Waiting for the Whales

This book tells the simple story of an old man who lives alone in a house overlooking the sea. His life has assumed a cozy regularity to match the seasons: collecting firewood and clams in wintertime; planting his garden in the spring; and, in summer, watching his beloved orca whales swimming by. When his daughter comes to visit one spring with a new infant, the man has someone with whom to share his love of the natural world–especially the whales.

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.

The Chaos

The curse of the NUM8ERS continues in Rachel Ward’s CHA0T1C, earth-shattering sequel! Adam has more than inherited his mother’s curse: When he looks in someone’s eyes, he not only sees the date of their death…he feels the searing, shocking pain of it. Since Jem died, Adam has lived by the sea with his great-grandmother, Val. But when rising tides flood the coast, they return to London. The city is an alien, exciting, frightening place. Most disturbing of all, Adam can’t help but clock how many people’s numbers are in January 2027; how many are on New Year’s Day. What chaos awaits the world? Can he and Sarah stop a catastrophe? Or are they, too, counted among the “twenty-sevens”?

Slog’s Dad

The ineffable nature of grieving and belief inspires a tender, gritty, and breathtaking work of graphic storytelling from the creators of The Savage. “Slogger, man,” I said. “Your dad’s dead.” “I know that, Davie. But it’s him. He’s come back again, like he said he would.” Do you believe in life after death? Slog does. He believes that the scruffy man on a bench outside the butcher shop is his dad, returned to visit him one last time. Slog’s friend Davie isn’t so sure. Can it be that some mysteries are never meant to be solved? And that belief, at times, is its own reward? The acclaimed creators of The Savage reunite for a feat of graphic storytelling that defies categorization. Eerie, poignant, and masterful, Slog’s Dad is a tale of astonishing power and complexity.

Season of Secrets

Sent by their father to live in the country with their grandparents after the sudden death of their mother, Molly’s older sister Hannah expresses her grief in a raging rebellion while imaginative Molly finds herself increasingly distracted by visions, that seemingly only she can see, of a strange hunt in the nearby forest.

Water Ghost

In China in the 1940s, ten-year-old Ying sells her handmade bamboo chicken fences to make money to attend a school camping trip, but no one understands why she instead uses her earnings to buy a dead hen from the grandmother of a drowned classmate.

Departure Time

Departure Time is the amazing journey of a girl in two stories. The girl in the hotel with the fox and the rat, and the girl whose father travels a lot, who suggests they write a story together, a story about talking animals. She doe sn’t wan to. She is angry with him, because he can’t make it home in time for her birthday.

The Death-Defying Pepper Roux

Having been raised believing he will die before he reaches the age of fourteen, Pepper Roux runs away on his fourteenth birthday in an attempt to elude his fate, assumes another identity, and continues to try to outrun death, no matter the consequences.

Flightsend

Flightsend is Charlie’s new home, whether she likes it or not. Her mother sees it as an end to all that’s gone so tragically wrong. They had been a proper family. Mum; her boyfriend, Sean; and Charlie, with a new baby sister on the way. But the baby died before she was born and everything changed. Gradually, Charlie’s mother pushed Sean away, before resigning from her job and selling the house. Charlie is certain that the move to a ramshackle cottage, miles from anywhere, can only make things worse. She couldn’t be more wrong. For Charlie’s mum there’s a new business and the fresh start that she knew she needed. And for Charlie there’s a new job, new friends, a newly discovered talent for art, and new feelings for two very different men. It’s a summer of beginnings, not ends; a summer that Charlie will never forget.