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Why'd They Wear That?
by Sarah Albee and Timothy E. Gunn and National Geographic Kids StaffMove over Project Runway. Get ready to chuckle your way through centuries of fashion dos and don'ts! In this humorous and approachable narrative, kids will learn about outrageous, politically-perilous, funky, disgusting, regrettable, and life-threatening creations people have worn throughout the course of human history, all the way up to the present day. From spats and togas to hoop skirts and hair shirts, why people wore what they did is an illuminating way to look at the social, economic, political, and moral climates throughout history.
The Whole Sky Full of Stars
by René Saldaña Jr.Barry can punch anyone hard enough to make them see a whole sky full of stars, though that's not really his style. Barry and Alby have been friends since the first grade. They've always protected one another.When Barry's pop dies, times are tough and the only thing Barry has of value is his dad's 1964 Ford Galaxie. Meanwhile Alby's got himself into big trouble with a cardshark. So he hatches a plan to make money. To help out Barry, but also to help himself. The problem is, Barry could get hurt, and it just might cost Alby their friendship. How much can you ask of a friend?From the Hardcover edition.
Start It Up
by Eriko Takada and Kenrya RankinDo you have a passion you want to turn into pay? Or maybe you are looking for a way to make some extra cash in high school? Start It Up shows teens how to turn their hobbies and talents into full-fledged businesses. Inside you'll find comprehensive and fun information on how to * know what's the best business for you,* pull together a company, and* sell your product and let the world know about it! Whether your business is cake baking, dog walking, website design, or house painting, Start It Up offers the A-Z on getting it going and making it successful. Also featured are quotes from other successful teen entrepreneurs who turned their dreams into dollars.
A Wicked History 20th Century
by Sean MccollumIt's hard to imagine any fictional villain half as fiendish as the real-life warlords, tyrants, and pirates in these new Wicked biographies. Bet you can't read just one! He ruled with an iron fist, using his ruthless secret police to exterminate enemies of the state for more than three decades. By the time he died, some 700,000 people-mostly ordinary citizens-had been executed or sent to work camps. Meet Generalissimo Joseph Stalin, the most reviled communist leader of them all.
SOS Titanic
by Eve BuntingThis tale of an Irish teenager aboard the doomed ship, from a Caldecott Medal winner, is a &“taut disaster story . . . nearly impossible to put down&” (Publishers Weekly). Fifteen-year-old Barry O&’Neill is journeying to New York to reunite with his parents on the maiden voyage of the great ship Titanic. He&’s homesick, and worried about the Flynn boys traveling in steerage, who have threatened to throw him overboard. Little does Barry know that a struggle with the Flynns is the least of the dangers that await him. This &“fast-paced&” and suspenseful young adult adventure story is based on the true and terrible events that occurred as the Titanic sank, and &“immerses readers in the many human tragedies&” (Booklist).
The Skin I'm In
by Sharon G. FlakeSo begins the story of Maleeka Madison, a child burdened with the low self-esteem that many black girls face when they're darker skinned. When Maleeka lays eyes on her new teacher, Miss Saunders, she encounters someone who, she feels, is worse off than she is. But Miss Saunders' skin, which is blotched with a rare skin condition, comes to serve as a mirror to Maleeka's struggle. Miss Saunders is tough -- she doesn't stand for the snickers and shouts that her students hurl at her. Through this example, Maleeka learns that she can stand up to tough-talking Charlese. And, over time, she can even accept Caleb's friendship, the unconditional acceptance he's been showing her from the get-go. Sharon Flake, an exceptional new talent, weaves a stunning tale of finding one's place in a world that judges others at face value.
