Alex expects to pass away when he learns he is Unwanted. That is how the Quill people do things. All thirteen-year-olds are classified as Wanted, Necessary, or Unwanted each year. The Wanteds continue their education and get training to enter the Quillitary. The farms run on necessities. The plan is to get rid of unwanted. Alex finds it difficult to leave his twin Aaron, who is Wanted, behind, but he comes to terms with his fate—until he learns that what is in store for him is a wondrous place called Artimé and not a “death farm.” There, Alex and the other Unwanteds are urged to expand their creative talents and apply magic to them. Everything Alex has ever seen undergoes a spectacular makeover right before his eyes. However, twins being split into Wanted and Unwanted is a rare, singular occurrence, and as Alex and Aaron’s friendship grows over their separation, a danger for the existence of Artim materializes that will set brother versus brother in a supreme magical conflict.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“If you believe you can read you can”
“I hate to do it.” “It won’t hurt them.” “That’s exactly why I hate to do it,” growled”
“Sean Ranger, your poor dear sister is standing here in the lounge waiting for you, you dolt.”
“Without knowledge that life can be different, there can be no desire to change it.”
“It takes more than strength and intelligence to win a battle – it takes creativity and skill and common sense.”
Readers are introduced to Milo and his escapades in the Lands Beyond in this cherished tale, which was first published more than fifty years ago.
Everything is dull to Milo. He only drives through a toll booth that magically emerges in his room since he has nothing else to do. On the other hand, things appear to be different. In addition to learning about time from a ticking watchdog named Tock and seeing the Island of Conclusions (which you get to by jumping), Milo also sets out on a mission to save Rhyme and Reason. Milo comes to a startling realization sometime along the route. Life is not at all boring. In fact, it’s more thrilling than he could have imagined.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“So many things are possible just as long as you don’t know they’re impossible.”
― Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth
“Expect everything, I always say, and the unexpected never happens.”
― Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth
“Have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before dawn? Or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends? Or perhaps you know the silence when you haven’t the answer to a question you’ve been asked, or the hush of a country road at night, or the expectant pause of a room full of people when someone is just about to speak, or, most beautiful of all, the moment after the door closes and you’re alone in the whole house? Each one is different, you know, and all very beautiful if you listen carefully.”
― Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth
“The most important reason for going from one place to another is to see what’s in between, and they took great pleasure in doing just that.”
― Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth
“You must never feel bad about making mistakes … as long as you take the trouble to learn from them. For you often learn more by being wrong for the right reasons than you do by being right for the wrong reasons.”
― Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth
I was shaken by the train’s motion like a baby. I closed my eyes and envisioned the sign that I had only ever seen in Gideon’s stories: “Manifest—A Town with a Rich Past and a Bright Future.” I looked out at the dusty landscape. Tucker feels left behind. Her father has boarded a train and is sending her away to spend the summer with an old acquaintance while he works a railroad job. Abilene climbs off the train in Manifest, Kansas with just a few items and her list of universals in order to find out more about the boy her father used to be.
Abilene is unhappy to learn that Manifest is just a dried-up, worn-out old town after hearing stories about it. But when she comes across a secret cigar box filled with keepsakes, including some ancient letters that make reference to a spy known as the Rattler, her sadness rapidly transforms into excitement. Even though they are instructed to “Leave Well Enough Alone,” these enigmatic messages set Abilene and her new friends Lettie and Ruthanne on a genuine spy hunt.
When Abilene decides to travel down the enigmatic Path to Perdition to settle a debt with the solitary Miss Sadie, a diviner who only reveals tales from the past, she disregards all warnings. It appears that Manifest’s past is rife with eccentric and shady characters—as well as long-kept secrets. Abilene becomes more determined to find out exactly what part her father played in that history the more she hears.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“Memories were like sunshine. They warmed you up and left a pleasant glow, but you couldn’t hold them.”
“Who would dream that one can love without being crushed under the weight of it?”
“…the person you encounter is often more than the person you see.”
“When there is suffering, we look for a reason. That reason is easiest found within oneself.”
“Maybe the world wasn’t made of universals that could be summed up in neat little packages. Maybe there were just people. People who were tired and hurt and lonely and kind in their own way and their own time.”
Billie Jo experiences heartbreaking hardships when she is only fourteen years old, something no child should ever have to go through. She exhibits quiet courage that is both startling and uplifting as she copes with an unthinkable loss.
