8 - 12

Certain Poor Shepherds: A Christmas Tale
Jonathan Bartlett, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
A dog, a goat, and their flock follow the sight and scent of a star in a beautifully illustrated, keenly observed Nativity story.The story begins on a cold upland pasture where coarse grass and scrub cedar grew. The hour was midnight. The day was the first of winter. And the year of our Lord was not 1900 or 1600 or even 100. It was 0. On that night a white goat, Ima, and a huge, gray short-haired sheepdog, Lila, were keeping watch over a small flock of young sheep.Bright and dazzling, a star appears behind the cedars on the eastern skyline. It is big and powerful, and it has a pure, clean scent, like something halfway between honey and water. Lila, the sheepdog, and Ima, the goat, are compelled to follow the star on a journey to a humble manger in Bethlehem, a journey beset with danger, adventure, and love. In a story alive with insight and grace, best-selling author Elizabeth Scott Thomas brings us a striking portrait of the Nativity story from the captivating point of the view of the animal kingdom.
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Baba Yaga's Assistant
Emily Carroll, Marika McCoola
"A modern twist on the classic Russian folktale of Baba Yaga, this spooky graphic novel features a tween heroine who is both clever and courageous." - Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor Russian folklore icon Baba Yaga mentors a lonely teen in a wry graphic novel that balances gleefully between the modern and the timeless.Most children think twice before braving a haunted wood filled with terrifying beasties to match wits with a witch, but not Masha. Her beloved grandma taught her many things: that stories are useful, that magic is fickle, that nothing is too difficult or too dirty to clean. The fearsome witch of folklore needs an assistant, and Masha needs an adventure. She may be clever enough to enter Baba Yaga's house-on-chicken-legs, but within its walls, deceit is the rule. To earn her place, Masha must pass a series of tests, outfox a territorial bear, and make dinner for her host. No easy task, with children on the menu! Spooky and poignant, Marika McCoola's stunning debut—with richly layered art by acclaimed graphic artist Emily Carroll—is a storytelling feat and a visual feast.
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Azalea, Unschooled
When Azalea’s family moves to Portland, Maine, so that her father can try driving a tour bus for a living, Azalea’s mom decides she wants Azalea (11) and her older sister Zenith (13) to try unschooling. The sisters try to find the right balance between homeschooling, unschooling, and adjusting to a new home. And when someone sabotages the tour bus, Azalea decides to use her new unschooling methods learned to find the culprit and hold her family together. The author deftly explores, with humor and insight, the new and growing unschooling movement as well as the challenge of moving to a new home, making new friends, and finding room for differences within a family.
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Walking Fish
Winner of:National Science Teachers Association/Children's Book Council, Outstanding Science Trade Book AwardA humorous, exciting tale of an ordinary girl who makes an extraordinary scientific discovery—a blind fish that walksWhen seventh-grader Alexis catches an unusual fish that looks like a living fossil, she sets off a frenzied scientific hunt for more of its kind. Alexis and her friend Darshan join the hunt, snorkeling, sounding the depths of Glacial Lake, even observing from a helicopter and exploring a cave. All the while, they fight to keep the selfish Dr. Mertz from claiming the discovery all for himself. When Alexis follows one final hunch, she risks her life and almost loses her friend. Walking Fish is a scientific adventure that provides a perfect combination of literacy and science.
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The Island of Dr. Libris
Chris Grabenstein
New from the author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library and coauthor of the I Funny series with James Patterson! Celebrate the power of imagination with this action-packed New York Times bestseller that shows that sometimes the real story starts after you close the book! What if your favorite characters came to life? Billy’s spending the summer in a lakeside cabin that belongs to the mysterious Dr. Libris. But something strange is going on. Besides the security cameras everywhere, there’s Dr. Libris’s private bookcase. Whenever Billy opens the books inside, he can hear sounds coming from the island in the middle of the lake. The clash of swords. The twang of arrows. Sometimes he can even feel the ground shaking. It’s almost as if the stories he’s reading are coming to life! But that’s impossible . . . isn’t it? “A wonderful tale. . . . This book is like no other I’ve read. It’s a complete original.” —James Patterson"Kids will enjoy the cartoonish mayhem, especially given Grabenstein's breezy narrative voice and jaunty wit....as in 'Lemoncello', there is a winning generosity and sweetness to the story's telling."--The New York Times"Chris Grabenstein gleefully plunders great works of literature for his cast of secondary characters . . . a madcap mash-up that 8-to-12 year olds will want to devour in big gulps."—The Wall Street Journal"Effortlessly readable and a whole lot of fun." — Booklist Reviews
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Ms. Rapscott's Girls
Elise Primavera
Fans of Mary Poppins will love this whimsical tale of a boarding school for children of very busy parents, where an extraordinary headmistress teaches them life lessons about courage, adventure, friendship . . . and the importance of birthday cake.Nestled inside a lighthouse, Great Rapscott School for the Daughters of Busy Parents takes its motto from Amelia Earhart: Adventure is worthwhile in itself. Headmistress Ms. Rapscott couldn’t agree more, but her students, who are shipped to the school in boxes, could use a little convincing. Still, despite their initial reluctance, the students are soon soaring through the sky and getting lost on purpose. In addition to learning what birthday cakes are and how best to approach a bumbershoot tree, the students also manage to learn a little something about strength and bravery.Bestselling author Elise Primavera has created an irresistible, richly illustrated story about finding your way.
