Patricia MacLachlan

blended families

frontier and pioneer life

This beloved Newbery Medal–winning book is the first of five books in Patricia MacLachlan’s chapter book series about the Witting family. Set in the late nineteenth century and told from young Anna’s point of view, Sarah, Plain and Tall tells the story of how Sarah Elisabeth Wheaton comes from Maine to the prairie to answer Papa’s advertisement for a wife and mother. Before Sarah arrives, Anna and her younger brother Caleb wait and wonder. Will Sarah be nice? Will she sing? Will she stay? This children’s literature classic is perfect for fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie books, historical fiction, and timeless stories using rich and beautiful language. Sarah, Plain and Tall gently explores themes of abandonment, loss and love. This anniversary edition includes author Patricia MacLachlan’s Newbery speech, a discussion guide, and a reading list. Read the rest of the Sarah books by Patricia MacLachlan: Skylark, Caleb’s Story, More Perfect than the Moon, and Grandfather’s Dance.

Sarah, Plain and Tall

Mary Downing Hahn

stepfamilies

haunted houses

ghosts

Beware of Helen…Heather is such a whiny little brat. Always getting Michael and me into trouble. But since our mother married her father, we’re stuck with her…our poor stepsister who lost her real mother in a mysterious fire.But now something terrible has happened. Heather has found a new friend, out in the graveyard behind our home – a girl named Helen who died with her family in a mysterious fire over a hundred years ago. Now her ghost returns to lure children into the pond…to drown! I don’t want to believe in ghosts, but I’ve followed Heather into the graveyard and watch her talk to Helen. And I’m terrified. Not for myself, but for Heather…

Wait Till Helen Comes

Robin Ha

drawing

mother-daughter relationships

Korean culture

Harvey Award Nominee, Best Children or Young Adult Book A powerful and moving teen graphic novel memoir about immigration, belonging, and how arts can save a life–perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and Hey, Kiddo. For as long as she can remember, it’s been Robin and her mom against the world. Growing up as the only child of a single mother in Seoul, Korea, wasn’t always easy, but it has bonded them fiercely together. So when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama, unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation–following her mother’s announcement that she’s getting married–Robin is devastated.Overnight, her life changes. She is dropped into a new school where she doesn’t understand the language and struggles to keep up. She is completely cut off from her friends in Seoul and has no access to her beloved comics. At home, she doesn’t fit in with her new stepfamily, and worst of all, she is furious with the one person she is closest to–her mother.Then one day Robin’s mother enrolls her in a local comic drawing class, which opens the window to a future Robin could never have imagined.This nonfiction graphic novel with four starred reviews is an excellent choice for teens and also accelerated tween readers, both for independent reading and units on immigration, memoirs, and the search for identity.

Almost American Girl

Marissa Meyer

aliens and extraterrestrial beings

robots

The #1 New York Times Bestselling Series! Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future. Marissa Meyer on Cinder, writing, and leading menWhich of your characters is most like you?I wish I could say that I’m clever and mechanically-minded like Cinder, but no–I can’t fix anything. I’m much more like Cress, who makes a brief cameo in Cinder and then takes a more starring role in the third book. She’s a romantic and a daydreamer and maybe a little on the naïve side–things that could be said about me too–although she does find courage when it’s needed most. I think we’d all like to believe we’d have that same inner strength if we ever needed it. Where do you write?I have a home office that I’ve decorated with vintage fairy tale treasures that I’ve collected (my favorite is a Cinderella cookie jar from the forties) and NaNoWriMo posters, but sometimes writing there starts to feel too much like work. On those days I’ll write in bed or take my laptop out for coffee or lunch.If you were stranded on a desert island, which character from Cinder would you want with you?Cinder, definitely! She has an internet connection in her brain, complete with the ability to send and receive comms (which are similar to e-mails). We’d just have enough time to enjoy some fresh coconut before we were rescued. The next book in the Lunar Chronicles is called Scarlet, and is about Little Red Riding Hood. What is appealing to you most about this character as you work on the book?Scarlet is awesome–she’s very independent, a bit temperamental, and has an outspokenness that tends to get her in trouble sometimes. She was raised by her grandmother, an ex-military pilot who now owns a small farm in southern France, who not only taught Scarlet how to fly a spaceship and shoot a gun, but also to have a healthy respect and appreciation for nature. I guess that’s a lot of things that appeal to me about her, but she’s been a really fun character to write! (The two leading men in Scarlet, Wolf and Captain Thorne, aren’t half bad either.)

