Motor-Mix a gyrocopter, lunar probe, jumbo jet, and more to invent a flying machine all your own! Young readers will delight in mixing and matching their favorite vehicles and then reading the funny sounds and sentences that result, making for a playful, interactive bonding experience.
Debut author Kristi Wientge tackles the uncomfortable—but all too relatable—subject of female body hair and self-esteem with this sweet and charming novel in the tradition of Judy Blume.
Karma Khullar is about to start middle school, and she is super nervous. Not just because it seems like her best friend has found a newer, blonder best friend. Or the fact that her home life is shaken up by the death of her dadima. Or even that her dad is the new stay-at-home parent, leading her mother to spend most of her time at work. But because she’s realized that she has seventeen hairs that have formed a mustache on her upper lip.
With everyone around her focused on other things, Karma is left to figure out what to make of her terrifyingly hairy surprise all on her own.
All great theaters have their ghosts. . . .
After Olive Preiss freezes during a theater camp audition, she flees in despair. She finds herself at Maudeville, a beautiful old theater that she’s never noticed before. She enters, goes onstage, and sings her song. “Thank you for that lovely audition, darling,” comes a voice from the shadows. “I believe I have just the part for you.”
Olive is thrilled to work with Maude Devore, the glamorous actress who owns the theater, and her eclectic cast of misfits. Yet gradually there are signs that Maudeville isn’t exactly what it seems. Sometimes—just for a moment!—it feels wrong. As opening day approaches, Olive’s doubts and fears grow. But no matter what, this show must go on . . . and on . . . and on. . . .
“Richly drawn . . . a haunting and ethereal tale.” —Booklist, Starred Review
Adam, while taking a break from school work, tries out a new tube of "special" bubbles and finds that they can be connected. As they grow, he eventually he is able to enter them, and the bubbles shrink him to the size of an ant. By jumping up and down and with a puff of breeze, Adam ends up in a tree. He finds friends and excitement in his backyard as he tries to go back to his normal size. Along the way, he gets to know a number organisms like a fungi, a bee, a wood roach, a cricket, an ant, and others who help him and also teach him about their lives and how they work to make a life, a home, and incidentally a great soil for his garden.
After this adventure, Adam goes back into a bubble to visit his soil friends and ends up being blown into a snag, a seemingly lifeless tree. With the help of a squirrel, Trouble, he and Kit, his friend the cricket, travel down the snag in their bubble. They meet the creatures who live in the dead tree. Emerging out of a hole in the base of the snag, they are blown into a storm. Kit is able to leap out of the bubble and Adam travels in the bubble down the hill on storm runoff. He ends up in a pool of the creek. Along the way, he gets to know about storm water and how it affects the creatures to have to live in it.
Although fiction, the book describes the very real aspects of soil and its production, life in a snag, and issues related to water from storms and how it impacts streams.
Dewey has no problem handling other people's parents, but when he overhears his parents talking one day, he faces a challenge he never expected. Dewey can solve any problem parents may cause, but what will he do when the parents who are causing problems are his own?
Nicole loves spending time playing softball with her friends on the Lady Tigers Fastpitch Softball Team. At first, Nicole gets along really well with all the other players, and they have lots of fun competing together. But things start to change when Coach Kory introduces Diana, a new player trying out for the team.
Nicole immediately tries to welcome Diana and make her feel like part of the team. This plan backfires, however, when Diana responds to every one of Nicole’s attempts with a snide comment or rude eye roll. Diana seems to think she is better than everyone else, and by the end of practice, everyone has heard or been the victim of one of Diana’s mean comments. Nicole tries to ignore the remarks, but things begin to escalate when Diana has a pool party and only invites part of the team. Is Diana purposefully trying to split the team in half? Will Nicole be able to pull it back together in time?
A dystopian novel for today. Governcorp has taken over the United States, Broadcasters are ubiquitous and immigrants can't be trusted.
