The Year of Billy Miller

Award-winning, nationally bestselling author Kevin Henkes introduces second-grader Billy Miller in this fast-paced and funny story about friendship, sibling rivalry, and elementary school. The Year of Billy Miller includes black-and-white art by Kevin Henkes and is perfect for fans of the Ramona books, Frindle, by Andrew Clements, and the Clementine series.
When Billy Miller has a mishap at the statue of the Jolly Green Giant at the end of summer vacation, he ends up with a big lump on his head. What a way to start second grade, with a lump on your head! As the year goes by, though, Billy figures out how to navigate elementary school, how to appreciate his little sister, and how to be a more grown up and responsible member of the family and a help to his busy working mom and stay-at-home dad. Newbery Honor author and Caldecott Medalist Kevin Henkes delivers a short, satisfying, laugh-out-loud-funny school and family story that features a diorama homework assignment, a school poetry slam, cancelled sleepovers, and epic sibling temper tantrums. Illustrated throughout with black-and-white art by the author, this is a perfect short novel for the early elementary grades.


 
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If Dinosaurs Lived in My Town

Imagine a town where dinosaurs never went extinct. What would you do? Would you frantically run away and hide under your bed? Or, would you have a hamburger-eating contest with a Tyrannosaurus rex; go fishing with a Rhamphorhynchus; or travel through space with a Coelophysis? The possibilities are endless!Can you guess which dinosaur would be a crossing guard, a babysitter, or a circus star? Presenting enjoyable, quirky scenarios led by lovable but gigantic creatures, readers of all ages will surely be whisked away to a world where a Stegosaurus, Velociraptor, and Leaellynasaura are merely your friendly neighbors. Marianne Plumridge includes insightful facts about your favorite dinos, which complement Bob Eggleton's vivid and imaginative illustrations to create a thrilling experience for kids and parents to enjoy. Prepare to enter a world ruled by dinosaurs and humans alike!
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Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad

Inspired by a true account, here is the compelling story of a child who arrives in America on the slave ship Amistad --and eventually makes her way home to Africa.
When a drought hits her homeland in Sierra Leone, nine-year-old Magulu is sold as a pawn by her father in exchange for rice. But before she can work off her debt, an unthinkable chain of events unfolds: a capture by slave traders; weeks in a dark and airless hold; a landing in Cuba, where she and three other children are sold and taken aboard the "Amistad"; a mutiny aboard ship; a trial in New Haven that eventually goes all the way to the Supreme Court and is argued in the Africans' favor by John Quincy Adams. Narrated in a remarkable first-person voice, this fictionalized book of memories of a real-life figure retells history through the eyes of a child -- from seeing mirrors for the first time and struggling with laughably complicated clothing to longing for family and a home she never forgets. Lush, full-color illustrations by Robert Byrd, plus archival photographs and documents, bring an extraordinary journey to life.

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Draw Out the Story: Ten Secrets to Creating Your Own Comics

From single-panel comics to full-blown graphic novels, there are dozens of ways to use comics to tell a story. And whether kids want to write or draw something funny or scary, long or short, made-up or true-to-life, cartoonist and author Brian McLachlan maintains there are just ten crucial things they need to know to get started.
Using colloquial text, images, and examples, each chapter hones in on a different secret to creating great comics. Budding comic artists will learn how to make text and illustrations work together, how to give characters personality, how to choose the right tool for each project, and much more. 

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Making the Team ( Case File 13 #02 )

With thrills, chills, and laughs on every page, plus a boy-girl rivalry that will leave you in stitches, this is one frighteningly funny book you don't want to miss.
In this second book in a middle-grade series that's "sure to please young readers looking for a thrill" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), three monster-obsessed friends must take on a mad scientist who is literally stitching together a Frankenstein-esque football team.
Nick, Carter, and Angelo are back to monster business as usual. They're even filming a monster movie for a school project on Building a Brighter Tomorrow. (There's a connection there somewhere, they swear.) But when a new private school arrives in town boasting a football team that's inhumanly good, the boys start to suspect they may have a real monster mystery on their hands. And what's worse, they may need help from their girl rivals, Angie, Tiffany, and Dana, to get to the bottom of it.

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The Last Apprentice: I Am Alice (Book 12)

The twelfth book in the internationally best-selling fantasy adventure series that inspired the forthcoming major motion picture Seventh Son. Told from the point of view of Alice, best friend--and true love--to Tom, the Spook's last apprentice. Alice is the most powerful witch in the world, and she ventures into the dark itself. Will she return?
Alice Dean's destiny is intertwined with Tom Ward's. But he's going to be the next Spook, and she's a witch--possibly the most powerful one the world has ever seen. To rid the world of its greatest evil, the Fiend, Alice will venture into the depths of the dark for the final weapon Tom needs to defeat him. Will she survive? Or will she make the ultimate sacrifice for Tom? The Last Apprentice series is soon to be a major motion picture, Seventh Son, starring Jeff Bridges, Ben Barnes, Alicia Vikander, Kit Harington, Olivia Williams, Antje Traue, Djimon Hounsou and Julianne Moore as Mother Malkin. It's a suspenseful thrill-ride that's "spine-tingling" (Publishers Weekly) and "anything but tame" (Horn Book). But don't read it after dark!

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Zombie Baseball Beatdown

In this inventive, fast-paced novel, "New York Times" bestselling and Printz Award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi takes on hard-hitting themes--from food safety to racism and immigration--and creates a zany, grand-slam adventure that will get kids thinking about where their food comes from.
The zombie apocalypse begins on the day Rabi, Miguel, and Joe are practicing baseball near their town's local meatpacking plant and nearly get knocked out by a "really big "stink. Little do they know the plant's toxic cattle feed is turning cows into flesh-craving monsters! The boys decide to launch a stealth investigation into the plant's dangerous practices, unknowingly discovering a greedy corporation's plot to look the other way as tainted meat is sold to thousands all over the country. With no grownups left they can trust, Rabi and his friends will have to grab their bats to protect themselves (and a few of their enemies) if they want to stay alive...and maybe even save the world.

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