Cinder

David Arnold

journeys and voyages

running away from home

“Top-notch” –USA Today “Illuminating” –Washington Post “A breath of fresh air” –Entertainment Weekly “Memorable” –People  By the New York Times bestselling author of Kids of Appetite! After the sudden collapse of her family, Mim Malone is dragged from her home in northern Ohio to the “wastelands” of Mississippi, where she lives in a medicated milieu with her dad and new stepmom. Before the dust has a chance to settle, she learns her mother is sick back in Cleveland. So she ditches her new life and hops aboard a northbound Greyhound bus to her real home and her real mother, meeting a quirky cast of fellow travelers along the way. But when her thousand-mile journey takes a few turns she could never see coming, Mim must confront her own demons, redefining her notions of love, loyalty, and what it means to be sane. Told in an unforgettable, kaleidoscopic voice, Mosquitoland is a modern American odyssey, as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.

Mosquitoland

Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich

Audrey Vernick

change

marriage and divorce

A realistic contemporary story of two girls whose divorced parents begin to date—perfect for fans of Lisa Graff, Sara Pennypacker, and Rita Williams-Garcia.

Other than their first names, Naomi Marie and Naomi Edith are sure they have nothing in common, and they wouldn’t mind keeping it that way.

Two Naomis

Suzanne Selfors

Fans of Stick Dog and My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish will love Suzanne Selfors’s hilarious new illustrated series about the growing pains of blended families and the secret rivalry of pets.”A delightfully fun read that will leave you in stitches!”–Caldecott Medalist Dan SantatWhen a bouncy, barky dog and an evil genius guinea pig move into the same house, the laughs are nonstop! Wedgie is so excited, he can’t stop barking. He LOVES having new siblings and friends to protect. He LOVES guinea pigs like Gizmo! He also LOVES treats!But Gizmo does not want to share his loyal human servant with a rump-sniffing beast! He does not want to live in a pink Barbie Playhouse. Or to be kissed and hugged by the girl human. Gizmo is an evil genius. He wants to take over the world and make all humans feel his wrath. But first he must destroy his archenemy, Wedgie, once and for all! –Mary Burkey, independent library consultant, Booklist Reader

Wedgie & Gizmo

Sarah came to the prairie from Maine to marry Papa. But that summer, a drought turned the land dry and blown. Fires swept across the fields and coyotes came to the well in search of water. So Sarah took Anna and Caleb back east, where they would be safe. Papa stayed behind. He would not leave his land.

Skylark

Joan Holub

Suzanne Williams

Once upon a time, in faraway Grimmlandia. . .No matter how many lucky charms she wears, Snow White can’t catch a break. She’s especially worried that her stepmom, Ms. Wicked, is a member of the E.V.I.L. Society. Snow and her friends Red, Cinda, and Rapunzel are trying to stop E.V.I.L.’s plans to destroy Grimm Academy, but Snow seems to be jinxing all their efforts. Her luck might change if she can find her own truly magical charm – before it falls into E.V.I.L. hands!

Snow White Lucks Out

A girl gets into a mouthful of trouble in this modern fractured fairy tale, from the author of The Mother-Daughter Book Club.  Once upon a time, Cat Starr lived with her astronaut mom in Houston. But when her mother gets sent on a long-term mission, Cat has to move to a far away land–her dad’s house, halfway across the country–and share a room with her real-life evil stepsister, Olivia. Just when Cat can’t take it anymore, Great-Aunt Abyssinia comes to the rescue. And things go from bad to worse. The next morning, Cat opens her mouth and a toad hops out! What’s more, when Olivia speaks, diamonds and flowers appear. How unfair is that? Before you can say “happily ever after,” the girls are on the run from jewel thieves and a government agency. Can Cat save the day–and get rid of all those toads? This is an enchanting fractured fairy tale from acclaimed Mother-Daughter Book Club author Heather Vogel Frederick.

