List

Category
Audience
Tags

The Wild Robot

Peter Brown

Wall-E meets Hatchet in this New York Times bestselling illustrated middle grade novel from Caldecott Honor winner Peter Brown
Can a robot survive in the wilderness?
When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is all alone on a remote, wild island. She has no idea how she got there or what her purpose is--but she knows she needs to survive. After battling a violent storm and escaping a vicious bear attack, she realizes that her only hope for survival is to adapt to her surroundings and learn from the island's unwelcoming animal inhabitants.
As Roz slowly befriends the animals, the island starts to feel like home--until, one day the robot's mysterious past comes back to haunt her.
From bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator Peter Brown comes a heartwarming and action-packed novel about what happens when nature and technology collide.

View Details >>

How to Go Anywhere (and Not Get Lost)

Hans Aschim

Born To Explore

Get outside with this interactive boom that shows how explorers have found their way around the planet for thousands of years. Read about the ancient Polynesians who tracked the stars and waves  to sail precise paths through the ocean. Or the Age of European Exploration navigators who use compasses and dead reckoning to reach the New World. And learn the science behind radar and modern-day GPS satellites. Then discover how to do it yourself! With illustrated activities as well as handy tips throughout, you’ll learn the fascinating history and seriously useful skills to become a true navigator.
Up your adventure game and learn to:
—Find north and south by reading the trees
—Make a simple compass
—Use the stars to tell time
—Build a basic sextant
—Get your bearings using the sun
—Go treasure hunting with GPS


 

View Details >>

Jurassic Park

Michael Crichton

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Timeline, Sphere, and Congo, this is the classic thriller of science run amok that took the world by storm.

Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read

“[Michael] Crichton’s dinosaurs are genuinely frightening.”—Chicago Sun-Times


An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Now humankind’s most thrilling fantasies have come true. Creatures extinct for eons roam Jurassic Park with their awesome presence and profound mystery, and all the world can visit them—for a price.
 
Until something goes wrong. . . .
 
In Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton taps all his mesmerizing talent and scientific brilliance to create his most electrifying technothriller.

Praise for Jurassic Park
 
“Wonderful . . . powerful.”The Washington Post Book World

“Frighteningly real . . . compelling . . . It’ll keep you riveted.”—The Detroit News
 
“Full of suspense.”The New York Times Book Review

View Details >>

Survivors

David Long

A Junior Library Guild Selection The attractive design features a full-page or double-page-spread color illustration depicting a pivotal moment in each well-told story. ... A great collection of harrowing, true survivor stories.
-- Kirkus Reviews
The handsome, oversize volume is enhanced by Hyndman's single- and double-page illustrations. While appealing to all readers, this will have special interest for reluctant ones.
-- Booklist
While offering excitement and peril, Long's riveting narratives also provide insight into how these individuals used their skills, knowledge, and fortitude to survive.
--Publishers Weekly

Beautifully presented in a large, hardback format, and fully illustrated in color throughout, this wonderful anthology is a treat for all the family. Be shocked and amazed by these incredible real-life stories of extreme survival, including...

The Man Who Sucked Blood from a Shark, a sailor who survived for 133 days on a raft in the Atlantic when his ship was torpedoed, using shark's blood in place of fresh water.
The Girl Who Fell From the Sky, a teenager who fell 2 miles from an airplane and trekked through the Amazon jungle to safety.
The Woman Who Froze to Death -- Yet Lived, a woman who was trapped under freezing water for so long her heart stopped. Four hours later, medics managed to warm her blood enough to revive her.

Combining classic tales such as Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic voyage, as well as more modern exploits such as the adventurer who inspired the movie 127 Hours, these astonishing stories will be retold by young readers to all of their friends.

View Details >>

The Wild Book

David Scarfe

Let a little wildness in. Adventure is closer than you think. A lavishly illustrated celebration of the wonders that await in the outside world; the perfect gift for fans of Norwegian Wood, The Dangerous Book for Boys and The Almanac.

Fly through the air on your homemade tree swing, feel the rush of water as you speed down your slip 'n' slide, taste the delicious smokiness of your campfire-cooked meal and learn more about the natural world. Unleash your inner child as you run, jump, craft, cook and wander your way through THE WILD BOOK.

Whether you want to add a dash of adventure to your daily life, take a break from screen time, sleep under the stars or simply make something by hand, this book will inspire you to rediscover the outdoors and feel truly alive. It's full of fun and easy practical activities that will reawaken your sense of wonder and open up the world around you.

View Details >>

Florida & the South's Best Trips

Adam Karlin

Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher

Whether exploring your own backyard or somewhere new, discover the freedom of the open road with Lonely Planet's Florida & the South's Best Trips. Featuring 30 amazing road trips, from 2-day escapes to 2-week adventures, you can trace the iconic Appalachian Trail or explore the roots of the Blues Highway, all with your trusted travel companion. Jump in the car, turn up the tunes, and hit the road

Inside Lonely Planet's Florida & the South's Best Trips:

  • Lavish color and gorgeous photography throughout
  • Itineraries and planning advice to pick the right tailored routes for your needs and interests
  • Get around easily - 42 easy-to-read, full-color route maps, detailed directions
  • Insider tips to get around like a local, avoid trouble spots and be safe on the road - local driving rules, parking, toll roads
  • Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, prices
  • Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sight-seeing, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss
  • Useful features - including Stretch Your Legs, Detours, Link Your Trip
  • Covers Florida, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and more

The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet's Florida & the South's Best Trips is perfect for exploring Florida and the South in the classic American way - by road trip

  • Planning a Florida & the South trip sans a car? Lonely Planet's Florida guide, our most comprehensive guide to Florida, is perfect for exploring both top sights and lesser-known gems.
  • Looking for a guide focused on a specific Florida and the South city? Check out Lonely Planet's Miami & the Keys guide for a comprehensive look at all the city has to offer.

About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world's number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and phrasebooks for 120 languages, and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, video, 14 languages, 12 international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more, enabling you to explore every day. Lonely Planet enables the curious to experience the world fully and to truly get to the heart of the places they find themselves, near or far from home.

TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Awards 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 winner in Favorite Travel Guide category

'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times

'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves; it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia)

View Details >>

Pearl of the Sea

Anthony Silverston

FROM THE AWARD-WINNING ANIMATION TEAM BEHIND THE FILMS KHUMBA, ZAMBEZIA, AND SEAL TEAM

2024 YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens, 2023 ALA Best Graphic Novels for Children

Pearl has always felt more comfortable in the sea than surrounded by the people in her sleepy South African town who always seem to let her down. But when a new friend from below the surface is taken by poachers, Pearl may need a little help after all.

Since her mother left, Pearl has spent more and more time in the ocean, fishing to help her father pay the bills. But when she gets mixed up with a group of illegal abalone poachers and starts diving near a restricted wreck, Pearl meets an ancient sea monster named Otto--who isn't quite as monstrous as she thought. And when Otto's enemies come back to finish what they started, Pearl is the only one who can save him, but only if she has the courage to let go of her past and open up to others--including the girl from class she's got a crush on.

With her one-eyed pup sidekick and a whole lot of nerve, Pearl may just be able to save Otto and finally tell the truth to her father... and, more importantly, to herself. With vibrant full-color illustrations, Pearl of the Sea is a South African adventure story exploring how we are both bound to and freed by nature, seen through the eyes of a tough teen-aged heroine determined to live life by her own rules.

View Details >>

Horace and Morris But Mostly Dolores

James Howe

Will their friendship ever be the same?
Horace, Morris, and Dolores have been best friends forever. They do everything together -- from sailing the seven sewers to climbing Mount Ever-Rust. But one day Horace and Morris join the Mega-Mice (no girls allowed), and Dolores joins the Cheese Puffs (no boys allowed). Is this the end? Or will Horace and Morris but mostly Dolores find a way to save the day -- and their friendship?

View Details >>

Lintang and the Pirate Queen

Tamara Moss

Gutsy girls and strong women make up the diverse and appealing crew of a pirate ship that battles intrigue and deadly monsters in an action-filled fantasy adventure.

"Combine a pirate adventure of mythic proportions, a uniquely charming cast of characters, and a vivid new fantasy world and you get Lintang and the Pirate Queen. Magical, inventive, and positively unforgettable."--Marissa Meyer, bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles

Lintang is an island girl who longs for daring and danger. When she meets the feared pirate, Captain Shafira, and her all-female crew, Lintang is determined to join them. Secrets within secrets, life-or-death battles with spectacular monsters, and hair's breadth escapes keep readers turning the pages of a story populated by women of color who are fighters, adventurers, and leaders.

View Details >>

The Princess and the Goblin

George MacDonald

The enchanting story of The Princess and the Goblin, brilliantly introduced by Ursula Le Guin, author of the Earthsea quartet.

 

Princess Irene lives in a castle in a wild and lonely mountainous region. One day she discovers a steep and winding stairway leading to a bewildering labyrinth of unused passages with closed doors - and a further stairway. What lies at the top? Can the ring the princess is given protect her against the lurking menace of the boglins from under the mountain?

View Details >>

Unplugged

Steve Antony

A delightful picture book about the fun you can have when you unplug yourself and get outside! From the author of the much-loved Mr Panda series.

Blip spends all day plugged into her computer, playing games and having fun. But when there's a power cut, Blip goes down the stairs and out the front door, where she discovers playing games and having fun... outside! Isn't it wonderful to be unplugged?

This simple story is perfect for families trying to strike the right balance between screen time and outdoor play.

Steve Antony is the winner of the Evening Standard Oscar's First Book Prize. He's been nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal and shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize.

View Details >>

Fortunately, the Milk

Neil Gaiman

An absolute delight of a madcap story for the young (and young-at-heart) by New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, with equal parts pirates and piranhas, adventure and aliens, oddity and love.

"I bought the milk," said my father. "I walked out of the corner shop, and heard a noise like this: t h u m m t h u m m. I looked up and saw a huge silver disc hovering in the air above Marshall Road."

"Hullo," I said to myself. "That's not something you see every day. And then something odd happened."

Find out just how odd things get in this hilarious story of time travel and breakfast cereal, expertly told by Newbery Medalist and bestselling author Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Skottie Young.

View Details >>

River of the Gods

Candice Millard

 

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The harrowing story of one of the great feats of exploration of all time and its complicated legacy—from the New York Times bestselling author of The River of Doubt and Destiny of the Republic

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: THE WASHINGTON POST • GOODREADS

"A lean, fast-paced account of the almost absurdly dangerous quest by [Richard Burton and John Speke] to solve the geographic riddle of their era." —The New York Times Book Review

For millennia the location of the Nile River’s headwaters was shrouded in mystery. In the 19th century, there was  a frenzy of interest in ancient Egypt. At the same time, European powers sent off waves of explorations intended to map the unknown corners of the globe – and extend their colonial empires.

Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke were sent by the Royal Geographical Society to claim the prize for England. Burton spoke twenty-nine languages, and was a decorated soldier. He was also mercurial, subtle, and an iconoclastic atheist. Speke was a young aristocrat and Army officer determined to make his mark, passionate about hunting, Burton’s opposite in temperament and beliefs.

From the start the two men clashed. They would endure tremendous hardships, illness, and constant setbacks. Two years in, deep in the African interior, Burton became too sick to press on, but Speke did, and claimed he found the source in a great lake that he christened Lake Victoria. When they returned to England, Speke rushed to take credit, disparaging Burton. Burton disputed his claim, and Speke launched another expedition to Africa to prove it. The two became venomous enemies, with the public siding with the more charismatic Burton, to Speke’s great envy. The day before they were to publicly debate,Speke shot himself.

Yet there was a third man on both expeditions, his name obscured by imperial annals, whose exploits were even more extraordinary. This was Sidi Mubarak Bombay, who was enslaved and shipped from his home village in East Africa to India. When the man who purchased him died, he made his way into the local Sultan’s army, and eventually traveled back to Africa, where he used his resourcefulness, linguistic prowess and raw courage to forge a living as a guide. Without Bombay and men like him, who led, carried, and protected the expedition, neither Englishman would have come close to the headwaters of the Nile, or perhaps even survived.

