Most Circulated Titles

Out of my Mind /

Draper, Sharon M. (Sharon Mills)


Melody is the smartest girl in school, but nobody knows it. Most people, including her teachers and doctors, believe she is cognitively challenged and have placed her in special ed. If she could only share what she thinks and knows, but Melody cannot speak, walk or write. Readers will be moved by her drive and perseverance.
Date Published:

The Crossover

Alexander, Kwame,


Prequel: Rebound. "With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . . The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. 'Cuz tonight I'm delivering," raps twelve-year-old Josh Bell. Thanks to their dad, he and his twin brother, Jordan, are kings on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood--he's got mad beats, too, which help him find his rhythm when it's all on the line. As their winning season unfolds, things begin to change. When Jordan meets a girl, the twins' bond unravels. Told in dynamic verse, this fast and furious middle grade novel that started it all absolutely bounces with rhythm and bursts with heart. .
Date Published:2019

Prequel: Rebound. "With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . . The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. 'Cuz tonight I'm delivering," raps twelve-year-old Josh Bell. Thanks to their dad, he and his twin brother, Jordan, are kings on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood--he's got mad beats, too, which help him find his rhythm when it's all on the line. As their winning season unfolds, things begin to change. When Jordan meets a girl, the twins' bond unravels. Told in dynamic verse, this fast and furious middle grade novel that started it all absolutely bounces with rhythm and bursts with heart. .

Date Published:2019

The One and Only Ivan

Applegate, Katherine,


When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circus-themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life.
Date Published:2014

Because of Winn-Dixie /

DiCamillo, Kate,


"With a new foreword from the author"--Page 4 of cover. Includes discussion questions. Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida, and all the good things that happen to her because of her big ugly dog Winn-Dixie.
Date Published:2021

The Lightning Thief

Riordan, Rick


Mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking out of the pages of twelve-year-old Percy Jackson's textbooks and into his life. Series creator Rick Riordan joins forces with some of the biggest names in the comic book industry to tell the story of a boy who must unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves. .
Date Published:2005

Frindle

Clements, Andrew, 1949-2019


When he decides to turn his fifth grade teacher's love of the dictionary around on her, clever Nick Allen invents a new word and begins a chain of events that quickly moves beyond his control.
Date Published:1998

Sarah, Plain and Tall

MacLachlan, Patricia.


When their father invites a mail-order bride to come live with them in their prairie home, Caleb and Anna are captivated by their new mother and hope that she will stay.
Date Published:

El Deafo

Bell, Cece,


Starting at a new school is scary, especially with a giant hearing aid strapped to your chest! At her old school, everyone in Cece’s class was deaf. Here, she’s different. She’s sure the kids are staring at the Phonic Ear, the powerful aid that will help her hear her teacher. Too bad it also seems certain to repel potential friends. Then Cece makes a startling discovery. With the Phonic Ear, she can hear her teacher not just in the classroom, but anywhere her teacher is in the school—in the hallway . . . in the teacher’s lounge . . . in the bathroom! This is power. Maybe even superpower! Cece is on her way to becoming El Deafo, Listener for All. But the funny thing about being a superhero is that it’s just another way of feeling different . . . and lonely. Can Cece channel her powers into finding the thing she wants most: a true friend? El Deafo is a book that will entertain children, give hearing-impaired children a hero of their own, and challenge others to consider an experience unlike their own. Like other great works for children, it provides the opportunity for young readers to consider how they would act or react in a similar situation, helping to build empathy and understanding through the power of story.
Date Published:2014

