Children's Middle Grade Books / Historical Best Sellers

'Katherine Rundell returns with a perfect fantasy' Telegraph ** BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS' AWARD WINNER ** The unmissable new story in the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling Impossible Creatures series, for fans of Philip Pullman, Percy Jackson and Skandar. 'There was Tolkien, there is Pullman and now there is Katherine Rundell' - Michael Morpurgo When Christopher Forrester is unexpectedly woken by a miniature dragon chewing on his face, his heart leaps for joy. For months he's dreamed of returning to the Archipelago - the secret islands where all the creatures of myth still live. But he did not know it would involve a rescue mission on the back of a sphinx, or a plan to enter a dragon's lair. Nor did he imagine it would involve a girl with a flock of birds at her side, a new-hatched chick in her pocket and a ravenous hunger for justice... Awards and praise for Impossible Creatures WINNER Waterstones Book of the Year WINNER British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year WINNER Foyles Children's Book of the Year WINNER Books Are My Bag Readers Award 'A book stuffed full of fantastical, magical delight' - Cressida Cowell 'Readers will seize this with delight' - Philip Pullman 'A masterpiece to rival Tolkien' - Daily Telegraph 'Every sentence sparkles ... Magnificent' - The Times Impossible Creatures Sunday Times bestseller, December 2023

In 1936 Berlin, nothing is what it seems... Evie Harris can't believe her luck: She's competing in the Olympics, along with fellow American athletes like Jesse Owens. True, there's something creepy about Germany's leader, Adolf Hitler, who watches over the games with his Nazi henchmen. But Evie's just here to win a gold medal in gymnastics. Until she discovers a horrible secret. Behind all the Olympic fanfare, the Nazis have Berlin in an iron grip of terror and violence--and war is brewing. When Evie becomes embroiled in a mysterious plot to help steal Nazi gold, she must navigate the city's darkest corners and hidden passageways, never knowing who she can trust. With lives on the line and her family's future at stake, Evie has to choose between following her Olympic dreams and standing up to evil... before it's too late.

A young girl moves from China to America to be reunited with her family after five years apart.

Willa sets out to unravel the mystery of imprisoned children in Dead Hollow.

The award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling novel from Alan Gratz tells the timely--and timeless--story of three different kids seeking refuge. A New York Times bestseller! JOSEF is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world... ISABEL is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America... MAHMOUD is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe... All three kids go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. All will face unimaginable dangers -- from drownings to bombings to betrayals. But there is always the hope of tomorrow. And although Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, shocking connections will tie their stories together in the end. As powerful and poignant as it is action-packed and page-turning, this highly acclaimed novel has been on the New York Times bestseller list for more than four years and continues to change readers' lives with its meaningful takes on survival, courage, and the quest for home.

Kofi\'s life is turned upside down after his brother accidentally kills a prince in a wresting match.

The instant #1 New York Times bestseller! #1 New York Times bestselling author Alan Gratz (Refugee; Ground Zero) is back, tackling the urgent topic of climate change in this breathtaking, action-packed novel that will keep readers turning pages while making their own plans to better the world. Fire. Ice. Flood. Three climate disasters. Four kids fighting for their lives. Akira is riding her horse in the California woods when a wildfire sparks--and grows scarily fast. How can she make it to safety when there are flames everywhere? Owen and his best friend, George, are used to seeing polar bears on the snowy Canadian tundra. But when one bear gets way too close for comfort, do the boys have any chance of surviving? Natalie hunkers down at home as a massive hurricane barrels toward Miami. When the floodwaters crash into her house, Natalie is dragged out into the storm--with nowhere to hide. Akira, Owen, George, and Natalie are all swept up in the devastating effects of climate change. They are also connected in ways that will shock them--and could alter their destinies forever. Bestselling author Alan Gratz is at the top of his game, shining a light on our increasingly urgent climate crisis while spinning an action-packed story that will keep readers hooked--and inspire them to take action.

