Family Reader

David Lee is 12 years old and disappointed in his father Earl, a once-famous rodeo clown who has quit the circuit and moved David to a small town in Vermont to start a new life. David has a hard time adjusting to life as a “normal” boy and is hurt that his father never allowed him the chance to be his partner in the rodeo arena. When Earl tries to buy David a horse at auction, David pretends to have no interest in it, and the horse is sold, instead, to a 70-year-old woman named Sarah Tierney.

These bedtime stories incorporate themes from LGBTQ families, relationships, and life situations. They stand as engaging stories in their own right but incorporate diverse themes. As such, these stories are appropriate for all children but may be helpful for those from alternative families who see themselves less represented in mainstream fiction.

Sasquatch! That's who Judy looks like in her school picture. Antarctica! That's where Judy's been sent three times in a single sour-ball week to chill out. Can Judy's mood get any worse? Well, duh! Of course it can. Unless…it's Backward Day! That means it's time for Judy to turn that frown upside down, make lemonade out of lemons, and be nice to stinky little brothers. Can she stay in a good-not-bad mood for an entire day? How about seven whole days? Will her friends freak out when they see a tidy, on-time Judy who smells like cupcake lip gloss?

It’s grocery shopping day, and Gabe’s father has made a shopping list. Gabe has a list of his own, and it’s nothing like Dad’s. What will they bring home?

Kelly keeps hearing the drip, drip, drip of the bathroom faucet. She soon discovers her brother Jack hasn’t been shutting the water off tight. It is up to her to teach him how to save water and about how the water cycle works.

Olivia is a vegetarian. Ivy is a vampire. And they're twins?!? Ever since Olivia discovered that her long-lost twin sister, Ivy, is a vampire, she's been soaking up everything Ivy will tell her about Franklin Grove's vampire community. It's all top secret, and Olivia's sworn that she'll never tell another soul. But now, nosy tabloid reporter Serena Star is snooping around. As she gets closer and closer to the truth, it's up to Ivy and Olivia to throw her off track. This is one fangtastic news story that can't get out!

Ever since Grandma Lou gave her that squished penny, Judy can’t stop winning - at bowling, at spelling, at everything! For sure and absolute positive, she’ll ride that wave of good fortune all the way to the nation’s capital. Watch out, D.C. Here comes Judy Moody, the luckiest kid ever! Luckiest, that is, until her lucky penny has an unlucky accident. Suddenly it’s good-bye, Lucky Duck! Hello, C-A-L-A-M-I-T-Y! Has Judy’s luck gone down the toilet for good?

Sam, Otter, Atim, and Chickadee are four inseparable cousins growing up on the Windy Lake First Nation. Nicknamed the Mighty Muskrats for their habit of laughing, fighting, and exploring together, the cousins find that each new adventure adds to their reputation. When a visiting archeologist goes missing, the cousins decide to solve the mystery of his disappearance.

Valentine's Day is Abby's least favorite holiday. Mushy stuff like valentines, red hearts, and a school dance turn her into a Valentine's Scrooge. When Ross Brown, a perfectly nice guy in Abby's English class, invites her to the dance, Abby tries to set him up with her twin sister, Anna.

When the Moody family drops anchor on “Artichoke” Island, they are greeted by the mysterious Cap’n Weevil, a one-eyed buccaneer with a scraggly beard and a treasure map. Before you can say “Davy Jones’s Locker,” Stink and Judy are racing in search of gold. But they’re not the only salty dogs lookin’ for loot. Can Scurvy Stink and Mad Molly beat out their rivals? Not unless they can find the hidden clues, crack the secret codes, and solve the tricky puzzles - before time runs out! Aaarrr!

Weir's back and even weirder! But it's not just Weir who's weird, it's his whole family. Not even their pet bird is normal! How will he keep cool with a school trip to the zoo coming up and the birthday party of his biggest crush?! It won't be easy...but it will be funny!

Meet Weir Do. No, that's not a typo, that's his name! Weir Do's the new kid in school. With an unforgettable name, a crazy family, and some seriously weird habits, fitting in won't be easy...but it will be funny!

Syd has a hard time deciding what color she wants to paint her room.

In the hopes of receiving some mail of her own, Paula writes a letter to her grandparents.

Ricky and Nicky are twins. They do everything together and look a lot alike. How can you tell these twins apart?

The intersection of motherhood and creative life is explored in these writings on mothering that turn the spotlight from the child to the mother herself. Here, in memoirs, testimonials, diaries, essays, and fiction, mothers describe firsthand the changes brought to their lives by pregnancy, childbirth, and mothering.

From award-winning YA author Brandy Colbert comes a debut middle-grade novel about the only two Black girls in town who discover a collection of hidden journals revealing shocking secrets of the past. Beach-loving surfer Alberta has been the only Black girl in town for years. Alberta's best...

In this darkly comic story about how we value female labor—and don’t—a new mother becomes embroiled in danger when her friend, a controversial entrepreneur, goes missing. When her daughter Lotte was born, Dani had welcomed the chance to be a stay-at-home mother. To be good at something...

When Tulsi first meets Madhav, she is irrevocably drawn to his chiselled good looks and charm. Although wary of his many dalliances and the string of broken hearts left in his wake, she is surprised by the intense desire that Madhav arouses in her. And before long, she forsakes her family, her...

Moongobble and Edward are off on another Mighty Task, even more dangerous than the first. Urk the toad, Fireball the dragon, and the Rusty Knight are coming along, too, of course. This time their adventures will lead them right into the fearsom Forest of Night.