In River of the Gods Candice Millard has written another peerless story of courage and adventure, set against the backdrop of the race to exploit Africa by the colonial powers.

 

View Details >>

The Isles of the Gods

Amie Kaufman

Looking for a sweeping summer read? Magic, romance, and slumbering gods clash in this riveting romantasy about a seafaring girl and a playboy prince who band together in a precarious journey. From the New York Times bestselling author of the Aurora Cycle and the Illuminae Files.

Selly has salt water in her veins. So when her father leaves her high and dry in the port of Kirkpool, she has no intention of riding out the winter at home while he sails off to adventure. But any plans to follow him are dashed when a handsome stranger with tell-tale magician's marks on his arm commandeers her ship. He is Prince Leander of Alinor and he needs to cross the Crescent Sea without detection so he can complete a ritual on the sacred Isles of the Gods. Selly has no desire to escort a spoiled prince anywhere, and no time for his entitled demands or his good looks. But what starts as a leisure cruise will lead to acts of treason and sheer terror on the high seas, bringing two countries to the brink of war, two strangers closer than they ever thought possible and stirring two dangerous gods from centuries of slumber...

View Details >>

The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide for the World’s Most Adventurous Kid

Dylan Thuras

New York Times bestseller!

The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide for the World’s Most Adventurous Kid is a thrilling expedition to 100 of the most surprising, mysterious, and weird-but-true places on earth. 


For curious kids, this is the chance to embark on the journey of a lifetime—and see how faraway countries have more in common than you might expect! Hopscotch from country to country in a chain of connecting attractions: Explore Mexico’s glittering cave of crystals, then visit the world’s largest cave in Vietnam. Peer over a 355-foot waterfall in Zambia, then learn how Antarctica’s Blood Falls got their mysterious color. Or see mysterious mummies in Japan and France, then majestic ice caves in both Argentina and Austria. 

As you climb mountains, zip-line over forests, and dive into oceans, this book is your passport to a world of hidden wonders, illuminated by gorgeous art.

View Details >>

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World

Marjorie Priceman

Bake a delicious apple pie--and take a trip with this culinary global adventure!

An apple pie is easy to make...if the market is open. But if the market is closed, the world becomes your grocery store. This picture book takes readers around the globe to gather ingredients for a delicious apple pie. First hop a steamboat to Italy for the finest semolina wheat. Then hitch a ride to England and hijack a cow for the freshest possible milk. And, oh yes! Don't forget to go apple picking in Vermont! A simple recipe for apple pie is included.

View Details >>

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Ann Brashares

Carmen got the jeans at a thrift shop. They didn't look all that great; they were worn, dirty, and speckled with bleach. On the night before she and her friends part for the summer, Carmen decides to toss them. But Lena decides they should all try them on. Whoever they fit best will get them.
Nobody knows why, but the pants fit everyone perfectly. . .
Take the "New York Times" bestselling book and pair it with a perfect cast, a screenplay from one of Hollywood's most respected writers, and gorgeous locales like Vancouver, Baja, and Santorini, and you have "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," the teen girl movie of summer 2005 from Alcon Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures!
- Ken Kwapis directs a dream cast: Alexis Bledel ("Gilmore Girls") as Lena, 2004 Emmy nominee Amber Tamblyn ("Joan of Arcadia") as Tibby, America Ferrara ("Real Women Have Curves") as Carmen, and newcomer Blake Lively as Bridget.
- Screenplay by Delia Ephron--the screenwriter behind "You've Got Mail" and associate producer of "Sleepless in Seattle."
- The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants received enormous recognition including starred reviews, was named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, is a Book Sense Book of the Year, a "Publishers Weekly" Flying Start, and won the hearts of teen girls across the country--and continues to be a "New York Times" Bestseller.

View Details >>

My Side of the Mountain Trilogy

Jean Craighead George

In 1959, Jean Craighead George published My Side of the Mountain. This coming-of-age story about a boy and his falcon went on to win a Newbery Honor, and for the past forty years has enthralled and entertained generations of would-be Sam Gribleys. The two books that followed--On the Far Side of the Mountain and Frightful's Mountain--were equally extraordinary. Now all three books are available in one deluxe yet affordable volume for veteran devotees and brand-new fans alike.

View Details >>

Gator Country

Rebecca Renner

A New York Times Editors' Choice

"Delivers everything its title promises and much more." - NPR

"Remarkable... Every species, and every person who fights for its continued existence, deserves a book like this." — The New York Times

"This nail-biter account has the intensity of the best true crime... A high-def tale that ensnares you from the start." —People


David Grann meets Susan Orlean in this page-turning true story of an underground operation into the mysterious world of alligator poaching and its larger than life Floridian characters

To catch a Florida Man, you have to become one, and that’s what Officer Jeff Babauta did. As his ponytailed, whiskey-soaked alter ego, he established Sunshine Alligator Farm. His goal? Infiltrate the shady world of illegal poachers in the Florida Everglades in order to protect the natural world.

A head-spinning adventure soon unfolds. Jeff deals with glow-in-the-dark alligators and high-speed airboat rides, but quickly learns that not all poachers are villains. They’re simply people trying to survive, fighting against the poverty and greed holding them down. Jeff wants to solve the mystery of alligator poachers, and in doing so he must venture deeper into a strange ecosystem where right is wrong, and justice comes at the cost of those who’ve welcomed him into their world.

Gator Country is the twisting true story of the impossible choices individuals must make to stay afloat in this world. Through its wholly unique blend of reporting, nature writing, and personal narrative, this book transports readers to vibrant and dangerous Florida landscapes and offers intimate portraits of those who call the region home. Broad in scope and vivid in detail, Gator Country is a fast paced tale of the risks people will take to survive in one of the world's most beautiful yet formidable landscapes and the undercover investigation that threatens to topple the whole scheme.

View Details >>

Pepito the Brave

Scott Beck

This charming picture book by newcomer Scott Beck features a particularly determined and lovable little bird. Pepito is afraid of heights, so when it is time to leave the nest, he must make his own way. A big fence, a wide river, and a busy road cannot stop this capable fellow, who just might be braver than he realizes.

Big, bright, cut-paper images and a short but action-packed text will grab the attention of little ones as restless as Pepito himself, while the funky, retro design of the book and its unabashedly inspiring theme will remind parents of the classic picture books of their own childhood.

View Details >>

James and the Giant Peach

Roald Dahl

From the World's No. 1 Storyteller, James and the Giant Peach is a children's classic that has captured young reader's imaginations for generations.

One of TIME MAGAZINE’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time

After James Henry Trotter's parents are tragically eaten by a rhinoceros, he goes to live with his two horrible aunts, Spiker and Sponge. Life there is no fun, until James accidentally drops some magic crystals by the old peach tree and strange things start to happen. The peach at the top of the tree begins to grow, and before long it's as big as a house. Inside, James meets a bunch of oversized friends—Grasshopper, Centipede, Ladybug, and more. With a snip of the stem, the peach starts rolling away, and the great adventure begins!
 
Roald Dahl is the author of numerous classic children’s stories including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG, and many more!
 
James and the Giant Peach remains a favorite among kids and parents alike nearly 60 years after it was first published, thanks to its vivid imagery, vibrant characters and forthright exploration of mature themes like death and hope.” —TIME Magazine

View Details >>

People We Meet on Vacation

Emily Henry

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Book Lovers and Beach Read comes a sparkling novel that will leave you with the warm, hazy afterglow usually reserved for the best vacations.

Two best friends. Ten summer trips. One last chance to fall in love.

Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.
 
Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven't spoken since.
 
Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.
 
Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?


Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2021 by NewsweekOprah Magazine ∙ The Skimm Marie Claire ParadeThe Wall Street Journal Chicago Tribune PopSugar ∙ BookPage BookBub ∙ Betches ∙ SheReads ∙ Good Housekeeping BuzzFeed Business Insider Real Simple Frolic and more!

View Details >>

Hilda Hen's Scary Night

Mary Wormell

Night has fallen and Hilda is late getting back to the henhouse. On her way she sees strange, mysterious shape--a snake, a monster--lurking in the shadows. What are these creatures? Where do they go during the day? Children will soon identify the troublesome shape as everyday objects found in the farmyard--things that can look a lot spookier at night. Full color.

View Details >>

The Last Last-Day-Of-Summer

Lamar Giles

"The Last Last-Day-of-Summer reminds me that all children deserve to exist in magical spaces where their imaginations and familial bonds will them into heroism. Every single child should have the freedom to be one of The Legendary Alstons. And I, for one, am grateful to Giles, and this brilliant story, for that reminder." --Jason Reynolds, author of Newbery Honoree Long Way Down

"The legendary heroes of this legendary book are already legendary when the story begins! From there things can only get legendary-er!" --Tom Angleberger, author of the Origami Yoda series

"Lamar Giles has written an instant classic--readers won't want their time with the Legendary Alston Boys of Logan County to end." --Gwenda Bond, author of the Lois Lane series

The Hardy Boys meets The Phantom Tollbooth, in the new century! When two adventurous cousins accidentally extend the last day of summer by freezing time, they find the secrets hidden between the unmoving seconds, minutes, and hours are not the endless fun they expected.

Otto and Sheed are the local sleuths in their zany Virginia town, masters of unraveling mischief using their unmatched powers of deduction. And as the summer winds down and the first day of school looms, the boys are craving just a little bit more time for fun, even as they bicker over what kind of fun they want to have. That is, until a mysterious man appears with a camera that literally freezes time. Now, with the help of some very strange people and even stranger creatures, Otto and Sheed will have to put aside their differences to save their town--and each other--before time stops for good.

View Details >>

Lost in Taiwan (a Graphic Novel)

Mark Crilley

In this exciting graphic novel about stepping out of your comfort zone, a traveler finds himself lost in Taiwan with no way of finding his brother--but he soon learns that this forced disconnect is helping him explore and experience the big wide world around him.



THIS WASN'T PAUL'S IDEA.



The last thing he's interested in is exploring new countries or experiencing anything that might be described as "cultural enrichment." But like it or not, he's stuck with his brother, Theo, for two weeks in Taiwan, a place that--while fascinating to Theo--holds no interest to Paul at all.



While on a short trip to a local electronics store, Paul becomes hopelessly lost in Taiwan's twisting, narrow streets, and he has no choice but to explore this new environment in his quest to find his way back to Theo's apartment.



In an unfamiliar place with no friends--and no GPS!--there's no telling what adventures he could happen upon. And who knows? Maybe it turns out he has friends in Taiwan, after all.


 

View Details >>

Sunny G's Series of Rash Decisions

Navdeep Singh Dhillon

“Pitch-perfect. One of the most endearing teen voices I’ve ever encountered.” —Becky Albertalli, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

For fans of Sandhya Menon and Adam Silvera comes a prom-night romantic-comedy romp about a Sikh teen's search for love and identity.

Sunny G's brother left him one thing when he died: His notebook, which Sunny is determined to fill up with a series of rash decisions. Decision number one was a big one: He stopped wearing his turban, cut off his hair, and shaved his beard. He doesn't look like a Sikh anymore. He doesn't look like himself anymore. Even his cosplay doesn't look right without his beard.

Sunny debuts his new look at prom, which he's stuck going to alone. He's skipping the big fandom party—the one where he'd normally be in full cosplay, up on stage playing bass with his band and his best friend, Ngozi—in favor of the Very Important Prom Experience. An experience that's starting to look like a bust.

Enter Mindii Vang, a girl with a penchant for making rash decisions of her own, starting with stealing Sunny's notebook. When Sunny chases after her, prom turns into an all-night adventure—a night full of rash, wonderful, romantic, stupid, life-changing decisions.

* "[For] fans of John Green and Sandhya Menon, Sunny G is . . . full of heart. It's not one to miss.”Booklist (starred review)

"Reading Sunny G’s Series of Rash Decisions is the best decision you could make.” —Jeff Zentner, award-winning author of The Serpent King

“Poignant and moving.”Kirkus Reviews

View Details >>

We Are Better Together

Bill McKibben

From environmentalist and bestselling author Bill McKibben comes a hopeful, inspiring picture book celebrating the power of human cooperation and the beauty of life on Earth, beautifully illustrated by artist Stevie Lewis.

