New Children's Fiction

In 1939 six-year-old Henry, who is deaf, is taken from his family and placed in a home for the feeble-minded where, years later, his friends include a conscientious objector serving there during World War II. Includes historical notes.

Spending the summer at a family beach house, Dash and his best friend, Lily, are alarmed by the house’ s ramshackle condition and the presence of eccentric relatives before encountering a series of supernatural beings.

In the Night Realm, vampires, shifters, weirns, and other night things passing for human prowl the streets... but they still have to go to school! Ailis and Na'ya are pretty average students (NOT losers), but when a shadow starts looming and a classmate gets all weird, they are the first to notice. It gets personal, though, when Na'ya's little brother D'esh disappears-It's time to confront the secrets of the forbidden mansion in the Silent Woods!

Twelve-year-old goblin and witch-in-training Beetle enlists her former best friend, Kat Hollowbones, to help stop Kat's sorceress aunt from demolishing the mall where Beetle's friend Blob Ghost is trapped.

"On a spring morning, neighbors Valentina Kaplan and Oksana Savchenko wake up to an angry red sky. A reactor at the nuclear power plant where their fathers work--Chernobyl--has exploded. Before they know it, the two girls, who've always been enemies, find themselves on a train bound for Leningrad to stay with Valentina's estranged grandmother, Rita Grigorievna. In their new lives in Leningrad, they begin to learn what it means to trust another person. Oksana must face the lies her parents told her all her life. Valentina must keep her grandmother's secret, one that could put all their lives in danger. and both of them discover something they've wished for: a best friend. But how far would you go to save your best friend's life? Would you risk your own? Told in alternating perspectives among three girls--Valentina and Oksana in 1986 and Rifka in 1941--this story shows that hatred, intolerance, and oppression are no match for the power of true friendship."-- Publisher's description.

Twelve-year-old Rufus Takada Collins discovers feylings on his grandfather's farm and it is up to him and his cousin Abigail to find the magical train cars that will carry them safely home.

Magic is strictly forbidden in the McGill house, but Delpha McGill has found the family book of spells and plans to use it to make things a little easier for herself and her mother Katybird Hearn comes from a rival family of witches, but her magic has been slow to emerge and she thinks a spell book is just what she needs to help things along--and when a quarrel between the two unleashes a graveyard full of angry zombies the two girls must work together to save Howler's Hollow, and themselves.

"Callaway just wants to help her friends but the pressure of an upcoming contest is giving her anxiety"-- Provided by publisher.

As his family's dog-friendly bed-and-breakfast establishment in dog-friendly Carmelito, California, welcomes celebrity dog Sir Bentley, twelve-year-old Epic McDade and his younger siblings investigate the disappearance of a $500,000 dog collar.

It is June 1941 and after the brutal rule of the Soviets the people of Krystia's small Ukrainian village are inclined to look on the German invaders as liberators but soon the Nazis start rounding up Jewish Ukrainians, and Krystia is faced with a terrible choice--risk everything by helping her Jewish friends and neighbors to hide, or save herself and her family by doing nothing.

Told in two voices, thirteen-year-old best friends Simp and Rollie play on a basketball team in their housing project, but Rollie dreams of being a drummer and Simp, to impress the gang leader, Coach Tez.

A penchant for doodling often lands fifth-grader Elvin Link in the principal's office, but also helps with crime-solving and standing up to bullies.

Eleven-year-old Ava Andrews has a Technicolor interior with a gray shell. On the inside, she bubbles with ideas and plans. On the outside, everyone except her best friend, Zelia, thinks she doesn’t talk or, worse, is stuck-up. What nobody knows is that Ava has invisible disabilities: anxiety and a heart condition. Ava hopes middle school will be a fresh start, but when Zelia moves across the country and Ava’s Nana Linda pushes her to speak up about social issues, she withdraws further. So Ava is shocked when her writing abilities impress her classmates and they invite her to join their improv group, making up stories onstage. Determined to prove she can control her anxiety, she joins--and discovers a whole new side of herself, and what it means to be on a team. But as Ava’s self-confidence blossoms, her relationship with Zelia strains, and she learns that it isn’t enough just to raise your voice--it’s how and why you use it that matters.

Geronimo and his friend Hercule Poirat venture into the sewers to find the origin of the horrible stink that is driving all the mice away from New Mouse City--and learn an important lesson about recycling.

When her older brother is arrested on her eleventh birthday, Bean Wright is devastated, and determined to raise the bail money that their mother does not have the most promising scheme she comes up with is getting a young girl named Phoebe, one of the summer residents, to sell her valuable Mastiff guard dog, Honey--but the scheme takes a dark turn when the buyer turns out to want Honey for dog fighting.

