New Releases by Joan Holub

From the authors of the Goddess Girls series comes the fourth book in a series steeped in Norse mythology, magic, adventure, and friendship. Skade, the goddess of skiing, is known as one of the best athletes—and a top student—at Asgard Academy. But lately, she’s felt like she’s been in a slump. When three giants appear and offer to mend the rift between the worlds by organizing a ski competition, Skade feels like this is her big chance to prove herself again. After all, the powerful Odin will be choosing the Asgard team based on ability, attitude, and academics! But much to Skade’s embarrassment, Odin is less than impressed with her—and names her as an alternate instead of part of the main team. Aside from Skade’s frustrations, something seems fishy about the whole competition. After one of Skade’s classmates has a strange nightmare about it, they start to wonder if the games are one big cover-up for something more sinister. And when the Asgard team finds themselves on thin ice, it’s up to Skade to overcome a big fear, save her friend—and show everyone what she’s made of!

Join little Aphrodite for a sweet adventure in this third Little Goddess Girls story—part of the Aladdin QUIX line! Aphrodite is excited to be on an adventure to Sparkle City with her new friends, Athena, Persephone, and Artemis. After being rescued from her magical sea shell, Aphrodite hopes the super-duper powerful Zeus can give her the gift of likeability. Aphrodite knows that will make her be a better friend, especially to the girls she met on the Hello Brick Road. But when she finds a magical, gold apple along the way, something makes her keep it a big secret from the others. Will those magical powers help Aphrodite with her big ask for Zeus? Or will Aphrodite discover a very different kind of magic—the magic of friendship—is most important of all?

Zeus and his friends are back for another adventure in this latest Heroes in Training chapter book! Since defeating the Titans, Zeus and his fellow Olympians have taken over Mount Olympus. Things are nearly back to normal…until a stranger named Hercules shows up, asking for help. He’s on the run from Eurythseus, King of Argon, who is after Hercules for egging his temple. Before Zeus can help, Eurythseus himself appears. It turns out that Hercules has also been bragging that he is the ruler of Olympus, and Eurythseus intends to declare war on the Olympians’ new home. Zeus’s friends come up with an idea—maybe Hercules could make up for egging Eurythseus’s temple. The Oracle Pythia reveals that in order to do this, Hercules must get a scale from a huge, nine-headed serpent—the Hydra. Will this be enough to please Eurythseus? Or is another battle on the horizon for the Olympians?

From the authors of the Goddess Girls series comes the third book in a series steeped in Norse mythology, magic, adventure, and friendship. Twelve-year-old Idun is the goddess of youth, and her magical and deliciously sweet golden apples are what keep all of the academy’s gods and goddesses healthy and youthful. They grow year-round—even in winter snow—in one very special grove in Asgard. But when the mischievous Loki ends up making a bet that jeopardizes Idun—and her powerful apples—she must figure out a way to protect herself and her magical orchards from a giant who wants those apples all to himself! Can Idun save the apples—and the gods and goddesses who rely on them—from the two bad seeds at Asgard Academy?

Little Athena and Persephone travel to meet the great and powerful Zeus in this Wizard of Oz inspired Little Goddess Girls story—part of the Aladdin QUIX line! After dropping onto the Hello Brick Road, little Athena and her new friend, the flowery Persephone, are on their way to meet the great and powerful Zeus at the top of magical Mount Olympus. While Athena is looking for help getting back home, Persephone would love to have Zeus cure her bad luck-itis and give her the gift of good luck so she can help her favorite flowers grow big and strong!

Learn all about artists who changed history in this engaging and colorful board book perfect for creators-in-training! Painting, shaping, making art. With creative joy, hands, and heart. Little artists have great big imaginations. In this follow up to This Little President, This Little Explorer, This Little Trailblazer, and This Little Scientist now even the youngest readers can learn all about great and empowering artists in history! Highlighting ten memorable artists who paved the way, parents and little ones alike will love this creativity primer full of fun, age-appropriate facts and bold illustrations.

Little Athena finds herself on a Wizard of Oz inspired adventure in this first Little Goddess Girls story—part of the Aladdin QUIX line! After a strange and sparkly storm carries her away from home, Athena finds herself in a land filled with magic, talking animals, and incredible objects with magical powers—the land of Mount Olympus! When Athena arrives, she’s greeted by the talking Owlies and is paired with very special magical sandals—sandals with powers that Medusa, a green, snake-haired girl, wants for herself! A glowing goddess (of hearth and home) named Hestia appears and warns Athena that if Medusa gets her snakes on those sandals, she’ll surely use its powers to make trouble for Mount Olympus! But Athena has more important things on her mind—like going back home! Determined to find her way back, Athena heads off on an adventure through the magical landscape of Mount Olympus to try and elude Medusa—and find her way back to the mortal world once and for all with the help of the great and powerful Zeus!

