Once Upon a Toad

Ever since her grandparents gave her a DVD of Swan Lake, twelve-year-old Jenny Spark has wanted to be a ballet dancer. But on her first day of ballet class, she suffers a crippling panic attack. She’s too terrified to practice in front of the other kids, and as for actually performing for an audience? Forget it.

Yet Jenny refuses to give up her dream of making dance part of her life. With determination and a little deception, Jenny figures out how to observe ballet class without actually participating, and she practices in the safety of her home. Then Jenny meets her polar opposite: Ara Reyes, a bold, spontaneous, and accident-prone girl who longs for the spotlight but is overlooked in favor of the school’s star performer.

The girls’ friendship blossoms as they help each other find their real talents. Ara’s dancing takes a leap forward, and Jenny discovers she has a hidden gift for choreography. With the support of the school’s newest teacher, Jenny’s original ballet might just make it on stage … but will she?

Charming and inspiring, Dancing on the Inside shows how pursuing our passions can often lead to wonderful and unexpected results.

“Dancing on the Inside is a fine and very much recommended read for younger readers who may be facing stage fright themselves.”
—Midwest Book Review

Sasha is determined to prove that she belongs at Canterwood. Will she rise to the occasion and make the advanced riding team by the end of her first semester? Or will the pressure send Sasha packing?

Shortlisted for the IODE Violet Downey Book Award, selected for the USBBY Outstanding International Book List, the Bank Street College of Education's Book of the Month, and the Capitol Choices Noteworthy Titles for Children and Teens List

On a military base in post-Taliban Afghanistan, American authorities have just imprisoned a teenaged girl found in a bombed-out school. The army major thinks she may be a terrorist working with the Taliban. The girl does not respond to questions in any language and remains silent, even when she is threatened, harassed and mistreated over several days. The only clue to her identity is a tattered shoulder bag containing papers that refer to people named Shauzia, Nooria, Leila, Asif, Hassan -- and Parvana.

In this long-awaited sequel to The Breadwinner Trilogy, Parvana is now fifteen years old. As she waits for foreign military forces to determine her fate, she remembers the past four years of her life. Reunited with her mother and sisters, she has been living in a village where her mother has finally managed to open a school for girls. But even though the Taliban has been driven from the government, the country is still at war, and many continue to view the education and freedom of girls and women with suspicion and fear.

As her family settles into the routine of running the school, Parvana, a bit to her surprise, finds herself restless and bored. She even thinks of running away. But when local men threaten the school and her family, she must draw on every ounce of bravery and resilience she possesses to survive the disaster that kills her mother, destroys the school, and puts her own life in jeopardy.

A riveting page-turner, Deborah Ellis's new novel is at once harrowing, inspiring and thought-provoking. And, yes, in the end, Parvana is reunited with her childhood friend, Shauzia.

Can a mysterious landlady, a romantic evening gone wrong, and a cryptic key to nowhere help four very different girls become the best of friends? Or will they remain worst enemies forever?

This year, the girls are everywhere but home for the holidays. From a tropical cruise to a ski trip to Switzerland, it promises to be a Christmas to remember. Becca, Megan, Emma, Cassidy, and Jess have plenty of reading material to bring on their trips too, because the book club is tackling the Betsy-Tacy series before their next meeting on New Year’s Eve.

But from unexpected blizzards to a sledding disaster, nothing goes as planned. Even the Secret Santa presents are turning into a huge disappointment. Worst of all, Becca’s dad has lost his job, and Becca is determined not to let anyone find out—even if it puts her friends’ goodwill to the ultimate test.