New Picture Books

Quest - Aaron Becker
In the Caldecott Honor-winning Journey, much of Becker's energy was devoted to the story's exquisite backdrops. Now, in the second wordless book of his planned trilogy, the focus is on his characters. On a rainy day in a city park, the girl who starred in Journey and the boy introduced at the end take refuge by a doorway under a bridge. To their surprise, a king emerges from the door just long enough to pass the two a map before soldiers apprehend him. Returning to the magical Pallonezia, they find the walled city in flames, under siege. Becker includes wonderfully evocative set pieces - a submerged city, a Mayan temple - as the pair follows the map to collect chalk markers in all the colors of the rainbow to free the king and save the city.

Flashlight - Lizi Boyd
Inside a tent it's cozy. But what is going on outside? Is it dark? Is it scary? Not if you have your trusty flashlight! Told solely through images and using a spare yet dramatic palette, artist Lizi Boyd has crafted a masterful exploration of night, nature, and art. Both lyrical and humorous, this visual poem--like the flashlight beam itself--reveals that there is magic in the darkness. We just have to look for it.

The Sheep Go On Strike - Jean-François Dumont
When the sheep on a farm go on strike rather than having their warm coats sheared off, the other animals begin taking sides until, at last, a compromise can be reached.

Catch That Cookie! - Hallie Durand

Marshall refuses to believe that gingerbread men can run, even after a series of clues leads his class on a riddle-filled gingerbread cookie hunt. A twist on the traditional gingerbread story. Great read for the holidays!


Flora and the Penguin - Molly Idle
In this wordless, lift-the-flap picture book, Flora and her new friend, the penguin, dance on the ice together and learn to treat each other with respect and kindness.


Firefly July: A Year of Very Shot Poems - Paul B. Janeczko
A selection of short American poems dealing with the four seasons and the different weather events and animal patterns that can occur within each.


The Tweedles Go Electric - Monica Kulling & Marie Lafrance
Feeling less than enthusiastic when her eccentric family buys an electric car, avid reader Frances endures taunts by owners of gas-fueled vehicles before driving an injured neighbor to the hospital, an adventure that changes her mind about automobile travel.

Have You Seen My Dragon? - Steve Light
In the heart of the city, among the taxis and towers, a small boy travels uptown and down, searching for his friend. Readers will certainly spot the glorious beast, plus an array of big-city icons they can count. Is the dragon taking the crosstown bus, or breathing his fiery breath below a busy street? Maybe he took a taxi to the zoo or is playing with the dogs in the park.

Kid Sheriff and the Terrible Toads - Bob Shea
The Toad brothers are wreaking havoc in Drywater Gulch when a boy with no experience but immense knowledge of dinosaurs rides into town on his tortoise and declares himself the new sheriff.

Sebastian and the Balloon - Philip C. Stead
When Sebastian launches himself on a journey in a hot air balloon made entirely of Grandma's afghans and patchwork quilts, his boring day turns into the adventure of a lifetime.

New Teaching Aids & Educational Games

7 Ate 9 - Players add, or subtract, 1, 2, or 3 to the number on the top card on the pile to determine if they have a card that can be played next.

Magnetic Write-on & Wipe-off Dice - Manipulatives that can be
used to create your own letter, fraction, operation, or other specialty dice.



Phase 10 - A rummy-type card game with a challenging and exciting twist.


Qwirkle - Players attempt to score the most points by building lines that share
a common attribute, either color or shape.


ShapeOmetry - Players combine the green and blue game pieces to create two identical shapes. For development of spatial, abstract, and quantitative reasoning skills. Supports Common Core Math Standards.

Unifix Sudoku - Builds spatial reasoning, problem solving and patterning skills.

New Nonfiction for All Ages

For Teachers...

Tinkerlab: 55 Playful Experiments That Encourage Tinkering, Curiosity & Creative Thinking - Rachelle Doorley
Features creative experiments designed to encourage young children to use their natural curiosity to explore, test, play, and tinker.



For Students...

Dolphins - Kate Riggs (K-3)
An introduction to dolphins, covering their growth process, behaviors, the oceans they call home, and such defining physical features as their fins.

