8 - 12

Ballpark Mysteries: The Astro Outlaw
Mark Meyers, David A. Kelly
Now batting clean-up—book #4 in a new early chapter book mystery series where each book is set in a different American ballpark! Houston, we have a problem! Before a game at the Astros' ballpark, Mike and Kate get to meet astronaut commander Nick Rice at the nearby Houston Space Center. He's planning to display a very rare moonrock at an autographing event later. But just before the event, a nefarious outlaw knocks out the commander and steals the moonrock! Can Mike and Kate figure out who did it . . . when their only clue is a broken green feather?The Astro Outlaw includes a fun act page about the Houston Astros' stadium with trivia about the train on the outfield wall and the homerun gas pump.Cross Ron Roy's A to Z Mystery series with Matt Christopher's sports books and you get the Ballpark Mysteries: fun, puzzling whodunnits aimed at the younger brothers and sisters of John Feinstein's fans.
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Punished!
David Lubar
Logan and his friend Benedict run into the wrong guy at the library--literally. When Logan slams into the reference guy in the basement and gives hima little lip, Logan gets punished, really and truly punished. He has three days to complete three tasks before Professor Wordsworth will lift the magical punishment that keeps getting Logan in even more trouble.
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Horse Diaries: Tennessee Rose
Astrid Sheckels, Jane Kendall
Alabama, 1856. Tennessee Rose is a dark bay Tennessee Walking Horse with a rose-shaped marking on her forehead. She loves dashing around the plantation in the running walk that her breed is famous for, then coming back to her comfortable stall and her friend Levi, the slave boy who is her groom. But as the Civil War approaches, Rosie begins to question plantation life. Is slavery fair? Could Levi be free? Like Black Beauty, this moving novel is told in first person from the horse's point of view and includes an appendix full of photos and facts about Tennessee Walking Horses and the Civil War.
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Brendan Buckley's Sixth-Grade Experiment
Sundee T. Frazier
Read about Brendan, a biracial boy who loves science, and his middle school adventures in this sequel to the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award-winner Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything in It. Brendan Buckley is headed to middle school on a whole new adventure. When his alternative energy idea gets him paired with new girl Morgan Belcher for the national science competition, Brendan is skeptical. But their partnership clicks, and they embark on a methane-producing experiment involving bottles, balloons, and the freshest cow manure they can find. As Brendan spends more time on the experiment, he has a lot of big questions: Does his police detective dad really think he’s a science-nerd whimp? Will he and Khalfani, his best friend and Tae Kwon Do sparring partner, remain best friends? And can Brendan prove that his scientific pursuits really could be world-changing? *Brendan is both nerdy and immensely likable. . . . The prickliness between Brendan and his father is handled with particular deftness.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Recommended "Middle schoolers and science projects make for enjoyable combustible fiction. . . . The role of racism and family history is key in shaping these multifaceted characters. . . . appealing Brendan should keep readers fully engaged."—Kirkus Reviews “Children will enjoy the ups and downs of Brendan’s sixth-grade year and wait eagerly for his future exploits.”—School Library Journal “The complexity of the characters and the strength of Brendan’s family sets the book apart, as does Brendan’s biracial identity.”—Booklist
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Eep!
Joke Van Leeuwen
One day Warren sees something strange lying under a bush. He doesn't know whether it is a bird in the form of a girl, or a girl in the form of a bird. He takes the creature home. His wife Tina wants to keep it and raise it as her own child. But it has wings...
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Travel Team: Power Hitter
M. G. Higgins
Sammy Perez has to make it to the big leagues. After his teammate's career-ending injury, the Roadrunners decided to play in a wood bat tournament to protect their pitchers. And while Sammy used to be a hotheaded, hard-hitting, home-run machine, he's now stuck in the slump of his life. Sammy thinks the wood bats are causing the problem, but his dad suggests that maybe he's not strong enough. Is Sammy willing to break the law and sacrifice his health to get an edge by taking performance-enhancing drugs? Can Sammy break out of his slump in time to get noticed by major-league scouts?
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Mr. and Mrs. Bunny - Detectives Extraordinaire!
Sophie Blackall, Polly Horvath
From National Book Award winner Polly Horvath comes a hopping mad mystery that's perfect for Easter baskets everywhere!In this hilarious chapter book mystery, meet a girl whose parents have been kidnapped by disreputable foxes, and a pair of detectives that also happen to be bunnies! When Madeline gets home from school one afternoon to discover that her parents have gone missing, she sets off to find them. So begins a once-in-a-lifetime adventure involving a cast of unforgettable characters. There's Mr. and Mrs. Bunny, who drive a smart car, wear fedoras, and hate marmots; the Marmot, who loves garlic bread and is a brilliant translator; and many others. Translated from the Rabbit by Newbery Honor-winning author Polly Horvath, and beautifully illustrated by Caldecott Medal winner Sophie Blackall, here is a book that kids will both laugh over and love."National Book Award-winner Polly Horvath's latest, a rabbity romp complete with whimsical illustrations and a quirky cast of characters, has both the look and feel of a classic children's book," raves The Washington Post.
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Cheesie Mack: Is Cool in a Duel
Cheesie and Georgie are back, and this time they're off to the greatest summer camp in Maine. As the oldest of the Little Guy campers, they'll get to make the campfires and choose the sports teams. It's sure to be their best summer yet!Then disaster strikes. Cheesie and Georgie are put in a cabin with the Big Guy campers, including Cheesie's archenemy, Kevin Welch. Now the youngest—and smallest—of the Big Guys, Cheesie has no choice but to use his brains to fight Kevin's brawn—he challenges the bully to a Cool Duel. The adventure that follows includes a toilet on a wall, a headless skateboarder, a garter snake mustache, and the scariest ghost story ever told. Will Cheesie survive to start middle school? With plenty of lists, drawings, and made-up words, Cheesie—with a little help from Steve Cotler—tells the story of the best worst summer ever.
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The Haunting of Apartment 101
Megan Atwood
Jinx felt something rumble through the room. She began to shake and moved closer to Jackson. "Do you feel that?" she whispered. Jackson nodded. When Jinx glanced at him, his face had turned bright white. As if he'd seen a ghost. Jinx was a social reject who became a punked-out paranormal investigator. Jackson is a jock by day and Jinx's ghost-hunting partner by night. When a popular girl named Emily asks the duo to explore a haunting in her dad's apartment, Jinx is skeptical—but Jackson insists they take the case. And the truth they find is even stranger than Emily's story.
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Dragon Boogie
Erik Craddock, Erik Craddock
With a roll of some enchanted dice, Stone Rabbit and his friends are unwittingly transported to a medieval realm filled with nerdy knights, wacky wizards, and deranged dragons! Will our long-eared hero be able to complete his noble quest and escape the fiery lair of the beast? Or will he end up eternally lost in the dungeons of despair?Dragon Boogie is the seventh book in a full-color series of riotous, rip-roaring graphic novels that chronicles the zany of adventures of a quick-tempered and quick-witted young rabbit. Its fast pace and outrageously high visual content will appeal to thrill-seeking young readers everywhere!