New Releases by Charise Mericle Harper

From award-winning children’s book author-illustrator Charise Mericle Harper comes a one-of-a-kind chapter book perfect for fans of the Narwhal and Jelly and Kondo & Kezumi series. After receiving an urgent mountaintop message from the blue jay, Mouse proclaims to all the woodland creatures: “The Shindig is coming!” The entire forest is soon abuzz with everyone asking the same question: What is a shindig? Meetings are held. Assumptions are made. Honey cake is served. Finally Bear declares the answer. A shindig is a party, which is just like a meeting only fun. Problem solved! . . . Or is it? When the blue jay finally reaches the party-prepping crew, all that pep turns to panic. The blue jay''s message wasn’t an invitation. It was a warning! THE SHINDIG IS COMING! Hooves, claws, and paws scatter when the mysterious forest visitors arrive at last. And opossum faints. Again. Find out what Mouse heard, what Bear said, and what Opossum missed in The Shindig Is Coming! Charise Mericle Harper’s hilarious storytelling and dynamic line art are on full display in this laugh-out-loud original chapter book for readers ages 7 and up.

"Pepper, Boo, and the Cat celebrate a special day with big and small things, cat and dog things, as well as inside and outside things"--

The narrator turns a "nothing shape" into a cat, beaver, bunny, dog, turtle, and bear, but what the cat really wants is a horse.

Meet Charise. She’s energetic, helpful, a model pet owner and full of inventions. But she’s also a bad sister. When she goes too far and breaks little brother Daniel’s tooth, can she redeem herself? Is an accident really an accident if you could have stopped it? But most importantly... What does it mean to be a good sister?

"Meet Pepper and Boo. They are two dogs who do not know much about cats. (Who does?) They wonder why the cat sleeps so much (in their beds!), licks itself so much, what the cat is thinking, and what makes the cat happy. Luckily, the cat can explain."--Provided by publisher.

A zesty series for fans of kids'' cooking competitions! It''s “lights, camera, cook!” for four tween contestants—energetic Tate, charming Rae, worldly Caroline, and hyper-competitive Oliver—who are all about to enter a televised cooking competition. What will the kids cook up? How will they all get along on- and off-camera? Which junior chef will have the grit—and maybe the grits—to make it through each challenge? And which junior chef will have to hang their apron up for good? Bonus: Includes real cooking techniques for the aspiring young chef!

Meet third-grader Grace Stewart, who gets stuck with the name “Just Grace” when she tries to distinguish herself from the three other Graces in her class. Grace is plenty different, though. She has a “teeny-tiny superpower,” for instance—she can tell if someone is unhappy and often tries to fix it. But sometimes her good intentions backfire... Join Just Grace as she deals with a missing cat, a new neighbor, and more in this delightfully funny three-book collection including Just Grace, Still Just Grace, Just Grace Walks the Dog.

One day Little Green rolls into town and says his first word: "Go!" The town is building a bridge, and now everyone has a job to do, from dump truck to forklift. Little Green helps them do their jobs with gusto. Until . . . there is a little too much gusto. They can go, go, go . . . but how will they stop? This bright, fun book with a bold package captures the endless energy of little boys and the timeless appeal of trucks and machines--both for building and knocking down. Plus, it has an underlying message about working together to get things done.

Nine-year-old Morgan is fascinated with aliens. He lives in the Pacific Northwest, land of the sasquatch, and naturally is fascinated with those as well. When he meets new kid Lewis, whose parents own a motel named the Stay On Inn, the adventures begin with slingshots, underpants, annoying older sisters, and neighbors dressed up in bear suits.

"A little girl deems herself ''Superlove'' and arranges a wedding between her cat Pinky and stuffed dog, much to Pinky''s dismay"--

What if everything were just like boys? If shopping carts were like boys . . . grocery stores would be racetracks! If pillows were like boys . . . bedrooms would be superhero hideouts! Perfect for bedtime, this funny and tender celebration of boyhood will have everyone seeing their world in a whole new way.

