A STATE-OF-THE-ART HISTORICAL MYSTERY

Laura Marx Fitzgerald, author of Under the Egg, is back with a new art-centric mystery in The Gallery. It's the height of roaring twenties, and twelve-year-old Martha O'Doyle finds herself employed as a servant for the wealthy, pompous newspaper magnate, Mr. Archer J. Sewell. The grand Fifth Avenue mansion is a far cry from the tiny Brooklyn apartment she shares with her family, and our inquisitive heroine wastes no time exploring every opulent corner. But it is the ever-absent eccentric mistress of the house--Mrs. "Wild Rose" Sewell, supposedly bedridden due to her madness--who really piques Martha's curiosity. What drove her so crazy in the first place? What is the story behind her hidden collection of world-renowned paintings? And what can a mere maid like Martha possibly do to bring all the secrets of this mansion to light? 

This compelling middle-grade novel features a spunky and relatable protagonist, backed by a cast of intriguingly quirky characters, fascinating historical details, and an action-packed mystery that will keep young readers in 5th to 8th grades turning the pages all the way to the very end. 

ZOMBIES REVISTED

Do you fear the "walking dead"? Maybe they're a little too creepy for you, but in James Ponti's second zombie-related book, DEAD CITY: BLUE MOON, Molly Bigelow is back to defeat the worst of them. But with less disgusting stuff and more action and adventure, with a little mystery thrown in. Molly and her zombie fighting Omega Team are tracking down the original 13 zombies all over New York, and along the way Molly comes across some information about her mother that has her wondering - is her mother still alive? 

A lively story for any zombie fan. For 5th - 8th grades.

OCT 2015

BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY

13 year old Nate Foster is about to make it big. At least, he hopes so. Otherwise, stealing his brother’s fake id and running away to New York City to audition for the Broadway musical version of E.T. will have all been in vain. His only hope of not getting grounded for the rest of his life and having to return to his horrible small town existence as bully bait is to be cast as the lead role. Armed with passion, charisma, wit, and a little bit of naïveté, Nate sets out to conquer New York City and take Broadway by storm.

Better Nate Than Ever by Broadway choreographer Tim Federle is a hilarious story about a kid who will stop at nothing to realize his dreams. It’s a bumpy jouney, but Nate learns a lot about himself along the way. This book will have you howling with laughter and tapping your toes to show tunes as Nate finds himself swept into the crush of the big city, freeloading chips and salsa from every restaurant in Times Square and desperately searching for a place to charge his ancient Nokia phone. It’s a great read for anyone who has ever had a dream and maybe enough courage to chase it.

Grades 5 and up

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AT BOARDING SCHOOL

Another fun Pride and Prejudice redux set in a boarding school in New England. The usual misunderstandings, prejudices and snobby attitudes are had by everyone at the Longbourn and Pemberley until each romantic lead realizes that they have been at fault and have made monumental errors in judgement.

A fun and fast read for teens who wants romance, fashion, spunk and piano music. Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg is for 6th graders -high schoolers .

A PORTRAIT OF PIA

At first, Pia might seem like your average typical thirteen years old girl who is interested in boys and doing the fun stuff. However, there is a lot about Pia that even she does not know yet. Her living in New York has enriched her life on so many levels. Being exposed to great food, art and culture in general has contributed to her good upbringing. However, Pia also has family issues that have never been resolved. For example, finding about who her father is, or why her brother suddenly quit a very prestige school. In addition to all the madness that she is going through, she is also attempting to create a self portrait. The metaphor being that until she does not find herself in life, her portrait will not be complete! A PORTAIT OF PIA by MARISABINA RUSSO is an outstanding book that has so many great elements, one which I liked the most is the idea of Pia being such an avid reader and an art lover!

For grades 5th and up.

