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Kris wants to be a star scorer like his brother—so why does his coach keep him waiting on the bench?Kris comes from a sports-loving family. His brother is the star scorer on the high school team, and is being recruited by Division 3 colleges. Kris longs to earn the same adulation, and he's a good scorer for his junior high team. But why won't his coach start him? He's better on defense than his rival, Carlos, and nearly as good a shooter.Soon Kris becomes obsessed with earning a place in his team's starting lineup. He does everything he can think of—including being an invaluable player every time he comes in. But nothing seems to get Coach's attention. Even after he learns the history of the valuable “6th man,” Kris can't seem to let it go. How will he ever be a big scoring star?For every kid who hates to read but loves basketball, comes a suspenseful novel with plenty of play-by-play sports action.A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year

A poignant story of a boy picking up the pieces of his life after the unexpected death of his father, and the loyalty, concern, and friendship he finds in his small-town community.Justin doesn't know anything these days. Like how to walk down the halls without getting stared at. Or what to say to Jenni. Or how Phuc is already a physics genius in seventh grade. Or why Benny H. wanders around Wicapi talking to old ghosts. He doesn't know why his mom suddenly loves church or if his older brother, Murphy, will ever play baseball again. Or if the North Stars have a shot at the playoffs. Justin doesn't know how people can act like everything's fine when it's so obviously not. And most of all, he doesn't know what really happened the night his dad died on the train tracks. And that sucks.But life goes on. And as it does, Justin discovers that some things are just unknowable. He learns that time and space and memory are grander and weirder than he ever thought, and that small moments can hold big things, if you're paying attention. Just like his math teacher said, even when you think you have all the information, there will be more. There is always more.Set during the Gulf War era, Like Nothing Amazing Ever Happened is a story about learning to go on after loss, told with a warmth that could thaw the coldest Minnesota lake.

Middle school in space! An alien dog! A mad scientist! Hundreds of illustrations! Sci-Fi Junior High is galactically good! James Patterson presents a hilarious space adventure featuring an average human kid getting into a universe of trouble. Kelvin is the new kid at Sci-Fi Junior High -- a floating space station filled with alien kids form across the universe. And he arrived just in time for the annual school dance: The Galactic Get Down! Kelvin is desperate to take luminous Luna (her species literally glows), but now that his secret about not being a Mega Supergenius is out, Kelvin doesn't have a shot. He has to think of a way to become super cool so everyone forgets he lied about his average intelligence... cue mad scientist Erik Failenheimer's escape from his asteroid prison, an army of Pinions (any similarities to the MinionsTM is purely coincidental), and a battle to save Sci-Fi Junior High from imminent doom. Let's dance!'Saving the universe has never been so much fun!'-- Gordon Korman, #1 New York Times bestselling author of 39 Clues and Masterminds on Sci-Fi Junior High.

This gleefully illustrated space adventure is a laugh on every page. That's a lot of laughs! Kelvin Klosmo isn't just the new kid at school -- he's the new kid in the galaxy! Welcome to Sci-Fi Junior High: an inter-galactic space station with students of all shapes, sizes, smells, and... slime content. As the son of Earth's two most famous geniuses, Kelvin isn't just the smartest kid in the world... he's the smartest kid in the Universe. At least, that's what everybody at Sci-Fi Junior High thinks. So, maybe Kelvin lied a little about being a genius to fit in. And maybe a mad scientist is about to take over the universe unless Kelvin can stop him. Maybe everyone is doomed. Well, at least Kelvin won't have to worry about math homework anymore. Sci-Fi Junior High is an out-of-this-world story about friendship, accepting our differences, and the fight against evil... bunnies. Yes, evil bunnies -- don't ask.

A Year in the Life of a Complete and Total Genius is a humorously heartbreaking tale of a boy coming to grips with the death of his mother, and a father who just can't cope.Arthur Bean is a genius—it's just that no one else realizes this quite yet. He's going to be a world-famous author, and the first step is to win this year's story-writing contest. What he writes is pretty funny, but it gets him into trouble too.Like with his English teacher.And the school newspaper advisor.And cool girl Kennedy.And Arthur's number one nemesis, Robbie Zack.But all great authors spark controversy, so Arthur's not too concerned. Through letters, email exchanges,'SEE ME'notes and doodles, enter the funny, touching, and often mixed-up mind of Arthur Bean, creative genius.

