Middle Reader

The Vespers have crossed a line. Amy and Dan were devastated when the Vespers kidnapped seven Cahills around the world, holding them hostage until Amy and Dan delivered an impossible ransom. But at least the hostages were Cahills - members of the world's most powerful family, trained to face all odds.

Now the Vespers have gone too far. They've kidnapped Atticus, an innocent 11 year old boy and Dan's only friend. Now Dan and Amy are in the struggle of their lives. Because if they can't outwit the Vespers, the unthinkable will happen . . . Atticus will die.

"Drawing from family records and from stories told by her grandfather, the author has, in an uncommonly fine narrative, created living characters and vividly reconstructed a crucial period of history."--Booklist

In this adventure, The Treasure Chest transports Felix and Maisie to tropical St. Croix in 1772. There they meet a young man named Alexander Hamilton who is about to embark on a journey to New York. Felix and Maisie aren't sure why The Treasure Chest has brought them to meet Alexander, but they are determined to not let him out of their sights . . .even if that means stowing away on the very ship he is sailing off on!

Amelia McBride and company are about to embark on their most daunting mission yet: navigating the promises and pitfalls of popularity at Joe McCarthy Elementary. A tricky task when you consider an unmatched pair of socks alone can cause ridicule for years to come. Really, though, all the gang wants is not to be unpopular. Rising and falling through the ranks of nerd, geek--and cheerleader?--with advice from wacky popularity expert Dr. Victoria Medeochrias, Amelia and her friends encounter riotous mobs, unfortunate makeovers, and bad catch phrases. Even after things go from bad to worse, Amelia learns there are some things that are just a little bit more important than being popular.

In his first brand new volume in two years, Jimmy Gownley dishes up another hilariously satisfying dose of Amelia Rules!, in what Comics Buyer's Guide has called "a timeless manner to which readers young and old can easily relate."

Rachel is still reeling from the news that the Earth is secretly under attack by parasitic aliens known as the Yeerks. And that she and her friends -- five kids who, purely by chance, stumbled onto a downed spacecraft and were given the power to morph into any animal they touch -- are the planet's only defense. But Rachel's always been something of a daredevil. So when it's suggested that they infiltrate the home of their assistant principal, Mr. Chapman, who also happens to be a human host of the Yeerks, she volunteers. But what she finds inside may be more than even she can handle.

Betsy Ross is remembered as the maker of the first American flag, which was secretly presented to General George Washington in Philadelphia in 1776. But what was she like as a kid?

In this narrative biography, you'll learn all about the childhood of Betsy Ross--from her birth on January 1, 1752, as the eighth of seventeen children, to her Quaker upbringing, to her growing love for sewing and apprenticeship to an upholsterer. Discover how and why Betsy began making flags--and some surprising info about her legendary contribution to America.

But an "expedition" to a nearby lake turns up a little nixie with a giant problem - the huge, lumbering, fire-breathing variety - and it's up to Nick; his stepsister, Laurie; and his big brother, Julian (plus a familiar face from the original Spiderwick Chronicles) to figure out the best way to stop a host of rampaging giants before all of Florida goes up in smoke.

A boy arrives at a remote village in the dead of night. His name is Ludlow Fitch--and he is running from a most terrible past. What he is about to learn is that in this village is the life he has dreamed of--a safe place to live, and a job, as the assistant to a mysterious pawnbroker who trades people's deepest, darkest secrets for cash. Ludlow's job is to neatly transcribe the confessions in an ancient leather-bound tome: "The Black Book of Secrets."

Ludlow yearns to trust his mentor, who refuses to disclose any information on his past experiences or future intentions. What the pawnbroker does not know is, in a town brimming with secrets, the most troubling may be held by his new apprentice.