National Network for Equitable Library Service

The Thumb in a BoxLeon and his friend Susan live in New Auckland, a small isolated fishing village on the coast of British Columbia. One day, the village receives an unexpected gift from the Government of Canada -- a fire truck. But New Auckland is surrounded by mountains and hugs a tiny beach. There are no roads, no cars, no fire hydrants.Thumb on a DiamondThumb and Susan come up with an ingenious plan that will take all of the village's nine school-aged kids on the trip of a lifetime. They'll form a baseball team, win the regional title and qualify to be sent to the provincial championships in Vancouver, courtesy of the school board.Thumb and the Bad GuysThumb and his best friend, Susan, love movie nights, when the entire community of New Auckland gathers in the school gym to eat popcorn and watch videos. Mostly they are movies about bad guys being tracked down by cool detectives. It's the villains, Thumb realizes, that make life interesting. If only he could track down a bad guy.