This prize-winning story, which was written in free verse, is set in the midst of the Great Depression. It details the devastating dust storms that hit Oklahoma and the environmental and psychological havoc they cause. An inspirational ode to resilience and hope.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“the way i see it, hard times aren’t only about money, or drought, or dust. hard times are about losing spirit, and hope, and what happens when dreams dry up.”
“I hear the first drops. Like the tapping of a stranger at the door of a dream, the rain changes everything.”
“And she knows how to come into a home
and not step on the toes of a ghost.”
“By the summer I turned nine Daddy had given up about having a boy. He tried making me do.”
“Mr. Noble and Mr. Romney have a bet going as to who can kill the most rabbits. It all started at the rabbit drive last Monday over to Sturgis”
Every child has thought of running away at some point, but few really succeed in doing so beyond the end of the block. Upstate New York’s Catskill Mountains are where young Sam Gribley continues after reaching the end of the block. With a hawk and a weasel as friends and his wits as his only means of survival, he builds himself a home in a massive tree that has been hollowed out there. Sam learns to survive off the land in a captivating, moving, and humorous story, and he also develops a little bit as a person. Hunting, blizzards, loneliness, and fear all try to persuade Sam to return to city life. His thirst for independence, adventure, and freedom, though, is stronger.
No readers will be exempt from the need to immediately start crafting fishhooks and making friends with raccoons.
My Side of the Mountain, a Newbery Honor Book, an ALA Notable Book, and a Hans Christian Andersen Award Honor Book, was written by Jean Craighead George, an author of more than 80 children’s books, such as the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves. Surprisingly, she wrote the book’s sequel, On the Far Side of the Mountain, 30 years later. A decade later, she finished the trilogy with Frightful’s Mountain, which is narrated from the perspective of a falcon. George’s outdoor mental and spiritual journeys have undoubtedly influenced generations of young readers.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“Be you writer or reader, it is very pleasant to run away in a book.”
“Fortunately, the sun has a wonderfully glorious habit of rising every morning”
“Chicken is Good! It tastes like chicken.”
“Hunger is a funny thing. It has a kind of intelligence of it’s own.”
“if he doesn’t want to come home, then we will bring home to him.’ And that’s why we are all here.”
Jess Aarons has been training all summer to be the fifth-grade student with the fastest running time. He almost succeeds, but Leslie Burke, a new student, outruns him. The two become good friends and spend most of their time in the woods behind Leslie’s house, where they create Terabithia, an imaginary world of magic. Leslie leaves for Terabithia one morning without Jess, and something terrible happens. For Jess to be able to cope with his sadness, he will need the support of his family and the courage Leslie has given him.
Many of Katherine Paterson’s other books, such as The Great Gilly Hopkins and Jacob Have I Loved, have also become classics of children’s literature. Bridge to Terabithia was also recognized as an ALA Notable Children’s Book.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“It’s like the smarter you are, the more things can scare you.”
“You have to believe it and you hate it. I don’t have to and I think it’s beautiful.”
“It was up to him to pay back to the world in beauty and caring what Leslie had loaned him in vision and strength. ”
“Sometimes it seemed to him that his life was delicate as a dandelion. One little puff from any direction, and it was blown to bits.”
“You never know ahead of time what something’s really going to be like.”
Generations of readers have been drawn into the unique world of Green Gables, a traditional farm outside of the town of Avonlea, by this endearing tale. Eleven-year-old orphan Anne Shirley is shocked to learn that the Cuthberts—elderly Matthew and his strict sister, Marilla—want to adopt a boy instead of a fiery redhead girl when she arrives in this lush region of Prince Edward Island. However, Anne thoroughly wins them over before they can send her back. She absolutely must have more room for her ideas and genuine home. The beloved classic Anne of Green Gables is a fantastic depiction of a period in time, a place, and a family. It addresses all the fragility, expectations, and dreams of a kid growing up. and love beyond anything else.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.”
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
“Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It’s splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.”
“True friends are always together in spirit.”
“My life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes.”
Ivan is a laid-back ape. He is used to people viewing him through the glass walls of his realm at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade where he resides. Almost never does he miss his existence in the woods? He scarcely ever gives it any thought at all, in fact.
Ivan instead considers TV shows he has watched as well as his companions Stella, an old elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. However, Ivan’s main concerns are with art and how to use color and strategically placed lines to depict the flavor of a mango or the sound of falling leaves.
When he eventually meets Ruby, a young elephant who was kidnapped from her family, she gives Ivan a new perspective on their home and his own artwork. When Ruby shows there, things change, and it’s up to Ivan to make those changes positive. Ivan’s unique first-person narration in a tale of friendship, art, and hope is created by Katherine Applegate through a masterful blending of humor and tragedy.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“Memories are precious … they help tell us who we are.”
