Calling all space cadets!
 
Are you ready to explore the solar system, see the stars, and experience life in a world beyond ours?! Blast off with bestselling authors Mindy Thomas and Guy Raz, hosts of the mega-popular podcast Wow in the World, as they take you on an intergalactic tour of outer space.
 

Zip through astronaut training school!
Slip into a black hole!
Apply for a job as a NASA astronaut!
Learn what it takes to be a STAR!
Get the recipe to build your own galaxy!
Meet the animals who made it to space! 
 
 
And that’s just the beginning! Jam-packed with eye-popping illustrations, jaw-dropping facts, jokes, quizzes, comics, and everything else that makes up our universe, this is your one-stop shop for all things space. The who, what, when, where, why, how, and WOW—all in one place!

Wow in the World: Wow in Space

Mortimer Bray is not okay.
 
It seems like everything in his life is changing for the worse. After his own much-loved dog dies, he can’t bring himself to carry on with his dog-walking business; there’s a strange new girl who’s moved into the house next door; and suddenly there’s a buzzing feeling of anxiety in his head and heart when he’s faced with something new.
 

His neighborhood, Townsend Heights, used to feel like the most comfortable place in the world. But lately, it seems like everyone is arguing, and there’s uncertainty around every corner.
 

The neighborhood's only vacant lot is somehow behind it all, Mortimer is sure of that much. If he can unearth the lot's secret history, he just might stop the Heights from unraveling completely.
 

Mortimer can’t save Townsend Heights on his own. But when it comes to community, you’re never truly on your own—not as long as you’re willing to learn from the past, in order to do better in the future.

Underdog City

Twin siblings Elliot and Liza only have each other. Their parents are gone. Their home was taken, and to survive on their own, they’re forced to scrounge up plastic and metal to trade for coin within an abandoned garbage heap. Desperate to escape the vagabond cycle that they’re trapped in, the answer to their plight seemingly appears when they stumble upon a Raven Quest—magical tasks offered by mysterious message-carrying ravens that when successfully completed, promise the victors coin and untold riches.
 
In a gamble to change their fates, Elliot and Liza follow the trail of Raven Quests to the kingdom’s capital, where the greedy rulers of the Kawumiti Kingdom reign and young people are enlisted to train as royal mages for the kingdom's army. But the Ravens Quests aren’t as they seem, and the King is on a mission to hunt down vagrant participants like the twins. 

When a quest goes terribly wrong, Liza is poisoned, and Elliot finds himself racing against the clock to find the cure. Now the only way to save his sister is to join forces with a royal apprentice and a dark mage with mysterious motives of her own—even if it means sacrificing everything.

The Secret of the Ravens

Carbuncle is a land of endless rainbows and sugar-sprinkled doughnuts—until the vile Sir Ogre unleashes his evil army on the happy kingdom. Who can stop his outsized appetite for destruction? Punycorn! Who? Punycorn. The smallest, clumsiest, and, yes, puniest of all the unicorns. Punycorn may not look like a hero, but aided by a fireless dragon, a feisty dung beetle, and a magic sword with a hidden secret, he might just be Carbuncle’s only hope! 

Readers will root for a motley group of misfits with hearts of gold in this fast-paced, hilarious graphic novel by multi-Eisner-nominated author and artist Andi Watson.

Punycorn

A mermaid, a firebird, and a witch become entangled with the mysterious and powerful Witch Queen, who may hold the key to each of their past in this epic middle grade fantasy by debut author Vivian Zhou.
 
Atana’s island may be quiet and peaceful, but mostly, it’s lonely. With the outside world full of magic hunters who would stop at nothing to capture a mermaid like her, Atana has never been brave enough to swim far from her island’s shores and seek the answers to her mysterious past—until a firebird named Ren unexpectedly crashes into her life.
 
Ren’s arrival does not go unnoticed, as it has been hundreds of years since a firebird last landed on Earth. Determined to both protect Ren and finally chase the answers she’s longed for, Atana embarks on an adventure that takes her and the firebird to strange new islands and entangles them with the powerful yet secretive Witch Queen.
 
Generous though the Witch Queen’s offer of protection may be, an invitation to the Blue Palace can’t come without a price. And while the Palace’s splendid halls and library might hold the key to Atana’s past, will she be willing to pay the cost when it risks her chance of a bright new future?

Atana and the Firebird

For fans of Raina Telgemeier and Kayla Miller comes the second graphic novel in the funny slice-of-life Cool Code series. 

Morgan, Zoey, and Daniel discover that the popularity AI they've coded is being used to wreak mischief and destroy friendships in their school. It's up to them to fix the glitch!
 
When the coding club finds that their app has a malicious user, Morgan, Zoey, and Daniel code an update to contend with a mischievous AI llama that’s guiding a not-so-popular kid named Marcus to cause chaos in the school.
 
Annoying little siblings, chaotic pranks, and more abound as they race to repair the glitchy app—and their own friendships—in their school before the damage is irreversible.

