Showing results by narrator "Merissa Czyz" in All Categories

A lonely doll helps a child adjust to a blended family in the first of a charming series about library toys and the children who borrow them, written by Newbery Honoree Cynthia Lord.

Madeline Finn and Star are off to Walker Oaks, a retirement community where Star will take his tests to become a therapy dog. Accompanied by Mom, Mrs. Dimple, and Bonnie, she and Star make their way through a variety of challenges and meet several new friends. But Madeline Finn can't stop thinking about an elderly man in a wheelchair who never smiles. Is there something she and Star can do to help?

A dirty, skinny, dog shows up in Sam and Katie's neighborhood. They start to follow it, and they don't like what they see: The Wilson sisters yell at it because it goes in their garden and the Tracy twins chase it on their bikes and throw things at it. Sam and Katie want the dog to know they'll be its friends. They think it should have a name. Most of all, they want it to like them. But then they do something thoughtless, and after that, it's hard to make things right, especially because the dog now won't come near them.

When Mia moves to Vermont the summer after seventh grade, she's recovering from the broken arm she got falling off a balance beam. And packed away in the moving boxes under her clothes and gymnastics trophies is a secret she'd rather forget. Mia's change in scenery brings day camp, new friends, and time with her beloved grandmother. But Gram is convinced someone is trying to destroy her cricket farm. Is it sabotage or is Gram's thinking impaired from the stroke she suffered months ago?

Equal parts heartwarming and heartbreaking, Wrong Way Summer is a road-trip journey and coming-of-age story about one girl’s struggle to understand when a lie is really a lie, and when it’s something more: hope....

Roger the chick almost never gets the chance to do things on his own—he is always attached to his mother, Olive the hen, who prefers quiet naps to any kind of excitement. They even get borrowed together as Book Buddies at the library. But what Roger really wants is the chance for adventure. To make his little sister happy, eight-year-old Liam agrees to borrow Olive and Roger and bring them to the airport to pick up Grandpa. But when Liam is busy trying to show Grandpa he isn’t a little kid anymore, he loses track of Roger, who gets left behind at the airport.

Autistic seventh-grader Maggie Weir loves spacecraft, but aerospace engineering isn’t the only thing that gives her butterflies: she’s got a secret crush on an eighth grader—the amazing, baton-twirling Tatum Jones. And they’ve just teamed up for an engineering contest! It might be the perfect chance for Maggie to tell Tatum how she feels, except …

It’s a special day! Madeline Finn is taking Bonnie and Star to the Blessing of the Animals. When they arrive, they see dogs and cats. There’s even a goat! Madeline Finn watches closely as the Reverend Mary Alice spends time with every animal, giving each one their very own blessing. “How do you know what to say?” Madeline Finn wants to know. “Everyone has a blessing inside,” Miss Mary explains. “A special gift to share with the world.”

In Rye, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC, people work hard, kids go to school, and football is big on Friday nights. An eighth-grade English teacher creates an assignment for her class to debate whether Rye’s mascot should stay or change. Now six middle schoolers get involved in the issue that already has the suburb turned upside down with everyone choosing sides and arguments getting ugly. At the center of this story about human rights and Native sovereignty, there are six young people.

Ruthie can’t wait to celebrate Hanukkah. And what makes Hanukkah even better? Pajamakkahs! Ruthie wants to wear them all eight nights, but her parents agree only if she can keep them spotless until the Hanukkah Pajamakkah Party. But eight nights is a long time, and a lot can happen. With a splish, squelch, and a splash, Ruthie keeps her promise of having spotless pajamakkahs in time for the party.

Rose is a good girl. She listens to her parents and follows every rule. After all, they’re there for a reason—right? And adults always know best. Talia, the new girl from New York City, doesn’t think so. After only a week at school, her bad reputation is already making enemies. First on the list: Charlotte, Rose’s lifelong best friend. So why can’t Rose stop wondering what it would be like to be Talia’s friend? And why does Rose read a banned book that she recommends? Rose doesn’t know. But the forbidden book makes her ask questions she’s never thought of in her life.