INTRODUCING BUNJITSU BUNNY

In a series of thirteen vignettes, Isabel, nicknamed Bunjitsu Bunny, proves her mastery. The animated young rabbit, though expertly trained and admirably skilled, accomplishes this not by kicking higher, hitting harder, or throwing further than others, but rather by exploring alternatives to expected solutions. Whether she is confronting monsters in her dreams, helping a friend redefine his abilities and self-perception, or schooling pirates, Isabel approaches each challenge with indomitable spirit.

Though there’s a lesson to be learned with every tale, the tone strikes a perfect balance to avoid seeming overly moralistic. Bold black and white illustrations on every page lend themselves well, deftly capturing the movement and spirit of each character. John Himmelman’s Tales of a Bunjitsu Bunny is a celebration of humor, wisdom, kindness, and creative thinking. A second book, Bunjitsu Bunny's Best Move, is set to be published October 2015.

For grades 1 and up.

PULSE-POUNDING STORIES

Have you ever wished for a wishing machine?  Something to grant you your heart's desire?  Benny's friend Ray draws him a wish machine on a piece of paper and encourages him to start making wishes and they'll all come true.  Benny looks at Ray like he's bonkers and throws the drawing to the side.  That is, until Benny's wishes start coming true - sort of.  Like when he wishes for ear plugs at night and ends up with head phones.  Is Ray playing a trick on Benny or is there a bigger surprise in store?

Ghosts, Cryptids, Kidnappings, and more can be found in this thrilling collection of short stories called Thriller, edited by Jon Scieszka, the man who brought you The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and Time Warp Trio.  Don't let the series title "Guys Read" fool you, these stories are great for all kids, guy or gal, in grades 5 and up.

SHORT BUT NOT VERY SWEET

There are two sides to every story. That's what you've always heard, well now we get to hear from our famous villains and how they got the short end of the stick.

Those goats were really stupid to have gotten eaten. It's really not the troll's fault. What a bunch of silly girls those 12 dancing princesses were.

Troll's Eye View: A Book of Villanous Tales edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling is a collection of 15 short tales not just reimagined by the best children's fiction authors. A delightful read for fantasy fans 5th-8th grade.

WEIGHTY WORDS, TOO...

Aggrandizement, surreptitious, xerphyte, lackadaisical are words that you probably don't get to hear or use everyday right? Wait!... Maybe you use the word katzenjammer? Didn't think so!

WEIGHTY WORDS, TOO by PAUL M. LEVITT with illustrations by KATHERINE KARCZ is not only unique but almost too fun, if there is a such thing. The book has 26 stories, one for each letter of the alphabet and of course each story has a key word. By now you probably have already guessed the kind of words there will be...

For grades 4th and up.

SUPER SCARY CHINESE GHOST STORIES

This book is so scary, it's going to put you off eating Chinese food for months. Banquet for Hungry Ghosts: A Collection of Deliciously Frightening Tales by Ying Chang Compestine is a grisly yet compelling group of short supernatural tales not for the faint of heart. All the stories have an element of food, Chinese culture and each ends with a recipe related to the story.



The stories are set up as if the reader were enjoying a Chinese banquet, beginning with appetizers, main courses of meat dish, noodle, rice and of course desserts. Recommended for readers 6th & up with strong stomachs.

TALES OF ENCHANTMENT

Wouldn't you want to have a bell that whenever you ring it, the world gets filled with sweetness and light? Most likely we would all like to have a bell like that. The stories in this small book are just that! They are out of this world, strange but yet appealing to our minds, even though we know the possibilities of them being true are very slim.

TALES OF ENCHANTMENT by PLEASANT DESPAIN does just that and more! These stories are in volume seven of "The Books of Nine Lives" series and they will make you to think, smile, giggle and with no surprise, enchant! The tales are from countries like Russia, Germany, Ireland and Holland. They are short, simple and fun.

For grades 2nd-4th.

GONE FROM HOME...

GONE FROM HOME: SHORT TAKES by ANGELA JOHNSON has some pretty cool stories that will keep you so focused that you won't want them to end. If you are a girl, imagine dressing up like a boy to survive the tough streets of your neighborhood, if you are a boy, imagine stealing animals from a pet shop, so that the new owners of these animals won't cage them, or saving a baby from an abandonment but can not really do much to save your self. You will meet some really couragious kids that might at first seem to be asking for trouble, however if you look a bit deeper into their hearts, you will see that they all are striving to make things better not only for themselves but the community that they live in. Their selfless acts take them to different paths and the reader won't miss home much since their journies are so inviting...

For grades 4th and older.

ODDEST OF ALL

Imagine you are sitting down with your mom for a nice morning breakfast and suddenly the television screen goes blank and a woman with blue skin and green hair appears and tells you things that are so odd that is better for me not to even write about. You change the channel and its still the same thing, you leave your house and see that the sky is not its usual color and people are fighting and screaming at each other in no apparent reason...

You wake up in the morning and see a blue chip in the back of your arm and that will give you the option to vote on your way of life....

ODDEST OF ALL : Nine Odd Stories by BRUCE COVILLE will be one of those books that you will not want to put down until its very last page, the stories are thought provoking, light, fun and really good.

For grades 5th and up.

SHORT STORIES OF LOSS, DANGER ... HUMANITY

Highway robbers, weird diseased trees, aftermath of bombings. All are told in this haunting (not scary or creepy) collection of short stories. Hauntings And Other Tales of Danger, Love, and Sometimes Loss by Betsy Hearne is a well written set of stories about humanity and how we as humans deal with loss and tragedy.

For readers in 6th and older.

HALLOWEEN READS

My Dog's a Scaredy Cat: A Halloween Tail by Henry Winkler

The tenth in the Hank Zipzer series. This time Hank and his friends set out to make the scariest haunted house ever to impress everyone this Halloween. For 4th -6th

Sammy Keyes and the Skeleton Man by Wendelin Van Draanen

It's Halloween and Sammy and her friends are trick-or-treating when they are almost run down by someone in a skeleton costume. Once again Sammy is thrown into a middle of a mystery goes off in search of who tied up "Frankenstein" and what did the skeleton steal? For 6th - 8th

Which Witch? by Eva Ibbotson

Which witch will the Wizard marry? All the local witches compete to be the great wizard's wife and they create the most amazing magic to impress him. But one beautiful witch can only make beautiful white magic and not black magic like the others. Does she stand a chance? For 4th -6th

Whispering to Witches by Anna Dale

On his way to vacation with this mom and stepfamily, Joe accidentally stumbles upon a coven of witches among the human population and is pulled into a mystery to help them find a missing magical page. For 6th - 8th

All Hallows' Eve by Vivian Vande Velde

Set on Halloween Eve this collection of short stories will scare you with tales of murder, cemeteries and the dead (or is it the undead?). For 6th - 8th

Witch Child by Celia Rees

The diary of a young girl escaping one witch hunt in the Old World only to find that she must hide her true nature once she arrives in 1659 Salem. Witches are blamed for everything that is wrong and she must hide her abilities from the villagers who have taken her in. For 6th - 8th