New Releases by Kendra Spanjer

Aldo Zelnick is not an athlete like his older brother or a rock collector like his best friend; he's just a regular kid who likes to draw. One summer Aldo's grandma, Goosy, gives him a sketchbook in which to record all of his ideas and adventures, and Aldo quickly discovers how much fun cartooning is. From petitioning for a neighborhood pool slide to his passion for slushies, Aldo illustrates his summer vacation, wacky friends, and loving family in this charming comic novel that blends text with illustrations on every page. Engaging and entertaining, the story and drawings in this book will captivate both enthusiastic and reluctant young readers. This first installment in an A-to-Z alphabet series includes a glossary of words to help kids broaden their vocabulary.

As summer draws to a close, 10-year-old Aldo Zelnick travels to the Anderson farm in Minnesota for a family vacation. Aldo's mom is eager for him to experience her favorite childhood pastimes such as shucking sweet corn, milking cows, gathering eggs ? and best of all ? enjoying fresh air and living off the land.

But Aldo suspects that farm life isn't all it's cracked up to be, and his worst fears are confirmed. The rooster wakes him at dawn, the chores exhaust him, and the cousins ? identical twin pranksters ? are in cahoots against him. Even the creepy old portrait of his great-grandfather seems to be watching these shenanigans from the frame on the wall. Aldo must endure all this without the consolation of TV or computers, because the farm is (gasp!) technology free.

The humorous plot turns and lively drawings in this book will captivate both enthusiastic and reluctant young readers. This third installment in an A-to-Z alphabet series features a vocabulary-building glossary of cool words starting with the letter C, including conniption, charisma, and cattywampus.

Just how humdrum is 10-year-old Aldo Zelnick's life right now? So humdrum that he sets out to measure which January day will be the most boring. So humdrum that Jack and Bee succeed in getting him to try some weird hobbies. So humdrum that his recurring Hawaiian dream has become way more enticing than real life. So humdrum that even unathletic Aldo agrees to downhill ski with his superjock brother, Timothy ? and finds that hotdogging it on the slopes can be hazardous to your health.

The humorous plot and lively drawings in this book will captivate enthusiastic and reluctant readers alike. This eighth installment in an A-to-Z alphabet series also includes a glossary of fun and challenging ?H words,” such as harbinger, hyperbole, and hogwash.

When a warm March day beckons Aldo and his best friend, Jack, outdoors to their fort under the giant pine tree, stick-in-the-mud Aldo gets, well, stuck in the mud. As they dig Aldo's sneakers out from the embankment, they unearth a humungous bone, which rock-hound Jack believes to be a dinosaur fossil from the Jurassic period.

Their hilarious quest to figure out the bone's origin and value takes them to the nearby university, the local pawn shop, the famous dino dig site a few hours away, and finally, over spring break, to Dinosaur National Monument.

Meanwhile, Aldo discovers the Indiana Jones movies, writes a book report on Journey to the Center of the Earth, starts in on a jumbo jawbreaker, and tolerates Bee, whose newfound passion for journalism could make or break him.

This tenth installment in an A-to-Z alphabet series also includes a glossary of fun and challenging ?J words,” such as juju, jocular and jinx.