New Release Books by Sharon Creech

Gina Filomena has been told that she has an overactive imagination. With her bright clothing and artistic spirit, she''s always felt different from the other kids in her class. That is, until she meets her neighbour, a mysterious boy called Anotonio. And when a creative new teacher, Miss Lightstone, arrives at school, Gina finds a world of possibilities opens up. A wonderful tale about the transformative power of imagination, the effects of an inspirational teacher, and the journey to becoming who you are meant to be.

Following a family move to Maine, twelve-year-old Reena has no idea what to expect. She hopes it''s going to be beaches, blueberries and all the lobster she can eat. She certainly doesn''t expect to suddenly be put in charge of a menagerie of animals, belonging to the irascible Mrs Falala, who not only has a fast-wheeling pig, a secretive snake, but the most ornery cow she ever thought to meet. A wonderfully funny, moving story of one family''s move to the country, and the challenges they face.

Indie Next List Pick · ALA Notable Children’s Book · Texas Bluebonnet Award Winner “A winning tale of love.” —Kirkus (starred review) Perfect for fans of Charlotte’s Web and The One and Only Ivan, Saving Winslow is an uplifting modern classic in the making about a young boy who befriends an ailing newborn donkey and nurses him back to health, from New York Times bestseller and Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech. Louie doesn''t have the best luck when it comes to nurturing small creatures. So when his father brings home a sickly newborn mini donkey, he''s determined to save him. He names him Winslow. Taking care of him helps Louie feel closer to his brother, Gus, who is far, far away in the army. Everyone worries that Winslow won''t survive, especially Louie’s quirky new friend, Nora, who has experienced loss of her own. But as Louie''s bond with Winslow grows, surprising and life-altering events prove that this fragile donkey is stronger than anyone could have imagined. Written in the spirit of Creech favorites Moo and Love That Dog, this standout tale about love and friendship and letting go will tug at the heartstrings. “This heartwarming story is sure to be a hit with fans of E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web and Kate DiCamillo’s Because of Winn-Dixie.” —School Library Journal (starred review) “Creech packs a tremendous amount of emotion between the lines of her understated prose. Animal lovers in particular will relish Louie’s hard-won triumphs and find joy in Winslow’s strength.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Woven into this narrative is a convincing portrayal of human growth and blossoming—the story is told simply but subtly, celebrating the unexpected strength of the vulnerable.” —Horn Book (starred review)

Heroes and Villains, the seventh volume in Jon Scieszka’s Guys Read Library of Great Reading, is chock-full of adventure featuring an array of characters—with and without capes. Featuring ten all-new, original stories that run the gamut from fantasy to comics to contemporary adventure to nonfiction, and featuring eleven of the most acclaimed, exciting writers for kids working today, this collection is the perfect book for you, whether you use your powers for good—or evil. Authors include Laurie Halse Anderson, Cathy Camper and Raúl Gonzalez, Sharon Creech, Jack Gantos, Christopher Healy, Deborah Hopkinson, Ingrid Law, Pam Muñoz Ryan, Lemony Snicket, and Eugene Yelchin, with illustrations by Jeff Stokely.

Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked two moons in his moccasins. What is the meaning of this strange message left on the doorstep? Only Sal knows, and on a roadtrip with her grandparents she tells the bizarre tale of Phoebe Winterbottom, Phoebe’s disappearing mother and the lunatic. But who can help Sal make sense of the mystery that surrounds her own story . . . and her own missing mother?

So. Here it is. My summer journal. As you can see, I got a little carried away. The problem is this, though. I don’t want you to read it. I really mean it. I just wanted you to know I did it. I didn’t want you to think I was one of those kids who says, ‘Oh yeah, I did it, but I lost it/my dog ate it/my little brother dropped it in the toilet.’ But please, PLEEASE DON’T READ IT! How was I to know all this stuff was going to happen to me this summer? Mary Lou has what she calls a normally-strange family. That is, until her cousin Carl comes to stay. She had plans to enjoy the summer hanging out with her first ever crush, but there’s something so quiet and sad about Carl, and Mary Lou knows that no one else in her chaotic home will bother to find out why. So it looks like it’s up to her – and what she discovers is far from normal and rocks the family to its heart.

The Newbery Medal-winning author of Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech, brings readers a story with enormous heart. Love That Dog shows how one boy named Jack finds his voice with the help of a teacher, a pencil, some yellow paper, and of course, a dog. Written as a series of free-verse poems from Jack''s point of view, this novel is perfect for kids and teachers, too. Jack hates poetry. Only girls write it and every time he tries to, his brain feels empty. But his teacher, Miss Stretchberry, won''t stop giving her class poetry assignments—and Jack can''t avoid them. But then something amazing happens. The more he writes, the more he learns that he does have something to say. "I guess it does look like a poem when you see it typed up like that."

