Family Reader

Talented children’s author Claudia Mills pens this inspiring story about one boy’s quest for independence. Oliver Olson’s teacher wants her students to come up with one idea to change the world. Oliver doubts he’ll think up anything great, since his overprotective parents never let him think for himself. But completing a science project—without his parents’ help—makes him realize that he may have one great idea after all.

A Flat Ninja? Stanley and his brother, Arthur, are such huge fans of the movie star ninja Oda Nobu that they decide to send him something even better than fan mail - Stanley himself! Soon enough, Flat Stanley is in Japan, seeing the country with his idol. But when trouble surprises them, it will take a real hero to save the day.

All Ekata wants is to stay alive - and the chance to prove herself as a scholar. Once Ekata's brother is finally named heir to the dukedom of Kylma Above, there will be nothing to keep her at home with her murderous family. Not her books or her experiments, not her family's icy castle atop a frozen lake, not even the tantalizingly close Kylma Below, a mesmerizing underwater kingdom that provides her family with magic. But just as escape is within reach, her parents and 12 siblings fall under a strange sleeping sickness, and no one can find a cure.

Eva and her identical twin sister, Miriam, had a mostly happy childhood. Theirs was the only Jewish family in their small village in the Transylvanian mountains, but they didn't think much of it until anti-Semitism reared its ugly head in their school. Then, in 1944, ten-year-old Eva and her family were deported to Auschwitz. At its gates, Eva and Miriam were separated from their parents and other siblings, selected as subjects for Dr. Mengele's infamous medical experiments.

Ever since Grandma Lou gave her that squished penny, Judy can’t stop winning - at bowling, at spelling, at everything! For sure and absolute positive, she’ll ride that wave of good fortune all the way to the nation’s capital. Watch out, D.C. Here comes Judy Moody, the luckiest kid ever! Luckiest, that is, until her lucky penny has an unlucky accident. Suddenly it’s good-bye, Lucky Duck! Hello, C-A-L-A-M-I-T-Y! Has Judy’s luck gone down the toilet for good?

Eleven-year-old Nicholas Vargas thinks his sucky life has been turned upside down. His developer father has remarried and moved his new wife and daughter into his home in the soon-to-be-completed Melgrove Hollow. So, not only has Nick lost his bedroom to his wacko new step-sister, Laurie (who lugs around this huge book about faeries and wishes her name was Lauranathana...C'mon! How lame is that?!), but his father actually wants him to spend time with her.

It's summer at the shore, but someone wants to put a stop to all the fun! Who's ruining the rides at the amusement pier? The Aldens are on the case….

Halloween with Junie B. has got to be a scream! Get ready for a "Halloweenie" adventure with the world's funniest first grader!

Do you ever feel like you are too small or too ordinary? That's how Itsy and Bitsy feel. When these two charming little mice hear that a king is coming to Bethlehem, they run to find him. But they can't find the king, and other animals discourage them. "Don't even try," they say. "The king doesn't care about little ones like us." Itsy and Bitsy are just about to give up when something amazing happens.

Judy Moody is making a list and checking it twice, but all her brother, Stink, wants this year is snow. It hasn’t snowed on Christmas in Virginia in more than a hundred years, however, so what are the chances that that will change? Enter the new mailman, Mr. Jack Frost, who not only looks like a jolly old elf but also seems to know a lot about weather patterns, has a fondness for the cold, and works looooooong hours during the holiday season.

Spurred by a newfound awareness of false advertising, Stink Moody becomes the proverbial kid in a candy store as his letter-writing campaign yields him heaps of free rewards. When Stink buys a mammoth jawbreaker that doesn't break his jaw, he writes a letter of complaint to the manufacturer — and receives a ten-pound box of 21,280 jawbreakers for his trouble!

It seems like it's going to be just another normal Peterson family trip for haircuts - that is until Charles meets Princess, a spoiled but irresistible Yorkie pup. She belongs to one of the stylists but Princess's owner is moving and can't take the puppy with her. Charles volunteers to care for Princess until they find her a new home. But it doesn't take long for the Petersons to get tired of Princess's privileged ways. How will Charles ever find the right family for this high maintenance pup?

After James gets a pen-and-ink set for his birthday, Marvin the beetle surprises him by creating an elaborate miniature drawing. James gets all the credit for the picture and before these unlikely friends know it they are caught up in a staged art heist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that could help recover a famous drawing by Albrecht Dürer. But James can't go through with the plan without Marvin's help. And that's where things get really complicated (and interesting!)

Baby Lincoln's older sister, Eugenia, is very fond of telling Baby what to do, and Baby usually responds by saying, "Yes, Sister." But one day Baby has had enough. She decides to depart on a Necessary Journey, even though she has never gone anywhere without Eugenia telling her what to take and where to go. And in fact Baby doesn't know where she is headed - only that she was entirely happy in the previous night's dream, sitting aboard a train with a view of shooting stars.

When Oliver Moon is entered for the Young Wizard of the Year award, he finds he's up against the head boy. And when he's given the job of litter collector, he decides to liven things up with the help of his new pet dragon.

Meet Weir Do. No, that's not a typo, that's his name! Weir Do's the new kid in school. With an unforgettable name, a crazy family, and some seriously weird habits, fitting in won't be easy...but it will be funny!

Father and Children by Ivan Turgenev is a novel that explores the ideological conflict between the older generation of Russian nobility and the younger, nihilist generation. It's a poignant narrative on the challenges of understanding across generational divides, set against the backdrop of changing Russian society in the 19th century. Through the characters of Bazarov, a self-declared nihilist, and Arkady, his friend and foil, Turgenev delves into themes of love, friendship, and the clash of evolving philosophies.

Alvin, an Asian American second grader, is afraid of everything—elevators, tunnels, girls, and, most of all, school. He’s so afraid of school that, while he’ s there, he never, ever, says a word. But at home, Alvin is a very loud superhero named Firecracker Man, a brother to Calvin and Anibelly, and a gentleman-in-training, just like his dad. With the help of his family, can Alvin take on the outside world without letting his fears get the best of him?

Weir's back and even weirder! But it's not just Weir who's weird, it's his whole family. Not even their pet bird is normal! How will he keep cool with a school trip to the zoo coming up and the birthday party of his biggest crush?! It won't be easy...but it will be funny!

Don't let the lush jungles, unspoiled beaches, and rugged cliffs fool you. Dinosaur World's newest attraction is home to the most dangerous animals in the park.