"Left orphaned and physically flawed in a civilization that shuns and discards the weak, Kira faces a frighteningly uncertain future. Her neighbors are hostile, and no one but a small boy offers to help. When she is summoned to judgment by The Council of Guardians, Kira prepares to fight for her life. But the Council, to her surprise, has plans for her. Blessed with an almost magical talent that keeps her alive, the young girl faces new responsibilities...

"Ana will never forget her mother’s face when she and her baby brother, Oskar, were sent out of their Polish ghetto and into the arms of a Christian friend. For Oskar, though, their new family is the only one he remembers. When a woman from a Jewish reclamation organization seizes them, believing she has their best interest at heart, Ana sees an opportunity to reconnect with her roots, while Oskar sees only the loss of the home he loves. Roger...

"Shut up in a trunk by a taciturn old sea captain with a secret, five friends—a king, a wolf, a girl, a boy, and an owl—bicker, boast, and comfort one another in the dark. Individually, they dream of song and light, freedom and flight, purpose and glory, but they all agree they are part of a larger story, bound each to each by chance, bonded by the heart’s mysteries. When at last their shared fate arrives, landing them on a mantel in a blue...

"In the seaside village of Kinlough, on Ireland's west coast, three old friends meet for the first time in years. They--Helen, Joe and Mush--were part of an original group of six inseparable teenagers in the summer of 2003, with motherless, reckless Kala Lannan at its white-hot center. But later that year, Kala disappeared without a trace. Now remains have been discovered in the woods-including a skull with a polaroid photo tucked inside--and the...

"In the dead of night, a truck arrives in Slaughterville, a small town curiously named after its windowless slaughterhouse. Seven mysterious kids with suitcases step out of the vehicle and into an abandoned home on a dead-end street, looking over their shoulders to make sure they aren't noticed. But Ravani Foster covertly witnesses their arrival from his bedroom window. Timid and lonely, Ravani is eager to learn everything he can about his new neighbors:...

"Natalie is having a rough start to the school year. Each student has been asked to join an extracurricular activity, and Nat's two best friends have no trouble finding activities that interest them...So now Zoe and Lily are always together, and Nat's over it! Nat's feeling betrayed, and she still hasn't found a club to join. But when Nat meets a new student who's having the same difficulty choosing a club, they decide to create one together. Could...

"Through backyards and neighborhoods, over mountains, and across oceans, this colorful heart string ties us all together. Invisible yet undeniable, it joins our hearts so that we are never truly alone. Follow the thread of this reassuring story to see how, even in a world as vast as ours, there is always a bond that connects us to the ones we love—and to the world we share." --book jacket

"On Mermaid Day, the mer-queen throws a fin-tastic party! She decorates her underwater castle and creatures of all kinds swim inside to celebrate together. Dolphins dance, narwhals play ring toss, and as night falls, the guests prepare to say goodnight to a mer-mazing day. But are all welcome to celebrate under the sea?" --publisher's website

"When a little slug finds new friends in the backyard, she notices they look a lot like her...except they have shells! Maybe a shell is exactly what she needs to fit in--but finding one is a lot harder than it sounds!"--Provided by publisher.

Threatened with diminishing resources, Booger Lizk't and his family flee their lizard community deep below Earth's crust to survive above among humans. The Lizk't family of Elberon now passes as the Tomkins family of Eagle Valley. 'Tommy Tomkins' wears a human face to school but can't seem to fit in no matter how he looks. The basketball team becomes a pipe dream when bullies label him a bug eater, and only Dung Tran, an immigrant from Vietnam and...