Scholastic Book Fairs Podcast

This photographic book of school-themed poems is sure to delight dog lovers and poetry fans alike. Adorable photographs combine in a whimsical marriage of images and words.

Melding the entirely true and the wildly fictional, DEAD END IN NORVELT is the story of an incredible two months for a boy named Jack Gantos, whose plans for vacation adventure are suddenly ruined when he is grounded by his feuding parents for what seems like forever. But escape comes where Jack least expects it once his mom loans him out to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore, a chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, obituaries, Hells Angels, and countless bloody noses. Readers will love this off-kilter town where the past is present, the present is confusing, and the future is completely up in the air.

When Katharine Tulman's inheritance is called into question by the rumor that her eccentric uncle is squandering away the family fortune, she is sent to his estate to have him committed to an asylum. But instead of a lunatic, Katharine discovers a genius inventor with his own set of rules, who employs a village of nine hundred people rescued from the workhouses of London. Katharine is now torn between protecting her own inheritance and preserving the peculiar community she grows to care for deeply. And her choices are made even more complicated by a handsome apprentice, a secretive student, and fears for her own sanity. As the mysteries of the estate begin to unravel, it is clear that not only is her uncle's world at stake, but also the state of England as Katharine knows it.

This collection of amazing close-up images on stark white backgrounds is a stunning introduction to the animals' unique beauty. Young children won't be able to resist lingering over the sharp details in these vibrant photographs. The humorous, first-person text implies a rivalry. A concluding two-page section provides a brief paragraph on the natural history of each animal and insect. The sophisticated photography and lighthearted narrative combine in an intriguing peek into some of the inhabitants of the natural world.

It's 1962, and it seems everyone is living in fear. Twelve-year-old Franny Chapman lives with her family in Washington, D.C., during the days surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis. Amidst the pervasive threat of nuclear war, Franny must face the tension between herself and her younger brother, figure out where she fits in with her family, and look beyond outward appearances. For Franny, as for all Americans, it's going to be a formative year.

Hayley and her little sister, Chloe, have just moved into their grandmother's house with their mom, who recently divorced their dad and now runs the family’s tea shop. With her knack for baking, Hayley helps out too, but her newfound talent seems to have cost her best friend, Artie. Now Hayley's crushing on someone who might just be Artie's new boyfriend. This mess really takes the cake!

Poor Bailey! He can’t find a comfortable place to snuggle. He tries to sleep in the brother’s room, the sister’s room, the baby’s room, and even in the mom and dad’s room. But everyone calls him a "bed hog," and they make him move! Finally, this pooped pooch finds the perfect place to go to sleep—back where he belongs! Adorable acrylic-and-charcoal illustrations add to this nighttime romp and show just what it’s like for those living with a lovable, bed-hog dog!

Together, Ethan and Lena can face anything their small Southern town of Gatlin can throw at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

Ethan thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home, strange and impossible have taken on new meanings. For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, and whatever is haunting him is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Even worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself, forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and most days he's too afraid to ask. Sometimes there isn't just one answer or one choice. Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending.

Jordan Johnston is average. Not short, not tall. Not plump, not slim. Not blond, not brunette. Not gifted, not flunking out. Even her shoe size is average. She’s ordinary for her school, for her town, for even the whole wide world, it seems. But everyone else? They’re remarkable. She sees evidence everywhere—on TV, in magazines, and even in her classroom. Tremendously talented. Stunningly beautiful. Wildly gifted. And some of them are practically her age! Jordan feels doomed to a life of wallowing in the vast, soggy middle. So she makes a goal: By the end of the year, she will discover her great talent. By the end of the year, she will no longer be average. She will find a way to become extraordinary, and everyone will know about it!

Whose eyes flash like mirrors in the dark? What animal can see behind itself? Can animals be recognized by their eyes? The lush wildlife photography will keep readers guessing, as each page features a new animal photo. Children can lift the flap to discover the animal's identity and learn a bit more about each one!

After their first harvest in 1621, the Pilgrims at Plymouth shared a three-day feast with their Native American neighbors. Of course, the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag didn’t know it at the time, but they were making history, celebrating what would become a national holiday.

Wild and dangerous creatures abound in their native habitats. Young children ages 3 and up will discover the different creatures that live in swamp and learn just what makes these beasts the most feared and fearsome alive. Cover is die cut around a unique plastic figure that is glued onto first spread.

