Kids Events and Resources

"Hazel and Jack are best friends until an accident with a magical mirror and a run-in with a villainous queen find Hazel on her own, entering an enchanted wood in the hopes of saving Jack's life."

In this updated version of the Cinderella story, Cinderella writes letters to her dead mother apologizing for not being more assertive, which she remedies soon after marrying the prince.

After reluctantly kissing a frog, an awkward, fourteen-year-old princess suddenly finds herself a frog, too, and sets off with the prince to seek the means--and the self-confidence--to become human again.

Snow and Rose search the forest for their missing father and discover there is a sinister magic at work in the woods.

Minli, an adventurous girl from a poor village, buys a magical goldfish, and then joins a dragon who cannot fly on a quest to find the Old Man of the Moon in hopes of bringing life to Fruitless Mountain and freshness to Jade River.

Ever since he was a dwarfling, Borlen (nicknamed Grump) has dreamed of visiting The Surface, so when opportunity knocks, he leaves his cavern home behind. At first, life aboveground is a dream come true. Queen Elfrieda Veronika Ingrid Lenore (E.V.I.L.) is the best friend Grump always wanted, feeding him all the rubies he can eat and allowing him to rule at her side. But as time goes on, Grump starts to suspect that Queen E.V.I.L. may not be as nice as she seems. When the queen commands him to assist in a fiendish plot against her stepdaughter, Snow White, Grump is in over his dead. He's bound by magic to help the queen, but also to protect Snow White. As if that wasn't stressful enough, the queen keeps bugging him for updates through her magic mirror! He'll have to dig deep to find a way out of this pickle - and that's enough to make any dwarf Grumpy indeed.

The scene: New York City. The dazzling lights cast shadows that grow ever darker as the glitzy prosperity of the Roaring Twenties screeches to a halt. Enter a cast of familiar characters: a young girl, Samantha White, returning after being sent away by her cruel stepmother, the Queen of the Follies, years earlier; her father, the King of Wall Street, who survives the stock market crash only to suffer a strange and sudden death; seven street urchins, brave protectors for a girl as pure as snow; and a mysterious stock ticker that holds the stepmother in its thrall, churning out ticker tape imprinted with the wicked words "Another . . . More Beautiful . . . KILL."

Magia and her family live in the shadow of the Puszcza, an ancient and magical forest rich in stories and mysteries, where wolves can talk and read and unwary humans who enter its boundaries never come back--but despite her beautiful voice Magia longs to be a woodcutter like her father and learn the secrets of the Puszcza.

When Lily, her sister Sam, and their mother move in with her sick grandmother, Lily traps a tiger and makes a deal with him to heal Halmoni.

When almost-thirteen-year-old Princess Imogene is turned into a frog, she puts into practice lessons from the book, The art of being a princess, as she tries to become her less-than-perfect self again.

Two separate stories, the first telling of Mari's starting school in a new land, and the second describing village life in her country before she and her family left in search of a better life.

After many years of retirement, an old Kamishibai man--a Japanese street performer who tells stories and sells candies--decides to make his rounds once more even though such entertainment declined after the advent of television.

The students in Mr. Magro's class submit stories for the SOS file about their biggest emergencies, and then they read them aloud for extra credit.

A collection of stories inspired by paintings that depict the special relationships betweens the Plains Indians and such animals as bear, deer, moose, crows, and loons.

A most unusual new student who loves to be the center of attention entertains her teacher and fellow second graders by telling absolutely true stories about herself, including how she got her name.

In the time before stories, two children meet a snake who offers to trade tales for their fruit.

A girl recalls the special summer spent in Michigan with her yarn-spinning father and a magic rock.

Serefina's imagination makes her destined for greatness, according to her grandmother, but sometimes it leads her into trouble as well.

Three children spend the summer with their mother on a secluded island where they discover a three-headed dragon living in a cave and learn what it means to be a Dragon Friend.

When Lily, her sister Sam, and their mother move in with her sick grandmother, Lily traps a tiger and makes a deal with him to heal Halmoni.

The fifth graders of Liberty Falls Elementary have a reputation for trouble, but they manage to convince their principal to let them go on a field trip to the mansion of Edward Minks (local inventor, founder of the town, and great-great-great grandfather of fifth-grader Eddie), and search for the secret inventions that are rumored to be hidden there--but once at the estate they find that they are not the only people searching, and somehow this class of trouble-makers must work together to thwart the thieves.-- Provided by Publisher.

