Middle Grade Reader

One summer's day, ten-year-old India Opal Buloni goes down to the local supermarket for some groceries--and comes home with a dog. But Winn-Dixie is no ordinary dog. It's because of Winn-Dixie that Opal begins to make friends. And it's because of Winn-Dixie that she finally dares to ask her father about her mother, who left when Opal was three. In fact, as Opal admits, just about everything that happens that summer is because of Winn-Dixie. This updated edition of Kate DiCamillo's classic novel invites readers to make themselves at home--whether they're experiencing the book for the first time or returning to an old favorite.

The acclaimed author of Where the Watermelons Grow is back with a story perfect for fans of Lynda Mullaly Hunt and Ali Benjamin, about finding friendship after a tragic loss.

It's been eighty-three days since Annie Lee's daddy died, but she still sees reminders of him everywhere. His record player mysteriously plays his favorite songs, there's shaving cream in the sink every morning, and the TV keeps flipping to the Duke basketball games he loved.

She knows Mama notices it too, but Mama's been working around the clock to make ends meet. To make matters worse, Annie Lee's friends ditched her over the summer. She feels completely alone--until she meets Mitch.

Though Mitch is tough and confident on the outside, she may need a friend just as badly as Annie Lee. But after losing so much, Annie Lee is afraid to let anyone get too close.

And Mitch isn't the only friend trying to break through Annie Lee's defenses. Ray, an elderly pianist who plays at a local mall, has been giving her piano lessons. His music is pure magic, and Annie Lee hopes it might be the key to healing her broken heart. But when Ray goes missing, searching for him means breaking a promise to Mitch.

Faced with once again losing those who mean the most to her, Annie Lee must make a choice: retreat back into her shell, or risk admitting how much she needs Mitch and Ray--even if it means getting hurt all over again.

Just like in her debut, Where the Watermelons Grow, Cindy Baldwin brings her signature twist of magic to this authentically heartfelt story.

A Whitney Award finalist

An AML Award finalist

See the story of bread come to life in this baking book for kids:

- Written by flour expert Lizzie Munsey, who is part of a family that has been milling for over 100 years in England.
- Step-by-step recipes for more than 20 types of bread from around the world combined with technical spreads, including an insight into the flour milling process.
- Recipes are enhanced by spreads about the science of breadmaking -- educational STEM content.
- Fun facts about the history of bread and how it is made.
- Stylish and beautifully illustrated, with a mixture of explanatory photography and diagrams.

Nutritious, delicious and great fun to bake together! Whether you're in the mood for scrumptious scones, simple sourdough or luscious cinnamon rolls, The Best Ever Bread Book shows you how to bake brilliant bread for every occasion. Each recipe is tried and tested and comes with illustrated, step-by-step instructions, and lots of helpful tips to ensure the perfect bake every time.

Tapping into the current trend of making bread from scratch, this beautiful recipe book will take you on a fascinating journey of discovery. Find out how flour is farmed and milled, discover the different grain flours and pulse flours, as well as the spectacular science behind the springy loaf. It's the perfect gift for kids ages 5 to 9 who are interested in cooking and baking, or eager to learn how to bake. Let the bake-off begin!

Meet 9-year-old Iggy Frangi. He's not a bad kid, he's really not. Okay, so he's done a few (a few is anything up to 100) bad things. And okay, he's not very sorry about most of them. People make a big deal about nothing. What's a little pancake here and there? Is that something to get mad about? Iggy doesn't think so. No one got hurt, so there's no problem. No one got hurt except for that one time, that one time when the Best Idea Ever turned into the Worst Idea of All Time.

Iggy is sorry he did it. He is really, really, really sorry.

For what? you might ask. What did he do?

Well, you'll have to read the book to find out.

Things Iggy will NOT do in this book:
Be the most polite kid ever.
Play the cello.
Think before acting.
Learn a lesson.
Regret his actions. (Most of them, anyway.)

Beverly put her foot down on the gas. They went faster still.
This was what Beverly wanted -- what she always wanted. To get away. To get away as fast as she could. To stay away.

Beverly Tapinski has run away from home plenty of times, but that was when she was just a kid. By now, she figures, it's not running away. It's leaving. Determined to make it on her own, Beverly finds a job and a place to live and tries to forget about her dog, Buddy, now buried underneath the orange trees back home; her friend Raymie, whom she left without a word; and her mom, Rhonda, who has never cared about anyone but herself. Beverly doesn't want to depend on anyone, and she definitely doesn't want anyone to depend on her. But despite her best efforts, she can't help forming connections with the people around her -- and gradually, she learns to see herself through their eyes. In a touching, funny, and fearless conclusion to her sequence of novels about the beloved Three Rancheros, #1 New York Times best-selling author Kate DiCamillo tells the story of a character who will break your heart and put it back together again.

