NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author James Swanson delivers a riveting account of the chase for Abraham Lincoln's assassin. Based
on rare archival material, obscure trial manuscripts, and interviews
with relatives of the conspirators and the manhunters, CHASING LINCOLN'S
KILLER is a fast-paced thriller about the pursuit and capture of John
Wilkes Booth: a wild twelve-day chase through the streets of Washington,
D.C., across the swamps of Maryland, and into the forests of Virginia.
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Cece loses her hearing from spinal meningitis, and takes readers through
the arduous journey of learning to lip read and decipher the noise of
her hearing aid, with the goal of finding a true friend. This warmly and
humorously illustrated full-color graphic novel set in the suburban
'70s has all the gripping characters and inflated melodrama of late
childhood: a crush on a neighborhood boy, the bossy friend, the
too-sensitive-to-her-Deafness friend, and the perfect friend, scared
away. The characters are all rabbits. The antics of her hearing aid
connected to a FM unit (an amplifier the teacher wears) are
spectacularly funny. When Cece's teacher leaves the FM unit on, Cece
hears everything: bathroom visits, even teacher lounge improprieties It
is her superpower. She deems herself El Deafo! inspired in part by a
bullied Deaf child featured in an Afterschool Special. Cece fearlessly
fantasizes retaliations. Nevertheless, she rejects ASL because it makes
visible what she is trying to hide. She ventures, "Who cares what
everyone thinks!" But she does care. She loathes the designation
"special," and wants to pass for hearing. Bell tells it all: the joy of
removing her hearing aid in summer, the troubles watching the TV when
the actor turns his back, and the agony of slumber party chats in the
dark. Included is an honest and revealing afterword, which addresses the
author's early decision not to learn ASL, her more mature appreciation
for the language, and her adage that, "Our differences are our
superpowers."—Sara Lissa Paulson, School Library Journal
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The Night Gardener follows two abandoned Irish siblings who
travel to work as servants at a creepy, crumbling English manor house.
But the house and its family are not quite what they seem. Soon the
children are confronted by a mysterious spectre and an ancient curse
that threatens their very lives. With Auxier’s exquisite command of
language, The Night Gardener is a mesmerizing read and a classic in the making.
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When Tony’s mother is sent to jail, he is sent to stay with a great
uncle he has never met in Sierra Nevada. It is a daunting move—Tony’s
new world bears no semblance to his previous one. But slowly, against a
remote and remarkable backdrop, the scars from Tony’s troubled past
begin to heal.
With his Tió and a search-and-rescue dog named
Gabe by his side, he learns how to track wild animals, is welcomed to
the Cowboy Church, and makes new friends at the Mountain School. Most
importantly though, it is through Gabe that Tony discovers unconditional
love for the first time, in Mountain Dog by Margarita Engle. ~ Kirkus Review
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The story begins with a vacuum cleaner. And a squirrel. Or, to be more
precise, a squirrel who gets sucked into a Ulysses Super Suction wielded
by Flora’s neighbor, Mrs. Tickham. The rather hairless squirrel that is
spit out is not the same one that went in. That squirrel had only one
thought: “I’m hungry.” After Flora performs CPR, the rescued squirrel,
newly named Ulysses, is still hungry, but now he has many thoughts in
his head. Foremost is his consideration of Flora’s suggestion that
perhaps he is a superhero like The Amazing Incandesto, whose comic-book
adventures Flora read with her father. (Drawing on comic-strip elements,
Campbell’s illustrations here work wonderfully well.) Since Flora’s
father and mother have split up, Flora has become a confirmed and
defiant cynic. Yet it is hard to remain a cynic while one’s heart is
opening to a squirrel who can type (“Squirtl. I am . . . born anew”),
who can fly, and who adores Flora. Newbery winner DiCamillo is a master
storyteller, and not just because she creates characters who dance off
the pages and plots, whether epic or small, that never fail to engage
and delight readers. Her biggest strength is exposing the truths that
open and heal the human heart. She believes in possibilities and
forgiveness and teaches her audience that the salt of life can be cut
with the right measure of love. ~Ilene Cooper, Booklist
12-year-old Joe has a secret he has never told anyone. For as long as
he can remember, Joe has wanted to study the moon. He's worried that
something bad might happen to it and then it will have to go away, so he
wants to learn how to protect it.
