Book picks similar to
Hello Stars by Alena Pitts
fiction
christian
middle-grade
kids-books
Pax
Sara Pennypacker - 2016
Now the war front approaches, and when Peter’s father enlists, Peter has to move in with his grandpa. Far worse than being forced to leave home is the fact that Pax can’t go. Peter listens to his stern father—as he usually does—and throws Pax’s favorite toy soldier into the woods. When the fox runs to retrieve it, Peter and his dad get back in the car and leave him there—alone. But before Peter makes it through even one night under his grandfather’s roof, regret and duty spur him to action; he packs for a trek to get his best friend back and sneaks into the night. This is the story of Peter, Pax, and their independent struggles to return to one another against all odds. Told from the alternating viewpoints of Peter and Pax.
Rosetown
Cynthia Rylant - 2018
Her dear old dog, Laurence, recently passed away. Not long after, her parents decided to take a breather from their marriage, and now Flora has to move back and forth between their two houses. Plus, she’s just begun fourth grade, and it is so much different than third.Luckily Flora has two wonderful friends—one old and one new. And with them around to share thoughts and laughs and adventures big and small, life in Rosetown still has many sweet moments—and even some very happy surprises!
Firefly Hollow
Alison McGhee - 2015
Cricket. Vole. Peter. Can four creatures from four very different Nations help one another find their ways in the world that can feel oh-so-big? Delve into this lush, unforgettable tale in the tradition of Charlotte’s Web and The Rats of NIMH, from the author of the New York Times bestselling Someday.Firefly doesn’t merely want to fly, she wants to touch the moon. Cricket doesn’t merely want to sing about baseball, he wants to catch. When these two little creatures with big dreams wander out of Firefly Hollow, refusing to listen to their elders, they find themselves face-to-face with the one creature they were always told to stay away from…a giant.But Peter is a Miniature Giant. They’ve always been told that a Miniature Giant is nothing but a Future Giant, but this one just isn’t quite as big or as scary as the other Giants. Peter has a dream of his own, as well as memories to escape. He is overwhelmed with sadness, and a summer with his new unlikely friends Firefly and Cricket might be just what he needs. Can these friends’ dreams help them overcome the past?Firefly Hollow is nothing short of enchanting, reminding us all that the very best friend is the one who wants you to achieve your dreams. Full-color tip-in illustrations and dozens of black-and-white drawing provide added glow.
A Drop of Hope
Keith Calabrese - 2019
A wish. And a little drop of hope. Times are tough. Jobs are scarce and miracles are in short supply. But something strange is happening in If Only, Ohio. An old well has suddenly, impossibly, begun to grant wishes. And three sixth graders are the only ones who know why. Ernest Wilmette believes a good deed makes magic happen. Ryan Hardy thinks they should just mind their own business. Lizzy MacComber believes in facts, not fairy tales. Of course, you don't have to believe in wishes to make one. As more wishes are made, the well's true secret gets harder and harder to keep. Ernest, Ryan, and Lizzy know they can't fix the world. But in their own little corner of it, they can give everyone a little hope... one wish at a time.
Andrea Carter and the Long Ride Home
Susan K. Marlow - 2005
Twelve-year-old Andrea "Andi" Carter attracts trouble the way her palomino horse, Taffy, attracts flies on a hot summer day. Andi's entire family and the staff at the Circle C Ranch treat her like such a pesky kid that she sometimes wonders if they would all be better off without her. After a particularly scary incident where Andi gets in trouble once again, she saddles up Taffy and runs away from home. But her escape quickly leads to frightening encounters with a horse thief and a vicious young lady. All of which makes Andi realize that there really is no place like home.
The Legend of Sam Miracle
N.D. Wilson - 2016
They take him to another place and time, where he’s a courageous, legendary hero instead of a foster kid with two bad arms that can barely move. Sometimes these dreams feel so real, they seem like forgotten memories. And sometimes they make him believe that his arms might come alive again.But Sam is about to discover that the world he knows and the world he imagines are separated by one thing: time. And that separation is only an illusion. The laws of time can be bent and shifted by people with special magic that allows them to travel through the past, present, and future. One of these “time walkers” is out to protect Sam so that he can accept his greatest destiny, and another is out to kill him so that a prophecy will never be fulfilled. However, it’s an adventurous girl named Glory and two peculiar snakes who show Sam the way through the dark paths of yesterday to help him make sure there will be a tomorrow for every last person on earth.
My Louisiana Sky
Kimberly Willis Holt - 1998
Tiger Ann knows her folks are different from others in their small town of Saitter, Louisiana. They are mentally slow, and Tiger Ann keeps her pain and embarrassment hidden as long as her strong and smart Granny runs the household. Then Granny dies suddenly and Aunt Dorie Kay arrives, offering Tiger Ann a way out. Now Tiger Ann must make the most important decision of her life.
