New Release Books by Susin Nielsen

In this sweet and affirming picture book, two cats discover they don’t need to share a language to become friends. Leonard adores his human. “Stay! Let’s play!” he says when it’s time to leave for work. His human just hears “Meow.” Sometimes Leonard gets lonely. So does Mariposa, who is new in town. Maybe they could keep each other company? “Hello,” says Leonard. “Hola,” says Mariposa. While the friends don’t share a language, they do share adventures. And together they find a place where all cats—and their humans—are welcome.

From Governor General's Literary Award--winning author Susin Nielsen comes a funny and heartfelt story about learning how to rise above your most embarrassing moment with humor, best friends and a killer triangle solo. We all have moments that define us. For the comically clueless Wilbur, his moment happened on the first day of middle school, when someone shared his private letter with the entire student body. It revealed some of Wilbur's innermost embarrassing thoughts that no one else should ever know. Now it's the start of ninth grade and Wilbur hasn't been able to escape that major humiliation. His good friend Alex stuck by him, but Alex doesn't have as much time since he started dating Fabrizio. Luckily, Wil can confide in his best friend: his elderly neighbor Sal. Also, Wil's in the school band, where he plays the triangle. They're doing an exchange program with students from Paris, and Wilbur's billet, Charlie, a tall, chic young woman who plays the ukulele and burps with abandon, captures his heart. Charlie likes him, but only as a friend. So Alex, Fabrizio and Sal host a Queer Eye-style intervention to get Wil in shape and to build his confidence so he can impress Charlie when their band visits Paris, and just maybe replace humiliation with true romance in the City of Love.

Seven-year-old Lillian and her mother have left Lillian's abusive father and moved into a family shelter, leaving behind all of their possessions. Every day that Lillian becomes anxious about what to bring to class show-and-tell. She soon realizes that imagination can make anything magical, even an ordinary string of beads. Full color.

What's a pampered cat to do now that she has to compete for attention with an ill-mannered puppy? Award-winning author Susin Nielsen delights in this laugh-a-minute twist on the classic sibling rivalry story. Princess Puffybottom has the perfect life -- her subjects serve her delicious meals, clean up her "delicate matters" and wait on her hand and foot. Life is good . . . until Darryl arrives. Princess Puffybottom thinks he's disgusting, horrid and a true animal. Though she tries everything in her power to banish him (including hypnosis, trickery and even sabotage), it looks like this puppy is here to stay. Can Princess P. and Darryl find a way to co-exist? A hilarious picture book from acclaimed author Susin Nielsen, with adorable illustrations by Olivia Chin Mueller, Princess Puffybottom . . . and Darryl is perfect for not only warring siblings, but also anyone who loves cute pets (and some toilet humor).

For fans of Wendelin van Draanen and Cynthia Lord, a touching and funny middle-grade story about family, friendship, and growing up when you're one step away from homelessness. Twelve-and-three-quarter-year-old Felix Knutsson has a knack for trivia. His favorite game show is Who What Where When; he even named his gerbil after the host. Felix's mom, Astrid, is loving but can't seem to hold on to a job. So when they get evicted from their latest shabby apartment, they have to move into a van. Astrid swears him to secrecy; he can't tell anyone about their living arrangement, not even Dylan and Winnie, his best friends at his new school. If he does, she warns him, he'll be taken away from her and put in foster care. As their circumstances go from bad to worse, Felix gets a chance to audition for a junior edition of Who What Where When, and he's determined to earn a spot on the show. Winning the cash prize could make everything okay again. But things don't turn out the way he expects. . . . Susin Nielsen deftly combines humor, heartbreak, and hope in this moving story about people who slip through the cracks in society, and about the power of friendship and community to make all the difference.