Cool Code 2.0: The Switch Glitch

In this beautifully written contemporary middle grade debut, an eighth grader's study of asexuality in science class leads her to understand her own asexual identity as she embarks on a journey toward self-discovery and self-advocacy. For readers of Alex Gino and Ashley Herring Blake.There&#8217;s the part of me that doesn&#8217;t understand kissing or cuteness or attraction, and then there&#8217;s the part of me that feels so lonely. How do I make sense of those two parts? Maybe I&#8217;ll never make sense of them.What do you do when there's a question inside you that feels so big, you don't know how to put words to it? How do you even begin to ask it?Fourteen-year-old Lizzie is experiencing a lot of change: her family had to move after the incident with their neighbor, leaving behind not only her beloved apple tree, but what feels like her childhood along with it. Lizzie's brother is too busy for her in his first semester of college and her friends are more interested in dating than dolls. It&#8217;s hard not to feel left behind, especially as she tries to explain the fact that she still has zero interest in boys, girls, or the baffling behavior known as &#8220;flirting.&#8221;But just as Lizzie&#8217;s world feels like it's closing in, a class lesson on asexual reproduction in plants piques her curiosity, leading her to look up whether people can be asexual too&#8212;and suddenly, her world opens up. Lizzie finally finds an identity, a word for all her messy, unnamable feelings that feels like it fits, although she quickly realizes that a label isn&#8217;t enough if no one believes it&#8217;s real.Accessible, moving, and compassionate, Just Lizzie effortlessly braids a nuanced individual journey of identity with the bittersweet angst of growing up, growing apart, and learning there are many ways to live and love.

Just Lizzie

&#8220;In this vibrant story about the power of the printed word and the strength of found families, every page is bursting with life and detail.&#8221; &#8212;Ethan Aldridge, creator of the bestselling Estranged&#8220;Fabulous!&#8221; &#8212;Dan Santat, award-winning author of A First Time for Everything&#8220;Glorious! This empowering read is absolutely unforgettable.&#8221; &#8212;Ellen Oh, acclaimed author of Finding Junie KimEvery secret is a story waiting to happen.From New York Times bestselling author Marieke Nijkamp and illustrator Sylvia Bi, this debut middle grade graphic novel celebrates the power that everyone&#8212;even those often overlooked&#8212;has to create change. In a vibrant city, two girls from very different walks of life join forces to fight censorship and protect the people they love. Eleven-year-old Cinzia is a printer&#8217;s apprentice. She adores Mestra Aronne for taking her in&#8212;most guilds don&#8217;t have room for apprentices with a crippled leg&#8212;and she loves life in the raggedy workshop that smells of paper and printing, where secrets and stories are always circulating. So when Mestra Aronne is imprisoned for publishing accusations against the ruling family, Cinzia will do anything to prove that Mestra Aronne only told the truth.Elena is the exact same age as Cinzia, but she&#8217;s forced to keep to her rooms and garden. To protect her, according to her mother. To protect the city, according to her uncle. Because Elena is not the charming, powerful noble her family wants her to be. According to them, she doesn&#8217;t communicate well. She&#8217;s too gullible and literal and struggles to understand other people.After unexpectedly meeting face-to-face, the girls follow a trail of clues through their golden city, drawing supporters and learning more about their home and each other than they ever could have imagined. If one person&#8212;no matter how young&#8212;can change the course of history, just imagine what a whole flock of them could do.Bestselling author Marieke Nijkamp and debut illustrator Sylvia Bi have crafted an indelible, vibrant story about finding and using your voice, perfect for fans of Lightfall, Tidesong, and The Prince and the Dressmaker.

Ink Girls

&#8220;Winningly intense.&#8221; &#8212;Kirkus Reviews&#8220;A powerful novel of tremendous empathy and optimism.&#8221; &#8212;Gary D. Schmidt, Newbery Honor winner and National Book Award finalist&#8220;Exquisitely written and painfully real.&#8221; &#8212;Megan E. Freeman, award-winning author of AloneWhen a twelve-year-old decides that she must get herself and her mother out of a bad situation, an eerie connection to a coyote pack helps her see who she&#8217;s meant to be&#8212;and who she can truly save. The Benefits of Being an Octopus meets The Nest in this contemporary middle grade novel about family, class, and resilience, with a magical twist.Twelve-year-old Fud feels trapped. She lives a precarious life in a cramped trailer with her mom and her mom&#8217;s alcoholic ex-boxer boyfriend, Larry. Fud can see it&#8217;s only a matter of time until Larry explodes again, even if her mom keeps on making excuses for his behavior. If only Fud could find a way to be as free as the coyotes roaming the Wyoming countryside: strong, smart, independent, and always willing to protect their own.When Larry comes home with a rusted-out houseboat, Fud is horrified to hear that he wants to fix it up for them to live on permanently. All she sees is a floating prison. Then new-neighbor Leigh tells Fud about Miss Black Gold, a beauty pageant sponsored by the local coal mine. While Fud doesn&#8217;t care much about gowns or talents or prancing around on stage, she cares very much about getting herself and her mom away from Larry before the boat is finished. And to do that, she needs money, in particular that Miss Black Gold prize money.One problem: the more Fud fantasizes about escape, the more her connection to the coyotes lurking outside her window grows. And strange things have started happening&#8212;is Fud really going color-blind? Are her eyebrows really getting bushier? And why does it suddenly seem like she can smell everything?Jessica Vitalis crafts a moving and voice-driven novel about family and resilience, with a fantastical twist. Coyote Queen is perfect for readers of The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise and The Elephant in the Room.&#160;

Coyote Queen

This engrossing, timely, and highly illustrated biography of the father of modern surgery reveals the shocking practices of surgeons before Joseph Lister proved where infections come from.In 1841, a quiet, curious boy who stuttered when nervous committed to becoming a surgeon&#8212;a profession then more feared than respected.Through study, persistence, and careful research, Joseph Lister proved that unsanitary conditions contribute to infections. Despite others scoffing at his ideas, Lister slowly changed the way all surgeons work, saving countless lives.Sibert Honor-winner Lori Alexander&#8217;s accessible and lively biography of Lister contains fun&#8212;and sometimes gory&#8212;facts about the history of science and engaging illustrations by Daniel Duncan.&#160;

The Shelf Stuff Library