Jo Jo Makoons Fancy Pants

Filled with lots of glitter, raised pinkies, and humorous misunderstandings, this second book in the Jo Jo Makoons series—written by Dawn Quigley and illustrated by Tara Audibert—is filled with the joy of a young Ojibwe girl discovering her very own special shine from the inside out. First grader Jo Jo Makoons knows how to do a lot of things, like how to play jump rope, how to hide her peas in her milk, and how to be helpful in her classroom. But there’s one thing Jo Jo doesn’t know how to do: be fancy. She has a lot to learn before her Aunt Annie’s wedding! Favorite purple unicorn notebook in hand, Jo Jo starts exploring her Ojibwe community to find ways to be fancy. The Heartdrum imprint centers a wide range of intertribal voices, visions, and stories while welcoming all young readers, with an emphasis on the present and future of Indian Country and on the strength of young Native heroes. In partnership with We Need Diverse Books.

There is a life after death, but only for the terminally cool. . . . Jo-Jo Dyas doesn't believe he has any reason to live, but then he finds the surprisingly lively dead girl in the culvert and she convinces him otherwise. She and her punk band, the Fiendish Lot, come from the Afterlife, a strange, colorless place where souls sometimes pause on the journey between this world and the next. When Jo-Jo follows her there, he gets a chance to make right all the things that have gone wrong in his life . . . but only if he can figure out how before he fades away into nothing. Maybe the answer lies in Jo-Jo's late-breaking realization: Being alive is kind of cool. Rude, raw, and blisteringly funny, Andrew Auseon's new novel is like one of those insanely catchy songs that you can't forget and won't want to. So pay attention: The afterlife you save may be your own.

Young Adult Native American NovelApple Starkington turned her back on her Native American heritage the moment she was called a racial slur for someone of white and Indian descent, not that she really even knew how to be an Indian. Too bad the white world doesn't accept her either. And so begins her quirky habits to gain acceptance. Apple's name, chosen by her Indian mother on her deathbed, has a double meaning: treasured apple of my eye, but also the negative connotation-a person who is red, or Indian, on the outside, but white on the inside.After her wealthy father gives her the boot one summer, Apple reluctantly agrees to visit her Native American relatives on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in North Dakota for the first time. Apple learns to deal with the culture shock of Indian customs and the Native Michif language, while she tries to deal with a vengeful Indian man who loved her mother in high school but now hates Apple because her mom married a white man.As Apple meets her Indian relatives, she shatters Indian stereotypes and learns what it means to find her place in a world divided by color.

En route to stay with her uncle in Texas in the late 1860s, twelve-year-old Jo experiences a stagecoach robbery and becomes involved with a reluctant young outlaw aiming to change his ways.

No No, Jo! For toddlers beginning to assert their independence, this fold-out adventure of a curious kitten has a funny refrain on every page.Little kitten Jo just wants to be helpful, but everything she does ends in a mess. Toddlers beginning to assert their independence will gleefully join in the refrain, ‘No No, Jo!’ on each page of this humorous, fold-out book. Little kitten Jo just wants to be helpful, but everything she does ends in a mess. Toddlers beginning to assert their independence will gleefully join in the refrain, ‘No No, Jo!’ on each page of this humorous, fold-out book.

What color is your mood? On a really good day, Jamie feels purple like the first bite of a juicy cold plum. And with a crayon in his hand, Jamie eases into a green feeling--like a dragon dancing through a jungle made of green jello. But when his brothers push him around and make fun of his drawings, Jamie feels like a dark gray storm brewing. What will it take to put Jamie back in a bright-feeling mood? Through Jamie, young readers will learn to describe how they’re feeling in a unique way. My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood is a 2014 Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book.

From the master storyteller himself comes this timeless and heart-warming tale of the evolving friendship between melon-pedaling Jo-Jo, and the Doge of Venice's daughter, who loves the donkey despite his lowly position.

ALA Notable Book: A family is adopted by a very talented kitten in this “captivating story, told with . . . whimsical humor” by the beloved Newbery medalist (Chicago Tribune). The Pyes are spending the summer on Fire Island when they discover a skinny, furious black kitten wearing an unusual sign around her neck. This family has some of the smartest pets around—there’s Ginger the intellectual dog, and Gracie the clever old cat—but the spirited stray named Pinky is more than smart enough to earn a place in the Pyes’ hearts. She can box with Ginger, play games with Mr. Pye, and—Rachel and Jerry can hardly believe their eyes—even type out her life story! “Told with loving tenderness, whimsical humor, [and] suspense, it has all the special magic that is Eleanor Estes’ trademark. . . . Don’t miss it.” —Chicago Tribune “All the characters—animal or human—have a high old time . . . That is the appeal of the Pyes—no one of them is quite like anyone else—yet each is believable.” —The New York Times “Realistic and fantastic, tender and comic, but always absorbing, engaging, and chuckle-producing.” —The Saturday Review of Literature