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Move over Nancy Drew; Sophie – better known as Sesame – Seade is on the job! Here, Sesame and her friend, Jeremy, solve the mystery of why the rowing team is getting sick. Told with humor and solid pacing, this is sure to engage light mystery fans.

Astrid realizes that her interests differ from those of her best friend but decides to pursue them anyway. How the girls’ friendship weathers this is key to this story as much as information about the sport in this engaging graphic novel.

In this peek into the secret lives of toys, three beloved playthings participate in a series of small adventures. StingRay is a plush stuffed animal who enjoys acting the know-it-all. Lumphy is a tough little buffalo who doesnt mind the occasional cuddle. And Plastic (whose physical appearance is kept mysterious for quite some time) is a sensible bouncy ball. The first book in the Toys trilogy.

The movement of the train rocked me like a lullaby. I closed my eyes to the dusty countryside and imagined the sign I’d seen only in Gideon’s stories: Manifest—A Town with a rich past and a bright future. 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. (2011 Newbery Medal Winner)

Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place—he’s the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians’ time as well as their ghostly teachings—such as the ability to Fade so mere mortals cannot see him. (2009 Newbery Medal Winner)

Spring holds many surprises for each of the Penderwicks in this latest adventure.

In his old school, everyone knew Miles Murphy as the town’s best prankster, but Miles quickly discovers that Yawnee Valley already has a prankster, and a great one. If Miles is going to take the title from this mystery kid, he is going to have to raise his game. It’s prankster against prankster in an epic war of trickery, until the two finally decide to join forces and pull off the biggest prank ever seen. (Goodreads)

This story reads like a series of intersecting vignettes, all focused on 14-year-old Debbie and her friends as they leave childhood behind. The descriptive, measured writing includes poems, prose, haiku, and question-and-answer formats. Perkins brings a great deal of humor to this gentle story about a group of childhood friends facing the crossroads of life and how they wish to live it. (2006 Newbery Medal Winner)

Identical twins Sammie and Charlie are starting out seventh grade at a brand-new school. As they make new friends, and join different clubs, the sisters (and once inseparable best friends) start to grow further and further apart. Told from Sammie’s point of view, this moving yet funny story will be gobbled up by middle-school girls! This is the first book in the Almost Identical series.

Hank is a second-grade kid who doesn’t try to be funny, but he somehow always makes the kids in his class laugh. He’s pretty bad at memorizing stuff, and spelling is his worst subject. (But so are math and reading!) Hank’s class is putting on a play, and Hank wants the lead part: Aqua Fly. But he freezes in his audition and can only buzz like a fly. His teacher creates a special part for Hank, a silent bookmark. This may seem like an insignificant role, but when his enemy, Nick McKelty, freezes during the performance, it’s up to Hank to save the play! This is the first book in the Here’s Hank series.

Meet Daniel Funk, a regular guy who’s stuck living in a house full of girls. Why couldn’t he have a brother instead of all those sisters? That would be so cool. When Daniel shrinks to the size of the fourth toe on his left foot, he discovers that he actually does have a brother. A little brother. A very little brother. He’s Pablo Funk, Daniel’s tiny twin, who is a toeful of trouble. When Daniel and Pablo decide to have some fun at their sisters’ party and let loose a giant hissing cockroach just to watch the girls scream, they find out that it’s dangerous to be so small. This is the first book in the Daniel Funk series.

It’s 1953 and 11-year-old Penny dreams of a summer of butter pecan ice cream, swimming, and baseball. This coming-of-age story is populated by a cast of vivid family characters and it explores the things that tear them apart and the things that bring them back together. The book includes an Author’s Note with photographs and additional background on World War II, Internment camps, and 1950s America.

In 1935, jobs are hard to come by, and Turtle’s mother is lucky to find work as a live-in housekeeper. When she learns that her employer can’t stand children, she sends her 11-year-old daughter from New Jersey to Key West to live with relatives. Turtle discovers a startlingly different way of life amid boisterous cousins, Nana Philly, and buried treasure. This richly detailed novel was inspired by Holm’s great-grandmother’s stories.

School’s out! Everyone’s favorite amoeba is headed to summer camp! Squish’s summer is turning out to be terrifying! For one thing, Squish can’t swim. And to make matters worse, his new camp friend is a Hydra (scientific fact: A hydra’s tentacles can paralyze you!). Will Squish sink or will he swim this summer?

Oliver calms his nervous dad on the first day of school in this humorous turn-around tale. Children will see themselves — and perhaps a parent — in this lighthearted saga sure to cause chuckles beyond the start of school.

Fashion conscious Birdie has heard lots of negative things about school and so is quite nervous about her first day. But while she still misses her mom and Monster, her dog, she is thrilled to find that school is actually quite wonderful.

No one is more surprised than 11-year old Martin when the Tyrannosaurus Rex hatches from what Martin thought was a fossilized egg. Feeding the growing dino and keeping him hidden becomes a major challenge. How Martin saves Rufus from a life in the circus with the help of an astute science teacher and his best friend, Audrey, make for a fast-paced, often humorous, and very satisfying adventure. For a gentler dino-come-alive novel, try Oliver Butterworth’s Enormous Egg (opens in a new window).

Nina is afraid of the dark, doubly so when her nightlight goes out. But the light of fireflies brightens her solitary play until she releases the firefly back into the evening. Dark-hued illustrations use fine line, white space, and touches of red to enhance the drama of a very satisfying bedtime book.

Bone, a stray dog, narrates the sometimes harrowing tale of how he finds a permanent home, effectively and evenly read.

An assigned pen pal correspondence between an American girl and a boy from Zimbabwe that started in grade school becomes a cultural exchange and a lifelong friendship. Sophisticated readers will appreciate the contrast between the cultures and how friendship can span great distances.

A girl discovers her family’s history, sharing some of her mother’s childhood experiences by reading what her mother wrote as a child. A series of short poems and handsome illustrations juxtapose past to present: “Memories can be like sandcastles/the waves wash away./My mama glued her memories with words so they would last forever.” As the family history unfolds, the connection between generations becomes clear in this engaging and very timely book.

Red is misunderstood. He’s a red crayon with a label that says blue so he can’t draw a strawberry or even a stoplight. But when Red learns that he’s really blue, well, he regains his self-confidence. Child-like drawings combine with precise collages for a memorable and humorous take on expectations, labels, and self-confidence.

Clementine hates change. And there’s a lot of change about to happen: summer is approaching and the end of third grade means goodbye to her beloved teacher, Mr. D’Matz. Plus her family expects a new baby. Like other books in the series, this seventh and final one is sure to cause laughter as Clementine works to come out successfully on the other side of change.

Ahmed must carry his secret with him as he does his chores throughout the bustling, colorful streets of Cairo. Later in the day with his family all around him, Ahmed shares his wonderful secret: he can write his name in Arabic. Mild tension will keep children guessing what it is that Ahmed carries with him and detailed realistic watercolors are sure to inspire discussion.