Once Upon a Toad

Ella’s childhood is a happy one: she has loving parents, plenty of fields and meadows to explore, and lots of kind animal friends to play with. A sweet child, Ella warms the hearts of all who meet her. And her home is a wonderful place, the perfect little kingdom for a joyful family.But when tragedy strikes, Ella’s happy home turns into one filled with sadness and cruelty. Will Ella be able to hold onto her kindness and courage through it all?

Cinderella Junior Novel

Winner of the 2018 ALA Schneider Family Book Award, Middle Grade Books category Sixth grade is coming to an end, and so is life as Macy McMillan knows it. Already a “For Sale” sign mars the front lawn of her beloved house. Soon her mother will upend their perfect little family, adding a stepfather and six-year-old twin stepsisters. To add insult to injury, what is Macy’s final sixth grade assignment? A genealogy project. Well, she’ll put it off - just like those wedding centerpieces she’s supposed to be making. Just when Macy’s mother ought to be understanding, she sends Macy next door to help eighty six-year-old Iris Gillan, who is also getting ready to move - in her case into an assisted living facility. Iris can’t pack a single box on her own and, worse, she doesn’t know sign language. How is Macy supposed to understand her? But Iris has stories to tell, and she isn’t going to let Macy’s deafness stop her. Soon, through notes and books and cookies, a friendship grows. And this friendship, odd and unexpected, may be just what Macy needs to face the changes in her life. Shari Green, author of Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles, writes this summer story with the lightest touch, spinning Macy out of her old story and into a new one full of warmth and promise for the future.

Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess

“Brims with charm and compassion.” – Vashti Harrison, New York Times best-selling author of Little Leaders  “Love ain’t like that.””How is it then?” Peaches asked, turning on her stomach to face me. “It’s like sky. If you keep driving and driving, gas will run out, right?” “That’s why we gotta go to the gas station.””Yep. But have you ever seen the sky run out? No matter how far we go?” “No, when we look up, there it is.””Well that’s the kind of love Daddy and Mama got for us, Peaches – love like sky.””It never ends?” “Never.”  G-baby and her younger sister, Peaches, are still getting used to their “blended-up” family. They live with Mama and Frank out in the suburbs, and they haven’t seen their real daddy much since he married Millicent. G-baby misses her best friend back in Atlanta, and is crushed that her glamorous new stepsister, Tangie, wants nothing to do with her.  G-baby is so preoccupied with earning Tangie’s approval that she isn’t there for her own little sister when she needs her most. Peaches gets sick-really sick. Suddenly, Mama and Daddy are arguing like they did before the divorce, and even the doctors at the hospital don’t know how to help Peaches get better.  It’s up to G-baby to put things right. She knows Peaches can be strong again if she can only see that their family’s love for her really is like sky.

Love Like Sky

Pulsating with the rhythm and vibrancy of the Jazz Age, this dazzling picture book is set in New York City in the 1920s. The story may be familiar, but the cast of characters will surprise you. Snow White is a beautiful jazz baby, protected by seven hot jazzmen. Instead of a wicked stepmother, her arch-enemy is the Queen of the Underworld. And her Prince Charming is a crack reporter from the New York Mirror. The breezy and clever text complements the style and color of the art deco illustrations, making this a picture book of astonishing originality. This winner of The Kate Greenaway Medal is at last available in paperback.

Snow White in New York (Revised)

Sue Bentley

Angela Swan

When a Dalmatian puppy shows up in her grandmother’s house, Paige is overjoyed! Her grandmother’s spooky house doesn’t seem so scary anymore, especially with fur-raising magical fun on the horizon!

Party Dreams

Serena Valentino

Disney Storybook Art Team

For anyone who’s seen Walt Disney’s Snow White, you’ll know that the Wicked Queen is one evil woman! After all, it’s not everyone who wants to cut out their teenage step-daughter’s heart and have it delivered back in a locked keepsake box. (And even if this sort of thing is a common urge, we don’t know many people who have acted upon it.) Now, for the first time, we’ll examine the life of the Wicked Queen and find out just what it is that makes her so nasty. Here’s a hint: the creepy-looking man in the magic mirror is not just some random spooky visage–and he just might have something to do with the Queen’s wicked ways! Enjoy Serena Valentino’s entire Villain’s series.Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen (Book 1)The Beast Within: A Tale of Beauty’s Prince (Book 2)Poor Unfortunate Soul: A Tale of the Sea Witch (Book 3)Mistress of All Evil: A Tale of the Dark Fairy (Book 4)Mother Knows Best: A Tale of the Old Witch (Book 5)The Odd Sisters: A Villains Novel (Book 6)Evil Thing (Book 7)

Fairest of All

Matt Christopher

Jane is looking forward to the start of the volleyball season when her widower father drops a bombshell: he is planning to marry a woman with a teenage daughter of her own! Jane’s new mother and stepsister go out of their way to be nice and accommodating, so she eagerly tries to adjust to the new people in her life. But when her stepsister, Michaela, suddenly becomes a star on Jane’s volleyball team, Jane finds her jealousy of this newcomer more than she can bear.