When we work together, we humans can do incredible things.

We share the responsibility to address climate change and our changing planet. It is critical that we act collectively to protect our beautiful, fragile world.

Renowned environmentalist Bill McKibben and the incredibly talented artist Stevie Lewis team up to bring this gorgeous picture book to life.

Celebrating the amazing things people can do, it’s an inspiring message of hope.

View Details >>

Confidence

Rafael Frumkin

“Theranos but make it gay.” —Electric Literature

Best friends (and occasional lovers) Ezra and Orson are teetering on top of the world after founding a company that promises instant enlightenment in this “propulsive, cheeky, eat-the-rich page-turner” (The Washington Post) about scams, schemes, and the absurdity of the American Dream.

At seventeen, Ezra Green doesn’t have a lot going on for him: he’s shorter than average, snaggle-toothed, internet-addicted, and halfway to being legally blind. He’s also on his way to Last Chance Camp, the final stop before juvie.

But Ezra’s summer at Last Chance turns life-changing when he meets Orson, brilliant and Adonis-like with a mind for hustling. Together, the two embark upon what promises to be a fruitful career of scam artistry. But things start to spin wildly out of control when they try to pull off their biggest scam yet—Nulife, a corporation that promises its consumers a lifetime of bliss.

“Propulsive” (The New York Times Book Review) and “laugh-out-loud funny” (BuzzFeed), with the suspense of The Talented Mr. Ripley, the decadence of The Great Gatsby, and the wit of Succession, Confidence is a story for anyone who knows that the American Dream is just another pyramid scheme.

View Details >>

Behind the Scenes

Karelia Stetz-Waters

Fans of Abby Jimenez and Meryl Wilsner will fall in love with this hilarious and refreshingly authentic novel about second chances, pugs, and finding the perfect muse . . .



Business consultant Rose Josten might not have officially reached "pug lady" middle age, but she's already got the pugs--along with their little Gucci coats and trash-lovin' appetites. Still, life is good, with her work, her sisters, and a secret hobby creating incredibly tactile (if surprisingly sexy) mindfulness videos. So why does it feel like it's not quite enough? Which is exactly when former filmmaker Ash Stewart enters camera left, and Rose's world suddenly goes full technicolor . . .



Ash never looks at anyone. Not since her ex ripped her heart from her chest in Spielberg-esque style, crushing Ash's reputation, dreams, and directorial career in one brutal blow. But Rose is altogether different. She's curvy, beautiful, and just so damn put together. And her business expertise might be Ash's best bet for getting her last film--and her last chance--financed. Now if they can just keep their attraction under wraps, Ash's lost dream could finally come true. But are they creating movie magic . . . or setting the stage for disaster?

View Details >>

The Celebrants

Steven Rowley

New York Times Bestseller
A TODAY Show #ReadWithJenna Book Club Pick

A Big Chill for our times, celebrating decades-long friendships and promises—especially to ourselves—by the bestselling and beloved author of The Guncle.


It’s been a minute—or five years—since Jordan Vargas last saw his college friends, and twenty-eight years since their graduation when their adult lives officially began. Now Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle find themselves at the brink of a new decade, with all the responsibilities of adulthood, yet no closer to having their lives figured out. Though not for a lack of trying. Over the years they’ve reunited in Big Sur to honor a decades-old pact to throw each other living “funerals,” celebrations to remind themselves that life is worth living—that their lives mean something, to one another if not to themselves.

But this reunion is different. They’re not gathered as they were to bolster Marielle as her marriage crumbled, to lift Naomi after her parents died, or to intervene when Craig pleaded guilty to art fraud. This time, Jordan is sitting on a secret that will upend their pact.

A deeply honest tribute to the growing pains of selfhood and the people who keep us going, coupled with Steven Rowley’s signature humor and heart, The Celebrants is a moving tale about the false invincibility of youth and the beautiful ways in which friendship helps us celebrate our lives, even amid the deepest challenges of living.

View Details >>

Sticky Fingers

Sophie Maletsky

Sticky Fingers is a vibrant, easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide to creating amazing projects with the hottest crafting material on the market today - duct tape! The book includes tons of photographs alongside directions designed to make creating a wallet and making a bag even easier, while also providing a steady stream of ideas for personalizing and embellishing your duct tape creations. Each project includes icons showing difficulty level and project time, as well as helpful hints, such as how to keep your scissors clean and what to do with end pieces. So grab a roll of duct tape, pick a project, and get started!

View Details >>

Learning 3D CAD with Autodesk 123D

Jesse Au

Design and create real-world objects with 3D printers, laser cutters, or common materials that you assemble yourself. It’s easy with Autodesk’s free 123D tools. In this full-color book, Jesse Harrington Au—Autodesk’s Maker Advocate—shows you how to design objects from scratch, work with existing models, or scan real-world objects.

You’ll learn how to use tools in the entire Autodesk 123D suite—including the 123D CAD program, 123D Catch, 123D Sculpt, and 123D Make—to design, sculpt, scan, and print 3D objects with an easy-to-learn CAD interface. It’s ideal for makers, hobbyists, students, artists, and designers, including beginners.

  • Jump right into the world personal fabrication without costly or complicated software tools
  • Create amazing 3D objects out of common materials, even if you don't have a laser cutter or 3D printer
  • Make 3D scans of objects using an iPad or a camera
  • Get clear, full-color images of the 123D suite’s user interface, as well as views of 3D models
View Details >>

Beautiful Wire Jewelry for Beaders

Irina Miech

Beautiful Wire Jewelry for Beaders features projects that combine wireworking skills with beaded jewelry design. The book is technique-driven, with chapters on wire fundamentals, terminology, materials, and basic wireworking techniques, and projects that develop the reader’s skills. The projects incorporate gemstones, crystal, glass, and pearls and are designed for both beaders and wireworkers of all skill levels. Beautiful Wire Jewelry for Beaders includes appealing designs — all tested — for necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, pins, and jewelry components.

View Details >>

Wood Shop

Margaret Larson

Come on, kids: grab a hammer, step up to the workbench, and get ready to measure, saw, drill, and make cool things! Wood Shop is an exciting introduction for today’s kids to an age-old tradition: building with wood.

With step-by-step photographs and clear instructions, aspiring woodworkers learn essential skills such as how to drive a nail, use a power drill, “measure twice, cut once,” and saw correctly. Then the fun begins, with 17 cool and creative projects kids can build to furnish the wood shop, decorate their bedrooms and homes, and create their own play equipment. Favorite projects include Tic-Tac-Toe-To Go!, One-Board Birdhouse, a Tool Tote, and a hanging Twinkle Light. Wood Shop is the perfect gift for tinkerers, young makers, fans of LEGO toys, and aspiring carpenters and engineers.

View Details >>

The Repurposed Library

Lisa Occhipinti

We all love to read and learn from books, but The Repurposed Library takes our passion even further, presenting us with 33 projects to make--quite literally--out of books. For these projects, Lisa Occhipinti rescues and repurposes orphaned and outdated books from flea markets and library sales and turns them into new art objects and practical items for the home. Her creations range from artfully constructed mobiles, wreaths, and vases, to functional items like shelves, storage boxes, and even a Kindle "keeper" for those who want to replicate the sensation of holding a "real" book while reading from an e-reader. Projects utilize every imaginable part of a book--from hardback cover to individual pages--and are a DIY celebration of a new way to view a book's potential.

Praise for The Repurposed Library

"In an age when the bound book is an endangered species, Occhipinti's] artwork is nicely topical. She now has a book of her own, The Repurposed Library, out this week from Stewart, Tabori & Chang. In it, she offers readers a how-to guide to making household objects from, well, books, like a mirror, a lamp and a fire screen, as well as the winsome mobile shown on the cover."
- The New York Times

 

"Book hoarders rejoice: all those random children's books, encyclopedias, and unread paperbacks are about to find their purpose . . . Furnished with cheery photographs and numerous hand-drawn diagrams, this endearing book will appeal to veteran crafters and literati alike."
-BUST magazine

"The book is really well-made, fittingly. The photography by Thayer Allyson Gowdy is wonderful and really shows off the projects--and everything in the background is as tastefully arranged as a Crate & Barrel catalog. . . . if you love books as objects, The Repurposed Library is a fun collection of project ideas."

 


--Wired.com

"We love how everyday objects like a colorful collection of vintage books can double as d cor. . . . Th e] cute wall-hung book ledge is easy to make and provides a perfect perch for treasured keepsakes. --Natural Home & Garden

 

 

View Details >>

Inner Workings

Peter Hinckley

Budding young inventors, engineers, and sciences will love this one-of-a-kind STEM book for curious young minds!

"The creative approach to showcasing technology and nature, however, will get kids thinking and asking questions about the world around them. Pair this title with David Macaulay's The Way Things Work Now and Stephen Biesty's "Incredible Cross-Sections" series for an in-depth dive into how our world works. VERDICT A good introduction to STEM topics that will increase critical thinking skills and vocabulary."--School Library Journal

What would you find if you cut a pocket watch, fireworks, a golf ball, a beehive, or even a merry-go-round in half? Something extraordinary, of course! In Inner Workings: The Extraordinary Insides of Ordinary Things, curious minds will get an inside look--literally--at the remarkable structures and mechanisms inside everyday objects with bold, cross-section illustrations of toilets, ice cream machines, Rubiks cubes, calculators, pool tables, bowling alleys, food, vending machines, and so much more!

View Details >>

Crafting Cute

Dani Banani

Let Dani Banani of the popular Etsy shop FunUsual Suspects show you how to make 50 kawaii creations out of inexpensive and easy-to-find polymer clay. Kawaii—the culture of cuteness, originating in Japan—is everywhere, and it’s time to join the cuteness revolution with these amazingly fun projects.
Just follow the simple step-by-step photos and instructions to create darling characters, ranging from small trinkets to larger home accessories, including:

  • 25 itty-bitty and ridiculously cute charms, earrings, brooches, and figurines of Popsicles, macarons, French toast, waffles, bacon and eggs, donuts, tacos, sloths, unicorns, and more.
  • 15 adorable midsize pieces, such as plant holders, desk accessories, and ring holders in the shapes of llamas, hedgehogs, whales, jellyfish, and more.
  • 10 large “showstopper” pieces, such as a rainbow soap dish, fairy garden, penguin tic-tac-toe game, and robot paper clip holder.

 
With information to get you started, including techniques on softening the clay, color mixing, and baking, Crafting Cute will have you delightfully sculpting in no time.  
 

View Details >>

The Crocheter's Companion

Nancy Brown

Explore a guidebook with over 65,000 copies sold! Get more stitches, over 70 new illustrations, and step-by-step techniques in this new edition of The Crocheter's Companion.

This indispensable resource includes all of the essentials, plus a few exciting extras you've been longing for: more tools, stitches, and techniques, as well as updated yarn information, complete abbreviations and symbols, and additional information on reading stitch diagrams. Also, due to popular demand, the section on Tunisian crochet has been expanded.

Still in its handy pocket-sized, spiral-bound format, the updated edition covers all the basics (and then some!). Thread and hook charts, stitch instructions with clear illustrations, and lots of helpful hints from one of crochet's most experienced authors will inspire beginners and serious crocheters alike. With impeccable illustrations, an easy-to-understand format, and the most updated information available, The Crocheter's Companion will soon become the only crochet resource you'll need.

View Details >>

Prototyping

Eric Cook

Learn how to improve your projects by building and revising prototypes. Readers will learn how to start making a new idea a reality without putting their effort or resources to waste. Photos, sidebars, and callouts help readers draw connections between new concepts in this book and other makers-related concepts they may already know. Additional text features and search tools, including a glossary and an index, help students locate information and learn new words.

View Details >>

The Crochet Stitch Bible

Betty Barnden

The Crochet Stitch Bible contains over 200 stitches, explained in full, and is a perfect starter guide for beginners, with advanced projects and details for experts. The handy spiral bound design allows this book to be laid open on a work surface for easy reference, and makes a wonderful addition to the library of any crafter, crocheter, or knitter.