Nine-year-old King Edwin is loved by his people, but when he runs out of money evil Emperor Nurbison sees it as a chance to seize control of Edwinland.

Presents a collection of humorous stories from over two dozen contemporary female writers, as well as autobiographical essays, comics, poems, and comic strips.

When the squirrel Tail comes barreling into the chicken coop ranting about a round, shiny, green, big, scary thing in the yard, Dirt, Sweetie, Poppy, and Sugar investigate this strange object.

Discovering a smelly creature in her garbage can that she names after herself, Olga befriends and studies the eccentric Olgamus using the scientific method, the practices of Jane Goodall, and other scientific concepts.

When her embarrassing middle name is revealed at school, mad scientist Franny K. Stein experiments with time in order to return to the past and give herself a more dignified name.

Soren is famous for his pranks, but with his best friend gone and well-behaved cousin Flynn visiting for a year, he tries to mend his ways.--Provided by Publisher.

"I'm Sam Wu and there is not even the slightest possibility that I might be afraid of the dark. At all. EVER. But when I went camping in the woods with my best friend Bernard (at nighttime and everything!) I figured it would only be sensible to: 1) Light a campfire to deter Great Big Grizzly Bears/Attacking Aliens/Zombie Werewolves 2) Stay awake ALL night to make sure it works. Nooooo problem. Really!"--Page [4] of cover.

Cancel your dinner plans and dig in to Thundercluck! by Paul Tillery IV and Meg Wittwer. This is the first book in a hilarious new series stuffed with Norse mythology, black-and-white illustrations by the dozen, and a superhero chicken ready to ruffle some feathers. When danger calls...BAGAW! calls back! An evil chef faces off against the god Thor, and a hen's egg is caught in the crossfire. It hatches into a powerful chick called Thundercluck, beloved by the gods but a target for evildoers everywhere. When the Under-Cook threatens to make everyone into rotisserie, there's only one chicken who can scramble his scheme. Thundercluck! Half mortal. Half god. All-natural chicken.-- Publisher's description.

Young penguins Jackson, also known as Secret Agent 00Zero, and his inventor-friend, Quigley, investigate who is stealing rare fish from the Rookeryville aquarium, hoping to prove themselves to the Frosty Bureau of Investigation.

When a popular student encourages her to join the soccer team, Faith signs up even though she has never played the game and learns about loyalty and friendship.

After Ofelia, Aster, Cat, and Lane fail to persuade a local girls club to change an outdated tradition, they form an alternative group that shakes up their sleepy Florida town. Includes tips for beginning birders, characteristics of crystals, a cookie recipe, tips for aspiring journalists, directions for creating badges, and facts about the killing of birds for fashion.

Virgil feels out of place in his crazy-about-sports family. Valencia is deaf, smart, and loves everything about nature. Kaori is a self-proclaimed psychic, whose little sister, Gen, is always following her around. And Chet wishes the weird kids would just stop being so different so that he can concentrate on basketball. They aren't friends. But when Chet pulls a prank that traps Virgil and his pet guinea pig at the bottom of a well, Kaori, Gen, and Valencia begin a quest to find the missing Virgil.

Told in alternating voices, the teacher and students in room 117 find their lives changed over the course of a school year.

Forced to attend Enchantasia's Royal Academy, Devin teams up with other misfits to investigate why Olivina, the fairy godmother/headmistress, is obsessed with villains rather than teaching them to be proper princes and princesses.

"Fourteen-year-old Ahmed, a Syrian refugee, and thirteen-year-old Max, an American boy, are bound by a secret that sets them on the adventure of a lifetime"-- Provided by publisher.

As he grieves his best friend Benny's death, Mason and his friend Calvin, who are targeted by the neighborhood bullies, create an underground haven for themselves, but when Calvin goes missing Mason finds himself in trouble.

"As Trent Zimmerman struggles to move past a traumatic event that took place several months earlier, he befriends class outcast Fallon Little, who helps him understand that he can move on"-- Provided by publisher.

"Ally's greatest fear is that everyone will find out she is as dumb as they think she is because she still doesn't know how to read"-- Provided by publisher.

When his school counselor insists that he needs better socialization skills after being stuffed into a locker by a bully, middle-schooler Nick finds himself, along with two other misfits, joining the school's lamest club: Safety Patrol.

