Kids Novels

One of the most thrilling science fiction adventures of all time, now with an introduction by Bruce Coville.
A huge sea monster has attacked and wrecked several ships from beneath the sea. Professor Arronax bravely joins a mission to hunt down the beast. He goes aboard the Nautilus, a secret submarine helmed by the mysterious Captain Nemo.
At first, the mission is exciting, as Nemo takes Arronax on a voyage around the underwater world. But when things start to go wrong, Arronax finds there's no escape from the Nautilus. He is now Captain Nemo's captive--20,000 leagues under the sea!

Joe and Rob visit an underwater beach in this third adventure in the hilarious Bots chapter book series!

Many years ago, scientists on Earth sent video satellites out to the end of the universe to see what was hiding in deep space. Now, years later, these satellites have begun sending their first videos back to Earth...and the stars of the show are two goofy robots.

In this story, Joe and Rob are taking a beach vacation with one tiny twist. The robot beach is located at the bottom of the ocean! Come along as Earth's favorite bots stumble onto an underwater wreck, a treasure map, and one really friendly robo-shark who won't leave Joe and Rob alone.

With easy-to-read language and graphic novel art on almost every page, the Bots chapter books are perfect for emerging readers.

Prom. It's a near-universal high school experience. And here at least 21 of today's bestselling and up-and-coming YA authors riff on it.
Authors include: Libba Bray, Jacqueline Woodson, Ned Vizzini, John Green, Sarah Mylnowski, Melissa de la Cruz, Holly Black, Brent Hartinger, Lisa Sandell, Will Leitch, Leslie Margolis, Cecily von Ziegessar, E. Lockhart, Jodi Anderson, David Levithan, Dan Ehrenhaft, Liz Craft, Aimee Friedman, and Adrienne Vrettos

"Reminiscent of Louis Sachar's Holes with its quirky characters and unique desert setting, this is a middle-grade read that will easily transport readers somewhere special." --School Library Journal (Starred review)

When you come from Nowhere, can you ever really make it anywhere? Author Dusti Bowling (Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus) returns to the desert to create a gripping story about friendship, hope, and finding the power we all have within ourselves.​

Welcome to Nowhere, Arizona, the least livable town in the United States. For Gus, a bright 13-year-old with dreams of getting out and going to college, life there is made even worse by Bo Taylor, Nowhere's biggest, baddest bully. When Bo tries to force Gus to eat a dangerously spiny cactus, Rossi Scott, one of the best racers in Nowhere, comes to his rescue--but in return she has to give Bo her prized dirt bike. Determined to buy it back, Gus agrees to go searching for gold in Dead Frenchman Mine, joined by his old friends Jessie Navarro and Matthew Dufort, and Rossi herself. As they hunt for treasure, narrowly surviving everything from cave-ins to mountain lions, they bond over shared stories of how hard life in Nowhere is--and they realize this adventure just may be their way out.

Kennedy, newly 15, has a lot of questions. Is her annoying little sister really her sister, or only her half-sister? Did her family move across the country for her father's job or because her free-spirited mother had something, or someone, she needed to get away from? Kennedy is reluctant to join the ranks of burdened adults, yet is frustrated by the timid passions of boys her own age, particularly her boyfriend Jordan. She resorts to Jane Austen novels, Colin Firth movies, and singing her heart out in her bedroom. An average summer turns not-so-typical when her best friend Sarina becomes self-destructive and a creepy cyber-stalker appears on their chat line. Things truly heat up when she meets 18-year-old Colin. As Kennedy and Sarina make plans to trap the cyber-stalker, Kennedy finds Colin's good looks and predatory charms hard to resist. Can she find the courage to ask the right questions and to see truth for what it is? This poignant novel deals fearlessly and humorously with the concerns of modern teens: relationships and sex, family, alcohol, racism, cyber-stalkers, and wild cougars.

Andy and Terry live in a 26-story treehouse. (It used to be 13 stories, but they've expanded.) It has a bumper car rink, a skate ramp, an antigravity chamber, an ice cream parlor with 78 flavors, and the Maze of Doom--a maze so complicated that nobody who has gone in has ever come out again. Well, not yet, anyway.

This time, the two friends have a whole week to finish their next book, and Andy even knows what it should be about--the story of how he and Terry first met. But, life is NEVER boring in the treehouse, and emergency shark operations, giant storms, and wooden pirate heads are just the beginning....

This title has Common Core connections.

Read the whole series!
The 13-Story Treehouse
The 26-Story Treehouse
The 39-Story Treehouse
The 52-Story Treehouse
The 65-Story Treehouse
The 78-Story Treehouse
The 91-Story Treehouse

Darkus Knightley is used to expecting the unexpected. An extraordinary crimesolver, with immense powers of deduction, and regularly found bedecked in tweed, Darkus is anything but the average 13 year old.

Despite trying to leave his detective ways behind and wanting to lead a normal life, when his father's loyal housekeeper, Bogna, goes missing, Darkus must return to the family fold to solve the mystery. Alongside his father, Alan, and his stepsister Tilly, Darkus follows the trail to America and the bright lights of Las Vegas where they must once again face the deadly criminal organization the Combination - and this time, all bets are off. With danger at every turn, Knightley and Son will need an ace or two up their sleeves in order to win this game.

Awards for Knightley and Son Spring 2014 Kids IndieNext Pick, ABA Indies Introduce Pick, Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Books of 2014

Will Sam's best friend turn out to be a bully? He's about to find out in this "strong and refreshingly straightforward portrait of identity and shifting-friendship trials" (School Library Journal).

Sam Lewis is going to get his butt kicked in exactly thirty-three minutes. He knows this because yesterday his former best friend Morgan Sturtz told him, to his face and with three witnesses nearby, "I am totally going to kick your butt tomorrow at recess."

All that's standing between Sam and this unfortunate butt-kicking is the last few minutes of social studies and his lunch period. But how did Sam and Morgan end up here? How did this happen just a few months after TAMADE (The Absolutely Most Amazing Day Ever), when they became the greatest Alien Wars video game team in the history of great Alien Wars teams? And once the clock ticks down, will Morgan actually act on his threat?

Told with equal parts laugh-out-loud humor and achingly real emotional truth, 33 Minutes shows how even the best of friendships can change forever.