With a thick finger he slowly traced the path of a stray raindrop that had landed near the corner of his eye and trickled down his cheek. And he thought to himself that it was probably a very good thing that gorillas didn't know how to cry. Raised in a laboratory, Ortega might seem nearly human to his scientist-caregivers, but to the children at his new school, a talking gorilla is nothing but a freak. Unless he wants to spend the rest of his life locked in a cage, however, Ortega is going to have to change people's minds. More than a comic-adventure novel, Ortega asks the reader to reflect upon the limits of science, imagine how it feels to be profoundly different from those around you and, most of all, consider what it really means to be human.

Ebram Casas-Treski gets the shock of his life when he moves to a new town and learns that he will not be finishing elementary school at the top grade level but going to middle school instead. But loneliness, isolation, and bullies are only the beginning of his problem. Something mysterious is going on, on Texas Thistle Avenue, and it's difficult to ignore. Ice from the tap and in the toilet? Strange voices inside his siblings' heads? His grandfather's story about El Día de los Muertos? And then there are the flying Santas! Ebram needs an answer, and the truth is not what he thinks. Enter the Shroudas, a strange group of tweens and teens who challenge the community with their active belief in doing good and helping others as themselves. But are they too uncool for Ebram to befriend? Parents and children will be drawn into this inspiring first book of author Esther Locascio's Ebram's Story series. The mystery has just begun. Join in the adventure and find out how Ebram gains self-confidence and a sense of purpose. Locascio also extends to readers an invitation to incorporate service to others into their daily lives.

Eight-grader Roy Morelli can’t wait for baseball season to start so he can take his rightful place as shortstop for the Pilchuk All-Star team. Being on the All-Stars is just the warm-up for the big leagues: the varsity baseball team at the high school Roy will go to next year. But when Roy’s divorced parents find out he’s failing history, they make him quit the All-Stars. It’s not his fault the only thing interesting about history class is Valerie Hopkins, and she won’t even give Roy the time of day.Now Roy is stuck on a losing team in the wimpy rec league, and instead of playing ball every spare minute, he’s spending his afternoons with a tutor—who just happens to be his dad’s brainiac girlfriend. If Roy’s going to impress the varsity baseball coach, he’s sure he should be looking out for number one, not wasting his time studying. After all, baseball is what Roy does best. But when his grades continue to slide and his teammates get tired of his know-it-all attitude, Roy Morelli will need to step up to the plate. . . .

Sixteen-year-old July MacKenzie can hardly recognize her own life anymore. A few months ago, she was enjoying her urban lifestyle in Vancouver, going to school, hanging out with the same old friends she’d had for years. Now, when she steps out her back door, the only evidence of human existence she sees is an empty road, stretching off in the distance to...nowhere. It all happened so fast! Her mom was killed in a hit and run accident, and before she knew it Marie, her other parent, had sold the house, packed up and moved them out into the Interior. How could she leave everything behind like that? July could never make new friends. She’d never get used to the dark nights of the countryside. And she’d never, ever, stop missing her birth mom as long as she lived!