From acclaimed author Linda Urban comes the funny, bittersweet story of a girl and her ghosts—and the welcoming home they find where they least expect it.
California Poppy has been dropped off, yet again, with an unsuspecting relative. This time it's her eccentric Great-Aunt Monica, a woman she's never even met. Aunt Monica has no idea what to do with an eleven-year-old, so she puts California to work researching their ancestor, the once-famous etiquette expert Eleanor Fontaine.
California soon discovers that Great-Great-Great Aunt Eleanor is...not exactly alive and well, but a ghost—and a super sensitive one at that. The grand dame bursts into clouds of dust whenever she loses her composure, which happens quite often. Still, an unexpected four-legged friend and some old-fashioned letter writing make this decidedly strange situation one that California can handle.
Just as California's starting to feel like she's found a place for herself, life turns upside-down yet again. Thankfully, this time she has some friends almost by her side...
In this sweet and funny companion to Weekends with Max and His Dad by acclaimed author Linda Urban, Max and his mom embark on a road trip as they adjust to their new understanding of family. Third-grader Max is heading off on a road trip with Mom. With miles to travel, cousins to meet, and a tall roller coaster to ride (maybe), it will be an adventure! But Max always spends weekends with Dad; will Dad be okay if he's left behind? And will Max be brave enough for all the new explorations ahead of him?
Max and his dad love their weekends together. Weekends mean pancakes, pizza, spy games, dog-walking, school projects, and surprising neighbors! Every weekend presents a small adventure as Max gets to know his dad's new neighborhood-and learns some new ways of thinking about home. Acclaimed author Linda Urban deftly portrays a third-grader's inner world during a time of transition in this sweet and funny illustrated story that bridges the early reader and middle grade novel.
When magic came to Milo Speck, it came in the form of a sock. "Figures," said Milo. So begins Milo's adventure in Ogregon, a place populated with hungry ogres, dino-sized turkeys, kidnapped kids, and-Dad? What's Milo's regular-old salesman father doing in Ogregon? For that matter, how did a shrimp like Milo end up there? He's no hero. He can't help those kids. Right? But there's no time for Milo to get the answers. After all, hungry ogres like nothing more than a tasty bite of boy, and what kid is going to stick around for that? A fast escape back home to Downriver is all that matters-until Milo realizes that what's really afoot in Ogregon goes far beyond an ogre quest for snack food. And his own family may be somehow mixed up in the dastardly plot. But what can a small boy in a very big world possibly do about that?
For Ruby Pepperdine, the "center of everything" is on the rooftop of Pepperdine Motors in her donut-obsessed town of Bunning, New Hampshire, stargazing from the circle of her grandmother Gigi' s hug. That' s how everything is supposed to be-- until Ruby messes up and things spin out of control. But she has one last hope. It all depends on what happens on Bunning Day, when the entire town will hear Ruby read her winning essay. And it depends on her twelfth birthday wish-- unless she messes that up too. Can Ruby' s wish set everything straight in her topsy-turvy world?
Custodial Wisdom: Day Two
Never use a metal ladder in an electrical storm. Bring an extra garbage can to the cafeteria on Turkey Drummettes day. Fix things before they get too big for fixing.
Just one week until school starts. One week until Mattie Breen is the new girl again. One week until she has to introduce herself-to try and make friends. Unless she can convince her uncle Potluck, the school janitor, to take her on as a custodial apprentice. Then she'll be able to work with him at lunch and recess instead of needing
to be with all the other fifth-graders. All she has to do is stick to the custodial wisdom she writes in her notebook.
Too bad her notebook doesn't tell her what to do when that Quincy Sweet keeps popping up out of nowhere. Or how to talk to Mama about things that really matter. Or what to do when her carefully-thought-out apprentice plan comes crashing down around her. But maybe everything going wrong can begin to show Mattie what's right. About sharing a part of herself. About doing one small, brave thing. About making a friend
she can trust with her secrets-a friend who is hound dog true.
Carnegie Hall, look out!
Zoe Elias has big musical dreams. As soon as she gets a glossy baby grand piano, she’ll be on her way. Trouble is, what Zoe gets is a wood-grained, vinyl-seated, wheeze-bag organ. The Perfectone D-60.
How will she ever be discovered as a prodigy when her lesson book is The Hits of the Seventies? Not even a cha-cha beat can make the theme song from The Brady Bunch sound like Beethoven. If you add to that problem a mom who’s always at work, a dad who’s afraid to leave the house, and an odd boy who follows her home from school every day, Zoe’s big dreams are looking pretty lopsided.
But when she enters the annual Perform-O-Rama organ competition, Zoe discovers that life is full of surprises–and that maybe a little lopsidedness will help her find what she’s really hoping for.