Get to know Eos, the Goddess of Dawn, in this twenty-fourth Goddess Girls adventure!

From the authors of the Goddess Girls series comes the second book in a brand-new series steeped in Norse mythology, magic, adventure, and friendship. Twelve-year-old Sif is goddess of the harvest, with her abilities woven into her long, blonde hair. She also has special prophetic powers—she is a seer—but is reluctant to share them after a mishap years ago caused a big rift in a friendship that meant a lot to her. And Sif is determined to not let that happen again! But when the mischievous Loki cuts her hair in a horrible prank gone wrong, Sif orders Loki to fix it. Without her hair, the crops in the land of Midgard—which supplies the wheat for food in Asgard Academy as well—are in danger of dying off. With Sif and Freya, Loki goes to ask for help from the dwarfs, specifically, the sons of Ivaldi who are all skilled blacksmiths and strikes a bargain with them. They hammer and spin gold into fine golden strands along with a spear and a ship that will grow to full size once in water. On his way back through the cave, Loki gets an idea for how to get more treasures by playing one set of dwarfs off against another. Envious of the work of the sons of Ivaldi, the dwarfs Brokk and Eitri say they can do better. Loki replies that he doesn’t think they can and that, furthermore, he’ll stake his head on it. Is that a bet that Loki will regret? And will Sif be able to restore her magical powers to prevent the drought in Midgard?

"When Medea and Jason find the golden fleece in an oak tree guarded by a serpent, Medea concocts a sleeping potion to help them get by the snake and retrieve what is theirs."--]cProvided by publisher

Learn all about influential women who changed history in this engaging and colorful board book perfect for trailblazers-in-training! Paving the way to a future that’s bright. Helping the world with their skills, smarts, and might. Little trailblazers cause great big changes. In this follow up to This Little President and This Little Explorer, now even the youngest readers can learn all about great and empowering female trailblazers in history! Highlighting ten memorable women leaders who paved the way, parents and little ones alike will love this girl power primer full of fun, age-appropriate facts and bold illustrations.

This early reader in verse entertains with silly dogs getting up to some Halloween hijinks. The crazy dogs from Joan Holub’s Step 2 reader Shampoodle are back and as spirited as ever! There’s a puppy party in the backyard, but the scaredy-dogs skedaddle when "ghosts" and "ghouls" begin to arrive. What should these pups do? Don costumes and join the Halloween parade! Step 2 Readers use basic vocabulary and short sentences to tell simple stories. For children who recognize familiar words and can sound out new words with help.

The mysterious Nyx, Goddess of Night, enrolls at Mount Olympus Academy in this twenty-second Goddess Girls adventure! Being the goddess of night is not as easy as it seems-after all, Nyx is in the constant shadow of Eos, Goddess of Light. When Nyx has the chance to go to MOA as an Unsung Hero, she thinks she can finally shine in her own way. But Principal Zeus is so scared of the darkness Nyx brings, he still sleeps with a nightlight! And her arrival seems to bring on more nightmares than sweet dreams. Can Nyx convince everyone that a little darkness is a good thing?

Zeus and the Olympians are tasked with finding a magical horse in this Heroes in Training adventure. When Zeus meets a young boy named Hermes, he claims to have their next quest from Pythia, the Oracle at Delphi. But he wants something for the information: Zeus must hand over the winged sandals he took from Perseus after their last battle. What he doesn’t know is that Perseus had stolen those sandals from someone…Hermes! Could those sandals be another magical object? When Hermes starts to fly, Zeus knows they have found another Olympian for their group—and Hermes lets Zeus know their next adventure will be to “find the force that sings.” Since Pythia never tells them exactly the right words (her glasses tend to get a little foggy), they figure out that they are supposed to find “the horse with wings.” With the help of a reluctant Hermes and another new boy named Ron, the Olympians are off in search of a winged horseu00ad—with a few surprises along the way!

"Little explorers discover a great big world"--Back cover.

Ava and Itty Bitty Kitty are off to visit the firehouse! Ava’s giant cat is usually less than purr-fectly behaved, and this trip is no exception! Will Itty Bitty’s nose for trouble make them new friends—or make their visit to the firehouse a disaster? I Can Read Books are designed to encourage a love of reading. Itty Bitty Kitty: Firehouse Fun is a My First I Can Read book, and with basic language, word repetition, and great illustrations, it’s perfect for shared reading with a child.