Award-winning author Susin Nielsen has written a laugh-out-loud and heartrending novel for fans of Robyn Schneider’s Extraordinary Means and Cammie McGovern’s Say What You Will. Beware: Life ahead. Sixteen-year-old Petula de Wilde is anything but wild. A former crafting fiend with a happy life, Petula shut herself off from the world after a family tragedy. She sees danger in all the ordinary things, like crossing the street, a bug bite, or a germy handshake. She knows: life is out to get you. The worst part of her week is her comically lame mandatory art therapy class with a small group of fellow misfits. Then a new boy, Jacob, appears at school and in her therapy group. He seems so normal and confident, though he has a prosthetic arm; and soon he teams up with Petula on a hilarious project, gradually inspiring her to let go of some of her fears. But as the two grow closer, a hidden truth behind why he’s in the group threatens to derail them, unless Petula takes a huge risk. . . Praise: Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year “Nielsen writes with sensitivity, empathy, and humor.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred “Nielsen excels at depicting troubled, clever teenagers in familiar environments.” —School Library Journal, Starred “[An] empathic and deeply moving story, balanced by sharply funny narration and dialogue.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred “A poignant exploration into the nuances of healing.” —Quill and Quire, Starred

Ambrose Bukowski is a twelve-year-old with a talent for mismatching his clothes, for saying the wrong thing at the worst possible time, and for words. In short, he’s a self-described nerd. Making friends is especially hard because he and his overprotective mother, Irene, have had to move so often. And when bullies at his latest school almost kill him by deliberately slipping a peanut into his sandwich to set off his allergy, it's his mother who has the extreme reaction. From now on, Ambrose has to be home-schooled. Then Ambrose strikes up an unlikely friendship with the landlord's son, Cosmo, an ex-con who's been in prison. They have nothing in common except for Scrabble. But a small deception grows out of control when Ambrose convinces a reluctant Cosmo to take him to a Scrabble club. Could this spell disaster for Ambrose?

Violet is not impressed with her TV director dad- he's decided to abandon his family in Vancouver to start over with a new younger wife in LA. To Violet, it's like he's traded his old life for a better one - complete with new and improved children. To make matters worse, her mom has taken up with a dorky new man called Dudley Wiener. Violet decides to take control. She needs a new stepfather who is perfect, charming and will show Dad what he's missing- she needs George Clooney, Hollywood superstar.

*"This savvy, insightful take on the modern family makes for nearly nonstop laughs."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Stewart, 13: Socially clueless genius. Ashley, 14: Popular with everyone but her teachers Ashley's and Stewart's worlds collide when Stewart and his dad move in with Ashley and her mom. The Brady Bunch it isn't. Stewart is trying to be 89.9 percent happy about it--he's always wanted a sister. But Ashley is 110 percent horrified. She already has to hide the real reason her dad moved out; “Spewart” could further threaten her position at the top of the social ladder. They're complete opposites, but they have one thing in common: they—like everyone else—are made of molecules. In this hilarious and deeply moving story, award-winning author Susin Nielsen has created two narrators who will steal your heart and make you laugh out loud. Praise NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Nominated for the George Peach Book Award for Teen Readers Nominated to the Pacific Northwest Young Reader’s Choice Award Texas Lone Star Reading List "A laugh-out-loud story of two teens learning to adjust to unusual family life that neither expected...Everyone from teenagers to adults will enjoy this story of ups and downs, laughter and tears, and the healing power of love."--VOYA *"Drama, humour, poignancy, and suspense are rarely found in such perfect proportions..some truly funny writing...stellar, top notch stuff."—Quill & Quire, Starred What Other Authors Are Saying “Susin Nielsen is one of the best writers working today. In We Are All Made of Molecules, her astonishing ability to combine insight, tenderness, poignancy, and uproarious humor is in full flower. Susin Nielsen is a genius, and kids and adults alike will adore this book.” —Susan Juby, author of The Truth Commission “What a skilled, gifted writer Susin is!…There’s so much to love about this story . . . but what grabbed me the most is the humor.” —Christopher Paul Curtis, Newbery Medal–winning author of Bud, Not Buddy and The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963

Thirteen-year-old Henry's happy, ordinary life comes to an abrupt halt when his older brother, Jesse, picks up their father's hunting rifle and leaves the house one morning. What follows shatters Henry's family, who are forced to resume their lives in a new city, where no one knows their past. When Henry's therapist suggests he keeps a journal, at first he is resistant. But soon he confides in it at all hours of the day and night.

