The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle

The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle
Author: Leslie Connor
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2018-01-23
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0062491490

From the critically acclaimed author of Waiting for Normal and All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook, Leslie Connor, comes a deeply poignant and beautifully crafted story about self-reliance, redemption, and hope. Mason Buttle is the biggest, sweatiest kid in his grade, and everyone knows he can barely read or write. Mason’s learning disabilities are compounded by grief. Fifteen months ago, Mason’s best friend, Benny Kilmartin, turned up dead in the Buttle family’s orchard. An investigation drags on, and Mason, honest as the day is long, can’t understand why Lieutenant Baird won’t believe the story Mason has told about that day. Both Mason and his new friend, tiny Calvin Chumsky, are relentlessly bullied by the other boys in their neighborhood, so they create an underground haven for themselves. When Calvin goes missing, Mason finds himself in trouble again. He’s desperate to figure out what happened to Calvin and, eventually, Benny. But will anyone believe him? National Book Award Finalist * ALA Schneider Family Book Award * 2019 ALSC Notable Children’s Book * Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2018 * 2019-2020 Nebraska Golden Sower Award * Amazon Best Books of 2018 * Kirkus Best of Children's 2018 * New York Public Library Best Books 2018 * Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books 2018 * 2018 Nerdy Book Club Middle Grade Winner * South Carolina Junior Book Award Nominee * 2020 Colorado Children's Book Award Nominee * Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year 2019 (9-12) * 2020 Grand Canyon Reader Award Nominee * 2020-2021 Missouri Association of School Librarians Mark Twain Readers Award Preliminary Nominee * 2020-2021 Indiana Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee * 2021 Connecitcut Nutmeg Book Award Middle Grade Nominee *

Waiting for Normal

Waiting for Normal
Author: Leslie Connor
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 326
Release: 2009-03-17
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0061881643

School Library Journal Best Book * ALA Notable Children’s Book * New York Public Library’s “One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing” * Chicago Public Library Best of the Best * Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choice * Connecticut Book Award Winner * American Library Association Schneider Family Book Award Winner This poignant and joyful novel is filled with meaningful moments and emotional resonance. Addie is waiting for normal. But Addie's mother has an all-or-nothing approach to life: a food fiesta or an empty pantry, her way or no way. Addie’s mother is bipolar, and she often neglects Addie. All-or-nothing never adds up to normal, and it can't bring Addie home, where she wants to be with her half-sisters and her stepfather. But Addie never stops hoping that one day, maybe, she'll find normal. “A heroine with spunk and spirit offers an inspiring lesson in perseverance and hope. First-rate.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Anybody Here Seen Frenchie?

Anybody Here Seen Frenchie?
Author: Leslie Connor
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2022-02-15
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0062999389

A big-hearted, beautiful, and funny novel told from multiple viewpoints about neurodiversity, friendship, and community from the award-winning author of The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle, Leslie Connor. Eleven-year-old Aurora Petrequin’s best friend has never spoken a word to her. In fact, Frenchie Livernois doesn’t talk. Aurora is bouncy, loud and impulsive—“a big old blurter.” Making friends has never come easily. When Frenchie, who is autistic, silently chose Aurora as his person back in third grade, she chose him back. They make a good team, sharing their love of the natural world in coastal Maine. In the woods, Aurora and Frenchie encounter a piebald deer, a rare creature with a coat like a patchwork quilt. Whenever it appears, Aurora feels compelled to follow. At school, Aurora looks out for Frenchie, who has been her classmate until this year. One morning, Frenchie doesn’t make it to his classroom. Aurora feels she’s to blame. The entire town begins to search, and everyone wonders: how is it possible that nobody has seen Frenchie? At the heart of this story is the friendship between hyper-talkative Aurora and nonvocal Frenchie. Conflict arises when Aurora is better able to expand her social abilities and finds new friends. When Frenchie goes missing, Aurora must figure out how to use her voice to help find him, and lift him up when he is found. Featuring a compelling mystery and a memorable voice, this is a natural next-read after Leslie Connor’s The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle. * Kids’ Indie Next Pick * New England Book Award Finalists 2022 * “Leslie Connor brilliantly depicts a genuine and meaningful friendship between a dynamic girl and her nonvocal friend. By showing the ways Aurora and Frenchie communicate, Connor gives us a blueprint for seeing autistic children in a new light. I loved, loved, loved this book!” —Cammie McGovern, author of Frankie and Amelia and Chester and Gus

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook
Author: Leslie Connor
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2016-03-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0062333488

Junior Library Guild Selection * Kids’ Indie Next List Pick From Leslie Connor, award-winning author of Waiting for Normal and Crunch, comes a soaring and heartfelt story about love, forgiveness, and how innocence makes us all rise up. All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook is a powerful story, perfect for fans of Wonder and When You Reach Me. 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?

