Sometimes it’s the smallest thing that can bring about the biggest change in your life. For Georges, it’s a sign in the basement of his new apartment building that simply reads: “Spy Club Meeting—TODAY.” In Liar & Spy, the new book by Rebecca Stead, author of the Newbery Medal-winning When You Reach Me, Georges (the “s” is silent) attends the mysterious Spy Club meeting. It is there that he meets Safer, a 12-year-old eccentric loner and self-proclaimed spy, and his younger sister Candy, who loves to eat (what else) lots and lots of candy. Georges needs a friend, since he has been uprooted from his home as a result of his father’s job loss, and his mom is spending lots of extra time at the hospital where she works. He finds that friend in Safer, who also needs someone in his life.

Safer has decided, after careful observation through the front-door camera in his apartment building, that Mr. X, who lives in a top-floor unit, must be a criminal. After all, he only wears black, he leaves his apartment at strange times and he carries different types of luggage. Georges’ first assignment as a member of the Spy Club is to learn as much as he can about Mr. X. However, as Safer’s missions and demands grow increasingly dangerous (and maybe illegal), Georges must decide how far he will go for his only friend.

Liar & Spy is much more than its short length suggests. It is filled with twists and turns, and will force young readers to examine what they, and those around them, “know” to be true. Georges must make hard decisions, and come to some stark realizations, about friends, families and what truth really is. Like When You Reach Me, Liar & Spy keeps readers in suspense until the very end and will be enjoyed by anyone who loves a good story. And that’s the truth!

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Read an interview with Rebecca Stead for Liar & Spy.

Charlie Joe Jackson is back! Fans of Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading will not be surprised to learn that his new adventure is titled Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Extra Credit. Being the slacker that he is, Charlie Joe has waited almost too late to earn good grades. If he doesn’t get his failing grades in order, his parents will send him to an intensively boring summer camp where reading is the main activity.

Mind you, it’s not that Charlie Joe can’t do the work, he just doesn’t have the ambition to do it. He likes goofing around more than buckling down, and this attitude has landed him in trouble again. As in the previous book, Charlie Joe adds “tips” between the chapters on how to succeed—usually by listing the things he should have done himself, but didn’t. These tips are hilarious and right on the money: “Remember that Science is not recess” and “If a teacher is giving you extra credit, do not injure them in any way.”

Tommy Greenwald’s first book was a big hit with the middle grades, especially reluctant readers. The continuation of Charlie Joe’s story is sure to draw the same crowd, but it’s refreshingly funny for anyone. Mild crushes and “who’s dating who” discussions make the book most appropriate for junior high students, but fourth graders and up should enjoy Charlie Joe and his entertaining efforts to stave off academic disaster.

Sixth grade hasn’t started out well for Minnie McClary. She lives in a new town because her father lost his job as a lawyer. She worries about her Uncle Bill, who after losing his leg in a helicopter crash in Iraq, lives in their basement and builds a model helicopter, trying to make sense of his war experiences. And Minnie’s language arts class erupts in chaos every day, having already chased away four substitute teachers.

Minnie is a small girl with a big heart who fears that she may have already committed social suicide by shouting “Stop it” to her wild classmates. Surprisingly, everyone listened and stopped their shenanigans. After her outburst, however, Minnie quiets her voice, trying to blend into her new surroundings.

Life seems more promising when Miss Marks takes over Minnie’s class. Wearing blue jeans and message-spouting tee shirts (LIVE OUT LOUD), Miss Marks looks more like a teenager than a teacher. She asks her students to fill their daily journals with meaningful writing and questions about life. Her goal is to teach her charges to write and think, which worries parents whose focus is standardized tests scores.

Minnie soon finds her first friend at school: an Iraqi girl named Amira, who covers her head with a scarf. Unfortunately, bullies relentlessly tease Amira, drawing mean portraits and yanking her scarf off her head. Meanwhile, a group of concerned parents protest Miss Marks’ unorthodox teaching methods.

Valerie Hobbs has written a fast-paced story with a likeable heroine. As is the case with most sixth graders, Minnie struggles to figure out her own identity. Just in the nick of time, however, she finds her voice, coming to the defense of both her teacher and her friend.

