Grade: 12

One of the best-loved and most quoted stories of “the man who invented Christmas”-English writer Charles Dickens-A Christmas Carol debuted in 1843 and has touched millions of hearts since. Cruel miser Ebeneezer Scrooge has never met a shilling he doesn’t like… and hardly a man he does. And he hates Christmas most of all. When Scrooge is visited by his old partner, Jacob Marley, and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come, he learns eternal lessons of charity, kindness, and goodwill. Experience a true Victorian Christmas with Barbour’s tenth anniversary Value Book edition-now on quality stock!

It begins in the most boring place in the world: Chickentown, U.S.A. Candy Quackenbush lives in Chickentown, her heart bursting for some clue as to what her future might hold. When the answer comes, it’s not one she expects. Out of nowhere comes a wave, and Candy, led by a man called John Mischief (whose brothers live on the horns on his head), leaps into the surging waters and is carried away. Where? To the ABARAT: a vast archipelago where every island is a different hour of the day, from the Great Head that sits in the mysterious twilight waters of Eight in the Evening, to the sunlit wonders of Three in the Afternoon, where dragons roam, to the dark terrors of Gorgossium, the island of Midnight, ruled over by the Prince of Midnight himself, Christopher Carrion. As Candy journeys from one amazing place to another, making fast friends and encountering treacherous foes — mechanical bugs and giant moths, miraculous cats and men made of mud, a murderous wizard and his terrified slave-she begins to realize something. She has been here before. Candy has a place in this extraordinary world: she is here to help save the Abarat from the dark forces that are stirring at its heart. Forces older than Time itself, and more evil than anything Candy has ever encountered. She’s a strange heroine, she knows. But this is a strange world. And in the Abarat, all things are possible.

Using the letters of the Spanish alphabet, Ada has written 27 poems that appear in both Spanish and English. These poems honor the lives, experiences, and culture of the Spanish-speaking people who work the farmland of the American West. Silva’s vivid paintings reflect his Mexican heritage and his life as a child working on farms.

Set in an exotic Eastern landscape peopled by magicians and fantastic talking animals, Salman Rushdie’s classic children’s novel Haroun and the Sea of Stories inhabits the same imaginative space as Gulliver’s Travels, Alice in Wonderland, and The Wizard of Oz. In this captivating adaptation for the stage, Haroun sets out on an adventure to restore the poisoned source of the sea of stories. On the way, he encounters many foes, all intent on draining the sea of all its storytelling powers.

New York Times bestselling author Bill O’Reilly has zero-tolerance for pin heads and the ultimate respect for smart operators. Among the smartest operators in American history, of course, were our founding fathers — the authors of our constitution, including the amendments known as the Bill of Rights. These were scrappy guys who really cared about individual freedoms as their in-your-face warning to potential tyrants prove. They’re the kind of guys Bill O’Reilly can really relate to. The kind of guys Bill knows kids can relate to, too.

In his latest book for young people, O’Reilly — an award-winning broadcast news journalist, husband, father of two and author of the number one best-selling book of non-fiction for kids in 2005 — writes clearly about the fine lines between a kid’s liberties and responsibilities, delves into contemporary court cases which are helping to redefine kids’ rights today, and proves by example how to be an advocate for one’s own rights no matter how old one is.

With examples from real-life reporting backed up by some of the best news researchers in the business, he explores thorny issues involving the internet, from sophisticated financial scams, personal libel, safety and privacy to potential identity theft. Tackling such questions as Can a kid wear an anti-gay T-shirt on campus?, Can the cops force open a student’s locker?, Does a school newspaper have a right to badmouth the principle?, Does a mother have the right to eavesdrop on her daughter’s telephone conversations?, Can a parent force his or her child to worship in a certain religion?, or Can a kid do whatever she wants with an inheritance from a grandparent?, Bill does what Bill does best. He surprises us, but most of all he provokes, he prods, he probes, he provides the facts and ultimately he makes us think for ourselves.

This is a book about learning to respect other people’s rights as well as about understanding and protecting one’s own rights. It’s the perfect gift to give to a loved one on the brink of young adulthood so they know what to expect, as well as what’s expected of them.

When November Nelson loses her boyfriend, Josh, to a pledge stunt gone horribly wrong, she thinks her life can’t possibly get any worse. But Josh left something behind that will change November’s life forever, and now she’s faced with the biggest decision she could ever imagine. How in the world will she tell her mom? And how will Josh’s parents take the news? She’s never needed a friend more.

Jericho Prescott lost his best friend when he lost his cousin, Josh, and the pain is almost more than he can bear. His world becomes divided into “before” and “after” Josh’s death. He finds the only way he can escape the emptiness he feels is to quit doing the things that made him happy when his cousin was alive, such as playing his beloved trumpet, and take up football, where he hopes the physical pain will suppress the emotional.
But will hiding behind shoulder pads really help? And will his gridiron obsession prevent him from being there for his cousin’s girlfriend when she needs him most?

This sequel to The Battle of Jericho is a no-holds-barred look at
what happens when life doesn’t go as planned, by the acclaimed author of the 2007 Coretta Scott King Award winner Copper Sun.

The Daring Book for Girls is the manual for everything that girls need to know — and that doesn’t mean sewing buttonholes! Whether it’s female heroes in history, secret note-passing skills, science projects, friendship bracelets, double dutch, cats cradle, the perfect cartwheel or the eternal mystery of what boys are thinking, this book has it all. But it’s not just a guide to giggling at sleepovers — although that’s included, of course! Whether readers consider themselves tomboys, girly-girls, or a little bit of both, this book is every girl’s invitation to adventure.

Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl is among the most enduring documents of the twentieth century. Since its publication in 1947, it has been read by tens of millions of people all over the world. It remains a beloved and deeply admired testament to the indestructible nature of the human spirit. Restored in this Definitive Edition are diary entries that were omitted from the original edition. These passages, which constitute 30 percent more material, reinforce the fact that Anne was first and foremost a teenage girl, not a remote and flawless symbol. She fretted about and tried to cope with her own sexuality. Like many young girls, she often found herself in disagreements with her mother. And like any teenager, she veered between the carefree nature of a child and the full-fledged sorrow of an adult. Anne emerges more human, more vulnerable and more vital than ever. Anne Frank and her family, fleeing the horrors of Nazi occupation, hid in the back of an Amsterdam warehouse for two years. She was thirteen when she went into the Secret Annex with her family.