New Releases by Stephen McCranie

A sci-fi drama of a high school aged girl who belongs in a different time, a boy possessed by emptiness as deep as space, an alien artifact, mysterious murder, and a love that crosses light years. To Amy, everyone has a flavor. For instance, Doctor Kim is like chamomile tea with lemon. Amy is finally feeling that she''s made a true connection with the mysterious, flavorless Oliver, but their entire relationship is rattled--possibly forever. Amy struggles to come to terms with that friendship ending and reaches out to an old friend. She''ll discover that the help of friends from all points of her life makes everything better.

A sci-fi drama of a high school aged girl who belongs in a different time, a boy possessed by emptiness as deep as space, an alien artifact, mysterious murder, and a love that crosses light years To Amy, everyone has a flavor. Her Agriculture Club mate Tamra is like banana, while another Club mate, Shafer, is like milk chocolate; two flavors that Amy thinks are in sync. Coming closer to fully adapting to her new life on Earth, Amy settles in to a solid group of friends at her school. Also, after a meeting with the mysterious Oliver, she decides to reach out to an old friend, which makes the transition all that much easier.

A sci-fi drama of a high school aged girl who belongs in a different time, a boy possessed by emptiness as deep as space, an alien artifact, mysterious murder, and a love that crosses light years. To Amy, everyone has a flavor. Jemmah, her best friend from the colony, is the flavor of pineapple and jalapeño. Cassie, from Earth, is like red pepper. After being forced to leave her space-colony home when her dad was fired, Amy starts to adapt to a new life on Earth. High school seems difficult at first, but a close group of friends begin to make the transition easier for her. At the same time, Amy finds herself fascinated with a mysterious boy named Oliver, the only person Amy has yet to be able to place a flavor for.

A sci-fi drama of a high school aged girl who belongs in a different time, a boy possessed by emptiness as deep as space, an alien artifact, mysterious murder, and a love that crosses light years. To Amy, everyone has a flavor. Her mom is the flavor of mint--sharp and bright. Her dad is like hot chocolate--sweet and full of gentle warmth. Amy lives on a mining colony in out in deep space, but when her dad loses his job the entire family is forced to move back to Earth. Amy says goodbye to her best friend Jemmah and climbs into a cryotube where she will spend the next 30 years frozen in a state of suspended animation, hurtling in a rocket toward her new home. Her life will never be the same, but all she can think about is how when she gets to Earth, Jemmah will have grown up without her. When Amy arrives on Earth, she feels like an alien in a strange land. The sky is beautiful but gravity is heavy and the people are weird. Stranger still is the boy she meets at her new school--a boy who has no flavor.

A time machine? Mal can build one with his eyes closed and one arm tied behind his back. His secret crush''s birthday party? Gulp. A shrinking machine. Invisibility spray. If Mal can think it, he can build it. But there''s one thing he can''t seem to do: Get Megan to notice him. He gets his chance when he''s invited to her birthday party. But destroying her cake and presents wasn''t quite what Mal had in mind. Good thing the school''s talent show is coming up! Megan will really be impressed when she sees Mal levitate for real and . . . uh-oh--cause a major blizzard?? Yikes! Who will go rescue Mal''s talking dog best friend, Chad? Kids graduating from picture books or anxiously awaiting the next Ook and Gluk book will devour Stephen McCranie''s laugh-out-loud series.

In the tradition of Calvin and Hobbes, MAL AND CHAD is a funny comic-strip graphic novel that makes a perfect first chapter book! Mal is a kid genius with a talking dog . . . so why doesn''t anyone seem to notice him? Poor Mal. It''s not easy being a kid genius who wears a lab coat to school ("It''s not a bathrobe!"). Megan, his not-so-secret crush, has formed a club that has a no-boys-allowed policy - especially not Mal, who would do anything to feel like he belongs. Fortunately, Mal always has Chad, his talking dog. When Chad begins having scary dreams, Mal builds a dream portal to defeat Chad''s nightmare beast once and for all. Something goes wrong, though, and the beast follows Mal back to reality. Now Megan and her friends are in danger . . . but Mal is there to come to the rescue, showing that, just maybe, he''s someone to pay attention to. With kid-friendly humor and a deft touch, Stephen McCranie continues his breakthrough series perfect for any kid who''s one book away from either Big Nate or Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

In the tradition of Calvin and Hobbes, MAL AND CHAD is a funny comic-strip graphic novel that makes a perfect first chapter book! Mal is a super kid genius and Chad is a talking dog, but no one knows it. What''s it like to be so extraordinary and yet so invisible? Not even Megan, Mal''s secret crush, has any idea that Mal is anything more than a dork. Fortunately, Mal and Chad are best friends with a penchant for adventure . . . even if the time-traveling does get them grounded by Mal''s mom. Introducing the first in a series of illustrated chapter books by talented newcomer Stephen McCranie that are laugh-inducing, clever, and full of heart. Give this to any kid who''s a reluctant reader or is just leaving picture books and be prepared to answer the question: "When can I read the next one?"