New Releases by Charise Mericle Harper

One day your prince will come...or so Princess Patty was told. But he''s taking too long, and she''s tired of waiting; so with Miss Loverpuff (her pet starfish) in tow, Patty sets off to find her own happily-ever-after. Follow along with word-for-word narration as Princess Patty meets a prince who places leftover peas under the bed, and another who can''t tell the difference between catching dragons and dragon flies! Will she ever meet the right Prince Charming? In this delightful picture book, Charise Mericle Harper uses her vivid, energetic style to bring this smart princess''s journey to life.

"When Morgan and Lewis receive a cryptic letter and a key from Mr. Lee, they get to see more of his life-like costume creations. Robots, aliens, and Sasquatches abound and the big question through it all is--what''s real and what''s pretending to be real?"-

Join third-grader Just Grace in her amusing adventures at school and at home with friends and family in this boxed set of paperbacks featuring the first three books in the charming chapter book series.

Grace has lots of new and exciting things to share in the latest addition to the Just Grace series! There''s a new crossing guard in town named Marie who needs a bit of help making friends, a fun substitute teacher for Miss Lois, and most exciting, Grace and Mimi are going to have their own table at the craft fair! They are going to make lots of crafts to sell—and hopefully save up enough money to go to the county fair. There is one small problem, though - Mimi is a sewing natural, but when it comes to crafting, Grace doesn''t know what to make. Leave it to Grace to come up with a great idea for the fair that is a big success, and even helps the new crossing guard find a friend.

IT’S TIME FOR BED, and Leo must get out of his pirate costume and into his pjs, and as he removes each item of clothing, Leo fondly says good night. (“Good night, green bandana . . . Good night, red and white shirt . . .”) Meanwhile, his friend Teddy has other plans as he gets ready for a swashbuckling nighttime adventure. Young readers will love seeing Leo transform from pirate to sleepy-head with a cute surprise ending. This charming good-night book also teaches colors and object identification.

Dreamer, Wisher, Liar is a heartwarming story about one girl''s transformative summer full of friendship, secret magic, and family. Fans of Rebecca Stead will enjoy Charise Mericle Harper''s funny and poignant novel. When her best friend is moving away and her mom has arranged for some strange little girl to come and stay with them, Ash—who is petrified of change and new people—is expecting the worst summer of her life. Then seven-year-old Claire shows up. Armed with a love of thrift-store clothes and an altogether too-sunny disposition, Claire proceeds to turn Ash''s carefully constructed life upside down. While every part of Ash''s life seems to be disrupted, she must protect a carefully hidden secret: She has discovered a magical jar in her basement. It''s a wish jar, full of someone''s old wishes—and it has the power to send her back in time and provide a window into another friendship between two girls. Discovering her own connection to the girls'' story shows Ash that her life is full of surprises and friends she never saw coming.

Nine-year-old Morgan of the Pacific Northwest is fascinated with aliens and the sasquatch, but his real adventures begin when he meets Lewis, whose parents just bought a motel named the Sasquatch Inn.

Bad Dude, who we met in Wedgieman to the Rescue, is up to no good again. This time, he''s using his evil Powerful Ordinary-Object Phaser (also known as POOP) to change the size of things. He''s created giant bees and giant bunnies who wind up terrorizing him until Wedgieman saves the day and puts the giant phaser out of commission—but not before Wedgieman creates a Giant Carrot Wedgie for the neighborhood kids there are giant carrots for everyone! Beginning readers (and their caregivers) will howl with delight over the ka-pow! humor and blam! illustrations.

"A little girl deems herself ''Superlove'' and arranges a wedding between her cat Pinky and stuffed dog, much to Pinky''s dismay"--

When her teacher announces that the class will be putting on a play, Grace hopes she will win the part of the forest fairy queen.

It''s time for the school fair, and Just Grace''s class has chosen a cupcake theme. But the fair’s highlight, a cupcake competition, causes quite a stir when Grace gets paired with dreadful Owen 1 and not with her best pal, Mimi. Grace is devastated. And just when she thinks things can’t get worse, her team votes down her idea to build a cupcake Eiffel Tower in favor of building Spiderman. It''s a challenging time for Grace. Will she be able to overcome her disappointment and lead her team onward? Will Grace’s team ever figure out how to make a Spiderman out of cupcakes? Visit Just Grace’s website at www.justgracebooks.com to find all sorts of fun things, including videos, quizzes, and information about all the Just Grace books.