Twelve-year-old Lydia, feeling threatened by the attention her changing body is getting from boys and men, finds a way to take control of her own skin.

In southeastern Nigeria, twelve-year-old Mnamdi is determined to avenge his police chief father, who was murdered while triyng to rid the town of criminals, but Nnamdi feels powerless until he receives a magical object which gives him superpowers.

From the FGTeeV family gamers, when Moomy and Duddy are trapped in a video game, it is up to kids Lexi, Mike, Chase and Shawn to rescue them.

"Isaiah is now the big man of the house. But it's a lot harder than his dad made it look. His little sister, Charlie, asks too many questions, and Mama's gone totally silent. Good thing Isaiah can count on his best friend, Sneaky, who always has a scheme for getting around the rules. Plus, his classmate Angel has a few good ideas of her own--once she stops hassling Isaiah. And when things get really tough, there's Daddy's journal, filled with stories about the amazing Isaiah Dunn, a superhero who gets his powers from beans and rice. Isaiah wishes his dad's tales were real. He could use those powers right about now!"--Amazon.

"Kerry gets lost on his way home and has to navigate through a fantastical forest to find his way out, only most the creatures in the forest are not there to help him"-- Provided by publisher.

"Thirteen-year-old half-witch Kiki travels to the town of Koriko where she makes new friends, overcomes challenges, and shares her magic with her community to make the world a brighter place"-- Provided by publisher.

In small-town Wicapi, Minnesota, in 1991, twelve-year-old Justin struggles to pick up the pieces of his life after the unexpected death of his father.

Lois Lane and her friend Kristen want to promote their friendship video channel at the big neighborhood barbecue and bike race but when the fireworks go missing and a new girl takes up all of Kristen's attention, Lois tries to face her challenges and still celebrate the summer.

When Carson Cooper learns magical Locker 37's combination, he is only seeking something to fix the stain on his pants, but gets a pink rubber eraser that can erase absolutely anything.

"When Monster (who lives under the bed) meets Boy (who sleeps in the bed), Boy starts to scream--and Monster promptly swallows him. It's the beginning of a beautiful friendship!"--Amazon.

Eleven-year-old Maria de la Cruz is trapped under the thumb of Madame Destine, her pseudo-psychic mother. Destine is a bona fide con artist who will stop at nothing to swindle her customers into believing she can communicate with the dead. But Maria, unlike her mother, has a big secret--she really can communicate with the dead, most frequently with a ghost named Edward who has been her only friend since she was a child. It's not long before this clairvoyant young sleuth gets wrapped up in an epic journey that combines bookish mystery with the literary movement of the Beat poets and art and jazz history. Maria may have the power to unlock extraordinary secrets, but can she find the treasure Edward sends her clues about? More importantly, can she find true friendship?

Sixth-graders Lauren and Tara have always done everything together so it is only natural that they both try out for their middle school musical play, about an "all-American" girl in 1958 Tara gets the lead role, as usual, because in the teacher's mind Lauren, half-Jewish and half-Chinese, does not fit the image of all-American girl--Lauren is hurt but resolved to support her friend, but her two grandmothers are furious and they intend to do something about it.

"Jide and Petra are just two normal kids until they are selected to leave Earth and join their new alien classmates on an intergalactic research mission to Mars. Too bad Petra has no idea how she ended up in the program, seeing as the closest she wants to get to space is being a sci-fi writer. Jide, on the other hand, is the brains of the mission, but his helicopter parents make it clear he hasn't left their gravitational pull behind quite yet. What is meant to be an intra-species bonding experience soon turns to hijinx as the kids discover The Potato orbiting around their new space classroom and accidentally launch a mission of their own without any adult commanders around to supervise--or help!"-- Publisher's decription.

Middle-schooler Alma Lucas goes on a quest to return a fallen star to the sky, and along the way discovers friendship, magic, and the strength of her own soul.

Over a hundred years before the pilgrims, the very first English settlers arrived on Roanoke Island. But without warning, these colonists abandoned their new home and disappeared without a trace. What happened to the colonists? To figure it out, we'll need to investigate how these missing settlers got to Roanoke in the first place, and what the people already living there thought about these strange foreigners. It's a case filled with brutal battles, perilous pirate ships, ruthless queens, scheming businessmen, and enough skeletons to fill a graveyard.

Alastair the African grey parrot is adopted by elderly dance-enthusiast and pie-baker Albertina Plopky and his sister, Aggie, by twelve-year-old Fritz, spoiling his plans to away fly with Aggie. Told in Alastair, Albertina, and Fritz's voices.

