Skinnybones

Swindle

Gordon Korman · 252 pages

After unscrupulous collector S. Wendell Palamino cons him out of a valuable baseball card, sixth-grader Griffin Bing puts together a band of misfits to break into Palomino's heavily guarded store and steal the card back, planning to use the money to finance his father's failing invention, the SmartPick fruit picker.

Zombie Baseball Beatdown

Paolo Bacigalupi · 304 pages

While practicing for their next baseball game, thirteen-year-old friends Rabi, Miguel, and Joe discover that the nefarious activities of the Delbe, Iowa, meatpacking plant have caused cows to turn into zombies.

The Fourth Stall

Chris Rylander · 304 pages

Chicago Cubs fan "Mac" Barrett, a fifth-grade "Godfather" who runs a favor-granting business out of the fourth stall of the boys' bathroom, is challenged by the bullying teenaged leader of a gambling ring.

Joey Pigza Loses Control

Jack Gantos · 201 pages

When Joey Pigza meets his dad, Carter, for the first time in years, he meets a grownup version of his old hyperactive self -- the way he was before his stint in special ed, the way he was before he got his new meds. "He was wired. No doubt about it ... Now I knew what Mom meant when she said he was like me, only bigger." During their summer visit together, Carter is eager to make up to his son for

Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip

Jordan Sonnenblick

After an injury ends former star pitcher Peter Friedman's athletic dreams, he concentrates on photography which leads him to a girlfriend, new fame as a high school sports photographer, and a deeper relationship with the beloved grandfather who, when he realizes he is becoming senile, gives Pete all of his professional camera gear.

Al Capone Shines My Shoes

Gennifer Choldenko · 274 pages

Moose and the cons are about to get a lot closer in this much-anticipated sequel.It's 1935. Moose Flanagan lives on Alcatraz with his family, the other families of the guards, and a few hundred no-name hit men, con men, mad dog murderers and a handful of bank robbers too. And one of those cons has just done him a big favor.You see, Moose has never met Al Capone, but a few weeks ago Moose wrote a l

Jackie & Me

Dan Gutman · 145 pages

Like every other kid in his class, Joe Stoscack has to write a report on an African American who's made an important contribution to society. Unlike every other kid in his class, Joe has a special talent: with the help of old baseball cards, he can travel through time. So for his report, Joe decides to go back to meet one of the greatest baseball players ever, Jackie Robinson, to find out what it

The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams

Lawrence Block · 258 pages

Bernie Rhodenbarr is actually trying to earn an honest living. It's been an entire year since he's entered anyone's abode illegally to help himself to their valuables. But now an unscrupulous landlord's threat to increase Bernie's rent by 1,000% is driving the bookseller and reformed burglar back to a life of crime -- though, in all fairness, it's a very short trip. And when the cops wrongly accu

Return of the Home Run Kid

Matt Christopher · 168 pages

Sylvester Coddmyer III is having a dismal baseball season until he takes advice from a mysterious ex-ballplayer named Cheeko and starts to play more aggressively.

Flush

Carl Hiaasen · 294 pages

Bestselling novelist Carl Hiaasen is back with another hysterical mystery adventure for young readers, set in the Florida Keys. You know it's going to be a rough summer when you spend Father's Day visiting your dad in the local lockup. Noah's dad is sure that the owner of the Coral Queen casino boat is flushing raw sewage into the harbor--which has made taking a dip at the local beach like swim

School for Sidekicks

Kelly McCullough · 332 pages

"Superhero geek Evan survives a supervillian's death ray, and is sent to the Academy for Metahuman Operatives. Unfortunately, instead of fighting bad guys, Evan finds himself blacklisted, and on the wrong side of the school's director. Can he convince his semi-retired has-been mentor to become a real hero once again?"--

Don't Call Me Ishmael!

