A CALIBA GOLDEN POPPY AWARD FINALIST - A SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL AND KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

When eleven-year-old Hank's mom doesn't come home, he takes care of his toddler sister, Boo, like he always does. But it's been a week now. They are out of food and mom has never stayed away this long... Hank knows he needs help, so he and Boo seek out the stranger listed as their emergency contact.

But asking for help has consequences. It means social workers, and a new school, and having to answer questions about his mom that he's been trying to keep secret. And if they can't find his mom soon, Hank and Boo may end up in different foster homes--he could lose everything.

Gennifer Choldenko has written a heart-wrenching, healing, and ultimately hopeful story about how complicated family can be. About how you can love someone, even when you can't rely on them. And about the transformative power of second chances.

Today I moved to Alcatraz, a twelve-acre rock covered with cement, topped with bird turd and surrounded by water. I'm not the only kid who lives here. There are twenty-three other kids who live on the island because their dads work as guards or cooks or doctors or electricians for the prison, like my dad does. And then there are a ton of murderers, rapists, hit men, con men, stickup men, embezzlers, connivers, burglars, kidnappers and maybe even an innocent man or two, though I doubt it. The convicts we have are the kind other prisons don't want. I never knew prisons could be picky, but I guess they can. You get to Alcatraz by being the worst of the worst. Unless you're me. I came here because my mother said I had to.

A Newbery Honor Book
A New York Times Bestseller
A People magazine Best kid's Book
An ALA Book for Young Adults
An ALA Notable Book
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Krikus Reviews Editor's Choice
A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A Parents' Choice Silver Honor Book
A New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing Selection
A New York Public Library Best Book for the Teen Age

*Choldenko's pacing is exquisite. . . . [A] great read.--Kirkus Reviews, starred review
*Exceptionally atmospheric, fast-paced and memorable!--Publishers Weekly, starred review
*The story, told with humor and skill, will fascinate readers.--School Library Journal, starred review

Al is the perfect novel for a young guy or moll who digs books by Gordon Korman, or Louis Sachar.--Time Out New York for Kids

Funny situations and plot twists abound!--People magazine

Heartstopping in some places, heartrending in others, and most of all, it is heartwarming.--San Francisco Chronicle

The last heart-pounding installment in the New York Times bestselling, Newbery Honor-winning Alcatraz trilogy is not to be missed

Superlative historical fiction. -- School Library Journal (starred review for Al Capone Shines My Shoes)

A CALIBA GOLDEN POPPY AWARD FINALIST - A SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL AND KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

When eleven-year-old Hank's mom doesn't come home, he takes care of his toddler sister, Boo, like he always does. But it's been a week now. They are out of food and mom has never stayed away this long... Hank knows he needs help, so he and Boo seek out the stranger listed as their emergency contact.

But asking for help has consequences. It means social workers, and a new school, and having to answer questions about his mom that he's been trying to keep secret. And if they can't find his mom soon, Hank and Boo may end up in different foster homes--he could lose everything.

Gennifer Choldenko has written a heart-wrenching, healing, and ultimately hopeful story about how complicated family can be. About how you can love someone, even when you can't rely on them. And about the transformative power of second chances.

Nicholas was afraid of the dark outside his door, the bushes where the giant bugs live, and the underside of manhole covers.

His dad was not afraid of anything.

Nicholas wants to be as brave as his dad, but he needs help. That's why he needs a dinosaur. After all, dinosaurs like the dark, bugs are nothing to them, and they eat manhole covers for lunch (and everything under them for dinner).

With his toy dinosaur, Nicholas can scale tall walls, swim in deep water, even score a goal against the huge goalie everyone calls Gorilla. But when the dinosaur goes missing, everything is scary again.

Luckily, his dad knows that even the bravest people can get scared, and it's okay to ask for help facing your fears. It's just guy stuff.

A family classic in the making from the dream team of Newbery Honor-winner Gennifer Choldenko and Caldecott Medal-winner Dan Santat.

★ [Choldenko's] knowing, understated storytelling and Santat's warm, expressive spreads give full credence to the fears that weigh on kids, as well as the presences--both real and imagined--that can help alleviate them.--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

San Francisco, 1900. The Gilded Age. A fantastic time to be alive for lots of people . . . but not thirteen-year-old Lizzie Kennedy, stuck at Miss Barstow's snobby school for girls. Lizzie's secret passion is science, an unsuitable subject for finishing-school girls. Lizzie lives to go on house calls with her physician father. On those visits to his patients, she discovers a hidden dark side of the city--a side that's full of secrets, rats, and rumors of the plague.

The newspapers, her powerful uncle, and her beloved papa all deny that the plague has reached San Francisco. So why is the heart of the city under quarantine? Why are angry mobs trying to burn Chinatown to the ground? Why is Noah, the Chinese cook's son, suddenly making Lizzie question everything she has known to be true? Ignoring the rules of race and class, Lizzie and Noah must put the pieces together in a heart-stopping race to save the people they love.