Return to Miss Stretchberry''s class with Jack, the reluctant poet, who over the course of a year encounters new and challenging things like metaphors, alliterations, onomatopoeia, and one mean fat black cat! The Newbery Medal-winning author of Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech, introduced Jack in Love That Dog, a New York Times bestseller. Both Love That Dog and Hate That Cat are approachable, funny, warm-hearted introductions to poetry told from the point of view of a very real kid wrestling with school assignments. These books are fast reads that will be welcomed by middle graders as they too wonder how poetry and schoolwork connect with their interests and how to uncover their true voices. In Hate That Cat, Jack is only trying to save that fat black cat stuck in the tree by his bus stop—but the cat scratches him instead! At school Miss Stretchberry begins teaching new poems, everything from William Carlos Williams to Valerie Worth to T.S. Eliot. As the year progresses, Jack gradually learns to love that cat and finds new ways to express himself.

Newbery and Carnegie Medal-winning author Sharon Creech''s stories become instant classics, beloved for their genuine characters and celebration of classic themes such as the gifts of love, family, and forgiveness. This quartet collects four of her bestselling novels, including the Newbery Medal-winning Walk Two Moons. Walk Two Moons: In this Newbery-winning novel, thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle, proud of her country roots and the "Indian-ness in her blood," travels from Ohio to Idaho with her eccentric grandparents. Along the way, she tells them of the story of Phoebe Winterbottom, who received mysterious messages, who met a "potential lunatic," and whose mother disappeared. As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe''s outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold—the story of a girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother. Ruby Holler: "Trouble twins" Dallas and Florida are orphans who have given up believing there is such a thing as a loving home. Tiller and Sairy are an eccentric older couple who live in the beautiful, mysterious Ruby Holler, but they''re restless for one more big adventure. When they invite the twins to join them on their journeys, they first must all stay together in the Holler, and the magic of the place takes over. The Great Unexpected: Young Naomi Deane is brimming with curiosity and her best friend, Lizzie Scatterding, could talk the ears off a cornfield. Naomi has a knack for being around when trouble happens. She knows all the peculiar people in town—like Crazy Cora and Witch Wiggins. But then, one day, a boy drops out of a tree. Just like that. A strangely charming Finn boy. And then the Dingle Dangle man appears, asking all kinds of questions. Curious surprises are revealed—three locked trunks, a pair of rooks, a crooked bridge, and that boy—and soon Naomi and Lizzie find their lives changed forever. The Boy on the Porch: When a young couple finds a boy asleep on their porch, their lives take a surprising turn. Unable to speak, the boy Jacob can''t explain his history. All John and Marta know is that they have been chosen to care for him. And, as their connection and friendship with Jacob grow, they embrace his exuberant spirit and talents. The three of them blossom into an unlikely family and begin to see the world in brand-new ways.

One fairytale setting, two very different families and a lot of strange and magical happenings. From Carnegie Medal winner Sharon Creech

Tiller and Sairy live a quiet life in Ruby Holler; their children have long since left home and things are peaceful. But when they decide to adopt two children from the local orphanage to take on a giant adventure, they form an unlikely foursome. And Tiller and Sairy have to deal with some pretty unconventional behaviour on the part of the children, who don''t believe they could ever be ''wanted''.A wonderful, magical story that combines quirky action and adventure with family, loyalty and learning to belong. Winner of the Carnegie Medal.

Guys Read, the hottest anthology searies for tween boys (and girls!), continues with ten new tales -- fiction, nonfiction, adventure, realism, comics, you name it -- of great heroes and villains.

“This quiet novel sings. A graceful profound story for all ages that speaks well beyond its intended audience.” —Kirkus (starred review) Fans of Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech''s Ruby Holler will love this tween novel about opening your heart and finding family when you least expect it. When a young couple finds a boy asleep on their porch, their lives take a surprising turn. Unable to speak, the boy, Jacob, can''t explain his history. All John and Marta know is that they have been chosen to care for him. And as their connection and friendship with Jacob grow, they embrace his exuberant spirit and talents. The three of them blossom into an unlikely family and begin to see the world in brand-new ways.

From Newbery Medal winner and bestselling author Sharon Creech comes a grand, sweeping yarn that is a celebration of the great and unexpected gifts of love, friendship, and forgiveness. With a starred review from Kirkus Reviews calling it an "enchanting tale to treasure," The Great Unexpected captures the heart and the imagination. Humorous and heartfelt, this is a story of pairs—of young Naomi and Lizzie, both orphans in present-day Blackbird Tree, USA, and of Sybil and Nula, grown-up sisters from faraway Rook''s Orchard, Ireland, who have become estranged. Young Naomi Deane is brimming with curiosity and her best friend, Lizzie Scatterding, could talk the ears off a cornfield. Naomi has a knack for being around when trouble happens. She knows all the peculiar people in town—like Crazy Cora and Witch Wiggins. But then, one day, a boy drops out of a tree. Just like that. A strangely charming Finn boy. And then the Dingle Dangle man appears, asking all kinds of questions. Curious surprises are revealed—three locked trunks, a pair of rooks, a crooked bridge, and that boy—and soon Naomi and Lizzie find their lives changed forever. As two worlds are woven together, Creech reveals that hearts can be mended and that there is indeed a gossamer thread that connects us all.

