Heather is such a whiny little brat. Always getting Michael and me into trouble. But since our mother married her father, we're stuck with her ... our "poor stepsister" who lost her real mother in a mysterious fire. But now something terrible has happened. Heather has found a new friend, out in the graveyard behind our home—a girl named Helen who died with her family in a mysterious fire over a hundred years ago. Now her ghost returns to lure children into the pond ... to drown! I don't want to believe in ghosts, but I've followed Heather into the graveyard and watch her talk to Helen. And I'm terrified. Not for myself, but for Heather...

    by Jeri Massi When Penny Derwood and her seventh-grade class tour a button factory, she accidentally gets involved in a mystery that she and her brother, Jack, are determined to unravel. In their efforts to solve the mystery, they undergo a series of hilarious adventures and at the same time begin to learn something about teamwork, family unity, and accepting one another. The Peabody Series, named for the imaginary town of Peabody, Wisconsin, centers on a group of Christian young people who attend the same local church. Each book focuses on a new adventure that involves several members of the youth group. The characters in these books do not find quick solutions to their difficulties. Like all Christians, they struggle to grow, sometimes losing ground, but ultimately coming to a deeper knowledge of the Lord. For ages 9 to 12.

    Since second grade, they've shared secrets, good and bad. Now in seventh grade, Alison moves into the neighborhood. Stephanie hopes all three of them can be best friends, because Stephanie really likes Alison. But it looks as if it's going to be a case of two's company and three's a crowd. Can the girls' friendship be saved?

    She gives no thought to the men and women that protect her father's throne. Then one day, invaders from the enormous kingdom across the river storm across the Bridge and conquer the royal castle. Alone and in danger, Rosalynn sets out on foot to find her father. Driven by fear, she finds the Bridge and crosses it. In the enemy kingdom, she meets an unexpected friend--a woman who has discovered a secret way to save Rosalynn's kingdom. Together Rosalynn and the wise woman face enemy soldiers, wicked outlaws, and the wilds of the river on their quest to save her tiny kingdom. Their goal is the Bridge itself and the secret that it holds.

    They are all drawn to scale, as are the humans included in each picture to show proportion. Creatures too big to be contained on double-page spreads are given expansive fold-out pages. . . . An excellent book, recommended for all small humans who like big beasts.--School Library Journal, starred review. Full-color illustrations.

    Twelve-year-old Janis copes with her cerebral palsy and her changing feelings for her good friend Barney as he approaches his bar mitzvah.