The instant #1 New York Times bestseller! From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Refugee, Ground Zero, and Two Degrees comes this heart-pounding, inventive, and powerful new novel about the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor... as only Alan Gratz can tell it! December 6, 1941: Best friends Frank and Stanley have it good. With their dads stationed at the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii, the boys get to soak up the sunshine while writing and drawing their own comic books. World War II might be raging overseas, but so far America has stayed out of the fight. There's nothing to fear, right? December 7th, 1941: Everything implodes. Frank and Stanley are touring a battleship when Japanese planes zoom overhead, dropping bomb after bomb. As explosions roar and sailors scream, Frank and Stanley realize the unthinkable is happening: Japan is attacking America! The war has come to them. Frantically, the boys struggle to find safety. But disaster and danger are everywhere--from torpedoes underwater to bullets on the beach... to the shocking cruelty that their friends and neighbors show Stanley. Because his mom is Japanese-American, Stanley is suddenly seen as the "enemy." And Frank, who is white, cannot begin to understand what his friend is now facing. If the boys make it through this infamous day, can their friendship--and their dreams--survive? Or has everything they know been destroyed? Told with the immediacy, high-stakes action, and inventive storytelling that make Alan Gratz (Refugee,Ground Zero) one of today's biggest authors, this riveting look at the attack on Pearl Harbor explores themes of prejudice, power, and what it truly means to be a hero. Plus: The book ends with an all-original, 10-page black & white comic that brings to life the comic book idea that Frank and Stanley brainstorm in the novel. The comic is written by Alan Gratz and illustrated by Judit Tondora.

A baton-twirling 10-year-old hatches a plan to lure her father back home.

From two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo comes a story of discovering who you are — and deciding who you want to be. When Louisiana Elefante’s granny wakes her up in the middle of the night to tell her that the day of reckoning has arrived and they have to leave home immediately, Louisiana isn’t overly worried. After all, Granny has many middle-of-the-night ideas. But this time, things are different. This time, Granny intends for them never to return. Separated from her best friends, Raymie and Beverly, Louisiana struggles to oppose the winds of fate (and Granny) and find a way home. But as Louisiana’s life becomes entwined with the lives of the people of a small Georgia town — including a surly motel owner, a walrus-like minister, and a mysterious boy with a crow on his shoulder — she starts to worry that she is destined only for good-byes. (Which could be due to the curse on Louisiana's and Granny’s heads. But that is a story for another time.) Called “one of DiCamillo’s most singular and arresting creations” by The New York Times Book Review, the heartbreakingly irresistible Louisiana Elefante was introduced to readers in Raymie Nightingale — and now, with humor and tenderness, Kate DiCamillo returns to tell her story.

Siblings escape a cruel mother when they\'re shipped out of London during World War II.

Rush Revere rides again! Saddle up with Rush Limbaugh's really good pal for a new time-travel adventure. "Whoa there, young historians! Before we go rush, rush, rushing off anywhere, I'd like a moment. I'm Liberty, Rush Revere's loquacious equine companion -- his trusty talking horse! Always at the ready to leap from the twenty-first century into America's past, that's me. When he says 'Let's go!' I'm so there. I'm jazzed, I'm psyched, I'm --" "Ah, excuse me, Liberty?" "Yeah, Rush?" "Usually you say 'oh no, not again!' and 'while we're in colonial Boston, can I try the baked beans?'" "Okay, fine -- you do the talking. I'll just be over here, if you need me." Well, he's sulking now, but I couldn't be your tour guide across time without Liberty! His name says it all: the freedom we celebrate every July Fourth with fireworks and hot dogs (and maybe some of those baked beans). But how did America get free? How did thirteen newborn colonies tell the British king where he could stick his unfair taxes? Jump into the bustling streets of Boston in 1765, where talk of revolution is growing louder. I said LOUDER. You'll have to SHOUT to be heard over the angry cries of "Down with the king!" and "Repeal the Stamp Act!" that fill the air. You'll meet fierce supporters of liberty like Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and my idol, Paul Revere, as they fearlessly defy British rule. It's an exciting, dangerous, turbulent, thrilling time to be an American. Exceptional young patriots like you won't want to miss a minute. Let's ride! - Publisher.

An account of the 16th president\'s assassination.

An island, an abandoned orphanage and a collection of curious photographs.

In alternating stories told in words and pictures, children look for loved ones.

The novel intertwines the stories of a Sudanese girl and a "Lost Boy" as they strive for survival and a better future amid the challenges of war.

Carrie Bradshaw, years before “Sex and the City.”

A novel “in words and pictures”; an orphaned thief must decipher his father\'s last message.

The instant #1 New York Times bestseller. In time for the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, master storyteller Alan Gratz (Refugee) delivers a pulse-pounding and unforgettable take on history and hope, revenge and fear -- and the stunning links between the past and present. September 11, 2001, New York City: Brandon is visiting his dad at work, on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center. Out of nowhere, an airplane slams into the tower, creating a fiery nightmare of terror and confusion. And Brandon is in the middle of it all. Can he survive -- and escape? September 11, 2019, Afghanistan: Reshmina has grown up in the shadow of war, but she dreams of peace and progress. When a battle erupts in her village, Reshmina stumbles upon a wounded American soldier named Taz. Should she help Taz -- and put herself and her family in mortal danger? Two kids. One devastating day. Nothing will ever be the same.