Archives de catégorie : Fiction

ZOEY AND SASSAFRAS d’Asia Citro & Marion Lindsay

With magical animals, science, mystery, and adventure—the ZOEY AND SASSAFRAS series has something for everyone! Easy-to-read language and illustrations on nearly every page make this series perfect for a wide range of ages. These plot-driven early chapter books boast 13 to 18 quick chapters and a glossary of scientific words.

ZOEY AND SASSAFRAS SERIES
by Asia Citro
illustrated by Marion Lindsay
‎ The Innovation Press, 2017-2021
(via Kaplan/DeFiore Rights)

Follow the adventures of Zoey and her cat Sassafras! Each of the nine stories in the Zoey and Sassafras series features a new magical animal with a problem that must be solved using science. There isn’t a set formula for each book; Zoey sometimes needs to run experiments, while other times she needs to investigate a mystery, and yet other times she needs to do research. Zoey models how to keep a science journal through her handwritten entries in each story. Each story is complete with a glossary of the kid-friendly definitions for scientific terms used.

In the first book of this series, Zoey discovers a glowing photo and learns an amazing secret. Injured magical animals come to their backyard barn for help! When a sick baby dragon appears, it’s up to Zoey and Sassafras to figure out what’s wrong. Will they be able to help little Marshmallow before it’s too late?

• 2018 Washington State Book Award for Young Readers Winner
• A New York Public Library Best Books for Kids 2017 Selection
• A Mighty Girl Book of the Year
• Illinois Monarch Award Nominee 2018-2019
• Florida SSYRA Book Award Nominee 2018-2019
• Washington OTTER Award Nominee 2018-2019
• **1 million books sold**

“Concepts are explained concisely and clearly, and a short glossary provides valuable vocabulary building. The slightly larger font makes the text inviting for emerging readers, and the illustrations blend perfectly into the story. Sassafras and the dragon prove to be able sidekicks in the vein of Disney characters…while this book is a natural fit for STEM collections, it deserves a place in all libraries serving young readers.” —School Library Journal

“…the imaginative premise and the incorporation of STEM elements make this an attractive and engaging choice…” —Booklist

“Citro gracefully balances her story’s scientific and fantasy elements.” —Publishers Weekly

Asia Citro has an M.Ed in Science Education and was a classroom science teacher for many years before deciding to stay home full time after the birth of her daughter. She lives near Seattle with her wonderful husband, two awesome children, two destructive cats, and a terrarium of happy bugs. She is the author of 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids, The Curious Kid’s Science Book, A Little Bit of Dirt, Vroom Vroom Garbage Truck, and Pigeon Math. Her work has been featured on Apartment Therapy, The Chicago Tribune, Today, Disney Baby, MSN, King 5 TV, New Day Northwest, and Highlights, among others.
Marion Lindsay has always loved stories and pictures, so it made perfect sense when she decided to become a children’s book illustrator. She has been awarded the Egmont Best New Talent Award. When she’s not illustrating children’s books, Marion paints glass and makes jewelry. Find out more at marionlindsay.co.uk. Marion lives and works in Gloucestershire, England.

THE ELEPHANT GIRL de James Patterson & Ellen Banda-Aaku

James Patterson and award-winning author Ellen Banda-Aaku deliver an unforgettable story of a girl, an elephant, and their life-changing friendship.

THE ELEPHANT GIRL
by James Patterson & Ellen Banda-Aaku
‎ JIMMY Patterson/Little, Brown, July 2022
(via Kaplan/DeFiore Rights)

Clever, sensitive Jama likes elephants better than people. While her classmates gossip—especially about the new boy, Leku—twelve-year-old Jama takes refuge at the watering hole outside her village. There she befriends a baby elephant she names Mbegu, Swahili for seed. When Mbegu’s mother, frightened by poachers, stampedes, Jama and Mbegu are blamed for two deaths—one elephant and one human. Now Leku, whose mysterious and imposing father is head ranger at the conservancy, may be their only lifeline.
Inspired by true events, THE ELEPHANT GIRL is a moving exploration of the bonds between creatures and the power of belonging.

James Patterson is the world’s bestselling author. The creator of Max Einstein and Middle School, he founded JIMMY Patterson to publish books that young readers will love. He lives in Florida with his family.
Ellen Banda-Aaku is an award-winning author and producer. She has lived, studied, and worked in Ghana, South Africa, and Zambia, and currently lives in the UK with her two children.

SERWA BOATENG’S GUIDE TO VAMPIRE HUNTING de Roseanne A. Brown

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents best-selling YA author Roseanne A. Brown’s middle-grade debut about a pre-teen vampire slayer with a strong helping of Ghanaian folklore.

