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8-12 Year Old

Stories to Keep You Alive Despite Vampires

Stories to Keep You Alive Despite Vampires

Acker, Ben
$17.99
This fourth wall-breaking middle grade collection of spooky, scary, and spoopy stories for fans of Lemony Snicket and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark might just help you survive the night in a house full of vampires.

If you are reading this book, then you must be trapped in that spooky house with those vampires. Sorry about that.

But! You might just make it out if you manage to tell them one scary story each night in accordance with standard vampire rules. Don't know any scary stories? Good thing you found this book! Every tale in this tome is true...more or less (more more than less).

You get a little bit of everything in this monster mash: from hitchhiking phantoms to women in white, a carnivore beast that loves a good vacation to a haunted mannequin with a bug problem, killer phones, concerned werewolves, you name it. Everything you need to keep those vampires on the edge of their seats--and well away from your neck.

But beware...don't get too comfortable. Names have power, and if you whisper about too many things in the dark, they might just hear you.

Classic Starts®: Little Women

Classic Starts®: Little Women

Alcott, Louisa May
$9.99
Louisa May Alcott's classic novel, set during the Civil War, has always captivated even the most reluctant readers. Follow the adventures of the four March sisters--Meg, Beth, Amy, and, most of all, the tomboy Jo--as they experience the joys and disappointments, tragedies and triumphs, of growing up.
Enchanted Life of Valentina Mejia

Enchanted Life of Valentina Mejia

Alessandri, Alexandra
$17.99
Encanto meets The Chronicles of Narnia by way of Colombian folklore in this middle grade fantasy adventure. To save their father's life, a brother and sister must journey across a land full of mythical creatures and find the most powerful and dangerous of them all: the madremonte.

Twelve-year-old Valentina wants to focus on drawing the real world around her and hopefully get into art school in Bogotá one day, but Papi has spent his life studying Colombia's legendary creatures and searching for proof of their existence. So when Papi hears that a patasola--a vampire woman with one leg--has been sighted in the Andes, Valentina and her younger brother Julián get dragged along on another magical creature hunt.

While they're in the Andes, a powerful earthquake hits. Valentina and Julián fall through the earth...and find an alternate Colombia where, to Valentina's shock, all the legends are real.

To get home, Valentina and Julián must make a treacherous journey to reach this land's ruler: the madremonte, mother and protector of the earth. She controls the only portal back to the human world--but she absolutely hates humans, and she'll do anything to defend her land.

Crossover Tie-in Edition

Crossover Tie-in Edition

Alexander, Kwame
$8.99

The Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award-winning middle grade bestseller! Basketball and heartache share the court in this slam-dunk novel in verse.

"With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . .The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz tonight I'm delivering," announces dreadlocked, 12-year old Josh Bell. He and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court.

But Josh has more than basketball in his blood. He's got mad beats, too, that tell his family's story in verse, in this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood from Kwame Alexander. Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story's heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family.

Streaming series coming soon on Disney+, with executive producers including NBA great LeBron James!

Door of No Return

Door of No Return

Alexander, Kwame
$17.99

An instant #1 New York Times Bestseller!

From the Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award winning author Kwame Alexander, comes the first book in a searing, breathtaking trilogy that tells the story of a boy, a village, and the epic odyssey of an African family.

In his village in Upper Kwanta, 11-year-old Kofi loves his family, playing oware with his grandfather and swimming in the river Offin. He's warned though, to never go to the river at night. His brother tells him "There are things about the water you do not know. " Like what? Kofi asks. "The beasts." His brother answers.

One fateful night, the unthinkable happens and in a flash, Kofi's world turns upside down. Kofi soon ends up in a fight for his life and what happens next will send him on a harrowing journey across land and sea, and away from everything he loves.

This spellbinding novel by the author of The Crossover and Booked will take you on an unforgettable adventure that will open your eyes and break your heart.

The Door of No Return is an excellent choice for independent reading, sharing in the classroom, homeschooling, and book groups.

Palace of Dreams

Palace of Dreams

Anderson, Jodi Lynn
$17.99
This third book in the haunting and magical Thirteen Witches series from New York Times bestselling author Jodi Lynn Anderson follows Rosie in her last stand against the Nothing King--perfect for fans of Newbery winner The Girl Who Drank the Moon.

After barely escaping Earth with the League of Witch Hunters, Rosie and her friends are hiding out from the Nothing King and his witch followers on a barely inhabited planet. Then a messenger arrives with the unexpected news that Earth survived the Nothing King's black hole, but only because he wants one last treasure before dragging everything into oblivion: the Museum of Imagined Things. Rosie saw the museum once when she visited the Brightweaver in the clouds. It is infinitely tall and made only of mist and figments, so Brightweaver was able to bundle it up and hide it for safekeeping.