Violet's TV-director dad has traded a job in Vancouver for one in Los Angeles, their run-down house for a sleek ranch-style home complete with a pool, and, worst of all, Violet's mother for a trophy wife, a blonde actress named Jennica. Violet's younger sister reacts by bed-wetting, and her mother ping-pongs from one loser to another, searching for love. As for Violet, she gets angry in ways that are by turns infuriating, shocking, and hilarious. When her mother takes up with the unfortunately named Dudley Wiener, Violet and her friend Phoebe decide that they need to take control. If Violet's mom can't pick a decent man herself, they will help her snag George Clooney. In Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom, Susin Nielsen has created a truly original protagonist in Violet and a brilliant new novel that will delight readers into rooting for her, even when she's at her worst.

Snake had high hopes for grade nine but it isn't turning out like he planned.

Hank had a dog. His name was Fergus. Nobody else could see Fergus, only Hank. Some days Fergus was large and hairy; other days he was small and purple with very bad breath. He was Hank's best friend in the whole wide world. Fergus is invisible, but the string that Hank uses as his leash is not. Cooper, the new boy next door, sees only the string, not the dog. He also sees the large birthmark on Hank's face. Thus begins a war between the two boys, a struggle that threatens to dissolve all hope for the friendship they both crave. The climax comes when Cooper grabs the string and tries to pull it from Hank's iron grip, snapping it in two. What follows brings the boys together without threatening Fergus's existence. In fact, Fergus ends up with a friend of his very own. Hank and Fergus is Susin Nielsen-Fernlund's first picture book, but she has been writing for many years. She started out as a cook, feeding the cast and crew on the series, "Degrassi Junior High." The job did not suit. The young stars of the series wrote, "An Ode to Susin, the Bran Muffin Queen. We eat them, we die, then we turn green." She was a better writer, though, and ended up writing sixteen episodes and four books for the series. She now writes full time for Canadian children's television. She lives with her husband, Goran, their son, Oskar, their cat, Sam, and Oskar's imaginary dog, Spoofus. Louise-Andrée Laliberté is a well-known illustrator in Quebec, but Hank and Fergus is her first English book. She was drawn to the light, delicate and intelligent way in which Susin wrote about a serious subject. And she knows dogs. Her dog, Mika, weighs one hundred pounds and is so hairy that you can't tell which end is the head and which is the tail! "I know kids quite well," Louise says. "I know dogs quite well. Once, when I was a kid, my best friend was a dog."

A pair of swashbuckling boots takes Franny on a treasure hunt with a new friend - Long Joanna Silver. As the girls work together to find the treasure, Franny helps Joanna realize she's a true pirate after all. With over seventy-five reusable stickers, this pirate adventure is the perfect summer Sticker Stories!

Franny doesn't think it's any fun to play alone until she meets Lily. Lily lives in a lighthouse and has no one to play with, but she still finds loads of things to do. Lily shows Franny how she has fun flying a kite, picking berries, and even painting stones on her own! Will Franny learn that playing alone can be frantastic, too?--page 4 of cover.

A boy with budding artistic talent helps a disheartened Claude Monet learn the value of family.

Everyone likes Wheels at Degrassi--he plays in a rock band with his buddies Joey and Snake and thinks about being a musician full-time, like his birth father. But Wheels' life slams to a halt when his parents are killed in a car accident. He fights with his best friend, hangs around downtown with rough street kids, and gets into serious trouble with the law. Still his friends refuse to desert him, and Wheels learns he can count on the people around him when he really needs them. Based on the groundbreaking Degrassi Junior High television series, this book offers a sensitive and engaging look at the challenges of teenage life.