“I like colorful tales with black beginnings and stormy middles and cloudless blue-sky endings. But any story will do.”
“Humans waste words. They toss them like banana peels and leave them to rot. Everyone knows the peels are the best part.”
“They think I’m too old to cause trouble.
Old age is a powerful disguise.”
“Humans. Sometimes they make chimps look smart.”
As the seasons change, Polar Bear and Cub discover the natural beauty of their Arctic habitat. Polar Bear reassures Cub along the way that their close link will last no matter what natural changes take place: snow accumulating in winter, flowers blossoming in spring, the air warming in summer, and the turning of the leaves in fall.
Dr. Seuss is a children’s author who wrote and drew the book Oh, the Places You’ll Go! On January 22, 1990, Random House released the first edition. It was his final book to be released while he was still alive. The book is about the path of life, with its difficulties and rewards.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…”
“You’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So… get on your way!”
“You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left.”
“Oh the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all.”
“Things may happen and often do to people as brainy and footsy as you”
They roamed Cherokee County’s gloomy hills and riverbeds as a devoted trio. Old Dan and Little Ann had the strength and intelligence, respectively, while Billy had the will to mold them into the best hunting team in the valley. They were about to experience triumph and glory, but sorrow also lay in wait. The unusual and magnificent force that can only be found nearby was also there.
Where the Red Fern Grows is a thrilling story of romance and adventure that you won’t soon forget.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“I buried Little Ann by the side of Old Dan. I knew that was where she wanted to be. I also buried a part of my life along with my dog.”
“It’s strange indeed how memories can lie dormant in a man’s mind for so many years. Yet those memories can be awakened and brought forth fresh and new, just by something you’ve seen, or something you’ve heard, or the sight of an old familiar face.”
“I had heard the old Indian legend about the red fern. How a little Indian boy and girl were lost in a blizzard and had frozen to death. In the spring, when they were found, a beautiful red fern had grown up between their two bodies. The story went on to say that only an angel could plant the seeds of a red fern and that they never died; where one grew, that spot was sacred.”
“There is a little good in all evil.”
“Old Dan must have known he was dying. Just before he drew his last breath, he opened his eyes and looked at me. Then with one last sigh, and a feeble thump of his tail, his friendly gray eyes closed forever.”
This famous novel by E. B. White, author of Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan, is a “just about flawless” piece of children’s fiction. Rosemary Wells colored the bright images in this high-quality paperback!
That Pig. Humble. Radiant. These are the words from Charlotte’s Web, spoken from atop Zuckerman’s barn. Charlotte’s spiderweb describes her love for Wilbur, a small pig that just wants to be a friend. They also express their feelings for Fern, a female who rescued Wilbur’s life as he was born as the runt of his litter.
E. B. White’s Newbery Honor Book is a lovely tale about friendship, affection, life, and death that will be cherished by future generations. Garth Williams, the celebrated illustrator of E. B. White’s Stuart Little and Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series, among many others, have created new color pictures for this version.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“Why did you do all this for me?’ he asked. ‘I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.’ ‘You have been my friend,’ replied Charlotte. ‘That in itself is a tremendous thing.”
“It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer.”
“Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.”
“Trust me, Wilbur. People are very gullible. They’ll believe anything they see in print.”
“Children almost always hang onto things tighter than their parents think they will.”
Sumguyen, who has always had a thick head of hair, made the decision to grow a beard in the summer of 2016. Deep into the third month, he began to resemble an armpit with eyeballs.
Old Town Scottsdale experienced a humid night in August. Bimisi and Sumguyen paused to take in the beats of a homeless crooner who was dreamily playing his guitar as they moved from one pub to the next. The artist looked up, nodded in appreciation when Sumguyen dropped a five into his tip jar, and added, “That is a wonderful beard. However, Brenda, a friend of mine, doesn’t have a talking beard like that one.
The incredible original that launched a global hunt for Waldo! This special edition has tonnes of mind-blowing additions along with all the enjoyment of the original, making it ideal for the youngest Waldo hunters. Considering that Waldo is hidden in a different location in each scene, anyone who has previously located him will want to do it once more. Additionally, because they were all recently added to this special edition, readers can now search for Woof, Wenda, Wizard Whitebeard, Odlaw, and much more!
