New Release Books by Shannon Hale

From New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor–winning author Shannon Hale and award-winning illustrator Tracy Subisak, comes a zany picture book that pokes fun at overly gendered notions of "boy books" and "girl books" and celebrates the pleasure of a good book. Stanley’s thrilled for bookmobile day—until the old man at the window refuses to lend him the story he wants, all because it features a girl. “Girl books” are only for girls, the book man insists, just like cat books are only for cats and robot books are only for robots. But when a dinosaur arrives at the bookmobile and successfully demands a book about ponies, Stanley musters the courage to ask for the tale he really wants—about a girl adventurer fighting pirates on the open seas. By speaking up, Stanley inspires the people, cats, robots, and goats around him to read more stories outside their experiences and enjoy the pleasure of a good book of their choosing.

There’s trouble under the sea! Can the Princess in Black and her new mermaid friend put a stop to a big blue kraken’s shenanigans? The Princess in Black and her friends are enjoying a day of sun and sea on Princess Sneezewort’s royal boat when a real, live mermaid princess emerges from the waves! Eeeeeee! Princess Posy needs their help protecting her very cute sea goats from being eaten by a very greedy kraken. But the princesses and the Goat Avenger quickly realize that fighting underwater can be tough for land dwellers, and only the mermaid Princess Posy can save the day. Can the masked heroes help her learn that being a princess means more than just being nice—it means speaking up? An ode to using your voice (along with a kelp-tree swing or two), this newest installment in the New York Times best-selling series is a splish-splashing good time.

Unicorn wants to be as perfect as everyone seems to think he is, so when he embarrasses himself in front of Kitty he is afraid Kitty will no longer want to be friends with a not-so-perfect Unicorn.

Following up their mega-bestselling Real Friends and Best Friends graphic memoirs, Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham are back with Friends Forever, a story about learning to love yourself exactly as you are. Shannon is in eighth grade, and life is more complicated than ever. Everything keeps changing, her classmates are starting to date each other (but nobody wants to date her!), and no matter how hard she tries, Shannon can never seem to just be happy. As she works through her insecurities and undiagnosed depression, she worries about disappointing all the people who care about her. Is something wrong with her? Can she be the person everyone expects her to be? And who does she actually want to be? With their signature humor, warmth, and insight, Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham have crafted another incredible love letter to their younger selves and to readers everywhere, a reminder to us all that we are enough.

Princess Magnolia has a secret - she''s the Princess in Black and fights monsters! These humorous and action-packed chapter books are for readers who not only like their princesses prim and proper, but also dressed in black. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Chapter Books is an imprint of Spotlight, a division of ABDO.

This "flipbook" style sampler features first looks at two upcoming original graphic novels perfect for all ages, BATMAN & ROBIN and HOWARD by bestselling author and illustrator Jeffrey Brown and AMETHYST: PRINCESS OF GEMWORLD by New York Times bestselling authors Shannon Hale and Dean Hale with art by Asiah Fulmore. To Damian Wayne, there is nothing more important than protecting the streets of Gotham City as Robin. But when he makes a critical mistake while out on patrol, Damian finds himself benched. And what''s more, Damian''s dad, Bruce Wayne-a.k.a. Batman-decides that starting over in a new school will be just the distraction Damian needs from his superhero routine. Certain that Gotham Metro Academy has nothing to teach him, Damian is completely unprepared for the challenge he finds in Howard-the smartest and most athletic kid in school. The boys'' rivalry is instantaneous and fierce...and both are sure only one of them can be the best in their class. Amaya, princess of House Amethyst in Gemworld, is something of a troublemaker. She and her brother have great fun together until a magical prank goes much too far and her parents ground her...to Earth! They hope a whole week in the mundane world will teach her that magic is a privilege...and maybe washing dishes by hand will help her realize the palace servants should be respected. Three years later, Amy has settled into middle school and ordinary life. She doesn''t remember any other home. So when a prince of the realm brings her home and restores her magical destiny, how will she cope?