This comprehensive guide includes step-by-step instructions for basic stitches, textured stitches, fans and shells stitches, mesh and filet stitches, openwork and lace stitches, trims and edgings, clusters, puffs, bobbles, spike, relief, tunisian, multi-color, squares, and special stitches. Each crochet stitch is accompanied by a photograph sample, row-by-row instructions, and easy-to-follow symbol charts.

Crochet is the technique of making a looped fabric from a continuous length of yarn, using a single hook. The word "crochet" itself derives from the French "croc," meaning a hook (or crook); an old scottish name for crochet is "shepherd's knitting." It is one of the most portable and flexible of crafts, requiring only a hook and some yarn. Once you have mastered the basic techniques, you can create a fascinating variety of effects.

View Details >>

Vampire Knits

Genevieve Miller

Surrender to the allure of knits inspired by the immortals we all love to fear. If you adore "Twilight, True Blood, " or "The Vampire Diaries," this collection of 28 imaginative and beautiful projects is sure to captivate.
- Black capes are so 1897, instead get stylish with the dead sexy Sidhe Shrug.
- Unleash your inner shapeshifter with the Werewolf Hat.
- Keep warm while holding hands with your vampire by wearing these Bellisima Mittens.
- Around humans? Use the Blood Bottle Cozies to disguise your beverage.
Whether you are wandering the Carpathian Mountains or the bayous of Louisiana, these smoldering projects--for knitters of all levels--will keep you well protected, no matter what you attract.

View Details >>

Crafting Change

Jessica Vitkus

An informative and inspiring exploration of craftivism — the intersection of handicraft and activism — designed to encourage young creators while providing meaningful historical context.

You don’t have to be old enough to vote to drive political change.

In Crafting Change, author, TV producer, and craftivist Jessica Vitkus explores the rich lineage of craftivism, with profiles of craftivisit icons, many of whom are women and people of color. This YA non-fiction book shines a light on artist-driven projects like This Is Not a Gun – workshops where people sculpt objects the police have mistaken for a gun in fatal shootings -- alongside creative movements that mobilized entire communities, like the AIDS Memorial Quilt and the Pussyhat project for the 2017 Women’s March. This engaging narrative combines compelling artist interviews with full-color photos of creators and crafts alike.

A perfect book for teens who want to channel their creativity into political action, with ideas for simple projects sure to appeal to budding craftivists.

View Details >>

Maker Comics: Grow a Garden!

Alexis Frederick-Frost

Maker Comics is the ultimate DIY guide. Inside Grow a Garden, you'll find illustrated instructions for six gardening projects!

Will, Violet, and Basil must be the unluckiest students at the Garden Gnome Academy. They've been stuck with Mr. Butternut, the school's most unpopular (and unusual) teacher. Will and his friends have to learn about soil and compost while their classmates get to study exotic plants and butterflies. Although things get a little messy (and stinky) in his class, Mr. Butternut does know a thing or two about growing delicious veggies.

Follow the easy step-by-step instructions in this book and you can make:

A compost bin
Seed pots
Potting mix
A growlight shelf
A cold frame
A container garden

View Details >>

Courage for Beginners

Karen Harrington

Twelve-year-old Mysti Murphy wishes she were a character in a book. If her life were fictional, she'd magically know how to deal with the fact that her best friend, Anibal Gomez, has abandoned her in favor of being a "hipster." She'd be able to take care of everyone when her dad has to spend time in the hospital. And she'd certainly be able to change her family's secret.
Seventh grade is not turning out the way Mysti had planned. With the help of a hot-hair balloon, her new friend Rama Khan--and maybe even the heroes of the Texas Revolution--can she find the courage to change?

View Details >>

Cardboard Box Engineering

Jonathan Adolph

Cardboard is everywhere! For creative kids aged 9 to 14, it’s the perfect eco-friendly building material, and Cardboard Box Engineering is the perfect guide to get them started on inventive tinkering. A working kaleidoscope, a marble roller coaster, a robotic hand, and a wind-powered tractor with cardboard gears are just some of the ingenious projects developed by Jonathan Adolph, author of the best-selling Mason Jar Science. Working with simple household tools, kids can follow the step-by-step photographic instructions to exercise their design smarts, expand their 3-D thinking, and learn the basics of physics and engineering with activities that have real-life applications.

View Details >>

The Perfect Loaf

Maurizio Leo

JAMES BEARD AWARD NOMINEE • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A dynamic, authoritative sourdough baking bible for those looking to build confidence in the craft with a wide range of foolproof recipes, from pan loaves to pizza to doughnuts, by the beloved blogger and resident bread baker at Food52

“Maurizio Leo has given all bread-heads, whether newbies or experienced bakers, the ideal gift.”—Peter Reinhart, author of The Bread Baker’s Apprentice and host of Pizza Quest

ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: Saveur

Maurizio Leo’s blog The Perfect Loaf is the go-to destination on the internet for beginner sourdough bakers. He now brings his impeccably detailed techniques, foolproof recipes, and generous teaching style to a groundbreaking debut cookbook that delves into the absolute fundamentals of sourdough—plus the tools and confidence to explore beyond.
 
Recipes cover flavorful, crowd-pleasing favorites:

 

  • Essential freeform loaves: Simple Sourdough, Rosemary & Olive Oil, Extra-Sour Sourdough, Cranberry & Walnut, Demi Baguettes
  • Pan loaves: Everyday Sandwich Bread, Naturally Leavened Brioche, German Whole Rye, Honey Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
  • Pizza and flatbread: Roman-Style Pan Pizza, Focaccia, Naan, Flour Tortillas, Pita
  • Buns, rolls, and more: Soft Dinner Rolls, Potato Buns, Ciabatta Rolls, English Muffins, Bagels
  • Sweets: Weekend Cinnamon Rolls, Italian Doughnuts, Summer Fruit Sourdough Crostata, Banana Bread, Cinnamon Babka 
  •  
    Beginner bakers will have their hands held the entire way, with troubleshooting sections and numerous sidebars answering almost every question they may have—like how to store a sourdough starter long-term, how bakers’ percentages actually work, and a visual guide to common “bread fails” and how to remedy them. Seasoned bakers will relish deep dives into the science behind baking processes and expert information on how to build their “baker’s intuition” and level up by experimenting with hydration, ingredient ratios, freshly milled grains, and specialty flours. Whether you're new to bread baking or a pro, The Perfect Loaf will be your indispensable guide in the kitchen.

 

View Details >>

The LEGO Architect

Tom Alphin

Travel through the history of architecture in The LEGO Architect. You’ll learn about styles like Art Deco, Modernism, and High-Tech, and find inspiration in galleries of LEGO models. Then take your turn building 12 models in a variety of styles. Snap together some bricks and learn architecture the fun way!

View Details >>

Rock Art!

Denise Scicluna

Great uses for rocks: throwing, skipping, kicking...how about painting? Rock painting is one of the oldest forms of artistic expression known to man. The varied surfaces, shapes, and sizes of rocks also make them perfect for crafts. From brooches to bookends, paperweights to place cards, miniature owls to patterned pebbles, you can create just about anything with the right rock and a bit of imagination. In Rock Art!, visual artist Denise Scicluna provides inspiration and advice for rocking our artsy side with:

  • Tips for finding and identifying rocks and preparing them for paint
  • Techniques for creating the perfect rock from polymer clay
  • A guide to gathering tools, from paint, pencils, and brushes to wood filler and varnish
  • Dozens of projects for bringing pebbles to life with personality and style
    Simple, step-by-step instructions, and more than 250 full-color illustrations that practically pop off the page make this fun and unusual book perfect for crafters of all ages.
View Details >>

Stitch Camp

Nicole Blum

In today’s thriving maker culture, kids are hungry for hands-on guidance in creating stylish wearables and practical objects, or hacking and customizing existing ones. Authors Nicole Blum and Catherine Newman get them started with complete instructions for mastering six favorite fiber crafts. Step-by-step photos teach kids ages 9–14 the basics of how to sew, knit, crochet, felt, embroider, and weave, plus how to make three projects for each craft. From woven patches and a knitted backpack to embroidered merit badges and a crocheted bracelet, the fresh, kid-approved projects encourage creative variations and build confidence along with valuable life skills.

View Details >>

You Matter

Christian Robinson

A New York Times bestseller!

They All Saw a Cat meets The Important Book in this sensitive and impactful picture book about seeing the world from different points of view by Caldecott and Coretta Scott King Honoree Christian Robinson.

In this full, bright, and beautiful picture book, many different perspectives around the world are deftly and empathetically explored—from a pair of bird-watchers to the pigeons they’re feeding. Young readers will be drawn into the luminous illustrations inviting them to engage with the world in a new way and see how everyone is connected, and that everyone matters.

View Details >>

The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth

Rachel Ignotofsky

An illustrated tour of the planet exploring ecosystems large and small, from reefs, deserts, and rainforests to a single drop of water—from the New York Times bestselling author of Women in Science.
 
Making earth science accessible and entertaining through art, maps, and infographics, The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth explains how our planet works—and how we can protect it—from its diverse ecosystems and their inhabitants, to the levels of ecology, the importance of biodiversity, the cycles of nature, and more. Science- and nature-loving readers of all ages will delight in this utterly charming guide to our amazing home.

View Details >>

The Unlikelies

Carrie Firestone

Five teens embark on a summer of vigilante good samaritanism in a novel that's part The Breakfast Club, part The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, and utterly captivating.

Rising high school senior Sadie is bracing herself for a long, lonely, and boring summer. But things take an unexpected turn when she steps in to help rescue a baby in distress and a video of her good deed goes viral.

Suddenly internet-famous, Sadie's summer changes for the better when she's introduced to other "hometown heroes." These five very different teens form an unlikely alliance to secretly right local wrongs, but when they try to help a heroin-using friend, they get in over their heads and discover that there might be truth in the saying "no good deed goes unpunished." Can Sadie and her new friends make it through the summer with their friendships--and anonymity--intact?

This rich and thought-provoking novel takes on timely issues and timeless experiences with a winning combination of romance, humor, and wisdom.
 

View Details >>

Best of Friends

Kamila Shamsie

“A profound novel about friendship. I loved it to pieces.” —Madeline Miller

“A shining tour de force about a long friendship’s respects, disrespects, loyalties and moralities.” Ali Smith 

From the acclaimed author of Home Fire, the moving and surprising story of a lifelong friendship and the forces that bring it to the breaking point


Zahra and Maryam have been best friends since childhood in Karachi, even though—or maybe because—they are unlike in nearly every way. Yet they never speak of the differences in their backgrounds or their values, not even after the fateful night when a moment of adolescent impulse upends their plans for the future.
 
Three decades later, Zahra and Maryam have grown into powerful women who have each cut a distinctive path through London. But when two troubling figures from their past resurface, they must finally confront their bedrock differences—and find out whether their friendship can survive.
 
Thought-provoking, compassionate, and full of unexpected turns, Best of Friends offers a riveting take on an age-old question: Does principle or loyalty make for the better friend?
 
 
 

View Details >>

Ways to Make Sunshine

Renée Watson

From Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award winner Renée Watson, the first book in a young middle grade series about Ryan Hart, a girl who is pure spirit, kindness, and sunshine.

Ryan Hart can be and do anything. Her name means "king", that she is a leader, and she is determined to keep growing into the name her parents gave her. She is all about trying to see the best in people, to be a good daughter, sister, and friend. But Ryan has a lot on her mind. For instance: Dad finally has a new job, but money is still tight. That means some changes, like moving into a new (old) house, and Dad working the night shift. And with the fourth-grad talent show coming up, Ryan wonders what talent she can perform on stage in front of everyone without freezing. As even more changes and challenges come her way, Ryan always finds a way forward and shows she is a girl who knows how to glow.
Acclaimed author Renée Watson writes her own version of Ramona Quimby, one starring a Black girl and her family, in this start to a charming new series.

Acclaim for Ways to Make Sunshine:
A New York Times Best Children’s Book of the Year | A Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year | A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year | A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year | A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year | A WORLD Magazine Best Book of the Year | An Amazon Best Book of the Year

View Details >>

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora

Pablo Cartaya

 

 

A 2018 Pura Belpré Author Honor BookSave the restaurant. Save the town. Get the girl. Make Abuela proud. Can thirteen-year-old Arturo Zamora do it all or is he in for a BIG, EPIC FAIL? 

