Fiction

The follow-up to the popular Pinkalicious features another full-scale color crisis. Pinkalicious, true to her name, still loves pink, but all her female classmates much prefer black. In fact, these narrow-minded girls have ostracized their former friend. Being blackballed gives Pinkalicious a bad case of the blues. Can she ever recover her hue? A cute story about peer pressure and being yourself.

There’s trouble at the Castle, and it’s all because Merrin Meredith has returned with Darke plans for Septimus. More trouble awaits Septimus and Jenna in the form of Tertius Fume, the ghost of the very first Chief Hermetic Scribe, who is determined to send Septimus on a deadly Queste. But Septimus and Jenna have other plans—they are headed for the mysterious House of Foryx, a place where all Time meets and the place where they fervently hope they will be able to find Nicko and Snorri, who were trapped back in time in physik. But how will Septimus escape the Queste?

Queste, like all the books in the Septimus Heap series, is filled with nonstop action, humor, and fantastical adventure as Septimus continues his journey of Magykal self-discovery.

First Lady Laura Bush and daughter Jenna collaborate in this entertaining picture book about the joys and benefits of reading. At the center of the adventure is Good Day Elementary School student Tyrone. Like many other young boys, restless Ty dreads classroom story time. Things change suddenly, however, when a mysterious disappearance sets Tyrone and his buddies off on an exciting search.

This storybook is a collection of entertaining stories and poems involving celebrated children’s book artist Richard Scarry’s lovable cast of animal characters. These happy tales and lively illustrations make this treasury of the very best of Scarry’s work the best storybook ever.

The highly anticipated sequel to the #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling book! Secrets have a way of getting out, especially when a diary is involved. Whatever you do, don’t ask Greg Heffley how he spent his summer vacation, because he definitely doesn’t want to talk about it. As Greg enters the new school year, he’s eager to put the past three months behind him . . . and one event in particular. Unfortunately for Greg, his older brother, Rodrick, knows all about the incident Greg wants to keep under wraps. But secrets have a way of getting out . . . especially when a diary is involved.

What could be better than a misadventure from that rambunctious flock of sheep in board-book form? Two! Now sized perfectly for even the smallest hands, two of Nancy Shaw and Margot Apple’s enchanting titles from their sheep series are board books. In Sheep in a Jeep, the hapless flock goes for a drive in the country. In Sheep in a Shop, the sheep are off to the store in search of the perfect birthday gift. With these muttonheads, a normal outing is sure to turn into a joyous lark. Rhyming text and disarming illustrations make these shear delights!

El Skippito is back! Avoiding a lecture from Mama Junebug, the kitty boy slips into his closet… and finds himself in ancient Egypt. His doggy pals, Los Chimichangos, want to visit the Under Mundo — the underworld — where mummitos rest in peas. But they need El Skippito’s brains and courage to answer the riddle of theFinx and enter the mummy’s tomb. Our hero is up to the task, and he’s in for another grand and whirlwind adventure. Full of Judy Schachner’s rollicking wordplay and bold, imaginative illustrations, Skippy’s latest outsize outing will tickle the funny bones and warm the hearts of his many amigos.

Elegantly written, beautifully imagined, and deeply moving without a shred of sentimentality, this picture book for all ages traces a mother’s hopes and dreams for her young daughter. Moving fluidly from the not-so-distant past (”one day”) to the hopeful future (”someday”), Alison McGhee’s spare, poetic text captures key moments in the life of a beloved child. Peter Reynolds’s expressive watercolors are the perfect complement, conveying in uncluttered lines a full gamut of complex emotions, from joyful exuberance and wistful longing to the crushing sorrow of first heartbreak. Lovely, lyrical, and packing an unexpected emotional wallop, this book is one of the best crossover reads of the season — and an absolute must for mothers and daughters.