Kids Library

Risk-averse Greg Belmont is content with being ordinary. He's got a friend - that's right, just one - at his fancy prep school, and a pretty cool dad (even if he is obsessed with organic soaps that smell like a mix of salted pork and Icelandic bog). The problem is, Greg isn't ordinary... he's actually a fantastical Dwarf! He discovers the truth the day his dad brings home a gross new tea - one that awakens bizarre abilities in Greg. Then a murderous Bro-Troll kidnaps his dad and Greg is whisked away to the Underground, where Dwarves have lived for centuries right beneath Chicago.

Rumple Buttercup has five crooked teeth, three strands of hair, green skin, and his left foot is slightly bigger than his right. He is weird. Join him and Candy Corn Carl (his imaginary friend made of trash) as they learn the joy of individuality as well as the magic of belonging.

The Owl Express: Nate, the great detective, and his dog Sludge, hit the rails on their latest case. Their mission: To guard an owl named Hoot. Hoot belongs to Nate’s cousin, Olivia Sharp, and she thinks someone on the train might be out to get her feathered friend. Then Hoot disappears! The Tardy Tortoise: The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and someone is eating the flowers in Nate's garden. A green tortoise is slowly stepping across the lawn, and Nate is slowly following him. It may take all of Nate the Great's patience and sharp eyesight to find out slowly.

Welcome to summer camp for detectives! The kids can’t wait to spend a week following clues and learning about the science of crime-solving. Soon all the campers are working on a mystery. But while Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose are figuring out their part of the puzzle, they stumble onto something suspicious. Could a real crime be happening at detective camp?

This third volume of My Father's Dragon has received a starred review in School Library Journal and is as fresh and original as the first.

The Book of Radical Answers is a groundbreaking work of non-fiction by author and activist Sonya Renee Taylor that gives honest, empowering and age appropriate answers to real questions from young listeners about health, sex, gender, race and justice. Steeped in joy and possibility, Taylor's writing assures kids that, as they mature, life will be fun, complicated, strange and wonderful, and most importantly, that they are amazing and have the ability to thrive with the inherent knowledge of their self-worth.

Children will listen along swimmingly to Dr. Seuss's absurd and endearing fish.

Everyone has heard of Albert Einstein - but what exactly did he do? How much do kids really know about Albert Einstein besides the funny hair and genius label? For instance, do they know that he was expelled from school as a kid? Finally, here's the story of Albert Einstein's life, told in a fun, engaging way that clearly explores the world he lived in and changed.

As his family prepares for winter, a young, skilled hunter must travel up the mountain to collect obsidian for knapping—the same mountain where his two older brothers died. When he reaches the mountaintop, he is immediately confronted by a terrifying eagle god named Savik. Savik gives the boy a choice: follow me or die like your brothers. What comes next is a harrowing journey to the home of the eagle gods and unexpected lessons on the natural world, the past that shapes us, and the community that binds us.

When Theo's photography project is mysteriously vandalized at school, there are five suspected students who all say, "It wasn't me." Theo just wants to forget about the humiliating incident, but his favorite teacher is determined to get to the bottom of it and has the six of them come into school over vacation to talk. She calls it "Justice Circle". The six students - the Nerd, the Princess, the Jock, the Screw Up, the Weirdo, and the Nobody - think of it as detention. A.k.a. their worst nightmare. That is until they realize they might get along after all, despite their differences.

Tommy and his sister Annika have a new neighbor, and her name is Pippi Longstocking. She has red pigtails, no parents to tell her what to do, a horse that lives on her porch, and a pet monkey named Mr. Nilsson. Whether Pippi's scrubbing her floors, doing arithmetic, or stirring things up at a fancy tea party, her flair for the outrageous always seems to lead to another adventure.

The girl doesn't remember a thing about her life, but the intricate tattoo on her arm is proof that she's from the Dragonfly Territories and that she's protected by the king. Which means a reward for Piper if she can get the girl home. The one sure way to the Territories is the 401, a great old beauty of a train. But a ticket costs more coin than Piper could make in a year. And stowing away is a difficult prospect - everyone knows that getting past the peculiar green-eyed boy who stands guard is nearly impossible.

Where could those wolves be? When the kids visit the Maine wilderness, they spot a white mother wolf and her babies on a cliff. But soon after that, the pups are stolen! Can Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose sniff out the culprits?

Josh Willet is a techie, a serious gamer. Which is why Josh and his friends can’t stand Mr. N’s ELA class; it’s a strict no-tech zone. Mr. N makes them write everything out by hand, he won’t use a Smartboard, and he’s obsessed with some hundred-year-old grammar book. Then Josh discovers a secret; turns out Mr. N's been keeping a lot more than technology from his students! Together with his best friend Vanessa, and using all the computer skills they’ve got, Josh is determined to solve the mystery of Mr. N’s past. And maybe get some screentime back, too?

Sofarende is at war. For 12-year-old Mathilde, it means food shortages, feuding neighbors, and bombings. Even so, as long as she and her best friend, Megs, are together, they'll be all right. But the army is recruiting children, and paying families well for their service. If Megs takes the test, Mathilde knows she will pass. Megs hopes the army is the way to save her family. Mathilde fears it might separate them forever.

J.D. has a big problem - it's the night before the start of third grade, and his mom has just given him his first and worst home haircut. When the steady stream of insults from the entire student body of Douglass Elementary becomes too much for J.D., he takes matters into his own hands and discovers that, unlike his mom, he's a genius with the clippers. His work makes him the talk of the town and brings him enough hair business to open a barbershop from his bedroom.

Following a humiliating, defeated effort to conquer Earth, Klawde has had it with this dismal planet. And anyway, what's the point in conquering such an insignificant corner of the galaxy, when there's an entire universe to rule? Luckily for Klawde, the position of Emperor of the Universe is now open for the taking. So with Barx and Raj by his side, and enemies around every corner, Klawde begins the campaign of his life. Can he win enough hearts and minds to become...Emperor of the Universe?

When Finn is saved from the Time Rangers by an older version of himself, it comes with a catch. Old Man Finn needs Finn and his friends, Lincoln and Julep, to help him win battles he lost years ago against the Paradox, a terrible creatures obsessed with revenge against Finn's father. If they succeed, he promises to tell Finn where his father is. He even gives them a pair of time-traveling pajamas to help them with their quest. There's only one problem. The pajamas malfunction almost immediately.

Rockhopper penguin Freya has always craved - and feared - adventure. When she hears about Captain Salomon August Andrée's hot-air balloon expedition to the North Pole, Freya packs her copy of Hints to Lady Travellers and hops on board. Only moments after leaving land, Freya discovers a fellow stowaway! Meet Zoose, the scrappy, uncouth mouse whose endless wisecracks and despicable manners make him a less-than-ideal travel companion. When the hot-air balloon is forced to land in the Arctic, these polar opposites must learn how to get along. Their very survival depends on it.

A modern fable in humorous verse.