Minnie McClary Speaks Her Mind is a thoughtful novel about learning to ask important questions, and stopping to think before jumping to misguided conclusions.

Emily and Jackson are back.

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Newbery Medal-winning author of Shiloh and more than 100 other titles, introduced Emily Wiggins and her scrappy companion, Jackson, in Emily’s Fortune. In their first rip-roaring Western adventure, the two young orphans escaped the clutches of Emily’s evil uncle to make their way to kind Aunt Hilda in Redbud.

Emily and Jackson Hiding Out finds the friends eagerly embracing life on the farm with Aunt Hilda. But their troubles aren’t quite over. One day, while Aunt Hilda is in town, Emily and Jackson find a pathetic widow woman begging on the road. Ever mindful of Aunt Hilda’s edict to practice kindness, they offer to make her lunch. But when the widow woman is washing up, Jackson catches sight of something that makes his eyes grow wide. “What in shootin’ shivers did he see?”

A tiger tattoo! The widow is no other than Emily’s evil Uncle Victor—who has hatched a nefarious kidnapping plot. There’s a bold rescue attempt and a nerve-racking finale before the bad guy is rounded up and order is restored once again.

Naylor’s latest will capture young readers with cliff-hanging chapter endings, humorous illustrations and a fun, old West design. The future looks bright for Emily and Jackson, but, then again, you never know: “Who in rushin’ rapids knows what might happen next?”

British author-illustrator Dave Shelton has written a unique story about, yes, a boy and a bear in a boat. There are no other characters (other than a sea monster) and the boy and the bear do not have names. They call each other simply “Boy” and “Bear.” The only location in the story is the sea. In this setting, Shelton is able to create a quietly powerful fable about friendship.

The boy boards the board from a nondescript jetty at the beginning of the story and persistently asks the bear, who is the captain of the small rowboat, if “they are there yet,” although where “there” is, is never discussed. With such a blank canvas, the conversations between the bear and the boy become the plot and the action. How these two learn to get along and survive through storms, hunger and boredom is not only the heart of the story, it is the story.

Shelton’s book is mostly a quiet study, with a few harrowing moments, and the reader is drawn slowly into their world. It takes a while to realize that the normal things one would wonder about a story—Why is the boy in the boat? Where are they going? What happens when they get there?—are not the kind to be asked of this book. The ending is as much a mystery as the beginning, but the answers to the right questions are given: who the boy and the bear are to each other, what their strengths are together and whether their friendship will be enough to be everything there is.

With marvelous illustrations by the author, A Boy and a Bear in a Boat would be a wonderful choice to share aloud with a child.

By Gollie, they’re back! And fans of this easy reader series—the first won the 2011 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award—will be thrilled to reunite with the droll duo of wild-haired Bink and skinny but solemn Gollie in Bink and Gollie, Two for One.

In three slim but well-paced chapters, BFFs Bink and Gollie visit the state fair and are greeted with an array of equally tantalizing festivities, including the Whack-a-Duck game, an amateur talent show and a psychic fortune teller booth.

In the first, Bink—much to Gollie’s dismay—takes on a Don Knotts-lookalike carnie as she buoyantly tries to win the “world’s largest donut.” Down, but not out, they contemplate the talent show, amid the pickle jugglers and opera-singing cats.

While neither endeavor ends successfully, the two stick together, soon entering the tent of a fortune teller—who tells Bink exactly what she wants to hear. The prognosticator’s special is “two for one,” and that’s just what readers get with these friends—two distinctly different and charmingly audacious buddies.

While the playful, dry and easy-to-read dialogue by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee perfectly fits the characters, Tony Fucile’s dramatic imagery of the girls brings them to life. The wordless spreads are especially effective in conveying emotion, such as Bink’s excitement or Gollie’s trepidation.

These short, funny and tender-hearted tales peer even deeper into the life of two unlikely friends. Let’s hope the trio of DiCamillo, McGhee and Fucile team up yet again to see what mischief they—and Bink and Gollie—can get into!

Almost-11-year-old Libby Thump is told by her teacher at the end of fourth grade that she needs “to live up to her potential.” Libby is encouraged by this since it must mean she has potential, but worries what that is exactly. After she discovers the High Hopes Horse Farm, she believes her potential lies in her desire to be the world’s best horse rider.

