Child Friendship

In one of the strongest Babysitters Club books ever, the club must deal with a client who is abusive toward his children. Ann M. Martin addresses a difficult and important topic in her characteristic sensitive and informed style.

Brought to the flying city of Highgate when he was only five years old, orphan Milo Quick has never known another home. Now almost 13, Milo survives one daredevil grift at a time, relying only on his wit, speed, and best friends Jules and Dagda. A massive armada has surrounded Highgate’s crumbling armaments. Because behind locked doors - in opulent parlors and pneumatic forests and a master toymaker’s workshop - the once-great flying city protects a powerful secret, hidden away for centuries.

Listen and relive exciting tales from Highlights, now on audio! Learn about all the animals who head to the pool on a hot summer’s day and kids selling at market in Egypt, along with other stories about friends.

Matt Thorsen knows every Norse myth, saga, and god as if it was family history - because it is family history. Most people in the modern-day town of Blackwell, South Dakota, in fact, are direct descendants of either Thor or Loki, including Matt's classmates Fen and Laurie. When the rune readers reveal that the monsters of Ragnarok are coming and kids will stand in for the gods in the final battle, Matt can hardly believe it. Matt and his friends must race to put together an unstoppable team to prevent the end of the world.

Twelve-year-old Emmie is working to raise money for a tricked-out wheelchair to get serious about WCMX, when a mishap on a poorly designed ramp at school throws her plans into a tailspin. Instead of replacing the ramp, her school provides her with a kind but unwelcome aide - and, seeing a golden media opportunity, launches a public fundraiser for her new wheels. Emmie loves her close-knit rural town, but she can’t shake the feeling that her goals - and her choices - suddenly aren’t hers anymore.

In one day four lives weave together in unexpected ways. Virgil Salinas is shy and kindhearted and feels out of place in his crazy-about-sports family. Valencia Somerset, who is deaf, is smart, brave, and secretly lonely, and she loves everything about nature. Kaori Tanaka is a self-proclaimed psychic whose little sister, Gen, is always following her around. And Chet Bullens wishes the weird kids would just stop being so different so that he can concentrate on basketball.

Dora the Explorer celebrates friendship day by visiting all of her friends!

Thrump-O-Moto is a little wizard and apprentice hero who, though sometimes puzzled and afraid, knows that the mightiest forces in the universe always bow before the brave and good. By chance (and a bungled spell) he finds himself traveling not to the shores of Japan to visit his grandmother, but to the Australian outback where he stumbles upon Patricia sitting in the shade. Discovering that Patricia has been caught in the clutches of Nurk-u the Bad, the two of them set out on a noble quest to rescue her and defeat the evil wizard, finding the gifts of healing and courage in the process.

Lucas and Clara search for Queen Tasha's missing emerald. On their exciting adventure, they travel to all the main attractions of Wrenly: Primlox (the island of fairies), Burth (the island of trolls), Crestwood (the island of dragons), Hobsgrove (the island of wizards), and the beautiful Mermaid's Cove. King Caleb has promised to reward the person who finds the precious stone, and Lucas and Clara are determined to search the entire kingdom until they find it!

Receiving a desperate call from the Mancusi family, Jessi takes on an unusual sitting job caring for three dogs, five cats, two birds, a cage of hamsters, guinea pigs, fish, a snake, rabbits, and turtles.

When a book of unexplainable occurrences brings Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay together, strange things start to happen: seemingly unrelated events connect, an eccentric old woman seeks their company, and an invaluable Vermeer painting disappears.

Dora discovers all of her friends out enjoying the rain! Join Dora the Explorer on her rainy day adventure!

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.

Lavinia “Vin” Lucas is out of control and out of options. Stranded by parents who would rather use their average magical abilities to study dung beetles than raise her, Vin's been on her own for years. But she’s never been able to corral her own powerful, unpredictable magic. After years of detention, suspension, and expulsion from magic schools far and wide, she’s now being sent to the Last Hope School for Magical Delinquents. If she gets expelled, it’s the end of the line. Now, Vin is determined to behave. Except no one at Last Hope seems to want her to.

In My Bonny Light Horseman, the infamous pirate, riverboat seductress, master of disguise, and street-urchin-turned-sailor Jacky Faber has been captured by the French and beheaded in full view of her friends and crew.Inconceivable? Yes! The truth is she's secretly forced to pose as an American dancer behind enemy lines in Paris, where she entices a French general into revealing military secrets--all to save her dear friends.

Pete uses his groovy crayons to draw lots of things, and for the first time ever, he’s drawing his pals. But when Pete shows his artwork to his friends, they don’t react the way he expected them to. Will Pete put his favorite crayons down or find a way to turn it all around? Get artsy with everyone’s favorite blue cat in this groovy story that adds a creative touch to the importance of great friends and never giving up. Fans of Pete the Cat will love watching him take his positive outlook and transform something ordinary into an awesome masterpiece!

This breathtaking, full-color illustrated fantasy is inspired by Chinese folklore, and is a companion to the Newbery Honor winner Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. Pinmei's gentle, loving grandmother always has the most thrilling tales for her granddaughter and the other villagers. However, the peace is shattered one night when soldiers of the Emperor arrive and kidnap the storyteller. Everyone knows that the Emperor wants something called the Luminous Stone That Lights the Night.

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.

Pete the Cat can’t wait for show-and-tell. He knows just what to bring—his baseball glove! But when he sees what everyone else is sharing, he starts to worry. Is his glove actually cool enough?

For most kids, catching fireflies is a fun summer activity. For twelve-year-old Serwa Boateng, it's a matter of life and death. That's because Serwa knows that some fireflies are really adze, shapeshifting vampires from the forests of Southeastern Ghana. Adze prey on the blood of innocents, possessing their minds and turning them into hulking monsters, and for generations, slayers like Serwa and her parents have protected an unknowing public from their threats.