SERWA BOATENG’S GUIDE TO VAMPIRE HUNTING
(Rick Riordan Presents)
by Roseanne A. Brown
‎ Disney-Hyperion, September 2022
(via Kaplan/DeFiore Rights)

For most kids, catching fireflies is a fun summer activity. For twelve-year-old Serwa Boateng, it’s a matter of life and death. That’s because Serwa knows that some fireflies are really adze, shapeshifting vampires from the forests of Southeastern Ghana. Adze prey on the blood of innocents, possessing their minds and turning them into hulking monsters, and for generations, slayers like Serwa and her parents have protected an unknowing public from their threats.
Serwa is the best adze slayer her age, and she knew how to use a crossbow before she could even ride a bike. But when an obayifo (witch) destroys her childhood home while searching for a drum, do Serwa’s parents take her with them on their quest to defeat her? No. Instead, they dump Serwa with her hippie aunt and cryptic-obsessed cousin in the middle of Nowheresville, Maryland « for her own safety. » Now, instead of crossbows and battle armor, she’s dealing with mean girls and algebra, and for the first time in her life she doesn’t have to carry a staff everywhere she goes, which is . . . kind of nice, actually.
Just as Serwa starts to get the hang of this whole normal girl who doesn’t punch vampires every day thing, an adze infiltrates her school. It’s up to her to whip some of her classmates into monster-fighting shape before all of them become firefly food. And when she uncovers a secret that upends everything she thought she knew about her family’s role in the slayer vs. adze war, Serwa will have to decide which side of herself—normal girl or slayer—is the right one.
After all, seventh grade is hard enough without adding vampires to the mix.

Roseanne « Rosie » A. Brown was born in Kumasi, Ghana and immigrated to the wild jungles of central Maryland as a child. Writing was her first love, and she knew from a young age that she wanted to use the power of writing to connect the different cultures she called home. She worked as an assistant teacher, journalist, and editorial intern before writing her first two young adult novels, A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, an instant New York Times best-seller, and A Psalm of Storms and Silence. Rosie currently lives outside Washington, D.C., where she can usually be found explaining memes to her elderly relatives or thinking about Star Wars. She can neither confirm nor deny if she has ever been possessed by a vampire.

RISE OF THE SNAKE GODDESS de Jenny Elder Moke

The beautiful island of Crete, an archaeological find for the ages, and one seriously pissed-off Greek goddess. It’s just another day for Samantha Knox.

RISE OF THE SNAKE GODDESS
(Samantha Knox, Book 2)
by Jenny Elder Moke
‎ Disney-Hyperion, June 2022
(via Kaplan/DeFiore Rights)

After being snubbed by her college’s archaeology department for an honor she rightfully earned, Sam is hell-bent on proving her worth to her misogynistic department head. So when an opportunity presents itself to solve the hidden meaning behind a symbol found inside a cave in Greece, Sam is all over it, and she’s bringing Bennett and Jo with her for the cross-Atlantic trip. Once on the island of Crete, Sam finds a treasure she never expected―the golden girdle of an ancient and powerful goddess, and she can’t resist its siren call, or the accolades she would win for discovering it. But before she can take credit for the find, the girdle is stolen and the island is hit with a series of earthquakes that don’t feel quite coincidental.
Soon Sam, Bennett, and Jo are embroiled in a wild hunt―one that takes them to tiny island shops, a glamorous high-stakes auction, and a fiery near-death experience―to find the girdle before someone can use it to raise the ancient goddess from her slumber. An unexpected heist, a terrifying trek through a labyrinth, and a fight to the death with the Minotaur itself lead to a final standoff she and her friends won’t soon forget―one that might just break up Sam and Bennett for good.
Set against the gorgeous backdrop and ancient ruins of the Greek islands, the pulse-pounding action in this twisting mystery will appeal to action-adventure fans, romance die-hards, and mythology buffs alike.

“Jenny Elder Moke has done it again! Witty banter, ancient mysteries, thrilling action, and a mix of clever and dubious characters will keep you up all night in book two of the Samantha Knox series. A fantastic adventure!” ―Jennifer Lynn Alvarez, author of Lies Like Wildfire

Jenny Elder Moke writes young adult fiction in an attempt to recapture the shining infinity of youth. Her debut novel, Hood, released in 2020 and was a JLG Selection, a Mayor’s Book Club selection, and received critical acclaim. Her new series kicks off in 2021 with Curse of the Specter Queen. When she is not writing, she’s gathering story ideas from her daily adventures with her two irredeemable rapscallions and honing her ninja skills as a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Jenny lives in Denver, CO with her husband and two children.

FRACTURED PATH de J. C. Cervantes

Can dreams come true when you’re living with a family curse? The third book in the innovative YA fairy-tale quartet, written by best-selling authors Julie C. Dao, Dhonielle Clayton, L. L. McKinney, and J.C. Cervantes, following one family―and the curse that plagues it―over several generations.

FRACTURED PATH
(The Mirror, Book 3)
by J. C. Cervantes
Hachette Go, July 2022
(via Kaplan/DeFiore Rights)

1965―San Francisco, California. The 1960s are bursting with music and movement and love in San Francisco, perfect for a budding artist like Blake. Unfortunately, the art world is not welcoming to people of her gender or her multi-racial heritage, making it tough to land an internship that could put her on the map. That, plus the fact that Blake’s family has been notoriously riddled with bad luck, makes her feel like she can’t catch a break. Things only get worse when Blake starts to have ominous, confusing visions that grow stronger and more frequent, prompting Blake’s aunt and uncle to tell her about a long-lost family heirloom that could be the key to everything
Fueled by the ambiguous clues in her visions, Blake sets out on a journey through the city to retrieve her ancestors’ legendary mirror. But Blake is not the only one looking for it. Soon she must attempt to unleash her own dormant powers . . . or else risk all she holds dear.

Presentation of Books 1 and 2 here.

J. C. Cervantes is the New York Times best-selling author of The Storm Runner, which Booklist called « a rip-roaring adventure » in a starred review. Her first novel, Tortilla Sun, was a 2010 New Voices pick by the American Booksellers Association and was named to Bank Street’s 2011 Best Book List. Jen grew up in San Diego and was fascinated by stories about Maya gods and magic.