Chester Keene Cracks The Code

Cracking the code isn’t all it’s cracked up to be in this scavenger-hunt adventure from a Coretta Scott King Honor–winning author. Chester Keene takes great comfort in his routines. After school Monday to Thursday is bowling, and Friday, the best of days, is laser tag! But most special of all is when Chester gets secret spy messages from his dad, who is always on covert government assignments, which is why Chester has never met him. Then, one day at lunch, Chester’s classmate Skye approaches him with a clue. They’ve been tasked with a complex puzzle-solving mission. Chester takes their assignments very seriously, but Skye treats it like a big game. Skye proves to be a useful partner and good company, even if her haphazard, free-wheeling ways are disruptive to Chester’s carefully curated schedule. As Chester and Skye get closer to their final clue, they discover the key to their spy assignment: they have to stop a heist! But cracking this code might lead to a discovery Chester never saw coming.

Sophie Fanuchi and her BFF Maddie Chen posted the “Hot List” as a joke—just a silly tally of the cutest boys at Travis Middle School. But the list takes on a life of its own, and the girls are thrust into the popular crowd, which pleases Maddie to no end…and angers Sophie. As Sophie and Maddie’s friendship begins to unravel, Sophie makes a bet that will expose the list as meaningless: She has to make over their wacky classmate, Squid, and land him on the list. Can Sophie turn a nottie into a hottie…and can any bet or list replace the importance of friendship?

Winner of the ALA Coretta Scott King–John Steptoe New Talent Award, The Rock and the River was described in a Booklist starred review as a “taut, eloquent first novel [that] will make readers feel what it was like to be young, black, and militant.” The Time: 1968 The Place: Chicago For thirteen-year-old Sam it’s not easy being the son of known civil rights activist Roland Childs. Especially when his older (and best friend), Stick, begins to drift away from him for no apparent reason. And then it happens: Sam finds something that changes everything forever. Sam has always had faith in his father, but when he finds literature about the Black Panthers under Stick’s bed, he’s not sure who to believe: his father or his best friend. Suddenly, nothing feels certain anymore. Sam wants to believe that his father is right: You can effect change without using violence. But as time goes on, Sam grows weary of standing by and watching as his friends and family suffer at the hands of racism in their own community. Sam beings to explore the Panthers with Stick, but soon he’s involved in something far more serious—and more dangerous—than he could have ever predicted. Sam is faced with a difficult decision. Will he follow his father or his brother? His mind or his heart? The rock or the river?

It's a summer of family, friendship, and fun fiascos in this acclaimed novel that's as irresistible as a fresh-baked cookie. Ellis Bailey Johnson has the summertime blues. Instead of hanging out with friends, listening to music, and playing his harmonica, Ellis has to help bring his dad's latest farfetched, sure-to-fail idea to life: open the world's first chocolate chip cookie store. They have six weeks to perfect their recipe, get a run-down A-frame storefront on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard into tip-top shape, and bring in customers. But nothing goes according to plan, especially when family secrets start to surface. Can Ellis bake up a happy ending? Partially based on Shawn Amos's own experiences growing up the son of Wally "Famous" Amos, and packed with humor, heart, and fun illustrations, this debut novel sings with the joy of self-discovery, unconditional love, and community. "Shawn Amos has written a beautiful story of family and music, of growing up and having adventures, of business building and character building, that is at once very specific and universal. I love Cookies and Milk as much as I love cookies and milk." -Lisa See, New York Times bestselling and award winning author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Shanghai Girls

"Have you ever sent a secret message? Do you know how to read Morse code? Find out about the secrets of code breaking in this top secret book!" (publisher).