Children's Programs & Services

An historic blizzard is raging across the eastern seaboard, and three unsuspecting kids are about to find themselves smack in the middle of it! Perfect for fans of the I SURVIVED series who are looking for a high-stakes adventure!

Neither Elizabeth norher little brother, Matty, have ever been north of Georgia. They're used to sandals and shorts, not boots and parkas. So when they fly to New York City to spend the holidayswith their cousin Ashley, they want to experience one thing: SNOW!

Ashley can't wait to show her cousins how magical Manhattan is at Christmastime. But instead of a week of fun, what they get is an arctic blast that knocks out the power and plunges the skyscrapers into darkness. It's unreal: the blizzard covers the Statue of Liberty in ice and topples the famous Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center!

When Ashley's dog, Fang, gets lost outside, the cousins take matters into their own hands. . . and are caught in the storm's dangerous path as they chase Fang across the frozen city. Can the little Pomeranian survive the cold, snow, and ice blanketing Manhattan? Can they?

A healing story of loss and love, this beautiful picture book reminds us that the people who mean the most to us are always with us.

Charlie loves to dance her way through life with her grandma. They may not always be together, but each time they part Grandma says, If you miss me, look at the moon. Then winter brings unexpected change, and not even dancing feels the same. What will Charlie do? Will Grandma come to see her dance again? In the biggest show of the year, Charlie finds her answer. This tender exploration of loss from debut author-illustrator Jocelyn Li Langrand illuminates the boundless power of love to help and heal.

The heartwarming and adventure-filled sequel to Trouble in the Stars, in which Trouble, an adorable but dangerous shape-shifter must travel the galaxy on a rescue mission with their best friend Electra and a troublesome baby shapeshifter. Perfect for fans of Greg van Eekhout and Geoff Rodkey.

After the adventure and havoc of escaping the evil General Smag, Trouble is happy to finally be settling in to their new home with their best friend, Electra, and the misfit crew of the Hindsight. Maybe danger is finally behind them. But Trouble has a situation to deal with: training the rescued baby shapeshifter and helping it figure out who--and what--they are. But trying to be a good big sibling to a proto-being isn't the only challenge facing Trouble.

Trouble's best friend, Electra, was taken from her home as a baby and was raised at a military academy, where she was trained to become a loyal StarLeague cadet. Now Electra is determined to rescue the other cadets so they can have normal childhoods instead of becoming lethal weapons, like her. Her plan? To infiltrate the academy as a senior student and then engineer an escape by the entire student body.

Trouble knows they must help Electra carry out her plan. But when Electra goes missing, Trouble, determined to rescue the rescuer, goes undercover at the academy, even if it's not as easy as you'd think for a shapeshifter to pretend to be a military cadet. Especially when Trouble finds that the baby shapeshifter has come along.

Now Trouble must do whatever it takes to save Electra and the other cadets--and figure out a strange mystery coming from the deep dark edges of space. Because something's coming...

It's a summer of family, friendship, and fun fiascos in this semi-autobiographical novel that's as irresistible as a fresh-baked cookie.

Eleven-year-old Ellis Johnson has the summertime blues. He dreamed of spending the summer of 1976 hanging out with friends, listening to music, and playing his harmonica. Instead, he'll be sleeping on a lumpy pullout in Dad's sad little post-divorce bungalow and helping bring Dad's latest far-fetched, sure-to-fail idea to life: opening the world's first chocolate chip cookie store. They have six weeks to perfect their recipe, get a ramshackle A-frame on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard into tip-top shape, and bring in customers.

But of course, nothing is as easy as Dad makes it sound, even with Grandma along for the ride. Like she says, they have to GIT--get it together--and make things work. Along the way, Ellis discovers a family mystery he is determined to solve, the power of community, and new faith in himself.

Partially based on Shawn Amos's own experiences growing up the son of Wally "Famous" Amos in a mostly white area, and packed with humor, heart, and fun illustrations, this debut novel sings with the joy of self-discovery, unconditional love, and belonging.

"Shawn Amos has written a beautiful story of family and music, of growing up and having adventures, of business building and character building, that is at once very specific and universal. I love Cookies and Milk as much as I love cookies and milk." -Lisa See, New York Times bestselling and award winning author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Shanghai Girls

Perfect for quarantine reading with your children!

The Sleepy Pebble and Other Stories is a soothing collection of tales co-written by sleep specialist Alice Gregory and children's book writer Christy Kirkpatrick. They have crafted these stories to incorporate mindfulness and other techniques that can aid relaxation. Coupled with dreamlike and calming illustrations, this treasury could make bedtime a little bit easier.

A delicious and fortifying picture book inspired by the author's family, featuring the Mexican tradition of holiday tamale-making

A 2022 Pura Belpré Award Illustrator Honor Book

"What is the recipe?" I ask. Abuela laughs. "It is in my heart, Rosie. I use mis ojos, my eyes, to measure. Mis manos, my hands, to feel. Mi boca, my mouth, to taste. My abuela gave it to me, and I am giving it to you." Each year on Christmas Eve, Rosie's abuela, mamá, tía, sister, and cousins all gather together in Abuela's kitchen to make tamales--cleaning corn husks, chopping onions and garlic, roasting chilis, kneading cornmeal dough, seasoning the filling, and folding it all--and tell stories. Rosie learns from her abuela not only how to make a delicious tamale, but how to make a delicious life, one filled with love, plenty of spice, and family.

