New Releases by Patrick Jennings

Readers will find this charming, funny, easy-to-read middle-grade novel from the beloved Patrick Jennings an absolute hoot! When the new kid joins his class, Woodrow agrees with his schoolmates—Toulouse is really weird. He''s short—kindergarten short—dresses in a suit like a grandpa, has huge eyes, and barely says a word. But Woodrow isn''t exactly Mr. Popularity. The frequent target of the class bully himself, he figures that maybe all Toulouse needs is a chance. And when the two are put together in gym to play volleyball, they make quite the team. Toulouse can serve, set, and spike like a pro. He really knows how to fly around the court. But when the attention and teasing switch back to Woodrow, he learns that the new kid is great at something else: being a friend. Full of heart and laughs, Odd, Weird, and Little is another winner from the author of the Guinea Dog series.

Because Claudine thinks Santa is rude, she tries to keep him from coming down her chimney by getting on his naughty list.

Hissy Fitz lives with some two-legged creatures who are destined to serve him in every possible way and understand his every whim. Sadly, these creatures are sorely lacking in their skills. For one thing—they touch him when they want to touch him. Don''t they know that the two-legged are there for him to touch when he wants to—meaning when he wants food? Petting wakes him up! They speak to him—don''t they know the two-legged should be seen (so Hissy knows where to demand food from) and not heard?! It''s becoming intolerable. What is this irascible cat to do?

Readers who loved Guinea Dog have been sitting, begging, and rolling over for a sequel. The beloved Patrick Jennings returns with the follow up to his award-winning and state list hogging title! When his classmates learn about Fido, the guinea pig that acts like a dog, they all want a piece of Rufus, her owner. But Rufus hates the attention, the demands, the "celebrity." So he decides to make Fido learn how to be an actual guinea pig. But when she goes missing, he feels terrible. Was she lost, "dognapped," or did she run away, because he no longer liked her just the way she was? Offering the same offbeat humor and pacing of the first Guinea Dog, this novel will prove to be a reader''s best friend.

"When Pedro admits that he has a paralyzing fear of water, his friends try to cheer him up with a pet. Only this one won''t leave the water! The third installment of the Guinea Dog series"--

When dogs go missing, one boy will find out why. And the answer is out of this world. Nothing gets past Logan. When he observes that the neighborhood’s dogs are mysteriously vanishing, he suspects nothing less than a full-scale alien dognapping invasion. The adults don’t believe him, of course, so he enlists his friends to investigate and soon they make a shocking discovery. Now man’s best friend needs help. Fast. Suddenly, Logan and his team are on a mission unlike anything known to man. A hilarious, heartwarming tale of hound-saving heroics, Invasion of the Dognappers will be gobbled up by middle-grade readers. Ages 8-12

Rufus''s first Christmas with Fido, the guinea pig that acts like a dog, is not what he expected. Shredded wrapping paper, opened presents, a toppled Christmas tree are only some of the ingredients, but the main one is humor.

Enzo starts middle school after an amazing summer trip with his father, a new manager at a popular sporting goods company, with a prototype baseball cap that seems to bring Enzo popularity and success.

Crusher the snake will charm readers in this entertaining, funny novel about a snake in captivity and how she turns the tables on her human captor. I am a snake. No, not a rattlesnake. I just look like one. I’m a gopher snake. One day an oily, filthy, fleshy human child crossed my path. As luck would have it, he knew the difference between a gopher snake and a rattlesnake. He has imprisoned me in a terrarium. His name is Gunnar. He calls me Crusher. He thinks I’m male. I’m not. He dropped in a dead mouse and hoped I’d eat it. I buried it. He then dropped in a live one, which he called “Breakfast.” I didn’t lay a coil on it. Gunnar thinks I’ll be his adoring pet. He’s wrong. In fact, I am planning my escape. I may take breakfast with me.

Fifteen-year-old Dusty, a ward of the state, is forced to work in a logging camp during the Depression. Despite the bleakness of her life, spirited Dusty dreams of escape. One day, a mysterious seagull delivers some unusual seeds to Dusty. Her whole life changes when she plants them. Perhaps it is the strength of her wishes, or the magic of the forest, but some unknown power transforms the tiny seeds into an astonishing creature—and a possible means of deliverance. Now Dusty and her friends have a way to navigate the enchanted, though dangerous, forest, and escape the wretched existence they’ve been trapped in all their lives. Richly layered with fairy-tale lore and steeped in both the familiar and the darker elements of the Cinderella story, Patrick Jennings’s inspired novel weaves a compelling tale about finding freedom, and finding oneself./DIVDIV

B: Hello, is this Jeff?J: Yeah, Who''s this?B: It''s not important. I''m just a messenger. I''ve been asked to inform you that Viv doesn''t want to go with you anymore. At all.Welcome to Barb and Dingbat''s Crybaby Hotline. Jeff can hardly believe it when he gets the second-hand news that his girlfriend is dropping him. And what''s with Barb anyway-why does she keep calling him, and why does he get the feeling she''s not telling him the whole truth? Much like Barb, this warm and clever novel written entirely in phone calls has more than a few tricks up its sleeve.

Named after baseball legend Ty Cobb, Ty Cutter is a lousy right fielder, catcher, and batter. Although he''s terrible at baseball, he loves the game too much to quit.

In France during a time of witch-hunts, in a village with a corrupt priest, 13-year-old Lazlo longs to be able to turn into a wolf as his parents can, but also desires the friendship of a village girl.

Eleven-year-old Nickel, a boy with a great affinity for both animals and photography, moves into an apartment building run by the strange and mysterious Mr. Beastly and discovers a secret about the other tenants.