Amina Luqman-Dawson

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Arizona

Debut author Amina Luqman-Dawson pens a lyrical, accessible historical middle-grade novel about two enslaved children's escape from a plantation and the many ways they find freedom.



Under the cover of night, twelve-year-old Homer flees Southerland Plantation with his little sister Ada, unwillingly leaving their beloved mother behind. Much as he adores her and fears for her life, Homer knows there's no turning back, not with the overseer on their trail. Through tangled vines, secret doorways, and over a sky bridge, the two find a secret community called Freewater, deep in the swamp.



In this society created by formerly enslaved people and some freeborn children, Homer finds new friends, almost forgetting where he came from. But when he learns of a threat that could destroy Freewater, he crafts a plan to find his mother and help his new home.



Deeply inspiring and loosely based on the history of maroon communities in the South, this is a striking tale of survival, adventure, friendship, and courage. 

Freewater

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Waka T. Brown

In this empowering deconstruction of the so-called American Dream, a twelve-year-old Japanese American girl grapples with, and ultimately rises above, the racism and trials of middle school she experiences while chasing her dreams. As the daughter of immigrants who came to America for a better life, Annie Inoue was raised to dream big. And at the start of seventh grade, she's channeling that irrepressible hope into becoming the lead in her school play. So when Annie lands an impressive role in the production of The King and I, she's thrilled . . . until she starts to hear grumbles from her mostly white classmates that she only got the part because it's an Asian play with Asian characters. Is this all people see when they see her? Is this the only kind of success they'll let her have--one that they can tear down or use race to belittle? Disheartened but determined, Annie channels her hurt into a new dream: showing everyone what she's made of. Waka T. Brown, author of While I Was Away, delivers an uplifting coming-of-age story about a Japanese American girl's fight to make space for herself in a world that claims to celebrate everyone's differences but doesn't always follow through.

Dream, Annie, Dream

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P. G. Bell

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

A middle-grade fantasy and nonstop adventure, The Train to Impossible Places: A Cursed Delivery by debut author P. G. Bell is as fun as it is full of heart, and the first book of a planned trilogy. A train that travels through impossible places. A boy trapped in a snow globe. And a girl who’s about to go on the adventure of a lifetime. The Impossible Postal Express is no ordinary train. It’s a troll-operated delivery service that runs everywhere from ocean-bottom shipwrecks, to Trollville, to space. But when this impossible train comes roaring through Suzy’s living room, her world turns upside down. After sneaking on board, Suzy suddenly finds herself Deputy Post Master aboard the train, and faced with her first delivery—to the evil Lady Crepuscula. Then, the package itself begs Suzy not to deliver him. A talking snow globe, Frederick has information Crepuscula could use to take over the entire Union of Impossible Places. But when protecting Frederick means putting her friends in danger, Suzy has to make a difficult choice—with the fate of the entire Union at stake.

The Train to Impossible Places: a Cursed Delivery

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Corey Ann Haydu





"A well-crafted blend of realism and fantasy."  --School Library Journal (starred review)

"A lyrical story of love and loss. The way the sisters fight and love in equal measure, as well as their basic need for one another, rings poignantly true in this touching and heartwarming story, which contains a 'tiny bit of magic, right here in the real world.'" --Booklist (starred review)

In the tradition of Sharon Creech and Wendy Mass, Corey Ann Haydu's sparkling middle grade debut is a sister story with a twist of magic, a swirl of darkness, and a whole lot of hope.

Silly is used to feeling left out. Her three older sisters think she's too little for most things--especially when it comes to dealing with their mother's unpredictable moods and outbursts. This summer, Silly feels more alone than ever when her sisters keep whispering and sneaking away to their rooms together, returning with signs that something mysterious is afoot: sporting sunburned cheeks smudged with glitter and gold hair that looks like tinsel.

When Silly is brought into her sisters' world, the truth is more exciting than she ever imagined. The sisters have discovered a magical place that gives them what they truly need: an escape from the complications of their home life. But there are dark truths there, too. Silly hopes the magic will be the secret to saving their family, but she's soon forced to wonder if it could tear them apart.

Rules for Stealing Stars

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R. J. Palacio

Born with a facial deformity that initially prevented his attendance at public school, Auggie Pullman enters the fifth grade at Beecher Prep and struggles with the dynamics of being both new and different, in a sparsely written tale about acceptance and self-esteem.