In The Big Book of Blooms, the next installment in the wildly successful Big Book series, Yuval Zommer's charming illustrations bring to life some of the most colorful, flamboyant, and unusual flowers from across the globe.

In the opening pages, readers will learn all about botany, including how to recognize different types of flowers. Subsequent pages illustrate the various habitats that are home to flora such as pitcher plants, the giant water lily, and the weirdly wonderful corpse flower. Readers will discover which flowers are endangered and why some blooms are fragrant or colorful, not to mention grisly details about carnivorous and poisonous flowers.

This title pairs picture-book charm and concise, informative text to create a beautiful book for children to return to. Zommer's quirky illustrations appeal to young readers, who will relish these fun and amazing facts about the world's most exciting plants.

Dinosaurs dominated the Earth for more than 150 million years, and they've been an endless source of fascination since fossils were first discovered. These traces of their existence constantly revolutionize what we know about the captivating creatures, and Big Book of Dinosaurs includes the latest theories and findings! Kids will be able to follow in the footsteps of paleontologists as they learn what a fossil is, how they are preserved, and where the main fossil sites have been found. They'll explore the different eras of ancient Earth, including the three main ages of the dinosaurs, and read about dinosaurs' extinction. Meanwhile, every colorful page is filled with illustrations charts, fun facts, and more. BONUS: Children can test their knowldge with a two-page quiz at the end.

The book for inquisitive children with big ideas and busy brains.

Studies show that children ask caregivers 300 questions a day...

This book teaches children to train their busy brains and think outside the box. Get lost for hours exploring puzzling questions that have stumped thinkers for years. More importantly, discover your truth by reading about a diverse range of thinkers. Drawing on influences from ancient Greeks right up to modern-day American writers, philosophy is re-imagined in this book.

Relate to the real-life experiences, explore big ideas from a range of thinkers, and decide where you stand on the issue at hand. For example, try to recall your earliest memory. Can you remember a lot or a little? Do memories make us who we are? Or do we pick and choose them to suit who we are? This is a multi-layered book to be explored again and again, revealing new opinions on every read.

Extra info in the book includes a manifesto for talking about difficult topics and managing disagreements, a glossary of terms, a timeline of key thinkers, and an index of themes.

Chapters are organized around questions, which include:

A world-expanding book to get lost in: either individually, or as a family.

Want to know which nation a dentist-turned-dictator rules? Where to find taxis shaped like coconuts? And who watches competitive cockroach racing? Then this is the book for you!

The Big World of Fun Facts from Lonely Planet Kids is packed with amazing facts and stories from around the world. From countries, food and folklore to sports, flags, animals and more, this fun and fascinating adventure will amaze and boggle your mind.

Themes to explore include:

About Lonely Planet Kids: Lonely Planet Kids--an imprint of the world's leading travel authority Lonely Planet--published its first book in 2011. Over the past 45 years, Lonely Planet has grown a dedicated global community of travelers, many of whom are now sharing a passion for exploration with their children. Lonely Planet Kids educates and encourages young readers at home and in school to learn about the world with engaging books on culture, sociology, geography, nature, history, space and more. We want to inspire the next generation of global citizens and help kids and their parents to approach life in a way that makes every day an adventure. Come explore!

"Full of heart and depth."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Henkes is a master of characterization. --The Horn Book (starred review)

"A first-rate choice for reading aloud."--Booklist (starred review)

Billy Miller is back! This stand-alone companion to two-time Newbery Honor author Kevin Henkes's award-winning, acclaimed, and bestselling The Year of Billy Miller, Billy Miller Makes a Wish is a laugh-out-loud funny and accessible story about summer, family, and wishes that (almost) come true.

Billy Miller Makes a Wish is illustrated in black-and-white throughout by the author, and is perfect for fans of the Ramona books and the Clementine series.

On his birthday, Billy Miller wishes for something exciting to happen. But he immediately regrets his wish when an ambulance rushes to his neighbor's house. Is Billy responsible? Award-winning author Kevin Henkes delivers a short, funny, and emotionally complex novel complete with misplaced love letters, surprising critters, art projects, misguided tattoos--and another surprise for Billy and his family, maybe the best one yet!

Illustrated throughout with black-and-white art by the author, this is a perfect novel for the early elementary grades and an essential choice for summer reading. A stand-alone companion to The Year of Billy Miller, a Newbery Honor Book.