Friendship

Ice Cream Con

Jake and his buddies are over being bullied by the thugs at the housing projects he calls home. That’s why Jake decides to play the goons at their own game by creating a fake gangster, the Big Baresi. But before long, the imaginary mobster seems to have taken on a life of his own! The stakes are raised when a stash of stolen diamonds goes missing. From behind the wheel of an ice cream van, Jake’s got to pull off the ultimate con–while managing to keep the mint chocolate chip from a meltdown. Because, as the Big Baresi knows, revenge is a dish best served cold.

Word Nerd

Twelve-year-old Ambrose is a glass-half-full kind of guy. A self-described “friendless nerd,” he moves from place to place every couple of years with his overprotective mother, Irene. When some bullies at his new school almost kill him by slipping a peanut into his sandwich — even though they know he has a deathly allergy — Ambrose is philosophical. Irene, however, is not and decides that Ambrose will be home-schooled.Alone in the evenings when Irene goes to work, Ambrose pesters Cosmo, the twenty-five-year-old son of the Greek landlords who live upstairs. Cosmo has just been released from jail for breaking and entering to support a drug habit. Quite by accident, Ambrose discovers that they share a love of Scrabble and coerces Cosmo into taking him to the West Side Scrabble Club, where Cosmo falls for Amanda, the club director. Posing as Ambrose’s Big Brother to impress her, Cosmo is motivated to take Ambrose to the weekly meetings and to give him lessons in self-defense. Cosmo, Amanda, and Ambrose soon form an unlikely alliance and, for the first time in his life, Ambrose blossoms. The characters at the Scrabble Club come to embrace Ambrose for who he is and for their shared love of words. There’s only one problem: Irene has no idea what Ambrose is up to.In this brilliantly observed novel, author Susin Nielsen transports the reader to the world of competitive Scrabble as seen from the honest yet funny viewpoint of a boy who’s searching for acceptance and for a place to call home.

Gran, You’ve Got Mail!

ANNABELLE’S FATHER WANTS her to master her computer keyboard. Annabelle thinks the chore will be more tolerable if she writes letters to someone. She chooses Gran, her great-grandmother. Of course, Gran is most definitely not online, so Annabelle prints and mails her letters off. At first, Gran takes her time answering—and she’s in the habit of repeating herself—but soon the two are keeping up a steady correspondence. Letter by letter, a true, tender friendship evolves. Annabelle and Gran talk about everything: parents, movies, school, the past and the present. When Annabelle divulges a big secret—the reason she and her best friend are no longer speaking—Gran remembers a similar situation. And when Gran needs foot surgery, Annabelle begins to worry.

Chalice

As the newly appointed Chalice, Mirasol is the most important member of the Master’s Circle. It is her duty to bind the Circle, the land and its people together with their new Master. But the new Master of Willowlands is a Priest of Fire, only drawn back into the human world by the sudden death of his brother. No one knows if it is even possible for him to live amongst his people. Mirasol wants the Master to have his chance, but her only training is as a beekeeper. How can she help settle their demesne during these troubled times and bind it to a Priest of Fire, the touch of whose hand can burn human flesh to the bone?

Robin McKinley weaves a captivating tale that reveals the healing power of duty and honor, love and honey.

Best Friends

Gemma and Alice have been best friends since they were born on the same day in the same hospital—it doesn’t matter that Gemma loves soccer while Alice prefers drawing, or that Gemma is always getting into trouble while Alice is a model student and daughter. But when Alice has to move to Scotland with her family, their friendship is put to the test. Is Best Friends Forever stronger than five hundred miles? Readers will relate to the heroic efforts the girls make to maintain their friendship and the small disasters of ‘tween life that they encounter along the way.

A Promise Is a Promise

Bruno the marmot hibernates all winter, and upon waking in the spring, he discovers the most beautiful dandelion outside his burrow. The two quickly become friends, playing together every day. But when summer comes, the dandelion asks Bruno to trust her, so he obliges her request to blow her seeds away into the wind. Devastated that his friend is no longer with him, Bruno is lonely until next winter’s hibernation. When he wakes again, he discovers that an amazing surprise sprouted while he slept.

Ping Pong Pig

“Ping Pong Pig” loves to leap, jump, and bounce all over Apple Tree Farm. He is far too busy having fun all day to help with the chores. Soon he lands into a big mess, and he’s up to his ears in trouble. Will he learn to help his friends before pigs fly?

Sam Tells Stories

When Sam changes schools, he tells some pretty amazing stories about himself but after a few days, when he confesses that he is just boring, regular Sam, he finds that he still has friends–and a talent that makes him more interesting.