Synopsis: A panoramic novel set in Shakespeare's time finds Widge, a young orphan, possessing a special talent for shorthand that places him at the mercy of an unscrupulous master who would get the script of Hamlet at any cost. Jr Lib Guild.

Synopsis: What's all the fuss about? At first, Maggie is just being contrary when she tells her parents she doesn't need to learn cursive. Then her teacher, Mrs. Leeper, says Maggie's cursive is so untidy her name looks like "Muggie," and Maggie decides she will never, never read or write cursive. Nobody can make her. But when Mrs. Leeper appoints Maggie class mail messenger, the notes Maggie must carry are in cursive. Maggie can't read the notes, but she…

Synopsis: The Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award-winning classic about a boy who decides to hit the road to find his father—from Christopher Paul Curtis, recipient of the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.   It’s 1936, in Flint, Michigan. Times may be hard, and ten-year-old Bud may be a motherless boy on the run, but Bud’s got a few things going for him: 1. He has his own suitcase full of special things. 2. He’s…

Synopsis: Magnus Chase has seen his share of trouble. Ever since that terrible night two years ago when his mother told him to run, he has lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, staying one step ahead of the police and truant officers. One day, he's tracked down by an uncle he barely knows-a man his mother claimed was dangerous. Uncle Randolph tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god. The Viking myths are true…

Synopsis: Prepare for gales of laughter and showers of clever merriment as this "scrumptious cross between Dickens and Monty Python" (The Guardian) grandly appears in paperback. When both of Eddie's parents catch a diseas that makes them turn yellow, , it's agreed he should go away and stay wioth relatives at their house, Awful End. Alas for Eddie, those relatives are Mad Uncle Jack and Even Madder Aunt Maud - and the journey to Awful End will take him…

Synopsis: Night is Elie Wiesel's masterpiece, a candid, horrific, and deeply poignant autobiographical account of his survival as a teenager in the Nazi death camps. This new translation by Marion Wiesel, Elie's wife and frequent translator, presents this seminal memoir in the language and spirit truest to the author's original intent. And in a substantive new preface, Elie reflects on the enduring importance of Night and his lifelong, passionate…

Synopsis: Tina is deaf and communicates using sign language. But her father refuses to learn sign language and forbids Tina to use it at home. How far will Tina go to find a home where she can communicate?

Synopsis: The #1 New York Times bestselling series that inspired the hit ABC Family TV show Pretty Little Liars and the upcoming HBO spin-off series Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin!In Rosewood, Pennsylvania, four perfect-looking girls aren’t nearly as perfect as they seem.Aria can’t resist her forbidden ex. Hanna is on the verge of losing her BFF. Emily is freaking out over a simple kiss. And Spencer can’t keep her hands offanything that belongs to her…

Synopsis: After a summer spent trying to prevent a catastrophic war among the Greek gods, Percy Jackson finds his seventh-grade school year unnervingly quiet. His biggest problem is dealing with his new friend, Tyson-a six-foot-three, mentally challenged homeless kid who follows Percy everywhere, making it hard for Percy to have any "normal" friends.But things don't stay quiet for long. Percy soon discovers there is trouble at Camp Half-Blood: the magical…

Synopsis: - Background information to build content-area knowledge including: Scientific timelines, words to know, job descriptions, and seminal cases- Chapter Summaries and questions that recap the evidence: You're The Medical Examiner- Reading Cues and Clues: Prompts, call-outs, highlighted words, diagrams, and primary sources- Field Guides and Tools: Bone Guides, Parasite Guides, Ghost-Hunter Technology, Spy gadgets- Cool, bold, graphic design: CSI-…

Synopsis: So many readers have written and asked: What happened to Sarny, the young slave girl who learned to read in Nightjohn? Extraordinary things happened to her, from the moment she fled the plantation in the last days of the Civil War, suddenly a free woman in search of her sold-away children, until she found them and began a new life. Sarny's story gives a panoramic view of America in a time of trial, tragedy, and hoped-for change, until her last…