Starting at a new school is scary, especially with a giant hearing aid strapped to your chest! At her old school, everyone in Cece’s class was deaf. Here, she’s different. She’s sure the kids are staring at the Phonic Ear, the powerful aid that will help her hear her teacher. Too bad it also seems certain to repel potential friends. Then Cece makes a startling discovery. With the Phonic Ear, she can hear her teacher not just in the classroom, but anywhere her teacher is in the school—in the hallway . . . in the teacher’s lounge . . . in the bathroom! This is power. Maybe even superpower! Cece is on her way to becoming El Deafo, Listener for All. But the funny thing about being a superhero is that it’s just another way of feeling different . . . and lonely. Can Cece channel her powers into finding the thing she wants most: a true friend? El Deafo is a book that will entertain children, give hearing-impaired children a hero of their own, and challenge others to consider an experience unlike their own. Like other great works for children, it provides the opportunity for young readers to consider how they would act or react in a similar situation, helping to build empathy and understanding through the power of story.

Date Published:2014

Knucklehead : tall tales & mostly true stories about growing up Scieszka /

Scieszka, Jon.


How did Jon Scieszka get so funny, anyway? Growing up as one of six brothers was a good start, but that was just the beginning. Throw in Catholic school, lots of comic books, lazy summers at the lake with time to kill, babysitting misadventures, TV shows, jokes told at family dinner, and the result is Knucklehead . Part memoir, part scrapbook, this hilarious trip down memory lane provides a unique glimpse into the formation of a creative mind and a free spirit. Watch a QuickTime trailer for this book. .
Date Published:2008

How did Jon Scieszka get so funny, anyway? Growing up as one of six brothers was a good start, but that was just the beginning. Throw in Catholic school, lots of comic books, lazy summers at the lake with time to kill, babysitting misadventures, TV shows, jokes told at family dinner, and the result is Knucklehead . Part memoir, part scrapbook, this hilarious trip down memory lane provides a unique glimpse into the formation of a creative mind and a free spirit. Watch a QuickTime trailer for this book. .

Date Published:2008

Front desk

Yang, Kelly,


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?
Date Published:2018

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?

Date Published:2018

My life in dog years

Paulsen, Gary.


The author describes some of the dogs that have had special places in his life, including his first dog, Snowball, in the Philippines; Dirk, who protected him from bullies; and Cookie, who saved his life.
Date Published:1998

Roller girl

Jamieson, Victoria,


For fans of Raina Telgemeier's Smile , a heartwarming graphic novel about friendship and surviving junior high through the power of roller derby. For most of her twelve years, Astrid has done everything with her best friend Nicole. But after Astrid falls in love with roller derby and signs up for derby camp, Nicole decides to go to dance camp instead. And so begins the most difficult summer of Astrid's life as she struggles to keep up with the older girls at camp, hang on to the friend she feels slipping away, and cautiously embark on a new friendship. As the end of summer nears and her first roller derby bout (and junior high!) draws closer, Astrid realizes that maybe she is strong enough to handle the bout, a lost friendship, and middle school... in short, strong enough to be a roller girl. In her graphic novel debut, real-life derby girl Victoria Jamieson has created an inspiring coming-of-age story about friendship, perseverance, and girl power!
Date Published:2015

For fans of Raina Telgemeier's Smile , a heartwarming graphic novel about friendship and surviving junior high through the power of roller derby. For most of her twelve years, Astrid has done everything with her best friend Nicole. But after Astrid falls in love with roller derby and signs up for derby camp, Nicole decides to go to dance camp instead. And so begins the most difficult summer of Astrid's life as she struggles to keep up with the older girls at camp, hang on to the friend she feels slipping away, and cautiously embark on a new friendship. As the end of summer nears and her first roller derby bout (and junior high!) draws closer, Astrid realizes that maybe she is strong enough to handle the bout, a lost friendship, and middle school... in short, strong enough to be a roller girl. In her graphic novel debut, real-life derby girl Victoria Jamieson has created an inspiring coming-of-age story about friendship, perseverance, and girl power!