A Home for Goddesses and Dogs

A Home for Goddesses and Dogs
Author: Leslie Connor
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 301
Release: 2020-02-25
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0062796801

A unique masterpiece about loss, love, and the world’s best bad dog, from award winner Leslie Connor, author of the National Book Award finalist The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle. This novel sings about loss and love and finding joy in new friendships and a loving family, along with the world’s best bad dog. An uplifting middle grade novel about recovery featuring strong female characters, an adorable dog, and the girl who comes to love him. It’s a life-altering New Year for thirteen-year-old Lydia when she uproots to a Connecticut farm to live with her aunt following her mother’s death. Aunt Brat and her jovial wife, Eileen, and their ancient live-in landlord, Elloroy, are welcoming—and a little quirky. Lydia’s struggle for a sense of belonging in her new family is highlighted when the women adopt a big yellow dog just days after the girl’s arrival. Wasn’t one rescue enough? Lydia is not a dog person—and this one is trouble! He is mistrustful and slinky. He pees in the house, escapes into the woods, and barks at things unseen. His new owners begin to guess about his unknown past. Meanwhile, Lydia doesn’t want to be difficult—and she does not mean to keep secrets—but there are things she’s not telling... Like why the box of “paper stuff” she keeps under her bed is so important... And why that hole in the wall behind a poster in her room is getting bigger... And why something she took from the big yellow dog just might be the key to unraveling his mysterious past—but at what cost? * Junior Library Guild Selection *

Crunch

Crunch
Author: Leslie Connor
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 342
Release: 2010-03-30
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0061998354

By the award-winning author of Waiting for Normal and All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook, Leslie Connor. Muliple award winner: Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Book * Smithsonian Magazine Notable Book for Children * Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choice Crunch asks: What might happen if the earth’s supply of gas runs out? It’s a perfect classroom read to spark discussions about energy conservation and the future of our planet. Dewey Marriss is stuck in a crunch. He never guessed that the gas pumps would run dry the same week he promised to manage the family's bicycle-repair business. Suddenly everyone needs a bike. And nobody wants to wait. Meanwhile, the crunch has stranded Dewey's parents far up north. It's up to Dewey and his older sister, Lil, to look after their younger siblings and run the bike shop all on their own. To top things off, Dewey discovers that bike parts are missing from the shop. He's sure he knows who's responsible—or does he? Will exposing the thief only make more trouble for Dewey and his siblings? “Charming and original.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

The Miraculous

The Miraculous
Author: Jess Redman
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Total Pages: 318
Release: 2019-07-30
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0374309744

An Amazon Best Children's Book of 2019 In the tradition of heartwrenching and hopeful middle grade novels such as Bridge to Terabithia comes Jess Redman's stunning debut about a young boy who must regain his faith in miracles after a tragedy changes his world. Eleven-year-old Wunder Ellis is a miracologist. In a journal he calls The Miraculous, he records stories of the inexplicable and the extraordinary. And he believes every single one. But then his newborn sister dies, at only eight days old. If that can happen, then miracles can’t exist. So Wunder gets rid of The Miraculous. He stops believing. Then he meets Faye—a cape-wearing, outspoken girl with losses of her own. Together, they find an abandoned house by the cemetery and a mysterious old woman who just might be a witch. The old woman asks them for their help. She asks them to believe. And they go on a journey that leads to friendship, to adventure, to healing—and to miracles. The Miraculous is Jess Redman’s sparkling debut novel about facing grief, trusting the unknown, and finding brightness in the darkest moments. “A stunning story expressing the complexities and mysteries of love and death in all of its light and darkness. A beautifully rendered and meaningful read for young readers asking deep questions.” —Veera Hiranandani, Newbery Honor–winning author of The Night Diary “Exquisitely crafted, serious, yet woven through with wry humor, this story’s miracles are its fierce and tender characters. I loved this extraordinary debut.” —Leslie Connor, National Book Award Finalist author of The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle This title has common core connections

Smart Cookie

Smart Cookie
Author: Elly Swartz
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2018
Genre: JUVENILE FICTION
ISBN: 9781338143560

Frankie creates an online dating profile for her widower father, but discovers that finding the perfect candidate is tougher than she ever expected.

A High Five for Glenn Burke

A High Five for Glenn Burke
Author: Phil Bildner
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages: 201
Release: 2020-02-25
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0374312745

A 2021 NCTE Charlotte Huck Award Honor Book A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2020 A 2021 ALA Rainbow Book A Bank Street Best Book of 2021 A heartfelt and relatable novel from Phil Bildner, weaving the real history of Los Angeles Dodger and Oakland Athletic Glenn Burke--the first professional baseball player to come out as gay--into the story of a middle-school kid learning to be himself. When sixth grader Silas Wade does a school presentation on former Major Leaguer Glenn Burke, it’s more than just a report about the irrepressible inventor of the high five. Burke was a gay baseball player in the 1970s—and for Silas, the presentation is his own first baby step toward revealing a truth about himself he's tired of hiding. Soon he tells his best friend, Zoey, but the longer he keeps his secret from his baseball teammates, the more he suspects they know something’s up—especially when he stages one big cover-up with terrible consequences. A High Five for Glenn Burke is Phil Bildner’s most personal novel yet—a powerful story about the challenge of being true to yourself, especially when not everyone feels you belong on the field.

Everlasting Nora

Everlasting Nora
Author: Marie Miranda Cruz
Publisher: Starscape
Total Pages: 171
Release: 2018-10-02
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0765394618

An uplifting young reader debut about perseverance against all odds, Marie Miranda Cruz's debut Everlasting Nora follows the story of a young girl living in the real-life shantytown inside the Philippines’ Manila North Cemetery. After a family tragedy results in the loss of both father and home, 12-year-old Nora lives with her mother in Manila’s North Cemetery, which is the largest shantytown of its kind in the Philippines today. When her mother disappears mysteriously one day, Nora is left alone. With help from her best friend Jojo and the support of his kindhearted grandmother, Nora embarks on a journey riddled with danger in order to find her mom. Along the way she also rediscovers the compassion of the human spirit, the resilience of her community, and everlasting hope in the most unexpected places. “Heartwarming!”—#1 New York Times Bestselling Author Melissa de la Cruz “A story of friendship and unrelenting hope.”—Newbery Medalist Erin Entrada Kelly At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.