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Product Description: When it happened, Miguel was sent to Juvi. The judge gave him a year in a group home — said he had to write in a journal so some counselor could try to figure out how he thinks. But Miguel didn’t bet on meeting Rondell or Mong or on any of what happened after they broke out. He only thought about Mexico and getting to the border to where he could start over. Life usually doesn’t work out how you think it will, though. And most of the time, running away is the quickest path right back to what you’re running from.

Product Description: In one of the most important and beloved Latin American works of the twentieth century, Isabel Allende weaves a luminous tapestry of three generations of the Trueba family, revealing both triumphs and tragedies. Here is patriarch Esteban, whose wild desires and political machinations are tempered only by his love for his ethereal wife, Clara, a woman touched by an otherworldly hand. Their daughter, Blanca, whose forbidden love for a man Esteban has deemed unworthy infuriates her father, yet will produce his greatest joy: his granddaughter Alba, a beautiful, ambitious girl who will lead the family and their country into a revolutionary future.

Greg Heffley thinks kids who don’t celebrate Christmas have it much better; they don’t have to behave between Thanksgiving and the time Santa comes! Greg’s concerns about his conduct, his family’s traditions, and possible trouble at school make for a memorable tale.

Greg Heffley’s mom makes him keep a journal — NOT a diary! — Greg forcefully asserts. In his journal, Greg uses words and comics to recount life in middle school beginning at the end of summer school. Greg’s voice and stick figures ring true and set the tenor for tales told in other Wimpy Kid books.

Summer, according to Greg, is all about video games and other indoor activities. His mom does not agree, however. Of course, that Greg had a falling out with his best buddy doesn’t help calm his mother’s enthusiasm for getting Greg involved in other things. Another recognizable saga comes to life in word and comics.

Greg doesn’t think he needs a resolution for the New Year; he’d be hard to improve on. But he’s not sure his parents agree. Once again, family and school lives are revealed with ardent honesty through Greg’s voice and comic drawings.

“A forced pen-pal exchange turns into an opportunity for real communication between Illinois sixth-grader Abby Carson and Sadeed Bayat, the best English-language student in his Afghan village. When Abby’s first letter arrives in Bahar-Lan, 11-year-old Sadeed is asked by the elders to compose his sister Amira’s reply; it isn’t proper for a boy and girl to correspond with one another. But soon Sadeed can’t resist telling Abby that it is he who has been writing to her. The third-person narrative alternates points of view, allowing for inclusion of intriguing details of both lives.” — School Library Journal

George Ohr was a talented potter whose patience paid off — quite literally — for his heirs. Now better known than when he lived, George Ohr’s work is now highly valued and prized for its unique glazes and shapes.

Interviews with artists provide insight into their work while building an appreciation for it. Rich language is used to describe its impact on viewers.

Interviews with a well-known female sculptor provide insight into her work and the times in which she created them. Liberal photographs, many in color, and where the originals can be viewed enhance this sophisticated look.

When his nemesis makes an origami Darth Vader, chaos ensues. Dwight gets kicked out of school and sent to a school for bad broods! Humor abounds in this silly but satisfying saga that combines parody of popular figures with comedy.

Things aren’t always as they seem which propels Lenny Flem, Jr. into action. Join Lenny and Jody O’Rodeo as they thwart the dastardly plans of the hypnotic Fako Mustacho. Readers will recognize pop culture icons in this nefariously funny adventure.

Horton Halfpott is the underappreciated but rule-abiding kitchen boy for the Luggertucks of Smugwick Manor. Everything changes — literally and figuratively — when Lady Luggertuck’s corset is loosened to unleash a series of farcical, laugh-out-loud adventures.

Opposing slavery in Cuba in the nineteenth century was dangerous. The most daring abolitionists were poets who veiled their work in metaphor. Of these, the boldest was Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, nicknamed Tula. In passionate, accessible free verse, Engle evokes the voice of this book-loving feminist and abolitionist who bravely resisted an arranged marriage at the age of fourteen and was ultimately courageous enough to fight against injustice. Historical notes, excerpts, and source notes round out this exceptional tribute.

This rocket-paced follow-up to the Newbery Medal-winning novel Dead End in Norvelt opens deep in the shadow of the Cuban missile crisis. But instead of Russian warheads, other kinds of trouble are raining down on young Jack Gantos and his utopian town of Norvelt in western Pennsylvania. After an explosion, a new crime by an old murderer, and the sad passing of the town’s founder, twelve-year-old Jack will soon find himself launched on a mission that takes him hundreds of miles away to places including Hyde Park, NY, escorting his slightly mental elderly mentor, Miss Volker, on her relentless pursuit of the oddest of outlaws and her determination to pay her respects to Eleanor Roosevelt.

Pam Munoz Ryan weaves together three stories of young people living through a tumultuous period in the 20th century: 12-year-old Friedrich Schmidt in 1933 Germany, as the Nazi Party gains momentum; orphaned 11-year-old Mike Flannery in 1935 Philadelphia during the Depression; and Ivy Maria Lopez living in Southern California in 1942 as World War II rages. Their stories revolve around a single Hohner Marine Band harmonica and are framed by a tale of a lost boy, three sisters, and a witch’s curse.

Teen beauty queens. A desert island. Mysteries and dangers. No access to e-mail. And the spirit of fierce, feral competition that lives underground in girls, a savage brutality that can only be revealed by a journey into the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Oh, the horror, the horror! Only funnier. With evening gowns. And a body count.