Super Sniffers: Dog Detectives on the Job - Dorothy Hinshaw Patent (Grades 3-6)
A dog's nose is 300 times more powerful than a human nose, so it's no wonder that dogs use their incredibly advanced sense of smell to do some very important jobs. This books explores the various ways specific dogs have put their super sniffing ability to use: from bedbug sniffers to explosive detectors to life-saving allergy detectors...and more.

D-Day: The Invasion of Normandy, 1944 - Rick Atkinson (Grades 5-8)
Presents a young reader's adaptation of "The Guns at Last Light," tracing the Battle of Normandy and the Allied liberation of Western Europe through the end of World War II.

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion and the Fall of Imperial Russia - Candace Fleming
(Young Adult)
From the acclaimed author of Amelia Lost and The Lincolns comes a heartrending narrative nonfiction page-turner--and a perfect resource for meeting Common Core standards. When Russia's last tsar, Nicholas II, inherited the throne in 1894, he was unprepared to do so. With their four daughters (including Anastasia) and only son, a hemophiliac, Nicholas and his reclusive wife, Alexandra, buried their heads in the sand, living a life of opulence as World War I raged outside their door and political unrest grew into the Russian Revolution. Deftly maneuvering between the lives of the Romanovs and the plight of Russia's peasants and urban workers--and their eventual uprising--Fleming offers up a fascinating portrait, complete with inserts featuring period photographs and compelling primary-source material that brings it all to life.

The Freedom Summer Murders - Don Mitchell (Young Adult)
In June of 1964, three idealistic young men (one black and two white) were lynched by the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi. They were trying to register African Americans to vote as part of the Freedom Summer effort to bring democracy to the South. Their disappearance and murder caused a national uproar and was one of the most significant incidents of the Civil Rights Movement, and contributed to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Mitchell takes a comprehensive look at the brutal murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, through to the conviction in 2005 of mastermind Edgar Ray Killen.

A Volcano Beneath the Snow: John Brown's War Against Slavery - Albert Marrin (Young Adult)
Examines the life of abolitionist John Brown and the raid he led on the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, in 1859, exploring his religious fanaticism and belief in "righteous violence,"--and commitment to domestic terrorism.

Middle Grade Fiction

The Mark of the Dragonfly - Jaleigh Johnson
Since her father's death in a factory in the Dragonfly territories, thirteen-year-old Piper has eked out a living as a scrapper in Merrow Kingdom, but the arrival of a mysterious girl sends her on a dangerous journey to distant lands.


Back Before Dark (Code of Silence series) - Tim Shoemaker
When Gordy is abducted in the park, his cousin Cooper will do anything to rescue him and although Hiro and Lunk fear that Cooper will get himself in trouble, too, they join the race against the clock to save their friend. Includes author's notes about friendship, discussion questions, and tips for avoiding abduction.

Below the Surface (Code of Silence series) - Tim Shoemaker
Something is wrong with Cooper. He's plagued by a fear he doesn't understand and can't control. Cooper just wants to escape, and a summer vacation aboard the restored cabin cruiser, The Getaway, with best friends Gordy, Hiro, and Lunk seems like the perfect way to do it. Two weeks of fun with no mysteries or life-and-death danger. That'' the plan. But their plans are shattered the very first night when they witness a murder. Or did they? Despite their intentions of leaving the investigation to the police, narrow misses and creepy encounters lure them in. Is there really a body floating in the underwater currents of the lake? The closer they get to the truth, the deeper into danger they get. Too late they see the trap. Now each of them must face their own buried fears just below the surface.

Sisters - Raina Telgemeier

Raina can't wait to be a big sister. But once Amara is born, things aren't quite how she expected them to be. Amara is cute, but she's also a cranky, grouchy baby, and mostly prefers to play by herself. Their relationship doesn't improve much over the years, but when a baby brother enters the picture and later, something doesn't seem right between their parents, they realize they must figure out how to get along. They are sisters, after all.

Revolution - Deborah Wiles
It's 1964 in Greenwood, Mississippi, and Sunny's town is being invaded by people from up north who are coming to help people register to vote. Her personal life isn't much better, as a new stepmother, brother, and sister are crowding into her life, giving her little room to breathe.