Shadowshaper
by Daniel José OlderPaint a mural. Start a battle. Change the world. Sierra Santiago planned an easy summer of making art and hanging out with her friends. But then a corpse crashes the first party of the season. Her stroke-ridden grandfather starts apologizing over and over. And when the murals in her neighborhood begin to weep real tears... Well, something more sinister than the usual Brooklyn ruckus is going on. With the help of a fellow artist named Robbie, Sierra discovers shadowshaping, a thrilling magic that infuses ancestral spirits into paintings, music, and stories. But someone is killing the shadowshapers one by one -- and the killer believes Sierra is hiding their greatest secret. Now she must unravel her family's past, take down the killer in the present, and save the future of shadowshaping for generations to come. Full of a joyful, defiant spirit and writing as luscious as a Brooklyn summer night, Shadowshaper introduces a heroine and magic unlike anything else in fantasy fiction, and marks the YA debut of a bold new voice.
Phineas Gage
by John FleischmanPhineas Gage was truly a man with a hole in his head. Phineas, a railroad construction foreman, was blasting rock near Cavendish, Vermont, in 1848 when a thirteen-pound iron rod was shot through his brain. Miraculously, he survived to live another eleven years and become a textbook case in brain science.At the time, Phineas Gage seemed to completely recover from his accident. He could walk, talk, work, and travel, but he was changed. Gage "was no longer Gage," said his Vermont doctor, meaning that the old Phineas was dependable and well liked, and the new Phineas was crude and unpredictable.His case astonished doctors in his day and still fascinates doctors today. What happened and what didn&’t happen inside the brain of Phineas Gage will tell you a lot about how your brain works and how you act human.
Ascent
by Roland SmithPeak Marcello goes to Mayanmar to climb one of the most isolated mountains in the world in this thrilling new novel from bestselling author Roland Smith. After conquering the mountains in Afghanistan, Peak Marcello goes to Myanmar, a country that has been in the grips of a brutal military regime for more than fifty years, to visit Alessia. When he’s invited to climb Hkakabo Razi, one of the most isolated mountains in the world, Peak can’t pass up the opportunity. But getting to the mountain will involve a four-week trek through tropical rainforests rife with hazards—from venomous reptiles and leeches to corrupt police and military. In the end, summiting Hkakabo Razi may be the easiest thing Peak does.
The Lightning Dreamer
by Margarita Engle"I find it so easy to forget / that I'm just a girl who is expected / to live / without thoughts." Opposing slavery in Cuba in the nineteenth century was dangerous. The most daring abolitionists were poets who veiled their work in metaphor. Of these, the boldest was Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, nicknamed Tula. In passionate, accessible verses of her own, Engle evokes the voice of this book-loving feminist and abolitionist who bravely resisted an arranged marriage at the age of fourteen, and was ultimately courageous enough to fight against injustice. Historical notes, excerpts, and source notes round out this exceptional tribute.
The Keeper
by Tim HowardIn this heartwarming and candid memoir, US national soccer team goalkeeper Tim Howard does something he would never do on a soccer field: he drops his guard. Howard opens up for the first time about how a hyperactive kid from New Jersey with Tourette Syndrome defied the odds to become one of the world's premier goalkeepers. Howard managed to keep his condition in check well enough to be drafted by Major League Soccer right out of high school.After a successful seventeen-year professional soccer career, Howard became an overnight star during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. His heroic performance in goal for the United States against Belgium, in which he saved an astonishing fifteen shots--the most for any goalkeeper in a World Cup game--made him a household name as well as a trending internet meme. In the course of 120 minutes, Howard went from a player known mainly by soccer fans to an American icon, loved by millions for his dependability, daring, and humility.In this uplifting memoir adapted for young readers, Howard shares his remarkable journey from a challenging childhood in which he was raised by a single mother who instilled in him a love of sports and a devout Christian faith that helped him deal with the onset of Tourette's in fifth grade.This book includes an 8-page full-color photo insert.
The Great American Dust Bowl
by Don BrownA speck of dust is a tiny thing. In fact, five of them could fit into the period at the end of this sentence.On a clear, warm Sunday, April 14, 1935, a wild wind whipped up millions upon millions of these specks of dust to form a duster—a savage storm—on America's high southern plains. The sky turned black, sand-filled winds scoured the paint off houses and cars, trains derailed, and electricity coursed through the air. Sand and dirt fell like snow—people got lost in the gloom and suffocated . . . and that was just the beginning.Don Brown brings the Dirty Thirties to life with kinetic, highly saturated, and lively artwork in this graphic novel of one of America's most catastrophic natural events: the Dust Bowl.