Download a FREE sneak peek of Friends Forever by Shannon Hale; illustrated by LeUyen Pham. Following up their mega-bestselling Real Friends and Best Friends graphic memoirs, Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham are back with Friends Forever, a story about learning to love yourself exactly as you are. Shannon is in eighth grade, and life is more complicated than ever. Everything keeps changing, her classmates are starting to date each other (but nobody wants to date her!), and no matter how hard she tries, Shannon can never seem to just be happy. As she works through her insecurities and undiagnosed depression, she worries about disappointing all the people who care about her. Is something wrong with her? Can she be the person everyone expects her to be? And who does she actually want to be? With their signature humor, warmth, and insight, Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham have crafted another incredible love letter to their younger selves and to readers everywhere, a reminder to us all that we are enough.

The Princess in Black, the Goat Avenger, and more masked heroes and their trusty companions pool their talents together to vanquish a monstrous stink. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Chapter Books is an imprint of Spotlight, a division of ABDO.

From bestselling superstar duo Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham comes a delightful kitty and unicorn story that celebrates the magic of friendship—and being exactly who you want to be! Kitty thinks she might be a unicorn. She feels so perfectly unicorn-y! “Neigh!” says Kitty. But when Unicorn clop clop clops over, sweeping his magnificent tail and neighing a mighty neigh, Kitty feels no bigger than a ball of lint. Can this unlikely pair embrace who they are, and truly see one another? In their first picture book together, the magical, bestselling team of Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham put their horns together for the most heart-bursting, tail-twitching, fuzzy-feeling, perfectly unicorn-y story imaginable.

With a noisy giant crashing around the kingdom, the Princess in Black uses the Sparkle Signal to call ALL her heroic friends together—for the biggest adventure yet. The Princess in Black is ready for her snowy playdate with the Goat Avenger and the Princess in Blankets. It’s a perfect day to build snow monsters and battle them for practice. But just when they’re about to wage battle, a huge foot smashes their snow monster. “SQUASHY!” It’s a giant, and it’s smashing everything in its path! The giant is too strong for the three friends, so the Princess in Blankets has an idea: it’s time to light the Sparkle Signal and summon help. With a rising crescendo of a plot and a delightfully surprising ending, the latest adventure in the New York Times best-selling series features all the Princess in Black’s friends as heroes for the first time.

“So many strange and wonderful things happen at every twist and turn, you''ll be happy to wander with Josie . . . Each book she descends into seems to teach her something, and even if it''s not obvious where the story is going, we''re in it for the long haul.” —NPR From Shannon Hale, bestselling author of Austenland, comes Kind of a Big Deal: a story that will suck you in—literally. There''s nothing worse than peaking in high school. Nobody knows that better than Josie Pie. She was kind of a big deal—she dropped out of high school to be a star! But the bigger you are, the harder you fall. And Josie fell. Hard. Ouch. Broadway dream: dead. Meanwhile, her life keeps imploding. Best friend: distant. Boyfriend: busy. Mom: not playing with a full deck? Desperate to escape, Josie gets into reading. Literally. She reads a book and suddenly she''s inside it. And with each book, she’s a different character: a post-apocalyptic heroine, the lead in a YA rom-com, a 17th century wench in a corset. It’s alarming. But also . . . kind of amazing? It’s the perfect way to live out her fantasies. Book after book, Josie the failed star finds a new way to shine. But the longer she stays in a story, the harder it becomes to escape. Will Josie find a story so good that she just stays forever?

A squishy goo monster is a challenge for the Princess in Black but luckily some science-loving princesses are on hand to help. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Chapter Books is an imprint of Spotlight, a division of ABDO.

