Grade: 3

Eleven-year-old Elijah is the first child born into freedom in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves just over the border from Detroit. He’s best known in his hometown as the boy who made a memorable impression on Frederick Douglass. But things change when a former slave steals money from Elijah’s friend, who has been saving to buy his family out of captivity in the South. Elijah embarks on a dangerous journey to America in pursuit of the thief, and he discovers firsthand the unimaginable horrors of the life his parents fled—a life from which he’ll always be free, if he can find the courage to get back home.

Since 1963, when Dutton published the first book in the series, Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective, the brainy crime-stopper has been a favorite character among middle-grade readers. Now, for the first time in twenty-five years, Dutton is pleased to present a brand-new Encyclopedia Brown mystery. Following the classic formula, the book presents ten separate mysteries, complete with answers that allow the reader to solve the cases along with the Boy Detective. Encyclopedia Brown Cracks the Case will be a flagship for the backlist titles, which Puffin will reissue in paperback on the same list with new cover art.

Look in your library for this longtime favorite among “rock hounds” who love to search for interesting stones. Baylor’s ten rules for finding the perfect rock will suit any collector. Rule #8: “. . . if your rock is going to be special it should look good by itself in the bathtub.”

8 popular tales: The Story of Deirdre, The Fate of the Children of Lir, Morraha, five others. For young and old alike-eight captivating tales filled with whimsy, charm and magic: The Fate of the Children of Lir, The Shepherd of Middvai, Beth Gellert, The Tale of Ivan, Morraha, The Story of Deirdre, The Llanfabon Changeling, and The Sea-Maiden. Reset in large, easy-to-read type.

“Hope is the thing with feathers” starts the poem Frannie is reading inschool. Frannie hasn’t thought much about hope. There are so many other things to think about. Each day, her friend Samantha seems a bit more “holy.” There is a new boy in class everyone is calling the Jesus Boy. And although the new boy looks like a white kid, he says he’s not white. Who is he?

During a winter full of surprises, good and bad, Frannie starts seeing a lot of things in a new light—her brother Sean’s deafness, her mother’s fear, the class bully’s anger, her best friend’s faith and her own desire for “the thing with feathers.”

Jacqueline Woodson once again takes readers on a journey into a young girl’s heart and reveals the pain and the joy of learning to look beneath the surface.

Up, up, and away! When Tom Tate hears that Wilbur and Orville Wright are building a flying machine, he can’t wait to try it. Tom’s dad thinks it’s dangerous. Some people think the Wrights are crazy. Can Tom help the brothers get their dream off the ground?

Stanley might be flat, but his story sure isn’t. This is the first in a series of books about a boy who is flattened to a mere half inch of thickness by his bulletin board. Quicker than you can say, “poor Stanley,” he discovers life as a pancake does have its advantages. Stanley can slip under locked doors, fly like a kite, and get to California cheaply via U.S. mail. Despite his exciting adventures, like helping capture art thieves, Stanley eventually wants to be normal thickness again. Stanley’s brother finds a way to help him out. The back of the book has a cardboard Stanley for kids to cut out and mail to their friends. Send Stanley on some new adventures!

Eight-year-old Maxine doesn’t create a world, but gets a glimpse of her own from a new perspective–she blasts into space. Despite extensive training, she’s unprepared for the awe-inspiring moment when she sees the Earth from her capsule. As Max gazes on the planet, she observes that, unlike maps, “The Earth has no lines to divide it into states and countries . . . . It’s just one Earth.”