MCBA, 2012-2013

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Life isn't like the movies, and eleven-year-old Turtle is no Shirley Temple. She's smart and tough and has seen enough of the world not to expect a Hollywood ending. After all, it's 1935, and jobs and money and sometimes even dreams are scarce. So when Turtle's mama gets a job housekeeping for a lady who doesn't like kids, Turtle says goodbye without a tear and heads off to Key West, Florida, to stay with relatives she's never met.

Florida's like nothing Turtle has ever seen. It's hot and strange, full of wild green peeping out between houses, ragtag boy cousins, and secret treasure. Before she knows what's happened, Turtle finds herself coming out of the shell she's spent her life building, and as she does, her world opens up in the most unexpected ways.

Visit Jennifer Holm online to find out more about her books and to see her blog.

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Wishes are slippery things. Eleven-year-old Tess Brooks wishes to stay. But when the state of Maine plans to shut down her island's schoolhouse, Tess is sure as certain that her family will have to move to the mainland, leaving the only home she has ever known. Fortunately, the islanders have a plan: increase the number of students by having several families take in foster children. Tess and her family are taking in Aaron, a thirteen-year-old trumpet player who has been bounced from home to home. But soon, Tess realizes that if she and Aaron are both going to stay, she'll need a plan of her own--and all the luck she can muster. Will Tess's wish come true or will her luck run out?

Visit Cynthia Lord online to learn more about her work.

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Almost everybody who has grown up in Chicago knows about the Thorne Rooms. Housed deep within the Art Institute of Chicago, they are a collection of sixty-eight exquisite--almost eerily realistic--miniature rooms. Each of the rooms is designed in the style of a different time and place, and every detail is perfect, from the knobs on the doors to the candles in the candlsticks. Some might even say the rooms are magical. Imagine...what if, on a field trip, you discovered a key that allowed you to shrink so that you were small enough to sneak inside and explore the rooms' secrets? What if you discovered that others had done so before you? And that someone had left something important behind?

Visit Marianne Malone online to learn more about her work.

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The sorceress Lady Lamorna wants a skull-studded gown of deep black velvet but finds her treasure chest empty of gold. That doesn't stop her from kidnapping, blackmailing, and using more than a little magic to get what she needs. Will all her best-laid plans be foiled by the heroic Gracie Gillypot, two chatty bats, a gallant (if scruffy) prince, the wickedest stepsister ever, a troll with a grudge, and some very Ancient Crones?

Visit Vivian French online to learn more about her work.

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What would happen to a fairy if she lost her wings and could no longer fly? Flory, a young night fairy no taller than an acorn, is in just such a circumstance. What she discovers is that the world is very big and very, very dangerous. But Flory is fierce and willing to do whatever it takes to survive. If that means telling others what to do, so be it. Skuggle, a squirrel ruled by his stomach, is an easy puppet. Flory soon finds, though, that not every creature is nearly as willing to bend to her demands.

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Conn should have dropped dead the day he picked Nevery's pocket and stole the wizard's locus magicalicus, a stone mused to focus magic and work spells. But for some reason he did not. Astonished and intrigued, Nevery agress to take Conn on as his appretice, on the condition that the boy find a locus stone of his own within a month.

But with ihs wizard lessons and helping Nevery discover who--or what--is stealingthe city of Wellmet's magic, time is running out for Conn to find his stone.

Visit Sarah Prineas online to learn more about her work.

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Delsie knows it isn't a good idea to dare Todd to explore the empty houses by the old mill. But once the words slip out of her mouth, she can't back down. So together the friends bike to the mill and try the door of each house. They are all locked...except one.

Visit Marion Dane Bauer online to learn more about her work.

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At the Life Is Sweet candy factory, Logan, Miles, Daisy, and Philip are about to compete in the national candymaking competition of a lifetime. Who will make a candy miore delicious than the Oozing Crunchorama or the Neon Yellow Lightning Chew?

The contestants face off in a battle of wits and sugar, but soon they realize that things are not what they seem, and they find themselves in a candy-filled world of surprises, suspense, and mouthwatering creations.

Visit Wendy Mass online to learn more about her work.

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Fadi never imagined he'd start middle school in Fremont, California, thousands of miles from home in Kabul--and half a world away from his missing six-year-old sister, Mariam.