For Arturo, summertime in Miami means playing basketball until dark, sipping mango smoothies, and keeping cool under banyan trees. And maybe a few shifts as junior lunchtime dishwasher at Abuela’s restaurant. Maybe. But this summer also includes Carmen, a poetry enthusiast who moves into Arturo’s apartment complex and turns his stomach into a deep fryer. He almost doesn’t notice the smarmy land developer who rolls into town and threatens to change it. Arturo refuses to let his family and community go down without a fight, and as he schemes with Carmen, Arturo discovers the power of poetry and protest through untold family stories and the work of José Martí.

Funny and poignant, The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora is the vibrant story of a family, a striking portrait of a town, and one boy's quest to save both, perfect for fans of Rita Williams-Garcia.

 

 

View Details >>

A Man Called Ove

Fredrik Backman

Read the New York Times bestseller that has taken the world by storm!

Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon—the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him “the bitter neighbor from hell.” But must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.

A feel-good story in the spirit of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, Fredrik Backman’s novel about the angry old man next door is a thoughtful exploration of the profound impact one life has on countless others. “If there was an award for ‘Most Charming Book of the Year,’ this first novel by a Swedish blogger-turned-overnight-sensation would win hands down” (Booklist, starred review).

 

View Details >>

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Mary Ann Shaffer

 

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A NETFLIX FILM • A remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German Occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.

“Treat yourself to this book, please—I can’t recommend it highly enough.”—Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

“I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.” January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb. . . .

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.

Praise for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society

“A jewel . . . Poignant and keenly observed, Guernsey is a small masterpiece about love, war, and the immeasurable sustenance to be found in good books and good friends.”People

“A book-lover’s delight, an implicit and sometimes explicit paean to all things literary.”Chicago Sun-Times

“A sparkling epistolary novel radiating wit, lightly worn erudition and written with great assurance and aplomb.”The Sunday Times (London)

“Cooked perfectly à point: subtle and elegant in flavour, yet emotionally satisfying to the finish.”The Times (London)

 

View Details >>

A Tale for the Time Being

Ruth L. Ozeki

A brilliant, unforgettable novel from bestselling author Ruth Ozeki—shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award

“A?time being is someone who lives in time, and that means you, and me, and every one of us who is, or was, or ever will be.”

In Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao has decided there’s only one escape from her aching loneliness and her classmates’ bullying. But before she ends it all, Nao first plans to document the life of her great grandmother, a Buddhist nun who’s lived more than a century. A diary is Nao’s only solace—and will touch lives in ways she can scarcely imagine.

Across the Pacific, we meet Ruth, a novelist living on a remote island who discovers a collection of artifacts washed ashore in a Hello Kitty lunchbox—possibly debris from the devastating 2011 tsunami. As the mystery of its contents unfolds, Ruth is pulled into the past, into Nao’s drama and her unknown fate, and forward into her own future.

Full of Ozeki’s signature humor and deeply engaged with the relationship between writer and reader, past and present, fact and fiction, quantum physics, history, and myth, A Tale for the Time Being is a brilliantly inventive, beguiling story of our shared humanity and the search for home.  

 

View Details >>

Enchanted Air

Margarita Engle

In this poetic memoir, which won the Pura Belpré Author Award, was a YALSA Nonfiction Finalist, and was named a Walter Dean Myers Award Honoree, acclaimed author Margarita Engle tells of growing up as a child of two cultures during the Cold War.

Margarita is a girl from two worlds. Her heart lies in Cuba, her mother’s tropical island country, a place so lush with vibrant life that it seems like a fairy tale kingdom. But most of the time she lives in Los Angeles, lonely in the noisy city and dreaming of the summers when she can take a plane through the enchanted air to her beloved island. Words and images are her constant companions, friendly and comforting when the children at school are not.

Then a revolution breaks out in Cuba. Margarita fears for her far-away family. When the hostility between Cuba and the United States erupts at the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Margarita’s worlds collide in the worst way possible. How can the two countries she loves hate each other so much? And will she ever get to visit her beautiful island again?

View Details >>

Ghost

Jason Reynolds

A National Book Award Finalist for Young People’s Literature.
Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.


Ghost wants to be the fastest sprinter on his elite middle school track team, but his past is slowing him down in this first electrifying novel of the acclaimed Track series from Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award–winning author Jason Reynolds.

Ghost. Lu. Patina. Sunny. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds with personalities that are explosive when they clash. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school track team—a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics if they can get their acts together. They all have a lot to lose, but they also have a lot to prove, not only to each other, but to themselves.

Running. That’s all Ghost (real name Castle Cranshaw) has ever known. But Ghost has been running for the wrong reasons—it all started with running away from his father, who, when Ghost was a very little boy, chased him and his mother through their apartment, then down the street, with a loaded gun, aiming to kill. Since then, Ghost has been the one causing problems—and running away from them—until he meets Coach, an ex-Olympic Medalist who sees something in Ghost: crazy natural talent. If Ghost can stay on track, literally and figuratively, he could be the best sprinter in the city. Can Ghost harness his raw talent for speed, or will his past finally catch up to him?

View Details >>

When We Were Infinite

Kelly Loy Gilbert

From award-winning author Kelly Loy Gilbert comes a powerful, achingly romantic drama about the secrets we keep, from each other and from ourselves, perfect for fans of Permanent Record and I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.

All Beth wants is for her tight-knit circle of friends—Grace Nakamura, Brandon Lin, Sunny Chen, and Jason Tsou—to stay together. With her family splintered and her future a question mark, these friends are all she has—even if she sometimes wonders if she truly fits in with them. Besides, she’s certain she’ll never be able to tell Jason how she really feels about him, so friendship will have to be enough.

Then Beth witnesses a private act of violence in Jason’s home, and the whole group is shaken. Beth and her friends make a pact to do whatever it takes to protect Jason, no matter the sacrifice. But when even their fierce loyalty isn’t enough to stop Jason from making a life-altering choice, Beth must decide how far she’s willing to go for him—and how much of herself she’s willing to give up.

View Details >>

Nothing to See Here

Kevin Wilson

Kevin Wilson’s best book yet—a moving and uproarious novel about a woman who finds meaning in her life when she begins caring for two children with remarkable and disturbing abilities

Lillian and Madison were the unlikeliest of roommates at their elite boarding school: Madison, the daughter of a prominent Atlanta family, being groomed for greatness; Lillian, a scholarship student, plucked out of nowhere based solely on her intellect and athletic prowess. The two were as tight as could be, reveling in their unique weirdnesses, until Lillian had to leave the school unexpectedly.

Years later, the two have lost touch, but Madison writes and begs Lillian for help. Her husband’s twin stepkids are moving in with them and she wants Lillian to be their caretaker. However, there’s a catch: the twins can spontaneously combust when they get agitated, flames igniting from their skin in a disturbing but beautiful way.

Disbelieving at first but ultimately too intrigued by these strange children, Lillian agrees. And as they hunker down in the pool house, Lillian and the twins learn to trust each other—and stay cool—just as Madison’s family is bracing for a major announcement. It all seems impossible to manage, but Lillian soon accepts that she and the children need each other, urgently and fiercely.With a white-hot wit and a big, tender heart, Kevin Wilson has written a most unusual story of deep parental love that proves to be his best book yet. 

View Details >>

Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet

Zanib Mian

An exciting middle-grade debut starring a Muslim boy with a huge imagination. An NPR Best Book of the Year.

Welcome to the imaginative brain of Omar!

Omar and his family have just moved, and he is NOT excited about starting at a new school. What if the work is too hard or the kids are mean or the teacher is a zombie alien?!

But when Omar makes a new best friend, things start looking up. That is, until a Big Mean Bully named Daniel makes every day a nightmare! Daniel even tells Omar that all Muslims are going to be kicked out of the country . . . Could that possibly be true?

Luckily, Omar's enormous imagination and goofy family help him get through life's ups and downs.

Omar's funny, relatable narrative is the perfect answer to the call for both mirrors and windows to fill bookshelves with diverse stories.

-An NPR Best Book of the Year
-USBBY Outstanding International Book Selection
-2020 Global Read Aloud Selection
-Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
-Middle East Book Award Nominee
-New York Public Library Best Book of the Year (top 10)

View Details >>

Better Nate Than Ever

Tim Federle

“The Nate series by Tim Federle is a wonderful evocation of what it’s like to be a theater kid. Highly recommended.” —Lin-Manuel Miranda, star and creator of the musical, Hamilton

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A Slate Favorite Book of the Year

A small-town boy hops a bus to New York City to crash an audition for E.T.: The Musical in this winning middle grade novel that The New York Times called “inspired and inspiring.”

Nate Foster has big dreams. His whole life, he’s wanted to star in a Broadway show. (Heck, he’d settle for seeing a Broadway show.) But how is Nate supposed to make his dreams come true when he’s stuck in Jankburg, Pennsylvania, where no one (except his best pal Libby) appreciates a good show tune? With Libby’s help, Nate plans a daring overnight escape to New York. There’s an open casting call for E.T.: The Musical, and Nate knows this could be the difference between small-town blues and big-time stardom.

Tim Federle’s “hilarious and heartwarming debut novel” (Publishers Weekly) is full of broken curfews, second chances, and the adventure of growing up—because sometimes you have to get four hundred miles from your backyard to finally feel at home.

View Details >>

Peas and Carrots

Tanita S. Davis

A rich and memorable story from a Coretta Scott King honor award-winning author about a teenage foster girl looking for a place to call home.

Dess knows that nothing good lasts. Disappointment is never far away, and that's a truth that Dess has learned to live with.

Dess's mother's most recent arrest is just the latest in a long line of disappointments, but this one lands her with her baby brother's foster family. Dess doesn't exactly fit in with the Carters. They're so happy, so comfortable, so normal, and Hope, their teenage daughter, is so hopelessly naïve. Dess and Hope couldn't be more unlike each other, but Austin loves them both like sisters. Over time their differences, insurmountable at first, fall away to reveal two girls who want the same thing: to belong.

Tanita S. Davis, a Coretta Scott King Honor winner, weaves a tale of two modern teenagers defying stereotypes and deciding for themselves what it means to be a family.

View Details >>

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Gail Honeyman

Over 2.5 million copies sold

'Funny, touching and unpredictable' Jojo Moyes

'Heartwrenching and wonderful' Nina Stibbe

Winner of Costa First Novel Award, a No.1 Sunday Times bestseller and the Book of the Year

Eleanor Oliphant has learned how to survive - but not how to live

Eleanor Oliphant leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend.

Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything.

One simple act of kindness is about to shatter the walls Eleanor has built around herself. Now she must learn how to navigate the world that everyone else seems to take for granted - while searching for the courage to face the dark corners she's avoided all her life.

Change can be good. Change can be bad. But surely any change is better than... fine?

'Moving, funny and devastating' The Herald

'Unforgettable, brilliant, funny and life-affirming' Daily Mail

'I adored it. Skilled, perceptive, Eleanor's world will feel familiar to you from the very first page. An outstanding debut!' Joanna Cannon

View Details >>

Legends & Lattes

Travis Baldree

An Instant New York Times Bestseller
A Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2022
A Library Reads Pick
An Indie Next Pick

A Goodreads Best Fantasy Choice Award Nominee

The much-beloved BookTok sensation, Travis Baldree's novel of high fantasy and low stakes.

*This new edition includes a very special, never-before-seen bonus story, 'Pages to Fill.'*

After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time.

The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success — not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.

If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won't be able to go it alone.

But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.

“Take a break from epic battles and saving the world. Legends & Lattes is a low-stakes fantasy that delivers exactly what's advertised: a wholesome, cozy novel that feels like a warm hug. This is my new comfort read.”Genevieve Gornichec, author of The Witch's Heart

View Details >>

The Boys in the Boat (Young Readers Adaptation)

Daniel James Brown

The #1 New York Times bestseller about the Greatest Generation freshly adapted for the next generation.
 