Fifteen-year-old Hannah, a new citizen, and thirteen-year-old Jenny, a future safety officer, have nothing in common. But it's Jenny's job to make sure Hannah follows the Governcorp citizenship rules-especially to carry and use a Protector properly. Having a Protector is supposed to keep you safe, and help you keep others and your community safe. Protect yourself; protect your property; protect community property; protect your friends, family and fellow citizens-that's what the Governcorp rulebook says. And what Jenny believes with all her heart.
Hannah wants to be a good citizen, for her family and for her father who worked so hard to gain citizenship for them-but for someone who grew up in the Homestead, Protectors mean something else entirely to her: fear and Governcorp control. She doesn't want to carry one and she doesn't want to use one, but she has no choice. As she navigates what it means to be a citizen, she finds herself part of a rebellion that questions the rules. But when questioning the rules leads to breaking them, she'll have to rely on Jenny for help. And Jenny's idea of being a good citizen is very different from Hannah's...
"Gripping, disturbing, suspenseful and well-crafted, this book will appeal to reluctant teen readers as well as avid reading enthusiasts."
"Believable and engaging teenage characters and their relationships are at the heart of the story The question that keeps recurring in this book is, what is the best way to act in a brutal and repressive society? Should one simply go along with the crowd and ignore the dissonance between reality and what the government says? Should one peacefully protest for the redress of grievances, or should one become part of a violent revolution and use any means to topple the establishment? The Good Citizen shows there is no simple or easy answer."
"Reminiscent of Orwell's 1984, this is a memorable book which deserves to be read, especially by those who want to be good citizens in a corrupt and confusing world."
Kacey is the new girl in Broken Falls. When she moved in with her father, she stepped into a brand-new life. A life with a stepbrother, a stepmother, and strangest of all, an adoring younger half sister.
Kacey’s new life is eerily charming compared with the wild highs and lows of the old one she lived with her volatile mother. And everyone is so nice in Broken Falls—she’s even been welcomed into a tight new circle of friends. Bailey and Jade invite her to do everything with them.
Which is why it’s so odd when they start acting distant. And when they don’t invite her to the biggest party of the year, it doesn't exactly feel like an accident.
But Kacey will never be able to ask, because Bailey never makes it home from that party. Suddenly, Broken Falls doesn’t seem so welcoming after all—especially once everyone starts looking to the new girl for answers.
Kacey is about to learn some very important lessons: Sometimes appearances can be deceiving. Sometimes when you’re the new girl, you shouldn’t trust anyone.
Praise for Little Monsters:
"Thomas creates a disturbing portrait of how bad news and gossip can curdle when mixed together."-Oprah.com
"An eerie and masterly psychological thriller...[that] culminates in a shocking and disturbing ending. Thomas expertly captures the pointed nuances and the fickle, manipulative bonds of adolescent girls’ friendships."-SLJ
"Taut and suspenseful...this gritty page-turner will easily hook a broad range of readers"-Booklist
"An intense psychological thriller that all but ensures the lights will be left on between dusk and dawn."-Publishers Weekly
"Gritty and realistic...this mystery will leave readers in awe."-VOYA
"A twisted story of obsession and manipulation, Little Monsters captivated me right up to its surprising conclusion—and left me wondering how well I really know my friends."-Chelsea Sedoti, author of The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett
A 2018 Reader Views Choice Award
Feathered Quill "Be Kind to Animals" Prize
A 2018 Distinguished Favorite Independent Press Award
Thomas the Turtle lives with his mother and sister on Placid Pond. Many years ago his father disappeared when he entered one part of the pond, which is called the "forbidden region." Thomas the Turtle has been told by his mother not to go to this region, but one day Thomas ventures too close and is swept over a waterfall and downstream. He struggles battling the forces of nature to survive the frightening experience. Far from home, he is determined to reunite with this family, and finally with the help of two children he succeeds. The Adventure of Thomas the Turtle stresses family values, filial obedience, adversity, curiosity, faith and determination. Parents will enjoy reading this touching story to their 5-to-9-year-old children for its exciting adventure and strong moral messages.