Date Published:2015

Yellow star

Roy, Jennifer Rozines,


Jennifer Roy conveys vivid images in an authentic, childlike voice as she tells the story of a young Jewish girl living in the Lodz ghetto in Poland during World War II. Syvia is four-and-a-half years old when the novel opens. She doesn’t understand why being Jewish matters, or why she and her family must go to the ghetto. It’s the first of many events beyond comprehension for the little girl, who will spend the next five-and-a-half years of her life there. Much of that time, Syvia is in hiding. Beginning in 1942, the Nazis began transports to remove children and the elderly from the ghetto. Syvia’s parents had heard the rumors of where those transports went, and they were determined she would not be on one. The little girl and her father hide in the cemetery during roundups, and she spends day after day alone, cooped up inside their small living space, using her imagination to transform dust balls beneath the bed into toys and companions. Jennifer Roy’s novel is based on the life of her aunt, who was one of only twelve children who survived the Lodz ghetto (there were only 800 or so survivors in all among the initial quarter million held there). Roy’s narrative is divided into sections by calendar year. She provides informational bridges at the start of each section to give readers background for the story as it continues to unfold. The fictional narrative, in Syvia’s immediate, innocent voice, is conveyed through poems that in and of themselves are a metaphor for the way childhood unfolds: as a collection of singular images and events. From these a memorable narrative whole emerges in a story in which individuals and relationships grow and change over time, just as a child’s understanding of the world also expands.
Date Published:2006

Jennifer Roy conveys vivid images in an authentic, childlike voice as she tells the story of a young Jewish girl living in the Lodz ghetto in Poland during World War II. Syvia is four-and-a-half years old when the novel opens. She doesn’t understand why being Jewish matters, or why she and her family must go to the ghetto. It’s the first of many events beyond comprehension for the little girl, who will spend the next five-and-a-half years of her life there. Much of that time, Syvia is in hiding. Beginning in 1942, the Nazis began transports to remove children and the elderly from the ghetto. Syvia’s parents had heard the rumors of where those transports went, and they were determined she would not be on one. The little girl and her father hide in the cemetery during roundups, and she spends day after day alone, cooped up inside their small living space, using her imagination to transform dust balls beneath the bed into toys and companions. Jennifer Roy’s novel is based on the life of her aunt, who was one of only twelve children who survived the Lodz ghetto (there were only 800 or so survivors in all among the initial quarter million held there). Roy’s narrative is divided into sections by calendar year. She provides informational bridges at the start of each section to give readers background for the story as it continues to unfold. The fictional narrative, in Syvia’s immediate, innocent voice, is conveyed through poems that in and of themselves are a metaphor for the way childhood unfolds: as a collection of singular images and events. From these a memorable narrative whole emerges in a story in which individuals and relationships grow and change over time, just as a child’s understanding of the world also expands.

Date Published:2006

The Hunger Games

Collins, Suzanne.


In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before - and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Collins delivers equal parts suspense and philosophy, adventure and romance, in this searing novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present. .
Date Published:2008

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before - and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Collins delivers equal parts suspense and philosophy, adventure and romance, in this searing novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present. .

Date Published:2008

Moonshot : the flight of Apollo 11 /

Floca, Brian,


"Expanded for the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing." "A Richard Jackson book." "The Robert F. Sibert Honor Book." Here is the story of the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon -- a story of leaving and returning during the summer of 1969, and a story of home, seen whole, from far away by steady astronauts in their great machines.
Date Published:2019

Crash

Spinelli, Jerry.


Cocky seventh-grade super-jock Crash Coogan got his nickname the day he used his first football helmet to knock his cousin Bridget flat on her backside. And he has been running over people ever since, especially Penn Webb, the dweeby, vegetarian Quaker kid who lives down the block. Through the eyes of Crash, readers get a rare glimpse into the life of a bully in this unforgettable and beloved story about stereotypes and the surprises life can bring. .
Date Published:2000

Cocky seventh-grade super-jock Crash Coogan got his nickname the day he used his first football helmet to knock his cousin Bridget flat on her backside. And he has been running over people ever since, especially Penn Webb, the dweeby, vegetarian Quaker kid who lives down the block. Through the eyes of Crash, readers get a rare glimpse into the life of a bully in this unforgettable and beloved story about stereotypes and the surprises life can bring. .