Using simple text and cartoon-style illustrations, Charise Mericle Harper introduces young readers to a new graphic novel series, Bean Dog and Nugget.These two engaging characters capture young kids'' actions, reactions, conversations, imagination, and humor with spot-on accuracy. Kids will want to follow Bean Dog and Nugget and their adventures in each and every book in the series. In The Ball, the first book in this series, Bean Dog and Nugget lose Bean Dog''s shiny new ball in a bush. They dream up elaborate and silly ways to get it back while they argue about who is actually going to go and get it. Enter Superdog and Ninja Nugget for a hilarious ending that kids will love and relate to.

Following his debut in Wedgieman: A Hero Is Born, our superhero continues on his mission to get children to eat their vegetables. Until he meets Bad Dude and his secret inventions, that is. Bad Dude has a plan; it''s a bad plan. He wants to use his Make-Things-Disappear Machine to zap the playground and make it dematerialize—and then force all the children to work in the Bad Dude Factory! But have no fear, Wedgieman comes to the rescue and saves the day—and develops a new wedgie in the process that''s called The Celery! Beginning readers (and their caregivers) will howl with delight over the ka-pow! humor and blam! illustrations.

In the eleventh installment in the Just Grace series, Just Grace gets an invitation to a super sleepover!

In The Adventures of Wedgieman: A Hero Is Born, young readers will follow Veggiebaby from his humble beginnings on his journey to becoming Veggieman. Um, make that Wedgieman, since that''s what the kids in the neighborhood all call him. Let''s face it—children aren''t the best spellers and, well, wedgies are a lot cooler than veggies! But it''s not all cauliflower and carrot sticks—Wedgieman has to fight some pretty bad dudes in his work as a superhero, yet the one battle he can''t seem to win is the one over his superhero name. Brought vividly to life by Bob Shea''s graphic and stylish illustrations, The Adventures of Wedgieman blends Charise Mericle Harper''s outlandish humor with tongue-in-cheek action that will delight young readers.The Adventures of Wedgieman: A Hero Is Born is the first book in the series, and two more are on the way!

Fresh, innovative, and loaded with laugh-out-loud wit and humor, Just Grace is a series that stands out from the pack, just like Grace herself. Author Charise Harper weaves together distinctive, quirky illustrations and vibrant characters in fast-paced stories that capture familiar school and family situations that every young girl can relate to in a truly authentic voice. Artist, comedian, animal-lover, environmentalist, cook, sister, good friend —Grace is the quintessential 3rd grader… just a little bit… different. In this eighth addition to the series—Grace has major problems. Her neighbor is getting married and she has to get over her disappointment at not being chosen for a flower girl, not to mention figure out what to give as a wedding present! But with a touch of girl power, Grace musters up a fantastic idea that takes a lot of planning and a little help from all of her friends; her dog, Mr. Scruffers; and Crinkles the cat. Will her plan go off without a hitch on wedding day?

Henry (and his heart) are perfectly happy playing indoors. But Henry''s mom encourages him to go for a walk outside. Soon, Henry''s heart starts beating faster. Is Henry riding a rollercoaster? Is he doing jumping jacks? What could be making Henry''s heart beat faster? In this engaging, informative story, children learn about the many ways the heart functions within the body, and how what we see, hear, and feel can directly affect our heart rate (like falling in love with a puppy!). Henry''s Heart leads him to the best gift ever—woof woof!

After her last adventure, Fashion Kitty is truly becoming a hero. At school, she is more popular than ever. She''s even been mentioned in several articles in the local newspaper, (which she clips out and saves in a scrapbook, of course). But not everyone is excited about Fashion Kitty''s newfound popularity. A spoiled new kitty named Cassandra doesn''t like sharing the spotlight. And when Fashion Kitty starts inspiring the other kitties at school to be more independent about their style choices, Cassandra really doesn''t like it.

MOST OF THE TIME, Randolph is very, very nice. But when his friend Ivy gets invited to a really great sleepover birthday party and he doesn''t, Randolph feels a little left out, and sad, and mad. And then he goes a little crazy! Will he ever turn back to the nice friend he once was? We hope so! This nutty friendship story recognizes that even best friends aren''t always good friends (sometimes they can be downright rotten!). Kids'' squirmier feelings are conveyed with good humor and empathy in this reassuring tale about the icky feelings we all have, even though we are mostly very, very nice.

What if everything were just like boys? If shopping carts were like boys . . . grocery stores would be racetracks! If pillows were like boys . . . bedrooms would be superhero hideouts! Perfect for bedtime, this funny and tender celebration of boyhood will have everyone seeing their world in a whole new way.

