New Releases by Patricia Reilly Giff

A broken fence and an animal on the loose take center stage in book three of the series by a two-time Newbery Honor winning author. Alex loves living on Zoo Lane, especially because he gets to visit his favorite animal in the world: the red panda. When he finds a hole in the zoo''s fence, it presents the perfect opportunity to sneak into the zoo before school to see his beloved furry creatures. What Alex doesn''t realize is that the broken fence will cause more problems than almost getting caught by the security guard. When an animal goes missing in the zoo, can he come clean about the fence? In this third book of the series, two-time Newbery Honor author Patricia Reilly Giff has crafted a lively mystery about conservation, animal care, friendship, and problem-solving. In touch with the programs and initiatives that today''s zoos are undertaking, Giff provides readers with a fresh look at the work of zoologists. Charming line artwork by Abby Carter appears throughout and keeps the story upbeat.

A missing animal at the zoo and strange noises coming from her backyard can mean only one thing for Tori: she''s got a mystery to solve! Tori loves living on Zoo Lane with her family. Who else gets to live at a zoo--and with her cousin Sumiko visiting from Tokyo soon, this is shaping up to be the best summer ever! But when rumors of a missing animal start to spread, Tori wants to help . . . except she doesn''t know which creature is on the loose. An ostrich? A little frog? There''s also a strange noise coming from her backyard. It almost sounds like someone is calling her name! Tori is on the case. In this second book in the illustrated Mysteries on Zoo Lane series, two-time Newbery Honor author Patricia Reilly Giff has crafted a charming story about conservation, animal care, friendship, and problem-solving. In touch with the programs and initiatives that today''s zoos are undertaking, Giff provides readers with a fresh look at the work of zoologists. Charming line artwork by Abby Carter appears throughout and keeps the story upbeat.

A heart-wrenching novel in verse about a poor girl surviving the Irish Land Wars, by a two-time Newbery Honor-winning author. For Anna, the family farm has always been home... But now, things are changing. Anna''s mother has died, and her older siblings have emigrated, leaving Anna and her father to care for a young sister with special needs. And though their family has worked this land for years, they''re in danger of losing it as poor crop yields leave them without money to pay their rent. When a violent encounter with the Lord''s rent collector results in Anna and her father''s arrest, all seems lost. But Anna sees her chance and bolts from the jailhouse. On the run, Anna must rely on her own inner strength to protect her sister--and try to find a way to save her family. Written in verse, A Slip of a Girl is a poignant story of adversity, resilience, and self-determination by a master of historical fiction, painting a haunting history of the tensions in the Irish countryside of the early 1890s, and the aftermath of the Great Famine. A Junior Library Guild Selection A Bank Street Best Book of the Year

Newbery Honor–winning author Patricia Reilly Giff writes a tender, timeless story about a girl who stopped speaking long ago, and how she finds her way back to her voice. For fans of Listening for Lucca, Fish in a Tree, The Rules, and Mockingbird. Judith lives with her beloved aunt Cora and her faithful Dog on a beautiful island. Years ago, when her mother left, Judith stopped talking. Now she communicates entirely through gestures and taps, and by drawing cartoons, speaking only when she’s alone—or with Dog. This year, Judith faces a big change—leaving her small, special classroom for a regular fifth-grade class. She likes her new teacher, and finds a maybe-friend in a boy named Mason. But Jubilee’s wandering feet won’t stop until they find her mother. And now she discovers that her mother has moved back to the mainland, nearby. If Jubilee finds her, will her mother’s love be what she needs to speak again? Judith’s cartoons, sprinkled throughout, add lightness and humor. ILA-CBC Choices Reading Lists, Children’s Choices Selected for the Kansas NEA Reading Circle Catalog

Jilli and Jim solve the mystery of the monster in their garden in the third book in the endearing new chapter book series by two-time Newbery Honor Book author Patricia Reilly Giff. It is time to plant a vegetable garden! Best friends Jilli and Jim must keep the bugs and slugs away.Then they can march in the Vegetable Parade at the end of the summer. But what is that HUGE monster plantgrowing in the middle of the garden?Will it eat their vegetables?Will it eat Jilli''s dog Fiercely?Will it eat Jilli and Jim?Can Fiercely save them from the monster plant?

Siria loves everyone at Pop''s firehouse. And she loves the stars in the winter sky. Her mother, who died, named her after Sirius—the Dog Star, brightest in January. But starry nights can fill with flames, and Siria sneaks out to chase the firetrucks. If she''s there, everyone will be safe. Still, Siria''s not brave like Pop. Her best friend Douglas used to chase with her, and it wasn''t so scary. But she did something wrong; they''re not friends now. This winter, Siria must learn to be brave. Because she''s got to fix things with Douglas; and when Pop is injured, she needs courage, and her friends, more than ever.

