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.

The summer that Patty Bergen turns twelve is a summer that will haunt her forever. When her small hometown in Arkansas becomes the site of a camp housing German prisoners during World War II, Patty learns what it means to open her heart. Even though she’s Jewish, she begins to see a prison escapee, Anton, not as a Nazi, but as a lonely, frightened young man. As their gentle friendship blossoms, Patty experiences a kind of love she never felt from her abusive father or her distant mother.

The Easter holidays are about to get a lot more exciting! Maddy and her best friend Dev have lucked out and are heading to the seaside where the brand-new roller coaster, the Mega Beast, is about to open. This will literally be life-changing! One problem: Maddy has to bring her annoying little brother Oli and her cheeky grandad Agung along for the weekend. With seaside hazards such as terrifying seagulls, stinky pickled eggs and a giant candyfloss-mad dog to deal with, will Maddy ever get to loop-the-loop on the best ride ever?

Inspired by the success of their first birthday bucket list, Ari and her BFF Kaylan set 12 new goals for the next school year. And number one is “Keep our friendship strong”. But after a life-changing summer at camp, Ari feels torn between Kaylan and her camp friends. And as she faces down everything from boys to bat mitzvahs, Ari needs to figure out how to be her best self - before her friends come together at her 13th birthday party. Or the big win she and Kaylan were hoping for may become an epic fail.

Ricky Ricotta and his mighty robot always watch out for each other - that's what friends are for! This time, they've managed to mangle the Ricotta family's minivan. Somehow they have to find a way to make up for their mistake. When a mean little Martian named Major Monkey invades Earth, Ricky and his robot race to save the day once more. But Major Monkey has a plan to get rid of Ricky's robot so that no one will be able to stop him! Now it's up to Ricky to rescue his friend and keep Major Monkey from menacing mousekind!

Ever wish you had a flying robot for a best friend? Wouldn't it be great to have a robot so big and powerful that nobody would ever mess with you again? Friendly robots can be fun! But with giant friends come giant responsibilities. In this book, the evil Victor Von Vulture and his army of Voodoo Vultures from Venus are about to take over planet Earth. Only the super-smart tricks of Ricky and his mighty robot can send the bad guys packing for home!

Postcard-perfect Jar Island is home to charming tourist shops, pristine beaches, amazing oceanfront homes - and three girls secretly plotting revenge. KAT is sick and tired of being bullied by her former best friend. LILLIA has always looked out for her little sister, so when she discovers that one of her guy friends has been secretly hooking up with her, she’s going to put a stop to it. MARY is perpetually haunted by a traumatic event from years past, and the boy who’s responsible has yet to get what’s coming to him. None of the girls can act on their revenge fantasies alone without being suspected. But together…anything is possible .

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

Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck's reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle - disguised and alone - to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the 35-year spell of a madman.

Loving the holiday season but hating its commercialism, Mallory coordinates an old-fashioned family Christmas of baking and trimming that attracts media attention, but Mallory begins to fear that the chaotic film crews will spoil her plans.

Mei, Aisha, and Quinn are Treasure Dragon Girls. They draw on the power of precious gems to transform into mighty dragons. Tasked with keeping the Magic Forest safe from harm, the Treasure Dragon Girls must come together as a team, embrace their clawsome new abilities, and save the day.

In this book, you’ll meet seven girls who all face different challenges. Everyone reacts in the wrong way sometimes and makes bad decisions. But everyone also reacts in the right way sometimes and makes amazing decisions. We don’t always make the right call but by learning from our mistakes, we’re able to grow into the good. This book helps kids develop different qualities and skills.

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.

I'm Brave! is the most irresistible addition yet to Kate and Jim McMullan's hilarious series: a fire truck.

Ricky Ricotta may be small, but he has the biggest best friend around! There's nothing better than being buddies with a giant flying robot. Ricky's mighty robot always gets him to school on time, keeps bullies away, and even helps out with homework. These two friends do everything together! When Mr. Mosquito, a meanie from the planet Mercury, invades Earth with his Mutant Mosquitoes, Ricky and his robot rush to the rescue. But with the mighty robot in deep danger, Ricky will have to be brave on his own to save the day!

Deep in the water, Mr. Fish swims about with his fish face stuck in a permanent pout. Can his pals cheer him up? Will his pout ever end? Is there something he can learn from an unexpected friend?

Up until senior year, Greg has maintained total social invisibility. He only has one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time - when not playing video games and avoiding Earl's terrifying brothers - making movies, their own versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics. Greg would be the first one to tell you his movies are f*@$ing terrible, but he and Earl don't make them for other people. Until Rachel.

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.

William Wyatt Orser, a socially awkward middle schooler, is a wordsmith who, much to his annoyance, acquired the ironically ungrammatical nickname of “Worser" so long ago that few people at school know to call him anything else. Worser grew up with his mom, a professor of rhetoric and an introvert just like him, in a comfortable routine that involved reading aloud in the evenings, criticizing the grammar of others, ignoring the shabby mess of their house, and suffering the bare minimum of social interactions with others. But recently, all that has changed.

With Ravenskill hosting this year's games, all eyes are on Seven Salazar, Valley Pepperhorn and Thorn Laroux: the most famous Spares in the Twelve Towns. Thorn is ready to compete as a fashion champion, but when a hex is used to turn her fellow champions to stone, suspicion lands on the Witchlings. As the Witchlings attempt to unravel the mystery of the stonifications, future Uncle Seven is harboring a dangerous secret: While she's supposed to be able to communicate with animals, the voices she hears most clearly belong to monstruos, and one spine-chilling voice is the loudest of all.