Good Enough
by Paula YooHow to make your Korean parents happy:
1. Get a perfect score on the SATs.
2. Get into HarvardYalePrinceton.
3. Don't talk to boys.*
Patti's parents expect nothing less than the best from their Korean-American daughter. Everything she does affects her chances of getting into an Ivy League school. So winning assistant concertmaster in her All-State violin competition and earning less than 2300 on her SATs is simply not good enough.
But Patti's discovering that there's more to life than the Ivy League. To start with, there's Cute Trumpet Guy. He's funny, he's talented, and he looks exactly like the lead singer of Patti's favorite band. Then, of course, there's her love of the violin. Not to mention cool rock concerts. And anyway, what if Patti doesn't want to go to HarvardYalePrinceton after all?
Paula Yoo scores big in her hilarious debut novel about an overachiever who longs to fit in and strives to stand out. The pressure is on!
*Boys will distract you from your studies.
First Person Fiction
by Ana Veciana-SuarezFirst Person Fiction is dedicated to the immigrant experience in modern America. "Flight to Freedom" is closely based on Suarez's own story of leaving Cuba during the Freedom Flights of the 1960s. Yara Garcia and her family live a middle-class life in Havana, Cuba. But in 1967, as Communist ruler Fidel Castro tightens his hold on Cuba, the Garcias, who do not share the political beliefs of the Communist Party, are forced to flee to Miami, Florida. There, Yara encounters a strange land with foreign customs. She knows very little English, and she finds that the other students in her new school have much more freedom than she and her sisters. Tension develops between her parents, as Mami grows more independent and Papi joins a militant anti-Castro organization.
Extreme Scientists
by Donna M. JacksonThree scientists whose research entails physical danger are featured here: one flies into hurricanes; another explores caves; and the third climbs the world's tallest trees.
Dracula / Romeo and Juliet (Adapted)
by Adrienne Su and Adam GrantChildren's adaptations of Dracula by Bram Stoker and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.
Does My Head Look Big In This?
by Randa Abdel-FattahWhen sixteen-year-old Amal decides to wear the hijab full-time, her entire world changes, all because of a piece of cloth ... Sixteen-year-old Amal makes the decision to start wearing the hijab full- time and everyone has a reaction. Her parents, her teachers, her friends, people on the street. But she stands by her decision to embrace her faith and all that it is, even if it does make her a little different from everyone else. Can she handle the taunts of "towel head," the prejudice of her classmates, and still attract the cutest boy in school? Brilliantly funny and poignant, Randa Abdel-Fattah's debut novel will strike a chord in all teenage readers, no matter what their beliefs.
Divergent
by Veronica RothIn Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue-Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is-she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are-and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her. Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series-dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.
Disasters
by Brenda Z. GuibersonNatural and man-made disasters have the power to destroy thousands of lives very quickly. Both as they unfold and in the aftermath, these forces of nature astonish the rest of the world with their incredible devastation and magnitude. In this collection of ten well-known catastrophes such as the great Chicago fire, the sinking of the Titanic, and hurricane Katrina, Brenda Guiberson explores the causes and effects, as well as the local and global reverberations of these calamitous events. Highlighted with photographs and drawings, each compelling account tells the story of destruction and devastation, and most especially, the power of mankind to persevere in the face of adversity.
The Crossover
by Kwame Alexander2015 Newbery Medal Winner
2015 Coretta Scott King Honor Award Winner
"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 dread-locked, 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.
