New Releases by Lin Oliver

Leo Lomax, the Sound Bender, returns in this globe-trotting sequel.Leo is back in New York, and things are worse than ever. His Uncle Crane has isolated him from his friends, pulled him from his school, and is keeping him under near-constant surveillance. When a strange mask once owned by his father begins to draw Crane''s attention, however, Leo is presented with a devil''s bargain. If he helps Crane find the mask''s other half, he can return to his life and his friends. To sweeten the deal, Crane will even pay for a fact-finding mission to check out Leo''s parents'' plane crash. There''s just one catch. In order to find the mask, Leo will have to travel across the world -- and take it from its rightful owners.

Antics ensue after Hank throws his report card into a meat grinder.

Stuck in summer school while his friends enjoy a "Passport to Hawaii," nearly-eleven-year-old Hank needs to earn an A on an oral report about Einstein in order to participate in Magik 3''s talent show act at the luau extravaganza.

Identical twins Sammie and Charlie are starting out seventh grade at a brand-new school. As they make new friends, and join different clubs, the sisters (and once inseparable best friends) start to grow further and further apart. Told from Sammie''s point of view, this moving yet funny story will be gobbled up by middle-school girls!

When Charlie compromises her values to help one of the popular girls cheat on a test, Sammie is inadvertantly pulled into the mess. Written from Charlie''s point of view, this story will let readers experience the lengths that wanting to be popular in middle school can take you to, the conflict it can cause, and the tough moral stands a girl sometimes has to take.

New York Times–Bestselling Authors: “A sixth-grader and his live-in ghost further cement their friendship . . . The cast is thoroughly likable.” —Kirkus Reviews It’s time for Moorepark Middle School’s annual Speak Out Challenge, and Billy Broccoli thinks he’s got it made. With his best friend Hoover Porterhouse—the ghost with the most—by his side, Billy’s got the competition in the bag. Who wouldn’t vote for a demonstration on mind reading? But when Billy lands a spot on the sixth-grade team, he starts spending more time with his new teammates than he does with Hoover. And the Hoove plays second fiddle to no one! If Billy’s not careful, his secret weapon might just vanish into thin air, leaving Billy to pick up the pieces of a demonstration day disaster! Praise for Ghost Buddy: Zero to Hero “An endearingly uncool hero . . . Readers will root for Billy.” —Publishers Weekly

After their parents are declared dead, Leo and his brother Hollis are taken in by a wealthy but distant step-uncle, and when, on his thirteenth birthday, Leo acquires the ability to hear sounds from the past when touching certain objects, he tries to use the skill to rescue a dolphin, whatever the cost.

Daniel knows it would be dangerous if anyone found out about his tiny twin brother. But when his sister accidentally posts a video of Pablo on her blog, Daniel is catapulted to instant stardom. Everyone is wowed by his special-effects skills—because there couldn’t actually be a miniature boy dancing on camera, could there? Daniel’s fear of Pablo being discovered is soon overshadowed by the lure of superstardom. Everyone is thrilled for him—except Pablo. Pablo can’t help but be jealous—after all, it’s his talent that’s getting Daniel noticed. Pablo’s tired of being left in the background, and decides it’s time for a drastic move. Will Daniel come to his senses before Pablo changes their lives forever?

It’s graduation time for Hank Zipzer and all his friends— time to move on from PS 87 to middle school. Trouble is, there are tests Hank has to pass to get into the same middle schools as his friends, and his learning differences might get in the way. Luckily, a life-altering audition at a performing arts middle school helps him find his true path.

When Hank first heard that his mom was having a baby boy, he wasn''t so thrilled. And when he finds out that the baby will be sharing his room, Hank is positively outraged! To make things easier, Dad suggests he take Hank and Emily away for some bonding. But on the first day of their trip, a freak snowstorm arrives. And then they get a call that the baby is coming early! Hank, Dad, and Emily know they have to get home - and fast! They hop on a train, hitch a ride on a dump truck, jump on a snowmobile, and climb into a dogsled, all in a desperate attempt to get home in time for Baby Zipzer''s birth.

