Family Life Science

There's nothing scarier than a birthday party in the third book in a hilarious book series that tackles anxiety in a fun, kid-friendly way. Perfect for both beginning and reluctant listeners, and fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid! Alvin Ho, an Asian American second grader, is afraid of everything. For example, what could possibly be so scary about a birthday party? So when Alvin receives an invitation to a party—a girl’s party—how will he ever survive? A humorous and touching series about facing your fears and embracing new experiences—with a truly unforgettable character.

The family farm lies at the heart of our national identity, and yet its future is in peril. Rick Hammond grew up on a farm, and for 40 years he has raised cattle and crops on his wife's fifth-generation homestead in Nebraska, in hopes of passing it on to their four children. But as the handoff nears, their small family farm - and their entire way of life - are under siege.

As her cousin Duke - the bully of Blue Wing, Minnesota - dangles her precariously from a steel bridge 20 feet above the flood-swollen Mississippi, Claire doesn't expect to softly land on a passing boat or to see Duke floundering in the river. And yet as these unlikely events - and more - suddenly begin to happen, some in the sleepy river town don't seem at all surprised. But when a rhino's horn suddenly sprouts from Duke's face and his parents turn to stone, 12-year-old Claire decides to take action.

When an immaculately dressed woman steps out of an iridescent bubble and asks you if you'd like to become a substitute princess, do you: a) run, b) faint, c) say yes! For Desi Bascomb, who's been longing for a bit of glamour in her Idaho life, the choice is a definite C - that is, once she can stop pinching herself. As her new agent Meredith explains, Desi has a rare magical ability: when she applies the ancient Egyptian formula 'Royal Rouge', she can transform temporarily into the exact lookalike of any princess who needs her subbing services.

Back at home after their first adventure in the Barren Grounds, Eli and Morgan each struggle with personal issues: Eli is being bullied at school, and tries to hide it from Morgan, while Morgan has to make an important decision about her birth mother. They turn to the place where they know they can learn the most and make the journey to Misewa to visit their animal friends. This time they travel back in time and meet a young fisher who might just be their lost friend. But they discover that the village is once again in peril.

In the first book of the Enchanter’s Child duology, Alex discovered the truth: Not only does she possess magical powers, but her father is Hagos RavenStarr, who was once the king’s Enchanter. Alex is pursued by the fiendish Twilight Hauntings, monstrous Enchantments created because a prophecy foretold the king’s death at the hands of an Enchanter’s Child. The Twilight Hauntings are designed to rid the land of all Enchanters and their children, but Alex has other ideas. Why should she be forced to leave the place where she belongs?

Scrub isn’t happy about having to spend the summer with his hippie grandmother in “Middle of Nowhere,” Washington. When he arrives at her Intergalactic Bed & Breakfast, he’s not surprised by its 1960s-meets-Star Wars decor, but he is surprised by the weird-looking guests. It turns out that each room in the inn is a portal and his grandma is the gate-keeper, allowing aliens to vacation on Earth. She desperately needs Scrub’s help with disguising the tourists as humans. As if that weren’t difficult enough, the town sheriff is already suspicious of Granny.

Longevity drugs have made it possible for people to live far beyond normal expectations, and children are now an unnecessary commodity. Anna is a surplus, one of the children whose parents were selfish enough to create her, and who now must suffer penance for their indulgence. But when a new surplus shows up at Anna's compound, Anna is torn between everything she has been taught and everything she hoped might one day come true.

Ember is full of monsters. Twelve gave up her name and identity to train in the art of hunting them - so she says. The truth is much more deadly: She trains to take revenge on those who took her family from her. But when Twelve’s new home is attacked, she’ll find herself on an unexpected journey, where her hidden past is inescapably intertwined with her destiny - and the very fate of her world.

When her adorable baby brother is replaced by an ugly, ill-tempered changeling, Mollie is determined to find the so-called Kinde Folke who took baby Thomas, return the changeling she calls Guest, and make them give Thomas back. Natural and magical obstacles and her own reckless temperament make her journey arduous and full of dangers, and a plot rich in surprises and twists makes this book a must-listen for Mary Downing Hahn’s fans.

