Gr 2-5–An inquisitive little calico house cat, on the prowl for a special place all her own, slips through a loose window screen and finds herself outside, where falling golden leaves lure her far away from home. At first, one may think that a cat wandering through town does not make for much of a story. But with deliberate pacing, the feline’s adventures escalate, and while her boldness grows, so do readers’ trepidations. Indeed, the ensuing encounter with the meanest dog in town reaches climactic suspense, but readers still don’t know why the little cat n...

"Is it fun in the yard,/ Nellie Belle, Nellie Belle?/ Is it fun in the yard,/ Nellie Belle?" Australian author

Mem Fox (Time for Bed; Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes) brings her preschooler-pitch-perfect rhythm and repetition to Nellie Belle, a cheerful picture book so melodic it could easily be sung.

Nellie Belle is a reddish-brown pooch with a pink collar who pants and prances her way through an eventful day in a seaside town. She digs a hole, moves through the town greeting everyone she meets (begging at the bakery, howling with street musicians, a...

A teen who deals drugs to pay for his twin sister's college tuition is introduced to a mysterious hallucinogen he's never before encountered. High school senior Finn, with a scar on his face that "distinguishes [him] from every other white dude," is a master at charming his way into and out of most situations. Though he's highly intelligent, with an almost-encyclopedic knowledge of nature, particularly of ornithology, he's developed a rough exterior that allows him to finesse his way in school, with girls, and in the drug world. Though it's for the benefit...