It’s graduation time for Hank and all his friends— time to move on from PS 87 to middle school. Trouble is, there are tests Hank has to pass to get into the same middle schools as his friends, and his learning differences might get in the way. Luckily, a life-altering audition at a performing arts middle school helps him find his true path.

This spirited look at our national birthday explores the stories behind the familiar symbols of the Fourth of July and tells how they have come to be associated with the holiday. It will make the Fourth of July more meaningful for readers young and old.

Rebecca is troubled when her teacher assigns her class to make Christmas decorations. Rebecca’s family is Jewish and doesn’t celebrate Christmas, but her teacher says Christmas is a national holiday, for all Americans to celebrate. Yet Rebecca knows she’s as American as anyone else, even without celebrating Christmas! She wants to please her teacher, but she’s sure her family will be upset. Then, on the first night of Hanukkah, Rebecca finds kindness in an unexpected place, and learns the real meaning of the holiday season.

Hank thought that getting through summer school to get to the fifth grade would be hard enough, but little did he know that it would get worse! Everyone in the fifth grade is starting to focus on a sport-and they’re really good. Everyone, that is, except Hank. When Papa Pete suggests that Hank take up Ping-Pong, he decides to give it a try but keeps it top secret, as he thinks the other kids will tease him about it not being a “real” sport. Hank is so good that he …

One afternoon, Hank overhears his mom and Frankie’s mom talking about having a baby. Having a baby!? It must be Frankie’s mom that they’re talking about! Frankie will go crazy when he hears about this! Hank worries about how to break the news to his best friend—until he finds out that it’s his own mother who is pregnant! How could she do this to him? One annoying sibling is enough. Hank definitely did not order this baby!

Hank’s dad has decided to enter a crossword-puzzle tournament, and he wants to make a family road trip of it! So the family piles into the car—along with Frankie and Katherine the iguana (Hank and Emily each get to bring a “friend”). When they reach their destination, they’ll get to spend the day at a roller-coaster park during Hank’s dad’s tournament! The only caveat is that Hank has a homework packet to finish before they get there . . . which he somehow manages to lose at a stop along …

Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She’s spent years trying to teach David the rules-from “a peach is not a funny-looking apple” to “keep your pants on in public”-in order to stop his embarrassing behaviors. But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a paraplegic boy, and Kristi, the next-door friend she’s always wished for, it’s her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is …

The day after they moved in, Coraline went exploring…. In Coraline’s family’s new flat are twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. Thirteen of the doors open and close. The fourteenth is locked, and on the other side is only a brick wall, until the day Coraline unlocks the door to find a passage to another flat in another house just like her own. Only it’s different.

At first, things seem marvelous in the other flat. The food is better. The toy box is filled with wind-up angels that flutter around the bedroom, …

Lucky, age ten, can’t wait another day. The meanness gland in her heart and the crevices full of questions in her brain make running away from Hard Pan, California (population 43), the rock-bottom only choice she has.

It’s all Brigitte’s fault — for wanting to go back to France. Guardians are supposed to stay put and look after girls in their care! Instead Lucky is sure that she’ll be abandoned to some orphanage in Los Angeles where her beloved dog, HMS Beagle, won’t be allowed. She’ll have to lose her friends …

Transform yourself from drab to fab with this nifty guide to all things glamorous! Whether you want to have the shiniest hair or convince people you’re a celebrity, this book will show you how! Being a glamour goddess has never been so easy.

Inside this handy guide you’ll find instructions on how to host a spa party, create your own style, exit a limo gracefully, make your own body glitter, persuade your best friend to lend you her clothes, put on a fashion show, make your own jewelry box, and much, …