New Releases by Martha Freeman

A perfect read for back to school--no matter what that looks like! Dexter is like a square peg in a round hole: he just can’t fit in. All the kids in his class enjoy the zany things their teacher Mr. Ditzwinkle does to make learning fun. All except Dexter, the weirdo who prefers the same routine. But when things start disappearing from school, Dexter is surprised that his teacher is suspected. Dexter thinks Mr. Ditzwinkle is odd, but he knows he’s not a crook. Can Dexter the weirdo prove it by catching the real thief?

She claims her name is Varloo and that she is a spy from an underground world called Hek.... She says she has been sent to report what the people on the surface are up to, especially anything that might threaten her world below... But Varloo doesn''t seem like any spy Dougie Minners ever heard of. She is short, klutzy, and she wears a long dress that looks like a bathrobe! Still, Dougie is not about to leave Varloo lying bruised beside a creek in the woods. So he takes her to the only safe place he knows -- his tree house. Life aboveground is not as bad as Varloo expected, especially when it comes to food. Mushroom cakes and turnip wafers aren''t nearly as delicious as Oreos, Kool-Aid, and the red sauce called catsup! Then suddenly she and Dougie hear of a plan that might mean the destruction of Hek. Now it''s up to these two unlikely heroes to save an entire underground civilization. How on Earth...or in Hek...will they do it?

" Mille bazars !!! " s''exclame Molly. Une bombe vient d''exploser dans la petite vie tranquille de la famille Knight. Grandma, veuve depuis un an, s''est remariée sans prévenir et en plus elle débarque avec son Jimmy. Petit, gros, exubérant, préférant les hamburgers à la grande cuisine que concocte Mme Knight, Jimmy Barkenfalt, avec ses chemises hawaiiennes et son bermuda, ne ressemble en rien au " vrai " grand-père de Molly, bel homme distingué. Scandalisée, Molly déclare la guerre à l''abominable intrus...

Kate Sommers is stunned when her parents announce that their family is moving from sunny California to Belletoona, Pennsylvania. Kate can''t bear leaving her friends, her cool surfer boyfriend, and the beach. But maybe, just maybe, Belletoona won''t be so bad. Forget it. All it ever does is snow in Belletoona -- and Kate''s already in trouble with the principal and half her class. What''s worse is her younger sister, who acts like Miss Perfect. Kate''s had it. Nothing will stop her from going back to California where she belongs.

Constantly embarrassed by her eccentric mother, Rory finds solace with her many pets and wonders what it would be like to live with the departed father she hardly knows.