A young boy is at the beach with his parents. He is ready for some sort of adventure and exploration when he discovers that a camera has washed up on the beach. What secrets might be on the film inside the waterproof case? He takes it to a one-hour film developer and discovers the most amazing images of underwater sea life. In the last photo is a child holding a picture of...
How surprising is it to discover that a "clowder
By Sara Esplin, Published on 12/21/18
Addison lives her life on the edge. Metaphorically, because she will do whatever it takes to stay alive and provide for her sister. But also literally, because she and her sister live near the Spill Zone, where her parents died and her little sister was traumatized forever. The Spill Zone is what became of Poughkeepsie, New York, after a mysterious event turned it into a...
Lucy doesn’t remember things in the traditional way. Instead, her most significant memories are those that are related to food. It is the remembrance of the taste and experience of eating food that allows her to string together moments from her upbringing and explore how she eventually arrived in adulthood. Lucy grew up with food-enthusiast parents and was taught from a young age...
Summer and Uncle Ob are grieving. After Aunt May’s death, they realize May was the heart and soul of their little family. May was the mother figure Summer always needed and had been since Aunt May and Uncle Ob adopted her when she was six years old. Summer is devastated at the loss of Aunt May, but she is also saddened that Uncle Ob seems completely lost without May. Summer...
Brynn’s life is complicated. Her father left, she has the world’s worst stepdad, her brother died, and she’s broken up with her girlfriend. On top of all that, Brynn now has to attend class in the basement, where all the “applied” classes are taught. But after being inspired by an assignment, she starts writing about her problems to Rachel Maddow, the host of MSNBC. Somehow, it...
Gooney Bird is a high-spirited, bright second-grader at Watertower Elementary School. For their science unit, Gooney Bird brings in a skeleton named Napoleon for the class to borrow. They find ways to teach their whole school about the human body by placing Napoleon in different relevant places in the school with posters around him. He starts in the library as they learn about...
The universe, and this book, start with a big bang! The dust from the big bang clumped together into bigger and bigger pieces until planets and even stars were born. But the planets were much too hot to live on. The surface of magma cooled, and oceans slowly formed. Plate tectonics, Pangaea, volcanoes, evolution, ice ages and how the white cliffs of Dover formed from fish bones...
Sam Kean explains the history and meaning of how scientists learned what an atom was and how their viewpoints and hypotheses differed from each other. The book covers how the scientists then organized elements into the periodic table, the long-continued search for new elements, and the process for discovering how they fit in. Intermixed with all this information are stories of...
Marco Polo, a political prisoner, dictates his adventures to his cellmate. They begin with Marco Polo's long-lost father returning from his travels to the Great Khan. Marco, the last living member of his immediate family, is determined to join him. They depart to find Catholic delegates to bring back per the Great Khan's instructions. The group encounters thieves and disease on...
Ruby is bored and her dad isn't home. Ruby decides to try and use the computer on her own, but when she types in the password and tries to log in, nothing happens! Mouse tells her the Cursor is missing, and they dive through his mouse hole to search. They start in the first level of the computer that is filled with Bits. Then they meet Logic Gates. Next up is the CPU. He doesn't...
Orpheus, a great musician, falls in love with Eurydice, but shortly after they marry, she dies. Orpheus decides to journey to the Underworld and use his music to convince Hades to release Eurydice. His beautiful playing helps him to get across the river Styx and past Cerberus, the three-headed dog. When he arrives, Hades and Persephone listen to his melancholy ballad. Hades tells...
This non-fiction resource examines immigration policy in the United States. The information spans from the nation’s founding to the modern era. Chapters are divided thematically and range from history, to the relationship between immigration and the economy, to the opposing views on immigration in the United States. The information is well organized and includes factual...
Ten days after Jaya’s mother dies, angels start falling from the sky—and not a single one has survived. Eighty fallen angels later, Jaya’s father drags her to Edinburgh to try and catch one. Jaya hates her father’s obsession and wants nothing to do with the angels, until one falls in front of her and lives. With two new friends, Jaya helps the angel recover so she can return to...
Ninja Maxwell opens our eyes to the secret adventure that is all round us. Hidden in the everyday surroundings of a normal household, he finds the tools and shows us the skills necessary to be a ninja. He sneaks through the rooms of his house, tumbles, and is fast on his feet. We follow this young boy as he enters enemy territory of the kitchen on a secret mission: cookies and...
After fleeing a life of suffering and tragedy in war-torn Syria, fourteen-year-old Ahmed escapes to Belgium, losing his father, the only surviving member of his family, along the way. With nowhere to turn, Ahmed finds himself one night hiding in the wine cellar of a house occupied by an American family. Sick, desperate, and hopeless, Ahmed tells himself he will only stay long...
Cora the mermaid has got to memorize her spelling words, and fast. Her spot on the swim team is in jeopardy because of her horrific grade in spelling. Maybe her friends can help her figure out the secret to memorizing. But any time Cora sits down to study, she ends up either falling asleep or being distracted by giant shrimp, singing sirens, and birthday parties. Just when it...
Doctor Isla Cooper is cursed to sleep as though dead from midnight to six in the morning. The curse affects her job, especially since she is supposed to work at night. Unfortunately, time is running out before the curse becomes permanent. She discovers the witch who cursed her is across the sea and must travel there immediately. She meets Captain Daniel Pickett on his ship and...
Lenora Wilton has hidden behind her piano until she decides to move to Bath with her Aunt and become a teacher. To handle her anxiety, she takes late night walks by the river. There she is discovered by none other than her most difficult student’s uncle, Mr. Asher. They fall in love but are found alone by the river one night, resulting in Lenora losing her job and the revelation...
By Sara Esplin, Published on 12/21/18
Hazy Bloom can tell the future—at least, she thinks she can. She’ll be doing something ordinary when suddenly a “tomorrow vision” will appear in her head. The challenge then is to make sense of it. So when Hazy gets a vision of the logo of a pet shop, she’s sure this means she’ll finally get a long-awaited pet iguana. That is, if she can convince her parents that she is...
Percy and Piper are a brother and sister who live on a pirate ship. Their mom and dad are pirates. But just like most children, they are not fond of thunder. The sky begins to grow dark and the winds begin to howl; it’s not a great day to be at sea. Piper decides to tell Percy about the legend of the Sea Spirit. It only awakens on stormy days. Percy’s not taking any chances. The...
A busy book fit for a princess, this book contains five princesses to decorate and create. Each princess comes with a little animal friend, and both can be popped out of the board book and placed in the included stands, making them perfect for pretend play after they are completed. The princesses are partially colored, with black-and-white areas left to color in. Stickers in the...
When Elmer the elephant runs into his friend Rose, the tune she is humming gets stuck in his head. It's a catchy tune, so Elmer starts humming it, and before long all the animals he runs into are humming it too. He tries to get it out of his head to no avail and finally joins his friends in a lively rendition of “Happy Birthday” to no one in particular. Finally free of the tune...