Child Friendship

Joe thinks of himself as "The Flash", a hotshot basketball player who knows the coolest moves. The other members of his team aren't as impressed. Joe spends too much time trying to wow the crowd, and not enough time helping the team. At tryouts for the freshman team, Joe is quickly cut. He needs to stop fooling around and prove he has what it takes to stay in the game.

Sam is the best swimmer on his school swim team. When Julien, a new exchange student at school, joins the team near the end of the season, Sam offers to help him practice. But when Sam and Julien have to race against each other in the final meet, only one swimmer can win the gold.

Tractor works hard all day on the farm. At the end of the day, he is tired and dirty. Thankfully, his friends are ready to help him relax.

Tim is disappointed when his best friend wants to spend their last day of summer geocaching. But a competition might make things interesting. Before the day is over, Tim will have discovered more than just a hidden treasure.

The trip to the amusement park should be fun. But when Samantha "Sam" Archer and her friends try out the haunted house ride, things go terribly wrong!

Because of an injury, Nadia couldn't practice her balance beam routines all summer. Her ankle is healed now, but she's nervous about being back in competition. It seems like every time she sees her rival, Blaire, her ankle starts to hurt again. Will Nadia find her balance, or will she let Blaire's mean comments keep her from winning?

Samantha Archer, also known as Sam, couldn't be more excited about her class trip to Scrub Brush, the cool frontier town. But from the second they arrive at the historic village, it's clear someone's trying to make the whole town disappear. Can Sam and her friends save Scrub Brush?

Lately, it seems like each of the baby-sitters besides Dawn has been singled out...and she's a little jealous. But now it's Dawn's turn to shine: Mrs. Pike has asked her to help prepare Margo and Claire for the Little Miss Stoneybrook contest! Dawn's going to do everything she can to help her charges win, even if Margo's only talent is peeling a banana with her feet. But then Kristy, Mary Anne, and Claudia are helping Karen, Myriah, and Charlotte enter the contest, too. It's hard to tell whether the competition is fiercer at the pageant - or in the BSC!

Jessi knows a secret language! She learned it from Matt Braddock, the BSC's newest charge. Matt's been deaf since birth, and he uses sign language to speak. Since Jessi is Matt's baby-sitter, she's been using sign language, too. Soon all the kids in Stoneybrook want to learn to sign...which keeps the baby-sitters busy. Jessi's the busiest of all: she working on another secret just for Matt. Will she be able to keep the secret and pull off her special event?

Claudia has a sad good-bye to make. Her grandmother, Mimi, has just died. Claudia understands that Mimi was sick for a long time, but she's still mad at her grandmother for leaving her. Who will help Claudia with her homework...and share "special tea" with her?

Traditional values abound in these hilarious stories from Appalachia: friendship, family, orderliness, humor, and delight in an especially inventive practical joke. In "Rainy Weather", a hound dog with more heart than sense wins everyone's admiration. "Uncle Frank Learns to Speak Polish" finds Davis' famous Uncle Frank making the most of a little foreign language. And, in "Uncle Frank Clean Up the Post Office", cleanliness is next to godliness, and it's also next to hilarity.

An anxiety disorder disrupts 14-year-old Audrey’s daily life. She has been making slow but steady progress with Dr. Sarah, but when Audrey meets Linus, her brother’s gaming teammate, she is energized. She connects with him. Audrey can talk through her fears with Linus in a way she’s never been able to do with anyone before. As their friendship deepens and her recovery gains momentum, a sweet romantic connection develops, one that helps not just Audrey but also her entire family.

James Patterson's explosive debut in the young adult market is guaranteed to create legions of new fans for this beloved, multimillion-selling author.

Two choices, two storylines—one surprise ending! Will Sarah be brave enough to ask out her crush or will she lose her nerve? Both stories play out in this funny and heartfelt seventh book in the New York Times bestselling Emmie & Friends series.

Aisha and her friends Mei and Quinn have an amazing secret: They can transform into powerful dragons. Together, they are the Treasure Dragon Girls, and they help keep a realm called the Magic Forest safe from harm. The evil Shadow Sprites have stolen the Magic Mirror, determined to cause chaos among the forest's animals. Aisha must harness the power of sapphires to rescue the mirror, and return it to its rightful home in the Magic Forest's secret vault.

Dimitri gave Rose the ultimate choice. But she chose wrong...After a long and heartbreaking journey to Dimitri's birthplace in Siberia, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir's - and to her best friend, Lissa. It is nearly graduation, and the girls can't wait for their real lives beyond the Academy's iron gates to begin. But Rose's heart still aches for Dimitri, and she knows he's out there, somewhere. She failed to kill him when she had the chance. And now her worst fears are about to come true. Dimitri has tasted her blood, and now he is hunting her.

Ghost. Lu. Patina. Sunny. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds, with personalities that are explosive when they clash. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school track team - a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics if they can get their acts together. They all have a lot to lose, but they also have a lot to prove, not only to each other but to themselves.

Because of a bet, Billy is in the uncomfortable position of having to eat 15 worms in 15 days. The worms are supplied by his opponent, whose motto is "the bigger and juicier, the better"! At first Billy's problem is whether or not he can swallow the worm placed before him, even with a choice of condiments from peanut butter to horseradish. But later it looks as if Billy will win, and the challenge becomes getting to the worm to eat it. Billy's family, after checking with the doctor, takes everything in stride.

The fifth Big Nate novel in the New York Times best-selling series by Lincoln Peirce, all about king of detention and cartooning genius Nate Wright! Everyone knows N-A-T-E does not equal N-E-A-T! And when Nate’s sloppiness gets out of hand, his best friend, Francis, is in serious trouble.

Nate’s a big deal in his scout troop... until Artur - aka Mr. Perfect - joins up. Now Nate’s stuck in second place. And Artur means business. Will Nate take the grand prize? Or wipe out, big time?