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Twins Jamie and Ned do everything together, from watching their favorite show, Star Trek, to riding their bikes, to beachcombing after a storm. But Ned is sick with cystic fibrosis, and he may someday leave Jamie behind. One day the boys find a strange animal on the beach: smooth flesh on one end, scales at the other, and short arms and legs with long webbed fingers and toes. Could it be a merman, like in the old stories Granddad tells?

In this emotional and thought-provoking book of poetry, bestselling author Nikki Grimes finds inspiration from poets of the Harlem Renaissance. Moved by the evocative verse of legendary writers from the era, Grimes has composed gorgeous new poetry with timely themes for today. By using the "Golden Shovel" poetic form, she has created wholly original poems based on the works of master poets like Langston Hughes, Georgia Douglas Johnson, Jean Toomer, and others who enriched history during the Harlem Renaissance.

Binny Cornwallis is not a thief. Or is she? In one greedy moment, she snatches some bills left behind at an ATM. After all, it's her mother's birthday, and just think of what she could do with some cash in her never-quite-enough-money household. But she can't explain how she got the money - so she has to hide it. And in her tiny house, that's not so easy. After a few tries, Binny does hide it - and she hides it so well that she can't find it, even after she decides to give it back!

Ethan use to be many things - skateboarder, Red Sox fan, sidekick to his big brother, Roddie. Always up for a laugh, always willing to accept a dare, and always ready for an adventure with is best friend,Kacey.

But that was before.

Now Ethan just wants to escape from painful memories of the accident that cost him everything. When he and his family move from Boston to the small seaside town of Palm Knot, Georgia (the Hidden Jewel of the South), he doesn't know what he'll find there. The last thing he expects is to make a new friend.

A red folder with your name on it in BIG LETTERS is not a good sign.

On the first day of sixth grade, Jimmy Murphy is already in trouble. The worst student in the class, he was hoping to make a fresh start, but his new teacher, Sister Angelica Rose, is out to get him. She picks on him, humiliates him in front of his classmates, and makes new entries in the red MURPHY folder. Worst of all, she volunteers Jimmy to preform onstage with a bunch of second graders, wearing a green banana costume.

Julia spends a lot of time looking up. But please don't call her short; she is boycotting that word. She's not allowed to boycott the local theater production of The Wizard of Oz, however. Her mother insisted that she audition, and now she has been cast as a Munchkin - even though she can't dance or carry a tune. Her summer is not starting well.

Twelve-year-old Sara Johnston-Fischer has BIG PLANS for this summer:
- Come up with her Reinvention Project list with her BFFs
- Totally nail the list so she can start middle school new and improved
-Start to write an AMAZING novel
- Figure out an idea for the amazing novel
- Learn to surf

Acclaimed and award-winning author Erin Entrada Kelly’s Hello, Universe is a funny and poignant neighborhood story about unexpected friendships.

Told from four intertwining points of view—two boys and two girls—the novel celebrates bravery, being different, and finding your inner bayani (hero). “Readers will be instantly engrossed in this relatable neighborhood adventure and its eclectic cast of misfits.”—Booklist

Love is never divided, only multiplied. I hold my breath to keep all the tears inside until I'm safely in the bathroom. Then I turn on the water and I breathe deep deep deep like Dr. Fredrick taught me. I stand there and breathe breathe breathe until the crying stops.
It's not happening again, I tell myself.
It will never happen again.
You have to believe.

It's the only promise Person has ever asked us to make.

Twelve-year-old Ruby Clyde Henderson’s life changes the day her mother’s boyfriend holds up a convenience store, and her mother is wrongly jailed for assisting with the crime. Ruby and her pet pig, Bunny, find their way to her estranged Aunt Eleanor's home. Aunt Eleanor is an ornery nun who lives in the midst of a peach orchard on Paradise Ranch. With a little patience, she and Ruby begin to get along, but Eleanor has secrets of her own―secrets that might mean more hard times for Ruby.

In this unique guide for young readers who dream of becoming writers, award-winning author Jack Gantos reveals his tried-and-true approaches to storytelling and shows you how to turn on your Writing Radar and use the everyday world around you for inspiration.

You don't need to be big or loud to be a hero. You just need to be brave.

In sixth grade, bad things can happen to good kids. Bullies will find your weakness and jump on it. Teachers will say you did something wrong when really you didn't mean to do anything wrong. The kids who joke the loudest can drown out the quieter, nicer kids.

High-spirited young Jane is excited to be part of Mr. Mercer’s plan to bring Civil War widows and orphans to Washington Territory—but life out west isn’t at all what she expected.

Washington Territory is just the place for men of broad mind and sturdy constitution—and girls too, Jane figures, or Mr. Mercer wouldn’t have allowed her to come on his expedition to bring unmarried girls and Civil War widows out west.

Mason Buttle is the biggest, sweatiest kid in his grade, and everyone know he can barely read or write. But those troubles don't compare with grief. Fifteen months ago, Mason's best friend, Benny Kilmartin, turned up dead in the Buttle family's orchard. An investigation drags on, and Mason, honest as the day is long, can't understand why Lieutenant Baird won't believe the story Mason has told about that day.

It's no secret that people and pups are best friends. But did you know that this special bond dates back tens of thousands of years?