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Piper Reed Gets A Job
Christine Davenier, Kimberly Willis Holt
Piper Reed and her fellow Gypsy Club members are in need of a clubhouse. Raising money to buy one proves a challenge. Piper, being the resourceful fifth grader that she is, launches her own party-planning business and gets her first job throwing young Brady's birthday celebration. But things don't go as expected on the day of the big event. Fortunately for Piper, her friends and family come to her rescue!
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The Storm in the Barn
Matt Phelan, Matt Phelan
Tall tale. Thriller. Gripping historical fiction. This artful, sparely told graphic novel — a tale of a boy in Dust Bowl America — will resonate with young readers today. (Age 10 and up)In Kansas in the year 1937, eleven-year-old Jack Clark faces his share of ordinary challenges: local bullies, his father’s failed expectations, a little sister with an eye for trouble. But he also has to deal with the effects of the Dust Bowl, including rising tensions in his small town and the spread of a shadowy illness. Certainly a case of "dust dementia" would explain who (or what) Jack has glimpsed in the Talbot’s abandoned barn — a sinister figure with a face like rain. In a land where it never rains, it’s hard to trust what you see with your own eyes — and harder still to take heart and be a hero when the time comes. With phenomenal pacing, sensitivity, and a sure command of suspense, Matt Phelan ushers us into a world where desperation is transformed by unexpected courage.
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The World's Easiest Astronomy Book
Hitoshi Nakagawa
Can we live on the moon? Can we travel to the future? Why is the sky blue? Questions we all ponder are answered in The World's Easiest Astronomy Book, written by a former Aerospace Development Specialist turned high school teacher, Hitoshi Nakagawa. Hitoshi takes us through the difficult-to-understand subjects of space and the universe beyond with simple, easy-to-understand language and amusing diagrams drawn in crayon. If you ever wanted to know how the universe worked but didn't know where to get started, this guide provides the answers. Going beyond the assumptions of textbooks, this book makes for a wonderfully pleasant read while teaching you something along the way.
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Leigh Ann's Civil War
Ann Rinaldi
Leigh Ann Conners is spunky and determined. Although she often finds herself in trouble, she loves her two older brothers dearly and would do anything to make them proud. When the Yankees arrive in Roswell, Georgia, Leigh Ann places a French flag upon the family’s mill. She hopes the Yankees will then spare the mill from destruction, but her actions have disastrous results. Sent north with the women and children who worked in the mill—all branded traitors for making fabric for Confederate uniforms—Leigh Ann embarks on a journey that requires her to find her own inner strength. Only then will she be able to rise above the war raging around her.
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John Brown: His Fight for Freedom
John Hendrix
Published on the 150th anniversary of John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry, this biography explores the life of one of American history’s most controversial figures. A great deal of academic study has been published recently about John Brown. This is the first book for young readers to include these new attitudes and research. In the late 1850s, at a time when many men and women spoke out against slavery, few had the same impact as John Brown, the infamous white abolitionist who backed his beliefs with unstoppable action. His dedication to freeing the American slaves made him one of the most recognizable leaders in the liberation movement to end slavery. Told through engaging, thoughtful narration and bold, dynamic illustrations, John Brown: His Fight for Freedom is a fitting reminder that all men and women are created equal, and that some things are worth fighting for. The book includes an author’s note, a bibliography, and an index. F&P level: U
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The Magician's Elephant
Yoko Tanaka, Kate DiCamillo
In a highly awaited new novel, Kate DiCamillo conjures a haunting fable about trusting the unexpected — and making the extraordinary come true. (Ages 7 and up)What if? Why not? Could it be?When a fortuneteller's tent appears in the market square of the city of Baltese, orphan Peter Augustus Duchene knows the questions that he needs to ask: Does his sister still live? And if so, how can he find her? The fortuneteller's mysterious answer (an elephant! An elephant will lead him there!) sets off a chain of events so remarkable, so impossible, that you will hardly dare to believe it’s true. With atmospheric illustrations by fine artist Yoko Tanaka, here is a dreamlike and captivating tale that could only be narrated by Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo. In this timeless fable, she evokes the largest of themes — hope and belonging, desire and compassion — with the lightness of a magician’s touch.
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On My Journey Now
Nikki Giovanni
With the passion of a poet and the knowledge of a historian, Nikki Giovanni tells the story of Africans in America through the glorious words of spirituals.Ever since she was a little girl attending three different churches, poet Nikki Giovanni has loved the spirituals. Now, with the passion of a poet and the knowledge of a historian, she paints compelling portraits of the lives of her ancestors through the words of songs such as "Go Down, Moses" and "Ain’t Got Time to Die," celebrating a people who overcame enslavement and found a way to survive, to worship, and to build.Back matter includes a glossary, a bibliography, source notes, recommended recordings, an index of song titles, and an index.
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War in the Middle East
Various, Wilborn Hampton
"Immediate and accessible. . . .The best volume yet for readers wanting to learn about this region that affects the whole world." — KIRKUS REVIEWS (starred review) (Age 10 and up)In 1970, when the Jordanian civil war known as Black September began, U.P.I. correspondent Wilborn Hampton was sent to report on unfolding events. Holed up in the InterContinental Hotel and caught in the crossfire, he managed to get the story out. Three years later, dispatched to Israel to cover the Yom Kippur War, the reporter took it on himself to drive to the front lines. Now the acclaimed author of KENNEDY ASSASSINATED!, MELTDOWN, and SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, relays his on-the-spot experiences covering two pivotal wars, while offering readers a clear, balanced overview of the issues that have plagued the Middle East for decades and continue to this day.Back matter includes a bibliography and an index.
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The Goldsmith's Daughter
Tanya Landman
A bearer of doom, or a bringer of change? As the Aztec empire falls, one girl defies her destiny. (Age 12 and up)In the golden city of Tenochtitlán, the people live in awe of Emperor Montezuma and in fear of blood-hungry gods. Under an ill-fated sky, a girl is born, facing a life of submission and domestic drudgery. But Itacate has a secret passion for goldwork, forbidden to women, and is forced to disguise her identity to protect herself and her family. When her city is shaken by Cortez’s invasion, Itacate challenges fate, culture, and faith by crafting golden statues — and pursuing the love of a man who should be her enemy. From the author of I AM APACHE comes a tale of clashing cultures, a rich and powerful depiction of Aztec life during the Spanish conquest of Mexico.
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The Ask and the Answer
Patrick Ness
Part two of the literary sci-fi thriller follows a boy and a girl who are caught in a warring town where thoughts can be heard — and secrets are never safe.Reaching the end of their tense and desperate flight in THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO, Todd and Viola did not find healing and hope in Haven. They found instead their worst enemy, Mayor Prentiss, waiting to welcome them to New Prentisstown. There they are forced into separate lives: Todd to prison, and Viola to a house of healing where her wounds are treated. Soon Viola is swept into the ruthless activities of the Answer, aimed at overthrowing the tyrannical government. Todd, meanwhile, faces impossible choices when forced to join the mayor’s oppressive new regime. In alternating narratives — Todd’s gritty and volatile; Viola’s calmer but equally stubborn — the two struggle to reconcile their own dubious actions with their deepest beliefs. Torn by confusion and compromise, suspicion and betrayal, can their trust in each other possibly survive?
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