The Danger Box
Blue Balliett - 2010
An all-new mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Chasing Vermeer and The Calder Game.A boy in a small town who has a different way of seeing.A mischievous girl who doesn't belong.A mysterious notebook .A fire.A stranger.A death.These are some of the things you'll find within The Danger Box, the new mystery from bestselling author Blue Balliett.
The War That Saved My Life
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley - 2015
Ten-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada’s twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn’t waste a minute—she sneaks out to join him. So begins a new adventure of Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan—and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother? This masterful work of historical fiction is equal parts adventure and a moving tale of family and identity—a classic in the making.
Peter and the Starcatchers
Dave Barry - 2004
Best-selling authors Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson have turned back the clock to reveal the wonderful story that precedes J. M. Barrie’s beloved Peter Pan. Peter and the Starcatchers is brimming with richly developed characters, from the scary but somehow familiar Black Stache and ferocious Mister Grin to the sweet but sophisticated Molly and fearless Peter. Page after page of riveting adventures take readers of all ages on a voyage from a filthy, crime-ridden port in old England across the turbulent sea. Aboard the Neverland is a trunk that hold the “greatest treasure on earth” —but is it gold, jewels, or something far more mysterious and dangerous? Roiling waves and raging storms; skullduggery and pirate treachery provide the backdrop for battles at sea. Bone-crushing breakers eventually land our characters on Mollusk Island—where the action really heats up. This impossible-to-put-down tale leads readers on an unforgettable journey—fraught with danger yet filled with mystical and magical moments.
Jaclyn Hyde
Annabeth Bondor-Stone - 2019
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a secret potion accidentally turns eager-to-please eighth grader Jaclyn into Jackie, a goblin-like monster who'll do anything to win at everything she does--no matter how much chaos she creates along the way. Jaclyn Hyde is almost perfect. Whether she's baking cookies for her classmates, building a replica Mt. Vesuvius for the science fair, or practicing her lines for Fog Island: The Musical, she almost never makes mistakes.But when she discovers the last batch of perfection potion in an abandoned laboratory, Jaclyn decides that being almost perfect isn't perfect enough anymore.But instead she finds out that trying to be perfectly perfect isn't all it's cracked up to be. In fact, it's downright horrifying. The potion turns Jaclyn into Jackie, a goblin-like monster who'll do anything to make sure Jaclyn comes out on top.Suddenly, she's wreaking havoc on the school play, stealing someone else's brownies to pass off as her own, and even destroying someone's painting to get herself crowned "Artist of the Week." And that's just the beginning. Jackie will stop at nothing to make sure everyone knows just how perfect Jaclyn really is.So now, if Jaclyn wants to save her school, her friends, and herself from her perfectly horrifying alter-ego, she's going to have to screw up her courage and risk it all--even if that means admitting that she never was as perfect as she seemed.Annabeth Bondor-Stone and Connor White, the authors of Time Tracers and the Shivers series, bring their signature wit and humor to this thrilling new take on The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde--just right for anyone who's ever wished to be more perfect.
The Marvels
Brian Selznick - 2015
After surviving a shipwreck, he finds work in a London theatre. There, his family flourishes for generations as brilliant actors until 1900, when young Leontes Marvel is banished from the stage.Nearly a century later, runaway Joseph Jervis seeks refuge with an uncle in London. Albert Nightingale's strange, beautiful house, with its mysterious portraits and ghostly presences, captivates Joseph and leads him on a search for clues about the house, his family, and the past.
A Tangle of Knots
Lisa Graff - 2013
In a slightly magical world where everyone has a Talent, eleven-year-old Cady is an orphan with a phenomenal Talent for cake baking. But little does she know that fate has set her on a journey from the moment she was born. And her destiny leads her to a mysterious address that houses a lost luggage emporium, an old recipe, a family of children searching for their own Talents, and a Talent Thief who will alter her life forever. However, these encounters hold the key to Cady's past and how she became an orphan. If she's lucky, fate may reunite her with her long-lost parent. Lisa Graff adds a pinch of magic to a sharply crafted plot to create a novel that will have readers wondering about fate and the way we're all connected.
Bless This Mouse
Lois Lowry - 2011
It falls to her to keep all the church mice safe and out of sight.But when a few parishioners report mouse sightings, Hildegarde and the rest of the church mice must face a most dreadful consequence: the Great X. To complicate things, a ceremony called the Blessing of the Animals is fast approaching. Saint Bartholemew’s will soon be filled with pets . . . including cats!Oh, dear. Within the stately stone walls of the church, life is not as serene or safe as one might think. It will take the courage and patience of a—well, of a saint—to keep this scampering, squeaking tribe of Hildegarde’s intact
The 13-Storey Treehouse
Andy Griffiths - 2011
Because: ANYTHING can happen in a 13-storey treehouse.This is a major new series from Andy and Terry- and it's the logical evolution of all their previous books. There are echoes of the Just stories in the Andy and Terry friendship, the breakaway stories in the Bad Book (the Adventures of Super Finger), there's the easy readability of the Cat on the Mat and the Big Fat Cow, and like all these books, the illustrations are as much a part of the story as the story itself.