Eleven-year-old Diana leads an idyllic life on the island of Themyscira. Cut off from the rest of the world, she''s beginning to feel a little alone. Though she has a loving mother and many "aunties," she is an only child. In fact, she''s the only child on the entire island! After an escapade goes wrong, Diana gets in trouble for not living up to the Amazonian standard. She just can''t seem to measure up no matter what she does. Every other person on the island is an adult proficient in their trade and mighty in body, while she is gangly, sometimes clumsy, and not particularly good at anything. She''s not Wonder Woman...yet, anyway. What Diana needs is a friend; someone her own age whom she can talk to. But when she decides to take matters into her own hands, she encounters the unexpected! From New York Times bestselling authors Shannon Hale (Princess Academy) and Dean Hale and artist Victoria Ying comes a heartfelt story about making mistakes, learning the hard way, and growing up to become a hero.Eleven-year-old Diana leads an idyllic life on the island of Themyscira. Cut off from the rest of the world, she''s beginning to feel a little alone. Though she has a loving mother and many "aunties," she is an only child. In fact, she''s the only child on the entire island! After an escapade goes wrong, Diana gets in trouble for not living up to the Amazonian standard. She just can''t seem to measure up no matter what she does. Every other person on the island is an adult proficient in their trade and mighty in body, while she is gangly, sometimes clumsy, and not particularly good at anything. She''s not Wonder Woman...yet, anyway. What Diana needs is a friend; someone her own age whom she can talk to. But when she decides to take matters into her own hands, she encounters the unexpected! From New York Times bestselling authors Shannon Hale (Princess Academy) and Dean Hale and artist Victoria Ying comes a heartfelt story about making mistakes, learning the hard way, and growing up to become a hero.Eleven-year-old Diana leads an idyllic life on the island of Themyscira. Cut off from the rest of the world, she''s beginning to feel a little alone. Though she has a loving mother and many "aunties," she is an only child. In fact, she''s the only child on the entire island! After an escapade goes wrong, Diana gets in trouble for not living up to the Amazonian standard. She just can''t seem to measure up no matter what she does. Every other person on the island is an adult proficient in their trade and mighty in body, while she is gangly, sometimes clumsy, and not particularly good at anything. She''s not Wonder Woman...yet, anyway. What Diana needs is a friend; someone her own age whom she can talk to. But when she decides to take matters into her own hands, she encounters the unexpected! From New York Times bestselling authors Shannon Hale (Princess Academy) and Dean Hale and artist Victoria Ying comes a heartfelt story about making mistakes, learning the hard way, and growing up to become a hero.

Available as a free digital booklet, here is a child-friendly coronavirus public service announcement starring the Princess in Black and her friends from the New York Times best-selling series! In the words of author Shannon Hale: “LeUyen, Dean, and I are all parents self-isolating at home with our children. The anxiety and distancing are difficult enough for our older kids, but we know that younger kids might be having an even harder time. We hoped that it would help if a familiar book friend like the Princess in Black talked them through it. Even the Princess in Black is staying home! Even Princess Sneezewort had to cancel playdates! LeUyen had the idea of creating a short comic to download and share widely so that caregivers could have an extra tool for talking to children. Our goal is both to help kids understand what’s going on and to help them feel less alone.”

Shannon knows sixth grade is going to be a perfect year. She''s got a spot in the in-crowd called The Group, and her best friend is their leader Jen, the most popular girl in school. But the rules are always changing, and Shannon has to scramble to ke

Get all of your favorite friends in one boxed set featuring these bestselling and beloved graphic memoirs: Real Friends, Best Friends, and Friends Forever! From award-winning creators Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham comes a series about friendship, family, and finding your own path, inspired by Shannon''s real life. This box set includes: Real Friends When best friends are not forever... When Shannon makes her first ever friend, she thinks she''s found her bestie for life. But when her friend joins up with another circle of friends called The Group, Shannon feels left out. Will they stay friends? And is Shannon in The Group? Or out? Best Friends Follow your heart. Find your people. Now that Shannon''s best friends with the most popular girl in school, sixth grade is supposed to be perfect. But suddenly, everyone has to watch the same shows, love the same songs, and like the same people. Is Shannon being true to herself? Friends Forever Eighth grade. It''s complicated. Now a wise eighth grader, Shannon thinks she''s got it figured out--her true friends, her favorite hobbies, and the key to happiness. But no matter what she does, Shannon never feels okay. Can she ever be truly happy--just as she is?

Noseholes and elephants! A pet-eating monster interrupts a perfect playdate with Princess Sneezewort. . . . But who is that new masked avenger? Princess Magnolia and Princess Sneezewort have plans . . . mysterious plans, like a princess playdate! They dress-up slam! They karaoke jam! But then a shout from outside Princess Sneezewort''s castle interrupts their fun. It’s a monster! This is a job for the Princess in Black. Yet when the Princess in Black gets there, she finds only a masked stranger and no monster in sight. But all is not as it seems! Action and humor abound in this ode to friendship that proves that when shape-shifting monsters intrude on your plans, two heroes are better than one.