For readers of Unbroken, out of the depths of the Great Depression comes the astonishing tale of nine working-class boys from the American West who at the 1936 Olympics showed the world what true grit really meant. With rowers who were the sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the University of Washington’s eight-oar crew was never expected to defeat the elite East Coast teams, yet they did, going on to shock the world by challenging the German boat rowing for Adolf Hitler.
 
At the center of the tale is Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, whose personal quest captures the spirit of his generation—the generation that would prove in the coming years that the Nazis could not prevail over American determination and optimism.
 
This deeply emotional yet easily accessible young readers adaptation of the award-winning #1 New York Times bestseller features never-before-seen photographs, highly visual back matter, and an exclusive new introduction.

View Details >>

Barakah Beats

Maleeha Siddiqui

"This book about friendship and faith absolutely sings." -- Buzzfeed

 

Perfect for fans of The First Rule of Punk or Save Me a Seat, this is a sweet, powerful, and joyous novel about a girl who finds her voice on her own terms.

 

Twelve-year-old Nimra Sharif has spent her whole life in Islamic school, but now it's time to go to "real school."

Nimra's nervous, but as long as she has Jenna, her best friend who already goes to the public school, she figures she can take on just about anything.

Unfortunately, middle school is hard. The teachers are mean, the schedule is confusing, and Jenna starts giving hijab-wearing Nimra the cold shoulder around the other kids.

Desperate to fit in and get back in Jenna's good graces, Nimra accepts an unlikely invitation to join the school's popular 8th grade boy band, Barakah Beats. The only problem is, Nimra was taught that music isn't allowed in Islam, and she knows her parents would be disappointed if they found out. So she devises a simple plan: join the band, win Jenna back, then quietly drop out before her parents find out.

But dropping out of the band proves harder than expected. Not only is her plan to get Jenna back working, but Nimra really likes hanging out with the band--they value her contributions and respect how important her faith is to her. Then Barakah Beats signs up for a talent show to benefit refugees, and Nimra's lies start to unravel. With the show only a few weeks away and Jenna's friendship hanging in the balance, Nimra has to decide whether to betray her bandmates--or herself.

View Details >>

Chasing Space Young Readers' Edition

Leland Melvin

"In Chasing Space, Leland Melvin tackles stupendous obstacles with dogged determination, showing you what is indeed possible in life—if you belive." —Neil deGrasse Tyson, author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry and Welcome to the Universe

Meet Leland Melvin—football star, NASA astronaut, and professional dream chaser.

In this inspiring memoir, adapted from the simultaneous version for adults, young readers will get to learn about Leland Melvin’s remarkable life story, from being drafted by the Detroit Lions to bravely orbiting our planet in the International Space Station to writing songs with will.i.am, working with Serena Williams, and starring in top-rated television shows like The Dog Whisperer, Top Chef, and Child Genius.

With do-it-yourself experiments in the back of the book and sixteen pages of striking full-color photographs, this is the perfect book to inspire young readers.

When the former Detroit Lion’s football career was cut short by an injury, Leland didn’t waste time mourning his broken dream. Instead, he found a new one—something that was completely out of this world.

He joined NASA, braved an injury that nearly left him permanently deaf, and still managed to muster the courage and resolve to travel to space on the shuttle Atlantis to help build the International Space Station. Leland’s problem-solving methods and can-do attitude turned his impossible-seeming dream into reality.

Leland’s story introduces readers to the fascinating creative and scientific challenges he had to deal with in space and will encourage the next generation of can-do scientists to dare to follow their dreams.

Bill Nye the Science Guy says: “Leland’s story moves fast; once you get started you’ll want to join the chase.”

View Details >>

The Civil War of Amos Abernathy

Michael Leali

An ALA Rainbow Book List Top 10 Selection * Golden Kite Award Winner * New York Public Library Best Books for Kids * ALA Booklist Top 10 First Novels for Youth * Jane Addams Award finalist * Lambda Literary Award Finalist

A heartfelt debut novel about a boy's attempt to find himself in the history he loves--perfect for fans of Dear Sweet Pea and From the Desk of Zoe Washington.

Amos Abernathy lives for history. Literally. He's been a historical reenactor nearly all his life. But when a cute new volunteer arrives at his Living History Park, Amos finds himself wondering if there's something missing from history: someone like the two of them.

Amos is sure there must have been LGBTQ+ people in nineteenth-century Illinois. His search turns up Albert D. J. Cashier, a Civil War soldier who might have identified as a trans man if he'd lived today. Soon Amos starts confiding in his newfound friend by writing letters in his journal--and hatches a plan to share Albert's story with his divided twenty-first century town. It may be an uphill battle, but it's one that Amos is ready to fight.

Told in an earnest, hilarious voice, this love letter to history, first crushes, and LGBTQ+ community will delight readers of Ashley Herring Blake, Alex Gino, or Maulik Pancholy.

View Details >>

Blackbird Fly

Erin Entrada Kelly

Future rock star or friendless misfit? That’s no choice at all. In this acclaimed novel by Newbery Medalist Erin Entrada Kelly, twelve-year-old Apple grapples with being different; with friends and backstabbers; and with following her dreams.

Publishers Weekly called Blackbird Fly “a true triumph,” and the Los Angeles Times Book Review said, “Apple soars like the eponymous blackbird of her favorite Beatles song.”

Apple has always felt a little different from her classmates. She and her mother moved to Louisiana from the Philippines when she was little, and her mother still cooks Filipino foods and chastises Apple for becoming “too American.” When Apple’s friends turn on her and everything about her life starts to seem weird and embarrassing, Apple turns to music. If she can just save enough to buy a guitar and learn to play, maybe she can change herself. It might be the music that saves her . . . or it might be her two new friends, who show her how special she really is.

Erin Entrada Kelly deftly brings Apple’s conflicted emotions to the page in her debut novel about family, friendship, popularity, and going your own way. “A must-read for those kids cringing at their own identities.”—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books.

View Details >>

Mindfulness for Teens in 10 Minutes a Day

Jennie Marie Battistin

Calm your mind and find your best self with 10-minute mindfulness exercises for teens

Learn how to use mindfulness, or the ability to be fully aware in the present moment, to reduce everyday stress. Mindfulness for Teens in 10 Minutes a Day shows you how to take control of your feelings and focus your attention with short, simple mindfulness activities.

Discover a wide variety of mindfulness techniques that will fit easily into your routine and help you thrive in every area of life. These engaging exercises show you how to find peace in the face of stress, improve relationships with friends and family, boost your self-esteem, and increase your focus to help you succeed at school and work.

This book about mindfulness for teens includes:

 

  • Short practice, big benefits―Take just a few minutes each day to find calm, focus, reconnect with your emotions, and respond to challenging situations.
  • Exercises for going deeper―Find suggestions for connecting more deeply with each activity, including journal prompts and meditations for further reflection.
  • Breathing techniques―Learn three key breathwork techniques to help you relax, reduce anxiety, and energize your body.

 


Improve focus, reduce stress, and be fully present with help from Mindfulness for Teens in 10 Minutes a Day.

 

View Details >>

The Guncle

Steven Rowley

National Bestseller • Wall Street Journal Bestseller • USA Today Bestseller
An NPR Book of the Year
Finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor
Finalist for the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards

From the bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus and The Editor comes a warm and deeply funny novel about a once-famous gay sitcom star whose unexpected family tragedy leaves him with his niece and nephew for the summer.


Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. But in terms of caretaking and relating to two children, no matter how adorable, Patrick is, honestly, overwhelmed.

So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick's brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian. Despite having a set of "Guncle Rules" ready to go, Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled acting career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine-year-old. Quickly realizing that parenting--even if temporary--isn't solved with treats and jokes, Patrick's eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you're unfailingly human.

With the humor and heart we've come to expect from bestselling author Steven Rowley, The Guncle is a moving tribute to the power of love, patience, and family in even the most trying of times.

View Details >>

A Boy and a Jaguar

Alan Rabinowitz

2015 Schneider Family Book Award Winner
* "A candid and deeply resonant account of a hard-fought battle against societal stigma, and an embrace of one's true talent and calling." --Publisher's Weekly, starred review

Speaking for the animals he loves gives one boy's life hope, purpose, and truth in this gorgeous picture book autobiography.

Alan loves animals, but the great cat house at the Bronx Zoo makes him sad. Why are they all alone in empty cages? Are they being punished? More than anything, he wants to be their champion--their voice--but he stutters uncontrollably.

Except when he talks to animals...then he is fluent.

Follow the life of the man Time Magazine calls, "the Indiana Jones of wildlife conservation" as he searches for his voice and fulfills a promise to speak for animals, and people, who cannot speak for themselves. This real-life story with tender illustrations by Catia Chien explores truths not defined by the spoken word.

Publishers Weekly Best Book
Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2015
Winner of the 2015 Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award
2015 Green Earth Book Honor book

View Details >>

The Many Colors of Harpreet Singh

Supriya Kelkar

"Alea Marley's cover illustration screams JOY and LOVE. I love everything about this important and necessary picture book, especially Harpreet Singh and his big heart." --Mr. Schu, Ambassador of School Libraries for Scholastic

"This simple yet sensitive story about a child coming to terms with things beyond his control will resonate across cultures." --Kirkus


Harpreet Singh loves his colors--but when his family moves to a new city, everything just feels gray. Can he find a way to make life bright again?

Harpreet Singh has a different color for every mood and occasion, from pink for dancing to bhangra beats to red for courage. He especially takes care with his patka--his turban--smoothing it out and making sure it always matches his outfit. But when Harpreet's mom finds a new job in a snowy city and they have to move, all he wants is to be invisible. Will he ever feel a happy sunny yellow again?

View Details >>

Wolfpack (Young Readers Edition)

Abby Wambach

In this young readers adaptation of her #1 New York Times bestselling book, two-time Olympic gold medalist and FIFA World Cup champion Abby Wambach inspires the next generation to find their voice, unite their pack, and change the world.

From rising young star to co-captain of the 2015 Women’s World Cup Champion team, Abby Wambach’s impressive career has shown her what it truly means to be a champion. Whether you’re leading from the bench or demanding the ball on the field, real success comes when you harness your inner strength, forge your own path, and band together with your team.

Updated with stories that trace her journey from youth soccer to the hall of fame, this young readers adaptation of Abby’s instant bestseller Wolfpack is for the next generation of wolves ready to change the game.

View Details >>

Lumberjanes Vol. 1

ND Stevenson

"Friendship to the max! At Miss Quinzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's camp for hardcore lady-types, things are not what they seem. Three-eyed foxes. Secret caves. Anagrams. Luckily, Jo, April, Mal, Molly and Ripley are five rad, butt-kicking best pals determined to have an awesome summer together-- and they're not gonna let a magical quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! The mystery keeps getting bigger, and it all begins here."--Back cover of Volume 1.

View Details >>

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

Abbi Waxman

Instant USA Today bestseller!

“Abbi Waxman is both irreverent and thoughtful.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Giffin

“Meet our bookish millennial heroine—a modern-day Elizabeth Bennet, if you will… Waxman’s wit and wry humor stand out. She is funny and imaginative, and “Bookish” lands a step above run-of-the-mill romantic comedy fare.”—The Washington Post

“Abbi Waxman offers up a quirky, eccentric romance that will charm any bookworm…. For anyone who’s ever wondered if their greatest romance might come between the pages of books they read, Waxman offers a heartwarming tribute to that possibility.”--Entertainment Weekly

The author of Other People’s Houses and The Garden of Small Beginnings delivers a quirky and charming novel chronicling the life of confirmed introvert Nina Hill as she does her best to fly under everyone's radar.

 
Meet Nina Hill: A young woman supremely confident in her own...shell.
 
The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book.
 
When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They're all—or mostly all—excited to meet her! She'll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It's a disaster! And as if that wasn't enough, Tom, her trivia nemesis, has turned out to be cute, funny, and deeply interested in getting to know her. Doesn't he realize what a terrible idea that is?
 
Nina considers her options.
1. Completely change her name and appearance. (Too drastic, plus she likes her hair.)
2. Flee to a deserted island. (Hard pass, see: coffee).
3. Hide in a corner of her apartment and rock back and forth. (Already doing it.)
 