Spike It!

Laura Ruby

Dung Ho

National Book Award finalist Laura Ruby and New York Times-bestselling illustrator Dung Ho bring us an unforgettable story of the many different ways in which families are made and the beautiful, unknowable, magical things that hold them together.For as long as Molly can remember, it’s always just been her and Dad. Dad, who likes to splash in the pool, who likes to spin at the park, who bakes the best cookies around.But that was before Dad married Ms. Too. Ms. Too doesn’t like to splash. She doesn’t like to spin. And she can’t bake anything.”But Molly, you used to love Ms. Too.”That was before, when she was Molly’s favorite librarian. Now everything has changed. But as Molly and Ms. Too are about to discover, maybe change isn’t always scary. Maybe change can be the best thing of all.

Me and Ms. Too

S. A. Bodeen

Sarah Robinson and her family are shipwrecked on a remote and mysterious island. Their food is running out, and their fear is escalating-there is no sign of rescue. The mysterious girl they found unconscious at the beach is healing, and what she tells them about the strange island and especially about someone called the Keeper has the family on edge. When Sarah’s dad and Marco’s younger brother go missing, the mystery becomes dangerous. Now, it’s a matter of life and death. Now, the family is truly lost. Lost is the second book in S. A. Bodeen’s new and thrilling Shipwreck Island series.

Lost

Don’t miss Found, the heart-pounding conclusion to the Shipwreck Island middle-grade series from author S. A. Bodeen, a stunning, wilderness survival adventure from start to finish.  Sarah Robinson and her family are shipwrecked on a remote and mysterious island. Their food is scarce and there’s no sign of rescue. They have seen strange creatures, rescued a mysterious girl, and found the Curator, who has captured Sarah’s father and stepbrother to use in a bizarre time travel experiment. And then the only man who knows about their island comes back–he’s looking for buried treasure, and won’t leave without it, even if it means leaving the Robinsons stranded. Time is running out. They must get off the island. Read them all!Shipwreck IslandLostTrappedFound

Found

Trapped is the thrilling third installment of the middle-grade Shipwreck Island series by S.A. Bodeen, full of mystery and unexpected twists and turns. Sarah Robinson and her family are shipwrecked on a remote and mysterious island. Their food is scarce and there’s no sign of rescue. They have seen strange creatures, rescued a mysterious girl, and found the Curator, who has captured Sarah’s father and stepbrother to use in a bizarre time travel experiment. And then the only man who knows about the island comes back–he’s looking for buried treasure and won’t leave without it, even if it means leaving the Robinsons stranded. Sarah knows an important key to finding the treasure, but will she keep it a secret?

Trapped

Poison Apple Books: Thrilling. Bone-chilling. These books have bite! Hannah isn’t thrilled to be moving in with her dad and his new family, who live right next to a spooky cemetery. Luckily, Hannah doesn’t believe all the “ghost cat” stories she’s heard about the graveyard. Not so luckily, the cemetery is the least of Hannah’s troubles. Her stepsister, Madison, is the meanest girl in Hannah’s grade. Her cat, Icky, has been missing since the move. And worst of all, Hannah can’t sleep at night: Something keeps scratching at her door, but when she looks for it, nothing is ever there! Hannah’s starting to wonder – could those scary stories be true after all?

Curiosity Killed the Cat

Floyd Cooper

Mama’s getting married, and Jackson has an important job to do! A story about love, weddings, and the special joy that is a blended family.

Jackson’s mama is getting married, and he gets to be the ring bearer. But Jackson is worried . . . What if he trips? Or walks too slowly? Or drops the rings? And what about his new stepsister, Sophie? She’s supposed to be the flower girl, but Jackson’s not sure she’s taking her job as seriously as she should.