Adjusting to life in the United States isn't easy for Fadi's family, and as the events of September 11 unfold, the prospects of locating Mariam in war-torn Afghanistan seem slim. When a photography competition with a grand prize of a trip to India is announced, Fadi sees his chance to return to Afghanistan and find his sister. But can one photo really bring Mariam home?

Visit N.H. Senzai online to learn more about her work.

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What happens when a star player ends up on the worst team? He either learns to lose or he stops playing the game he loves. These are the choices Jake is facing; he has gone from champion to last place, and he finds his sportsmanship tested every time his soccer team gets waxed. But it's his teammate Kevin who shows Jake that being a good captain means scoring and assisting off the field as much as being the star on it.

Visit Mike Lupica online to learn more about his work.

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Ledge Kale is about to turn thirteen, the age when he'll inherit a magical talet called a savvy. More than anything, Ledge wants the power to run like the wind. But what he gets is something very different--and dangerous. Even worse, someone outside the family has seen what can do! Now, in addition to trying to control his savvy, Ledge has to worry about how to protect the family secrets. Along the way, he leans a lot about himself and his family, makes a very unlikely friend, and even comes to appreciate his newfound savvy...

Visit Ingrid Law online to learn more about her work.

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When Stosh travels into the past to meet Roberto Clemente, a legendary ballplayer and a beloved humanitarian, he's got only one goal: warning Roberto not to get on the doomed plane that will end his life in a terrible crash. In the sixties, Stosh meets a free-spirited Sunrise, and together they travel across the country to a ballgame that leaves them breathless?and face-to-face with Roberto. But when the time comes for Stosh to return to the future, he finds that the adventure has only just begun...

Visit Dan Gutman online.

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Eleven-year-old Delphine has it together. Even though her mother, Cecile, abandoned her and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, seven years ago. Even though her father and Big Ma will send them from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to stay with Cecile this summer. And even though Delphine will have to take care of her sisters, as usual, and learn the truth abou the missing pieces of the past.

When the girls arrive in Oakland in the summer of 1968, Cecile wants nothing to do with them. She makes them eat Chinese takeout dinners, forbids them to enter her kitchen, and never explains the strange visitors with Afros and black berets who knock on her door. Rather than spend time with them, Cecile sends her daughters to a summer camp sponsored by a revolutionary group, the Black Panthers, where the girls get a radical new education.

Visit Rita Williams-Garcia online to learn more about her work.

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Summer's finally here, and Derek Fallon is looking forward to pelting the UPS truck with water balloons, climbing onto the garage roof, and conducting unusual investigations. But when Derek's parents get tired of cleaning up after his "fun," they decide to send him to Learning Camp. His entire summer is ruined! Until Derek starts digging into a family secret involving himself (in diapers! no less), and he realized that this summer may not be so bad after all...

Visit Janet Tashjian online to learn more about her work.

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It isn't as though Moxy isn't preparing for her Big Piano Recital. She is.

It's just that she's so busy warming up her voice (in case she's called upon to sing), trying on her crown *to wear while she plays), and making fake ermine trim for her cape (instructions included) that she doesn't have time to actually practice.

And if Moxy doesn't show her mother that she can play the hard part of "Heart and Soul," there will be "consequences."

(Which means she won't get to perform in tonight's piano recital. Which means she won't get to do the part she's practiced the most--her bow.)

Visit Peggy Gifford online to find out more about her books and to see her blog.

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It's 1936, and Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was.

Visit Clare Vanderpool online to learn more about her work.

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Ten-year-old Caitlin's world had always been black and white. Anything else was confusing, but her brother, Devon, helped her understand. Then tragedy struck, and now nothing makes sense. As a girl with Asperger's syndrome, Caitlin turns to what she does know?textbooks and dictionaries. And after reading the definition of closure (`kl?-zhər), she realizes that this is what everyone needs. In her search for closure, she discovers that black and white are surrounded by shades of gray, and that those are beautiful and necessary for healing.

Visit Kathryn Erskine online to learn more about her work.