Snap's town had a witch. At least, that's how the rumor goes. But in reality, Jacks is just a crocks-wearing, internet-savvy old lady who sells roadkill skeletons online--after doing a little ritual to put their spirits to rest. It's creepy, sure, but Snap thinks it's kind of cool, too. They make a deal: Jacks will teach Snap how to take care of the baby opossums that Snap rescued, and Snap will help Jacks with her work. But as Snap starts to get to know Jacks, she realizes that Jacks may in fact have real magic--and a connection with Snap's family's past.

"When best friends Metai and Jamila are reunited after a summer apart, their friendship threatens to combust from the pressure of secrets, middle school, and looming auditions for a potentially life-changing new talented-and-gifted program"-- Provided by publisher.

Eleven-year-old Jenae doesn't have any friends-and she's just fine with that . . . Then a new student shows up at school-a boy named Aubrey with fiery red hair and a smile that won't quit . . . The more she tries to push him away, the more he seems determined to be her friend, [and] . . . Jenae starts getting used to having him around. But when the two are paired up for a class debate about the proposed name change for their school, Jenae knows this new friendship has an expiration date. Aubrey is desperate to win and earn a coveted spot on the debate team, [while] Jenae would do almost anything to avoid speaking up in front of an audience-including risking the first real friendship she's ever had." -- adapted from jacket.

"On the morning of the dedication of the new children's library in Belle Beach, Long Island, eleven-year-old Julie Sweet and her six-year-old sister, Martha, find a baby in a basket on the library steps. At the same time, twelve-year-old Bruno Ben-Eli is on his way to the train station to catch the 9:15 train into New York City. He is on an important errand for his brother, who is a soldier overseas in World War II. But when Bruno spies Julie, the same Julie who hasn't spoken to him for sixteen days, heading away from the library with a baby in her arms, he has to follow her. Holy everything, he thinks. Julie Sweet is a kidnapper. Of course, the truth is much more complicated than the children know in this heartwarming and beautifully textured family story by award-winning author Amy Hest. Told in three distinct voices, each with a different take on events, the novel captures the moments and emotions of a life-changing summer -- a summer in which a baby gives a family hope and brings a community together."--Amazon.

"New York Times bestselling author Chris Grabenstein and his all-star cast of contributing authors team up for Super Puzzletastic Mysteries, a group of interactive short stories that invite the reader to solve the mystery themselves"-- Provided by publisher.

When Corey learns that he has the ability to save lives while time traveling, he is determined to go back in time to save his grandmother who died on September 11, 2001.

Twelve-year-old Alex Carlisle loves football almost as much as she loves her father but when she joins the Orville Middle School football team, not all of the boys, or parents, are pleased.

"In the storybook kingdom of Wanderly, everyone wants to be a Triumphant: the kingdom's most glorious heroes. Everyone except Pippa North, who is quite happy with her perfectly common family. No one in Wanderly wants to be a magician, would-be villains who are nothing more than nuisances. But Oliver Dash wants it more than anything in the world. When Pippa is swept away to the Triumphant academy, and Oliver finds himself in danger of flunking out as a magician, a wayward wish puts them on opposite ends of a villainous scheme--and plunges Pippa into an adventure that will make the whole kingdom ask what it really means to be a hero." -- Amazon.

"In all the years that Elinora Gassbeek has been matron of the Little Tulip Orphanage, not once have the Rules for Baby Abandonment been broken--until the autumn of 1880, when five babies are left in outrageous circumstances: one in a tin toolbox, one in a coal bucket, one in a picnic hamper, one in a wheat sack, and finally, one in a coffin-shaped basket ... And although their cruel matron might think they're 'unadoptable,' they know their individuality is what makes them special--and so determined to stay together"--Dust jacket flap.

Eleven-year-old Danny Monteverde believes in magic, he believes that the enchanted land of Rio Luna in his older sister's favorite book is real, and most of all he believes that if he can find the way to Rio Luna he will find his sister Pili there, because he does not believe that his sister would run away from the group home where they lived and leave him behind but after years of being passed from one foster family to another his faith begins to fade--until one day he finds a mysterious book in the library that contains a map to Rio Luna...and a way to find Pili.

"Eleven-year-old Eddie Aguado is convinced that winning the 14th Annual Arne Hopkins Dock Fishing Tournament (once he actually learns how to fish) will bring him closer to his dad, who died when Eddie was only five"-- Provided by publisher.

"Twelve-year-old Willa, grieving the loss of her mother, a renowned marine biologist, discovers she can talk to whales"-- Provided by publisher.