Synopsis: Have you ever done something and then thought "Uh-oh, that was a bad idea?"How about the time you asked your best friend to give you a haircut?Or, when you went roller-skating with your dog (who was just kicked out of obedience school)?Talented newcomer Laura Huliska-Beith has put all her ideas into one book: The Book of Bad Ideas -- a collection of laugh-out-loud scenes guaranteed to have readers eagerly recounting their own bad ideas.

Synopsis: SpeechlessConnor is sure his best friend, Branwell, couldn't have hurt Branwell's baby half sister, Nikki. But Nikki lies in a coma, and Branwell is in a juvenile behavioral center, suspected of a horrible crime and unable to utter the words to tell what really happened. Connor is the only one who might be able to break through Branwell's wall of silence. But how can he prove Branwell didn't commit the unspeakable act of which he's accused --…

Synopsis: From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Heat, Travel Team and Million-Dollar Throw.Josh Cameron is MVP of the championship Boston Celtics and a media darling with a spotless reputation. He has it all . . . including a daughter he never knew. When twelve-year-old Molly Parker arrives in his life, claiming to be his daughter, she catches him off guard. Molly says her mom, Jen, revealed his identity before losing her battle with cancer.…

Synopsis: The year is 1861. Civil war is imminent and Tilly Pruitt's brother, Noah, is eager to go and fight on the side of the North. With her father long gone, Tilly, her sister, and their mother struggle to make ends meet and hold the dwindling Pruitt family together. Then one night a mysterious girl arrives on a steamboat bound for St. Louis. Delphine is unlike anyone the small river town has even seen. Mrs. Pruitt agrees to take Delphine and her dark…

Synopsis: It is 1927, and Joan Lee and her family have just moved to West Virginia to open a laundry and start new lives. But the Lees are the first Chinese-Americans that Clarksburg has ever seen, and not everyone in town is ready to welcome them. "A forceful picture of prejudice and persecution . . . and a touching picture of courage and patience in enduring both".--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books.

Synopsis: Ever since the morning Molly woke up to find that her parents hadvanished, her life has become filled with terrible questions. Where have her parents gone? Who is this spooky old man who's taken her to live with him, claiming to be her great-uncle? Why does he never eat, and why does he lock her in her room at night? What are her dreams of the Skeleton Man trying to tell her? There's one thing Molly does know. She needs to find some answers…

Synopsis: A young girl who loves Double Dutch is caught in the crossfire of the secrets she, her best friend, and the school bullies are keeping in this emotional middle grade novel.Delia loves Double Dutch more than just about anything, and she’s really good at it—so good she and her teammates have a shot at winning the World Double Dutch Championships. Delia would die if she couldn’t jump—but she’s hiding something could keep her off the team next year…

Synopsis: The Newbery Medal–winning classic novel about the courage and faith—and the love of a dog—that give a family strength in the face of inhumanity.The boy knows that times are tough for his family. Every night, his father goes out hunting with their great coon dog, Sounder, to try to put food on the table. But even with the little they bring back, there is still never enough for the family to eat.When the boy awakens one morning to a sweet-smelling…

Synopsis: What would you do if your famous movie-star aunt asked you to be a jar of ointment in Chinatown's New Year's parade? And what if disaster struck in the middle of the parade and someone stole the priceless Goblin Pearls right in front of you? Worse still, what if your great-aunt still thought she was the famous action heroine Tiger Lil and decided to catch the thieves? What else could you do but become her sidekick?Lily is excited when Auntie…

Synopsis: The daughter of a samurai never weeps. But Takiko, whose warrior father was killed in battle, finds this a hard rule, especially when her mother remarries a strange and ugly country potter. To get away from her miserable home, Takiko eagerly accepts a position at the imperial Japanese court. There, her beauty and nightingale voice captivate the handsome young warrior, Hideo -- who also turns out to be an enemy spy. As war breaks out, Takiko…

Synopsis: Willy Wonka's famous chocolate factory is opening at last!But only five lucky children will be allowed inside. And the winners are: Augustus Gloop, an enormously fat boy whose hobby is eating; Veruca Salt, a spoiled-rotten brat whose parents are wrapped around her little finger; Violet Beauregarde, a dim-witted gum-chewer with the fastest jaws around; Mike Teavee, a toy pistol-toting gangster-in-training who is obsessed with television; and…

Synopsis: Ben, Dylan, and Gerry are still mourning their mother's death when their dad decides to buy a boat and take them on a year-long sailing trip. Tensions flare between Ben and his father, but they gradually learn to live together in close quarters. Then one morning the boys wake up to discover their father has disappeared—and they are lost. What happened to him? Where are they? And what will they do when a terrible storm looms on the horizon?

Synopsis: Eleven-year-old Sallie March is a whip-smart tomboy and voracious reader of Western adventure novels. When she and her sister Maude escape their self-serving guardians for the wilds of the frontier, they begin an adventure the likes of which Sallie has only read about. This time however, the "wanted woman" isn't a dime-novel villian, it's Sallie's very own sister! What follows is not the lies the papers printed, but the honest-to-goodness truth…

Synopsis: The name has haunted my sleep and made my awake hours uneasy for as long as I can remember. Other children whisper that he is part man and part animal -- wild and blood-thirsty. But I know Weasel is real: a man, an Indian fighter the government sent to drive off the Indians -- to "remove them." Weasel has his own ideas about removal...Now that the Shawnees are dead or have left, Weasel has turned on the settlers. Like his namesake, the weasel,…

Synopsis: Eleven interlinked stories tell the tale of a boy coming of age in Kailua-Kona, a Hawaiian fishing village. Sonny Mendoza is a little different from the rest of the men in his family. Salisbury explores characters like Aunty Pearl, a full-blooded Hawaiian as regal as the queens of old; cool Jack, from L.A., who starts a gang and dares Sonny to be brave enough, cruel enough, to join; mysterious Melanie, who steals his heart; and Deeps, the shark…

Synopsis: When thieves hijack a collection of stuffed animals from a country auction, Frank and Joe Hardy pursue the getaway car and are drawn into a thrilling mystery. The recently acquired interest of their best pal, chubby Chet Morton, in taxidermy as a hobby adds fresh twists to the puzzle. At the same time, the young detectives' father -- famed private investigator Fenton Hardy -- is tracking down an industrial spy ring. Over the Hardys' ham radio,…

Synopsis: Christy's mother always tells her to be good to Eddie Lee, a neighborhood child with Down's Syndrome. But Christy wants to run and play -- and not worry about Eddie Lee tagging along. One hot summer day, though, Eddie Lee takes Christy to a secret place in the woods and teaches her that beautiful things can be found in unexpected places."What makes Fleming's first book so effective are the carefully selected details and authentic portrayal of…