Date Published:2000

The right word : Roget and his thesaurus /

Bryant, Jennifer.


Peter Roget, the man who penned the first and most famous of all thesauruses, grew up a shy, intellectually precocious child who loved ideas, and words, and lists. “The lists helped him remember his lessons. They also gave him something to do when Mother peppered him with questions. 'Mama, I’m fine.’ Although to be honest, Peter thought fine wasn’t quite the right word.” Later he was influenced by a scientist named Linnaeus. Still later, he found himself considering how wonderful it would be to be able to choose from among a list of words to find just the right one to express what he was thinking and feeling. So he started working on what would eventually become his thesaurus (Greek for “treasure house”). He was also a doctor, and a husband, and a father. And still shy. But he was eager to share his love of words and ideas with the world. Jen Bryant’s lively picture book account of Roget is full of right words, carefully chosen and delightfully combined. Melissa Sweet’s mixed-media collage art has myriad intricacies and engaging details to pour over, including elements from Roget’s notebooks and words from the first edition of his thesaurus. She also illustrates scenes of Roget’s life drawn from Bryant’s narrative with a combination of wit and sensitivity. .
Date Published:2014

Peter Roget, the man who penned the first and most famous of all thesauruses, grew up a shy, intellectually precocious child who loved ideas, and words, and lists. “The lists helped him remember his lessons. They also gave him something to do when Mother peppered him with questions. 'Mama, I’m fine.’ Although to be honest, Peter thought fine wasn’t quite the right word.” Later he was influenced by a scientist named Linnaeus. Still later, he found himself considering how wonderful it would be to be able to choose from among a list of words to find just the right one to express what he was thinking and feeling. So he started working on what would eventually become his thesaurus (Greek for “treasure house”). He was also a doctor, and a husband, and a father. And still shy. But he was eager to share his love of words and ideas with the world. Jen Bryant’s lively picture book account of Roget is full of right words, carefully chosen and delightfully combined. Melissa Sweet’s mixed-media collage art has myriad intricacies and engaging details to pour over, including elements from Roget’s notebooks and words from the first edition of his thesaurus. She also illustrates scenes of Roget’s life drawn from Bryant’s narrative with a combination of wit and sensitivity. .

Date Published:2014

The Wild Robot

Brown, Peter, 1979-,


Roz the robot discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island with no memory of where she is from or why she is there, and her only hope of survival is to try to learn about her new environment from the island's hostile inhabitants.
Date Published:2016

I am Malala : how one girl stood up for education and changed the world /

Yousafzai, Malala, 1997-,


Young Readers Version . I Am Malala is the memoir of a remarkable teenage girl who risked her life for the right to go to school. Raised in a changing Pakistan by an enlightened father from a poor background and a beautiful, illiterate mother from a political family, Malala was taught to stand up for what she believes. I Am Malala tells her story of bravery and determination in the face of extremism, detailing the daily challenges of growing up in a world transformed by terror.
Date Published:2016

Young Readers Version . I Am Malala is the memoir of a remarkable teenage girl who risked her life for the right to go to school. Raised in a changing Pakistan by an enlightened father from a poor background and a beautiful, illiterate mother from a political family, Malala was taught to stand up for what she believes. I Am Malala tells her story of bravery and determination in the face of extremism, detailing the daily challenges of growing up in a world transformed by terror.

Date Published:2016

Phineas L. MacGuire ... erupts! : the first experiment /

Dowell, Frances O'Roark


Fourth-grade science whiz Phineas MacGuire is forced to team up with the new boy in class on a science fair project, but the boy's quirky personality causes Phineas to wonder if they have any chance of winning.
Date Published:2006