New Releases by Lynne Jonell

Castles, battles, the ancient Scottish Highlands, and a boy who is determined to bring everyone safely home combine in this absorbing middle grade time-travel adventure. Will’s mother is in danger overseas, and his father must find her, so Will and his little brother are packed off to relatives in Scotland. Will feels useless. He can’t save his mother. He can’t help his father. And when he tries to amuse his brother on the plane ride, he can’t even locate the images in Jamie’s book—the hidden pictures that everyone else can see. Once at the family’s ancestral castle, though, Will tries again. And as he delicately adjusts his focus, suddenly his eyes tune in to a different visual frequency—the past. Looking back five hundred years is interesting . . . at first. But when Jamie impulsively leaps through the opening in time, Will and his cousin Nan must follow, into a past so dangerous that Will isn’t sure how he will get everyone safely home. Christy Ottaviano Books

Talking cats, a missing princess, swordfights with villains, and secret identities combine in this epic tale of bravery and self-discovery on the high seas. Duncan is very smart. He also has a most unusual gift. So why does his mother encourage him to be perfectly average and insist he only get mediocre grades ? His special talent is the ability to talk to cats—but Duncan longs more than anything for academic success. When Duncan rebels and gets a perfect test score, people start taking notice of him. And it turns out that some of those people may not have the best intentions . . . not by a long shot.

The reviews are in! Magical Mix-Ups is a high-quality, standout early chapter book series. Tate Willow is pretty and nice, and most people think she’s smart. But Tate doesn’t feel smart . . . until she falls into an old well in the backyard and her mind starts working double-time. She sails through her homework and can read a book in minutes. But keeping Tate in line is becoming a full-time job for her brothers and sister. She’s strangely attracted to water of all sorts—streams, sprinklers, waterfalls. Can they get herwild water magic under control? Lynne Jonell follows up her Minnesota Book Award finalist, Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List Title, and Junior Library Guild selection, Hamster Magic, with a fourth story of the Willow family’s rowdy run-ins with mixed-up magic.

Chicken? Abner is not a chicken, no matter what his brother Derek says. But when it comes to giving a speech in front of the whole town, Abner is . . . well . . . he's more than a little nervous. Then his sister Tate has an idea--bravery lessons. And the first one? Eat a roasted grasshopper. But Abner forgot something important. There's magic in the ground under his family's house and grasshoppers hatch from eggs laid in the ground. So what, exactly, would happen if a kid ate a grasshopper that had been soaking up magic all year long? BOING! Lynne Jonell follows up her Minnesota Book Award finalist, Texas Bluebonnet Master List choice, and Junior Library Guild selection Hamster Magic with a third story of the Willow family's rowdy run-ins with mixed-up magic.

Ten-year-old Christina lives a sheltered life until she discovers a secret tunnel, an evil plot to enslave orphans, and a mysterious source of energy known as zoom.

With a POP! and a puff of smoke, the Willows' lawn mower calls it quits. A new mower will cost their parents a lot of money, money Derek had hoped to borrow for a train ticket to visit a friend. Luckily Derek and his brother and sisters find a rusty push mower tucked away in the shed. It doesn't look like much, but it turns out that it's been soaking up magic for years. And it's hungry for grass! Can Derek earn his ticket? Maybe . . . if he, Abner, Tate, and Celia can keep the magic mower under control! Lynne Jonell follows up her Junior Library Guild selection, Hamster Magic, with a second story of the Willow family's rowdy run-ins with mixed-up magic. A Bank Street Children's Book of the Year

From Lynne Jonell, the popular author of Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat, comes a high-spirited story of mixed-up magic and wishes gone awry. Celia Willow is the baby of the family and she's sick of it. She's sick of being younger and smaller. She's sick of never being taken seriously. So when her hamster surprises the Willows with his wish-granting powers, she blurts out her deepest desire. The problem? Celia didn't exactly wish to be furry. Her big brothers and sister can't let her parents see her like this, but they only have one night to fix things. How can Abner, Tate, and Derek reverse something as powerful as hamster magic . . . before breakfast? Hamster Magic is on the Texas Bluebonnet Masterlist for 2012-2013 and was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award.

Emmy was not an ordinary girl. She could talk to rodents. She could shrink to the size of a rodent. And just a few weeks ago, she had even become a rodent to defeat her evil former nanny, Miss Barmy. Emmy's parents, unaware of their daughter's other life, ship her off to visit two elderly aunts in Schenectady. Emmy figures her life will be ordinary at last, if rather boring. But she didn't count on her friend Ratty, whose search for his long-lost Ratmom brings him more than he bargained for. Here is the third book in the acclaimed Emmy series, complete with a flip book feature (bats!).

