Middle Grade Reader

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents CITY OF THE PLAGUE GOD, an adventure based on ancient Mesopotamian mythology written by Sarwat Chadda, author of the Ash Mistry series.
"An epic worthy of Gilgamesh. Chadda brings attention to the less well-recognized mythology of ancient Mesopotamia with engaging humor and wit."--Kirkus Reviews
Thirteen-year-old Sik wants a simple life going to school and helping at his parents' deli in the evenings. But all that is blown to smithereens when Nergal comes looking for him, thinking that Sik holds the secret to eternal life.Turns out Sik is immortal but doesn't know it, and that's about to get him and the entire city into deep, deep trouble.
Sik's not in this alone. He's got Belet, the adopted daughter of Ishtar, the goddess of love and war, on his side, and a former hero named Gilgamesh, who has taken up gardening in Central Park. Now all they have to do is retrieve the Flower of Immortality to save Manhattan from being wiped out by disease. To succeed, they'll have to conquer sly demons, treacherous gods, and their own darkest nightmares.
"Featuring gods and goddesses, and importantly, Muslim heroes, this #OwnVoices tale eerily echoes our pandemic presents; but readers will find escape in the entertaining balance of an apocalyptic setting with irreverent humor."--School Library Journal

Allie Navarro can't wait to show her best friends the app she built at CodeGirls summer camp. Click'd pairs users based on common interests and sends them on a fun (and occasionally rule-breaking) scavenger hunt to find each other. And it's a hit. By the second day of school, everyone is talking about Click'd.

Watching her app go viral is amazing. Leaderboards are filling up! Everyone's making new friends. And with all the data Allie is collecting, she has an even better shot at beating her archenemy, Nathan, at the upcoming youth coding competition. But when Allie discovers a glitch that threatens to expose everyone's secrets, she has to figure out how to make things right, even if that means sharing the computer lab with Nathan. Can Allie fix her app, stop it from doing any more damage, and win back the friends it hurt-all before she steps on stage to present Click'd to the judges?

New York Times best-selling author Tamara Ireland Stone combines friendship, coding, and lots of popcorn in her fun and empowering middle-grade debut.

"An atmospheric page-turner. . . . Edgy, dramatic, and emotionally rich historical fiction that provides a vivid look into an extraordinary moment in history." -- The Horn Book (starred review)

One ordinary day, Noah's parents tell him his name isn't really Noah, his birthday isn't really in March, and his new home is going to be East Berlin -- on the other side of the Iron Curtain. East Germany seems the least likely place in the world for a kid from America with a lot of secrets of his own (and an Astonishing Stutter) to make a friend, but then Noah meets Cloud-Claudia, the lonely girl who lives one floor down. Noah and Cloud-Claudia have only a half-imaginary map and a shared fondness for codes and puzzles to guide them in a world where walls -- and the Wall -- are closing in.

Written by the founders of Silicon Valley's the CoderSchool, Basher's Code Your Own Website is a really useful guide to basic programming that's packed with quirky, colorful characters---from URL and Domain to Browser and Router--who will explain exactly how the Internet works. Young readers will learn all about the three big website coding languages: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, then follow the simple steps to code their own dynamic website.

Combining Basher's trademark quirky and humorous illustration style with the very latest teachings on coding, Code Your Own Website also looks closely at online safety, helping young coders to spot the good guys... and the bad ones.

Dan Tavis's humorous illustrations crank up the delight, and a child wanting to learn more will find it in the natural-history backmatter. Pat Brisson employs a variety of verse forms in the book, and she shows how it's done in a back-of-book feature called "A Peek into the Poet's Toolkit."

Common Critters is a three-tool STEAM book with delightful reading, natural history, and language skills rolled into one.

You've just been transported back in time. Exotic plants tower above your head, while giant rat-like creatures scuttle around you. What concerns you most, however, are the meat-eating dinosaurs that are the size of a house! Do you think you have what it takes to survive the Cretaceous Period? Turn the pages to find out!

A New York Times bestseller--now available in paperback.

INCLUDES AN EXCLUSIVE BONUS STORY about the medieval Secret Order of the Unicorn!

Unicorns are real. (At least we think they are.)

Are you ready to protect the creatures of myth and legend? Then you belong in The Unicorn Rescue Society. HURRY-THE CREATURES NEED YOU!

Elliot Eisner isn't exactly thrilled with the first day at his new school. His class is going on a field trip to a creepy forest called the Pine Barrens. The trip is being led by Professor Fauna, the weirdest teacher
Elliot has ever met. And the only kid who will talk to Elliot, Uchenna Devereaux, isn't afraid of danger. She likes danger.

Elliot and Uchenna are about to become part of a secret group of adventurers, The Unicorn Rescue Society, whose goal is to protect and defend the world's mythical creatures. Together with Professor Fauna, Elliot and Uchenna must help rescue a Jersey Devil from a duo of conniving, greedy billionaires, the Schmoke Brothers.

Join Elliot and Uchenna on their very first quest as members of the Unicorn Rescue Society in this fantasy-adventure series from Adam Gidwitz, the beloved bestselling and Newbery Honor-winning author of The Inquisitors Tale and A Tale Dark & Grimm.