The girl “who should easily find a place in the pantheon of precocious third graders” returns! From the author of the Next Best Junior Chef books (School Library Journal). In this seventh installment in the Just Grace series, any day now Grace’s best friend in the whole world, Mimi, is going to be getting a brand-new sister. Grace is really excited, plus nervous, plus worried, plus happy all mixed together. But both Grace and Mimi are in for a surprise when they find out that Mimi’s family is not adopting a brand-new sister—and instead she is getting a brand-new brother. (Oh, brother!) And to heighten the excitement even further, Grace is in for another big surprise! Praise for the Just Grace series “The kids come alive in the story, and Harper . . . enhances the comical goings-on with sparkling cartoon sketches. Equally delightful is the wry voice of energetic Just Grace, who never misses an opportunity to point out the injustices life has dealt her. She’s a hero through and through.”—Booklist (starred review) “Fans of Amber Brown, Clementine, and Judy Moody will love her.”—School Library Journal “Her casual language, cheeky attitude and punchy delivery are spot-on.”—Bookpage “Grace’s cartoon illustrations and charts enliven the conversational, first-person text.”—Kirkus Reviews “Girls who are settling into chapter book series featuring Clementine and Judy Moody will love the fast pace and familiar school and family situations . . . Harper’s sketches add interest and break up the text, leaving the new reader time to pause and smile.”—Horn Book

Fashion Kitty is experiencing a bit of a slump. Lately, there haven''t been as many fashion emergencies to solve. But when the principal of her school makes a new rule that everyone has to wear boring school unforms, Fashion Kitty will finally be able to put her fashion talents to use. But what if some kitties don''t want her help?

It''s hard to believe, but Fashion Kitty is in danger, who is the villian? Is it a jealous kitty? Is it a boy kitty? Is it an inventor kitty? Is it a kitty full of trouble? Yes! Yes! Yes! And Yes! Sometimes even a superhero needs a helping paw. Lucky for Fashion Kitty, she''s not the only hero in town.

For pink-obsessed Violet Bunny, attending the Pink Girls Pink-nic and Tea Party with her mama is the best day of the year-you should see her outfit! It''s always been girls-only, and pink-pink-pink. But when Mama wakes up with pink spots, the day seems ruined-until Daddy steps in to take her place. But Daddy is a boy, and not at all pink. What to do? Why, pink him up, of course. And with stickers, glitter, ribbons, and tape, the pink-nic becomes a daddy-daughter outing, and Violet''s pinked-up daddy is the hit of the party. Violet realizes she can pink up anything-and she will! Here''s a bunny-funny, sweet offering sure to please daughters and parents.

In this sixth installment in the Just Grace series, Grace and Mimi have a secret . . . Mimi is going to be a big sister. Then when Lily, a visiting four year old, turns into the Terrible Tutu, Grace can''t escape her, and Mimi can''t wait to be with her. Using all her empathy powers Grace shows Lily and Mimi the creative path towards a new friendship.

The Power of Cute features lift-the-flaps, pull-tabs, and simple pop-ups and is told in a young graphic novel style. A hilariously dressed monster confronts a superhero baby and is very miffed that he is not scaring the baby. And why isn''t the baby scared? Because the baby has a superpower--the power of cute--and, through this superpower, transforms the scary monster into a cute baby monster. This funny story also addresses children''s fears and provides a morale-building solution to confronting them.

Poor Vanilla Cupcake. He’s feeling a bit drab next to his fancy brothers and sisters. But when his new pal, Candle, comes along with some fresh ideas, the two hatch a plan to become the snazziest duo ever found on a plate! With an undeniably adorable hero and eye-catching design, Cupcake is sure to appeal to the sweet tooth in young readers everywhere.

"Wheels to turn, flaps to lift, and a mix-and-match fashion game"--Cover.

After reading this new book about Just Grace you will know how to . . . 1. turn your favorite potato chips into a tasty chipwich. 2. draw and fold up your very own zine, which is a cool little book made from only one piece of paper. 3. look for and use the special powers of the wish chip. This book will not help you know how to . . . 1. do fancy hairstyles for your cat. 2. make a flower garden in your room. 3. bake a four- or even five-layer cake. But this book might make you feel a little bit hungry, and if it does, then you will know you are having a “snack attack” just like Grace! Move over Judy Moody, Amber Brown and Clementine, there''s a new spunky third grader on the block!