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A Dragon's Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans
Mary GrandPre, Joanne Ryder, Laurence Yep
Fans of How to Train Your Dragon will love this whimsical tale, the first in a series, by a Newbery Honor winner, featuring charming illustrations and pet "training tips" in each chapter. Crusty dragon Miss Drake has a new pet human, precocious Winnie. Oddly enough, Winnie seems to think Miss Drake is her pet—a ridiculous notion! Unknown to most of its inhabitants, the City by the Bay is home to many mysterious and fantastic creatures, hidden beneath the parks, among the clouds, and even in plain sight. And Winnie wants to draw every new creature she encounters: the good, the bad, and the ugly. But Winnie’s sketchbook is not what it seems. Somehow, her sketchlings have been set loose on the city streets! It will take Winnie and Miss Drake’s combined efforts to put an end to the mayhem . . . before it’s too late. This refreshing debut collaboration by Laurence Yep, a two-time Newbery Honor winner and a Laura Ingalls Wilder Award winner, and Joanne Ryder features illustrations by Mary GrandPré. Praise for A Dragon's Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans*“Warm humor, magical mishaps, and the main characters’ budding mutual respect and affection combine to give this opener for a planned series a special shine.” –Booklist, Starred “Aternately comical, suspenseful and sometimes sweetly emotional.” –Kirkus Reviews “With a black-and-white spot illustration opening most chapters, an engaging narrator, and a consistently fluid writing style, this title makes a fine dragon choice for readers.” –School Library Journal “In this series launch, Yep and Ryder conjure up a world where dragons and humans interact, and the results are heartwarming and quite funny.” –Publishers Weekly “A clever and amusing novel that imagines a magical world that nestles right up against our own and sometimes crosses over.” –The Bulleting of the Center for Children’s Books Praise for A Dragon’s Guide to Making Your Human Smarter"Yep and Ryder keep the magic coming with their whimsical fantasy, enhanced by Grandpré's sweet drawings. The story positively vibrates with fun." —Kirkus Reviews" Lighthearted episodes of unusual school lessons and field trips, illustrated by GrandPré’s winsome spot art, are grounded by Miss Drake’s more serious encounters with the goons...a gratifying development as this buoyant, fantastical series continues."—The Horn Book Review
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Amelia's Middle-School Graduation Yearbook
Amelia is excited to graduate from middle school, but she's nervous about starting high school, especially when she finds out she won't have her best friend, Carly, with her. In her graduation yearbook, drawings and "photos" nostalgically recap her earlier years and notebooks as Amelia figures out how to face the changes ahead.
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My Near-Death Adventures (99% True!)
Alison DeCamp
For history lovers and journal fans comes a “hilarious and heartbreaking . . . 99–100% fantastic” (A Fuse #8 Production, School Library Journal) story about a boy on a mission to find his long-lost father in the logging camps of Michigan. There are many things that 11-year-old Stanley Slater would like to have in life—most of all, a father. But what if Stan’s missing dad isn’t “dearly departed” after all? Armed with his stupendous scrapbook, full of black-and-white 19th-century advertisements and photos, Stan’s attempt to locate his long-lost hero/cowboy/outlaw dad is a near-death adventure fraught with pesky relatives, killer lumberjacks, and poisonous pies! His tale will leave readers in stitches, but not the kind that require medical attention. Praise for My Near-Death Adventures (99% True!) “A knee-slapper of a debut featuring a narrator who is rather less than 99 percent reliable but 100 percent engaging.” —Kirkus Reviews“[An] exuberant first novel.” —Publishers Weekly“Stan’s story is full of his hilarious misunderstandings and overactive imagination. Interspersed throughout are pictures and news clippings embellished with wisecrack remarks, speech bubbles, and the occasional mustache.” —Booklist
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Ratscalibur
From the New York Times bestselling author of I Am A Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President“A witty mash-up of favorite fantasy motifs.”—New York Times Book Review“Ratscalibur is funny, it’s scary, and it’s sweet, like life. But it has talking rats and magic, so it’s better than life.”—Jimmy Fallon “Full of clever dialogue and hilarious puns...Don’t be surprised if this novel achieves best-seller status.” —Booklist “The only way I could’ve liked this more is if I were eleven.”—Ira Glass “A charming take on an old favorite.”—Publishers Weekly When Joey is bitten by an elderly rat, he goes from aspiring seventh-grader to three-inch tall rodent. At first, Joey is amazed by his new rat self. The city streets call to him at night. Smells that would have repelled him before are suddenly tantalizing. (A chicken bone? Yes! A squashed cockroach? Like perfume!) And wow, the freedom! But when a bout of hunger leads Joey to pull the spork from the scone, he finds himself at the center of a longtime rat prophecy. Joey has unwittingly unlocked the sword Ratscalibur; and now, it is up to him to protect his new rat friends from the evil crows who seek to destroy their peaceful kingdom. But what does an eleven-year-old know about actual swordplay? And what happens when Joey no longer wants to be a rat?