The Boy in the Dress


David Walliams - 2008
    Dennis was different. Why was he different, you ask? Well, a small clue might be in the title of this book! Charming, surprising and hilarious—The Boy in the Dress is everything you would expect from the co-creator of Little Britain. David Walliams's beautiful first novel will touch the hearts (and funny bones) of children and adults alike.

Restart


Gordon Korman - 2017
    He doesn't remember hitting his head. He doesn't, in fact, remember anything. He wakes up in a hospital room and suddenly has to learn his whole life all over again . . . starting with his own name.He knows he's Chase. But who is Chase? When he gets back to school, he sees that different kids have very different reactions to his return.Some kids treat him like a hero. Some kids are clearly afraid of him.One girl in particular is so angry with him that she pours her frozen yogurt on his head the first chance she gets.Pretty soon, it's not only a question of who Chase is--it's a question of who he was . . . and who he's going to be.From the #1 bestselling author of Swindle and Slacker, Restart is the spectacular story of a kid with a messy past who has to figure out what it means to get a clean start.

Free Baseball


Sue Corbett - 2006
    But his mom won’t reveal anything else. When a team with Cuban players comes into town, Felix wonders if they knew his dad, and sneaks into their locker room to ask. That’s when the players mistake him for their new batboy.To uncover his father’s story, Felix runs away from home to become the team’s batboy. His bittersweet adventure glows with the friendship of a miraculous dog, the warmth of a mother’s love, and the magic of baseball.

To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel


Siena Cherson Siegel - 2006
    Siena was six—and her dreams kept skipping and leaping, circling and spinning, from airy runs along a beach near her home in Puerto Rico, to dance classes at the School of American Ballet, to her debut performance on stage with the New York City Ballet while working with ballet legend George Balanchine. Part family history, part backstage drama, this beautifully updated graphic memoir—which features a refreshed design and a brand-new scrapbook of Siena’s mementoes—is an original, firsthand look a young dancer’s beginnings.

Big Nate: Beware of Low-Flying Corn Muffins


Lincoln Peirce - 2022
    38. Along the way, he encounters resistance from all the usual suspects, including Mrs. Godfrey, classmate Gina, and anyone skeptical of his plans to become an award-winning author. And as usual, things never quite turn out exactly like he planned. Join Nate and friends for another laugh-packed installment of Big Nate comic fun.

The Fruit Bowl Project


Sarah Durkee - 2006
    The kids in 8th Grade Writer's Workshop are awestruck when their teacher announces that through her husband's cousin, she's met rock superstar Nick Thompson and has invited him to their class. He's come to talk about writing and he's even cooler than they imagined. Nick, known for his music as well as his lyrics, tells the kids his secret: A song is just a bowl of fruit-one must figure out how to paint it. Words are to a writer what paint is to a painter. How many ways can one arrange the fruit? An infinite number. There's style, voice, genre, and much more to consider. Nick gives the kids two weeks to complete the assignment using seven seemingly ordinary elements. Each student must tell an interesting story, reflecting his or her style. And so "The Fruit Bowl Project" begins. Rap, poetry, monologue, screenplay, haiku, fairy tale-and more.

Jennifer Lawrence: Star of the Hunger Games


Katherine E. Krohn - 2012
    Fans of The Hunger Games had hotly debated which actors would bring their beloved characters to life in the upcoming movie. The movie's director, Gary Ross, had finally selected the lead character, Katniss. His pick: Jennifer Lawrence. Jennifer started acting professionally in 2004 at age fourteen. But she quickly proved her major talent. For the 2008 movie The Burning Plain, she earned a best new young actress award at the Venice Film Festival. And for her performance in the 2010 movie Winter's Bone, Jennifer received nominations for both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. The Hunger Games's author, Suzanne Collins, celebrated the selection of Katniss. "I never thought we'd find somebody this amazing for the role," she said. And Jennifer—who is a huge fan of the books—was thrilled to play such a complex character. Did she pull it off? Fans will be the judge!

Athlete vs. Mathlete


W.C. Mack - 2013
    His brother, Russell, rocks the school boards. These twin brothers couldn't be more different. They've long kept the peace by going their separate ways, but all that is about to change. The new basketball coach recruits Russell for the seventh grade team and a jealous Owen has to fight to stay in the game. When someone tries to steal Russell's spot as captain of the mathlete team, will the two be able to put aside their differences in order to save his position? Or will they be sidelined?Perfect for fans of Matt Christopher and Andrew Clements alike, this is a lighthearted and hilarious look at what happens when brains meets brawn meets basketball.

