Counting Sheep (Calpurnia Tate, Girl Vet) by Jacqueline Kelly
Goodreads
Callie Vee and Travis help animals big and small in this illustrated chapter book series for younger readers.
In
this second book in the Calpurnia Tate, Girl Vet series, Callie takes a
hands-on approach to animal doctoring. When Callie and Granddaddy go
exploring by the river, Callie discovers a leaf covered with spots.
Those spots, it turns out, are eggs, and those eggs become butterflies.
One of her newly hatched butterflies has a problem, though—its wing is
broken. Can Callie find a way to help this butterfly fly?
Mother's
prize sheep, Snow White, is pregnant and about to give birth. With Dr.
Pritzker off helping a colicky horse, it falls to Callie to deliver the
lamb. Will Callie be able to take the situation in hand?
The Charming Life of Izzy Malone by Jenny Lundquist
Goodreads
Izzy Malone isn’t your
typical middle schooler. She wears camouflage combat boots, the stars
are her only friends, and after a month she’s set a new record for the
most trips to her principal’s office.
But Izzy’s life isn’t so
charming these days. The kids at school think she’s a mouthy misfit, her
musical prodigy sister gets all the attention at home, and no one takes
Izzy’s determination to compete in her small town’s Great Pumpkin Race
seriously.
When Izzy’s antics land her in hot water, her parents
enroll her in Mrs. Whippie’s Earn Your Charm School. At first Izzy
thinks it sounds stupid—her manners are just fine, thanks—but Mrs.
Whippie’s first assignment proves intriguing. Tucked inside a letter is a
shiny charm bracelet and instructions telling her she will “Earn Her
Charm” by performing a series of tasks. For each task Izzy completes,
she’ll receive a charm to place on her bracelet. “Complete them all,”
the letter says, “and you will have earned a prize unlike any other.”
Soon
Izzy’s adding charms to her bracelet. But when a task goes seriously
awry and threatens to derail her mother’s budding political career, Izzy
has her hands full proving she’s not an emerging juvenile delinquent.
Add in some middle school mean girls, a giant pumpkin that could be the
answer to all her problems, and discovering she might have a crush on
the boy she accidentally punched in the face, and Izzy may just pull it
all together and Earn Her Charm. And she’s about to find out the best
kind of friends are just like stars: Bright and beautiful, appearing
just when you need them, to shine a little bit of light on a dark night.
Defender of the Realm by Mark Huckerby & Nick Ostler
Goodreads
For hundreds of years
the United Kingdom has been protected by a mysterious guardian known as
the Defender. Part myth, part superhero, few truly believed the Defender
existed . . . until now.
Alfie thinks he knows his destiny. As
Prince Alfred, heir to the throne of Great Britain, he's fated to become
the most disappointing king in the nation's history. Alfie longs for a
way to prove himself, but little does he realize that with the throne of
England comes an ancient secret. He who wears the crown must protect
the country as the legendary hero -- the Defender of the Realm.
Hayley
is an ordinary girl, living an ordinary life. She certainly never
believed in the mysterious superhero, the Defender. Then, after
witnessing a very public battle at the Tower of London, everything is
different, and Hayley is left with no doubt. The Defender is real.
Two
kids with two very different lives are about to get caught up in a
centuries-long battle for the fate of a nation. Monsters and criminals,
villains and dragons, together Hayley and Alfie must protect their home
at all costs.
The Ethan I Was Before by Ali Standish
Goodreads
Ali Standish’s middle
grade novel is a charming and captivating story about friendship, grief,
and forgiveness. After Ethan loses his best friend and moves from
Boston to small-town Georgia, he discovers that life can be transformed
in one moment, but that one moment doesn’t have to define him for life.
Ali Standish’s wonderfully captivating debut is a stirring tale of friendship, forgiveness, and ultimately hope.
Ethan
had been many things: Adventurer. Boston Red Sox fan. Sidekick to his
big brother, Roddie. Coconsipirator with his best friend, Kacey.