Wonder

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Sara Pennypacker

National Book Award Longlist * New York Times Bestseller * An Amazon Best Book of the Year Finally in paperback! This handsome edition features French flaps. From bestselling and award-winning author Sara Pennypacker comes a beautifully wrought, utterly compelling novel about the powerful relationship between a boy and his fox. Pax is destined to become a classic, beloved for generations to come. Pax and Peter have been inseparable ever since Peter rescued him as a kit. But one day, the unimaginable happens: Peter's dad enlists in the military and makes him return the fox to the wild. At his grandfather's house, three hundred miles away from home, Peter knows he isn't where he should be—with Pax. He strikes out on his own despite the encroaching war, spurred by love, loyalty, and grief, to be reunited with his fox. Meanwhile Pax, steadfastly waiting for his boy, embarks on adventures and discoveries of his own. . . .

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Michael Scott

While working at summer jobs in San Francisco, twins Sophie and Josh find themselves caught up in the deadly, centuries-old struggle between rival alchemists, Nicholas Flamel and John Dee, over the possession of an ancient and powerful book.

The Alchemyst

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Brandon Mull

In a world that lies between reality and imagination, a “fanciful, action-packed adventure” awaits (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Come and claim it in this first book of the Five Kingdoms series, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Fablehaven and Beyonders series. Cole Randolph was just trying to have a fun time with his friends on Halloween (and maybe get to know Jenna Hunt a little better). But when a spooky haunted house turns out to be a portal to something much creepier, Cole finds himself on an adventure on a whole different level. After Cole sees his friends whisked away to some mysterious place underneath the haunted house, he dives in after them—and ends up in The Outskirts. The Outskirts are made up of five kingdoms that lie between wakefulness and dreaming, reality and imagination, life and death. It’s an in-between place. Some people are born there. Some find their way there from our world, or from other worlds. And once you come to the Outskirts, it’s very hard to leave. With the magic of the Outskirts starting to unravel, it’s up to Cole and an unusual girl named Mira to rescue his friends, set things right in the Outskirts, and hopefully find his way back home…before his existence is forgotten.

Sky Raiders

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Charles. Dickens

Keith Carabine

David Ellis

Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

With an Introduction and Notes by David Ellis, University of Kent at Canterbury. With Illustrations by R.Seymour, R.W. Buss and Hablot K. Browne (Phiz).

The Pickwick Papers is Dickens' first novel and widely regarded as one of the major classics of comic writing in English. Originally serialised in monthly instalments, it quickly became a huge popular success with sales reaching 40,000 by the final part.

In the century and a half since its first appearance, the characters of Mr Pickwick, Sam Weller and the whole of the Pickwickian crew have entered the consciousness of all who love English literature in general, and the works of Dickens in particular.

The Pickwick Papers

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Victor Hugo

Catherine Liu

Elizabeth McCracken

Set in medieval Paris, Victor Hugo’s powerful historical romance The Hunchback of Notre-Dame has resonated with succeeding generations ever since its publication in 1837. It tells the story of the beautiful gypsy Esmeralda, condemned as a witch by the tormented archdeacon Claude Frollo, who lusts after her. Quasimodo, the deformed bell ringer of Notre-Dame Cathedral, having fallen in love with the kindhearted Esmeralda, tries to save her by hiding her in the cathedral’s tower. When a crowd of Parisian peasants, misunderstanding Quasimodo’s motives, attacks the church in an attempt to liberate her, the story ends in tragedy.

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

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Susan Wise Bauer

History

The Modern Age -- from Victoria's Empire to the End of the USSR

Where was the Crystal Palace? Who was the Sick Man of Europe? And how did cow fat start a revolution? Now more than ever, other countries and customs affect our everyday lives--and our children need to learn about the people who live all around the world. Susan Wise Bauer has provided a captivating guide to the history of modern nations all around the world. Written in an engaging, straightforward manner, the final volume of the popular Story of the World series weaves world history into a storybook format, covering major historical events in the years 1850-2000. From the Middle East and China to Africa and the Americas--find out what happened all around the world in the last century and a half. Designed as a read-aloud project for parents and children to share together, The Story of the World includes the stories of each continent and people group.

Each Story of the World volume provides a full year of history study when combined with the Activity Book, Audiobook, and Tests--each available separately to accompany each volume of The Story of the World Text Book. Volume 4 Grade Recommendation: Grades 3-8.