The word gifted has never been applied to a kid like Donovan Curtis. It’s usually more like "Don’t try this at home." So when the troublemaker pulls a major prank at his middle school, he thinks he’s finally gone too far. But thanks to a mix-up by one of the administrators, instead of getting in trouble, Donovan is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction (ASD), a special program for gifted and talented students. It wasn’t exactly what Donovan had intended, but there couldn’t be a more perfect hideout for someone like him. That is, if he can manage to fool people whose IQ’s are above genius level. And that becomes harder and harder, as the students and teachers of ASD grow to realize that Donovan may not be good at math or science (or just about anything). But after an ongoing experiment with a live human (sister), an unforgettably dramatic middle-school dance, and the most astonishing come-from-behind robot victory ever, Donovan shows that his gifts might be exactly what the ASD students never knew they

Indie Lee Chickory is the fish freak of Plumtown. She's an expert at making fish faces and her pet, The Lobster Monty Cola, lives in a salt-water pool outside her bedroom window. But while she likes fish very much, not everyone else does, which makes finding friends a little difficult. Sure there's her older sister, Bebe, but she is popular and has lots of friends. So when Indie accidentally brings Monty to school, to disastrous results, Bebe almost dies of embarrassment and Indie is left without anyone. No friends, no sister, and no lobster. One night, Indie wishes on her favorite star. She wants to find the lobster Monty Cola and to be a better Chickory so that Bebe will like her again. But finding Monty and being a better Chickory is an all day and all night job. During the day, Indie works at the theater, showing Bebe and her friends how much she can fit in with their crew. At night, she searches for her lost lobster by building a fishing boat up in a tree with Owen Stone, who works in the props shop. Eve

When a tiny fish shoots into view wearing a round blue topper (which happens to fit him perfectly), trouble could be following close behind. So it’s a good thing that enormous fish won’t wake up. And even if he does, it’s not like he’ll ever know what happened! Visual humor swims to the fore in this deadpan-funny tale selected as the 2013 Caldecott Medal winner.

Jonah and Katherine are accustomed to traveling through time, but when they learn they have to return Albert Einstein’s daughter to history, they think it’s a joke - they’ve only heard of his sons. It turns out that Albert Einstein really did have a daughter, Lieserl, whose 1902 birth and subsequent disappearance was shrouded in mystery. Lieserl was presumed to have died of scarlet fever as an infant. But when Jonah and Katherine return to the early 1900s to fix history, one of Lieserl’s parents seems to understand entirely too much about time travel and what Jonah and Katherine are doing. Surprisingly, it’s not Lieserl’s father - it’s her mother, Mileva. And Mileva has no intention of letting her daughter disappear.

The team behind the bestselling GOODNIGHT, GOODNIGHT CONSTRUCTION SITE returns with another wonderfully whimsical bedtime read-aloud. The dream train pulls into the station, and one by one the train cars are loaded: polar bears pack the reefer car with ice cream, elephants fill the tanker cars with paints, tortoises stock the auto rack with race cars, bouncy kangaroos stuff the hopper car with balls. Sweet and silly dreams are guaranteed for any budding train enthusiasts!

Four children separated by vast distances all undergo the same ritual, watched by cloaked strangers. Four flashes of light erupt, and from them emerge the unmistakable shapes of incredible beasts - a wolf, a leopard, a panda, a falcon. Suddenly the paths of these children - and the world - have been changed forever. Enter the world of Erdas, where every child who comes of age must discover if they have a spirit animal, a rare bond between human and beast that bestows great powers to both. A dark force has risen from distant and long-forgotten lands and has begun an onslaught that will ravage the world. Now the fate of Erdas has fallen on the shoulders of four young strangers - and on the reader! Part engrossing book series, part action role-playing game, kids will love discovering their spirit animals and joining the adventure! This is the first book in a seven-book multi-platform fantasy series.

It’s hard to be content with the present moment when you are little. The future has infinitely more possibilities! Here, the prolific and poetic Eileen Spinelli offers us the opportunity to truly enter the mind and heart of a little girl whose dreams reach well beyond today. With Spinelli’s gift for capturing the authentic experience of a child and Rosie Winstead’s utterly accessible and adorable artwork, this is sure to be a book that will inspire kids to think about what their own plans are for someday.