New September Titles

Books For Back To School

Resources for Kids Ages 8-12

Resources for Kids Ages 6-8

In this page-turning middle grade series by New York Times bestseller Margaret Peterson Haddix, Colin and Nevaeh, whose parents own rival junk-removal businesses, uncover mysteries hidden in attics and basements and discover how trash can become treasure. In The Secret Letters, Colin and Nevaeh find vintage letters that lead to interlocking mysteries from the 1970s and &#8216;80s, and they learn about &#8220;women&#8217;s lib,&#8221; the ERA, and other social issues from that time in history&#8212;and the way echoes from that era affect Colin and Nevaeh themselves.When Colin finds a shoebox full of letters hidden in a stranger&#8217;s attic, he knows he&#8217;s supposed to throw them away. That&#8217;s his summer job, getting rid of junk. But Colin wants to rescue the letters--and find out what really happened to best friends Rosemary and Toby way back in the 1970s.Meanwhile, across town, Nevaeh also finds a mysterious letter. But this one reads like a confession to a crime. And Nevaeh knows her father, the &#8220;Junk King,&#8221; expects her to join the rest of the family in blaming a single suspect: his business rival, Colin&#8217;s mom.But that&#8217;s not what Nevaeh wants, either.Even as one set of letters bring Colin and Nevaeh together, the one Nevaeh found threatens to tear them apart. Is their new friendship as doomed as Rosemary and Toby&#8217;s?Each book in the Mysteries of Trash and Treasure series will examine a different time period in history and make readers think about how we value the stuff we hold on to&#8212;and what it is that makes it valuable.

Mysteries of Trash and Treasure: The Secret Letters

In this graphic novel adaptation of master horror storyteller Mary Downing Hahn's spookiest and most popular tale, two siblings must save their stepsister from the clutches of a vengeful ghost.When their mom remarries, Molly and her brother, Michael, try to make friends with their new stepsister, Heather. But Heather only wants to make trouble for them. She lies and tattles and misbehaves, and somehow they always get the blame. They know she&#8217;s trying to drive a wedge between her father and their mother so she can have her father all to herself&#8212;and it seems to be working.Then, Heather starts playing in the graveyard behind their new house. She claims she can talk to a ghost named Helen, and her behavior gets even stranger. Michael doesn't believe in ghosts and thinks their new little sister is just looking for more attention. But Molly isn't so certain, especially when Heather threatens that Helen is going to come for them and make them sorry.It seems as though things can&#8217;t get any worse&#8212;but they do.When Helen comes.

Wait Till Helen Comes Graphic Novel

From Lisa Moore Ram&#233;e, author of the Walter Honor Award&#8211;winning A Good Kind of Trouble, comes her debut middle grade fantasy&#8212;an absorbing, imaginative adventure about a Black boy who has the magical ability to bring maps to life.&#160;Perfect for fans of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky and A Tale of Magic. When Walt and his family relocate to Blackbird Bay, Walt thinks it&#8217;s the most boring place on earth. While his twin sister, Van, likes to spend her time skateboarding, Walt prefers to hide out in his room and work on his beloved map world, Djaruba. But shortly after their arrival, Walt discovers something extraordinary: He has the ability to make maps come to life.Suddenly his new hometown doesn&#8217;t seem so boring after all. And when a magical heirloom leaves Walt, his new friend Dylan, and Van stranded in the fantastical world that Walt created, he&#8217;ll need to harness his new power to get them home.But things are changing. People have gone missing, and it&#8217;s clear that a malevolent rival to the kingdom&#8212;a fellow mapmaker&#8212;has nefarious plans for Walt. If he&#8217;s not stopped soon, Djaruba could become nothing but a shadow of itself or, worse, gone forever. And if a mapmaker can destroy one world, could Earth be next?

MapMaker

Silverwing: The Graphic Novel

From Mark Oshiro, award-winning author of The Insiders, this time-bending adventure is perfect for fans of Sal and Gabi Break the Universe and When You Reach Me.Middle school is the worst, especially for David Bravo. He doesn&#8217;t have a single class with his best (okay, only) friend, Antoine. He has to give a class presentation about his heritage, but he&#8217;s not sure how&#8212;or even if&#8212;he wants to explain to his new classmates that he&#8217;s adopted. After he injures Antoine in an accident at cross-country practice, he just wishes he could do it all over.He doesn&#8217;t expect his wish to summon a talking, shapeshifting, annoying dog, Fea, who claims that a choice in David&#8217;s past actually did put him on the wrong timeline&#8230; and she can take him back to fix it.But when their first try (and the second, and the third) is a total disaster, David and Fea are left scrambling through timeline after timeline&#8212;on a quest that may lead them to answers in the most unexpected places.Coco meets Sliding Doors in this laugh-out-loud, heartwarming middle grade novel that explores how our choices make us who we are.&#160;

Shelf Stuff Blog

New September Titles