CRAZY ADVENTURES OF DODSWORTH

Dodsworth gets the travel bug and decides to chuck it all and head for New York. Unbeknownst to him, Crazy Duck decides to stowaway in his suitcase, and every attempt to get rid of him is unsuccessful. So begins the frustrating but hilarious adventure around the New York City. Don't miss the continuing travels of Dodsworth and Duck in London and Paris.

Perfect travel logs by Tim Egan for beginning readers who want something a little quirky. For readers in 1st-2nd grade.

HOLY MYSTERY, GIRLS!

In New York, The Red Blazer Girls are enlisted by an alumni's mother to decipher clues to a valuable birthday gift hidden 20 years earlier. As the intrepid seventh graders of St. Veronica's, an elite all girls Catholic school, begin to search the church and school, they realize that others are also interested in The Ring of Rocamadour.

This new mystery by Michael D. Beil is a page turner with a little romance, academics, religion and a bit of teen angst thrown in for good measure. For readers in 5th & older wanting something beyond Nancy Drew series.

GRK THE DOG, PART 3

GRK AND THE HOT DOG TRAIL by Joshua Doder is the third book about Grk and his British owner, Timothy Malt. Tim and Grk are visiting New York when the Stanislavian Golden Dachsund statue is stolen, and Tim takes it upon himself to solve the mystery. Managing to wheel through New York City with no money, Tim and Grk chase the infamous Dr. Weiner, owner of a big hot dog stand company, and colletor of all things Dachsund. Tim and Grk suffer many close calls along the way, but are helped along by many adults who don't seem a bit concerned about a young boy running around New York with his dog without any supervision! What an exciting life! Great for grades 4-6.

WHEN ART WAS LIFE!

Charlotte is a young American girl living in France with her mother and father, who is an impressionist artist. They live right next door to Monsieur Monet, run into Monsieur Gaugin while vacationing by the sea, and travel to New York where her father is comissioned to be a featured artist in a fancy gallery there. The story unfolds through Charlotte's journal, as she details the many exciting things that happen in France and New York, and what it's like to be alive in the 1890s. It even includes a recipe and quite a few paintings, post cards and other artistic tokens. A good story for 3rd-5th grades.

TIME TRAVEL TO THE FUTURE!

It's 1995. Three adventurous boys set out on a typical field trip to the museum. They innocently try making their day more interesting, when suddenly...out of the blue...they end up 100 years in the future! They encounter annoying robots, anti-gravity flying discs and accidentally run into their granddaughters which could alter their futures forever! Exciting and fast-paced, good for boys and girls, 2095 by Jon Sciezka is another hilarious installment in the Time Warp Trio series. If you like this, try some others in the series like THE NOT-SO-JOLLY ROGER, YOUR MOTHER WAS A NEANDERTHAL, and DA WILD, DA CRAZY, DA VINCI! There's even Time Warp Trio in comic book style! For grades 3 and up.

LEARN ENGLISH FROM BASEBALL

With a name like Shirley Temple Wong, something's bound to go wrong! Shirley Temple Wong has just moved from China to New York. She has a hard time getting adapted because she doesn't speak English very well and everyone treats her differently. When she makes friends with the toughest girl in the class by accident, she learns how to play stickball, and becomes a huge Brooklyn Dodgers fan. BROOKLYN DODGERS?!?!

IN THE YEAR OF THE BOAR AND JACKIE ROBINSON by Bette Bao Lord is set in 1947, when the Dodgers still played for Brooklyn, and even though it takes place 70 years ago, you'll see that kids are still pretty much the same. An easy to read chapter book for 4th grades and up.

WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR SATURDAY

THE SATURDAYS by Elizabeth Enright can give you some great ideas! Every week the Melendy family, Miranda, Oliver, Mona, and Rush, gets their allowance. Separately, there's not much to do with it except save up for something big. However, the four come up with a great plan to pool their money. Each week, on Saturday, one of the siblings gets to go on their very own adventure with all the money they've pooled. Each brother and sister has a unique and exciting excursion. Even though this book was written a long time ago, the kids do things on their adventures that you can still do today! For 3rd grade and older.