It's time for Nina to come out of her comfortable shell, but she isn't convinced real life could ever live up to fiction. It's going to take a brand-new family, a persistent suitor, and the combined effects of ice cream and trivia to make her turn her own fresh page.

View Details >>

The Deaf Musicians

Pete Seeger

Poor Lee! He used to be a jazzman who could make the piano go yimbatimba- TANG--zang-zang. But now he's lost his hearing, and the bandleader had to let him go.

So Lee goes to a school for the deaf to learn sign language. There, he meets Max, who used to play the sax. Riding the subway to class, they start signing about all the songs they love. A bass player named Rose joins in and soon they've got a little sign language band. And in no time they're performing for audiences in the subway, night after night.

Living legend and Kennedy Center honoree Pete Seeger, renowned poet Paul DuBois Jacobs, and Coretta Scott King honor winner R. Gregory Christie present a jazzy riff on the power of music, overcoming obstacles, and all the different ways to hear the world. So, who will listen to a deaf musician? Everyone!

View Details >>

Peace Is a Chain Reaction: How World War II Japanese Balloon Bombs Brought People of Two Nations Together

Tanya Lee Stone

From an award-winning author comes a vivid depiction of an act of war from opposing sides of the conflict in World War IIand a rare reconciliation and wish for peace that evolved years later.

Adults wage war, while children are unwitting victims, pulled into a maelstrom of fear and hate without any choice. This is a story about two groups of teenagers on opposite sides of the world, forever connected by an act of war. It is a story about the adults some of those teens became, forever connected by acts of forgiveness, understanding, and peace. And it is a story about one remarkable man, whose heart belonged both to America and Japan, who put that peace and understanding in motion. Panning the camera wide, Tanya Lee Stone lays the global groundwork for the story’s context before zooming in on the lives of the people involved, providing an intimate look at how their changing perspectives impact their actions. Through meticulous research, interviews, and archival photo curation, Stone skillfully weaves all of these stories together, illuminating how, despite the devastating pain and destruction caused by war, peace can be a chain reaction. Extensive back matter includes an author’s note, source notes, bibliography, and index.

View Details >>

The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones

Daven McQueen

There are some friends you never forget.

It’s the summer of 1955. For Ethan Harper, a biracial kid raised mostly by his white father, race has always been a distant conversation. When he’s sent to spend the summer with his aunt and uncle in small-town Alabama, his blackness is suddenly front and center, and no one is shy about making it known he’s not welcome there. Enter Juniper Jones. The town’s resident oddball and free spirit, she’s everything the townspeople aren’t—open, kind, and accepting.

Armed with two bikes and an unlimited supply of root beer floats, Ethan and Juniper set out to find their place in a town that’s bent on rejecting them. As Ethan is confronted for the first time by what it means to be black in America, Juniper tries to help him see the beauty in even the ugliest reality, and that even the darkest days can give rise to an invincible summer . . .

View Details >>

The House of Broken Angels

Luis Alberto Urrea

In this "raucous, moving, and necessary" (San Francisco Chronicle) story by a Pulitzer Prize finalist, the De La Cruzes, a family on the Mexican-American border, celebrate two of their most beloved relatives during a joyous and bittersweet weekend.
National Bestseller and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist
A New York Times Notable Book / One of the Best Books of the Year from National Public Radio, American Library Association, San Francisco Chronicle, BookPage, Newsday, BuzzFeed, Kirkus Reviews, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Literary Hub
"All we do, mija, is love. Love is the answer. Nothing stops it. Not borders. Not death."
In his final days, beloved and ailing patriarch Miguel Angel de La Cruz, affectionately called Big Angel, has summoned his entire clan for one last legendary birthday party. But as the party approaches, his mother, nearly one hundred, dies, transforming the weekend into a farewell doubleheader. Among the guests is Big Angel's half brother, known as Little Angel, who must reckon with the truth that although he shares a father with his siblings, he has not, as a half gringo, shared a life.
Across two bittersweet days in their San Diego neighborhood, the revelers mingle among the palm trees and cacti, celebrating the lives of Big Angel and his mother, and recounting the many inspiring tales that have passed into family lore, the acts both ordinary and heroic that brought these citizens to a fraught and sublime country and allowed them to flourish in the land they have come to call home.
Teeming with brilliance and humor, authentic at every turn, The House of Broken Angels is Luis Alberto Urrea at his best, and cements his reputation as a storyteller of the first rank.

"Epic . . . Rambunctious . . . Highly entertaining." --New York Times Book Review
"Intimate and touching . . . the stuff of legend." --San Francisco Chronicle
"An immensely charming and moving tale." --Boston Globe

View Details >>

All Are Welcome

Alexandra Penfold

 

Join the call for a better world with this New York Times bestselling picture book about a school where diversity and inclusion are celebrated. The perfect back-to-school read for every kid, family and classroom!
In our classroom safe and sound.
Fears are lost and hope is found.


Discover a school where all young children have a place, have a space, and are loved and appreciated.

Readers will follow a group of children through a day in their school, where everyone is welcomed with open arms. A school where students from all backgrounds learn from and celebrate each other's traditions. A school that shows the world as we will make it to be.

“An important book that celebrates diversity and inclusion in a beautiful, age-appropriate way.” – Trudy Ludwig, author of The Invisible Boy

 

View Details >>

Speaking Our Truth

Monique Gray Smith

★"Smith's book is an effort that returns, offering diverse voices that invite the world into the reconciliation experience. Absolutely necessary."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Canada's relationship with its Indigenous people has suffered as a result of both the residential school system and the lack of understanding of the historical and current impact of those schools. Healing and repairing that relationship requires education, awareness and increased understanding of the legacy and the impacts still being felt by Survivors and their families. Guided by acclaimed Indigenous author Monique Gray Smith, readers will learn about the lives of Survivors and listen to allies who are putting the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission into action.

Praise for Speaking Our Truth:

★"Smith thoroughly and compassionately examines the history and traumatic aftereffects of Canada's residential schools...Smith informs without overwhelming or sugarcoating, and she emphasizes the power readers themselves possess."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

★"Despite the somber topic, Smith consistently empowers readers to be agents of change and provides specific suggestions to take action."--School Library Journal, starred review

★"Offers a perfect framework for readers actively exploring Indigenous history and current issues. Welcoming, honest, and down to earth, Speaking Our Truth is the tool many Canadians have been waiting for."--Quill & Quire, starred review

View Details >>

Himawari House

Harmony Becker

Winner of the 2023 Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Fiction Literature
Winner of the 2022 Kirkus Prize for Young Readers' Literature
A 2021 Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year
A 2021 School Library Best Books of the Year


A young adult graphic novel about three foreign exchange students and the pleasures, and difficulties, of adjusting to living in Japan.

Living in a new country is no walk in the park—Nao, Hyejung, and Tina can all attest to that. The three of them became fast friends through living together in the Himawari House in Tokyo and attending the same Japanese cram school. Nao came to Japan to reconnect with her Japanese heritage, while Hyejung and Tina came to find freedom and their own paths. Though each of them has her own motivations and challenges, they all deal with language barriers, being a fish out of water, self discovery, love, and family.

View Details >>

The Vibrant Years

Sonali Dev

"Bursting with humor, banter, and cringeworthy first dates, Sonali Dev's The Vibrant Years is a joyful and fun read, but it's also very much a timely tale about a group of underestimated women demanding respect and embracing their most authentic selves." --Mindy Kaling

Living on their own terms means being there for one another.

When sixty-five-year-old Bindu Desai inherits a million dollars, she's astounded--and horrified. The windfall threatens to expose a shameful mistake from her youth. Desperate to keep the secret, Bindu quickly spends it on something unexpected: a condo in a posh retirement community in Florida.

The impulsive decision blindsides Bindu's daughter-in-law, Aly. At forty-seven, Aly still shares a home with Bindu even after her divorce from Bindu's son. But maybe this change is just the push Aly needs to fight for the segment she's been promised for years at the news station where she works.

As Bindu and Aly navigate their new dynamic, Aly's daughter, Cullie, is faced with losing the business that made her a tech-world star. The only way to save it is to deliver a new idea to her investors--and of course they want the half-baked dating app she pitched them in a panic. Problem is, Cullie has never been on a real date. Naturally, enlisting her single mother and grandmother to help her with the research is the answer.

From USA Today bestselling author Sonali Dev comes a heartfelt novel about three generations of hilarious, unconventional, ambitious women navigating bad dates, a spiteful HOA board, reemerging exes, and secrets that refuse to remain hidden. Join the Desai women on a shared journey of self-discovery as they dare to live their most vibrant lives.

View Details >>

Gigi and Ojiji: What's in a Name?

Melissa Iwai

 

 

Gigi wants to go by something besides her baby name--but her full name, Geraldine, is too long to write and Hanako, her middle name, doesn't feel quite right. Will Gigi find the perfect name

 

 

This exciting new I Can Read series is brought to you by author-illustrator Melissa Iwai, whose popular books include Soup Day and Dumplings for Lili.

Gigi and Ojiji: What's Iin a Name is a Level Three I Can Read book. Level 3 includes many fun subjects kids love to read about on their own. Themes include friendship, adventure, historical fiction, and science. Level 3 books are written for early independent readers. They include some challenging words and more complex themes and stories. The story contains several Japanese words and a glossary of definitions.

Praise for Gigi and Ojiji:

"Gigi crafts her Japanese American identity in this enchanting early reader. The cuteness, inclusivity, and cross-cultural problem-solving represented will have young readers coming back again and again. A must-buy." --School Library Journal (starred review)

"The text is well supported by the endearing illustrations, which capture all of Gigi's big emotions and depict her as a biracial child, with a white father and Japanese mother." --Booklist (starred review)

"An affirming option in the quickly diversifying field of early-reader books." --Kirkus

View Details >>

All Thirteen

Christina Soontornvat

A 2021 Newbery Honor Book
A 2021 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
A 2021 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist


A unique account of the amazing Thai cave rescue told in a heart-racing, you-are-there style that blends suspense, science, and cultural insight.

On June 23, 2018, twelve young players of the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach enter a cave in northern Thailand seeking an afternoon's adventure. But when they turn to leave, rising floodwaters block their path out. The boys are trapped! Before long, news of the missing team spreads, launching a seventeen-day rescue operation involving thousands of rescuers from around the globe. As the world sits vigil, people begin to wonder: how long can a group of ordinary kids survive in complete darkness, with no food or clean water? Luckily, the Wild Boars are a very extraordinary "ordinary" group. Combining firsthand interviews of rescue workers with in-depth science and details of the region's culture and religion, author Christina Soontornvat--who was visiting family in Northern Thailand when the Wild Boars went missing--masterfully shows how both the complex engineering operation above ground and the mental struggles of the thirteen young people below proved critical in the life-or-death mission. Meticulously researched and generously illustrated with photographs, this page-turner includes an author's note describing her experience meeting the team, detailed source notes, and a bibliography to fully immerse readers in the most ambitious cave rescue in history.

View Details >>

The Hero Next Door

Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich

From We Need Diverse Books, the organization behind Flying Lessons & Other Stories, comes another middle-grade short story collection--this one focused on exploring acts of bravery--featuring some of the best own-voices children's authors, including R. J. Palacio (Wonder), Rita Williams-Garcia (One Crazy Summer), Linda Sue Park (A Long Walk to Water), and many more.

Not all heroes wear capes. Some heroes teach martial arts. Others talk to ghosts. A few are inventors or soccer players. They're also sisters, neighbors, and friends. Because heroes come in many shapes and sizes. But they all have one thing in common: they make the world a better place.

Published in partnership with We Need Diverse Books, this vibrant anthology features thirteen acclaimed authors whose powerful and diverse voices show how small acts of kindness can save the day. So pay attention, because a hero could be right beside you. Or maybe the hero is you.

