It’s snowman season in the neighborhood, but the Spotlighters discover that someone’s not just playing! They find a curious iron figurine hidden inside one of the snowmen. Who was hiding it—and why? When a stranger comes looking for it, it’s clear the Spotlight Club has another mystery to solve!
It’s Mood Monday and Miss Cady’s class is sharing how they feel after the weekend. But Theo doesn’t know whether he’s in a good mood or a bad mood. He has a new baby sister and he isn’t just happy like Eric who got a new bike or sad like April who lost her dog. As Theo’s classmates discuss all their feelings, he realizes he’s not in a good mood or a bad mood—he’s all those things!
Nurse Penny is a fun and funky school nurse who wears honeybee earrings and a butterfly smock and carries a ladybug purse. But there’s one kind of bug she’d rather not have around…head lice! So she calls a special school assembly to talk about those pesky critters—what they look like, how to avoid them, and how to get rid of them. After all, lice can happen to anyone—even the school nurse!
After moving from a small village in Mexico to a town in the United States, Eduardo is sure it will never feel quite like home. The other children don’t speak his language and they do not play fútbol. His family promises him that he will feel right at home by the time Christmas comes along, when “your words float like clouds from your mouth” and “trees will ride on cars.” With whimsical imagery and a sprinkling of Spanish vocabulary, Gretchen Griffith takes readers on a multicultural journey with Eduardo who discovers the United States is not so different from Latin America and home is wherever family is.
Everybody worries. Children worry too—in new or confusing situations or when someone is angry with them. This new addition to the acclaimed The Way I Feel Series uses reassuring words and illustrations to address a child’s anxieties and shows ways to feel better. Cornelia Spelman and Kathy Parkinson team up once again to provide a comforting and empowering book that’s helpful to all.
Twelve-year-old Mira comes from a chaotic, artistic, and outspoken family in which it’s not always easy to be heard. As her beloved Nana Josie’s health declines, Mira begins to discover the secrets of those around her and also starts to keep some of her own. She is drawn to mysterious Jide, a boy who is clearly hiding a troubled past. As Mira is experiencing grief for the first time, she is also discovering the wondrous and often mystical world around her. An incredibly insightful, honest novel exploring the delicate balance—and often injustice—of life and death. But at its heart, it’s a celebration of friendship, culture—and life.
Andy Whiffler is your average eleven-year-old boy…except that his nose is so big he can use it to fly and his sense of smell is a hundred thousand times stronger than any human. In the first book of this hilarious new series, Andy moves to a new school and is instantly picked on because of the size of his nose. But when his classmates discover how powerful his nose is, they decide he is more of a comic book hero than a nerd. One day Andy’s school is shut down due to toxic gasses. Andy discovers that it’s all a secret plot for an evil corporation called the ECU (Environmental Clean Up) to take over the world. Andy and his friends decide that this is a job for Super Schnoz, Andy’s alter-ego. The rag-tag group of kids team up to take on the ECU and ensure school gets back in session (otherwise summer vacation will be ruined!).
As if starting high school weren’t bad enough, Reyna Fey has to do so at a new school without her best friends. Reyna’s plan is to keep her head down, help her father recover from the car accident that almost took his life, and maybe even make some friends. And then Olive Barton notices her. Olive is not exactly the kind of new friend Reyna has in mind. The boys make fun of her, the girls want to fight her, and Olive seems to welcome the challenge. There’s something about Olive that Reyna can’t help but like. But when Reyna learns Olive’s secret, she must decide whether it’s better to be good friends with an outcast or fake friends with the popular kids…before she loses Olive forever.
Sophie has always lived her life in the shadow of her mother’s bipolar disorder: monitoring medication, making sure the rent is paid, rushing home after school instead of spending time with friends, and keeping secrets from everyone. But when a suicide attempt lands Sophie’s mother in the hospital, Sophie no longer has to watch over her. She moves in with her aunt, uncle, and cousin—a family she’s been estranged from for the past five years. Rolling her suitcase across town to her family’s house is easy. What’s harder is figuring out how to rebuild her life. And as her mother’s release approaches and the old obligations loom, Sophie finds herself torn between her responsibilities toward her mother and her desire to live her own life, Sophie must decide what to do next.
One rainy day, Flicka, Ricka, and Dicka find a crying dog on their doorstep. They bring him inside and take care of him. But the next morning, the girls find an ad in the paper for a lost dog. Their new friend belongs to someone else. Flicka, Ricka, and Dicka return the dog to his rightful owner, but he doesn’t want to go home!