The Octopus Scientists

With three hearts and blue blood, its gelatinous body unconstrained by jointed limbs or gravity, the octopus seems to be an alien, an inhabitant of another world. It’s baggy, boneless body sprouts eight arms covered with thousands of suckers—suckers that can taste as well as feel. The octopus also has the powers of a superhero: it can shape-shift, change color, squirt ink, pour itself through the tiniest of openings, or jet away through the sea faster than a swimmer can follow.

Sona and the Wedding Game

Sona’s big sister is getting married and she’s been given an important job to do. She has to steal the groom’s shoes. She’s never attended a wedding before, so she’s unfamiliar with this Indian tradition as well as many of the other magical experiences that will occur before and during the special event. But with the assistance of her annoying cousin Vishal, Sona finds a way to steal the shoes and get a very special reward.

Rhinos Don’t Eat Pancakes

Daisy’s mum and dad are always too busy to listen to a word that she says, so when, one day, she tells them that a big purple rhino has just walked into the house and taken a chomp of her pancake, guess what? That’s right – nobody listens! But there’s a surprise in store for Mum and Dad when they discover that a big purple rhino has gone missing from the zoo. Perhaps they should have taken more notice of what Daisy had to say. Kids will love this funny story about a little girl and her most unlikely new friend.

Monty’s Magnificent Mane

Monty the lion loves his long, golden mane, so he’s not happy when his meerkat friends mess it up. Stomping off to the waterhole, he’s cheered up by the flattery of a new friend, a big green friend. With a SNAP Monty realizes that his flattering pal is actually a giant crocodile looking for dinner.

Les Miserables

Travel back to nineteenth-century France with ex-convict Jean Valjean as he tries to put his criminal past behind him and his fate intertwines with the ruthless Inspector Javert, determined to put Valjean back behind bars; the poor factory worker Fantine, whose struggle to provide for her child leads to her death; her orphaned daughter, Cosette, whom Valjean saves from poverty and neglect; and Cosette’s besotted suitor, Marius. As a revolution sweeps through Paris, can Valjean elude Javert and secure a happy life for Cosette before all is lost? Follow their story in Marcia Williams’s entertaining and easily digestible retelling for young readers.

The Lost City, Jaguar Stones, Book 4

While awaiting his parents’ release from jail, fourteen-year-old Max Murphy is sucked into yet another scheme of the Maya Death Lords that sends him on a quest to the United States. Failure could mean the end of the world again.