Now that Daniel Funk has finally figured out what makes him shrink to the size of his fourth toe, he and his tiny twin brother, Pablo, can go on all sorts of mini adventures. They make a list of fun things they can do when they’re small: snowboarding down an ice cream sundae, trampolining on a marshmallow, and more. When the Science Club has a model-rocket launch, they have a great idea: They’ll launch themselves for the rocket ride. But when Daniel’s rocket crash-lands in the La Brea tar pits, things get sticky. Will Daniel become an ittybitty fossil?

You know how your stomach growls when you''re really hungry? That''s how it started, except the growling wasn''t coming from my stomach. It was coming from behind my eyeballs.... "Help!" I screamed. But my voice wasn''t normal either. It was the voice of a small person. A very very very small person. Meet Daniel Funk, a regular guy who''s stuck living in a house full of girls. Why couldn''t he have a brother instead of all those sisters? That would be so cool. When Daniel shrinks to the size of the fourth toe on his left foot, he discovers that he actually does have a brother. A little brother. A very little brother. He''s Pablo Funk, Daniel''s tiny twin, who is a toeful of trouble. When Daniel and Pablo decide to have some fun at their sisters'' party and let loose a giant hissing cockroach just to watch the girls scream, they find out that it''s dangerous to be so small. Lin Oliver''s hilarious new series, with Stephen Gilpin''s comical illustrations, reveals that sometimes big-time fun comes in very small packages.

Hank enters his dog Cheerio in a show, hoping to win the big prize. Unfortunately for Hank, Nick McKelty and his gassy little Chihuahua have the same thing in mind. Will Hank and Cheerio be able to take home the ribbon for Best in Show?

Daniel Funk can shrink to the size of the fourth toe on his left foot. But that''s not his only skill. Daniel and his best friend, Vu, are entering the school diorama contest with a model of King Tut''s tomb. If they win, they get tickets to a Lakers game. If they lose, they''ll never hear the end of it from Vince the Pizza Prince, the most obnoxious guy in school. But Daniel has a secret weapon: his miniature twin brother, Pablo. Pablo has disguised himself as a mummy and is hitching a ride to school in Daniel''s diorama. Will Pablo the mini-mummy help them win the contest, or will he create a big-time Egyptian disaster? In this hilarious new Daniel Funk adventure, illustrated throughout with Stephen Gilpin''s lively drawings, Lin Oliver proves that a minibrother and some shredded toilet paper can create some giant-sized fun.

When Ms. Adolf hurts her back in a tango contest and goes on longterm leave, Mr. Rock (the music teacher) is called in as the sub. Hank is psyched . . . until Mr. Rock suggests that Hank attend an after-school reading program, which means he''ll miss tae kwon do. But when Hank gets a crush on a girl in the reading program, and when Mr. Rock says that instead of writing his autobiography (a class assignment), Hank can present his life in scrapbook form, well . . . life''s looking good. Then Hank finds out that his crush is actually the cousin of his nemesis, McKelty! Readers will love Hank''s newest adventure, plus they will adore reading Hank''s scrapbook, which includes black-and-white photos of his school and neighborhood, newspaper clippings, memorabilia, and more!

Hank must decide whether to attend tae kwon do or an after school reading program run by his favorite teacher, and when he meets an interesting girl at "Reading Gym," he gets into a complicated situation that even has him lying to his father.

One afternoon, Hank overhears his mom and Frankie''s mom talking about having a baby. Having a baby!? It must be Frankie''s mom that they''re talking about! Frankie will go crazy when he hears about this! Hank worries about how to break the news to his best friend, until he finds out that it''s his own mother who is pregnant! How could she do this to him? One annoying sibling is enough. Hank definitely did not order this baby!

Hank''s dad has decided to enter a crossword-puzzle tournament, and he wants to make a family road trip of it! So the family piles into the car—along with Frankie and Katherine the iguana (Hank and Emily each get to bring a "friend"). When they reach their destination, they''ll get to spend the day at a roller-coaster park during Hank''s dad''s tournament! The only caveat is that Hank has a homework packet to finish before they get there . . . which he somehow manages to lose at a stop along the way. Suddenly, Hank doesn''t feel so good . . . Can Hank and Frankie rescue the lost packet and get Hank on a roller coaster?

