Rebecca J. Allen
Cole Champion Is Not Super
STEM Superhero Adventure (high/low)
“A heroic series debut with a STEM focus…a brisk, accessible text… [with] an adventure action-oriented sensibility.” – School Library Journal
I’m Cole Champion, and oh-so-very lucky (as my mom’s constantly reminding me) to attend the prestigious Honor, Endurance, Restore, Optimism Junior High. My mom’s the principal of HERO Junior High, which is why I’m stuck going there―and sticking out like a sore thumb. How am I supposed to keep up when my classmates can lift cars, become invisible, or break the sound barrier? At least I can excel in science class, where my love of STEM―that’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math―comes in handy.
But science class takes a turn for the worse when the antics of my super-strong classmate put the school in danger. And it seems none of the other students’ powers can help. That’s where I come in!
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Cole Champion Takes on the Villains
STEM Superhero Adventure (high/low)
Hi, I’m Cole Champion, and I’m finally finding my place at HERO Junior High. But now the villains have arrived. Every two years, my school’s heroes-in-training test their powers against the villains-in-training from WICKED Junior High. It’s bad enough that I have to keep my lack of powers a secret. But some of the villains-in-training are acting suspicious, and it doesn’t seem like they’re here to play fair.
To figure out what’s going on, I’ll need the help of my new friends. But as amazing as super-strong Boulder and plant-powered Thorn are, their powers are still limited. At least they’re used to working as a team . . . right?
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Showtime Sabotage
Middle Grade Mystery (high/low)
Green Valley Middle School’s theater students knew their production of Pirates and Lost Boys was cursed. After months of snow days, chicken pox, and flaring rivalries, they’ve finally made it to opening day. But when the lights go out and props and costumes get wrecked mere hours before showtime, the cast and crew suspect something even worse: sabotage.
Who would do such a thing? Was it a self-absorbed pirate worried about being upstaged by the incredible set? Or a brand-new actor fearful of being outperformed? Or maybe it was rival students annoyed at having their talent show moved to the gym. Unless . . . the play couldn’t actually be cursed, could it?
Crack open a What Happened? book to investigate a preposterous mystery from four different perspectives. See what the witnesses gets right . . . and what they get hilariously wrong. Bet you’ll never guess what really happened!
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Math Test Mischief
Middle Grade Mystery (high/low)
It’s April Fools’ Day at Harwington Middle School. The eighth graders are on guard for mischief, waiting to see who can top last year’s classic white-toothpaste-filled-Oreos prank. But fake cockroaches are one thing. Missing math tests and the threat of having to retake the test the following day-are something else.
Who could have stolen those tests? Was it a slacker trying to force a retest? Or a lovesick boy hoping to protect a crush from a bad grade? How about a jealous teammate trying to frame the competition? Unless it was the prankster of all pranksters, trying to outdo himself in his last year of middle school. . . .
Crack open a What Happened? book to investigate a preposterous mystery from four different perspectives. See what the witnesses get right . . . and what they get hilariously wrong. Bet you’ll never guess what really happened!
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Earning an Income
Nonfiction
Earning an Income is part of the Strong Healthy Girls series. It explores ways that teens can find jobs and start making money, offering helpful suggestions on how to navigate interviewing, splurging after a first paycheck, and quitting a job.
Features include an ‘ask the expert’ section, tips on keeping a healthy perspective through this stressful process, a glossary, additional resources, and an index. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards.
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Julie Artz
Beyond the Latch and Lever: Speculative Short Stories
In this book, you will find eleven doors. Eleven stories waiting to be opened. Each one a passageway into the unknown. Beyond the Latch and Lever is an anthology of speculative literary fiction with stories from emerging authors with ties to the Pacific Northwest including:
Esterbell by Elle Blackwood: An old woman returns to the crumbling French château where she spent her childhood to say goodbye to the keeper of her past.
The Two Lives of Agapito Cortez by Carlos Joaquin Gonzalez: A wounded, Mexican-born Union soldier awakens to find the world isn’t the same as he remembers.
The Wending Way by author J. S. Artz: A celestial being sent to Earth must decide whether to stay and help, or leave humankind to their own destruction.
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Halli Gomez
List of Ten
Young adult own voices contemporary
*2021 NC Young People’s Literature Award*
*2022 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Nominee*
A harrowing yet hopeful account of a teen living with Tourette Syndrome and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder . . . and contemplating his own mortality.
Ten: three little letters, one ordinary number. No big deal, right? But for Troy Hayes, a 16-year-old suffering from Tourette Syndrome and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, the number ten dictates his life, forcing him to do everything by its exacting rhythm. Finally, fed up with the daily humiliation, loneliness, and physical pain he endures, Troy writes a list of ten things to do by the tenth anniversary of his diagnosis—culminating in suicide on the actual day.