Pooh Bear utilizes a balloon to obtain honey in Christopher Robin and his pals’ adventures, where we also meet Piglet meet a Heffalump, and Eeyore celebrating his birthday.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”
“Some people care too much. I think it’s called love.”
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.”
“It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like “What about lunch?”
“I think we dream so we don’t have to be apart for so long. If we’re in each other’s dreams, we can be together all the time.”
Generations of readers have been drawn into the unique world of Green Gables, a traditional farm outside of the town of Avonlea, by this endearing tale. Eleven-year-old orphan Anne Shirley is shocked to learn that the Cuthberts—elderly Matthew and his strict sister, Marilla—want to adopt a boy instead of a fiery redhead girl when she arrives in this lush region of Prince Edward Island. However, Anne thoroughly wins them over before they can send her back. She absolutely must have more room for her ideas and genuine home. The beloved classic Anne of Green Gables is a fantastic depiction of a period in time, a place, and a family. It addresses all the fragility, expectations, and aspirations of a growing-up child, and love beyond anything else.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.”
― Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
― L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
“Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It’s splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
“True friends are always together in spirit.”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
“My life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes.”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the quiet and contemplative son of the Chief of the Hairy Hooligans, attempts to pass his Viking clan’s key initiation exam by catching and training a dragon. Can Hiccup pull it off without being ripped limb from limb?
Join him on his adventures and misadventures as he discovers a new way to train dragons—and becomes a hero in the process. This action-packed, humorous, and beautifully illustrated story has become a modern classic, enjoyed by millions across the world.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“Twelve days north of Hopeless and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death”
“Thank you for nothing, you stupid reptile.”
“Being frightened is not the same as being a coward.”
“There were dragons when I was a boy.”
“It is a lot easier to be brave when you know you have no alternative.”
Meet Laura Ingalls, the young child who would eventually become the author of the Little House books.
The family departs for Indian country after Pa Ingalls makes the decision to sell the tiny log home! After traveling from Wisconsin to Kansas, Pa finally erects their small house on the grassland there. Farming can be challenging and risky at times, but Laura and her family are fully occupied and content with the prospects of their fresh start on the prairie.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“There’s no great loss without some small gain.”
“We start learning the minute we’re born, Laura. And if we’re wise, we don’t stop until the Lord calls us home.”
“Everything from the little house was in the wagon except the beds and tables and chairs. They did not need to take these, because Pa could always make new ones.”
“The stars and stripes were fluttering bright against the rain, clear blue overhead, and their minds were saying the words before their ears heard them.”
“Where a light can’t live, I know I can’t.”
Popular online personality and creator of TheChicSite.com Rachel Hollis teaches readers how to liberate themselves from the lies that are preventing them from living the joyful and exuberant life they were meant to live with sarcastic wit and hard-earned insight.
Rachel Hollis, the creator of the lifestyle website TheChicSite.com and the CEO of her own media business, Chic Media, has amassed a following of hundreds of thousands of online followers by offering advice on how to live a better life and being brave in disclosing the ugliness of her own. Her long-awaited debut book has finally arrived, and it contains her trademark blend of candor, wit, and straightforward, no-nonsense guidance.
Every chapter in Girl, Wash Your Face starts with a particular lie Hollis had told herself that made her feel helpless, unworthy, or like giving up. She speaks with the wisdom and love of a BFF, and as a working mother, a former foster parent, and a woman who has grappled with concerns about her body and relationships, she can help women untangle the limiting mindsets that undermine their self-confidence and prevent them from going forward.
Hollis doesn’t hold back on anything, from her brief infatuation with being married to Matt Damon to her daydreams about hypnotic iguanas to her son’s desire that she buy a necklace to “be like the other moms.” Hollis inspires other women to live with enthusiasm and hustle and to revive their dormant ambitions with unwavering faith and determination.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“You, and only you, are ultimately responsible for who you become and how happy you are.”
“Comparison is the death of joy, and the only person you need to be better than is the one you were yesterday.”
“Someone else’s opinion of you is none of your business.” Let me say that again for the people in the cheap seats.”
“Our words have power, but our actions shape our lives.”
“Friends, it’s not about the goal or the dream you have. It’s about who you become on your way to that goal.”
The renowned comic book features the canine-headed hero! There will soon be a new defender of the law and dog-rights vigilante. He possesses a hero’s heart, powerful arms, a keen mind, and thick fur. Can he stop crime from happening in his hometown? Will he be able to escape his adversaries’ traps and a hot-tempered commander’s ire? Will he be able to rein in his wild side? Fleas, too? Dav Pilkey, a well-known comic book creator, has a new series about the best-selling Dogman.