Illustrated throughout, this is the perfect fit for newly independent readers looking for a story full of adventure, fun, and friendship.

The crime-loving Crims are back in the second installment of this hilarious trilogy, perfect for fans of Lemony Snicket and Pseudonymous Bosch!

Imogen Crim has moved back home with her family and resumed her commitment to crime. But coming back to Blandington isn't quite so easy.

Between Big Nana's crime theory assignments, regular schoolwork, and keeping up with her new archenemy Ava Gud, Imogen can't find a spare moment to participate in the family's new Crime Directive. And the Crims have even been bumped from the top spot on Blandington's Most Wanted list! Oh, the injustice!

Then various Crims start disappearing without a trace, and Big Nana is convinced that the Kruk family is behind the kidnappings. Imogen will need to use all her shadiest and shiftiest skills if she's ever to see her family again...

David Macaulay, co-creator of the international bestseller The Way Things Work, brings his signature curiosity and detailing to the story of the steamship in this meticulously researched and stunningly illustrated book.

Prior to the 1800s, ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean relied on the wind in their sails to make their journeys. But invention of steam power ushered in a new era of transportation that would change ocean travel forever: the steamship.

Award-winning author-illustrator David Macaulay guides readers through the fascinating history that culminated in the building of the most advanced--and last--of these steamships: the SS United States. This book artfully explores the design and construction of the ship and the life of its designer and engineer, William Francis Gibbs.

Framed around the author's own experience steaming across the Atlantic on the very same SS United States, Crossing on Time is a tour de force of the art of explanation and a touching and surprising childhood story.

A 2020 NCTE Orbis Pictus Recommended Book
2020 Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year List

Callie Vee, Travis, Granddaddy, and the whole Tate clan are back in this charming follow-up to Newbery Honor-winner The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate.

Travis keeps bringing home strays. And Callie has her hands full keeping the wild animals--her brother included--away from her mother's critical eye. Whether it's wrangling a rogue armadillo or stray dog, a guileless younger brother or standoffish cousin, the trials and tribulations of Callie Vee will have readers laughing and crying and cheering for this most endearing heroine.

In this enchanting middle-grade novel, The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly, readers will fall deeper in love with our heroine Callie Vee, as she continues her journey to learn more about the world around her and to deal with her wild family.

"The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate is the most delightful historical novel for tweens in many, many years." --The New Yorker, Book Bench section

"In her debut novel, Jacqueline Kelly brings to vivid life a boisterous small-town family at the dawn of a new century. And she especially shines in her depiction of the natural world that so intrigues Callie." --The Washington Post on The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

Don't miss any of Callie's middle-grade adventures:
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate
The Calpurnia Tate, Girl Vet chapter book series:
Skunked!
Counting Sheep

An #ownvoices fast-paced series starter steeped in Colombian mythology and full of adventure, perfect for fans of Aru Shah and the End of Time and Percy Jackson. Filled with fantasy, action, adventure, and an unforgettable trio of friends.

A Seventeen.com Most Anticipated Book of Summer!
A Zibby Owens Summer Reading Pick on Good Morning America!

On Emblem Island all are born knowing their fate. Their lifelines show the course of their life and an emblem dictates how they will spend it.

Twelve-year-old Tor Luna was born with a leadership emblem, just like his mother. But he hates his mark and is determined to choose a different path for himself. So, on the annual New Year's Eve celebration, where Emblemites throw their wishes into a bonfire in the hopes of having them granted, Tor wishes for a different power.

The next morning Tor wakes up to discover a new marking on his skin...the symbol of a curse that has shortened his lifeline, giving him only a week before an untimely death. There is only one way to break the curse, and it requires a trip to the notorious Night Witch.

With only his village's terrifying, ancient stories as a guide, and his two friends Engle and Melda by his side, Tor must travel across unpredictable Emblem Island, filled with wicked creatures he only knows through myths, in a race against his dwindling lifeline.

You'll love Curse of the Night Witch if you're looking for:

Summer reading for tweens and teens ages 11-14

Multicultural books for children (especially Latinx books)

Stories based on fascinating mythology

Your next favorite fantasy series for girls ages 9-12

"Debut author Aster takes inspiration from Colombian folklore to craft a rousing series opener that's both fast-paced and thrilling. As her protagonists face off against a host of horrors, they learn the value of friendship and explore the possibility of changing one's fate in a world where destiny is predetermined."--Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

"Worthy of every magical ounce."--Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review

When a publicity stunt goes terribly wrong, twelve-year-old Darleen Darling, star of the silent film era, must defeat villains both on screen and off in this edge-of-your-seat adventure.

Lights! Camera! Kidnapping?

It's 1914, and Darleen Darling's film adventures collide with reality when a fake kidnapping set up by her studio becomes all too real. Suddenly Darleen finds herself in the hands of dastardly criminals who have just nabbed Miss Victorine Berryman, the poor-little-rich-girl heiress of one of America's largest fortunes. Soon real life starts to seem like a bona fide adventure serial, complete with dramatic escapes, murderous plots, and a runaway air balloon. Will Darleen and Victorine be able to engineer their own happily-ever-after, or will the villains be victorious?