Raymie Nightingale

Raymie Nightingale
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2016-04-12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0763687081

A 2016 National Book Award Finalist! Two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo returns to her roots with a moving, masterful story of an unforgettable summer friendship. Raymie Clarke has come to realize that everything, absolutely everything, depends on her. And she has a plan. If Raymie can win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition, then her father, who left town two days ago with a dental hygienist, will see Raymie's picture in the paper and (maybe) come home. To win, not only does Raymie have to do good deeds and learn how to twirl a baton; she also has to contend with the wispy, frequently fainting Louisiana Elefante, who has a show-business background, and the fiery, stubborn Beverly Tapinski, who’s determined to sabotage the contest. But as the competition approaches, loneliness, loss, and unanswerable questions draw the three girls into an unlikely friendship — and challenge each of them to come to the rescue in unexpected ways.

Beverly, Right Here

Beverly, Right Here
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Publisher: Candlewick
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2019-09-24
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0763694649

As featured on The Today Show’s Read with Jenna Jr. Book Club Revisiting once again the world of Raymie Nightingale, two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo turns her focus to the tough-talking, inescapably tenderhearted Beverly. Beverly put her foot down on the gas. They went faster still. This was what Beverly wanted — what she always wanted. To get away. To get away as fast as she could. To stay away. Beverly Tapinski has run away from home plenty of times, but that was when she was just a kid. By now, she figures, it’s not running away. It’s leaving. Determined to make it on her own, Beverly finds a job and a place to live and tries to forget about her dog, Buddy, now buried underneath the orange trees back home; her friend Raymie, whom she left without a word; and her mom, Rhonda, who has never cared about anyone but herself. Beverly doesn’t want to depend on anyone, and she definitely doesn’t want anyone to depend on her. But despite her best efforts, she can’t help forming connections with the people around her — and gradually, she learns to see herself through their eyes. In a touching, funny, and fearless conclusion to her sequence of novels about the beloved Three Rancheros, #1 New York Times best-selling author Kate DiCamillo tells the story of a character who will break your heart and put it back together again.

Louisiana's Way Home

Louisiana's Way Home
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 127
Release: 2018-10-02
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1536204773

From two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo comes a story of discovering who you are — and deciding who you want to be. When Louisiana Elefante’s granny wakes her up in the middle of the night to tell her that the day of reckoning has arrived and they have to leave home immediately, Louisiana isn’t overly worried. After all, Granny has many middle-of-the-night ideas. But this time, things are different. This time, Granny intends for them never to return. Separated from her best friends, Raymie and Beverly, Louisiana struggles to oppose the winds of fate (and Granny) and find a way home. But as Louisiana’s life becomes entwined with the lives of the people of a small Georgia town — including a surly motel owner, a walrus-like minister, and a mysterious boy with a crow on his shoulder — she starts to worry that she is destined only for good-byes. (Which could be due to the curse on Louisiana's and Granny’s heads. But that is a story for another time.) Called “one of DiCamillo’s most singular and arresting creations” by The New York Times Book Review, the heartbreakingly irresistible Louisiana Elefante was introduced to readers in Raymie Nightingale — and now, with humor and tenderness, Kate DiCamillo returns to tell her story.

The Key to Extraordinary

The Key to Extraordinary
Author: Natalie Lloyd
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2016-02-23
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0545552753

The highly anticipated new novel from the author of A Snicker of Magic Everyone in Emma's family is special. Her ancestors include Revolutionary War spies, brilliant scientists, and famous musicians--every single one of which learned of their extraordinary destiny through a dream. For Emma, her own dream can't come soon enough. Right before her mother died, Emma promised that she'd do whatever it took to fulfill her destiny, and she doesn't want to let her mother down. But when Emma's dream finally arrives, it points her toward an impossible task--finding a legendary treasure hidden in her town's cemetery. If Emma fails, she'll let down generations of extraordinary ancestors . . . including her own mother. But how can she find something that's been missing for centuries and might be protected by a mysterious singing ghost? With her signature blend of lyrical writing, quirky humor, and unforgettable characters, Natalie Lloyd's The Key to Extraordinary cements her status as one of the most original voices writing for children today.

The Kind of Friends We Used to Be

The Kind of Friends We Used to Be
Author: Frances O'Roark Dowell
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2010-04-27
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 144240616X

Edgar Award–winning novelist Frances O’Roark Dowell explores the shifting terrain of middle-school friendship in this follow-up to the beloved The Secret Language of Girls. Kate and Marylin are smack dab in the middle of middle school—seventh grade—and they know they can never be best friends like they used to be. Marylin is a middle school cheerleader obsessed with popularity and hairstyles, and Kate is the exact opposite with her combat boots and hankering to learn guitar and write her own songs. Still, Kate and Marylin yearn to find some middle ground for their friendship—but it’s harder than they ever imagined.

Sunny Side Up: A Graphic Novel (Sunny #1)

Sunny Side Up: A Graphic Novel (Sunny #1)
Author: Jennifer L. Holm
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2015-08-25
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 054574167X

When is a summer vacation not really a summer vacation? Sunny Lewin has been packed off to Florida to live with her grandfather for the summer. At first she thought Florida might be fun -- it is the home of Disney World, after all. But the place where Gramps lives is no amusement park. It's full of . . . old people. Really old people.Luckily, Sunny isn't the only kid around. She meets Buzz, a boy who is completely obsessed with comic books, and soon they're having adventures of their own: facing off against golfball-eating alligators, runaway cats, and mysteriously disappearing neighbors. But the question remains -- why is Sunny down in Florida in the first place? The answer lies in a family secret that won't be secret to Sunny much longer. . .

Stop Following Me, Moon!

Stop Following Me, Moon!
Author: Darren Farrell
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2016-04-19
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0399187073

A hungry bear’s big appetite leads to a lesson about sharing in this silly story perfect for fans of Mo Willems’ Pigeon books Bear is hungry. So hungry that when he spies a squirrel's berry snack, he can't help taking the whole berry bush. Then, when he wanders past a busy beehive, Bear knows he's hit the jackpot. But someone is on to him—the moon! Or so Bear thinks. Before he knows it, Bear is on the run with his stolen snacks, causing a whole lot of trouble for the other animals in the forest. With big laughs, silly surprises, and a read-aloud-ready refrain, this picture book is perfect for fans of Jon Klassen and Mo Willems.

The Magician's Elephant

The Magician's Elephant
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2009
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0763652989

When ten-year-old orphan Peter Augustus Duchene encounters a fortune teller in the marketplace one day and she tells him that his sister, who is presumed dead, is in fact alive, he embarks on a remarkable series of adventures as he desperately tries to find her.

Rules of the Ruff

Rules of the Ruff
Author: Heidi Lang
Publisher: Abrams
Total Pages: 231
Release: 2018-08-14
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1683354052

A girl learns how to walk dogs—and walk tall—in this charming, coming-of-age novel Twelve-year-old Jessie is in for a long, lonely summer at her aunt and uncle’s house. Her uncle is clueless, her aunt is downright frosty, and worst of all, her cousin Ann thinks Jessie isn’t cool enough to hang out with anymore. But Jessie is industrious, and—not content with being ignored all summer—she convinces Wes, a grouchy neighborhood dog walker, to take her on as his apprentice. Sure, dog walking turns out to be harder than she expected, but she has Wes’s dog-walking code, the Rules of the Ruff, to guide her, and soon, she’s wrangling her very own pack like the best of them. But when Monique, a charming rival dog walker, moves to town, she quickly snatches up most of Wes’s business—and Jessie decides she isn’t going to take this defeat with her tail between her legs.