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When his dad gets a job at the U.S. embassy in Liberia, twelve-year-old Linus Tuttle knows it?s his chance for a fresh start. Instead of being his typical anxious self, from now on he?ll be cooler and bolder: the new Linus. But as soon as his family gets off the plane, they see a black mamba ? one of the deadliest snakes in Africa. Linus?s parents insist mambas are rare, but the neighborhood is called Mamba Point, and Linus is sure the venomous serpents are drawn to him ? he can barely go outside without tripping over one. Then he hears about kasengs and the belief that some people have a deep, mysterious connection to certain animals. Unless Linus wants to hide in his apartment forever (drawing or playing games with the strange kid downstairs while his older brother meets girls and hangs out at the pool), he has to get over his fear of his kaseng animal. Soon he?s not only keeping a black mamba in his laundry hamper; he?s also feeling braver than ever before. Is it his resolution to become the new Linus, or does his sudden confidence have something to do with his scaly new friend?

Visit Kurtis Scaletta online to learn more about his work.

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Dyamonde Daniel may be new in town, but that doesn't stop her from making a place for herself in a jiffy. With her can-do attitude and awesome brainpower, she knows the whole neighborhood in about a minute. The only thing puzzing her is teh other new kid in her class. He's awfully grouchy--but Dyamonde's determined to get to the bottom of his frowning attitude. Who knows--maybe they have something in common, and maybe they could even be friends.

Visit Nikki Grimes online to find out more about her books.

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It's 1841, and fourteen-year-old Manjiro and his four friends find themselves stranded on a deserted island after a storm at sea. Beyond the island is the unknown, filled with monsters and demons and barbarians, or so they've been told. They know they cannot return to their home in Japan--the country's borders are closed to foreigners, but also to citizens who have strayed.

One day, an American whaling vessel passes near the island and takes the castaways aboard. Manjiro joins in the work of the ship, eager to learn everything he can about his strange new culture. Over the next ten years, he travels teh high seas, visiting places he never dreamed existed, including America. But deep down he longs to return home and somehow--though he knows it is impossible for a simple fisherman--become a samurai.

Will Manjiro ever be able to go back to his native land? And if he does, will he be welcomed or condemned?

Visit Margi Preus online to learn more about her work.

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Rufus has been dreaming of getting a dog. His best friend has one. His worst friend has one. But his dad has a few objections: They whine. They gnaw. They bark. They scratch. They beg. They drool.

Rufus pays no attention when his mom offers her think-outside-the-box suggestion, because she can't be serious. She can't be.

She can be. And she actually comes home with a guinea pig. And if Rufus's dad thinks dogs are a problem, he won't know what hit him when he meets the Guinea Pig that Thinks She's a Dog. She barks. She bites. She'll eat your homework.

Visit Patrick Jennings online to learn more about his work.

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Well, it's actually not that great to have a buzzing in your ear. It's distracting for one thing. And when Isabelle starts listening to the buzz instead of,say, her boring teacher, strange things happen. She gets sent to the principal's office (that's not so strange), but then while awaiting her punishment, she tumbles into another world, a fairy-tale world. Sounds great, right? It could be, but when Isabelle shows up in fairy-tale land wearing her favorite high, pointy boots, the fairy tale people start thinking that Isabelle is a witch--and not just any witch, but the witch!


Visit Frances O'Roark Dowell online to learn more about her work.

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Bone is a stray dog, all alone in the world, looking for a safe place to call home. Charlie is devastated by a terrible loss, but at least he has his brother's dog to comfort him. All Henry wants is a dog of his own, and even when his best friend moves away, his parents still won't let him have one. Bone, Charlie, and Henry don't know each other, but their lives are about to connect in a very surprising way. Because dogs, and dog lovers, have a way of finding each other...

Visit Ann M. Martin online to learn more about her work.

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A snowy winter's night. Three small children are chased from their home by the forces of a merciless darkness. Ten years later, Kate, Michael and Emma are no closer to the truth about what separated their family.

The answer lies with an enchanted atlas.

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It's the start of fifth grade for seven kids at Snow Hill School. There's Jessica, the new girl, smart and perceptive, who's having a hard time fitting in; Alexia, a bully, your friend one second, your enemy the next; Peter, class prankster and troublemaker; Luke, the brain; Anna, whose home situation makes her the outcast; and Jeffrey, who hates school.

Only Mr. Terupt, their new teacher, seems to know how to deal with them all. He makes the classroom a fun place, even if he doesn't let them get away with much...until the snowy winter day when an accident changes everything?and everyone.

Visit the author, Rob Buyea, online to learn more.

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