But the process of working his way through the list changes Troy’s life: he becomes friends with Khory, a smart, beautiful classmate who has her own troubled history. Khory unwittingly helps Troy cross off items on his list, moving him ever closer to his grand finale, even as she shows him that life may have more possibilities than he imagined. This is a dark, intense story, but it’s also realistic, hopeful, and deeply authentic
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How Did We Get Here? Exploring the Ancestry of Eastside Residents
Middle Grade Mystery (high/low)
Sixth graders Anika Veerkar, Benicio “Benny” Flores, and Libby Abrams constantly study their surroundings, hoping to find the next feature story for their online neighborhood newsletter. But they’ve never turned their inquisitive gazes on themselves before.
A chance question about Libby’s door decoration leads the friends to realize they’re all from immigrant families. This discovery prompts their next big questions: Where are our families from? Why and how did they come to the United States? As the friends learn their families’ histories and deal with upsetting news about Anika’s stay in the country, they vow to cherish what brings them together. Anika, Benny, and Libby are neighborhood friends and known to be relentlessly curious. They’re always asking questions, and their interest in sharing the answers has led them to start an online newsletter. Encouraged by their parents, they venture out into the community to investigate the most engaging mysteries.
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Still Serving: The Inside Scoop on One Veteran’s Life
Middle Grade Mystery (high/low)
Sixth graders Anika Veerkar, Benicio “Benny” Flores, and Libby Abrams have gotten used to being kicked out of their homes due to their endless questions. So when Anika’s mother sends them to the grocery store on an errand, they suspect their questions were the culprit once again.
But when they see who is behind the checkout counter, all of their trouble-making questions condense into one: Why does someone who could be retired choose to still work? Between popsicle breaks and jumps in the pool, this simple question leads the friends all around their community as they explore the facts and personal stories of veterans. Anika, Benny, and Libby are neighborhood friends and known to be relentlessly curious. They’re always asking questions, and their interest in sharing the answers has led them to start an online newsletter. Encouraged by their parents, they venture out into the community to investigate the most engaging mysteries.
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Fitness Fiasco
Middle Grade Mystery (high/low)
The Fall Family Fitness Festival promises to be the highlight of Justice Payne Middle School’s year—as long as the sixth graders can overcome their nerves long enough to present their physical activity to the public. But two hours before the festival’s start, students arrive at the gym to a disaster: Hailey’s yoga station and Dawson’s karate station have been trashed.
Who would have ruined these stations? Was it a rival karate kid? Or maybe it was Dawson himself, hoping to prevent a recap of his previous disastrous brick-breaking attempt? Was it the new girl trying to take Hailey’s spot in her friend group? Or was it a concerned father, hoping to get his daughter out of the project?
Crack open a What Happened? book to investigate a preposterous mystery from four different perspectives. See what the witnesses gets right . . . and what they get hilariously wrong. Bet you’ll never guess what really happened!
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Brave New Girls: Tales of Heroines Who Hack
Young Adult (Sci-Fi Anthology for ages 12+)
Welcome to the sci-fi worlds of brainy teen heroines who hack not just computers, but whatever puzzles come their way. A scrappy mechanic on an oppressed planet builds a device she hopes will be her ticket to a better future. A fledgling chemist uses her skills to catch a murderer. A teen inventor creates a weapon to battle the mysterious beasts attacking her city. A superhero-in-training puts her skills to the test when attackers strike her compound. A self-styled detective hacks an augmented reality game to solve a dastardly crime. Girls who code, explore, fix robots, pilot starships, invent gadgets, build high-tech treehouses, and more. With tales ranging from space adventures to steampunk to cyberpunk and more this 23-story collection will delight, thrill, and enthrall.
Proceeds from sales of this anthology will be donated to a scholarship fund through the Society of Women Engineers. Let’s show today’s girls that they, too, can be tomorrow’s inventors, programmers, scientists, and more.
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Karin Lefranc
I Want to Eat Your Books
Picture Book
He’s limping strangely down the hall with outstretched arms and a groaning drawl. A zombie! Could it really be? You race to class, but turn to see he’s sitting in the desk right next to you!
But odds are you’ll probably be okay, because this is no ordinary zombie. This zombie doesn’t want to eat your brains—he wants to eat your books! Hide your textbooks and your fairy tales, because the little zombie is hungry and he doesn’t discriminate between genres. Will the school library be devoured, or will the children discover something the zombie likes to do with books even more than eating them?
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AND MORE TO COME!