With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!Tori is super-excited to spend the summer at Gran's ranch--where there are lots of beautiful ponies! But she is NOT excited to share a room with her younger sister, Miranda. Miranda likes everything pink, and she loves puppies. Tori does not like pink, and she loves ponies. Tori soon falls in love with a rowdy pony named Jewel and she wants to ride her. But Gran says that Jewel is TOO rowdy. Will Tori and Jewel ever get to ride together? And when one of the ranch's puppies goes missing, can Miranda and Tori find the puppy and bring him back home?

    But then she loses her tinker’s hammer and her world is turned upside down. The good news is that Tink has a spare hammer. The bad news is that she left it at Peter Pan’s hideout and they’re no longer speaking! Will Tink be able to make up with her old friend–or will she have to give up her talent forever?Beck and the Great Berry Battle by Laura Driscoll, read by Alison LarkinThere’s nothing Beck likes more than speaking Bird or Chipmunk or Fox or Mole with the animals. Then one day her funny little hummingbird friend, Twitter, tells her that war has broken out between the hummingbirds and the chipmunks. Soon the blackberries start flying and fairies are getting caught in the crossfire. It’s up to Beck to get to the bottom of things. Only she can bring peace back to Pixie Hollow!

    Out of the 100 rules their grandparents gave them to follow, that one was the most important, so of course, it was also the first one Hazel's six-year-old sister, Bess, decides to break. Hazel cannot believe she has to be in charge of her crazy little sister this entire summer. What could be worse for an eight-year-old who always follows the rules?But she never expected Bess would accidentally uncover a dark family secret that involves a hidden time machine and their mysterious, and grumpy, grandpa.Just when she thought her summer couldn't get any worse, Hazel finds herself stuck in the time of Colonial America, trying to keep her sister under control while also trying to make it back. She quickly finds out that she and her sister are going to have to work together to figure it out, and that maybe, that's not such a bad thing after all. Books also by Ernestine Tito Jones Follow Failure: Book Two, The Time Machine Girls From the Bottom of the Cauldron: Tales of Witch Training  92 Sandwiches

    It looks like it will be impossible to cart it all back, as the struggling farmer doesn't have the money to hire all the trucks necessary, but on the way to and from the pile of topsoil the McBrooms come across a whole strange hassle of critters that have been deposited by the tornado, rare beasts that they reckon no one hither or yon has seen, and a plan is hatched to start up a zoo in the hole left by the farm, charge admission and get the topsoil back.

    Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were born in 1780s Germany and were inseparable throughout their childhood. While pursuing their law degrees, the two became fascinated with folktales and folk songs. Together, they researched and published centuries of folklore in their famous early nineteenth-century compilation, Children’s and Household Tales. Thanks to the Brothers Grimm, German folk tales like “Rumpelstiltskin,” “Little Red Ridinghood,” and “Hansel and Gretel" are enjoyed by children everywhere.

    Zia Dontella is determined to show the kids how a home-cooked meal is better than even the best take-out pizza or burrito. And when Zia's plan actually transports Alfie and Emilia to famous food cities around the world, they learn first-hand how food can not only take you places but can also bring you back home. Alfie and Emilia find themselves transported to Naples, where they meet Marco, a young Italian boy on a very important mission to shop for the essential ingredients for his family's entry in the city's annual pizzafest contest. In their whirlwind search for the perfect items, Alfie and Emilia not only get a taste of Italy, but also find themselves refereeing a family feud between Marco's family and his uncle's family.

    He joined a local militia during the American Revolution, rose to the rank of Major General, and became the chief aide to General George Washington. After the war, he became the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. He founded the Bank of New York and The New York Post newspaper. He served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and is also celebrated as a co-author of The Federalist Papers, a series of essays that are still used today to interpret the U.S. Constitution.The end of his life became a national scandal when he was shot and killed in a duel with then-Vice President Aaron Burr.

    He knows that if he can just find Madame Curie, a wise, old black Lab, she'll be able to help. Madame had a premonition of astonishing events to come -- she might know where Max's family is.But Max can't make the journey alone. Joined by friends Rocky and Gizmo, Max sets off to find Madame. Along the way, the trio must face a pack of angry wolves, forage for food in a land where kibble is akin to gold, befriend a house full of cats, and outsmart a gang of subway rats. Ultimately, they'll have to escape from the biggest threat of all: the Corporation, a "perfect" society for dogs and by dogs, where nothing is quite as it seems.The Last Dogs: The Vanishing is a thrilling adventure and a tale of three unlikely friends on an epic quest to find their people -- and bring them home.

    During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, a young Dutch boy's German shepherd proves himself invaluable when his tracking ability saves his young owner's life.

    A restless genius, he went through a blue period, a rose period, and a Cubist phase. He made collages, sculptures out of everyday objects, and beautiful ceramic plates. True Kelley's engaging biography is a wonderful introduction to modern art.

    Their houses are on the odd-numbered side of Maple Street, which seems just about right. Because, well, Trey Cooper is a little odd himself. It didn't matter when they were little kids --- you know, way back in second grade. And it doesn't matter so much when they're at home on Maple Street. That's just Trey being Trey. But it matters in the fifth grade. The whole class thinks Trey is weird. Does that mean Spider has to turn his back on his oldest friend?

    A young girl moves leaving all her friends behind and becomes friendly with the most popular girl in her class, but will the friendship last?

    The Indians believe such a horse is sacred -- that neither bullet nor arrow can harm its rider. As they explore the prairie together, a bond forms between Peter and San Domingo that can never be broken. But Peter's father, Jethro Lundy, knows only one love: bargaining. He trades San Domingo for a thoroughbred. How can Peter ever forgive his father? His only choice is to leave home forever!

    An intelligent and cunning red fox becomes the valued prey of a half-bloodhound tracker and his master who make it their lifelong goal to end the life of the elusive fox.

    Finkleman is just our boring old music teacher.Or is she? It all starts with a Special Project in Mr. Melville's Social Studies class: Solve a mystery in your own life. For seventh grader Bethesda Fielding, one mystery is too tempting to ignore: Ms. Finkleman.Bethesda is convinced that her mousy Music Fundamentals teacher is hiding a secret life, and she’s determined to find out what it is. But no one is prepared for what she learns. Ms. Finkleman used to be... a rock star? Soon the whole school goes rock crazy, and a giant concert is in the works with none other than timid Ms. Finkleman at the helm!But the case isn’t quite closed, and the questions continue to swirl forBethesda. Could there be even more to the secret life of Ms. Finkleman than she already revealed? With the help of her rock-obsessed classmate Tenny Boyer, Bethesda won’t stop until she solves the real mystery of Ms. Finkleman once and for all!