New Releases by Julie Sternberg

A city girl spends the summer in the South and learns the secrets of her estranged extended family. Catarina has never met her strict Jewish grandmother. But now, with an opportunity to spend three weeks in Baton Rouge and away from her best-friends-turned-bullies, Cat packs her bags and leaves New York City to get to know the woman who has always been a mystery. Down South, she begins working at her grandmother's luxury department store with her rebellious cousin Lexie. Nothing seems to be going right and nobody talks about the past. But just when Cat is starting to think that this whole trip may have been a huge mistake, she stumbles onto a secret from a time her grandmother refuses to speak of. Suddenly Cat's summer, and everything she thought she knew, has changed. Award-winning author Julie Sternberg tells a tender family story full of humor, heart, and heartbreak that reveals the power of forgiveness and proves it's never too late to start over.

From the best-selling author of Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie comes the latest story about ten-year-old Celie and the changes in her life. Celie and her family have moved an hour away from her school and her friends, and the changes don't stop there. At her new school, Celie encounters harder homework and struggles to make friends. She's torn between energetic and intriguing Mary Majors Meade and sweet but shy Charlie Larken, two classmates who do not get along. On top of adjusting to her new school, Celie deals with changes at home when her forgetful Granny and a home nurse move into her family's apartment. When misunderstandings lead to a falling out between Celie's older sister Jo and her boyfriend, Celie is determined to make it right. However, her choices lead to a dangerous situation. Will Celie be able to handle all these new changes in her life? Once more Celie turns to her diary, filling the pages with heartfelt and often humorous entries, notes, drawings, and pages from her top-secret spy notebook.

In this second book in the Top-Secret Diary of Celie Valentine series, ten-year-old Celie’s grandmother has moved in with her family, and Granny’s forgetfulness is starting to worry Celie. In the meantime, Celie can tell her parents are keeping secrets, but she can’t talk to her best friend, Lula, or her sister, Jo, because they’re both keeping secrets, too! Why isn’t Lula sharing with Celie? Who is Jo texting all the time? And what is Celie supposed to do when special time with her grandmother becomes much more complicated—and possibly dangerous—than Celie can manage on her own? Once again, Celie turns to her diary as she tries to sort this all out, filling the pages with humorous, heartfelt entries, notes, drawings, and pages from her top-secret spy notebook.

Featuring the adorable duo of Baby and Puppy, here is a perfect picture book for the youngest of children. Baby and Puppy are inseparable. From the moment they wake up in the morning to when they go to bed at night, the two do everything together—from sharing breakfast to making a mess of the garden. Even nap time cannot keep the two apart for long, as Puppy finds a way to stay near Baby. Julie Sternberg’s sweet, spare text is fun to read aloud and complements Fred Koehler’s humorous and heartwarming illustrations.

With just the right mixture of humor and sweetness, here is the perfect go to sleep book for your little bunnies! It's bedtime at Bessie and Lil's, but neither of these sister bunnies seems to be listening to Mama. She is trying to read them a bedtime book, one of her favorites from when she was a little bunny. But Bessie is more interested in her headstands, and Lil is practicing her skipping. Will they ever get to bed? Alternating between the girls playing in their room and the interior pages of Mama's book, this heartfelt story offers irresistible illustrations and lyrical text -- a perfect way for parents to coax their own active little ones to bed.

Meet Celie Valentine, a tween dealing with a lot of changes in her life! Ten-year-old Celie has quite a few things on her mind—fights with her sister Jo, secrets at school, an increasingly forgetful grandmother, and worst of all, a best friend who won't speak to her. How can a girl who hates change survive, when everything in her life is changing? By writing in her top-secret diary, of course. Being ten is hard. Just ask Celie, who is at this moment: · Feuding with her best friend Lula (does she count as a best friend if she won’t even talk to Celie?) · Keeping secrets (from everyone) · Spying on her parents (and maybe reading emails that don’t belong to her) · Trying to figure out why her Granny is behaving so strangely (like freezing her trash) · Maybe—just maybe—stopping mean girls from ruling the day (well, at least one super-mean girl) Celie's often comical and always heartfelt diary entries include notes, e-mails, homework assignments, and pages from her top-secret spy notebook. Here is the perfect tween series for young readers ages 8 – 12!

I did a mean thing. A very mean thing. I HATE that I did it. But I did. This is worse than carrot juice on a cupcake or a wasp on my pillow or a dress that’s too tight at the neck. In the third installment from the team who created Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie and Like Bug Juice on a Burger, Eleanor’s relationship with her best friend, Pearl, experiences its first growing pains. When a glamorous new student transfers to school, at first Eleanor’s excited about the possibility of a new friend. But when Pearl is assigned to be the new girl’s buddy, Eleanor fears she can’t compete. To make matters worse, Eleanor’s been chosen for the lead role in the springtime musical, which means she has to sing a solo in front of the entire school! From overcoming stage fright to having a secret crush, young readers will relate to Eleanor as she navigates the bittersweet waters of growing up. Praise for Like Carrot Juice on a Cupcake STARRED REVIEW "Sternberg again displays her talent at putting Eleanor on the horns of a common youthful dilemma in accessible prose." --Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, starred review "This is another very true-to-life story about the challenges of growing up. Julie Sternberg captures young emotions so perfectly!" --School Library Monthly "The measures Eleanor takes to right her wrongs and rise to challenges are beautifully revealed in Sternberg’s spare text, which leaves plenty of room for the reader to empathize. Like Eleanor, this series continues to grow and blossom." --Booklist "The pen and ink drawings capture facial expressions and emotions quite well. A good addition for most early-chapter-book collections." --School Library Journal

I hate camp. I just hate it. I wish I didn’t. But I do. Being here is worse than bug juice on a burger. Or homework on Thanksgiving. Or water seeping into my shoes. In this sequel to Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie, Eleanor is off to summer camp. At first she’s excited, but when she gets there she finds bugs, no electricity, and terrible food. And worst of all: swim class, where she just can’t seem to keep up with the other campers. But as the days go by, Eleanor realizes that life is full of special surprises—even after some belly flops. Praise for Like Bug Juice on a Burger "Eleanor doesn’t just survive, she grows…Readers will celebrate and look forward to more." —Kirkus Reviews "Sternberg gets all of the details exactly right, from the “orange, oozing sloppy joes” to the frustrations of trying to swim in a life jacket. susan dove lempke." —The HornBook "This is a really sweet novel in verse and a good sequel to Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie (Abrams, 2011), though it works fine as a stand-alone." —School Library Journal "Eleanor’s tentative yet heartfelt voice comes through as clearly as in the first volume, with the short, ragged-right-margin lines as approachable as her personality. Sternberg is particularly deft at leaving young-reader-sized room for interpretation and extrapolation." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "This sequel to Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie (2011) is just as endearing and wise, illustrating how small triumphs can help children survive what, at the time, seems an insurmountable trial." —Booklist Award Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbons List 2013 Honor list - 2014 Gryphon Award

I had a bad August. A very bad August. As bad as pickle juice on a cookie. Eleanor’s beloved babysitter, Bibi, is moving away. Suddenly, the things she used to enjoy aren’t fun anymore—everything reminds her of Bibi. To make matters worse, Eleanor has a new babysitter, who just isn’t the same. But as the new school year looms ahead, so do new beginnings. And Eleanor is about to learn some special things about herself, friendship, and the bittersweet process of growing up.