AUTHORS INCLUDE: William Alexander, Joseph Bruchac, Lamar Giles, Mike Jung, Hena Khan, Juana Medina, Ellen Oh, R. J. Palacio, Linda Sue Park and Anna Dobbin, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Ronald L. Smith, Rita Williams-Garcia, and short-story contest winner Suma Subramaniam

“As with the two previous anthologies from We Need Diverse Books, this collection admirably succeeds in making available to all readers a wider and more representative range of American voices and protagonists.” -The Washington Post

View Details >>

An Emotion of Great Delight

Tahereh Mafi

From bestselling author of the Shatter Me series and the National Book Award-nominated A Very Large Expanse of Sea, Tahereh Mafi, comes a stunning novel about love and loneliness, navigating dual-identity as a Muslim teenager in America, and reclaiming your right to joy. It's 2003. It's been several months since the US officially declared war on Iraq, and the political world has evolved. Shadi, who wears hijaba visible allegiance to Islamkeeps her head down. Hate crimes are spiking. Undercover FBI agents are infiltrating mosques and interrogating members of the congregation, and the local Muslim community is beginning to fracture. Shadi hears the fights after servicesthe arguments between families about what it means to be Muslim, about what they should be doing and saying as a communitybut she does not engage. She's too busy drowning in her own troubles to find the time to deal with bigots. Shadi is named for joy, but she's haunted by sorrow. Her brother is dead, her father is dying, her mother is falling apart, and her best friend has mysteriously dropped out of her life. And then, of course, there's the small matter of her heart It's broken. Shadi has tried to navigate the remains of her quickly-shattering world by soldiering through, saying nothing, until finally, one day, everything changes. She explodes. Perfect for fans of the Shatter Me series as well as Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give and Nicola Yoon's The Sun is Also A Star. About the author: Tahereh Mafi is the New York Times bestselling author of the Shatter Me series which has been published in over 30 languages around the world. She was born in a small city somewhere in Connecticut and currently resides in Santa Monica, California, with her husband, Ransom Riggs, fellow bestselling author of Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children, and their young daughter. She can usually be found overcaffeinated and stuck in a book. You can find her online just about anywhere at @TaherehMafi or on her website, www.taherehbooks.com. Praise for A Very Large Expanse of Sea: 'This is a gorgeous book. It's tender and fierce, beautiful even as it depicts some ugly truths. The prose is passionate and honest, unsentimental and big-hearted. The very best books move you to reconsider the world around you and this is one of those. I truly loved it.' - Nicola Yoon, bestselling author of Everything, Everything 'I started reading A Very Large Expanse of Sea on a plane and couldn't put it down until I'd finished the entire thing. Tahereh Mafi's beautiful story touched my heart and taught me so much, I cannot wait for the world to read!!' - Tomi Adeyemi, bestselling author of Children of Blood and Bone 'A raw yet astoundingly elegant examination of identity, loneliness and family that is unflinching in its honesty and power. Tahereh Mafi holds nothing back - and the reader is better for it.' - Sabaa Tahir, New York Times bestselling author of Ember in the Ashes 'A Very Large Expanse of Sea reads like a beautiful heart - one that shines and aches and yearns, and above all else, one that loves fiercely against all odds. Years from now, you will remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when you experienced this. A transcendent story about truth, love and finding joy.' - Marie Lu, New York Times bestselling author of the Legend series.' Praise for the Shatter Me series: Dangerous, sexy, romantic, and intense. I dare you to stop reading. - Kami Garcia, #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of the Beautiful Creatures series Addictive, intense, and oozing with romance. I'm envious. I couldn't put it down. - Lauren Kate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Fallen series Tahereh Mafi's bold, inventive prose crackles with raw emotion. A thrilling, high-stakes saga of self-discovery and forbidden love, the Shatter Me series is a must-read for fans of dystopian young adult literature - or any literature! -Ransom Riggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children IGNITE ME really does ignite all five of your senses. It blows your mind and makes you hungry for more of its amazing characters. It will completely blow your expectations; Tahereh Mafi truly knows how to deliver! - Teenreads.com.

View Details >>

It's Not All Downhill From Here

Terry McMillan

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • After a sudden change of plans, a remarkable woman and her loyal group of friends try to figure out what she’s going to do with the rest of her life—from Terry McMillan, the bestselling author of How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Waiting to Exhale
 
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY MARIE CLAIRE AND GOOD HOUSEKEEPING • “Poignant, funny and full of life, this is a balm for troubled times.”—People

Loretha Curry’s life is full. A little crowded sometimes, but full indeed. On the eve of her sixty-eighth birthday, she has a booming beauty-supply empire, a gaggle of lifelong friends, and a husband whose moves still surprise. True, she’s carrying a few more pounds than she should be, but Loretha is not one of those women who think her best days are behind her—and she’s determined to prove wrong her mother, her twin sister, and everyone else with that outdated view of aging wrong. It’s not all downhill from here.

But when an unexpected loss turns her world upside down, Loretha will have to summon all her strength, resourcefulness, and determination to keep on thriving, pursue joy, heal old wounds, and chart new paths. With a little help from her friends, of course.

View Details >>

Dictionary for a Better World

Irene Latham

How can we make the world a better place? This inspiring resource for middle-grade readers is organized as a dictionary; each entry presents a word related to creating a better world, such as ally, empathy, or respect. For each word, there is a poem, a quote from an inspiring person, a personal anecdote from the authors, and a "try it" prompt for an activity.

This second poetic collaboration from Irene Latham and Charles Waters builds upon themes of diversity and inclusiveness from their previous book Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship. Illustrations from Iranian-British artist Mehrdokht Amini offer readers a rich visual experience.

View Details >>

The Friendship Book

Wendy L. Moss

Making and Keeping Good Friends is the resource kids need to figure out friendship.

Kids will figure out what they want out of their friendships, how to be a good friend, resolve conflicts, and much more in this upbeat book meant to help forge lasting relationships. Full of practical tips, insightful quizzes, and relatable examples, this is a unique resource to help kids understand friendships. Kids will take a peek inside friendships and how they can be connected through shared time together.

Topics covered include:

  • Seeking and making friends
  • Being a good friend
  • Surviving disagreements
  • Best Friends
  • Friendships and peer pressure
  • Friendships and social media
  • Feeling alone
  • How friendships change over time
View Details >>

Baby and Solo

Lisabeth Posthuma

Joel’s new job at the video store is just what the therapist ordered. But what happens if the first true friend he’s made in years finds out about What Was Wrong With Him?

Seventeen-year-old Joel Teague has a new prescription from his therapist—a part-time job—the first step toward the elusive Normal life he’s been so desperate to live ever since The Bad Thing happened. Lucky for Joel, ROYO Video is hiring. It’s the perfect fresh start—Joel even gets a new name. Dubbed “Solo” after his favorite Star Wars character, Joel works his way up the not-so-corporate ladder without anyone suspecting What Was Wrong With Him. That is, until he befriends Nicole “Baby” Palmer, a smart-mouthed coworker with a chip on her shoulder about . . . well, everything, and the two quickly develop the kind of friendship movie montages are made of. However, when Joel’s past inevitably catches up with him, he’s forced to choose between preserving his new blank slate persona and coming clean—and either way, he risks losing the first real friend he’s ever had. Set in a pop-culture-rich 1990s, this remarkable story tackles challenging and timely themes with huge doses of wit, power, and heart.

View Details >>

The House in the Cerulean Sea

TJ Klune

A NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, and WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER!
A 2021 Alex Award winner!
The 2021 RUSA Reading List: Fantasy Winner!
An Indie Next Pick!

One of Publishers Weekly's "Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2020"
One of Book Riot’s “20 Must-Read Feel-Good Fantasies”

Lambda Literary Award-winning author TJ Klune’s bestselling, breakout contemporary fantasy that's "1984 meets The Umbrella Academy with a pinch of Douglas Adams thrown in." (Gail Carriger)

Linus Baker is a by-the-book case worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He's tasked with determining whether six dangerous magical children are likely to bring about the end of the world.

Arthur Parnassus is the master of the orphanage. He would do anything to keep the children safe, even if it means the world will burn. And his secrets will come to light.

The House in the Cerulean Sea is an enchanting love story, masterfully told, about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.

"1984 meets The Umbrella Academy with a pinch of Douglas Adams thrown in." —Gail Carriger, New York Times bestselling author of Soulless

View Details >>

A contar amabilidad / Counting Kindness

Hollis Kurman

A compassionate counting book that captures the power of a welcoming community.

Teach children about refugees and how each kindness can help them find a new home. More than half of the world's refugees are children fleeing scary situations in search of a safe place to live.

Arriving in a new place is stressful for newcomers, especially when the newcomers are little ones. But this beautiful counting book helps readers see the journey of finding a new home and the joys of being welcomed into a new community. From playing to sleeping, eating to reading, celebrating to learning, Counting Kindness proves we can lift the heaviest hearts when we come together.

View Details >>

Margot and Mateo Save the World

Darcy Miller

A hilarious—and slimy—alien adventure (set on Earth) that the bestselling author of Zombie Chasers, John Kloepfer, calls "fast paced, out-of-this-world fun!"

LITA Excellence in Children’s and Young Adult Science Fiction Notable List / Eleanor Cameron List Selection

When Margot Blumenthal removes a bright blue slug alien attached to Mateo Flores’s back, the school play co-stars know it’s definitely not going to be a regular day at West Cove Middle School.

They reluctantly team up and soon discover that the mayor and countless other adults, including Mateo’s dad, are infected—which means that West Cove, and possibly all of Earth, is in danger.

What will they (and their new scientist friend) do? Ditch class and protect humankind, of course—because one unexcused absence doesn’t matter when the world is at stake!

This stand-alone middle grade novel is fun, silly, and full of adventure. Young readers will speed through it…if they can stop laughing long enough to turn the page.

View Details >>

Channel Kindness: Stories of Kindness and Community

Born This Way Foundation Reporters

A New York Times Bestseller

For Lady Gaga, kindness is the driving force behind everything she says and does.


The quiet power of kindness can change the way we view one another, our communities, and even ourselves. She embodies this mission, and through her work, brings more kindness into our world every single day.

Lady Gaga has always believed in the importance of being yourself, being kind to yourself, and being kind to others, no matter who they are or where they come from. With that sentiment in mind, she and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, founded Born This Way Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to making the world a kinder and braver place. Through the years, they've collected stories of kindness, bravery and resilience from young people all over the world, proving that kindness truly is the universal language. And now, we invite you to read these stories and follow along as each and every young author finds their voice just as Lady Gaga has found hers.

Within these pages, you’ll meet young changemakers who found their inner strength, who prevailed in the face of bullies, who started their own social movements, who decided to break through the mental health stigma and share how they felt, who created safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth, and who have embraced kindness with every fiber of their being by helping others without the expectation of anything in return.

In one story, you’ll read about a young person with an autoimmune disease, who after being bullied at school, learned how to practice self-love and started an organization with the mission of educating others about the importance of self-love, too; and in another story, you’ll meet a young person who decided to start a movement to help eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health and encouraged others to talk about their feelings openly and honestly, a reminder that kindness and mental wellness go hand in hand.

Not only were we moved by these individual acts of kindness, but we were also touched by the many stories of organizations, neighborhoods, and entire communities that fully dedicated themselves to helping those in need and found new, innovative ways to make our world a kinder and braver place.

Individually and collectively, these stories prove that kindness not only saves lives but builds community. Kindness is inclusion, it is pride, it is empathy, it is compassion, it is self-respect and it is the guiding light to love. Kindness is always transformational, and its never-ending ripples result in even more kind acts that can change our lives, our communities, and our world.

View Details >>

Before She was Harriet

Lesa Cline-Ransome

Who was Harriet Tubman before she was Harriet?

We know her today as Harriet Tubman, but in her lifetime she was called by many names. As General Tubman she was a Union spy. As Moses she led hundreds to freedom on the Underground Railroad. As Minty she was a slave whose spirit could not be broken. As Araminta she was a young girl whose father showed her the stars and the first steps on the path to freedom.

An evocative poem and stunning watercolors come together to honor a woman of humble origins whose courage and compassion make her a larger than life hero.

A lush and lyrical biography of Harriet Tubman, written in verse and illustrated by James Ransome, winner of the Coretta Scott King medal for The Creation.

A Junior Library Guild Selection
A Coretta Scott King Honor Book
A Christopher Award winner
A Jane Addams Children's Honor Book
A Booklist "Top of the List" selection 

View Details >>