The endearing new chapter book series by two-time Newbery Honor Book author Patricia Reilly Giff. Take one girl with a big imagination.Add one frisky dog with a nose for trouble.And get ready for an irresistible adventure!Fiercely has run away again. And Jilli is sure that the fox from her favorite book is loose in her neighborhood! Now Jilli and her best friend, Jim, must find Fiercely and save him from the fox! Will they make it in time?Two-time Newbery Honor Book author Patricia Reilly Giff and veteran illustrator Diane Palmisciano have created a charming book filled with "shivery" fun and delicious surprises!

An endearing new chapter book series by two-time Newbery Honor author of the bestselling Polk Street series.Jilli and Jim are best of friends. But today, Jim has some news. Something scary is happening next door. Workmen are building something that is big and red. And a woman in a pointy hat is on a ladder painting. Could she be the witch from Hansel and Gretel making a big red gingerbread house?When Jilli''s dog Fiercely crawls under the fence and runs into the witch''s yard--the children must go over there and rescue him! But a surprise is in store for everyone. The woman is not a witch at all. She''s Ms. Berry--the nicest teacher from the school. And soon she will be their teacher! With her characteristic warmth, humor, and irresistible child-friendly drama, Patricia Reilly Giff is at her very best!

When her brother Rob, a Navy cook, goes missing in action during World War II, Jayna, desperate for family, leaves upstate New York and their cranky landlady, accompanied by a turtle and a ghost, to seek their grandmother, who Rob believes may live in Brooklyn. Includes soup recipes.

Charlie has lots of ideas. Need something to go sky high? Ah-ha! The zinger-winger! Need to launch a cheese popper into soup? The amazing popper-upper! But the zinger-winger zings more than wings and the popper-upper plops. Charlie isn''t allowed to invent for a week. Meanwhile, the afterschool invention fair is coming up. He needs time to make something special. Good thing he has his friends and Mr. Redfern, another inventor, to help him out.

This week the kids at the Zigzag Afternoon Center are being creative, and trying new things. But that''s not so easy for Destiny. All of her ideas turn into disasters—until she finds out what a good poet she is. The sixth book in award-winning author Patricia Reilly Giff''s Zigzag Kids series captures all the excitement of new friends and after-school fun.

Rachel, Cassie, and Joey live in the city with their Pop, until Pop''s search for work lands the family on a run down farm. Dreamy Rachel loves to read, and doesn''t know much about the country. Times are hard there, too—the school and library are closed. When Pop gets work near Canada, he has to leave the children on the farm alone. For two months! But Rachel''s the oldest, and she''ll make sure they''re all right. Somehow.

Elizabeth is drawn into a dramatic story from the American Revolution when she discovers a portrait of her ancestor, a girl called Zee, who has a striking resemblance to Elizabeth. The girls'' lives intertwine and Elizabeth''s present-day story alternates with Zee''s. As Elizabeth learns about Zee, and walks where Zee once walked and battles raged, the past becomes as vivid and real as the present.

DIVSecond-grader Dawn Bosco puts her mystery-solving skills to the test when her former best friend, Emily Arrow, loses her birthday ring/divDIV /divDIVDawn Bosco and Emily Arrow used to be best friends, until Dawn took Emily’s unicorn. Even though Dawn eventually gave it back, Emily still won’t talk to her./divDIV /divDIVWhen Emily’s blue birthday ring goes missing after art class, the rest of the second grade accuses Dawn of stealing it. Dawn sets out to solve the mystery herself to prove she is innocent—and maybe get her best friend back./divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features an illustrated biography of Patricia Reilly Giff including rare photos from the author’s personal collection./div

DIV There’s a thief at Camp Wild-in-the-Woods, and it’s up to Dawn Bosco to catch her! Dawn Bosco and Jill Simon are going away to Camp Wild-in-the-Woods for the first time. There will be horseback riding and swimming and walks in the woods and cookouts with marshmallows. But the other girls at camp, the ones from the Coolidge School, don’t seem very friendly. And then someone steals Dawn’s mirror and special pin, the ones her grandmother gave her. Dawn’s summer will be ruined if she doesn’t find the thief—and soon! This ebook features an illustrated biography of Patricia Reilly Giff including rare photos from the author’s personal collection. /div

DIV Powder Puff the cat might be gone forever, unless Dawn can piece together the puzzle One hot summer day, Dawn Bosco’s cat, Powder Puff, jumps into an open car window. Before Dawn can catch up, the driver speeds off! Dawn is sad, but she knows she’s a great detective. It’s up to the Polka Dot Private Eye to track down the car, the driver, and Powder Puff. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Patricia Reilly Giff including rare photos from the author’s personal collection. /div

When Charlie hears that special buzz in his head, he knows it means one thing: an idea for a new invention. But Charlie''s ideas tend to backfire—such as the flying feet that don''t really fly. If only Charlie could make his inventions work, people might think he''s as special as his older brother, Larry. Then the Zigzag afternoon center organizes a Come as a Character Day, and Charlie gets his chance to shine.

Gina wants more than anything to be the star of the show that her class will perform, but everything seems to go wrong until she makes a generous choice.