Emmy ist ein sehr liebes und sehr einsames Mädchen, dafür sorgt ihre furchtbar strenge Nanny. Eines Tages lässt sie die freche sprechende Ratte aus dem Käfig im Klassenzimmer frei - und schlagartig wird ihr Leben wild und gefährlich ... Ab 9.

In the irresistible sequel to Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat, Emmy, Joe, and Ratty rescue other children Miss Barmy has preyed upon Emmy Addison is an ordinary girl -- almost. If you don't count the fact that her parents are rich (very), her best friend is a boy (and a soccer star), and she can talk to rodents (and they talk back), she's very ordinary indeed. But she hasn't been that way for long . . . It was only a few weeks ago that Emmy and her friends Ratty and Joe got rid of the evil Miss Barmy, the nanny who had nearly ruined Emmy's life -- and the lives of five other girls who went missing. Miss Barmy is now a rat. How much harm can she do?

Can two friends foil a dastardly plan and save orphans from a fate worse than death? Christina lives in a big, old stone mansion on the edge of a dark forest surrounded by barbed wire. Deep within the forest is the laboratory where her father works—and where her mother was blown to bits years ago. Christina's father knows just how dangerous the world can be, so he keeps her safe at home, forbidding her from talking to the very interesting orphans down the road. But when an orphan boy named Taft talks to her, she's thrilled to help him search for a secret tunnel. But soon she discovers there's more to the orphanage, the lab, and the mystery of her mother's accident than she ever suspected. Sinister things are in the works—and the secret of zoom is the most dangerous secret of all! “This exciting tale, with just a touch of fantasy and humor, is a winner. ... Jonell displays pitch-perfect skills in an expertly crafted story that never flags and that includes plenty of heart-stopping situations to keep readers fully engaged.” —School Library Journal, Starred Review

Emmy was a good girl. At least she tried very hard to be good. She did her homework without being told. She ate all her vegetables, even the slimy ones. And she never talked back to her nanny, Miss Barmy, although it was almost impossible to keep quiet, some days. She really was a little too good. Which is why she liked to sit by the Rat. The Rat was not good at all . . . Hilarious, inventive, and irresistably rodent-friendly, Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat is a fantastic first novel from acclaimed picture book author Lynne Jonell.

Christopher would rather have a dog than a little brother who ruins his birthday parties, but when his brother begins to act like a puppy Christopher has a change of heart.

During bathtime, Christopher and his mother share an experience in which she shrinks to a very small size and he takes care of her.

Mole was an ordinary mole. His burrow wasn't anything special, and his job was the usual for a mole: digging, tunneling, moving a little earth from here to there. But he had a loving molewife and a little babymole at home and he was very happy. Then one day the unthinkable happened. Dragons attacked the tallest molehills in the forest. Hundreds of moles ran in terror as the molehills collapsed. Mole ran, too, but then he stopped. He looked at his paws and down at his feet, with claws meant for digging. There was a job that needed to be done, and he could help. Inspired by the events of September 11, 2001, Bravemole is a moving story of courage. Perfect for prompting conversations about the tragedy or remembering the brave efforts of all who came forward to help, the tale celebrates the extraordinary capacity of the most humble to make a difference.

A young boy helps his mother realize how her bad mood is affecting everyone in the family.

Christopher would rather have a dog than a little brother who ruins his birthday parties, but when his brother begins to act like a puppy Christopher has a change of heart.

Because their mother seems too busy preparing for company, Christopher and Robbie cook up the idea of a Mom pie to serve as her surrogate. Full-color illustrations.

During bathtime, Christopher and his mother share an experience in which she shrinks to a very small size and he takes care of her.

A father and son have fun playing rough on the couch, grabbing, tossing, and tickling. Full-color illustrations.

Robbie says he wants a snake, but his mother won't allow a snake in the house. After he and his mother look at snakes, Robbie finds a creative way to get his very own snake and keep his mother happy. Full-color illustrations. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Christopher hat es satt: dauernd wird er von seiner Mutter herumkommandiert. Er dreht den Spiess einfach um und lässt Mami auf Kindsgrösse schrumpfen. Soll sie doch mal sehen, wie anstrengend Kleinsein ist...