A New York Times Bestseller
Courage Has No Color
by Tanya Lee StoneA 2014 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist. They became America's first black paratroopers. Why was their story never told? Sibert Medalist Tanya Lee Stone reveals the history of the Triple Nickles during World War II. World War II is raging, and thousands of American soldiers are fighting overseas against the injustices brought on by Hitler. Back on the home front, the injustice of discrimination against African Americans plays out as much on Main Street as in the military. Enlisted black men are segregated from white soldiers and regularly relegated to service duties. At Fort Benning, Georgia, First Sergeant Walter Morris's men serve as guards at The Parachute School, while the white soldiers prepare to be paratroopers. Morris knows that for his men to be treated like soldiers, they have to train and act like them, but would the military elite and politicians recognize the potential of these men as well as their passion for serving their country? Tanya Lee Stone examines the role of African Americans in the military through the history of the Triple Nickles, America's first black paratroopers, who fought in a little-known attack on the American West by the Japanese. The 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, in the words of Morris, "proved that the color of a man had nothing to do with his ability. " From Courage Has No Color What did it take to be a paratrooper in World War II? Specialized training, extreme physical fitness, courage, and -- until the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (the Triple Nickles) was formed -- white skin. It is 1943. Americans are overseas fighting World War II to help keep the world safe from Adolf Hitler's tyranny, safe from injustice, safe from discrimination. Yet right here at home, people with white skin have rights that people with black skin do not. What is courage? What is strength? Perhaps it is being ready to fight for your nation even when your nation isn't ready to fight for you.
Code Talker
by Joseph Bruchac"Readers who choose the book for the attraction of Navajo code talking and the heat of battle will come away with more than they ever expected to find."--Booklist, starred reviewThroughout World War II, in the conflict fought against Japan, Navajo code talkers were a crucial part of the U.S. effort, sending messages back and forth in an unbreakable code that used their native language. They braved some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and with their code, they saved countless American lives. Yet their story remained classified for more than twenty years.But now Joseph Bruchac brings their stories to life for young adults through the riveting fictional tale of Ned Begay, a sixteen-year-old Navajo boy who becomes a code talker. His grueling journey is eye-opening and inspiring. This deeply affecting novel honors all of those young men, like Ned, who dared to serve, and it honors the culture and language of the Navajo Indians."Bruchac's gentle prose presents a clear historical picture of young men in wartime, island hopping across the Pacific, waging war in the hells of Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and Iwo Jima. Nonsensational and accurate, Bruchac's tale is quietly inspiring..."--School Library Journal
Code Talker
by Joseph Bruchac"Readers who choose the book for the attraction of Navajo code talking and the heat of battle will come away with more than they ever expected to find."--Booklist, starred review Throughout World War II, in the conflict fought against Japan, Navajo code talkers were a crucial part of the U.S. effort, sending messages back and forth in an unbreakable code that used their native language. They braved some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and with their code, they saved countless American lives. Yet their story remained classified for more than twenty years. But now Joseph Bruchac brings their stories to life for young adults through the riveting fictional tale of Ned Begay, a sixteen-year-old Navajo boy who becomes a code talker. His grueling journey is eye-opening and inspiring. This deeply affecting novel honors all of those young men, like Ned, who dared to serve, and it honors the culture and language of the Navajo Indians.An ALA Best Book for Young Adults"Nonsensational and accurate, Bruchac's tale is quietly inspiring..."--School Library JournalFrom the Trade Paperback edition.
Broken Memory
by Elisabeth Combres and Shelley TanakaHiding behind a chair, five-year-old Emma can't see her mother being murdered, but she hears everything. When the assassins finally leave, the terrified girl stumbles away from the scene, motivated only by the memory of her mother's last words: "You must not die, Emma!" Eventually, Emma is taken in by an old Hutu woman who risks her own life to hide the child. A quiet bond grows between the two, but long after the war ends, Emma is still haunted by nightmares. When the country establishes gacacacourts to allow victims to face their tormentors, Emma is uneasy and afraid. But through her growing friendship with a young torture victim and the encouragement of an old man charged with helping child survivors, Emma finds the courage to begin the long journey to healing. Moments of grace and tenderness illuminate this spare, sensitive novel, which tells the story of the 1994 attacks in an age-appropriate manner.