The third-grader Grace Stewart gets stuck with the name “Just Grace” when she tries to distinguish herself from the three other Graces in her class. Grace is plenty different, though. She has a “teeny-tiny superpower,” for instance—she can tell if someone is unhappy and often tries to fix it. When she concocts an elaborate scheme to help her neighbor Mrs. Luther feel less lonely, however, her good intentions backfire rather dramatically. Headlines such as “What Happened At Home That Was Completely Surprising” and “Spying For A Good Reason Is Not Bad” keep things lively, as do various lists (“Boy Things,” “Rooms You Can Jump In”), comic strips, and the author’s cartoonish spot art. A funny glimpse into a third-grader’s madcap world of dashed hopes, perceived enemies, possible friends, cats, and sandwiches. Don’t miss the Just Grace website www.justgracebooks.com with its superpower quiz, podcasts, excerpts, and downloads . . . or the other books in the Just Grace series: Still Just Grace, Just Grace Goes Green, Just Grace Walks the Dog, Just Grace and the Snack Attack, Just Grace and the Terrible Tutu, and Just Grace and the Double Surprise!

As Leo says "good night" to all his pirate gear, cutouts reveal each layer of the gear being placed on his teddy bear. On board pages.

Presents a series of comparisons, such as "Big, " "Not so Big" and "Tasty, " "Not so Tasty" successive pages.

Finnigan, a Secret Service squirrel in training, reports on the unusual activities in the apartment building across from his park.

Veggieboy practices flying, lifting, and helping people to hone his superhero skills, and finally Veggieman's training as a superhero is complete, but he is surprised when children want to change his name.

The girl "who should easily find a place in the pantheon of precocious third graders" returns! From the author of the Next Best Junior Chef books ( School Library Journal). In this seventh installment in the Just Grace series, any day now Grace's best friend in the whole world, Mimi, is going to be getting a brand-new sister. Grace is really excited, plus nervous, plus worried, plus happy all mixed together. But both Grace and Mimi are in for a surprise when they find out that Mimi's family is not adopting a brand-new sister—and instead she is getting a brand-new brother. (Oh, brother!) And to heighten the excitement even further, Grace is in for another big surprise! Praise for the Just Grace series "The kids come alive in the story, and Harper . . . enhances the comical goings-on with sparkling cartoon sketches. Equally delightful is the wry voice of energetic Just Grace, who never misses an opportunity to point out the injustices life has dealt her. She's a hero through and through."— Booklist (starred review) "Fans of Amber Brown, Clementine, and Judy Moody will love her."— School Library Journal "Her casual language, cheeky attitude and punchy delivery are spot-on."— Bookpage "Grace's cartoon illustrations and charts enliven the conversational, first-person text."— Kirkus Reviews "Girls who are settling into chapter book series featuring Clementine and Judy Moody will love the fast pace and familiar school and family situations . . . Harper's sketches add interest and break up the text, leaving the new reader time to pause and smile."— Horn Book

Written in verse and filled with full-color illustrations drawn by the author, this book invites young readers inside the minds of great inventors, encouraging them to think imaginatively as it offers the origins of items such as roller skates, potato chips, eyeglasses, the vacuum cleaner, and more.

Grace has lots of new and exciting things to share in the latest addition to the Just Grace series! There's a new crossing guard in town named Marie who needs a bit of help making friends, a fun substitute teacher for Miss Lois, and most exciting, Grace and Mimi are going to have their own table at the craft fair! They are going to make lots of crafts to sell-and hopefully save up enough money to go to the county fair. There is one small problem, though-Mimi is a sewing natural, but when it comes to crafting, Grace doesn't know what to make. Leave it to Grace to come up with a great idea for the fair that is a big success, and even helps the new crossing guard find a friend.

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. When the principal of Kiki's school makes a rule that everyone has to wear boring uniforms, Fashion Kitty decides to put her fashion powers back into action. Then she encounters the one thing she never expected: a kitty who does not want her help.