In this sequel to Paratore's popular The Wedding Planner's Daughter, Bramble Cape Cod's only library is rumored to be closing its doors forever. Willa Havisham just can't let that happen, so she's got to raise money-fast. Plus she simply has to find a date for the Midwinter Night's Ball. Thankfully her best friend Tina has devised a love compatibility test that might be table to take care of both problems. And before long, Cupid's arrow seems to be hitting the mark all over Bramble.
This dark, spooky tale of suspense is a superb way to introduce young adults to one of early America's greatest writers. Masterfully imitating the macabre tone of Poe's fiction, Avi spins a tale of a young boy who asks Edgar Allan Poe to help him escape a plot of murder, calculation, and deception.
Living with his little brother, Fudge, makes Peter Hatcher feel like a fourth grade nothing. Whether Fudge is throwing a temper tantrum in a shoe store, smearing smashed potatoes on walls at Hamburger Heaven, or scribbling all over Peter's homework, he's never far from trouble. He's a two-year-old terror who gets away with everything and Peter's had enough. When Fudge walks off with Dribble, Peter's pet turtle, it's the last straw. Peter has put up with Fudge too long. How can he get his parents to pay attention to him for a change?
Fudge is back and he's discovered money in a big way. He's making his own "Fudge Bucks," dressing as a miser for Halloween and thumbing through catalogs before bed, choosing birthday and Christmas presents years in advance - much to the embarrassment of his family, especially older brother Peter, who's just starting 7th grade. But things begin to change when the Hatchers discover their long-lost relatives, The Howie Hatchers of Honolulu, Hawaii - not exactly your everyday family. With new cousins, Flora and Fauna, and 4 year old Farley Drexel - yes, that's right, another Farley Drexel! - the stage is set for a wild and wacky beginning to a new school year.
Peter Hatcher's summer is not looking good.
First of all, Peter's brother Fudge -- the five-year-old human hurricane -- has a plan: to marry Peter's sworn enemy, Sheila Tubman. Disgusting! Could anything be worse?
Yes. Peter's parents have decided to rent a summer house next door to the Tubman's. Which means Peter will be stuck with Fudge and Sheila the Cootie Queen for three whole weeks!
Will Peter be able to survive the summer? It may not be the vacation of Peter's dreams, but, as millions of Judy Blume fans know, it won't be dull. When Fudge is around, anything can happen... and does!
Emma-Jean Lazarus is the smartest–and definitely the strangest–girl at William Gladstone Middle School. Her fellow seventh graders don’t understand her. But that’s okay, since Emma-Jean doesn’t understand them either. Emma-Jean has always considered it prudent to keep her distance, to observe from afar. Until one afternoon, when she walks into the girls’ room and discovers Colleen Pomerantz sobbing at the sink.
Colleen is one of those girls who cares a lot! About everything! And now the meanest girl in school is trying to steal her best friend, and the only one who seems to care is Emma-Jean Lazarus.
So our story begins, in the girls’ room, as two very different girls begin a journey that is sure to send one of them tumbling out of a tree . . .
BONUS FEATURES: Exclusive author interview and a profile of Lewis Hine!
1910. Pownal, Vermont. At 12, Grace and her best friend Arthur must leave school and go to work as a “doffers” on their mothers’ looms in the mill. Grace’s mother is the best worker, fast and powerful, and Grace desperately wants to help her. But she’s left handed and doffing is a right-handed job. Grace’s every mistake costs her mother, and the family. She only feels capable on Sundays, when she and Arthur receive special lessons from their teacher. Together they write a secret letter to the Child Labor Board about underage children working in Pownal. A few weeks later a man with a camera shows up. It is the famous reformer Lewis Hine, undercover, collecting evidence for the Child Labor Board. Grace’s brief acquaintance with Hine and the photos he takes of her are a gift that changes her sense of herself, her future, and her family’s future.
Winnie Perry went through a lot when she was eleven, from shifting friendships to her teenage sister's mood swings. But now that Winnie is twelve and one step closer to being a teenager herself there is so much more to deal with. Will her new friendship with Dinah last? Can she handle the pressures of junior high? And, most important, will Winnie survive bra shopping (in public!) with Mom?
ARE YOU A GIFTED CHILD Looking for special opportunities?
When this peculiar ad appears in the newspaper, dozens of children enroll to take a series of mysterious, mind-bending tests. (And you, dear listener, can test your wits right alongside them.) But in the end just four very special children will succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and resourceful
children could complete. To accomplish it they will have to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules.
As our heroes face physical and mental trials beyond their wildest imaginations, they have no choice but to turn to each other for support. But with their newfound friendship at stake, will they be able to pass the most important test of all?
Welcome to the mysterious benedict society.
One morning, Geronimo goes out for a cup of coffee and sees the most beautiful rodent. It was love at first sight. But his racing heart makes him stumble and he ends up with his tail in a toaster -- how embarrassing! To prove himself, he sets out on the most daring adventure yet: a journey to the Eighth Wonder of the World.
Camilla Cream loves lima beans, but she never eats them. Why? Because the other kids in her school don't like them. And Camilla Cream is very, very worried about what other people might think of her. In fact, she's so worried that she's about to break out in...a bad case of stripes!
Cracker is one of the United States Army’s most valuable weapons: a German shepherd trained to sniff out bombs, traps, and the enemy. The fate of entire platoons rests on her keen sense of smell. She’s a Big Deal, and she likes it that way. Sometimes Cracker remembers when she was younger, and her previous owner would feed her hot dogs and let her sleep in his bed. That was nice, too.
Rick Hanski is headed to Vietnam. There, he’s going to whip the world and prove to his family and his sergeant–and everyone else who didn’t think he was cut out for war–wrong. But sometimes Rick can’t help but wonder that maybe everyone else is right. Maybe he should have just stayed at home and worked in his dad’s hardware store.
When Cracker is paired with Rick, she isn’t so sure about this new owner. He’s going to have to prove himself to her before she’s going to prove herself to him. They need to be friends before they can be a team, and they have to be a team if they want to get home alive.