Fans of Wendy Mass and Sharon Draper will fall in love with this smart and quirky follow up to Night of the Zombie Chickens as Kate must rely on some movie magic to make her next film. Seventh-grader Kate Walden is eager to start on her next film after the huge success of her first movie. This time, she's thinking of creating a sci-fi romance called Bride of Slug Man. When a new kid, Tristan Kingsley, comes to town from New York City, Kate thinks she might have found a film buddy -- someone to share her interest with. And it doesn't hurt that he's pretty cute. But it turns out that Tristan is making his own movie, and now the classmates Kate thought were eager to join her cast and crew are divided. With rumors spreading in school and between sets, Kate finds herself juggling more than just call times and rewrites. And judging from the whispers Kate hears about Tristan, she suspects that he isn't interested in having a fellow film-buff friend-he just wants to prove himself as the best filmmaker in school by winning the Big Picture Film Festival. Kate vows to enter too, and tries to focus on just making the best movie she can. But between the cutthroat popularity contest, a bully situation that goes from bad to worse, and several on-set mishaps, Kate is going to need all the movie magic she can get to make sure Bride of Slug Man hits the big screen.

Tally Nguyen lives for snowboarding. She loves it, and she's good at it. In fact, she has her sights set on the top of the podium this season. So she can't believe it when her grandparents sign her up for the Benton Bluff Junior High band. What will her friends think, when the Snowboard Queen starts hanging out with the Band o'Geeks? Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Calico is an imprint of Magic Wagon, a division of ABDO.

Kori Neal loves vintage. But when Jack Cassilly III slides into the band room with his brand-new, sparkling trombone in hand and his nose in the air, Kori's school-loaner seems less shiny than ever. With the help of a famous local jazz musician, can Kori see past the scuffs and dents? Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Calico is an imprint of Magic Wagon, a division of ABDO.

Baylor Meece does not want to be a soloist. No thank you. Been there. Done that. Hated it. Everyone else can fight over the chance to play for the governor… and they do! The sounds coming out of the Benton Bluff Junior High band room are anything but good. Baylor knows there must be some way to restore harmony. But when the attention lands on her, can she handle the spotlight? Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Calico is an imprint of Magic Wagon, a division of ABDO.

Davis Beadle has a theory. You look like your instrument. And trumpets? Trumpets are cool. But when he and his best friend Yulia join the Benton Bluff Junior High band, the trumpet section is full! Sent to shadow other band members and try new instruments, Davis forms a plan to stick with trumpet. But will something else stick instead? Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Calico is an imprint of Magic Wagon, a division of ABDO.

Night of the Zombie Chickens is supposed to be Kate Walden's breakout film. But her supporting actresses???her mother's prize organic hens???are high maintenance, to say the least. Thank goodness Kate's best friend Alyssa is the star. She's great at screaming and even better at killing zombies in creative ways. But when Alyssa turns into a real-life soulless zombie and ditches Kate for the most popular girl in seventh grade, Kate suddenly finds herself both friendless and starless. Now, thanks to Alyssa's new crowd, Kate is the butt of every joke at school and consigned to the loser table at lunch. If movies have taught Kate anything, it's that the good guy can always win???with the right script. And her fellow social outcasts may be the key to her own happy ending. Kate hatches the perfect revenge plot against her former best friend, but even though her screenplay is foolproof, Kate soon realizes that nothing???in filmmaking or in life???ever goes exactly as planned. Especially when there are diabolical hens out to get you.

The school play is in danger of closing before it even opens if Club CSI: can't figure out who's ruining rehearsals!Someone is trying to sabotage the school play, and it's up to Hannah, Ben, and Corey to make sure the show goes on. Club CSI: learns that the play was written by an eighth grader at Woodlands Junior High… Is the culprit a jealous classmate? Or could a disgruntled actor be to blame? As more props go missing and the set is vandalized, Club CSI: must use all of the investigation and forensic science techniques in their arsenal to crack the case. Because if they don't, the play's final curtain call might happen before opening night!© 2013 CBS & Ent. AB Funding LLC. All Rights Reserved. CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION in USA is a TM of CBS and outside USA TM of Ent. AB Funding LLC.

