National Network for Equitable Library Service

Gabe’s summer job scaring tourists with ghost stories turns terrifyingly real when he accidentally summons the spirit of a dead girl—and must join forces with her to protect the world of the living. A new story by award-winning author Ken Oppel for ages 10 and up. The story of the tragic death of sixteen-year-old Rebecca Strand and her lighthouse keeper father is just an elaborate tale Gabe tells tourists for his summer job on Toronto Island.

Flowers seem pretty in concept, but with each flip of the page readers are welcomed into the side of flowers that is downright weird.

Eric is a foreign exchange student who comes to live with a typical suburban family. Although everyone is delighted with the arrangement, cultural misunderstandings ensue, beginning with Eric's insistence on sleeping in a pantry cupboard rather than a specially prepared guest room. The family takes Eric on a number of excursions, but they're never sure if he's having a good time, as he just doesn't say very much. He's mostly interested in small things he discovers on the ground. When Eric leaves the family suddenly, they're unsure if they've done something wrong.

Some bugs have super-power like abilities. And then there's Burt the beetle. He's not strong and he can't run fast. He doesn't even bite. He's more of a hugger, really. But Burt wants more. He wants a SUPERPOWER. There's just one tiny problem: what kind of special abilities do June beetles have?

Annabelle discovers an animal bone in the woods and decides to make it her new plaything. But nature ends up moving Annabelle in mysterious ways. At first, Boney, as Annabelle names him, makes the perfect companion. While Mom is busy with the baby, Boney and Annabelle share a meal, play at the park, and share a bedtime story before Annabelle tucks Boney into his shoebox-bed for the night. But when creatures run wild through her dreams, Annabelle considers for the first time where Boney really belongs.

One of Canada's most celebrated author's debut novel for young readers. Beatrice, a young girl of uncertain age, wakes up all alone in a tree house in the forest. How did she arrive in this cozy dwelling, stocked carefully with bookshelves and oatmeal accoutrements? And who has been leaving a trail of clues, composed in delicate purple handwriting? So begins the adventure of a brave and resilient Black girl's search for identity and healing in bestselling author Lawrence Hill's middle-grade debut.

Secret ballrooms, hidden artwork and unlikely friends--welcome to the Regency, where even time moves in surprising ways! Jake Simmons hates his new home. The Regency is nothing more than floor after floor of peeling wallpaper and faded glory. Jake misses his old life. He misses the time when his mother was employed. He misses living in a house where the wind doesn't make the windows whistle. Loneliness (and a trail of kittens) leads Jake to the apartment of an elderly lady, then to the bowels of the building and then to a part-time job assisting Larry the custodian.

Percy Jackson meets Tristan Strong in this hilarious, action-packed middle grade contemporary fantasy that follows a young boy as he journeys across China to seal the underworld shut and save the mortal realm. Zachary Ying never had many opportunities to learn about his Chinese heritage. His single mom was busy enough making sure they got by, and his schools never taught anything except Western history and myths.

When a child is asked to "Please, be quiet!" they sit silent ... and their imagination sweeps them away on a breathtaking journey. Through the window, the child can hear the trees breathe and watches them sway back and forth as they begin to dance. Then bears join in, accompanied by the child on their drum, making so much noise they wake up a dragon! The dragon's smoky breath fills the sky, and the wind forms a knight on a steed that gallops through the stars.

From the critically acclaimed, award-winning creators of Ocean Meets Sky and The Night Gardener comes a whimsical and sweet tale of a young girl who cares for her pet cloud as it grows.