The author of the beloved Kids of the Polk Street School series introduces a new generation of readers to a multicultural group of kids who enjoy all the activities of an after-school center. It’s Discovery Week at the Zigzag Afternoon Center! Everyone writes their discoveries on a big sheet of paper in the hallway. But Destiny Washington can’t think of anything new to discover. Before she knows it, Destiny has told a BIG whopper. And snooty Gina, who’s great at discovering things, knows all about it. Destiny has to find a way out of the whopper. In the end, she makes the best discovery of all. In this delightful new series, award-winning author Patricia Reilly Giff introduces readers to a quirky, lovable group of kids, capturing all the excitement and surprises of new friends and after-school fun.

When Mitchell''s father gets a new job and his family moves, he and his sister go to a new school where they must make new friends and adjust to new routines.

A contemporary and irresistible story from Patricia Reilly Giff Lidie lives in Jales, Brazil, where she’s free to ride, to be a wild girl, and to dream of going to live with her father and older brother, Rafael, in New York City. Finally Lidie is 12—time to leave Brazil for New York. Meanwhile, a filly is born and begins her journey to a new home. As Lidie’s story unfolds, so does the filly’s. Lidie’s father runs a stable at a famous race track, and Rafael is training to be a jockey. As much as they want to make Lidie feel welcome, they still think of her as the little girl they left behind. They don’t even know what a strong rider she is, and that she’s determined to befriend and ride the wild filly her father has just bought: Wild Girl.

Stacy dislikes being partners with the new girl in school--after all; she does so many things so differently--until Stacy discovers that being different can be fun

Assisted by her cat Max and her friend Cash, Minnie tries to find Mary Moon, a valuable racing pigeon that has disappeared just before a big race.

Nory Ryan''s family has lived on Maidin Bay on the west coast of Ireland for generations, raising a pig and a few chickens, planting potatoes, getting by. Every year Nory''s father goes away on a fishing boat and returns with the rent money for the English lord who owns their cottage and fields, the English lord bent upon forcing the Irish from their land so he can tumble the cottages and clear the fields for grazing. Times are never easy on Maidin Bay, but this year, a terrible blight attacks the potatoes. No crop means starvation. Twelve-year-old Nory must summon the courage and ingenuity to find food, to find hope, to find a way to help her family survive.

Brooklyn, 1875: Bird Mallon lives on Water Street where you can see the huge towers of the bridge to Manhattan being built. Bird wants nothing more in life than to be brave enough to be a healer, like her mother, Nory, to help her sister Annie find love, and to convince her brother, Hughie, to stop fighting for money with his street gang. And of course, she wishes that a girl would move into the empty apartment upstairs so that she can have a new friend close by. But Thomas Neary and his Pop move in upstairs. Thomas who writes about his life in his journal--his father who spends each night at the Tavern down the street, the mother he wishes he had, and the Mallon family downstairs that he desperately wants to be a part of. Thomas, who has a secret that only Bird suspects, and who turns out to be the best friend Bird could ever have.

Emily is stuck with crybaby Jill Simon as her "secret Pal" to be kind to for the whole month of December.

Sam is almost 11 when he discovers a locked box in the attic above his grandfather Mack’s room, and a piece of paper that says he was kidnapped. There are lots of other words, but Sam has always had trouble reading. He’s desperate to find out who he is, and if his beloved Mack is really his grandfather. At night he’s haunted by dreams of a big castle and a terrifying escape on a boat. Who can he trust to help him read the documents that could unravel the mystery? Then he and the new girl, Caroline, are paired up to work on a school project, building a castle in Mack’s woodworking shop. Caroline loves to read, and she can help. But she’s moving soon, and the two must hurry to discover the truth about Sam.

It''s the first day back to school after winter vacation, and Richard Best is off to a bad start. Who ever heard of a January without any snow? And as usual, he has already forgotten something--the ruler Ms. Rooney had told him to bring for dinosaur day. Luckily Richard finds a ruler in his desk--with a dinosaur''s initials--and he''s sure the ruler is special. And then he finds out it has magic powers. All his wishes begin to come true: Snow stars falling, he remembers to do his homework, and the bully Drake Evans gets sick. But now with Drake sick in bed, Richard begins to worry. His only hope is the magic ruler--but it''s gone. What will help him?

It''s almost Thanksgiving, and Richard Best can''t stop thinking about Ms. Rooney''s Candy Corn contest. Whoever can guess the exact number of yellow-and-orange candies in the jar on Ms. Roney''s desk gets to keep them all. The only problem is Richard has to read a page in a library book for each guess. Smelly Matthew, who sits in front of him, knows they''ll never win. "We''re the worst readers in the class, " he says. But Richard won''t give up. He can already taste those Candy Corns. And before he knows it, he has. Three fat juicy ones. What will Ms. Rooney do when she finds out?

The children in Ms. Rooney''s room are supposed to be writing about real people, but writing is Beast''s worst subject.