The League of Witch Hunters, joined by a gaggle of the world's last ghosts picked up from Limbo along the way, cross the galaxy in search of the museum and in preparation for their last showdown with the Nothing King. As Rosie and her allies weather surprises and betrayals while fighting to maintain their trust in each other, they may find the museum has one last secret in store.

Greatest Kid in the World

Greatest Kid in the World

Anderson, John David
$19.99

From the beloved author of Posted comes the story of Zeke Stahls--a thoroughly average twelve-year-old who somehow finds himself in a competition to be named the World's Greatest Kid.

Zeke Stahls is not the best kid in the world. Some days he struggles just to be good. He'd rather be pulling pranks than doing extra credit, and he's too busy performing experiments on his little brother, Nate, or tormenting his older sister, Jackie, to volunteer for charity.

Which is why Zeke and his entire family are shocked when they receive word that he has been selected as a contestant in an online competition to find the World's Greatest Kid.

Zeke has no idea how he was chosen for this, and he knows that measuring up to the other nominees--a saintly lineup of selfless, charming and talented do-gooders with photogenic smiles and hearts of gold--is hopeless. Still, with a $10,000 cash prize on the line, and Zeke's mom struggling to hold the family together on her single-parent salary, he decides to give it his best shot.

As Zeke concocts various plots to show the world just how "great" he is, however, he finds himself wondering what that word even means, and who gets to decide. And what kind of kid he wants--and needs--to be.

Riley's Ghost

Riley's Ghost

Anderson, John David
$9.99

From John David Anderson, acclaimed author of Posted, comes a ghost story pulled from the darkest shadows of middle school.

Riley Flynn is alone.

It feels like she's been on her own since sixth grade, when her best friend, Emily, ditched her for the cool girls. Girls who don't like Riley. Girls who decide one day to lock her in the science closet after hours, after everyone else has gone home.

When Riley is finally able to escape, however, she finds that her horror story is only just beginning. All the school doors are locked, the windows won't budge, the phones are dead, and the lights aren't working. Through halls lit only by the narrow beam of her flashlight, Riley roams the building, seeking a way out, an answer, an explanation. And as she does, she starts to suspect she isn't alone after all.

While she's always liked a good scary story, Riley knows there is no such thing as ghosts. But what else could explain the things happening in the school, the haunting force that seems to lurk in every shadow, around every corner? As she tries to find answers, she starts reliving moments that brought her to this night. Moments from her own life...and a life that is not her own.

Once Upon a Camel

Once Upon a Camel

Appelt, Kathi
$8.99
"A delight to the senses." --Kirkus Reviews

Perfect for fans of The One and Only Ivan, this exquisite middle grade novel from Newbery Honoree and National Book Award finalist Kathi Appelt follows a creaky old camel out to save two baby kestrel chicks during a massive storm in the Texas desert--filled with over a dozen illustrations by Caldecott winner Eric Rohmann.

Zada is a camel with a treasure trove of stories to tell. She's won camel races for the royal Pasha of Smyrna, crossed treacherous oceans to new land, led army missions with her best camel friend by her side, and outsmarted a far too pompous mountain lion.

But those stories were from before. Now, Zada wanders the desert as the last camel in Texas. She's not, however, alone. Two tiny kestrel chicks are nestled in the fluff of fur between her ears--kee-killy-keeing for their missing parents--and a dust storm the size of a mountain is taking Zada on one more grand adventure. And it could lead to this achy old camel's most brilliant story yet.

Endling #1: The Last

Endling #1: The Last

Applegate, Katherine
$7.99

A New York Times bestseller from the beloved author of the action-packed Animorphs series and the award-winning The One and Only Ivan. In this first book of an epic middle grade series, Katherine Applegate takes us on an unforgettable journey.

Byx is the youngest member of her dairne pack. Believed to possess remarkable abilities, her mythical doglike species has been hunted to near extinction in the war-torn kingdom of Nedarra.

After her pack is hunted down and killed, Byx fears she may be the last of her species. The Endling. So Byx sets out to find safe haven, and to see if the legends of other hidden dairnes are true.

Along the way, she meets new allies--both animals and humans alike--who each have their own motivations for joining her quest. And although they begin as strangers, they become their own kind of family--one that will ultimately uncover a secret that may threaten every creature in their world.

Building on the success of her critically acclaimed novels The One and Only Ivan, Crenshaw, and Wishtree, while also returning to her action-packed fantasy roots of Animorphs, the Endling series is Katherine Applegate at her finest. With its enthralling characters, unique setting, and gripping adventure, this series is the perfect next read for fans of Rick Riordan, Brian Jacques, and Tui T. Sutherland.

Don't miss the second book in Katherine Applegate's "simply sublime" (Kirkus) epic middle grade animal fantasy trilogy, Endling #2: The First, plus the concluding volume, Endling #3: The Only. Read all three!