American Library

Isabel and Nicki Hoffman may be twins, but they're each one of a kind. Isabel loves dancing with her friends, while Nicki prefers skateboarding alone. In December 1999, the girls create a list of challenges to complete before midnight on New Year's Eve. But just before the new millennium arrives, disaster strikes. Will the most momentous night of their lives be a twin win or a sister setback?

In this second book of her series, Kira teams up with a student at the animal sanctuary to track down the paradise parrot—a bird thought to be extinct—and prove that it still exists.

Two years after being released from Camp Green Lake, Armpit is home in Austin, Texas, trying to turn his life around. But it's hard when you have a record, and everyone expects the worst from you. The only person who believes in him is Ginny, his 10-year-old disabled neighbor. Together, they are learning to take small steps. And he seems to be on the right path, until X-Ray, a buddy from Camp Green Lake, comes up with a get-rich-quick scheme.

It’s Melody’s birthday, and she’s excited to turn “double digits” on January 1, 1964. She’s also eager to answer her pastor’s New Year’s challenge and make her community better. Melody decides to fix up the neighborhood playground and plant a garden. Her friends pitch in to help, but after a series of setbacks, Melody realizes that being a leader isn’t easy. But it is easy to say yes when her brother asks her to sing backup for him. Melody gets to go to the Motown music studio and add her voice to a real record! Can she find a way to make her voice stand out?

In this WellieWishers™ early chapter book, a robin has moved into the garden, and the WellieWishers couldn’t be more excited! As they care for the robin, they learn new things about what birds like to do and eat. But one day, the robin disappears. Will the girls be able to find the robin and his secret? Animal-lover Willa is on the case! This story tells how Willa learns to take lead, and that things are not always what they seem. Includes ideas for fun activities that girls and parents can do together.

From the acclaimed Modern Library Chronicles comes an exploration of a promising theory that when put to practice wreaked havoc on the world. An expert on communism, Richard Pipes follows the history of the Soviet Union from the 1917 revolution to the Cold War, and finally, to its deterioration and collapse.

Samuel, 13, spends his days in the forest, hunting for food for his family. He has grown up on the frontier of a British colony, America. Far from any town, or news of the war against the King that American patriots have begun near Boston.

Crystal is brave and bold and doesn’t back down. Courtney tries to be the same in real life. When Courtney meets Isaac Wells at the arcade, they form an epic friendship. Isaac has awesome ideas to add to Crystal Starshooter’s game world, and he gets along great with Sarah and Kip, Courtney’s two best friends. When Isaac needs help fighting a real battle called HIV, Courtney is quick to support him. But doing so puts her friendship with Sarah at risk. Being brave and bold is complicated. What would a superhero do?

When the surf’s up, Joss pops out her hearing aid, hops on her board, and paddles into the waves. Joss is stoked to enter a surfing video contest with her surf sister Sofia and Murph, the surfing bulldog. If she can master a killer aerial like the frontside air and get her brother Dylan to catch it on video, maybe she’d even have a shot at winning. But Dylan throws her a curve: he dares her to try out for the cheer team. No way—Joss can’t see herself as a cheerleader. (What’s with those ginormous hairbows, anyway?) She’s 100% surfer girl, and Dylan knows it!

The Yonkers Carnegie Library was commonly held to be the most beautiful building in the city. No one seemed to know for sure why it was destroyed. The circumstances that led to the death of the library are steeped in half-truths, incredible lies, and wild rumors that range from political corruption to bumbling incompetence. One rumor focuses on the true intentions of the Mayor of the time, Angelo Martinelli, and his desire to undo the white flight to the east side of Yonkers. Rumors hinting of racism—the area surrounding the library had become increasingly populated with blacks and Puerto...

Twelve-year-old Samuel Collier is a lowly commoner on the streets of London. So when he becomes the page of Captain John Smith and boards the Susan Constant, bound for the New World, he can’t believe his good fortune. He’s heard that gold washes ashore with every tide. But beginning with the stormy journey and his first contact with the native people, he realizes that the New World is nothing like he imagined. The lush Virginia shore where they establish the colony of James Town is both beautiful and forbidding, and it’s hard to know who’s a friend or foe.

