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While studying migratory birds on the remote Farallones Islands, 30 miles off the coast of San Francisco, biologists noticed red blotches in the surrounding waters. These sightings evolve into a full blown scientific study of great white sharks revealing unknown secrets of this prehistoric beast.

The 1893 Chicago World’s Fair captured the imagination of the whole world, and also provided a playground for a cunning serial killer.

Ering channels the mind of Dr. Frankenstein in this imaginary re-creation of the doctor’s long-lost sketchbooks, including detailed anatomical studies, views of his laboratory, and images of his “monster.” The text is handwritten, the drawings are dark and gothic in feel, and the pages themselves feel old and discolored as if from age.

Over the course of one summer, Frankie Landau-Banks, a somewhat geeky girl with an unassuming nature, has developed into a 15-year-old with an attention-grabbing figure, a new attitude, and sights set on making changes at her elite boarding school. The teenager also has a new boyfriend who belongs to a long-standing secret society on campus—The Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds, known mostly for silly pranks and a history of male-only membership. With a witty, sharp, and intelligently scheming mind, Frankie manipulates the Loyal Order to do her bidding with pranks meant to make a political statement about the male-dominated and classist nature of the school. (School Library Journal)

When her parents make the dangerous and illegal trek across the Mexican border in pursuit of the American dream, Reyna and her siblings are forced to live with their stern grandmother, as they wait for their parents to build the foundation of a new life.

But when things don’t go quite as planned, Reyna finds herself preparing for her own journey to “El Otro Lado” to live with the man who has haunted her imagination for years: her long-absent father. Both funny and heartbreaking, The Distance Between Us sheds light on the immigrant experience beautifully capturing the struggle that Reyna and her siblings endured while trying to assimilate to a different culture, language, and family life in El Otro Lado (The Other Side).

A young woman discovers her mysterious powers could help catch a killer in the first book of The Diviners series—a stunning supernatural historical mystery set in 1920s New York City.

In 1890, seventeen-year-old Chinese American Jo Kuan works by day as a lady’s maid for the cruel Caroline Payne, the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Atlanta. But by night, Jo moonlights as the pseudonymous author of a newspaper advice column for the genteel Southern lady, “Dear Miss Sweetie.”

Based on his father’s immigration files from Angel Island, Laurence Yep and his niece Dr. Kathleen S. Yep bring us the story of a ten-year-old boy from China who must prepare for his interrogation at Angel Island. The young boy memorizes everything from the layout of his village to the number of doors in the house, and continues his study on the sea voyage to San Francisco with his father. The Yeps provide a powerful account of the intensity and challenge Chinese immigrants faced at Angel Island, as well as the complexity of the relationships for those families who were spread between China and the U.S.

Young Neftali cannot resist the power of words and the world around him. Whether he is studying the iridescent wings of beetle or imagining the story of a lone boot left in the mud, there is no limit to where his imagination and words will take him. Neftali grows up to become one of the world’s most beloved poets: Chile’s Nobel-winning laureate Pablo Neruda. Through this stunning novel, Pam Muñoz Ryan imagines poet’s childhood and triumph in overcoming a tyrannical father to believe in his own voice and words.

The year is 1775, and twelve-year-old Gabriel Cooper is an orphaned patriot stuck living in a house of British loyalists. But when the boy discovers a discarded drum in the East River, he sees it as a call to leave his home in New York and join the American colonists’ fight for freedom in Boston. With rich, historic details, Gabriel’s adventure will captivate readers as they join him on the difficult journey to his destiny.

Succinct and practical, this guide provides students with the tactics, tools and confidence they need to successfully conduct college level research.

A former American soldier stays in post World War II Europe as a ventriloquist, having little success until he meets Avrom Amos. Avrom is really a dybbuk, the ghost of a 12-year old boy killed by Nazis, back now to avenge his own and other children’s deaths.

For Arturo, summertime in Miami means playing basketball until dark, sipping mango smoothies, and keeping cool under banyan trees. And maybe a few shifts as junior lunchtime dishwasher at Abuela’s restaurant. Maybe. But this summer also includes Carmen, a poetry enthusiast who moves into Arturo’s apartment complex and turns his stomach into a deep fryer. He almost doesn’t notice the smarmy land developer who rolls into town and threatens to change it. Arturo refuses to let his family and community go down without a fight, and as he schemes with Carmen, Arturo discovers the power of poetry and protest through untold family stories and the work of José Martí. Funny and poignant, The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora is the vibrant story of a family, a striking portrait of a town, and one boy’s quest to save both. Also availabe in Spanish.

