Juvenile Fiction

Liberty Frye and the Witches of Hessen (series)
The average ten-year-old girl seldom travels far from home. She doesn't worry about being kidnapped by witches or imprisoned in medieval castles where children meet their unspeakable demise. She rarely gives thought to curses, potions and magic. She certainly isn't concerned about risking life and limb to decipher ancient rites and lost treasures....But Liberty Frye is about to discover that she is not just an average girl.When a cryptic note from long-lost relatives arrives, the news it brings flips Libby's small-town existence upside down. Soon, she finds herself lured to a foreign land where retired witches, talking bats and geriatric World War II pilots await. It's up to Libby to unravel the sinister plot that brought her there in the first place, but in so doing, she'll uncover a shocking secret that will change her life forever ... if she survives the challenge.
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From the Publisher

Miss Crump's Funny Bone
Miss Crump is the grumpiest teacher in Lakeview Elementary School, and Frankie has the misfortune of being in her third grade class. Each day is a lesson in gloom until Frankie and two of his classmates—the reckless Jeffrey and competitive Olivia—bet on who can get "Grumpy Crumpy" to laugh. There's not much of a prize for winning, but there are serious consequences for losing. Will someone discover what tickles Miss Crump's funny bone? A humor chapter book for grades 2 to 5.
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Sewing Stories: Harriet Powers' Journey from Slave to Artist
Barbara Herkert, Vanessa Brantley-Newton
An illuminating picture book biography of an artist and former slave whose patchwork quilts bring the stories of her family to life.Harriet Powers learned to sew and quilt as a young slave girl on a Georgia plantation. She lived through the Civil War and Reconstruction, and eventually owned a cotton farm with her family, all the while relying on her skills with the needle to clothe and feed her children. Later she began making pictorial quilts, using each square to illustrate Bible stories and local legends. She exhibited her quilts at local cotton fairs, and though she never traveled outside of Georgia, her quilts are now priceless examples of African American folk art. Barbara Herkert’s lyrical narrative and Vanessa Newton’s patchwork illustrations bring this important artist to life in a moving picture-book biography.
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unvamped
Would you accept yourself to find your humanity?Ellie Cooper comes from a long line of witches but wishes she could be normal. When she nearly kills herself cursing a vampire, her dislike of her heritage deepens. She must find a way to accept her magic or forsake her family.After feeding on a witch, 693-year-old vampire Charles Dumphrey wakes to find he is living a human teenage life, complete with parents, school and girls. He must adjust to his new life as a human and find a way to break the curse Ellie put on him.Lee is a werewolf who is not yet shifting regularly. He worries about who he will be when he regulates. Lee searches for the balance between his humanity and the wolf before the wolf takes over.All three have to overcome their uncertainties and accept themselves in order to save Ellie’s life.
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The Gift
All eleven-year old Pip wanted was a best friend. When Pip gets a horse for her birthday she is delighted. She thinks that the horse she names Buck will be her best friend from the moment that they meet. But she finds out that friendship does not come that easily. Her father gently guides her so that Pip can discover for herself how to make Buck a true friend. Pip's new friend, Buck, has a story of his own. After leaving his own herd, to move to Pip's house, he is looking for a relationship that will help him feel safe. He, too, learns that making a friend takes patience and understanding.
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In Real Life
Fifteen-year-old math prodigy Seth Gordon knows exactly what he wants to do with his life—play video games. Every spare minute is devoted to honing his skills at Starfare, the world's most popular computer game. His goal: South Korea, where the top pros are rich and famous. But the best players train all day, while Seth has school and a job and divorced parents who agree on only one thing: "Get off that damn computer." Plus there's a new distraction named Hannah, an aspiring photographer who actually seems to understand his obsession.While Seth mopes about his tournament results and mixed signals from Hannah, Team Anaconda, one of the leading Korean pro squads, sees something special. Before he knows it, it's goodbye Kansas, goodbye Hannah, and hello to the strange new world of Korea. But the reality is more complicated than the fantasy, as he faces cultural shock, disgruntled teammates, and giant pots of sour-smelling kimchi.What happens next surprises Seth. Slowly, he comes to make new friends, and discovers what might be a breakthrough, mathematical solution to the challenges of Starcraft. Delving deeper into the formulas takes him in an unexpected direction, one that might just give him a new focus—and reunite him with Hannah.