For fans of Number the Stars and Jefferson’s Sons, this extraordinarily inspiring tale of triumph over all odds is set during World War 2 and is written by the renowned author of Jefferson’s Sons. Ada, 10, has never ventured outside of her studio apartment. Ada’s twisted foot has her mother too ashamed to let her go outside. Ada doesn’t waste any time and sneaks out to join her little brother Jamie as he is sent out of London to flee the war.
Ada’s new experience as well as Susan Smith’s, the woman who is made to take the two children in, begins at this point. Ada starts to believe Susan, and Susan starts to care about Ada and Jamie as they learn to read, ride a pony, and keep an eye out for German spies. Will their relationship ultimately be strong enough to keep them together during the war? Or will Ada and her brother once again be subjected to their mother’s mistreatment? This outstanding piece of historical fiction is an instant classic that is equal parts action and a heartfelt story about family and identity.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“It had been awful, but I hadn’t quit. I had persisted. In battle I had won.”
“I wanted to say a lot of things, but, as usual, I didn’t have the words for the thoughts inside my head.”
“Then I did what I should have done to start with. I taught myself to walk.”
“It was us, I thought. Jamie and me. We had fallen down a rabbit hole, fallen into Susan’s house, and nothing made sense, not at all, not anymore.”
“After that it was easy. It was the most impossible thing I’d ever done, but it was also easy. I held on to Jamie, and I kept moving forward.”
Alex expects to pass away when he learns he is Unwanted. That is how the Quill people do things. All thirteen-year-olds are classified as Wanted, Necessary, or Unwanted each year. Wanteds to continue their education and get training to enter the Quillitary. The farms run on necessities. The plan is to get rid of unwanted.
Alex finds it difficult to leave his twin Aaron, who is a Wanted, behind, but he comes to terms with his fate—until he learns that what is in store for him is a wondrous place called Artimé and not a “death farm.” There, Alex and the other Unwanteds are urged to expand their creative talents and apply magic to them. Everything Alex has ever known undergoes a spectacular makeover right before his eyes.
However, twins being split into Wanted and Unwanted is a rare, singular occurrence, and as Alex and Aaron’s friendship grows over their separation, a threat for the survival of Artim materializes that will set brother versus brother in a supreme magical conflict.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“If you believe you can read you can”
“Alex leaned over to Samheed. “If we get an hour’s worth of music lessons, I think my head might explode.” “In that case, bring on the music,” Samheed muttered. Alex”
“Sean Ranger, your poor dear sister is standing here in the lounge waiting for you, you dolt.”
“Without knowledge that life can be different, there can be no desire to change it.”
“It takes more than strength and intelligence to win a battle – it takes creativity and skill and common sense.”
This best-selling, fantastical epic by renowned author Cornelia Funke is now available in paperback! Meggie’s father reads loudly from the book INKHEART one harsh night, and a wicked tyrant breaks beyond the confines of fiction and enters their living room. Meggie finds herself suddenly in the midst of an adventure that she had previously only read about in novels. Meggie needs to learn how to control the magic that brought about this nightmare. Because only she has the power to alter the events that have eternally altered her life. This is INKHEART, a timeless story about reading, creativity, and life. Try reading it out loud.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“Books have to be heavy because the whole world’s inside them.”
“Because fear kills everything,” Mo had once told her. “Your mind, your heart, your imagination.”
“The sea always filled her with longing, though for what she was never sure.”
“It’s a good idea to have your own books with you in a strange place”
“Sometimes, when you’re so sad you don’t know what to do, it helps to be angry.”
No one adores the little girl with the red hood more than her grandmother, though. When Grandmother becomes ill one day, Little Red Riding Hood leaves to take care of her while bringing a basket of foodstuffs as a gift. Trina Schart Hyman masterfully depicts the child’s trip through the woodland and her frightful encounter with a cunning, ravenous wolf in this authentic rendition of the Grimms’ story.
Best Quotes from this Book:
″ ‘Grandmamma, what great arms you have got!’
″‘But in my book he doesn’t get Red Riding Hood,’ said Polly. ‘Her father comes just in time to save her.’ ‘Oh, he doesn’t in my book!’ sa″‘But in my book he doesn’t get Red Riding Hood,’ said Polly. ‘Her father comes just in time to save her.’ ‘Oh, he doesn’t in my book!’ said the wolf. ‘I expect mine is the true story, and yours is just invented.‘”id the wolf. ‘I expect mine is the true story, and yours is just invented.‘”