Joe will be spending the summer with his Aunt Myra in Midville. Joe
is nervous about the visit. He doesn't want to leave his friends because
he's worried that they will forget about him. But, upon Joe's arrival,
he discovers that Midville isn't so bad. And it doesn't hurt that Aunt
Myra's neighbor, 12-year-old Beatrice, is beautiful and wants to spend
time with him!
One fateful day, Joe and Beatrice meet Mr. Boulderwall, one of the
richest men in the world. Mr. Boulderwall also has a secret. He needs to
find someone to run his company when he retires, and he decides that
Joe is the perfect candidate! But this would mean that Joe wouldn't be
able to help the moon. He would have to focus on business instead.
Can Joe admit that his love of the moon is more important than
wealth? Or will Joe keep his secret for the rest of his life and never
tell anybody about his dream? Find out in The Moon Over High Street by Natalie Babbitt.
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The adorable tale of a family of mice stowaways on an adventurous ship's journey. In the beloved tradition of The Borrowers, The Tale of Despereaux, and The Cricket in Times Square,
here is an irresistible adventure story about the tiny creatures who
secretly live among us humans, as only Newbery Medal winner Richard Peck
could imagine it. Set on a grand cruise ship to England in 1887, this
beautifully illustrated tale of a charming family of mice is full of
laughs, near misses, and surprises. Multiple-award-winning author
Richard Peck at his best and most playful!
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Donovan Curtis is an impulse-driven prankster who, at the start of
Ungifted, manages to alienate both the students and faculty of his
middle school. First he mocks the basketball team over the school PA
system with a derisive cheer and then he whacks the school's statue of
Atlas with a stick, knocking the huge globe off and sending it rolling
down the hill where it smashes into the gymnasium and stops the big
game. When Donovan ends up on the carpet, the district superintendent
accidentally adds his name to the roll of gifted students at the Academy
for Scholastic Distinction. Although he flounders at his new school,
Donovan ends up humanizing a program that focuses on academic
achievement and ignores the social aspects of students' success. From
his first day when he startles the robotics team by naming their robot,
to his saving the class from summer school by drafting his pregnant
sister as the answer to a missed credit in Human Development, Donovan
finds that his gift lies in helping the smart kids by teaching them how
to be "normal." Using an ancestor who survived the Titanic as
inspiration, Donovan has a goofy kindness that charms characters and
readers alike. Reminiscent of Stanley Yelnats and Joey Pigza, he careens
through life much like the out-of-control globe from Atlas's statue.
The story is told from the points of view of various characters (each
chapter titled with an Un-word), and readers hear from teachers and
administrators, students-both gifted and not-and family members. The
message is tolerance, and Korman expertly and humorously delivers it in
an unpretentious and universally appealing tale. ~Jane Barrer, School Library Journal
Click here to watch the book trailer for Ungifted!
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For all the ten years of her life, Ha has only known
Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the
warmth of her friends close by, and the beauty of her very own papaya
tree. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Ha and her family
are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward
hope. This is the moving story of one girl's year of change,
dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another,
one life to the next.
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For generations, the Beaumont family has harbored a magical secret.
They each possess a “savvy”—a special supernatural power that strikes
when they turn thirteen. Grandpa Bomba moves mountains, her older
brothers create hurricanes and spark electricity . . . and now it’s the
eve of Mibs’s big day. As if waiting weren’t hard enough, the
family gets scary news two days before Mibs’s birthday: Poppa has been
in a terrible accident. Mibs develops the singular mission to get to
the hospital and prove that her new power can save her dad. So she
sneaks onto a salesman’s bus . . . only to find the bus heading in the
opposite direction. Suddenly Mibs finds herself on an unforgettable
odyssey that will force her to make sense of growing up—and of other
people, who might also have a few secrets hidden just beneath the skin.
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