Sugar White Snow and Evergreens

Maple-sugaring season is the perfect time to visit a local farm! As a family takes a sleigh ride, they see a bright red cardinal, a snowman with an orange carrot nose, and they learn how tasty amber maple syrup is made. After a morning full of color, they share pancakes and maple syrup in the farmhouse! Felicia Sanzari Chernesky’s cheerful, vibrant verses are accompanied by Susan Swan’s gorgeous collage art.

The Ghosts Go Haunting

“The ghosts go haunting one by one,
Boo! Boo!
The ghosts go haunting one by one,
Boo! Boo!
The ghosts go haunting one by one,
The principal leaps from his chair and runs…”

All through the school, ghosts go marching, witches go flying, and goblins go groaning with a whole host of other creatures! The teachers and staff are terrified, but of course the students know it’s just Halloween fun! Helen Ketteman’s verses—written to the counting tune of The Ants Go Marching—make this a rollicking read-aloud, while Adam Record’s artwork brings the ghoulish parade to life.

The Hero In You

“Everybody’s got a tale
Of how they chased a great white whale
some succeeded and some just failed
but trying is what you’ve got to do.
‘Cause in the trying you feel you’re flying
the whole wide world is beneath you lying
It’s you! It’s true! There’s no denying
There’s a hero in you”

Acclaimed songwriter Ellis Paul brings the inspirational words from his songs to the pages of a new picture book! Based on his award-winning family album of the same name, The Hero in You introduces kids to thirteen real-life American heroes. From Chief Joseph to Rosa Parks, their remarkable, heroic lives motivate and encourage us to aim high and try our best. Also included is a special edition CD of The Hero in You with 14 songs and exclusive introductory tracks from Ellis Paul. Readers can listen along to the lyrical book text, then read additional facts about the heroes on each spread.

With Books and Bricks

Booker T. Washington had an incredible passion for learning. Born a slave, he taught himself to read. When the Civil War ended, Booker finally fulfilled his dream of attending school. After graduation, he was invited to teach in Tuskegee, Alabama. Finding many eager students but no school, Booker set out to build his own school—brick by brick. An afterword gives detailed information on how the school was built.

Crown of the Cowibbean

When Chuck and Dakota sneak onto Marco Pollo’s giant ship, the Swashclucker, they accidentally become part of one of Marco’s high seas capers! Setting sail with Marco and his trusty sidekick, Ribeye, they must find the Coral Crown before the evil Kingfish does. But underwater villains and giant spider crabs stand in their way. Will Chuck and Dakota save the day?

Jasmine Skies

Mira Levenson is excited to visit India for the first time. But upon arriving she is hurled into new sights, sounds, sweltering heat and deeply buried family secrets. From the moment Mira meets Janu she feels an instant connection to him. Nothing is as she imagined it—and suddenly home feels a long way away. But Mira is determined to uncover the truth about her family, and she must also make a decision that will break someone’s heart.

Shadows of the Silver Screen

As the age of the silent film dawns, a mysterious filmmaker approaches the Penny Dreadful with a proposal to turn Montgomery Flinch’s sinister stories into motion pictures. With Monty starring in the production, filming begins but is plagued by a series of strange and frightening events. As Monty pleads with Penelope to help him, she is drawn into the mystery, but soon finds herself trapped in a nightmare penned by her own hand. Can Penelope uncover the filmmaker’s dark secret in time?

A Different Me

Allie Johnston’s secret wish since the day she was twelve is to have her nose done. But she hasn’t told anyone—not her parents, or even her best friend, Jen. But when she starts visiting a plastic surgery discussion board on the Web, she finds people who get her, for the first time in her life. Her new friends, including two girls her age with vastly different backgrounds who share her obsession with changing their faces—but for very different reasons. A sharply written, insightful book about learning to be happy with who we are.

Stronger Than You Know

After police intervention, fifteen-year-old Joy has finally escaped the trailer where she once lived with her mother and survived years of confinement and abuse. Now living with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in a comfortable house, she’s sure she’ll never belong. Wracked by panic attacks, afraid to talk to anyone at her new school, Joy’s got a whole list of reasons why she’s crazy. With immense courage, Joy finds friends and grows closer to her new family. But just when hope is taking hold, she learns she must testify in her mother’s trial. Can she face her old life without losing her way in the new one? Will she ever truly belong in a world that seems too normal to be real?

The Opposite of Love

Rose is the wild girl nobody really knows. Chase is haunted by his past. Both are self-proclaimed “disappointments,” attracted to each other enough to let down their defenses. When Rose’s strict, adoptive parents forbid the relationship, it only makes things more intense. But Chase can’t hide from his own personal demons, and Rose has secrets of her own. After they’re wrenched apart, a cryptic email arrives in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve, beginning a desperate pursuit and a look back over their tumultuous romance. Will they find each other before the night is over, or will they be torn apart forever?