March/April 2013
— After a friendship ruptures over a science project, Jess discovers her late mother's journals and plans a camping sleepover to reconcile with Bailey under the stars.
— A chicken investigates a strange furry creature through the coop wire, stretching its neck cautiously before pecking the cat's ear.
— A girl remembers her grandfather through visits to a train station and Olvera Street, then recounts his death and what he taught her about time and memory.
— Otherworld Chronicles: The Invisible Tower, by Nils Johnson-Shelton; HarperCollins: New York, 2012; $16.99 Nils Johnson-Shelton’s The Invisible Tower brings the legend of King Arthur and his sorcerer, Merlin, into the...
— In 1940s America, a girl defies gender expectations to join the local baseball league, facing down the hostile coach and proving herself with a crucial home run.
— A girl reluctant to accept a new piano teacher after her grandmother's death discovers she can honor memories while embracing new beginnings through music.
— Runners collapse together in winter snow, their bodies folding into each other like marionettes, transforming exhaustion into shared laughter and connection.
— A nervous boy attempts his first solo skydive over California's Redwood Forest, facing equipment failure when his main parachute cord breaks, saved by the automatic backup.
— The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict, by Trenton Lee Stewart; Little, Brown and Company: New York, 2012; $17.99 The first thing I noticed about this book was that it is...
— A young birder enters a contest at Sunset Park, using patience and birdseed to attract thirty-seven birds while competitors rush around, winning the grand prize.