a sharp tongue and a broken heart: a mermaid named Aquamarine who has left her six sisters to search for love on land. Now, as this mythological yet very real being starts to fade in the burning August sun, a rescue is begun.
On the edge of growing up, during a summer that is the hottest on record, Hailey and Claire are discovering that life can take an unpredictable course, friendship is forever, and magic can be found in the most unexpected places.

Torn Thread

Anne Isaacs

A searing Holocaust novel based on a true story.

Twelve-year-old Eva and her sister have been forced to leave their home in Poland and are imprisoned in a Nazi labor camp. There they must spin thread on treacherous machinery to make clothing and blankets for the German Army. As Eva struggles amid ever worsening dangers to save her life and that of her sick sister, readers witness how two teenagers strive to create home and family amidst inhumanity and chaos. Written in exquisite prose, this story of heartbreak and hope that is rich in detail and symbolism will deeply move readers of all ages.

Roller Girl

Victoria Jamieson

The Newbery Honor Award Winner and New York Times bestseller Roller Girl is a heartwarming graphic novel about friendship and surviving junior high through the power of roller derby—perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier's Smile!

For most of her twelve years, Astrid has done everything with her best friend Nicole. But after Astrid falls in love with roller derby and signs up for derby camp, Nicole decides to go to dance camp instead. And so begins the most difficult summer of Astrid's life as she struggles to keep up with the older girls at camp, hang on to the friend she feels slipping away, and cautiously embark on a new friendship. As the end of summer nears and her first roller derby bout (and junior high!) draws closer, Astrid realizes that maybe she is strong enough to handle the bout, a lost friendship, and middle school… in short, strong enough to be a roller girl.

In this graphic novel debut that earned a Newbery Honor and five starred reviews, real-life derby girl Victoria Jamieson has created an inspiring coming-of-age story about friendship, perseverence, and girl power!

Roller Girl

Victoria Jamieson

The Phantom Tollbooth

Norton Juster

This quirky fantasy story reveals how a restless and precocious ten-year-old boy learns to appreciate the ordinary things in life after he embarks on a wondrous journey.
Milo is in a deep blue funk. Nothing and no one capture his interest. Boredom is Milo's middle name. The young boy is resigned to this state of affairs until he returns from school one day to find a package containing a giant toy tollbooth in his bedroom. When Milo puts the tollbooth together, and takes a ride on his toy car through the booth, a whimsical adventure begins. On this adventure, Milo visits Dictionpolis, the land of words, Digitopolis, the land of numbers, and meets an odd cast of characters along the way. The "watch" dog Tock, the Mathemagician, Officer Short Shift, and the Lethargarians are just some of Milo's new friends who show him how fascinating life can be.
The story's black-and-white drawings are enhanced by the exceptionally witty text. Readers will be entertained by the satire and humor here, and will learn the same timeless lesson Milo comes to understand — to cherish life's little wonders.

The Phantom Tollbooth

Norton Juster

The Ghost's Grave

Peg Kehret

What if you could see a ghost when no one else could? … Apprehensive about spending the summer in Washington State with his Aunt Ethel when his parents get an overseas job, twelve-year-old Josh soon finds adventure when he meets the ghost of a coal miner.

The Ghost's Grave

Peg Kehret

The Ghost's Grave

Peg Kehret

Danger Zone

David Klass

In this award-winning novel, a young basketball star confronts a nightmare of racism in "one of the most thrilling climaxes in recent sports writing".—"Kirkus Review". .