Intermediate (ages 9-14)

Material appropriate for intermediate age groups

50 Poisonous Questions

Poisonous snakes, toxic herbicides, noxious fumes — poisons in one form or another are all around us. An innocent-looking flower may be lethal, and smog can make it impossible to breathe. Poisons can be the death of us, but they can also cure disease. The second book in Annick’s 50 Questions series provides answers to many intriguing questions, such as: Should you pee on a jellyfish sting? No, douse it with vinegar! Why was the Mad Hatter mad? From working with mercury nitrate. Can venomous lizards cure diabetes? Yes, a drug used to treat the disease comes from the Gila monster’s venom. Poison Puzzles at the end of each chapter then test the readers’ knowledge. Young readers who want to avoid paint that kills or leaves that give blisters can explore the fascinating and dangerous world of poisons. And don’t be afraid! The killer cartoons and dead-funny text are venom-free.

Amos Daragon #1: The Mask Wearer

Amos Daragon’s life changes forever the day a mermaid gives him a mask capable of harnessing the strength of the wind—and appoints Amos as the new Mask Wearer. His task: to find the masks for the other elements, earth, fire, and water. Only then will Amos be fully empowered to battle the evil forces that threaten to destroy the balance of nature and plunge the world into darkness.To fulfill his destiny, Amos must make his way to the mysterious woods of Tarkasis. But a wicked sorcerer is terrorizing the land, searching for a skull pendant that was stolen from him—a pendant that conceals a secret weapon. What will Amos do when the pendant falls into his hands? Will Beorf, a boy who can morph into a bear, and Medusa, a snake-haired gorgon, turn out to be friend or foe? And will Amos master any of his newfound skills as Mask Wearer in time to face a formidable enemy? His challenges are great . . .  and they’re just beginning.

The Never Weres

Late in the next century, the human race is on the verge of extinction. A mysterious virus has resulted in no births in almost a generation. Despite the impending doom, three urban teenagers try to live their lives with hope. Mia strives to preserve humanity’s compassion through her art and her volunteer work with Mrs. C and the other “oldies.” Tech-savvy Xian spends her time tinkering with the robots she’s sure will inherit the Earth. Jesse, the son of geneticists, is convinced the future lies with cloning, but society is reeling from the grotesque failures of previous attempts. When the friends stumble upon the 60-year-old mystery of a missing girl, it leads them back to Mrs. C, who, it turns out, is the world’s only successful clone — and the key to saving our species.

Bubble in the Bathtub

Tiny dynamo Nilly and his friend Lisa, first introduced in Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder (S and S, 2010), return to save the day (and the doctor). At the end of their last outing, Doctor P. headed back to Paris to save the love of his life, Juliette Margarine, from having to marry evil Claude Cliché. A mysterious postcard from the past sends Nilly and Lisa on a mission to rescue him, both helped and hindered by the doctor’s crazy inventions, including a time-traveling bathtub and translating nose plugs. A whirlwind tour of French history ensues, including stops at the Moulin Rouge, the Tour de France, Waterloo, the Bastille, Monsieur Eiffel’s workroom, and Joan of Arc’s jail cell, with our heroes changing history right and left. Chasing them through time is Raspa, Proctor’s one-legged former assistant, inventor of time-travel soap, who makes the ultimate sacrifice to atone for past misdeeds.

Escape: Children Of The Holocaust

Features seven true stories of brave boys and girls who lived through the Holocaust. Their compelling accounts are based on exclusive, personal interviews with the survivors. Using real names, dates and places, these stories are factual versions of their recollections.

Peace Tales

Maybe it’s the king who spills honey, and then says it is not his problem until it causes a war. Or maybe it’s some sandpipers and whales who get into a foolish fight that almost destroys their homes. Perhaps it’s the man who thinks that a gun makes him strong, or the monkeys who follow their leader into water that’s too deep.

Orchards

After a classmate commits suicide, Kana Goldberg—a half-Japanese, half-Jewish American—wonders who is responsible. She and her cliquey friends said some thoughtless things to the girl. Hoping that Kana will reflect on her behavior, her parents pack her off to her mother’s ancestral home in Japan for the summer. There Kana spends hours under the hot sun tending to her family’s mikan orange groves.Kana’s mixed heritage makes it hard to fit in at first, especially under the critical eye of her traditional grandmother, who has never accepted Kana’s father. But as the summer unfolds, Kana gets to know her relatives, Japan, and village culture, and she begins to process the pain and guilt she feels about the tragedy back home. Then news about a friend sends her world spinning out of orbit all over again.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume IV, Issue 4

The Quail Club

“A compelling sequel to THE GOLD-THREADED DRESS. . . . Handles a perennial topic with poignancy and grace.” — SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL. Oy lives in America now, but she loves learning traditional Thai dances almost as much as being in the Quail Club — five friends who meet after school to hatch and care for baby quail. When their teacher announces a talent show, Oy knows how proud her family would be to see her step onstage in her gold-threaded dress from Thailand. But bossy Liliandra vows to kick Oy out of the club if she won’t team up for a very different kind of dance. In this finely crafted novel, Carolyn Marsden explores what it takes to be a true friend and still be true to yourself.

Excalibur

The Arthurian legend springs to life in another powerhouse graphic novel from the creators of OUTLAW: THE LEGEND OF ROBIN HOOD. Arthur Pendragon was raised in obscurity, but fate will not leave him to the shadows. In a moment of desperate need, he draws a legendary sword from its stonebed and commences the life he was born to lead. A series of adventures sparked by the elusive wizard Merlin launches Arthur through love and betrayal, domination and defeat, and toward the prophesied end awaiting him. Merging a faithful retelling with dynamic illustrations, EXCALIBUR invites long-time fans to relive the legend and those new to the story to experience it up close in a vivid graphic adventure.

Tall Story

Andi is short. And she has lots of wishes. She wishes she could play on the school basketball team, she wishes for her own bedroom, but most of all she wishes that her long-lost half-brother, Bernardo, could come and live in London where he belongs. Then Andi’s biggest wish comes true and she’s minutes away from becoming someone’s little sister. As she waits anxiously for Bernardo to arrive from the Philippines, she hopes he’ll turn out to be tall and just as crazy as she is about basketball. When he finally arrives, he’s tall all right. Eight feet tall, in fact—plagued by condition called Gigantism and troubled by secrets that he believes led to his phenomenal growth. In a novel packed with quirkiness and humor, Gourlay explores a touching sibling relationship and the clash of two very different cultures.