Kids

Ellen Oh’s Spirit Hunters meets Katherine Arden’s Small Spaces in this middle grade supernatural mystery following a girl whose discovery of a magical clearing near her summer camp ends up putting her best friend in danger.

Pina’s first trip to summer camp is a chance to escape her overbearing parents and finally go on an adventure with her best friend, Jo. But Camp Clear Skies hides a secret: a clearing in the deep woods the older kids call “the Glade.” After falling asleep here, Pina and Jo are able to enter one another’s dreams, transforming into superheroes and knights in shining armor, fighting back their nightmares in epic adventures.

At first, the friends think they’ve discovered a secret more exciting than any video game—until Pina’s nightmares start leaking out into waking life. Worse, something seems to have followed them back from those dreams…and whatever it is, it’s taking over Jo. Jo has always been the superhero in their friendship, but Pina can’t just abandon them to their fate.

To save her friend, Pina journeys deeper into the Glade than she ever has before, facing the worst of her own fears and Jo’s. There, she must confront the consciousness trying to steal her friend’s body and learn what happened twenty years ago that shut down Camp Clear Skies and changed the Glade forever.

Elvis and Romeo go to dog school in the first book in the charming Level 1 Ready-to-Read series from the bestselling creators of Ladybug Girl.

Elvis and Romeo are at their first day of dog school! Romeo already knows how to chase. Elvis already knows how to stay and sit. They both still have a lot to learn, but they will do it together!

For fans of Beth Lincoln’s The Swifts and Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Greystone Secrets series comes an exciting mystery filled with cryptic clues and wonderful word puzzles as two cousins search for their grandmother’s missing portrait. 

Twelve-year-old Bea from Passaic, New Jersey, is visiting her family in Paris for the summer when her grandmother’s most precious heirloom—a drawing by Henri Matisse—goes missing. After a cryptic clue arrives on Bea’s doorstep suggesting its whereabouts, Bea is determined to pursue the lead.

Without the French skills to navigate her way around the landmarks of Paris, she teams up with her cousin, Céline, whose clear-eyed French directness makes her a perfect partner for curious, problem-solving Bea. The girls embark on a city-wide search, deciphering riddles, solving puzzles, and cracking codes as they try to locate the Matisse, find a thief, and identify their mysterious benefactor.

A dog gets a bone then hides it. Will someone find it? This book focuses on the phoneme long o (CVCe).

Little Boo is the best! Until Little Boo is the worst...Why couldn't Big Boo have a little witch or even a little vampire for a younger sibling? A picture book featuring a pesky little sibling paired with gentle social emotional learning--perfect for Halloween or any time of year when a new baby arrives and brings change.

When the antics of their little sibling start to get to Big Boo, they decide to trade for a friend's younger sibling, Little Howl. At first this seems like a great idea, but soon enough Big Boo finds that the grass isn't always greener and Little Howl is a whole new level of monster. This sweet and humorous story about sibling relationships acknowledges the frustrations but, ultimately, the love that comes with a new addition to the family.

Kit and Ben spend the day by the shore. What will they do on the beach? This book focuses on r-controlled vowels.

Lisa Brown, creator of the hugely popular The Airport Book and The Hospital Book, breaks down the big prospect of moving to a new home in this engaging picture book primer.

Moving can be sad and scary--but it doesn't have to be. The kids in this book have done it many times before, as the older brother reminds his sister. They reflect on favorite memories from each of their past homes, and the boy talks her (and the reader) through all the steps to expect, from taping up boxes to riding in the car behind the moving truck.

Starring the same multiracial family from The Airport Book and The Hospital Book, and featuring plenty of "easter eggs" that will delight young readers, the book chronicles three distinct moves--from a small, overcrowded apartment in a rickety house to a proper urban apartment building to a house where there's room for grandpa. 

With clear, concise text and detail-rich illustrations, The Moving Book is the perfect resource for any family preparing for a move and managing anxiety about the process. Fans of Lisa Brown's critically acclaimed past titles will instantly recognize their favorite tour guides to sort-of-scary new things.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Emma loves Halloween! She has the perfect costume that works well with her cochlear implant. But she doesn't have a pumpkin to carve. Emma searches for the perfect pumpkin, but she soon discovers that perfect isn't important in this early chapter book.

Now in paperback. Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam are the world's most useless burglars. When their master plan for a robbery goes hopelessly wrong again, they discover that crime doesn't pay but cupcakes certainly do! This paperback edition includes a free audio reading.

Eve loves to bake with her mom. What will they bake today? This book focuses on long vowel phonemes.

Hygiene means keeping your body healthy and clean. Alongside Sesame Street friends, young readers learn the importance of brushing their teeth, washing their hands, and much more.

As a community recovers from a devastating wildfire, two friends find their way back to each other and their homes, by award-winning author Chris Baron.

Perfect for fans of Alan Gratz and Lauren Tarshis.

Finn and his friend, nicknamed Rabbit, live in a rural area that's been hit hard by wildfires. Families were displaced and school was interrupted. Moreover, their beloved forest is suffering -- animals and plants haven't been able to come back, and the two friends wonder if there's anything they can do to help. Rabbit's uncle, a science teacher, is part of a study that may help bring the forest back to life, but Finn and Rabbit wonder if the forest can wait. And what if another fire comes in the meantime? They believe a small part of the forest -- the forest heart -- that survived the wildfire may hold the key to regrowth, but first, they have to find it and then convince the adults around them to listen.

For any young person who's ever felt powerless against the world, here is a story about two kids doing all they can to understand their natural world and preserve it.

Ari helps a neighbor who accidentally gets shrunk by Ari’s mom’s latest invention in this second book in the My Mad Scientist Mom chapter book series from acclaimed author-illustrator Jarrett Lerner.

Ari’s life is filled with school, video games, and his pet turtle, Fred: pretty run-of-the mill stuff. But not anywhere near run-of-the-mill is Ari’s mom, who’s a mad scientist. That’s right, a MAD scientist. Sure, she strives to make people’s lives better with her inventions, especially at home. But all of Mom’s inventions seem to go just the slightest bit off kilter. 

His mom puts a new invention to the test to help clean up the clutter in their house: a magnimizer, which can shrink or enlarge anything! Pretty amazing, right? Well, not if you happen to be Mr. Jakes, their neighbor who comes face to face with this gizmo and becomes the size of a cockroach—and a potential tasty morsel for the resident basement mouse! Can Ari save the day and teeny-weeny Mr. Jakes?

Twelve-year-old Ada Wilson doesn't love sports, but her parents have signed her up for a sports camp. After her tennis-loving older sister suggests that Ada learn to play tennis so they can play together, Ada excitedly agrees. But at camp she discovers that, to her, tennis isn't nearly as fun as pickleball. What sport will Ada focus on, and will she be happy with her choice?

You walk through rows of velvet-covered seats and imagine the legendary actors who performed on the stage. Are any of them still hanging around in spirit? The idea gives you chills. Lights flicker on and off. Strange sounds make you jump. Did a ghost do it, or is there some other explanation? Choose your own path as you explore some of the world's most haunted theaters. Will you escape, or will you be frozen in fear?