A tale of two brothers, one lucky hat, and a whole lot of style Ben and Charlie are utterly preoccupied with fashion: Older brother Ben thinks he represents the cutting edge of what’s hip, and younger brother Charlie tags along. Chief among Ben’s treasure chest of dapper duds is his good-luck Bogie hat, a fedora that makes him look like Humphrey Bogart. But when Ben starts dating a girl named Penny, his notion of what’s cool and what isn’t gets thrown out of whack. Charlie stands by, indignant and amazed, as Penny wraps his older brother around her little finger. When Ben’s grades start to slip, his parents shake their heads in amazement: Their eldest child has been bewitched! But when Ben spends his own money on a boring white shirt to please his girlfriend, Charlie finally decides to snap his beloved brother out of it. Hijinks ensue as Charlie schemes to save Ben, his sense of style, and even the Bogie hat from certain doom. It’s up to Charlie to remind his sibling that being yourself is infinitely more valuable than trying to impress someone new.

The tale of a boy, his ears, and one little change that makes a world of difference Louis is a talented kid with many great qualities. He plays a mean hand of poker and can crack his knuckles louder than any other kid in his class. He’s even trusted to walk his kid brother home from school. But looking at Louis, most people don’t notice these excellent qualities. They don’t see his kind eyes or his strong legs. Instead, all they see is two big ears. Louis has been called every insulting name in the book: Dumbo, Elephant Ears, even just plain Ears. He is the target of the school’s worst bullies, especially skinny Ernie. It seems as if every day, Louis flees from one antagonist to another. Then one day, Louis’s poker partner and good friend, Mrs. Beeble, gives him a good-luck charm—and Louis starts to believe it might actually be working. All of a sudden, he doesn’t mind the bullies so much. Could Louis’s transformation be real? Are his ears somehow shrinking? Or is his newfound swagger helping him grow? Constance C. Greene’s heartwarming tale tells the story of one boy’s quest for self-discovery, courage, and happiness—and the ears that make his journey possible.

A lonely boy learns to come to terms with the challenges in his life Eleven-year-old Paul tells himself that it doesn’t matter that the kids call him Rabbit, or that he doesn’t have any real friends. He’s been living with his grandmother, but one day soon, he knows his mother will call and tell him to come live with her, and then his life can really begin. But somehow it looks more and more like that call may never come. When the opportunity arises to make some friends, Paul is thrilled—unless it means he’ll have to do something he knows is wrong. But when the unexpected happens, Paul decides it’s time for him to takes charge of his life, no matter what the cost.

Tim wants to pen the ultimate love letter—who better to teach him how than classic writers? When sixteen-year-old Tim meets Sophie and discovers One Hundred of the World’s Best Love Letters on the very same day, he is sure he has stumbled on true love. Determined to have the ultimate romantic courtship, he anonymously sends the object of his affection copies ofthe world’s greatest loveletters, word for word, by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Lord Byron, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. It turns out that asking his “angel Sophie” if her heart has been “touched by the passion” of his doesn’t bring him the results he expected. Instead, he is rewarded with humiliation and heartache. But true romantics die hard, and Tim refuses to give up. If his favorite authors didn’t succumb to the cruel fate of unrequited love, then neither will he.

An ALA Notable Book and an IRA-CBC Children’s Choice: Losing your sister can mean losing your best friend too Thirteen-year-old Kate is thrilled for her sister, Joss, when Joss finds out she gets to keep a horse for a week as a birthday present. Then in one tragic moment, all of the happiness is gone, and numbness and grief overwhelm the family. Kate cannot imagine how she’ll survive but knows somehow she must come to terms with her loss. In this heart-wrenching story, Kate strives to find a place where joyful memories and painful loss can coexist.

Can the ghost of Nora’s mother help her stop her dad from getting remarried? It’s been three years since Nora’s mother died, and while she and her sister, Patsy, want her father to be happy again, they’re not ready for him to remarry. They especially don’t want him to marry “the Tooth”—the woman with the overbite who could soon be their stepmother. While the girls try to upend their dad’s relationship, they soon find themselves competing for the new guy at school. As Nora begins to feel more and more alone, she senses something strange . . . a laugh, a touch, even a kiss. And she knows exactly who they are coming from—her mother.

In Dotty’s world, excitement is as scarce as money—and her desire to escape is bottomless During the Great Depression, twelve-year-old Dotty dreams of traveling far away—maybe even to Africa to see crocodiles along the Nile. But first she needs luggage. If she wishes hard enough, she knows she’ll get it. When a bag full of money nearly lands in Dotty’s lap, adventure awaits. She and her neighbor Jud quickly discover that danger and heartbreak travel with that suitcase, and Dotty realizes that the reality of getting away from her small town may not be all that she imagined.