"Six young magicians and illusionists team up to save their small town from a crooked carnival owner and his goons"-- Provided by publisher.

"When seventh-grader Eleanor reads an article online claiming that an asteroid will hit Earth in April, she starts an underground school club to prepare kids for the end of the world as we know it."-- Provided by publisher.

"It's the morning of Maisie's tenth birthday, and she can't wait to open her presents. Maisie is not a typical kid. What she wants most for her birthday are the things she needs to build her own nuclear reactor. But she wakes to an empty house, and outside the front door is nothing but an unsettling, all-consuming blackness--a shifted reality. Even for super-smart Maisie, these puzzling circumstances seem out of her control... or are they?"--Page [2] of cover.

Moving from Earth to the futuristic planet Nebulon in 2120, eight-year-old Zack is nervous about starting school and meeting people.

One day when Ned's parents are out, he meets Captain Lumpy Lugo, a space pirate who comes from the galaxy Foon-ping-baba, and they spend the afternoon travelling through outer space.

Newly responsible for delivering pizza all over the galaxy, Luno and his friends Clive, an intelligent garlic bulb, and Chooch, a robot pizza oven, go on dangerous deliveries and try to evade those who would steal the Zorgoochi family Golden Anchovy.

Thirteen-year-old Nikola Kross's world is turned upside down when her father is abducted by aliens and she is suddenly transported to a special boarding school for geniuses, but things get even stranger when she realizes she has certain abilities that put her entire school in grave danger.

The evil Supermuscleman is determined to make every kid in the galaxy obey him. Who can outwit him and his wicked plans? Only Sardine, a little girl aboard The Huckleberry with her cousin Louie and her pirate uncle, the gruff Captain Yellow Shoulder.

Ellie's scientist grandfather has discovered a way to reverse aging, and consequently has turned into a teenager--which makes for complicated relationships when he moves in with Ellie and her mother, his daughter.

"A story that explores new worlds packed with amazing adventures; ancient mysteries; the unlikely bond of a clumsy dancer, a boy from the poorest slums, and a superstar athlete--and their quest to save one small, distant galaxy from the forces of evil"-- Provided by publisher.

Eleven-year-old Stella Rodriguez finds herself in possession of a strange new pet that swallows up everything in sight when a black hole decides to follow her home from NASA one day. Stella especially likes it when Larry swallows up items that remind her of her dad who died recently and left a cosmically vast space in her heart. Stella, her little brother Cosmo, along with the help of their pet hamster Stinky Stu and Larry go on an adventure from their clawfoot tub to rescue their dog from the black hole.

As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1970s television game show, "The $20,000 Pyramid," a twelve-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space.

Tess de Sousa leaves Miss Ackerbee's orphanage to live with her new guardian in Roedeer Lodge, taking with her a fondness for scientific experimentation, a pet tarantula named Violet, and a device that allows her to travel to parallel universes.

A lightning strike made Lucy, twelve, a math genius but, after years of homeschooling, her grandmother enrolls her in middle school and she learns that life is more than numbers.

Budding scientist Lucy builds a rocket ship and accidentally sends her beloved dog, Laika, into space.

Escapades of a lucky little girl who lives with a horse and a monkey--but without any parents--at the edge of a Swedish village.

Having run away with her younger brother to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, twelve-year-old Claudia strives to keep things in order in their new home and to become a changed person and a heroine to herself.

A poor Polish girls tells her classmates she has 100 dresses. They ridicule her because she always wears the same faded dress. But it is her drawings she is talking about, and she wins an award.

The adventures of the three Darling children in Never-Never Land with Peter Pan, the boy who would not grow up.

After a cyclone transports her to the land of Oz, Dorothy must seek out the great Wizard in order to return to Kansas.

Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a lonely middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible impression on everyone around her.

A black family living in the South during the 1930's are faced with prejudice and discrimination which their children don't understand.

The unexpected delivery of a large crate containing an Antarctic penguin changes the life and fortunes of Mr. Popper, a house painter obsessed by dreams of the Polar regions.

A young English boy describes his relationship with his father and the special adventure they share together.

Relates the incredible adventures of Professor William Waterman Sherman who in 1883 sets off in a balloon across the Pacific, survives the volcanic eruption of Krakatoa, and is eventually picked up in the Atlantic.