Doreen Green, age fourteen, is a little too busy wiping out crime in her suburban New Jersey neighborhood to focus on her overdue homework. That''s because she also happens to be Squirrel Girl, a bushy-tailed, squirrel-powered Super Hero! After foiling the nefarious plot of an amateur Super Villain, Squirrel Girl is finally finding her groove--and group texting with the Avengers, like, all the time. Doreen, on the other hand, is still trying to navigate friendships, evil teachers, and all the pitfalls that come with middle school. (Seriously, it''s complicated.) An announcement goes out that sends waves of excitement through the community: There''s a new mall opening on the border of Shady Oaks and neighboring town Listless Pines, and they all get to vote on the mall''s mascot! Everyone goes wild over the election . . . a little too wild, if you ask Squirrel Girl and her BHFF (Best Human Friend Forever), Ana Sofia. Soon the two towns are at war--even the trusty Squirrel Scouts are going berserk. Is there something sinister at work in Shady Oaks? Something that has less to do with quality shopping choices and more to do with world domination? And will Squirrel Girl be able to unleash the furry paws of justice in time to save the day?

A dangerous story is bubbling and almost all the Narrators are scared to tell it. Cracks in the World of Stories are spreading, and the ominous Shadow High is gaining power. Only one young, brave Narrator, Brooke Page, is ready to tell this tale. As the first cracks show, Frankie and Draculaura are accidentally transported to Ever After High, where they meet Raven Queen and Apple White. After the girls recover from the shock of learning that fairytales and monsters are real, they discover that the Evil Queen has escaped her mirror prison in search of the ultimate power, hidden in Shadow High. Frankie, Raven, Draculaura, Apple, and Brooke must stop the Evil Queen and save the World of Stories from the evil that lurks in Shadow High! ©2017 Mattel. All Rights Reserved.

This second book in award-winning, bestselling author Shannon Hale''s beloved Books of Bayern series returns with a gorgeous brand new cover.

Inconvenient monster alarms, a sparkly array of princess guests, and spot-on slapstick pacing make for a party readers will celebrate in this sequel to the New York Times bestseller The Princess in Black. Today is Princess Magnolia’s birthday party, and she wants everything to be perfect. But just as her guests are arriving . . . Brring! Brring! The monster alarm! Princess Magnolia runs to the broom closet, ditches her frilly clothes, and becomes the Princess in Black! She rushes to the goat pasture, defeats the monster, and returns to the castle before her guests discover her secret. But every time Princess Magnolia is about to open her presents, the monster alarm rings again. And every time she rushes back, it gets harder to keep the other princesses from getting suspicious. Don’t those monsters understand that now is not a good time for an attack?

Even monster-battling princesses get tired sometimes! But a peaceful time away is hard to find in the fourth book of the New York Times best-selling series. After battling monsters all night, a sleepy Princess in Black decides that she needs a vacation. After all, the Goat Avenger has offered to protect the goats while she’s away. The very next day Princess Magnolia rides her bicycle to the seaside, where the air is salty, the sun is shiny, and the sea is as blue as monster fur. But just as Princess Magnolia is about to take a nap on her hammock, she hears a “ROAR!” Could a sea monster ruin this vacation for the Princess in Black?

It’s a case of monstrous cuteness in the third book of the New York Times best-selling series as the Princess in Black encounters a new challenge: a field overrun by adorable bunnies. Princess Magnolia and her unicorn, Frimplepants, are on their way to have brunch with Princess Sneezewort when Princess Magnolia’s glitter-stone ring rings. The monster alarm! After a quick change in the secret cave, Princess Magnolia and Frimplepants are transformed into the Princess in Black and her faithful pony, Blacky. But when they get to the goat pasture, all they can see is a field full of darling little bunnies. Where are the monsters? Are these bunnies as innocent as they appear?

WHO RUNS THE WORLD? SQUIRRELS! Fourteen-year-old Doreen Green moved from sunny California to the suburbs of New Jersey. She must start at a new school, make new friends, and continue to hide her tail. Yep, Doreen has the powers of...a squirrel! After failing at several attempts to find her new BFF, Doreen feels lonely and trapped, liked a caged animal. Then one day Doreen uses her extraordinary powers to stop a group of troublemakers from causing mischief in the neighborhood, and her whole life changes. Everyone at school is talking about it! Doreen contemplates becoming a full-fledged Super Hero. And thus, Squirrel Girl is born! She saves cats from trees, keeps the sidewalks clean, and dissuades vandalism. All is well until a real-life Super Villain steps out of the shadows and declares Squirrel Girl his archenemy. Can Doreen balance being a teenager and a Super Hero? Or will she go...NUTS?