Printz Honor winner and National Book Award Finalist Elana K. Arnold makes her chapter book debut with this charming story of a girl and her chicken, irresistibly illustrated by A. N. Kang. Introducing Starla Jean! She's full of moxie, clever as a fox, and obsessed with catching a chicken she finds at the park. When Starla first sees the scrawny bird wandering around, she just knows they're destined for one another. Her dad says, "If you can catch it, you can keep it," and Starla Jean is not one to back down from a challenge.

Printz Honor winner and National Book Award Finalist Elana K. Arnold is back with Starla Jean Takes The Cake, an irresistible story of a girl, her chicken, and a few new friends, superbly illustrated by A. N. Kang. It's Willa's first birthday -- a day that doesn't come along...every day. In fact, it only comes once and Starla Jean is going to make the best out of it for her baby sister. How? A party! All she has to do is: -decorate -keep Opal Egg entertained -get ingredients for a cake -try to get Opal Egg to lay an egg -invite guests -come on, Opal Egg! How hard is it to lay an egg? You're a chicken! -bake the cake -Give Willa the best first birthday party ever! But, in typical Starla Jean fashion, a few surprises are waiting to derail the determined girl... but could they be...good surprises?

Starla Jean and her pet chicken, Opal Egg, return in this side-splitting third chapter book, just in time to solve a puzzling mystery that takes them on a chase through the neighborhood! Have you ever walked a chicken on a leash? Well, chicken expert Starla Jean will let you know first hand, it's not easy. But that doesn't stop Starla from taking her pet chicken, Opal Egg, and her baby sister, Willa, out on a stroll through the neighborhood. On their walk, they stumble upon a mysterious bead. And then another! Before they know it, there's a conundrum on their hands, and it's up to Starla and her friends to figure out just who exactly is losing these beads! Printz Honor winner and National Book Award Finalist Elana K. Arnold is back once more with this irresistible story of a girl, her chicken, and an unfolding mystery, superbly illustrated by A. N. Kang.

In this propulsive memoir from Achut Deng and Keely Hutton, inspired by a harrowing New York Times article, Don't Look Back tells a powerful story showing both the ugliness and the beauty of humanity, and the power of not giving up. I want life. After a deadly attack in South Sudan left six-year-old Achut Deng without a family, she lived in refugee camps for ten years, until a refugee relocation program gave her the opportunity to move to the United States. When asked why she should be given a chance to leave the camp, Achut simply told the interviewer: I want life. But the chance at starting a new life in a new country came with a different set of challenges. Some of them equally deadly. Taught by the strong women in her life not to look back, Achut kept moving forward, overcoming one obstacle after another, facing each day with hope and faith in her future. Yet, just as Achut began to think of the US as her home, a tie to her old life resurfaced, and for the first time, she had no choice but to remember her past.

“Pokey Jr is a story about friendship and affection, growing up and growing older, power and purpose, loss and despair, failure and redemption and the impact of friendship... all told through the life of the handsome young rooster, Pokey Jr. Hatched on little farm in the midwest, we follow Pokey Jr’s youthful adventures as he learns how to “rooster”, eventually challenging for the right to lead the flock. Status and power are fleeting, however and in due time Pokey Jr is dethroned, and dejectedly moves himself to the back porch of the farm house. Here, rooster and farmer grow an unlikely friendship that includes tractor rides, trips into town for coffee and hanging out with the cat on warm summer evenings. But, even as Pokey Jr settled into his remarkable new life, the call to rejoin the flock echoes in his genes. It was time to return to roostering and once again challenge for the leadership role. This heartwarming story reminds us of the healing power of friendship and that second chances and a little perseverance can lead you to your life’s purpose.

A very Munsch Christmas! For the first time ever, Canada's best loved author and illustrator team creates a festive story to ring in the holiday season -- with all of the zaniness fans have come to expect, of course! Every year Julie finds the Christmas presents her parents hid: in the basement, under the bed, in the garage. But this year it's Christmas Eve and she has found nothing. NOTHING! She's worried -- will be there no presents at all? Her investigation takes her to a mysterious box on the rooftop, which -- lo and behold -- houses all of the gifts! But, in classic Munsch mayhem, she becomes trapped inside, creating the biggest surprise of all for her family on Christmas morning.

In an extraordinary tale of love and forgiveness, Mark Spragg brings us this novel of a complex, prodigal homecoming. Jean Gilkyson has a history of choosing the wrong men. After yet another night of argument turned to violence with her boyfriend, Roy, Jean knows it's time to leave—if not for herself, then for her ten-year-old daughter, Griff. But the only place they can afford to go is Ishawooa, Wyoming, where Jean's family is dead and her deceased husband's father Einar wishes Jean was too. Of course, Griff knows none of this—only that here in Wyoming, with a grandfather she has never known and his crippled friend Mitch, she may finaly be able to find a home.