The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 4

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The Aeneid

Philip Ulrich

Erin Ulrich

Begin

The Growly Books

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Ingri d'Aulaire

Edgar Parin d'Aulaire

Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths

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Jan Stradling

Explore our amazing planet through detailed cross-section illustrations, transparent acetate layers, and informative text. From below the seafloor and inside volcanoes to above the thunderclouds and mountains, every region of the earth is covered in depth. Transparent layers reveal the inner working of the Earth's natural systems. 3-D cross-sections provide unique views of geological features.

The Earth

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H. A. Rey

Containing star charts, a guide to the constellations, and details about seasons and the movement of the objects we see in the sky, this classic book makes H. A. Rey’s passion for astronomy evident on every page.
Second edition updates concentrate on the planetary and solar system information in the latter part of the book. Facts and figures for each planet have been revised, and new scientific information has been added, such as Pluto’s reclassification as a dwarf planet.

Find the Constellations

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Eugene Trivizas

When it comes time for the three little wolves to go out into the world and build themselves a house, their mother warns them to beware the big bad pig. But the little wolves' increasingly sturdy dwellings are no match for the persistent porker, who has more up his sleeve than huffing and puffing. It takes a chance encounter with a flamingo pushing a wheelbarrow full of flowers to provide a surprising and satisfying solution to the little wolves' housing crisis. Eugene Trivizas's hilarious text and Helen Oxenbury's enchanting watercolors have made this delightfully skewed version of the traditional tale a contemporary classic.

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig

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Camille Andros

A picture book meditation on curiosity, wonder, and finding one's way In this lyrical picture book, readers follow one boy through his life as he returns to the seashore beside his home. The boy likes to think, and his thoughts turn into questions. He brings these questions to the sea. At times, he thinks he can hear the sea whisper to him: Dream. Love. Be. So he does. He dreams--a young boy imagining all that he might do. He loves--a teenager, reaching out from a lonely place to make friends. He allows himself to just be--now grown, sharing the seashore with his daughter. A celebration of quiet curiosity, The Boy and the Sea invites readers to ask questions and live their way into the answers.

The Boy and the Sea

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Samantha Berger

A boy who looks ordinary transforms into grumbling Crankenstein when he receives more tricks than treats on Halloween.

Trick or Treat, Crankenstein

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Tyler Gordon

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Portraits of Power

"Here is a debut picture book by partially deaf prodigy Tyler Gordon, featuring his bold paintings of over 30 icons--musicians, artists, writers, civils rights leaders, sports legends, change-makers, record-setters, and more--alongside short explanations of how these people inspire him"--

We Can

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Gretchen Woelfle

Civics

Stories of African Americans and the American Revolution

Uncover the lives of thirteen African-Americans who fought during the Revolutionary War. Even as American Patriots fought for independence from British rule during the Revolutionary War, oppressive conditions remained in place for the thousands of enslaved and free African Americans living in this country. But African Americans took up their own fight for freedom by joining the British and American armies; preaching, speaking out, and writing about the evils of slavery; and establishing settlements in Nova Scotia and Africa. The thirteen stories featured in this collection spotlight charismatic individuals who answered the cry for freedom, focusing on the choices they made and how they changed America both then and now. These individuals include: Boston King, Agrippa Hull, James Armistead Lafayette, Phillis Wheatley, Elizabeth "Mumbet" Freeman, Prince Hall, Mary Perth, Ona Judge, Sally Hemings, Paul Cuffe, John Kizell, Richard Allen, and Jarena Lee. Includes individual bibliographies and timelines, author note, and source notes.

Answering the Cry for Freedom

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The Yearling

Arthur Conan Doyle

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was both a doctor and a believer in spirits, which may partly explain why his Sherlock Holmes is one of literature's most beloved detectives: Holmes always approaches his cases with the gentility and logic of a scientist, but the stories are suffused with an aura of the supernatural. Narrated by devoted assistant Dr. John H. Watson, Holmes's adventures were so addictive that fans protested the master deducer's death in 1893 and Doyle had to resurrect him.

The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

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Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll's novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass have entertained readers young and old for more than a century. Their magical worlds, amusing characters, and playfully logical illogic epitomize the wit and whimsy of Carroll's writing. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Other Classic Works collects both of the Alice novels, each featuring the classic illustrations of John Tenniel. In addition, this volume features the novels Sylvie and Bruno and Sylvie and Bruno Concluded, the classic nonsense poem The Hunting of the Snark, and the full contents of the poetry collection Phantasmagoria--all timeless works that reflect the cleverness and ingenuity that were Carroll's unique gifts.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Other Classic Works

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Kristen’s Reading Nook

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