When her grandmother dies and the once-majestic family estate is sold, eleven-year-old Julia Lancaster and her aunt Constance must take to the road to find Julia's long-lost mother. They bring with them only the most practical travel things--silver candlestick holders, a few Oriental carpets, some steamer trunks, and Julia's beloved Brownie camera, which she will use to document their journey across 1960s America. On the road, Julia and her aunt meet a cast of peculiar characters, including guitar-strumming hippies in Greenwich Village, a legendary voodoo queen in New Orleans, the honorable proprietor of the World's End Cattle Ranch in Texas, and the colorful sheriff of Gold Point, Nevada (population: 1), who also happens to be the town's mayor, fire chief, and reverend. But will they find Julia's mother and a place to call home? Poignant, engaging, and funny, Lesley M. M. Blume's new novel is a meditation on the thin line between being an insider and being an... Views: 68
Lu Zimmer's best friend moved away last summer. Salman Page is the new kid in school. Blos Pease takes everything literally. Three kids who are on the fringe of the middle school social order find each other and warily begin to bond, but suddenly things start going wrong. Salman becomes the object of the school bully's torment, and Lu's pregnant mother has some unexpected complications. Is something conspiring against them?In fact, through no fault of their own, Salman and Lu have become pawns in a game of jealous one-upmanship between Oberon and Titania, the king and queen of Faery, with the mischievous Puck trying to keep the peace.Taken from Titania's mention of a foundling in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, A. C. E. Bauer spins an original tale about magical intervention in the least magical of settings: a public middle school.From the Hardcover edition. Views: 68
From the author of The Whole Business with Kiffo and the Pitbull and It's not all about YOU, Calma comes an intense, confronting, unforgettable novel to challenge our assumptions about bullying, coping strategies and mental health.We stared at each other, the fat boy and the boy with ice for eyes. And I waited.'So what have you got to say for yourself, fat boy?'Michael Terny is the fat boy. He's at his seventh school in four years and he knows that even if he keeps his head down, he can't change the script. He will be ridiculed and laughed at and pushed around.But Michael has a powerful secret that allows him to escape to a safe place, and everything changes when he makes a new friend. Now he can make plans to exact his revenge. But will revenge have a price? Views: 68
10-year-old Aurora Beam discovers that she's the latest in a long line of girl super heroes in her family—able to shoot beams of light from her fingers! She can't even do a cartwheel properly—HOW CAN SHE BE A SUPERHERO? Will she be able to balance her new skills training with school? Will she be able to keep it all a secret from her friends? Views: 67
Freddy's friends can't wait to try the haunted hayride at the Halloween festival — especially Freddy's new friend, Josh. The hayride is supposed to be really scary! But when Max bets Josh that Freddy will be too much of a fraidy-cat to join them, Freddy is determined to be brave . . . no matter what! Views: 67
As Henry finishes fifth grade, his biggest concern is facing a summer with nothing to do. With his best friend, Max, away at summer camp, it's looking so bad he can feel himself "being pulled by the gravitational force of nothingness." But then Henry does something irresponsible, something with real consequences. And suddenly he'd give anything to go back to the nothingness. Has Henry turned into the dingus Max told him not to be? A classic coming-of-age story told with humor and heart. Views: 67
"I've fought every kind of barbarian, but the Britons are by far the worst..."Marcus is excited about travelling to Britannia, the island at the edge of the world. But the Britons are savages who tattoo themselves and take the heads of their enemies in battle. They won't bow down to the rule of Rome. As Marcus travels to meet his father he meets a barbarian chief instead and his destiny is changed forever, along with that of Britannia... Views: 67
Mel Beeby is feisty, witty, streetwise and… unexpectedly dead!Permanently removed from the 21st Century at just thirteen by a speeding joy rider, and with no obvious angelic qualities that she knows of, she has been mysteriously awarded a scholarship to a school for trainee angels called the Angel Academy.Mel gradually makes new friends and seems to be adjusting to her otherworldly responsibilities. But on a school field trip to London during the Blitz, she breaks a golden cosmic rule - she materialises to a human. Has Mel’s career as a time-travelling, trouble-shooting angel ended before it’s even begun? Views: 67
Archie is an accident waiting to happen. He can't help it. In just one week at school, he is accused of murder, gets trapped in the staff cloakroom without any clothes, and somehow manages to turn himself into a dog. Not to mention the poisonous spider and the Health and Safety Inspector who gets a toilet stuck on his head . . . Thank goodness Archie's best friend Cyd is always there to sort out the mess. Views: 67
'Anything you want to know, you hold the stone, ask me, and I will give you the answer'. Douglas is not the sort of boy to panic when something out of the ordinary happens. But when he meets a native of the planet Vangar whose arm has dropped off and needs his help, and who is being hunted by the Guardians of the Federation, well, even Douglas finds things a bit of a strain... Views: 67
Here's a book that will get the whole family laughing. When a large family of ferrets and their precocious baby take a chaotic trip to the supermarket, mom can't keep track of the groceries, the shopping cart . . . or even the kids! Baby Edwin tries to help, but everyone thinks he's just babbling. Little do they know that he really has all the answers.Full of fun-to-say nonsense words this is a perfect storytime book and a great read-aloud. April Stevens, author of Waking Up Wendell, is accompanied by Ezra Jack Keats Award winner Sophie Blackall for a match-up that is sure to delight.From the Hardcover edition. Views: 67
