Bird Lake Moon

Told in alternating voices, this smart and engaging middle grade novel from the beloved Kevin Henkes is the story of two boys coming together in friendship as they struggle with family conflicts and tragedy. There are ghosts at Bird Lake, and they're haunting Mitch and Spencer. Not the Halloween kind, but ghosts of the past. Memories of how life was before—before the divorce, before the accident. Can their ghosts bring Mitch and Spencer together, as friends? Or will their secrets keep them apart? Mitch feels isolated at his grandparents’ house and can’t help hating his father, who walked out on him and his mom two and a half weeks earlier. Spencer’s family has decided it’s finally time to return to Bird Lake, years after his brother, Matty, drowned there. Both boys arrive at the lake scarred and fragile, but as they become friends, the sharp edges of their lives smooth out and, slowly, they are able to start healing. “Superbly crafted. A ‘must have’ for every library.” —School Library Journal (starred review) “In a novel as tender as his acclaimed Olive’s Ocean, Henkes probes the psyches of two boys facing family conflicts.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A thrilling adventure full of magic and wonder. John August is a master storyteller.” —Ransom Riggs, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children From acclaimed screenwriter John August, Arlo Finch in the Lake of the Moon continues the spellbinding fantasy adventure series about the magic that lies just beyond our world. Some legends are real. For Arlo Finch and the Rangers of Pine Mountain Company, summer camp is more than canoeing and hiking. It’s also a chance to search for ancient forest spirits and discover mysterious messages encoded in tree bark. But when Arlo and his best friends Indra and Wu stumble upon clues about the long-lost Yellow Patrol, Arlo uncovers a stunning history that leads right back to his very own family.

Blaze Werla is having a typical summer. He lives in the country with his father and grandmother. He spends his days alone, wandering around the hill beside his home. Then the message appears on the side of the hill. And Blaze's summer suddenly takes a turn toward the mysterious. By the time Blaze meets Joselle Stark, the unexpected seems almost normal.

A howl in the night. A watchful eye in the darkness. A flutter of movement among the trees. Coyotes. In the dark of the night, a mother coyote stalks prey to feed her hungry pups. Her hunt takes her through a suburban town, where she encounters a mouse, a rabbit, a flock of angry geese, and finally an unsuspecting turkey on the library lawn. POUNCE! Perhaps Coyote's family won't go hungry today. This title has Common Core connections.

"Olive Barstow was dead. She'd been hit by a car on Monroe Street while riding her bicycle weeks ago. That was about all Martha knew." Martha Boyle and Olive Barstow could have been friends. But they weren't -- and now all that is left are eerie connections between two girls who were in the same grade at school and who both kept the same secret without knowing it. Now Martha can't stop thinking about Olive. A family summer on Cape Cod should help banish those thoughts; instead, they seep in everywhere. And this year Martha's routine at her beloved grandmother's beachside house is complicated by the Manning boys. Jimmy, Tate, Todd, Luke, and Leo. But especially Jimmy. What if, what if, what if, what if? The world can change in a minute.

In the dark, soft night, the haunting call of a single loon echoes over a moonlit lake. All through the day, only one magnificent black and white bird scribes ripples across the surface. Why is he so alone? Moon Loon is an evocative, gentle bedtime story about a girl who is fascinated by this solitary loon. Through richly layered colored-pencil illustrations, we follow the girl's musings on the loon from spring through fall.

Owen is joyous when he receives a marshmallow chick as part of an Easter basket. Decked out in his purple plaid Easter finery, this boy mouse spends a giddy day playing with his sugary new pal. And does he succumb to tasty temptation? How dare you even think such a thing!

Birds come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. Birds are magic. Birds are everywhere. If you listen very carefully you will hear them, no matter where you live. And if you look very closely you will see them, no matter where you are. And if you can't go outside right this minute, you can always read this book!