Read: MCBA 2018-2019

For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life tends to be full of surprises—some of them good, some not so good. Today, though, is a good-surprise day. Bat’s mom, a veterinarian, has brought home a baby skunk, which she needs to take care of until she can hand him over to a wild-animal shelter.

But the minute Bat meets the kit, he knows they belong together. And he’s got one month to show his mom that a baby skunk might just make a pretty terrific pet.

Miles Murphy is known for one thing and one thing only: pranking.

He's the best prankster his school has ever seen. So when he's forced to move to boring Yawnee Valley (also known for one thing and one thing only: cows), he assumes he'll be the best prankster at his new school too. There's one problem. The school already has a prankster—and he's good. Really good.

In a not-so-distant future our world is as cold as a frozen burrito. But can humanity save itself by harnessing a power that dwells inside the Earth? Explode into the world of geology in Volcanoes: Fire and Life!

A lot of magic happens under the Earth's crust. Thanks to magma vents, shifting continental plates, and volcanic eruptions, we know that our planet is alive and in motion. Alongside Aurora, a young explorer, you'll learn that volcanoes are just one of the massively powerful forces at work on our planet. From catastrophic destruction to the creation of new land masses, volcanoes have made their mark on our amazing Earth.

Eleven-year-old Perry was born and raised by his mom at the Blue River Co-ed Correctional Facility in tiny Surprise, Nebraska. His mom is a resident on Cell Block C, and so far Warden Daugherty has made it possible for them to be together. That is, until a new district attorney discovers the truth—and Perry is removed from the facility and forced into a foster home.

When Perry moves to the “outside” world, he feels trapped. Desperate to be reunited with his mom, Perry goes on a quest for answers about her past crime. As he gets closer to the truth, he will discover that love makes people resilient no matter where they come from . . . but can he find a way to tell everyone what home truly means?

In the borderlands between Nepal and India during the 1970s, an orphan boy overcomes adversity to save his village and become a great elephant driver.

Abandoned in the jungle as a baby and cared for by wild dogs known as dholes, Nandu is rescued by an elephant, Devi Kali, and the head of a royal elephant stable, Subba-sahib. That he thinks of these two as his parents is clear from the very outset of this first-person narrative: “My mother is an elephant and my father is an old man with one arm.” But one day Nandu spoils the king’s attempt to shoot a tiger, perhaps influencing the king’s decision to close the elephant stable. Subba-sahib sends Nandu to boarding school, where he is again an outsider and bullied but where he also meets a white teacher. Together they collect bird specimens for the Smithsonian. Nandu and his friend Rita devise a plan to save the village by converting the stable to an elephant breeding station.

Archer B. Helmsley wants an adventure. No, he needs an adventure. His grandparents were famous explorers . . . until they got stuck on an iceberg. Now Archer’s mother barely lets him out of the house. As if that would stop a true Helmsley. 

Archer enlists Adelaide—the girl who, according to rumor, lost her leg to a crocodile and Oliver the boy next door—to help him rescue his grandparents.  

The Doldrums whisks us off on an adventure full of sly humor, incredible detail, and enormous heart. 

1242. On a dark night, travelers from across France cross paths at an inn and begin to tell stories of three children: William, an oblate on a mission from his monastery; Jacob, a Jewish boy who has fled his burning village; and Jeanne, a peasant girl who hides her prophetic visions. They are accompanied by Jeanne’s loyal greyhound, Gwenforte . . . recently brought back from the dead.

As the narrator collects their tales, the story of these three unlikely allies begins to come together.

Their adventures take them on a chase through France to escape prejudice and persecution and save precious and holy texts from being burned. They’re taken captive by knights, sit alongside a king, and save the land from a farting dragon. And as their quest drives them forward to a final showdown at Mont Saint-Michel, all will come to question if these children can perform the miracles of saints.

In this collection of poetry, Nikki Grimes looks afresh at the poets of the Harlem Renaissance—including voices like Langston Hughes, Georgia Douglas Johnson, and many more writers of importance and resonance from this era—by combining their work with her own original poetry. Using "The Golden Shovel" poetic method, Grimes has written a collection of poetry that is as gorgeous as it is thought-provoking.

This book also includes original artwork in full-color from some of today's most exciting African American illustrators, who have created pieces of art based on Nikki's original poems. Featuring art by: Cozbi Cabrera, R. Gregory Christie, Pat Cummings, Jan Spivey Gilchrist, Ebony Glenn, Nikki Grimes, E. B. Lewis, Frank Morrison, Christopher Myers, Brian Pinkney, Sean Qualls, James Ransome, Javaka Steptoe, Shadra Strickland, and Elizabeth Zunon.

Seventh grade Daniel and his little sister Erica had a comfortable, happy life in Connecticut, but when their family runs into trouble, they have to move to rural Brewster’s Hill, out in the country.  As if having to move to a run-down old farmhouse isn’t bad enough, none of the kids at school will talk to Daniel or Erica, except to tell them what Daniel assumes is a mean ghost story.

