Family life

Lexi

THE FIRST THING I remember is waking up in the woods. I didn’t know where I was, or how I got there. I didn’t know my own name. All I knew was that the little silver key hung round my neck had always been there.This is how Lexi’s story begins. She is taken into a shelter where there are clean clothes, warm food, and, most importantly, a woman who remembers her. Safe from the wars and the dangers of the street, Lexi begins to rebuild her identity with the small pieces of the past she can fit together. Then the silver key around her neck unlocks the secrets of a life she never knew she had.This is Lexi’s story. This is how she finds her way home.

Kiss! Kiss! Yuck! Yuck!

Every time Auntie Elsie comes to visit she gives Andy two big sloppy kisses. Kiss! Kiss! on the left cheek. Kiss! Kiss! on the right cheek. Yuck! Yuck! Andy says to himself.

Andy is a fast runner. But not fast enough to outrun Auntie Elsie. Andy is good at hiding. But Auntie Elsie always finds him. When he ducks down in a pig pen, she climbs right over the fence. When he climbs a tree, she follows right after him.

But then Auntie Elsie breaks her leg and stops coming to visit. Andy realizes he misses Aunt Elsie and her sloppy kisses. One day, a taxi pulls by the gate and out come two crutches. Now it s Andy s turn to get Aunt Elsie. Kiss! Kiss! Hug! Hug!

Kyle Mewburn s funny story of an overly affectionate aunt and her long-suffering nephew will resonate with readers, who will instantly recognize the bond of love that unites the two characters. Ali Teo and John O Reilly s colorful and quirky multimedia illustrations, which combine freehand drawing and photographic collage, exaggerate the humor of the story.

Saffy’s Angel

The four Casson children, whose mother, Eve, is a fine-arts painter, have all been given the names of paint colors. Cadmium (Caddy), is the eldest; then Saffron (Saffy); Indigo, the only boy; and Rose, the youngest. When Saffy discovers quite by accident that she has been adopted, she is deeply upset, though the others assure her that it makes no difference at all. Saffy is the daughter of Eve’s twin sister, who lived in Siena, Italy, and died in a car crash. Grandad brought Saffy, as a very small child, back from Siena.

At Grandad’s death he leaves something to each of the children. To Saffy, it is “her angel,” although no one knows its identity. How Saffy discovers what her angel is, with the help of an energetic new friend, lies at the heart of this enchanting story. Unforgettable characters come alive in often deeply humorous and always absorbing events to be treasured for a long, long time.

Ways to Live Forever

1. My name is Sam. 2. I am eleven years old. 3. I collect stories and fantastic facts. 4. I have leukemia. 5. By the time you read this, I will probably be dead. Living through the final stages of leukemia, Sam collects stories, questions, lists, and pictures that create a profoundly moving portrait of how a boy lives when he knows his time is almost up.

The Snagglegrollop

When he asks for a typical pet–a dog, a cat–his parents say no, so Sam wonders, “How about a Snagglegrollop?” A what?! The next day Sam comes home from school with a strange-looking creature indeed! The Snagglegrollop eats an awful lot of food–and entire tubes of toothpaste, too. But it tells silly jokes and takes the family for wonderful weekend romps. They become very fond of it. Some nights, though, the Snagglegrollop just sits on the roof, staring at the stars. “It seems quite sad,” Sam thinks. Could it be that all it needs is the companionship of his classmate Emily’s Quibblesnuff?

Manolito Four-Eyes: The 2nd Volume of the Great Encyclopedia of My Life

Ten-year-old Manolito recounts further exploits in his small Madrid neighborhood with his grandfather, his little brother “the Bozo,” and his school friends, including a shoplifting prank, recycled art, and the Filthy Feet Gang.

 

 

Ten Things I Hate About Me

“At school I’m Aussie-blonde Jamie — one of the crowd. At home I’m Muslim Jamilah — driven mad by my Stone Age dad. I should win an Oscar for my acting skills. But I can’t keep it up for much longer…” Jamie just wants to fit in. She doesn’t want to be seen as a stereotypical Muslim girl, so she does everything possible to hide that part of herself. Even if it means pushing her friends away because she’s afraid to let them know her dad forbids her from hanging out with boys or that she secretly loves to play the darabuka (Arabic drums). But when the cutest boy in school asks her out and her friends start to wonder about Jamie’s life outside of school, her secrets threaten to explode. Can Jamie figure out how to be both Jamie and Jamilah before she loses everything?

Permanent Rose

Feisty Rose takes center stage as the highly original Casson family faces a long, hot summer. As usual, things are a bit chaotic. Eldest daughter Caddy is now engaged to darling Michael, and she’s not altogether sure she likes it. Saffy and Sarah are on a mission to find Saffy’s biological father (while cultivating hearts of stone). Indigo is cautiosly beginning a friendship with a reformed bully, who desparately wants to feel like part of the Casson family. Rose, while missing Tom (who none of them have heard from) dreadfully, enters into a life of petty crime, shoplifting small items until her misadventures nearly bring disaster. An accidental trip to London and a visit with Rose’s father lead to a startling revelation, but through it all Rose’s single-minded determination to find Tom remains as fierce as it is hopeless. Oris it?Hilary McKay has painted the fond mayhem of this delightul family with such humor, warmth, and authenticity that readers will fall in love with them all over again. Once you’ve visited the Casson household, you may never want to leave.

Indigo’s Star

It’s back to school for the start of a new term, and the eccentric Cassons are up to their old tricks! Indigo, having just recovered from a bout of mononucleosis, must return to school after missing an entire semester. Only his younger sister and loyal sidekick, Rose, knows why he’s dreading it so much. As it turns out, the school bullies are eagerly awaiting Indigo’s return so that they can pick up where they left off — flushing his head in the toilet. But Indigo hasn’t counted on meeting Tom, an American student who is staying with his grandmother in England for the year. With his couldn’t-care-less attitude and rock-and-roll lifestyle, Tom becomes Indigo’s ally, and together they work to take back the school. Meanwhile, eight-year-old Rose is desperately trying to avoid wearing horrible glasses, nineteen-year-old Caddy is agonizing over her many suitors, Saffy is working overtime with her best friend, Sarah, to protect Indigo from the gang, and with their father, Bill, in London at his art studio, their mother, Eve, is just trying to stay on top of it all! In this hilarious, heartwarming companion to her award-winning Saffy’s Angel, Hilary McKay shows us a new side of the Cassons and reminds us that nothing is stronger than the bonds of family.