Michael Gerard Bauer · 272 pages

By the time ninth grade begins, Ishmael Leseur knows it won't be long before Barry Bagsley, the class bully, says, "Ishmael? What kind of wussy-crap name is that?" Ishmael's perfected the art of making himself virtually invisible. But all that changes when James Scobie joins the class. Unlike Ishmael, James has no sense of fear—he claims it was removed during an operation.Now nothing will stop Jam

Half-Moon Investigations

Eoin Colfer · 307 pages

Fletcher Moon has never been like other kids. For one thing, he has had to suffer the humiliating nickname "Half Moon" because of his short stature. But the real reason Fletcher is different is that ever since he was a baby, he's had a nose for sniffing out mysteries. And after graduating at the top of his Internet class, he is officially certified as the youngest detective in the world.

Summerland

Michael Chabon · 512 pages

Ethan Feld, the worst baseball player in the history of the game, finds himself recruited by a 100-year-old scout to help a band of fairies triumph over an ancient enemy.

Cliffhanger

Jacqueline Wilson · 84 pages

Sports-hating Tim is sure the adventure holiday is going to hell - will he be able to survive the week?From climbing and abseiling to canoeing and a Crazy Bucket Race, the adventure holiday promises to be full of action. There's just one problem as far as Tim is concerned: he is hopeless at sports of any kind.Can Tim survive the horrors of a week absolutely packed with activity? Can his team - the

The Toothpaste Millionaire

Jean Merrill · 144 pages

Sixth-grader Rufus Mayflower didn't set out to be a millionaire--he only wanted to save money on toothpaste. After challenging himself to make a gallon of toothpaste for the same price as a single tube, Rufus and his best friend Kate set up a backyard business that soon succeeds beyond their wildest expectations.

Hidden Talents

David Lubar · 224 pages

Martin Anderson and his friends don’t like being called losers. But they’ve been called that for so long even they start to believe it. Until Martin makes an incredible discovery: each of his friends has a special hidden talent. Edgeview Alternative School was supposed to be end of the road. But for Martin and his friends, it just might be a new beginning.

Heat

Mike Lupica · 220 pages

**Michael Arroyo has a pitching arm that throws serious heat. But his firepower is nothing compared to the heat Michael faces in his day-to-day life. Newly orphaned after his father led the family's escape from Cuba, Michael's only family is his seventeen-yearold brother Carlos. If Social Services hears of their situation, they will be separated in the foster-care system—or worse, sent back to Cub

The Lightning Thief

Rick Riordan · 384 pages

Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is on the most dangerous quest of his life. With the help of a satyr and a daughter of Athena, Percy must journey across the United States to catch a thief who has stolen the original weapon of mass destruction—Zeus’ master bolt. Along the way, he must face a host of mythological enemies determined to stop him. Most of all, he must come to terms with a father he ha

Middle School: How I Survived Bullies, Broccoli, and Snake Hill

James Patterson, Chris Tebbetts · 320 pages

When Rafe Khatchadorian is sent to Camp Wannamorra, he teams up with his bunkmates to fend off the more popular kids' plans to ruin their summer

The Way to Stay in Destiny

Augusta Scattergood · 179 pages

Sixth-grader Theo leaves everything behind to live with his Uncle Chester, a Vietnam War veteran and loner, in Destiny, Florida, but he is drawn to play the piano in Miss Sister's dance school and soon makes friends with the feisty Anabel, a baseball fanatic who invites Theo to help solve a mystery.

The Predator

Katherine Applegate · 152 pages

Marco is a reluctant Animorph, having been given the ability, along with four other friends, to change into animal forms by an Andalite prince, an alien who wants help in stopping an invasion of the enemy Yeerks, but when he discovers that his mom, who he believed was dead, has been taken over by the Yeerks, he finds a reason to fight.

I Even Funnier

James Patterson, Chris Grabenstein · 356 pages

How to Break a Dragon's Heart

Cressida Cowell · 320 pages

Findus a commis l'irréparable : il a envoyé une lettre d'amour à Capricia O'Strogoth, fille de l'impitoyable chef de la tribu des Mochetrogoths. Erreur, grave erreur. Car, en ces temps reculés, l'envoi de petits mots à caractère sentimental était chose sérieuse. Dangereuse. Potentiellement mortelle. Qui d'autre que le légendaire Harold, "celui qui murmure à l'oreille des dragons", pourrait sauver