The Line Up Book

Sam lines up blocks, books, boots, cars, and other objects, all the way from his room to his mother in the kitchen.

"Lunch!" Sam heard his mother calling. But Sam was very busy. "Just a minute," he called back. Sam wasn't ready in a minute. Sam's mother was about to lose her patience, but when she saw what Sam had been doing, all was forgiven. An ingenous first picture book with bold, brilliant illustrations.

A great recurring character in a series you love becomes an old friend. You learn about their strange quirks and their haunted pasts and root for them every time they face danger. But where do some of the most fascinating sleuths in the mystery and thriller world really come from? What was the real-life location that inspired Michael Connelly to make Harry Bosch a Vietnam vet tunnel rat? Why is Jack Reacher a drifter? How did a brief encounter in Botswana inspire Alexander McCall Smith to create Precious Ramotswe? In The Lineup, some of the top mystery writers in the world tell about the genesis of their most beloved characters -- or, in some cases, let their creations do the talking.

Want to know a secret?It's about that girl over there.Don't look, but she's the one in the power suit-with the long, black hair and the serious expression, the one I'm about to go on a date with . . .Yeah, according to her, she "accidentally" donated an obscene amount of money to my charity - The Lineup - to win said date but I found out the truth. Miss. Button Up Blouse has a secret, passionate crush on me. I didn't know her name until two days ago, despite the friends we have in common. Was I oblivious? Probably.Was I blind to it? Definitely.But I'm no fool, I see it now. The High Heel Harlot wants more than just a date with Jason Orson, she wants to be able to claim the best butt in baseball as hers. Here's another secret . . . she has no idea I know.

Nikki wants to be a basketball star... but between school stress, friend drama, and babysitting woes, will she be able to make it on her new team? Judy Blume meets Mike Lupica in this pitch-perfect, action-packed, and funny novel. Thirteen-year-old Nikki Doyle's dreams of becoming a basketball great feel within reach when she's selected to play on an elite-level club team. But in a league with taller, stronger, and faster girls, Nikki suddenly isn't the best point guard. In fact, she's no longer a point guard at all, which leaves her struggling to figure out who she is and how she fits in. The stress piles on as Nikki's best friend spends more and more time with another girl on the team, and when her science teacher assigns a family tree project that will be impossible to complete unless Nikki reveals her most embarrassing secret. As if that's not enough to deal with, to cover the costs of her new team, Nikki has agreed to take care of her annoying younger brother after school to save money on childcare. As the stakes rise on the basketball court, at school, and at home, Nikki's confidence plummets. Can she learn to compete at this new, higher level? And how hard is she willing to work to find out?

Draw the Line is a powerful picture book about forgiveness from Kathryn Otoshi, author of the bestselling book One. When two boys draw their own lines and realize they can connect them together—magic happens! But a misstep causes their lines to get crossed. Push! Pull! Tug! Yank! Soon their line unravels into an angry tug-of-war. With a growing rift between them, will the boys ever find a way to come together again? Acclaimed author/illustrator Kathryn Otoshi uses black and white illustrations with thoughtful splashes of color to create a powerful, multi-layered statement about friendship, boundaries, and healing after conflict. A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of 2017

“A ribald, Byzantine tale of time-tourism” from the multiple Nebula and Hugo Award–winning author (Tor.com). It’s 2059, and former law clerk Jud Elliott finds himself at loose ends—until a chance meeting with a Time Courier gives him the inspiration to become one himself. The job—as a time-traveling guide—gives him the opportunity to indulge his love of Byzantine history, in between shuttling tourists to such monumental events as the crucifixion and the assassination of JFK. But there are strict rules to follow as a Time Courier, put in place to guard against paradoxes and preserve the sanctity of “now-time.” Jud isn’t used to following the rules—especially when faced with temptation. All it takes is one tiny slip here, one misplaced step there, and Jud could destroy his own timeline and cease to exist in the blink of an eye . . . a practicality that’s hard for Jud to grasp when he crosses paths with an eleventh-century Byzantium beauty he can’t resist. “A hugely ambitious, enormously fun, sly, paradox-peppered piece that chronicles the time-tourist trade and all its perils—specializing in Byzantine history.” —Strange Horizons “This novel is a comedy, and it is funny, but it is one of those black comedies where things go wrong, and then the more the protagonist tries to fix things, the more wrong they become, until the ending is at one and the same time an O. Henry punchline and a deep existential truth, neat as a pin and just as sharp.” —Kim Stanley Robinson

A story without words in which a little girl has fun with a line drawn by a pencil.