5th Grade (Age 10)

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 …

“I felt the strike. There was stunning pain from the instant the twin fangs pierced the soft, fleshy side of my hand,” writes the author in this gripping account of how she was bitten by a rattle-snake at age nine. Fortunately, her history with snakes does not end badly. She was treated successfully for the bite, and a year later, she observed Hopi Indian “snake dancers” handling dangerous live rattlers.

In 1966 Ji–li Jiang turned twelve. An outstanding student and leader, she had everything: brains, the admiration of her peers, and a bright future in China’s Communist Party. But that year China’s leader, Mao Ze–dong, launched the Cultural Revolution, and everything changed. Over the next few years Ji–li and her family were humiliated and scorned by former friends, neighbors, and co–workers. They lived in constant terror of arrest. Finally, with the detention of her father, Ji–li faced the most difficult choice of her life. Told with simplicity and grace, this is the true story of one family’s courage and determination …

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 . . …

Safari gives armchair explorers an opportunity to visit African animals in their natural habitats. A naturalist who often travels to Africa to paint wildlife, Bateman offers 12 paintings of animals along with little-known facts. For example, watching giraffes run is like “watching a herd of galloping rocking horses,” he says, but to see how they coordinate the movement of their necks and legs, you have to rock, too.

This is the story of a young Indian boy’s struggle to meet life’s challenges and overcome his sight impairment. During his naming ceremony, Walnut must prove his readiness to make the passage from boyhood to manhood by performing a physical feat using a bow and arrow. Hitting the target successfully means he will be considered an adult among his people and given a new name. Realizing this is an impossible task for her son, Walnut’s mother teaches him to strengthen his other senses. When Walnut demonstrates his “special sight,” he earns the respect of others in the village. This symbolic …

Eleven-year-old Marty Preston loves to spend time up in the hills behind his home near Friendly, West Virginia. Sometimes he takes his .22 rifle to see what he can shoot, like some cans lined up on a rail fence. Other times he goes up early in the morning just to sit and watch the fox and deer. But one summer Sunday, Marty comes across something different on the road just past the old Shiloh schoolhouses—a young beagle—and the trouble begins. What do you do when a dog you suspect is being mistreated runs away and comes to you? When it …

In 1914, the English explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew of 27 sailors attempted to cross the Antarctic continent. Their expedition came to a terrifying halt when their ship, the Endurance, ended up trapped in the pack ice. What followed was a perilous series of adventures. Despite many setbacks, Shackleton courageously led every single crew member back to safety. A gripping narrative along with actual black-and-white photographs taken by an Endurance crew member bring this icy adventure to life.