Hank Zipzer is failing math, so he has to work with Heather Payne, resident class brain, to help get his grades up. At the same time, Hank’s school is putting on a production of The King and I. As coincidence would have it, Hank is cast as the King, and Heather as Anna. But when Hank’s dad tells him he can only appear in the play if he gets a B on his next math test, Hank knows he has to hit the books. Can Hank pull through in time for the show?

Hank must work on a huge homework packet during a family trip to North Carolina or he will spend the day with his father at a crossword puzzle tournament rather than riding roller coasters with his mother, sister, and friend Frankie.

Failing fifth grade math, Hank must depend on Heather, the class brain, to help him get a "B" on the next test in order for him to be eligible to play the lead in the school play, "The King and I."

On Halloween day, Hank comes to school dressed in what he thinks is the perfect costume-a table in an Italian restaurant. Nick McKelty, the resident school bully (dressed in a total blood and guts costume), thinks Hank''s costume is wimpy and that Hank wouldn''t know how to be scary and gross if his life depended on it! So Hank decides to create the scariest haunted house ever and invite McKelty over to show him what scary really is. The only problem is that Hank''s dog, Cheerio, is scared of Hank''s haunted house. So scared, in fact, that when Hank tries to find him, he''s nowhere in sight! Have Hank''s Halloween hijinks gone too far?

The pressure is on when Hank Zipzer is chosen as pitcher for the softball team at Public School 87''s annual Olympiad, the most anticipated day of the school year.

Fearing that he may be failing fourth grade, Hank enlists the help of his friends, and even his annoying younger sister, in an effort to prevent his parents from attending a parent-teacher conference.

Fourth-grader Hank, while on a field trip aboard "The Pilgrim Spirit," tries to learn knot tying in his own unique way, which causes unforeseen problems.

Hank thought that getting through summer school to get to the fifth grade would be hard enough, but little did he know that it would get worse! Everyone in the fifth grade is starting to focus on a sport—and they’re really good. Everyone, that is, except Hank. When Papa Pete suggests that Hank take up Ping-Pong, he decides to give it a try but keeps it top secret, as he thinks the other kids will tease him about it not being a "real" sport. Hank is so good that he manages to Ping-Pong his way to the championship! But when he finds out the contest is being held at "Nick the Tick" McKelty’s family bowling alley, will he risk being the laughingstock of the fifth grade?

Summer school are two words in the English language that Hank Zipzer doesn''t want to learn. But there''s no getting out of this one for Hank-summer school, here he comes! Will Hank have to spend the summer bored to death inside a sweltering classroom, or will he actually learn a cool lesson or two?

It’s time for the end of year parent-teacher conference, and Hank’s in a panic. He’s afraid that his teacher is going to tell his parents that he has to repeat the fourth grade. So Hank creates an elaborate scheme to have his parents win an out-of-town trip so they’re gone during the conference days. Of course, the plan backfires. Will Hank have to stay in fourth grade forever?

Hank is thrilled about the "Best Field Trip of the Year"-everyone from Ms. Adolph''s class gets to spend the night on an old-fashioned three-mast sailing ship in New York Harbor! And Hank gets even more excited when the ship''s captain chooses him to be the first mate. But being first mate is not all it''s cracked up to be, especially for a crazy captain who takes his job a little too seriously. The best field trip of the year is becoming the worst night of Hank''s life-how''s he going to get out of this one?

Inspired by the true life experiences of Henry Winkler, whose undiagnosed dyslexia made him a classic childhood underachiever, the Hank Zipzer series is about the high-spirited and funny adventures of a boy with learning differences. It''s science project time in Ms. Adolf''s class. This is good news and bad news for Hank-he loves science, but he hates the report part. So Hank turns to TV to take his mind off things. But when the program directory scrolls by too quickly for Hank to know what''s on, he decides to take apart the cable box to try to slow down the crawl. Great! Now Hank has found the perfect science project! But what he wasn''t counting on was his sister''s pet iguana laying eighteen eggs in the disassembled cable box. How is Hank going to get out of this one? Illustrated by Carol Heyer.