Winner of a Los Angeles Public Library FOCAL (Friends of Children and Literature) Award
Nominated for:
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Awards
Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award (Middle School division)
Missouri Association of School Librarians (MASL) Readers Award
California Library Association's Beatty Award, Eureka List

When Moose meets Piper, the cute daughter of the Warden, he knows right off she's trouble. But she's also strangely irresistible. All Moose wants to do is protect Natalie, live up to his parents' expectations, and stay out of trouble. But on Alcatraz, trouble is never very far away.

Set in 1935, when guards actually lived on Alcatraz Island with their families. Choldenko's second novel brings humor to the complexities of family dynamics and illuminates the real struggle of a kid trying to free himself from the good boy stance he's taken his whole life.

Moose Flanagan's father is the assistant warden of Alcatraz--the roughest hard-time prison in America--so he and his family live on the island. It's the summer before high school, and he is desperate to get on the baseball team. The problem? The captain will only let Moose and his best friend on if they get him something from Alcatraz--something impossible.

Meanwhile, Moose must keep an eye on his fragile older sister, Natalie, as well as the warden's two-faced, danger-loving daughter, Piper, who has a crush on him. He must learn to stand up to people: His parents. The warden. Piper. Even the most dangerous criminal in the country--Al Capone. And then Moose gets the pitch of a lifetime and delivers a hit no one on Alcatraz will ever forget.

Don't miss the rest of the Tales from Alcatraz series!
Al Capone Does My Shirts
Al Capone Shines My Shoes
Al Capone Does My Homework

Fifth grade is not for amateurs, according to Liam. Luckily, he knows that being more than one-third nerd is not cool. Liam lives in the Bay area near San Francisco with his mom and two younger sisters. Dakota is fascinated by science and has a big personality but struggles to make friends; Izzy, a child with Down syndrome, makes friends easily and notices things that go past everyone else. Dad lives across town, but he's over a lot. And then there's Cupcake, their lovable German shepherd, who guards their basement apartment.

Recently, Cupcake has a problem--she's peeing in the house. The kids need to make enough money to take her to the vet before their landlord upstairs finds out. And Mom and Dad have said if Cupcake doesn't stop, they will find her a new home. But the kids will never let Cupcake go. Can they save her?

A smart, funny, sweet story about a wonderfully real family. And their leaky dog. --JON SCIESZKA, the first National Ambassador for Young People's Literature and the award-winning author of The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales and The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs

Four orphans have escaped from the Home for Friendless Children.

One is Lucy, who used to talk and sing, until life at the Home silenced her. The other orphans find work and friends at the circus, but no one will hire a mute girl. Lucy must find her voice or she will be left behind when the circus goes on the rails. Meanwhile, people are searching for Lucy, and her puzzling past is about to catch up with her.

This irresistible, heartfelt novel by the master storyteller of the Tales from Alcatraz series is full of marvels and surprises.

See below for English description.

Un illustrateur r cipiendaire de la m daille Caldecott et un auteur ayant remport les honneurs Newbery s'associent afin de raconter l'histoire d'un p re et de son fils que le courage et les peurs finissent par unir.

Nicolas souhaite tre aussi brave que son p re, mais il a besoin d'un coup de main de la part de son dinosaure miniature. Les dinosaures aiment la noirceur, ne craignent pas les insectes et mangent tout sur leur passage Son dinosaure en poche, Nicolas se sent courageux lui aussi: grimper aux murs, nager en eaux profondes et m me compter le but gagnant de la partie de soccer se r v lent alors faciles. Cependant, lorsque le dinosaure manque l'appel, une seule personne peut aider Nicolas le trouver son papa. Il n'y a rien d'embarrassant demander de l'aide pour affronter ses peurs, et papa le sait bien

A Caldecott-winning illustrator and Newbery-Honor author team up to tell the story of a father and son who bond over bravery and fears.

Nicholas wishes he could be as brave as his dad, but he needs help, in the form of a toy dinosaur. Dinosaurs like the dark. Bugs are nothing to them. They eat manhole covers for lunch (and everything under them for dinner). With his toy dinosaur safely in his pocket, Nicholas can be brave too: climbing walls, swimming in deep water, even scoring the winning soccer goal. But when the dinosaur goes missing, there's only one person who can help find him: Dad. And dads know that having a little help tackling your fears isn't something to be embarassed about. It's just guy stuff.

Original title: Dad and the Dinosaur

Four orphans have escaped from the Home for Friendless Children. One is Lucy, who used to talk and sing. No one knows why she doesn't speak anymore; silence is her protection.

The orphans find work and new friends at a traveling circus. Lucy loves caring for the elephants, but she must be able to speak to them, and to warn others of danger. If Lucy doesn't find her voice, she'll be left behind when the circus goes on the rails. Meanwhile, people are searching for Lucy, and her puzzling past is about to catch up with her.

This lively, heartwarming novel by the award-winning author of the Tales from Alcatraz series is full of marvels and surprises.