Daniel thinks nothing of what Brody and the other kids at school say—it’s a bunch of hogwash —until he realizes that Erica has begun to act strangely.  She keeps to herself, talking only with her lookalike doll.  When the doll goes missing and Erica disappears, it looks like those tales were more than campfire stories. Daniel will have to muster up the courage to go into the woods and after his sister, facing Old Auntie to get Erica back.  Did the witch strike? Has Erica been “took”?

Araminta Ross was born a slave in Delaware in the early 19th century. Slavery meant her family could be ripped apart at any time, and she could be put to work in dangerous places and for abusive people. But north of the Mason–Dixon line, slavery was illegal. If she could run away and make it north without being caught or killed, she'd be free.

Facing enormous danger, Araminta made it, and once free, she changed her name to Harriet Tubman. She spent the rest of her life helping slaves run away like she did, every time taking her life in her hands. History meets humor when Nathan Hale tells the tale of this incredible freedom fighter and the risks she took on the Underground Railroad. 

Callie’s younger brother Travis keeps bringing home strays. And Callie has her hands full keeping the animals—Travis included—away from her mother’s critical eye.

When a storm blows change into town in the form of a visiting veterinarian, Callie discovers a life and a vocation she desperately wants. But with societal expectations as they are, she will need all her wits and courage to realize her dreams.

A Handful of Stars explores a friendship between a small-town girl and the daughter of migrant workers.

When Lily's blind dog, Lucky, slips his collar and runs away across the wide-open blueberry barrens of eastern Maine, it's Salma Santiago who manages to catch him. Salma, the daughter of migrant workers, is in the small town with her family for the blueberry-picking season.

After their initial chance meeting, Salma and Lily bond over painting bee boxes for Lily's grandfather, and Salma's friendship transforms Lily's summer. But when Salma decides to run in the upcoming Blueberry Queen pageant, they'll have to face some tough truths about friendship and belonging. Should an outsider like Salma really participate in the pageant — and possibly win?

Rose Howard has Asperger’s syndrome, and an obsession with homonyms (even her name is a homonym). She gave her dog Rain a name with two homonyms (Reign, Rein), which, according to Rose’s rules of homonyms, is very special. Rain was lost dog Rose’s father 
brought home. Rose and Rain are practically inseparable. And they are often home alone, as Rose’s father spends most evenings at a bar, and doesn’t have much patience for his special-needs daughter.

Just as a storm hits town, Rain goes missing. Rose’s father shouldn’t have let Rain out. Now Rose has to find her dog, even if it means leaving her routines and safe places to search. Rose will find Rain, but so will Rain’s original owners.

With the rise of the Berlin Wall, twelve-year-old Gerta finds her family divided overnight. She, her mother, and her brother Fritz live on the eastern side, controlled by the Soviets. Her father and middle brother, who had gone west in search of work, cannot return home. Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall, to think forbidden thoughts of freedom, yet she can’t help herself. She sees the East German soldiers with their guns trained on their own citizens; she, her family, her neighbors and friends are prisoners in their own city.

But one day, while on her way to school, Gerta spots her father on a viewing platform on the western side, pantomiming a peculiar dance. Then, when she receives a mysterious drawing, Gerta puts two and two together and concludes that her father wants Gerta and Fritz to tunnel beneath the wall, out of East Berlin. However, if they are caught, the consequences will be deadly. No one can be trusted. Will Gerta and her family find their way to freedom?

Waylon has lots of ideas for making life more awesome through science, like teleportation, human gills, and attracting cupcakes by controlling gravity. But it's impossible for him to concentrate on his inventions when he's experiencing his own personal Big Bang.

Arlo Brody is dividing the fourth grade boys into two groups. Waylon would rather be friends with everyone. Well, everyone except the scary new kid, Baxter Boylen.

Waylon's older sister, Neon, is shooting away from the family. He wishes everything would go back to the way it was before she started wearing all black and saying "What's the point?" all the time

Just when it looks as though Waylon's universe is exploding, something happens to bring it all together again, and it is, without a doubt, One Awesome Thing.

Ghost wants to be the fastest sprinter on his elite middle school track team, but his past is slowing him down. He has crazy natural talent, but no formal training. If Ghost can stay on track, literally and figuratively, he could be the best sprinter in the city.

But Ghost has been running for the wrong reasons—it all started with running away from his father, who, when Ghost was a very little boy, chased him and his mother through their apartment, then down the street, with a loaded gun, aiming to kill. Since then, Ghost has been the one causing problems—and running away from them—until he meets Coach, an ex-Olympic Medalist who blew his own shot at success by using drugs, and who is determined to keep other kids from blowing their shots at life.

Eighteen kids,
one year of poems,
one school set to close.
Two yellow bulldozers
crouched outside,
ready to eat the building
in one greedy gulp.

But look out, bulldozers.
Ms. Hill’s fifth-grade class
has plans for you.
They’re going to speak up 
and work together
to save their school.

Families change and new friendships form as these terrific kids grow up and move on in this whimsical novel-in-verse about finding your voice and making sure others hear it.