New Releases by Johanna Hurwitz

Five-year-old Elisa has an older brother and a new baby brother, but her elderly neighbor says the middle is the best, just like the filling in a sandwich.

Arlene and Ilene love so many things about being identical twins. They like sharing a room, sharing friends, and wearing matching outfits. But they re in different classes at school, and one twin has a scar that the other one doesn t. One morning, their friends Monty and Joey point out a new difference that takes the sisters by surprise and gets them thinking: if they are identical twins, why are there differences between them at all?

When Adam''s mother promises a surprise, he is sure it will be the mountain bike he''s been pining for. The arrival of a llama-with the news that Mrs. Fine will start a trekking business from their Vermont home-comes as a bit of a blow.

When Cricket Kaufman breaks her ankle just before her spring-break vacation trip to Washington, D.C., she''s stuck at home with prankster Lucas Cott instead of sightseeing with her best friend, Zoe. But when Cricket stirs up some mischief of her own, she learns that good friends can remain true even at the most unexpected times. Another winning installment in the ''Class Clown'' series.

Excited about the prospects of playing practical jokes on the non-English-speaking French girl who will be spending the summer in his house, Lucas gathers his friends together for the fun.

Second-graders Arlene and Ilene Kelly are twins, identical twins to be exact, and they love being a pair. They love to dress alike, they have identical pet ferrets, and they do everything together. But being a twin is not always easy. And when Arlene gets sick and has to visit the hospital, the twins each find out what it's like to be one instead of two. But whether they're together or apart, Arlene and Ilene know they're lucky to have each other. Second-graders Arlene and Ilene Kelly are twins and they love being a pair. At Halloween, on different streets in identical witch costumes, some neighbors think that the girls are one person trying to get extra candy.

Nora loves making new friends--but there aren''t many kids to play with in her New York apartment building. Apart from her little brother, Teddy, there''s only four-year-old Russell. The three of them have lots of fun--but what would happen if there were more kids around? More fun, that''s what!

Russell''s enjoying his first year in school. The trouble is his baby sister, Elisa. She''s only a few months old, and she''s a pest! But sometimes, as Russell is about to discover, it''s not so bad to have a little sister. Because that also means he''s something special: a big brother!

When Rory and Derek go to their best friend Bolivia''s house for spring break, everyone gets sick, and the vacation does not turn out quite as they had planned it. Reprint.

First-grader Monty Morris includes his new baby sister in a school project, gives his mother a surprising gift, gets a little more than he can handle with his friend Joey's dogs, and learns that sometimes a day filled with excitement is not the best thing.

First-grader Montgomery Gerald Morris enjoys an exciting year as his class acquires a pair of parakeets as pets, he loses his first tooth, and he becomes a big brother.

In early twentieth-century Vermont, sixteen-year-old Emma confides in her diary both her hopes of becoming a farmer's wife one day and her frustrations with her parents' belief that she is too young to be courted by the handsome Cole Berry.

A yard sale, ice skating, class pictures, and a surprise party are a few of the things that make fourth grade fun for Julio and his friends, but they must get serious about studying as the statewide end-of-year test approaches.

A simple story about a young boy when he is sick.

All Curtis wants is a dog. At the animal shelter, Curtis falls in love with Sammy, a friendly puppy with curly black fur, floppy ears, a wagging tail, and perfect white teeth. He's the best dog in the whole world. At home, things are different-Sammy steals food and chews sneakers and toys-but Curtis loves him anyway. Then Sammy bites Curtis's mom, and Curtis has to face the fact that Sammy's not perfect after all. Will Curtis have to give Sammy up? Or will he do whatever it takes to keep his dog?

In her letters to a Vermont friend, eighth grader Dossi, a Russian, Jewish immigrant living in the Lower East Side of New York City in 1910, shares her thoughts about her new brother-in-law, the diphtheria epidemic, and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.

For use in schools and libraries only. Can Lexi, the street-smart squirrel and his friend PeeWee, a well-read guinea pig, make a difference in the life of a man living hungry and friendless in Central Park?

A prominent children''s books author shares her life, her daily activities, and her creative process, showing how all are intertwined.

A traumatic event in the lives of seventeen-year-old Stephen and his fourteen-year-old sister helps them to understand and accept themselves and each other.

A young girl receives a pair of beautiful red shoes from Tia Rosita and finds different uses for them until she grows enough for them to fit.