Jaide and Jack have yet to meet the strangest resident of Portland. It’s a creature that comes out only at night, a beast that defies human description. Jaide and Jack have never seen it...but they’re about to. And when they do, destruction and disaster won’t be too far away.

Acclaimed author Jennifer Allison’s popular Gilda Joyce mysteries have been recognized with an Edgar Award nomination and starred reviews from School Library Journal and Booklist. In The Bones of the Holy, the 13-year-old psychic sleuth is in St. Augustine, Florida, to solve two truly puzzling mysteries: Why has her mother suddenly decided to marry an antiques dealer who looks like a walrus? And who is the woman in white haunting the man’s house?

In 1896, in a pilgrim church in the Alps, an abandoned baby girl is found by a cook and a housemaid. They take her home, and Annika grows up in the servants' quarters of a house belonging to three eccentric Viennese professors. She is happy there but dreams of the day when her real mother will come to find her. One day a glamorous stranger arrives at the door.

Shortly before Halloween, Lucely and her best friend, Syd, cast a spell that accidentally awakens malicious spirits, wreaking havoc throughout St. Augustine. Together, they must join forces with Syd's witch grandmother, Babette, and her tubby tabby, Chunk, to fight the haunting head-on and reverse the curse to save the town and Lucely's firefly spirits before it's too late.

Internationally best-selling author Justin Somper’s exciting Vampirates novels are eagerly anticipated for their swashbuckling adventure. The fifth exciting installment of the series finds the rebel Sidorio - the self-proclaimed King of the Vampirates - eager to expand his empire. But as the Pirate Federation and the Nocturnal Vampirates fight back, destroying rebel ships on sight, Grace and Connor Tempest find themselves drawn into the epicenter of this dangerous conflict.

Oscar Ogilvie is living with his dad in a house at the end of Lucifer Street, in Cairo, Illinois, when world events change his life forever. The great stock market crash has rippled across the country, and the bank takes over their home - along with all their cherished model trains. Oscar’s dad is forced to head west in search of work, and Oscar must move in with his no-nonsense aunt Carmen. Only a mysterious drifter helps alleviate Oscar’s loneliness.

Oh, it's not the very cute kitten that appears out of nowhere and demands to go home with her. It's not the sudden arrival of her cousin Zee, who believes he's the cause of a mysterious sickness that has struck his friends back in England. It's not her creepy English teacher Mr. Metos, who takes his mythology lessons just a little too seriously. And it's not the white-faced, yellow-eyed men in tuxedoes, who follow Charlotte everywhere. What's so extraordinary is not any one of these things.... It's all of them.

After a few early glitches in their relationship, Sammy and his "bro-bot" E are now fast friends. In fact E is such a valued member of the family that the other electronic occupants of the House of Robots are feeling sorely unappreciated. And when Sammy's inventor mom becomes distracted by a top-secret project, the robots soon begin to fall into disrepair.

Leo Fender is no stranger to catastrophe, whether it’s the intergalactic war that took his mother’s life or the ongoing fight for his own. He’s seen his planet plundered, his ship attacked, his father kidnapped, and his brother go missing—and found himself stranded on a ship with a bunch of mercenary space pirates. Still, nothing could have prepared him for the moment he and the crew tried to save his father...and discovered a dark plot that could destroy hundreds of worlds in the blink of an eye.

Det er mørke tider i vente for Galtvort. Etter desperantenes angrep på fetteren Dudleif, vet Harry Potter at Voldemort vil gjøre alt for å finne ham. Det er mange som avviser tilbakekomsten til Mørkets herre, men Harry er ikke alene: en hemmelig orden samles på Grimoldsplassen for å bekjempe de mørke kreftene. Harry må la professor Slur lære ham hvordan han kan beskytte seg selv mot to Voldemorts grusomme angrep på tankene hans. Men de blir sterkere for hver dag som går, og tiden løper ut for Harry....