In a celebration of blended families, this heartwarming story, stunningly illustrated by the award-winning Floyd Cooper, is a perfect gift for any child who’s nervous to walk down the aisle at a wedding, and shows kids that they can handle life’s big changes.

The Ring Bearer

Lindsey Kelk

Pippa Curnick

Cinders &amp;amp; Sparks is a fresh, funny, and fabulous take on Cinderella for everyone who loves series like Whatever After and Grimmtastic Girls. Cinders isn’t supposed to know how to do magic. Her dog, Sparks, isn’t supposed to talk. And they’re definitely not supposed to go to the fancy palace ball…. But with a fairy godmother named Brian, do we really think that’s going to stop them? Bestselling author Lindsey Kelk makes her children’s debut with the first book in a ridiculously entertaining trilogy filled with adventure, talking dogs, and pure comic silliness. Perfect for readers age 8-12.

Magic at Midnight

Mindy Dwyer

Loosely based on “Cinderella,” this story is set in Alaska, the fairy godmother is an eagle, and the hero, the son of a cannery owner, finds his true love through her Sitka slipper, a heavy rubber boot she left at the Silver Salmon Festival.

The Salmon Princess

Tony DiTerlizzi

Holly Black

The Spiderwick Chronicles leave the old-fashioned charm of New England far behind and head south for some fiendish faerie fun in the hot Florida sun. Eleven-year-old Nicholas Vargas only thinks his life has been turned upside down after his developer father remarries and moves his new wife and daughter into the soon-to-be completed Mangrove Hollow.

But an “expedition” to a nearby lake turns up a little nixie with a giant problem - the huge, lumbering, fire-breathing variety - and it’s up to Nick; his stepsister, Laurie; and his big brother, Julian (plus a familiar face from the original Spiderwick Chronicles) to figure out the best way to stop a host of rampaging giants before all of Florida goes up in smoke.

The Nixie's Song

In the final installment of Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles, Nick and Laurie had thought they solved their giant problems when they drove all the giants into the sea. But now, the Grace kids have come back to tell them they may have more trouble coming their way!

It turns out the giants control the population of Hydra, a dragon like creature that is creating sinkholes all over Florida. But with the mermaids refusing to return the giants to the shore, the nixie’s still missing and the threat of a destroyed Florida drawing closer, the kids have to take matters in their own hands.

Will Nick and Laurie be able to stop the destruction they unwittingly caused? Can a new giant hunter help save the day? Can Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide help them out of this or are they on their own?

Find out in the final conclusion of the Spiderwick saga!

The Wyrm King

A stunning voice-driven novel about grief, family, and putting the pieces back together for “fans of Rebecca Stead and Erin Entrada Kelly” (BCCB) and “readers who enjoyed The Thing About Jellyfish (Booklist).Maddy Gaines sees danger everywhere she looks: at the bus stop, around the roller rink, in the woods, and (especially) by the ocean. When Maddy meets a mysterious boy setting booby traps in the North Carolina woods, she suspects is Billy Holcomb–the boy who went missing in the fall. As Maddy tries to uncover the truth about Billy Holcomb, ghosts from her own past surface, her best friend starts to slip away, and Maddy’s world tilts once again. Can she put the pieces of her life back together, even if some of them are lost forever?

Every Missing Piece

Hilary McKay

“Possibly the finest writer of our time.” –Elizabeth Wein, New York Times bestselling author of Code Name Verity From award-winning author Hilary McKay comes a beautiful, enchanting story about a girl adjusting to her new family and their new house–which just might be magical. When Abi’s father marries Max and Louis’s mom, their families start over together. Abi suddenly finds herself the middle child, expected to share far too much–especially with grubby little Louis. Then they move into an eerie, ivy-covered house, big enough for all of them. But for the children, strange things start to happen in that house. Abi reads alone, and finds herself tumbling so deep into books, they almost seem real. Louis summons comfort from outdoors, and a startling guest arrives–is it a cat or something else? Max loses his best friend…and falls in love. Meanwhile, Louis’s secret visitor is becoming much too real. Now Abi, Max, and Louis must uncover the secrets of their new home–for there can be danger in even the most beautiful magic. From award-winning author Hilary McKay comes a story that is at once enchanting and thrilling–if you don’t get lost in it first.

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