Sister Spider Knows All


Adrian Fogelin - 2003
    But outside this fragile weekend world, she's lost. A so-so student with few aspirations for higher education, she feels out of place at school. And who is she anyway? Her teenage mother left when she was only three months old and her father's identity is a mystery. And no one, least of all Mimi, will talk about what happened.But then her cousin John Martin brings home a girlfriend from college who has very different ideas about the way life works. And when Rox discovers her mother's teenage diary, she begins discovering some answers to her past and her future.With gentle wit and an uncanny sensitivity, author Adrian Fogelin captures the fragility of life's certainties in this moving novel of an adolescent girl's struggles to find her way in the world.

Point Dume


Katie Arnoldi - 2010
    This too was a fixture on bestseller lists and earned her a wider audience.With Point Dume she has produced her most remarkable novel to dateA fast moving page- turner, with insights that Arnoldi has gleaned from years of on-the-ground research, this is a timely novel that seems timeless.

All Blacked Out & Nowhere to Go


Bucky Sinister - 2007
    His love affair with punk comes full circle as he learns to hate it and then learns to love it again. The pieces in this book take us from his Southern roots, his brief stay in St. Louis, and his journey to California on a quest for punk bliss. Sinister finds himself in Oakland, where he gets exactly what he wanted, but it may just kill him. From recounts of specific shows to metaphorical dreams of Abraham Lincoln to the tragic stories of circus elephants, All Blacked Out & Nowhere to Go mixes tragedy and comedy into a book that's louder and faster than any book of its kind.

Britt-Marie Was Here


Fredrik Backman - 2014
    A disorganized cutlery drawer ranks high on her list of unforgivable sins. She is not one to judge others—no matter how ill-mannered, unkempt, or morally suspect they might be. It’s just that sometimes people interpret her helpful suggestions as criticisms, which is certainly not her intention. But hidden inside the socially awkward, fussy busybody is a woman who has more imagination, bigger dreams, and a warmer heart that anyone around her realizes.When Britt-Marie walks out on her cheating husband and has to fend for herself in the miserable backwater town of Borg—of which the kindest thing one can say is that it has a road going through it—she finds work as the caretaker of a soon-to-be demolished recreation center. The fastidious Britt-Marie soon finds herself being drawn into the daily doings of her fellow citizens, an odd assortment of miscreants, drunkards, layabouts. Most alarming of all, she’s given the impossible task of leading the supremely untalented children’s soccer team to victory. In this small town of misfits, can Britt-Marie find a place where she truly belongs?

Sea Prayer


Khaled Hosseini - 2018
    Watching over his sleeping son, the father reflects on the dangerous sea-crossing that lies before them. It is also a vivid portrait of their life in Homs, Syria, before the war, and of that city's swift transformation from a home into a deadly war zone. Impelled to write this story by the haunting image of young Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed upon the beach in Turkey in September 2015, Hosseini hopes to pay tribute to the millions of families, like Kurdi's, who have been splintered and forced from home by war and persecution, and he will donate author proceeds from this book to the UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) and The Khaled Hosseini Foundation to help fund lifesaving relief efforts to help refugees around the globe. Hosseini is also a Goodwill Envoy to the UNHCR, and the founder of The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, a nonprofit that provides humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.

Deep Down Popular


Phoebe Stone - 2008
    Too bad she's a tomboy with only one on-again, off-again friend, and hair so short you can't spit on it. Too bad he's the most popular boy in their small-town school.But then Conrad hurts his leg and suddenly can't keep up with his old pursuits anymore. Jessie Lou and Conrad start spending a lot more time together, but she can't help wonder -- is she just a substitute friend? And will Conrad forget her when his leg brace comes off and he's king of the school once again?

The Girlfriends' Guide to Baby Gear: What to Buy, What to Borrow, and What to Blow Off!


Vicki Iovine - 2003
    You're pregnant. Get used to the fact that life is never going to be the same. And break out the credit card, because that little bundle of joy is going to cost you. The list seems endless--from car seats to changing pads. But don't despair. The Girlfriends are here to take some of the guesswork out of shopping for baby-to-be. We'll tell you when to skimp and when to splurge, and which hand-me-downs are safe and which are sorry. You'll get advice on...Where to get what you needCrib and car seat do's and don'tsWardrobe musts and misses--for mother and childStocking the nursery and the rest of the houseWhat every new mom should have on hand for herselfThe Master Shopping List--don't leave home without it!Plus the Top 10 Things to Do for Yourself Before the Baby Arrives, the Top 10 Baby Items You Won't Find at a Baby Store, the Top 10 Best--and Worst--Things to Borrow, the Top 10 Signs of a First-Time Mom, and more...