Isaac's parents have abandoned him for a trip to Italy in the final days before his bar mitzvah. And even worse, his hotheaded older brother, Josh, has been left in charge. An undefeated wrestler, MMA fighter, and bar brawler, Josh claims to be a'Son of the 613'—a man obedient to the six hundred and thirteen commandments in the Tanakh—and he has the tattoo to prove it. When Josh declares that there is more to becoming a man than memorization, the mad'quest'begins for Isaac. From jumping off cliffs and riding motorcycles, to standing-up to school bullies and surviving the potentially fatal Final Challenge, Josh puts Isaac through a punishing gauntlet that only an older brother could dream up. But when Isaac begins to fall for Josh's girlfriend, Leslie, the challenges escalate from bad to worse in this uproarious coming-of-age comedy.

Danny Lopez is new in town. He made a mistake back home in Las Vegas, and now he has landed at an experimental school in Colorado for “tough cases.” At the Cobalt Charter School, everything is scripted—what the teachers say, what the students reply—and no other speaking is allowed. This supercontrolled environment gives kids a second chance to make something of themselves. But with few freedoms, the students become sitting ducks for a killer determined to “clean up” Colorado Springs.

It's 2001 and zombies have taken over Tom's town. Meth zombies. The drug rips through Blackwater, PA, with a ferocity and a velocity that overwhelms everyone.It starts small, with petty thefts of cleaning supplies and Sudafed from the supermarket where Tom works. But by year's end there will be ruined, hollow people on every street corner. Meth will unmake the lives of friends and teachers and parents. It will fill the prisons, and the morgues.Tom's always been focused on getting out of his depressing coal mining town, on planning his escape to a college somewhere sunny and far away. But as bits of his childhood erode around him, he finds it's not so easy to let go. With the selfless heroism of the passengers on United Flight 93 that crashed nearby fresh in his mind and in his heart, Tom begins to see some reasons to stay, to see that even lost causes can be worth fighting for. Edward Bloor has created a searing portrait of a place and a family and a boy who survive a harrowing plague year, and become stronger than before.

Falcon Quinn survived the first term at the Academy for Monsters along with his monstrous friends Max, Pearl, Mortia, and the rest. He has finally discovered his monster nature and is working hard to embrace it. But what does it mean to be an Angel, exactly? Having wings is great, when Falcon can remember to use them, but with parents who are the leaders of two warring groups—the monsters and the guardians—Falcon still feels torn in half. When his monster friends begin to doubt his loyalty to the monster world and his only option is flight to Guardian Island, where his mother rules and he is a prince, he'll see the guardians as well as his monster friends in a whole new light. He will also have to decide if Jonny Frankenstein can be trusted and find a way to save his friend Megan from her imprisonment on Guardian Island, not to mention find a way to stop the monsters and guardians from fighting, once and for all.Bestselling author Jennifer Finney Boylan continues the heroic and often hilarious tale of Falcon Quinn and his band of monster friends in this second installment of the hair-raising and sidesplitting adventure of monstrous proportions.

It's the summer of 1969. We've just landed on the moon, the Vietnam War is heating up, the Mets are beginning their famous World Series run, and Woodstock is rocking upstate New York. Down in New Jersey, twelve-year-old Brody is mostly concerned with the top ten hits on the radio and how much playing time he'll get on the football team. But when he goes along for the ride to Woodstock with his older brother and sees the mass of humanity there, he starts to wake up to the world around him-a world that could take away the brother he loves.

Alias for middle-grade readers!Thirteen-year-old Cody Saron speaks five languages and has traveled to every corner of the globe with his father, an undercover CIA agent. Cody knows how to pick a lock or follow a trail, but he has no idea how to fit in with regular kids, or how to make it through a day of junior high. When the danger surrounding Cody's dad heats up, Cody is sent to stay with his aunt in her small Connecticut suburb and must adapt to this foreign world of normal life. Author Greg Logsted weaves humor and heart with thrilling action and unexpected twists in this original, quirky, fish-out-ofwater story.

FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD SHERMIE THUFF is a Big Guy with a Big Dream— to become the most famous competitive eater in the world. But every big dream has to start somewhere, and Shermie's determined to start his in the spotlight. If he can take first place in Nathan's World Famous International hot dog eating competition, fame will be his. The catch? The current record is 53-1/2 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes. Shermie's personal best? Seven. Clearly, Shermie has some training to do.... Only, no matter how hard he tries, he can't get past nine measly wieners. Then, just when Shermie's about to crack under the pressure, he gets his biggest shake-up of all: news that the 53-1/2 record holder is an itty-bitty, 130-pound guy. So Shermie vows to lose his restrictive Fat Belt the only way he knows how—with the help of Gardo, a weight-cutting fanatic determined to turn Big Shermie into a lean, mean eating-machine.