Brown, who takes readers on a journey to Japan, where she was sent as a child in the 1980s to reconnect to her family’s roots.When twelve-year-old Waka’s parents suspect she can’t understand basic Japanese, they make the drastic decision to send her to Tokyo to live for several months with her strict grandmother. Forced to say goodbye to her friends and what would have been her summer vacation, Waka is plucked from her straight-A-student life in rural Kansas and flown across the globe, where she faces the culture shock of a lifetime.In Japan, Waka struggles with reading and writing in kanji, doesn’t quite mesh with her complicated and distant Obaasama, and gets made fun of by the students in her Japanese public-school classes. Even though this is the country her parents came from, Waka has never felt more like an outsider.If she’s always been the “smart Japanese girl” in America but is now the “dumb foreigner” in Japan, where is home? And who will Waka be when she finds it?

    And it's the truth. Ask him a question and he's bound to give you an honest answer. Which is why, when his teacher asks what happened to last night's math assignment, Rod has to give the only answer he can: "Aliens ate my homework, Miss Maloney!" Of course, no one believes Rod this time, so they don't bother to ask him why the aliens are here. It's just as well, since he is sworn to silence about their secret mission and the fact that he has been drafted to help them!

    But this small world provides rich material for the often hilarious, always engrossing stories and vignettes in this book. Esm tells us about: the night she and her mother became egg vigilantes against an illegally parked car; her freewheeling first school, where kids could choose disco dancing instead of math; her dangerous neighborhood, which her father made seem friendly and wondrous; the Passover dinner when she stole a matzoh right out from under a rabbi; the awe-inspiring, life-threatening Chicago snowstorms; and lessons about love from tea-reading gypsies and Popeye cartoons."

    But do they know that the ever-ambitious and adventurous Houdini was also a famous movie star and the first pilot to fly a plane in Australia? This well-told biography is full of the details of Houdini's life that kids will really want to know about and illustrated throughout with beautiful black-and-white line drawings.Illustrated by John O'Brien.

    Amid the constant rain of German bombs and the escalating violence of World War II, British parents by the thousands chose to send their children out of the country: the wealthy, independently; the poor, through a government relocation program called CORB. In September 1940, passenger liner SS City of Benares set sail for Canada with one hundred children on board.When the war ships escorting the City of Benares departed, a German submarine torpedoed what became known as the Children's Ship. Out of tragedy, ordinary people became heroes. This is their story.

    All the usual ingredients were there—well-worn gloves, freshly cut grass, and new uniforms. But the addition of a coach who was “new to the area” is what made this season truly unforgettable for young Andy.Baseball fans and both current and former Little Leaguers will love the funny story, the age-old baseball wisdom quoted from some of the game’s greatest players, and the vintage baseball photography.

    You'll learn how to construct houses, bridges, ships, floating islands and rollercoasters of the highest quality.

    I looked at Eddie. Eddie's looking at me. Big grin on his face. I knew he had done it. Last week he put pepper in the raisins. The yucky things your brother does, the annoying things your parents say, the funny things you feel. Michael Rosen knows all about YOU! Look inside and see if he's spotted your deepest, darkest secrets. A much-loved classic of family life from the brilliant Michael Rosen & Quentin Blake.

    Heroes of America is a series especially written for younger readers. These biographies are set in large type for easy reading with more than 100 illustrations in each book.

    In the tiny apartment he shares with his Baryshnikov-obsessed mother, poetry-loving father, continually outraged grandmother, and safely talented brother, all Yevgeny has is his little pencil, the underside of a massive table, and the doodles that could change everything. With equal amounts charm and solemnity, award-winning author and artist Eugene Yelchin recounts in hilarious detail his childhood in Cold War Russia as a young boy desperate to understand his place in his family.

    Dad has been away at WWII for longer than she can remember, and they begin their journey of reconnection through a hunting shirt, cherry pie, tender conversation, and the crow call. This allegorical story shows how, like the birds gathering above, the relationship between the girl and her father is graced with the chance to fly.

    Whether you want to know how to beat an alligator in a fight, ways to speak in secret code, which insects are edible, or what the heck scolionophobia means, this is the book for readers both young and old.

    At 1,368 feet, they clocked in as the tallest buildings in the world and changed the New York City skyline dramatically. Offices and corporations moved into the towers—also known as the World Trade Center—and the buildings were seen as the economic hub of the world. But on September 11, 2001, a terrorist attack toppled the towers and changed our nation forever. Discover the whole story of the Twin Towers—from their ambitious construction to their tragic end.

    Green's class. In his nightmare, Mrs. Green is a monster with a tail and smoke coming out of her nostrils. He is so happy when he awakes to see the real Mrs. Green that he gives her a hug.

    Working with her hands comes easy to Juice, but not school. This year, she's back again in Miss Hamble's third grade. Letters and numbers still don't make sense to her, even though she's the biggest kid in class.Juice skips school when she can, and spends the day with her pa. When he gets an official-looking letter, he asks Juice's little sister to read it--he says he needs new glasses and can't make out the words. It seems the bank will repossess their house if they don't pay their taxes--but how will they ever pay back so much money? And who is brave enough to tell Ma?Karen Hesse works her magic again in this satisfying family story about life-sized problems and everyday heroes.