But
that was before. Before the accident and the great loss that filled his
life. Before his family moved from Boston to the small beachside town
of Palm Knot, Georgia.
Palm Knot may be tiny, but it’s home to
possibility and second chances. It’s also home to Coralee, a girl with a
big personality and even bigger stories. A girl who may be just the
friend Ethan needs. But Ethan isn’t the only one with secrets, and
Coralee’s are catching up with her. Ethan must decide if he can trust
Coralee, or if what she’s hiding might be putting both their lives at
risk.
One Amazing Elephant by Linda Oatman High
Goodreads
A poignant middle grade animal story from talented author Linda Oatman High that will appeal to fans of Katherine Applegate’s The One and Only Ivan.
In this heartwarming novel, a girl and an elephant face the same
devastating loss—and slowly realize that they share the same powerful
love.
Twelve-year-old Lily Pruitt loves her grandparents, but she
doesn’t love the circus—and the circus is their life. She’s perfectly
happy to stay with her father, away from her neglectful mother and her
grandfather’s beloved elephant, Queenie Grace.
Then Grandpa Bill
dies, and both Lily and Queenie Grace are devastated. When Lily travels
to Florida for the funeral, she keeps her distance from the elephant.
But the two are mourning the same man—and form a bond born of loss. And
when Queenie Grace faces danger, Lily must come up with a plan to help
save her friend.
The Spell Thief (Little Legends) by Tom Percival
Goodreads
Jack (of the beanstalk
fame) and his magical talking chicken, Betsy, have always been great at
making new friends. But when Jack spots Anansi, the new kid in town,
talking to a troll in the Deep Dark Woods, everything changes. Everyone
knows that trolls mean trouble, and Jack will do anything to prove to
the rest of his friends that Anansi is a troll spy. Even if that means
using stolen magic! A brilliant new highly illustrated series featuring
all the fairy-tale characters you know and love having brand-new
adventures!
Reformed by Justin Weinberger
Goodreads
What's harder than surviving a school bully? Surviving a school full of bullies.
The
word troublemaker has never been used to describe Ian Hart. Nice, nerdy
. . . clueless, if you ask the girls in his class. Which is exactly why
he gets along with Devon Crawford. Devon's the kind of kid who speaks
his mind and stands up for his friends -- even if he sometimes takes it
too far.
But after one of Devon's pranks goes terribly awry, Ian
finds himself shipped off to the scariest place on earth -- bully reform
school -- where the pranks are more twisted, the bullies are more
brutal, and good kids like Ian don't stand a chance.
One Hundred Spaghetti Strings by Jen Nails
Goodreads
When life hands
Steffany Sandolini lemons, she makes…pasta sauce! This brave and
heartwarming middle grade novel will leave your belly rumbling and your
heart full.
Since Steffy was little, she and her older sister
Nina have lived with their Auntie Gina. But when their dad comes home to
live with them, everything changes.
When Steffy feels like there
are pieces of her all over the place, she does what she does best: she
cooks her way through the hardest year of her life. But sometimes her
life feels like a kitchen-sink meal, with too many ingredients that
don’t quite work together. Can the recipes put her—and her family—back
together again?
Start with 1 cup of authentic voice, add a
tablespoon of coming-of-age and 2 teaspoons of delicious culinary
concoctions, mix together, and serve up to fans of Rebecca Stead and
Sarah Weeks.
The Star Thief by Lindsey Becker
Goodreads
A middle grade fantasy
adventure in which an orphaned girl is caught in the crossfire of a
feud between a master of mythical constellations and the captain of a
spectacular flying steamship – and doesn't know whose side to join.
School Ship Tobermory by Alexander McCall Smith
Goodreads
Come aboard as the kids set sail for their first adventure!
Ben and Fee MacTavish are twins who’ve been homeschooled on a submarine. Now they’re heading to the school ship Tobermory.