“Intriguing, delightful, and touching.” —School Library Journal (starred review) “Creech’s best yet.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) It started out as an ordinary summer. But the minute thirteen-year-old Zinny discovered the old, overgrown trail that ran through the woods behind her family’s house, she realized that things were about to change. It was her chance to finally make people notice her, and to have a place she could call her very own. But more than that, Zinny knew that the trail somehow held the key to all kinds of questions. And that the only way to understand her family, her Aunt Jessie’s death, and herself, was to find out where it went. From Newbery Medal-winning author Sharon Creech comes a story of love, loss, and understanding, an intricately woven tale of a young girl who sets out in search of her place in the world—and discovers it in her own backyard. An ALA Best Book for Young Adults

Newbery Honor Book * ALA Notable Children''s Book “A beautifully written and imaginatively constructed novel that speaks to the power of survival and the delicacy of grief.” —School Library Journal (starred review) This acclaimed bestselling Newbery Honor Book from multi-award-winning author Sharon Creech is a classic and moving story of adventure, self-discovery, and one girl''s independence. Thirteen-year-old Sophie hears the sea calling, promising adventure and a chance for discovery as she sets sail for England with her three uncles and two cousins. Sophie’s cousin Cody isn’t so sure he has the strength to prove himself to the crew and to his father. Through Sophie’s and Cody’s travel logs, we hear stories of the past and the daily challenges of surviving at sea as The Wanderer sails toward its destination—and its passengers search for their places in the world. “Sophie is a quietly luminous heroine, and readers will rejoice in her voyage.” —BCCB (starred review) "Like Creech''s Walk Two Moons and Chasing Redbird, this intimate novel poetically connects journey with self-discovery.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A stunning accomplishment. This story pierces the heart.” —Chicago Sun-Times RUN RUN RUN. That’s what twelve-year-old Annie loves to do. When she’s barefoot and running, she can hear her heart beating…thump-THUMP, thump-THUMP. It’s a rhythm that makes sense in a year when everything’s shifting: Her mother is pregnant, her grandfather is forgetful, and her best friend, Max, is always moody. Everything changes over time, just like the apple Annie’s been assigned to draw a hundred times. Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech masterfully weaves this tender and intuitive story told in free verse about a young girl beginning to understand the many rhythms of life, and how she fits within them. Named one of the New York Public Library’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing “Tenderhearted. Vintage Creech. Its richness lies in its sheer simplicity.” —School Library Journal (starred review) “The story soars as Annie’s feet fly.” —Bookpage

My second life began when I was kidnapped by two complete strangers . . . That the kidnappers are actually Aunt Sandy and Uncle Max makes no difference to thirteen-year-old Domenica Santolina Doone, better known as Dinnie--she just doesn''t want to go. Dinnie''s accustomed to change, with her family constantly moving for "opportunity"--but when her aunt and uncle whisk her far away to an international school in Switzerland, she''s not sure she''s ready to face this "opportunity" alone. All at once she finds herself in a foreign country, surrounded by kids from different cultures speaking all sorts of languages and sharing various beliefs. Home and her first life seem so far away. But new friendships and the awesome beauty of Switzerland begin to unlock thoughts and dreams within her. Her joys and struggles make up a rich tapestry of experiences she can find nowhere else. Switzerland begins to be more than a temporary home--it becomes a part of Dinnnie herself, the self she never knew she could be. Switzerland is the picturesque backdrop of Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech''s new novel about a young girl discovering the beauty of nature, her place in the world, the value of friendship--and that life is full of wonderful "bloomabilites."

Newbery Medal winner and master storyteller Sharon Creech spins a wonderfully funny and tender tale. As nine-year-old Dennis confronts the ghost of his uncle Arvie, Arvie''s eccentric antics and wonderful wordplay keep the reader laughing. But at its tender heart, the story reveals the holes left in our lives when we lose the ones we love. Ever since nine-year-old Dennis''s dad died, a veritable parade of ghosts has been passing through his bedroom. When the ghost of his uncle Arvie blows into his room on a warm breeze, Dennis isn''t surprised, but Uncle Arvie is the first ghost who wants something from Dennis. Dennis would love to help Uncle Arvie, but he can''t quite understand what Uncle Arvie is asking for. What, for example, is "Fraggle pin Heartfoot a wig pasta"? Dennis has to find out, because this is one ghost who isn''t going to leave until he gets what he came for. Uncle Arvie''s antics and Dennis''s attempts to please his ghost form the heart of this touching story.

Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech crafts a truly endearing story, one that is imbued with happiness, wonder, and an appreciation for all the little things that make life big. With beautiful, fresh new cover art, this is a gem of a book. In the winding stone tower of the Casa Rosa, in a quiet little village in the Swiss Alps, lives one very unlikely angel—one that is still awaiting her instructions from the angel-training center. What happens to an angel who doesn''t know her mission? She floats and swishes from high above, watching the crazy things that "peoples" say and do. But when a zany American girl named Zola arrives in town and invades the Casa Rosa, dogs start arfing, figs start flying through the air, lost orphans wander in, and the village becomes anything but quiet. And as Zola and the angel work together to rescue the orphans, they each begin to realize their purpose and learn that there is magic in the most ordinary acts of kindness.