2011 releases
Ages 9 and up	Aliens on Vacation by Clete Barrett Smith, 251 pages “Scrub isn’t happy about having to spend the summer with his hippie grandmother in “middle of Nowhere,” Washington. When he arrives at her Intergalactic Bed & Breakfast, he’s not surprised by its 1960s-meets-Star Wars décor, but he is surprised by the weird-looking guests. It turns out that each room in the inn is a portal and his grandma is the gatekeeper, allowing aliens to vacation on Earth. She desperately needs Scrub’s help with disguising the tourists as humans. As if that weren’t difficult enough, the town sheriff is already suspicious of Granny. One wrong move, and Scrub could blow Grandma’s cover, forcing the B&B to shut down forever. And when it comes to aliens, every move seems very wrong.” Jacket cover excerpt, Disney Hyperion, 2011
Ages 9 and up	The Quest of the Warrior Sheep by Christine & Christopher Russell, 203 pages "When Sal the sheep is bonked on the head by an unidentified falling object, it can only mean one thing: Lord Aries, The Sheep of all Sheepdom is in trouble, and the sheep posse must save him. Little do the sheep know that the mysterious object is actually a cell phone dropped by a couple of baaaaad bank robbers who will do anything to get it back. And a couple of woolbags aren’t going to stand in their way!" Back cover excerpt, Sourcebooks, Jabberwocky, 2011

	2010 Releases
Ages 9 and up	The Boy who Howled by Timothy Power, 260 pages “Callum was raised by wolves-but now he’s coming home. Callum doesn’t exactly fit in with his family. He can’t sprint through the forest on all fours or take down a deer with a single snap of his jaws-and sometimes he worries that Dad may see him as dinner. But Clauum works hard to master the ways of the wolf pack (while trying no to look too delicious). And for a while it works. In between chasing prey, Mom and Dad evn let him howl at the moon with them. Then the pack send Callum back to live with his own kind-humans-and blending in becomes even more of a challenge! He doesn’t remember English very well, so he accidentally says his name is “Clam.” He’s spent most of his life eating fres-killed elk, so dining with vegetarians is tricky. And when he tries to impress the school’s Alpha student in the cafeteria (by stealing food from a bunch of kids lower down the pecking order), people seem offended. With wild humor, Timothy Power’s inventive writing brings to life a boy’s quest to find his place in a strange world. You’ll root for Callum-when you’re not howling with laughter.” Jacket cover excerpt, Bloomsbury, 2010
Ages 9 and up	Annie’s Adventures (The Sisters Eight series) by Lauren Baratz-Logsted, 136 pages "On New Year’s Eve, eight sisters – octuplets—wait for Mommy to come back from the kitchen with eggnog and Daddy to come back from the shed with more wood for the fire. But they – Mommy and Daddy—don’t. Come back. Ever.           It takes the sisters a few minutes to notice, but when they do it’s just as one would expect. Disbelief! Outrage! Despair! Then a note appears, explaining that each girl has a power and a gift. They all must find theirs to learn what happened to Mommy and Daddy. So that’s how the story begins. How does it end?" Jacket cover excerpt, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008
Ages 9 and up	Princess for Hire (book 1 of a series) by Lindsey Leavitt, 239 pages“When a flawlessly dressed woman steps out of an iridescent bubble and wants to know, like, now if you’d like to become a substitute princess, do you: a) run b) faint c) say yes! For Desi Bascomb, whose been longing for a bit of glamour in her Idaho life, the choice is a definite (c)—that is, once she can stop pinching herself. As her new agent, Meredith, explains, Desi has a rare magical ability: when she applies the ancient Egyptian formula “Royal Rouge,” she can transform temporarily into the exact look-alike of any princess who needs her subbing services. Dream come true, right?  Well, Desi soon discovers that subbing involves a lot more than wearing a tiara and waving at cameras. Like, what do you do when a bullying older sister puts you on a heinous crash diet?  Or when the tribal villagers gather to watch you perform a ceremonial dance you don’t know? Or when a princess’s conflicted sweetheart show up to break things off-and you’re sure she would want you to change his mind? In this hilarious, winning debut, one girl’s dream of glamour transforms into something bigger: the desire to make a positive impact. And an impact Desi makes, one royal fiasco at a time.” Jacket cover excerpt, Disney-Hyperion Books, 2010