School

The war against Voldemort is not going well: even Muggle governments are noticing. Ron scans the obituary pages of The Daily Prophet looking for familiar names. Dumbledore is absent from Hogwarts for long stretches of time, and the Order of the Phoenix has already suffered losses. And yet …

For twelve long years, the dread fortress of Azkaban held an infamous prisoner named Sirius Black. Convicted of killing 13 people with a single curse, he was said to be the heir apparent to the Dark Lord, Voldemort.

Harry Potter has never been the star of a Quidditch team, scoring points while riding a broom far above the ground. He knows no spells, has never helped to hatch a dragon, and has never worn a cloak of invisibility.

This semester at Bloor's Academy brings a few changes. There is a new art teacher, Mr. Boldova, and a new student, Belle, who lives with the Yewbeam aunts and seems to have a strange power over them.

Dear Listener,

If you are looking for a story about cheerful youngsters spending a jolly time at boarding school, look elsewhere. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are intelligent and resourceful children, and you might expect that they would do very well at school.

Don't.

The human race is at war with the "Buggers", an insect-like alien race. As Earth prepares to defend itself from total destruction at the hands of an inscrutable enemy, all focus is on the development of military geniuses who can fight such a war, and win.

Jack hates poetry. Only girls write it, and every time he tries to, his brain feels empty. But his teacher, Ms. Stretchberry, won't stop giving her class poetry assignments, and Jack can't avoid them. But then something amazing happens. The more he writes, the more he learns he does have something to say.

In this delightful sequel, award-winning author-illustrator dePaola shares engaging childhood memories about siblings, school, and life as a five-year-old.

Amber Brown and Justin Daniels are best friends. They sit next to each other in school, help each other with fractions and spelling, and always stick up for one another. But when Justin finds out that he is moving away, everything begins to change.

Amber's life has changed dramatically: her parents are divorced, her father lives in France, her best friend has moved to another state, and now her mother must decide whether to remarry.

Is Amber Brown ready for fourth grade? She has new sneakers, new notebooks and pencils, but she doesn't have what she really needs - a new best friend. How can Amber go fourth without one? Who will be Amber's best friend?

Cam Jansen can't wait to meet her favorite mystery writer, Jim E. Winter, at his book signing during the school book fair. But while Cam is waiting in line, her friend Danny's parents discover that their car is missing! Was it stolen? Luckily for Danny's parents, there are two sleuths on hand to seek out the truth. But which one will solve the case first?

Wanda Petronski is different from all the other girls in Room 13. Every day she wears the same faded blue dress to school, and every day she tells about her hundred dresses at home. Her classmates joke about her imaginary clothes - until they learn the wonderful secret of the dresses.

National Book Award-winner Sherman Alexie delivers a captivating, semi-autobiographical account of one Spokane Indian's struggle against incredible obstacles.

He really just likes to liven things up at school -- and he's always had plenty of great ideas. When Nick learns some interesting information about how words are created, suddenly he's got the inspiration for his best plan ever: the frindle. Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle? Things begin innocently enough as Nick gets his friends to use the new word.