The update of Children’s Books and Their Creators (1995) presents biographies about the creators, overviews of history, issues; and genres in the field; and includes “voices” of 30 authors and illustrators. The information is easily accessible in an alphabetical arrangement to make a range of information available from A to Z. You may also want to read editorials on a variety of topics that Anita Silvey wrote as editor of the Horn Book Magazine.

Katherine Paterson contributes to this outrageous, over-the-top, illustrated fantasy. Based on an old parlor game, each author contributed to the story started by another. Fast and funny, the luminary authors and illustrators just may inspire young writers to try their hand at writing.

No one wants to take on the 4th grade class at Aesop Elementary: that is until Mr. Jupiter appears on the scene. The new teacher captivates his students while helping them learn a few lessons (remember the school’s name!) along the way.

Anyone who has ever had the privilege of watching Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals knows the sound of a hit. It’s the sound his bat makes when it connects with the ball. It’s a sound that’s been heard countless times since his 2001 rookie season. That year, he took the league by storm by posting some of the most fantastic offensive stats of any rookie ever-and he’s been doing the same ever since, shattering records and helping his team win games, including the 2006 World Series, with clutch hits and amazing home runs.

This biography offers an up-close look at this superstar’s life and the most memorable moments of his outstanding career to date.

David Rain is a student, desperate to find lodgings. When he moves in to Wayward Crescent with Mrs. Pennykettle and her daughter, he realizes he’s also sharing the house with dragons!

The dragon lore and backgrounds first introduced in The Fire Within continues in Icefire with David now in college. The series continues with the exciting Fire Star and David’s involvement with polar bears as well as dragons. Both of these are most appropriate for kids 11-14 years old. Dark Fire is the 2010 addition to the dragon lore series.

Meet Fredrika Bremer, a Swedish suffragette who traveled the world and visited Cuba in 1851. Where other visitors might have been most interested in basking in the luxury of plantation owners, Fredrika sets out to learn about the slaves, free blacks, and poor whites, documenting her experiences in letters and diaries. Margarita Engle has transformed those writings into an intriguing novel written in verse with special attention paid to Cecilia, Fredika’s bright young translator, as well as the overlapping struggles to end slavery and expand women’s rights. 

There are no shortcuts to surviving your first day at a new school — you can’t fix it with duct tape like you would your Chuck Taylors. Things aren’t going so well, but when Malú (María Luisa, if you want to annoy her) assembles a group of like-minded misfits at school and starts a band, she finally begins to feel at home. She’ll do anything to preserve this, which includes standing up to an anti-punk school administration to fight for her right to express herself!

Black and white illustrations and collage art throughout make The First Rule of Punk a perfect pick for fans of books like Roller Girl and online magazines like Rookie.

Jimmy McClean is a Lakota boy, though you wouldn’t guess it by his name. Over summer break, Jimmy embarks on a journey with his grandfather, Nyles High Eagle. While on the road, his grandfather tells him the story of Crazy Horse, one of the most important figures in Lakota, and American, history. Expertly intertwining fiction and nonfiction, celebrated Brulé Lakota author Joseph Marshall III chronicles the many heroic deeds of Crazy Horse, especially his taking up arms against the U.S. government. Through his grandfather’s tales about the famous warrior, Jimmy learns about his Lakota heritage and, ultimately, himself. 

Middle school is tough enough but what happens when your grandfather — a scientist who has uncovered some really interesting jellyfish properties — attends with you as a 13-year old? It’s a totally new experience! Told with verve and humor (and a touch of science), this is a coming-of-age tale for 11-year old Ellie and Melvin, her teenaged granddad.

When Gregory and Brian find an old board game while visiting crazy old Uncle Max, they could never imagine that it will draw them into a battle between spirit nations and lead to encounters with all manner of creatures.

An exploration into how recent leaps in the understanding of DNA offer both scientific promises and complex ethical issues probes the fundamental questions related to advances in DNA science, covering such topics as the business of genomics, the use of DNA technology to solve crimes, investment and economic issues, and the stem cell debate.