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Young-hee and the Pullocho
Set in Korea, this multicultural, middle-reader novel is the riveting story of a magical realm, a little girl, her brother and a daring rescue. So annoying…In Young-hee's life everything feels wrong. It seemed like only yesterday that her world was just as it should be. But now her dad is gone, her mom is overextended, and Young-hee is forced to move back to Seoul—and not a nice part of Seoul, either. To make matters worse, the girls at her new school are nasty, and her little brother Bum is an insufferable, attention-hogging pain.Then Young-hee stumbles into a magical world, where the fairy stories of her childhood are real and all the frustrations of her everyday life fade away—until Bum is kidnapped, and the only way Young-hee can save him is by finding the magical pullocho plant. Soon, she is plunged into an epic quest, encountering dragons and fairies and facing decisions that affect not only Bum, but the fate of an entire world.In Young-hee and the Pullocho, debut novelist Mark James Russell puts a Korean spin on an evergreen fantasy trope, interweaving Korean folktales with the story of a young girl who, without realizing it, is in search of herself. Readers of all ages will want to join Young-hee as she journeys from the dingiest part of Seoul to enchanted lands that prove more beautiful—and more dangerous—than she ever could have imagined.
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Magic, Mayhem and Life Underground with Bunkie
Set in a bustling meadow in the Colorado highlands, Magic, Mayhem and Life Underground with Bunkie is a light-hearted story about a rabbit who might have hopped right out of Mayberry and onto the black-and-white, boldly-illustrated page. But the adventures of this warm-fuzzy bunny won’t lull you to sleep. Life in the meadow for Bunkie Bernstein is no picnic – at least not until he gains access to the tasty vegetable patch on the Murdock Farm – a feat that requires the help of a scurrilous snake and shape-shifting flower. When a fire in the forest forces Bunkie to move, he befriends a pika that he just can’t quite trust. Whoever heard of a rabbit that can’t jump, anyway? Things start to look up when Bunkie meets, Beatrice. This beautiful, cotton-white female rabbit is like a dream. However, Bunkie quickly learns that Beatrice is the one dreaming when he discovers that this beautiful bunny thinks she is human! Their eventful year comes to a close just as winter sets in, but not before encountering a ghost in the burrow – a perfect mystery on one fall hallowed eve.
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Gang of Sleuths
Fourteen-year-old millionaire Tony Pandy solves mysteries from the seat of his wheelchair. Not because he wants to, but because he has to. Losing his home if he doesn't. This time Tony has to find out why the Hindenburg disaster happened. "Because it was a big ole bomb-bag," Tony said. "See, solved. Now I don't have to miss lunch." "Like you'd eat it," his health aide replied. "Besides, maybe it's not that simple." And it's not. Tony will have to face a fear he didn't know that he had-and find out more about the mysterious trust that controls his fortune. Then there's the problem of having squatters on the estate, one of whom just might be the love of Tony's life. On top of that? She brought her boyfriend. As if the mystery wasn't trouble enough. Book 2 of The Tony Pandy Mysteries.
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Giant monsters. Dragons. Mysterious creatures. All gathering to fight for two worlds.Sam and Jake are the guardians, but can they stop the coming war? A powerful Lesser poisons Sam's dad and Jake's mom. To save their parents, Sam must bring WhipEye to Gorgon--the cruel and scheming leader of the Amazon Lessers. Gorgon demands that Sam and Jake bring him the Jewel of Origin, a weapon of great power. If he gets it, nothing will stop him. Sam and Jake must decide--will they save two worlds or save their parents? Their friendship will be tested to its limits. To stop Gorgon, Sam must be willing to risk the lives of her friends in a battle that some will not survive. Sometimes love means watching those you love die...