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THE SISTERS GRIMM:

FAIRYTALE DETECTIVES

by Michael Buckley

After their parents disappear, sisters Daphne and Sabrina Grimm are placed with a grandmother they have never heard about. When they arrive at Relda's home in the New England town of Ferryport Landing, they are served emerald-green meatballs in rooms lined with books about magic. Then Relda reveals the truth: the girls are descended from the famous storytelling Brothers Grimm, the fairy tales that the brothers wrote are actually a history of the magical people known as "Everafters, and Ferryport Landing is a magical town. When Relda goes missing, it's up to the girls and their new magical friends to rescue her and to stop a corrupt politician--a well-cast Prince Charming.

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REPLAY, by Sharon Creech

Twelve-year-old Leo carries an indelible, slightly odious nickname: Sardine. In his day-to-day, he often feels squished within a tin. In his fantasies, though, Leo is no sardine. He soars with dreams, replays memories, and speculates about who he could become. Rehearsing for the school play serves as both catharsis and meditation for this shy, introspective boy. This is a charming, ultimately cheering book by the author of Walk Two Moons and The Wanderer.

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ISABEL OF THE WHALES, by Hester Velmans

Eleven-year-old Isabel is a "plain old" girl living in Provincetown, Massachusetts, who believes that she is destined to accomplish something special. When her fifth-grade class goes on a whale-watch field trip, something amazing happens: Dozens of different species of whales surround the boat, bumping the deck and sending Isabel flying into the ocean. Isabel is shocked to hear the whales speaking to her—she is a mermaid, they tell her, a "Chosen One" who has the ability to turn from a human into a whale and back again. She is destined to live among the whales long enough to learn their ways, and teach them about the human world.

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Adam Canfield of the Slash, by Michael Winerip

Adam Canfield has to be the most over-programmed middle-school student in America. So when super-organized Jennifer coaxes him to be coeditor of the Slash-- Harris Elementary/Middle School's student newspaper-- he wonders if he's made a big mistake. Not only do editors get stuck with assigning stories, but they also have to deal with annoying third graders like Phoebe, always pushing for a front-page slot. But when Phoebe's article on Eddie the janitor leads to a much bigger scoop, Adam and Jennifer rise to the challenge, risking their principal's wrath to uncover some shocking secrets.

A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray,

by Ann M. Martin

Squirrel and her brother Bone begin their lives in a tool shed behind someone's summer house. Their mother nurtures them and teaches them the many skills they will need to survive as stray dogs. But when their mother is taken from them suddenly and too soon, the puppies are forced to make their own way in the world, facing humans both gentle and brutal, busy highways, other animals, and the changing seasons. When Bone and Squirrel become separated, Squirrel must fend for herself, and in the process, makes two friends who in very different ways define her fate.

In ancient China during the Han Dynasty, a young slave toils away in a castle for a cruel master. The nameless orphan is hopeless and lonely, until, in a moment of startling bravery, she comes to the aide of an aging dragon. With this heroic act, the orphan discovers her destiny as a Dragon Keeper, a role that will change the course of her life. Together the novice Dragon Keeper and the elderly dragon begin a dangerous journey across China in order to protect a mysterious stone that is vital to the dragon's legacy. While being pursued by dragon hunters and other villains, the pair form a unique bond as they strive to complete their quest.

Ten-year-old Comfort Snowberger has attended 247 funerals. But that's not surprising, considering that her family runs the town funeral home. And even though Great-Uncle Edisto keeled over with a heart attack and Great-Great-Aunt Florentine dropped dead-- just like that-- six months later, Comfort knows how to deal with loss, or so she thinks. She's more concerned with avoiding her crazy cousin Peach and trying to figure out why her best friend, Declaration, suddenly won't talk to her. Life is full of surprises. And the biggest one of all is learning what it takes to handle them.

Julia Song and her friend Patrick would love to win a blue ribbon at the state fair. They've always done projects together, and they work well as a team. This time, though, they're having trouble coming up with just the right plan. Then Julia's mother offers a suggestion: they can raise silkworms, as she did when she was a girl in Korea. Julia isn't so sure. The club where kids do their projects is all about traditional American stuff, and raising silkworms just doesn't fit in. Moreover, the author, Ms. Park, seems determined to make Julia's life as complicated as possible, no matter how hard Julia tries to talk her out of it.

Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who treated him with the utmost care and adored him completely. And then, one day, he was lost. An extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the top of a garbage heap to the fireside of a hoboes' camp, from the bedside of an ailing child to the streets of Memphis. And along the way, we are shown a true miracle-- that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.

Bernie keeps a barn full of animals the rest of the world has no use for-- including a cat called Whittington. Bernie’s orphaned grandkids, Abby and Ben, come to the barn every day to help feed the animals. Abby shares her worry that Ben can’t really read yet and that he refuses to go to Special Ed. The animals decide that Abby should give Ben reading lessons in the barn. It is a balm for Ben when, having toughed out the daily lesson, Whittington comes to tell, in tantalizing installments, the story handed down to him from his nameless forebear, Dick Whittington’s cat.

• A Newbery Honor Book

The Owly Series, by Andy Runton

Owly is a kind, yet lonely, little owl who's always on the lookout for new friends and adventures. The first graphic novel in the series contains two enchanting novellas, "The Way Home" and "The Bittersweet Summer," wherein Owly discovers the meaning of friendship, and that saying goodbye doesn't always mean forever.

Also check out the next two books in this ongoing series:

• Owly Volume 2: Just A Little Blue

• Owly Volume 3: Flying Lessons