Middle Grade Reader

* "Many readers will recognize themselves or their neighbors in these pages." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Mia Tang has a lot of secrets.

Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every day, while her immigrant parents clean the rooms, ten-year-old Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel and tends to its guests.

Number 2: Her parents hide immigrants. And if the mean motel owner, Mr. Yao, finds out they've been letting them stay in the empty rooms for free, the Tangs will be doomed.

Number 3: She wants to be a writer. But how can she when her mom thinks she should stick to math because English is not her first language?

It will take all of Mia's courage, kindness, and hard work to get through this year. Will she be able to hold on to her job, help the immigrants and guests, escape Mr. Yao, and go for her dreams?

Featuring exclusive bonus content!

"Meet the new Ramona Quimby!" --Entertainment Weekly

In this hilarious and heartfelt middle grade debut, Gertie is a girl on a mission to be the best fifth grader ever in order to show her estranged mother that Gertie doesn't need her--not one bit!

Gertie Reece Foy is 100% Not-From-Concentrate awesome. She has a daddy who works on an oil rig, a great-aunt who always finds the lowest prices at the Piggly Wiggly, and two loyal best friends. So when her absent mother decides to move away from their small town, Gertie sets out on her greatest mission yet: becoming the best fifth grader in the universe to show her mother exactly what she'll be leaving behind. There's just one problem: Seat-stealing new girl Mary Sue Spivey wants to be the best fifth grader, too. And there is simply not enough room at the top for the two of them.

From author Kate Beasley, and with interior illustrations by Caldecott Honor artist Jillian Tamaki, Gertie's Leap to Greatness is a classic tale of hope and homecoming that will empty your heart, then fill it back up again--one laugh at a time.

Praise for Gertie's Leap to Greatness

"This story is full of fun surprises: zombie bullfrogs, faithful friends, humor, and hope . . . and a fabulous narrator. Not only is Gertie brave enough to see the world through hopeful eyes, but she's bold enough to be her uniquely wonderful self." --Natalie Lloyd, author of A Snicker of Magic

"From the first paragraph, I was Gertie's fan. Her gumption, her voice, her determination, and her sass jump off the page. Realistic social situations combine with over-the-top personalities to make Gertie's Leap to Greatness a surefire hit for kids who loved Ramona and Fudge and who will one day want to be best friends with Scout. If your mission is to discover a funny, heartwarming, relatable, and entertaining middle grade novel, then jump for joy: Your mission is accomplished. Now dive in and see how Gertie does on hers." --Tegan Tigani, Queen Anne Book Company

"[Kate Beasley] writes in the spirit of Roald Dahl and Kate DiCamillo with all the spunk and ferocity of a Southern lady, and Gertie's Leap to Greatness is equal parts Matilda and Because of Winn-Dixie. Heartbreaking and laugh-out-loud funny." --Clara Martin, Lemuria Books

"Gertie is a dynamic, fun, and well-delineated character, like Ramona and Clementine. Be prepared for Gertie to leap into your heart and mind in 2016." --John Schumacher, Ambassador of School Libraries

Age Level: 10-13 Grade Level: 4th and up

Despite coming from different ends of the world, John, Slack, Akane, and Salome, age 12, have plenty in common. They love computers, coding, hacking, gaming--it literally flows through their veins. One more thing: they are all technically dead. The group comes together at the Wolf's Den in deepest Alaska, one of several top-secret schools for technological excellence around the globe. The place seems like a coder's dream come true at first, but things take a dark turn when the group realizes they are not like the other kids there. They uncover that the center is working on a potentially dangerous, secret project known as Project 31. What's worse, the guinea pigs are the kids themselves. The gang realizes that John's father implanted artificial intelligence in their bloodstream, in order to protect them, before going missing under mysterious circumstances. They are not only wanted by those in power, but are now being hunted. There's only one way out: to escape across the brutal Alaskan tundra where the truth will be revealed.

Sure to thrill both fans and newcomers, this smart, suspenseful tale offers ghosts, friendships, and a cast of unforgettable characters, all wrapped up in a cozy mystery.

A chocolate-filled, girl-powered fantasy with a witty heroine who learns what home truly means, perfect for fans of Shannon Hale.

Will satisfy readers who hunger for feel-good tales that pack a girl-power punch, like Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted or the movie Moana. --School Library Journal on The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart

Silke has always been good at spinning the truth and storytelling. So good that, just years after arriving in the kingdom as a penniless orphan, she has found her way to working for the most splendid chocolate makers in the city as a master promoter. Although Silke loves her work at the Chocolate Heart, she's certain it's not going to last, and what Silke wants more than anything is somewhere to call home--somewhere safe. But when your best friend is a dragon-turned-hot-tempered-girl, trouble is always right around the corner.