This is no ordinary school—it’s a sailing ship where kids from around
the world train to be sailors and learn about all things nautical.
Ben and Fee make friends as they adjust to life aboard the Tobermory. When a film crew arrives on another ship, the Albatross,
Ben is one of the lucky kids to be chosen as a movie extra. But after a
day’s filming, his suspicions are aroused. Are the director and crew
really making a film? Or is there a secret they might be protecting on
the lower decks of the Albatross? Ben, Fee, and their friends set out to investigate, but are they prepared for what they might find?
The Princess and the Page by Christina Farley
Goodreads
A dark secret lurks in
Keira's family. She comes from a long line of Word Weavers who bring
their stories to life when they use a magical pen. But Keira's mom is
unable to face the truth of the family's history because the Word
Weavers have been hunted for generations for their power. And so, she
forbids Keira to write. Oblivious to the family's secret ability, and
angry at her mom's rule of no fictional writing, Keira discovers her
grandma's Word Weaver pen and uses it to write a story for the Girls'
World fairy tale contest, believing it will bring her good luck. But
when Keira decides to have her fairy tale reflect her family's imperfect
life, and has the princess in her story vanquished to a dark tower for
eternity, she starts to wonder if anyone ever truly lives happily ever
after.
Under the Ashes by Cindy Rankin
Goodreads
Elizabeth "Littlebeth"
Morgan thinks she is the smartest, bravest eleven-year-old in Paso
Robles. She loves sharing stories of the outlaws Frank and Jesse James
and shows no fear when she whacks the head off a rattlesnake. But she is
not the proper lady her family wants her to be so they send her to live
with her maiden Aunt Sally in San Francisco to be tamed and refined.
While Aunt Sally's life is unlike anything Littlebeth has experienced in
the country, the pain of being sent away runs deep. Then Littlebeth
meets Mr. Steinberg, Aunt Sally's Jewish neighbor. He treats her like a
person, not just a little girl, and Littlebeth finds a friend in him.
Mr. Steinberg is sweet on Aunt Sally and takes the two of them to see
the famous opera singer, Enrico Caruso, perform. But Littlebeth doesn't
understand the religious differences keeping Aunt Sally and Mr.
Steinberg apart. Before she can meddle in their personal lives, the
earthquake hits. Littlebeth is separated from them in the chaos of the
streets. She must use her wits and bravery and trust in a few unlikely
friends to locate Aunt Sally and Mr. Steinberg. But will Littlebeth be
able to survive the disaster and be reunited with her family?
Nightlights by Lorena Alvarez Gomez
Goodreads
Every night, tiny stars
appear out of the darkness in little Sandy's bedroom. She catches them
and creates wonderful creatures to play with until she falls asleep, and
in the morning brings them back to life in the whimsical drawings that
cover her room.
One day, Morpie, a mysterious pale girl, appears at school. And she knows all about Sandy's drawings...
Nightlights is a beautiful story about fear, insecurity, and creativity, from the enchanting imagination of Lorena Alvarez.
The Lost Staff of Wonders (Will Wilder #2) by Raymond Arroyo
Goodreads
Twelve-year-old Will Wilder is back to protect the town of
Perilous Falls from another ancient evil the fearsome demon, Amon.
When the storied Staff of Moses responsible for summoning the plagues of
ancient Egypt vanishes from the museum in Perilous Falls, Will Wilder is
suspect number one. Desperate to prove his innocence and stop the thief from
unleashing terrors upon the town of Perilous Falls, Will must use his
supernatural gift to locate the beast but it’s nowhere to be found.
As the river runs with blood, sharp-toothed frogs surround his home, and clouds
of swarming gnats choke the streets, Will must rely on his supernatural
ability, everything he learned from his training, and help from his friends,
siblings, and Great-Aunt Lucille to find the missing staff and unmask the
hidden evil before time runs out for all of them.
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Do you have a favorite recent new cover? Or a favorite from this list? Let me know in the comments!