When the Watson family—ten-year-old Kenny, Momma, Dad, little sister Joetta, and brother Byron—sets out on a trip south to visit Grandma in Birmingham, Alabama, they don’t realize that they’re heading toward one of the darkest moments in America’s history. The Watsons’ journey reminds us that even in the hardest times, laughter and family can help us get through anything.

Everything has changed since the war started. Nanea had hoped that going back to school would make life seem normal again. But it hasn’t. There are still curfews and blackouts and constant reminders of war. Nanea’s dear friend Donna had to leave Hawaii, and Nanea’s big brother won’t stop talking about joining the Army. In the swirl of changes, Nanea turns to hula. Dancing makes her feel better, and soon she learns how much it lifts the spirits of the soldiers, too. When a surprising hula partner boosts everyone’s morale, Nanea gets a big idea.

Maryellen is in charge of planning her tenth birthday, designing a flying machine, and—most important of all—taking care of the family dog, Scooter, on a camping trip. One night, while she’s holding down the fort, Scooter disappears. Maryellen is desperate to find him before the others return, so she and her bossy big sister, Joan, set off to search the woods. Suddenly, Joan disappears. Now Maryellen’s really in charge, whether she wants to be or not! Can she find Scooter, rescue her sister, and figure out how to make something fly—all in one night?

Kira and her mom are spending the summer at a wildlife sanctuary in Australia helping her aunt Mamie, a veterinarian, care for the animals. When Kira falls in love with an orphaned koala joey, her joy is complete—until a health emergency pulls Aunt Mamie away. Suddenly Kira can’t seem to do anything right. She’s put the wombats and her beloved koala joey in danger, and now her new friend Alexis won’t talk to her. Can Kira find a way to catch a roving predator—along with a few wayward wombats—and earn back everyone’s trust?

It’s Aunt Miranda’s birthday! The WellieWishers want to give her something special, but they can’t agree on what it should be. Then Kendall discovers the Tomorrow Pile. What looks like a bunch of old, dirty, broken things to the other girls looks like cool fun stuff with lots of potential to Kendall! Can the girls work together to create something wonderful for Aunt Miranda?

Claudie is traveling from Harlem to Georgia with Mama and Cousin Sidney to meet her grandmother and cousins for the first time. She hopes that learning her family's story will inspire her for the variety show she's planning to raise money to save the boardinghouse her family lives in. Claudie's grandmother tells her a legend from slavery times called "The People Could Fly." In it, an old man whispers magic words, and the enslaved people grow wings and fly home to Africa. This gives Claudie an amazing idea for the finale of her show.

On an afternoon in January 1865, a roaring fire swept through the Smithsonian Institution. Dazed soldiers and worried citizens could only watch as the flames engulfed the museum's castle. Rare objects and valuable paintings were destroyed. The flames at the Smithsonian were not the first—and certainly would not be the last—disaster to upend a museum in the United States. The Museum explores the concepts of "crisis" as it relates to museums, and how these historic institutions have dealt with challenges ranging from depression and war to pandemic and philosophical uncertainty.

Entire books have been written about the causes of the American Revolution. This isn't one of them. What it is, instead, is utterly interesting, anecdotes, from the inside out close-up narratives filled with little-known details, lots of quotes that capture the spirit and voices of the principals, and action. It's the story of the birth of our nation, complete with soldiers, spies, salmon sandwiches, and real facts you can't help but want to tell to everyone you know.

Kavi Sharma loves singing and dancing, so when her middle school announces a musical revue, she and her friends Sophie and Pari decide to perform a dance together. If only they could agree on what dance style to do! Soon, all Kavi can think about is the revue, and her schoolwork starts to slip, which has never happened to her before. Kavi's little brother Rishi says she has a bad case of "Broadwayitis." Can she find a way to stay on top of on her schoolwork and get her dance moves down before the curtain goes up?