In this fairy tale retelling, Gretel ventures into a forbidden forest and falls into the hands of evil villains and must foil their dastardly plans. Welcome to Grimm Academy, where beloved fairy tale characters are BFFs—and saving the world from the E.V.I.L. Society, one magical adventure at a time! Gretel joins the Grimmtastic quest for justice in a world where the E.V.I.L. Society must be stopped when she goes hiking in Nevermore Forest, against her the warnings of her teacher. When she is captured by the E.V.I.L. society, she must summon all her strength to fight back!

Despite being the muse of epic poetry, Calliope has trouble putting her bright and fun ideas into action.

In order to fit in at Mount Olympus Academy, new girl and forest-mountain nymph Echo copies the mannerisms of all the other students, but instead of ingratiating herself to her classmates, it only seems to grate on them.

Perseus and the Olympians face off against the evil, nasty Medusa, who can turn them all to stone with just one look.

After Athena ties Arachne’s shoes for her, Arachne takes the credit for Athena’s hard work. But when their friends ask Arachne to teach them how to tie their shoes, Arachne must admit the truth. So Athena comes to the rescue and teaches everybody this important skill. All is forgiven, and the girls are friends again. Conceived and crafted by Greek-mythology expert Joan Holub and illustrated by the bestselling Leslie Patricelli, this book also includes a summary of the original Arachne myth.

After a bit of thought, Hestia jotted down five simple things she had always wanted to do but never had the guts to: Sit with someone new at lunch, stand up for someone, talk to a boy, try something I'd normally say no to and take a truly big, bold cooking risk! Would this prove to be the recipe for change?

A clash between the Titans and The Olympians at sea leaves Zeus and his friends shipwrecked—and in a tidal wave of trouble—in this Heroes in Training adventure. After an encounter with Uranus, God of the Sky (and father of the Titans), the Olympians find themselves in the middle of a battle between two big-time Titans. On Cronus’s orders, Titan Oceanus dives into the sea and causes it to turn even stormier. He’s heading straight for the Olympians’ boat, planning to capsize it, no doubt. Just when it looks like the Olympians are done for, Zeus throws his thunderbolt high and causes a huge battle in the sky between the Titans. As broken stars and hunks of clouds crash to earth and into the sea around the Olympians and their ship, they manage to escape—thanks to some help from Zeus’s medallion and guide, Chip—but find themselves shipwrecked. And as Uranus’s stars begin to fall in the ocean, the huge splash makes a wave of bubbles that heads for the shore of the island where the Olympians and their ship are trapped. And Zeus has a feeling those bubbles mean trouble…

When a mermaid named Amphitrite arrives at Mount Olympus Academy, she finds herself falling for Poseidon, but his quirks may be too much for her.

When the Olympians arrive on the island of Lemnos, they meet the metal-working Hephaestus who is hesitant to leave with the gods, stating that the only way he will join them is if he gets to be their leader.

Something wicked was brewing in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. It started when two girls, Betty Parris and Abigail Williams, began having hysterical fits. Soon after, other local girls claimed they were being pricked with pins. With no scientific explanation available, the residents of Salem came to one conclusion: it was witchcraft! Over the next year and a half, nineteen people were convicted of witchcraft and hanged while more languished in prison as hysteria swept the colony. Author Joan Holub gives readers and inside look at this sinister chapter in history.

Medusa discovers that having the golden “King Midas” touch has its ups and downs in the sixteenth Goddess Girls adventure. When Medusa suddenly becomes able to turn objects into gold just by touching them, she is thrilled. Gold, gold, everywhere! But it’s not just objects that become golden—it’s also food, and, even people! Her new ability turns out to be more dangerous than delightful, but can she do anything to reverse it?

Zeus and the rest of the Olympians try to rescue Artemis from the clutches of a Titan named Crius who has her under a sleeping spell.

In this fairy tale retelling, Sleeping Beauty goes to boarding school and must find protection from an evil curse. Sleeping Beauty—who just goes by her middle name, Rose—has always been a daredevil. But according to her fairy tale, after her twelfth birthday Rose must avoid all sharp objects. That isn’t easy at Grimm Academy, where enchanted items can also be dangerous. Rose will have to stay wide awake to keep out of trouble-and to find her magic charm!

Aphrodite has her hands full with Eris, who loves to stir up mischief, in this Goddess Girls adventure. Eris is a goddess girl who has a penchant for causing trouble. So when her brother, Ares, is celebrating his thirteenth birthday, she can’t let the occasion go by without a little mischief. After all, she is the goddess of discord and strife! Aphrodite is determined to make sure Ares gets the attention he deserves, but can she handle what Eris has planned?