Then Silke gets the opportunity she's been waiting for: the Crown Princess personally asks her to spy on the Elfenwald royal family during their first visit to the kingdom. In return, Silke will have the home she's always wanted in the secure palace. But Silke has her own dark, secret reasons for not trusting fairies . . . and her mission isn't as simple as she hoped. Soon, she discovers that her city is in danger--and that maybe it's more her home than she ever realized.

Can Silke find out the truth about the fairies while keeping her own secrets hidden?

A Mighty Girl Best Book of the Year

Goddesses and Heroines tells the tales of inspirational female characters from ancient myth and legend which all too often go untold. Performance storyteller Xanthe Gresham-Knight draws on original texts and lends renewed relevance to stories from cultures around the world.

We meet the youthful Aphrodite, the girl who created the world through imagination and sheer willpower; Hecate, the math whiz whose political drama on Mount Olympus saw her topple the powers that be; the heroic Mulan, whose bravery, athleticism, and cross-dressing helped her bypass gender barriers in ancient China; Osun, the Nigerian goddess who proved that unless we live as one, we will never truly be free; and the not-so-fair-y Russian godmother Baba Yaga, Goddesses and Heroines is a must-have for young readers who love myth and storytelling.

Perfect for fans of The Girl Who Drank the Moon and The Thickety, this spellbinding story follows a young girl named Goldeline on an adventure through a fairy tale forest filled with dark and wondrous magic.

A Booklist Top 10 First Novel for Youth Pick of 2017 * A 2018 Southern Book Prize Finalist

In the wild, free woods of the Hinterlands, where magic is as real as stories are, Goldeline travels from camp to camp with Gruff and his bandits, getting by on the things they steal from carriages that pass through the woods.

But someone is after Goldeline. The same man who wants to cleanse the Hinterlands of anyone who's different--and who convinced the overzealous Townies that her mother was a witch--suspects that Goldeline might be a witch, too.

Now Goldeline must summon all the courage and magic she got from her momma to escape her pursuers, save her friends, and maybe even find a place to call home.

AUSTRALIAN BOOK INDUSTRY AWARD FOR INTERNATIONAL BOOK OF THE YEAR

The New York Times bestselling Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls is a children's book packed with 100 bedtime stories about the lives of extraordinary women from the past and the present, illustrated by 60 female artists from all over the world.

This must-have volume brings readers on an empowering journey, introducing them to the real-life adventures of trailblazing women from Elizabeth I to Malala Yousafzai. The unique narrative style of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls transforms each biography into a fairytale, filling readers with wonder and a burning curiosity to know more about each hero. Each woman's story is also accompanied by a full-page, full-color portrait that captures her rebel spirit.

This hardcover edition, with an extra-smooth matte scuff-free lamination, 100lbs paper, a satin ribbon bookmark, and extraordinary print quality, is the perfect gift for any young reader, and begs to be read again and again.

The 10th anniversary edition of The Graveyard Book includes a foreword by Margaret Atwood as well as sketches from the illustrator, handwritten drafts, and Neil Gaiman's Newbery acceptance speech.

IT TAKES A GRAVEYARD TO RAISE A CHILD.

Nobody Owens, known as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a graveyard, being raised by ghosts, with a guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor the dead. There are adventures in the graveyard for a boy--an ancient Indigo Man, a gateway to the abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible Sleer. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, he will be in danger from the man Jack--who has already killed Bod's family.

The Graveyard Book, a modern classic, is the only work ever to win both the Newbery (US) and Carnegie (UK) medals.

Butterbean knew she wasn't always a good dog. Still, she'd never considered herself a BAD dog--until the morning that her owner, Mrs. Food, fell in the hallway. Admittedly the tile was slipperier than usual, mostly because Butterbean had just thrown up on it.

Now Butterbean and her fellow pets have to come up with a grand plan to support themselves in case Mrs. Food is unable to keep taking care of them. When they discover a mysterious man in their building who seems to have lots of loot, they plan a heist. Oscar the mynah bird is the brains of the operation. Walt the cat has the necessary slyness and slink. Marco and Polo are the reconnaissance rats. And Butterbean...well, no one would ever suspect a cute little wiener dog, right? Can these animal friends can pull off the heist of the century?