Child Friendship

Is she Mrs. Porter...or a witch? Karen lives next door to an old lady named Mrs. Porter. Mrs. Porter wears long black robes and has wild gray hair. Her black cat is named Midnight. No wonder Karen thinks Mrs. Porter is a witch! Mrs. Porter is having a meeting at her house. Karen is sure the meeting is for witches. Are the witches going to cast a spell on Karen? Or will she be brave enough to send them away - once and for all?

The Pants first came to us at the perfect moment. That is, when we were splitting up for the first time. It was two summers ago when they first worked their magic, and last summer when they shook up our lives once again. You see, we don't wear the Pants year-round. We let them rest so they are extra powerful when summer comes. (There was the time this spring when Carmen wore them to her mom's wedding, but that was a special case.)

Emily Starr had never known what it was to be lonely - until her beloved father died. In this, the first of the Emily novels, young Emily is orphaned and goes to live with her mother's snobbish relatives at New Moon Farm. Sure that she'll never be happy there, Emily endures her stern Aunt Elizabeth and malicious classmates by holding her head high and using her quick wit.

Identical twins Fifer and Thisbe Stowe have amazing yet uncontrollable magical abilities. They're naturally more gifted than even their brother, Alex, the head mage of Artimé, could hope to be. But when they accidentally use their magic in the jungle of Artimé to strike down a beloved creature, Alex is furious and threatens to lock them away until they can learn to control their power.

With a bit of last summer's sand in the pockets, the Traveling Pants and the Sisterhood that wears them embark on their 16th summer.

The fate of Artimé is at stake - and an unlikely alliance could redeem it - in book three in the New York Times best-selling Unwanteds series. The magical world of Artimé is gone. The Unwanteds have no food, no water, and no hope. And everyone is looking to Alex Stowe for answers. Overwhelmed and feeling totally helpless, Alex knows it’s up to him to find a way to restore Artimé, rescue his captive friends, and free Megan from her voice-stealing necklace of thorns - three impossible tasks.

Big Nate is going for broke! Mighty Jefferson Middle School always wins. Then Nate decides it's time to go from zeroes to heroes! Will Nate crack under the pressure of the "Ultimate Snowdown"? Or lead P.S. 38 to its biggest victory ever?

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: What secrets are they hiding? And most mysterious of all...where are the adults?

Eleven-year-old Parvana lives with her family in one room of a bombed-out apartment building in Kabul, Afghanistan's capital city during the Taliban rule. Parvana's father- a history teacher until his school was bombed and his health destroyed- works from a blanket on the ground in the marketplace, reading letters for people who cannot read or write. One day he is arrested for the crime of having a foreign education, and the family is left without someone who can earn money or even shop for food.

In a new addition to the New York Times best-selling series that's as popular as it is dorky, Nikki Maxwell is determined to help out her crush! Nikki Maxwell isn't at all surprised to find out that her crush, Brandon, volunteers at a local animal shelter. He's such a sweet guy - of course he wants to help those adorable puppies! Then Brandon tells her that the shelter is in danger of closing, and Nikki knows she can't let that happen. Especially when she discovers a shocking secret about Brandon that makes keeping that shelter open more important than ever.

It’s Nikki Maxwell’s birthday! Will it be a blast or a bust? Find out in the 13th installment of the blockbuster number-one New York Times best-selling Dork Diaries series!

What should you say to the bus driver? Find out how good manners make bus rides pleasant for everyone.

The trip to the amusement park should be fun. But when Samantha "Sam" Archer and her friends try out the haunted house ride, things go terribly wrong!

Tyler Yu asked Charlie Hitchcock to meet him after school, and Charlie assumed it was for a fight. But when it turns out Ty just needs help solving a magical mystery at the Abracadabra Hotel, an unlikely friendship is formed.

There used to be an empty chair at the back of my class, but now a new boy called Ahmet is sitting in it. He's nine years old (just like me), but he's very strange. He never talks and never smiles and doesn't like sweets - not even lemon sherbets, which are my favourite! But the truth is, Ahmet really isn't very strange at all. He's a refugee who's run away from a war. A real one. With bombs and fires and bullies that hurt people. And the more I find out about him, the more I want to be his friend.

The members of the Baby-Sitters Club come to the rescue to help Mary Anne search for her beloved kitten, Tigger, who has suddenly vanished.

It’s the new normal at the Garber household in Connecticut: Glen, a contractor, has seen his business shaken by the housing crisis, and now his wife, Sheila, is taking a business course at night to increase her chances of landing a good-paying job. But she should have been home by now. Waiting for Sheila’s return, with their eight-year-old daughter sleeping soundly, Glen soon finds his worst fears confirmed: Sheila and two others have been killed in a car accident. Adding to the tragedy, the police claim Sheila was responsible. Glen knows it’s impossible.

Michael usually concerns himself with basketball and hanging out with his friends, but every once in a while, his parents drag him to meetings and rallies with their anti-immigrant group. And it all makes sense to Michael. Until Mina, a beautiful girl from the other side of the protest lines, shows up at his school and turns out to be funny, smart - and a Muslim refugee from Afghanistan. Suddenly his parents' politics seem much more complicated.

Felix Knuttson, 12, is an endearing kid with an incredible brain for trivia. His mom Astrid is loving but unreliable; she can't hold onto a job, or a home. When they lose their apartment in Vancouver, they move into a camper van, just for August, till Astrid finds a job. September comes, they're still in the van; Felix must keep "home" a secret and give a fake address in order to enroll in school. Luckily, he finds true friends. As the weeks pass and life becomes grim, he struggles not to let anyone know how precarious his situation is.

Mother's Day is coming up and the baby-sitters have the same problem they do every year: What do they get their mothers? Kristy, especially, wants to do something nice for her mom. Mrs. Brewer has been acting kind of strange and secretive lately, and Kristy's worried about her.... But then Kristy gets another one of her great ideas. Why don't the baby-sitters treat their moms - and the mothers of the kids they sit for - to a day off without any kids around? The BSC plans a gigantic baby-sitting party.