It's bedtime, and Elmer's looking after two baby elephants. But how will he get them to sleep?

A good walk will do it, Elmer thinks. But as they walk past their friends, everyone in the jungle seems to think he should tell them a bedtime story, and they each have their own favorites.

What's yours?

From New York Times-bestselling author Beth Ferry and illustrator A.N. Kang comes a tale filled with fantastic word play that will have kids laughing and insisting, "No nibbling!"

One warm spring day, Derwood the goat planted a garden and patiently tended it as it grew. On that very same day, he noticed a dandelion puff--it was too early in the season, but Derwood was taking no chances. Growing a garden is risky business, after all. But as Derwood inspected the dandelion, he realized it wasn't a weed. It was a bunny! With Tabitha, a precocious bunny who is very interested in all the tasty vegetables, hopping on the scene, what ensues is a pun-filled tale that will leave you saying, "No nibbling!"

From the bestselling superstar duo Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham, creators of Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn, comes another positively delightful kitty and unicorn story that celebrates the magic of friendship--and the beauty of imperfection

Unicorn is perfect.

Everybody thinks so.

He yearns to look the way everyone thinks he should.



But when a fumble makes Unicorn feel like a big, ugly goof, he can't help but wonder: If he's not absolutely perfect and majestic all the time, will Kitty even want to be his best friend anymore?

The magical, bestselling team of Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham put their horns together once again for a heart-bursting story featuring an utterly adorable kitty-corn pair, showing readers that it's okay to embrace our flaws and share the messy parts of ourselves.

Fans of Katherine Applegate, Holly Goldberg Sloan, and Lynda Mullaly Hunt will love New York Times bestselling author Amber Smith's heartwarming middle grade debut about family, friendship, and the magic connection between a girl and her dog.

Eleven-year-old Sadie's school year is off to an awful start. Her best (and only) friend has moved away, her older brother is a jerk (as always), and her beloved Gramps is having more and more trouble keeping his memories straight. But when she comes across a stray dog, she discovers something wonderful and magical--she and the dog, Dewey, are able to communicate telepathically. Sadie knows that Dewey is destined to be her friend.

Dewey is quickly captured and sent to a shelter. And Sadie's moms say Dewey is dangerous, a bite risk, and that Sadie, whose mind is always wandering with a larger than life imagination, needs to prove she's more responsible before she can adopt any pets. But Sadie is running out of time--Dewey lets Sadie know that her days at the shelter are numbered.

The only solution: break Dewey out of doggie jail.

In this reaffirming, magical, and uplifting story of friendship, family, and believing in yourself, New York Times bestselling author Amber Smith assures readers: it's okay to think big and act with your whole heart.

Inspired by a terrifying true story, acclaimed author Guadalupe Garcia McCall creates a twisty tale about a boy desperately trying to survive in a new town with a secret past.

James always knew moving from Texas to Oregon was going to be horrible.. But no sooner have he and his family arrived in their "perfect" new home in their "perfect" new town than he starts getting mysterious letters from someone called the Keeper. Someone who claims to be watching him. Someone who is looking for "young blood."

James and his sister, Ava, are obviously in danger. But the problem with having a history of playing practical jokes is that no one believes James--not even his parents. Now James and Ava need to figure out who is sending the letters before they become the next victims in their neighborhood's long history of missing children.

Because one thing is clear: Uncovering the truth about the Keeper is the only thing that will keep them alive.

Men in Black meets middle school! A school project takes an alien turn when three kids uncover a secret society whose aim is to keep sneaks--mischievous interdimensional sprites--from slipping into our universe!

When Ben Harp sees his teacher's watch crawling across the hallway, he thinks he must be dreaming.

But no, he's just seen his first Sneak--an interdimensional mischief-maker that can borrow the form of any ordinary object.

He figured this school year would be bad--his best friend moved away, the class bully is circling, and he's stuck doing a group project with two similarly friendless girls, Charlotte and Akemi. Still, he wasn't expecting aliens!

And he certainly wasn't expecting that the woman he and Charlotte and Akemi are assigned to interview for their "living local history" project would be a Sneak expert. Or that she'd foist an old book on them to keep safe . . . and then disappear.

Now Ben, Charlotte, and Akemi are trying to understand a book that seems to contain a coded map while being pursued by violent clothes hangers, fire-spitting squirrels, and more. The Sneaks want that book! And they want something else, too: to pull a vastly more dangerous creature into the world with them.

Can three misfit kids decode the book in time to stop an alien takeover? And if they do, will they get extra credit on their group project?

"From the tops of tall mountains to the rocks in the ground beneath our feet, rocks are always slowly changing. How do they do this? Explore the rock cycle to learn how different kinds of rocks change into each other over many years. Follow along with the different ways rocks form and find out what the changes look like up close. It's key Earth science curriculum made approachable for all!"--