A string of disappointments and obstacles keep Libby from becoming who she thinks she should be, and the reader will feel her pain every step of the way. The frustrations of adult expectations and of being the little sister are real and palpable. Gloriously, Libby eventually discovers that who you are is just as important as you will be.

Elise Primavera expertly draws us into Libby’s life, creating her world in simple prose that perfectly echoes the mind of a 10-year-old girl. Primavera also illustrates the book with pen and ink drawings that are a wonderful complement to the story. Her knowledge of horses and horse riding is evident—a major plus for all the horse-crazy girls who read this book.

There’s a scandal brewing at the 2012 Olympics, and if Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson are around, you might expect them to be on the trail of the story. In John Feinstein’s previous sports mysteries, teen sportswriters Stevie and Susan Carol have stopped a point-shaving scheme at the Final Four, uncovered doping at the Super Bowl and investigated the disappearance of a tennis phenom at the U.S. Open.

But this time around, Susan Carol isn’t one of the sleuths—she’s at the center of the action. In Rush for the Gold: Mystery at the Olympics, Susan Carol’s career as a high school swimmer takes off when she qualifies for the Olympic Team. Her father signs her up with a sports management team that takes the young swimmer in directions she doesn’t want to go, but the potential rewards are astonishing if she wins gold. When Stevie clashes with the overbearing agents, he starts to smell a rat, but can he reveal the truth if it costs Susan Carol a medal?

Feinstein, a best-selling author (A Season on the Brink) and former sports reporter, gives young readers an up-close view of athletics and deftly blends plot twists with insider details. Appearances by real-life figures like Michael Phelps are much more than cameos—they become part of the action. Good mysteries for kids should be complicated enough to be entertaining and believable enough for readers to identify with the characters. Feinstein succeeds at both; Rush for the Gold definitely wins a medal.

Charlie Collier is smart. Really, really smart. Ask him a question like “How many of each animal did Moses take on the ark?” and he’ll be able to tell you in about five seconds that Moses didn’t take any animals on the ark, it was Noah. But solving problems like this is too easy for Charlie—in fact, it’s become downright boring. Charlie decides he wants to put his thinking skills to the test. So, just like his hero Sam Solomon, Private Eye, star of such thrilling books as The Bouncing Czechs Caper and The Going for Baroque Caper, Charlie decides to become Charlie Collier, Snoop for Hire. In The Homemade Stuffing Caper, the first book in a new series by John Madormo, Charlie teams with his best friend Henry to open his own detective agency—Charlie solves the mysteries, Henry makes sure they get paid.

Charlie and Henry are happy solving the little mysteries around town, making a little money and keeping Charlie’s brain going. His crazy grandmother thinks it’s a great idea as well. So does Eugene, the old man who volunteers at the library and loves Sam Solomon as much as Charlie. But Charlie’s parents don’t think it’s a good idea at all, and they try their best to end Charlie’s career. Even Charlie begins to doubt what he is doing when suddenly, his brain stops giving him all the answers!

Then, everything changes. Scarlett Alexander, the prettiest girl in Charlie’s grade and Charlie’s secret crush, hires him to find her grandfather’s parrot, Socrates. However, this case turns out to be much more than Charlie anticipates—in fact, it becomes a full-blown detective case filled with danger that puts Charlie to the test. The Homemade Stuffing Caper is an exciting mystery, full of jokes and puns, as well as brainteasers and lots of detective work. Charlie is not your usual hero and relies on an excellent supporting cast, including Henry, Scarlett and a few surprises as well. This may be the first mystery you don’t want the detective to solve, because you won’t want it to end!

All of us have felt like an outcast at some time—at home, in school, around friends. In The Prince Who Fell From the Sky, the newest book from John Claude Bemis, Casseomae struggles with that feeling. Although she raised the chief of her clan, the other members treat her with fear and call her a witch, forcing her to live apart from the rest of them. If you feel like this sounds like a lot of books, you would be right, except for one thing—Casseomae and her clan are bears. In fact, the entire book is told from the point of view of the forest animals.

Casseomae has led a difficult life, living on her own, raising the orphan cub that grew to be chief while never being able to have cubs of her own. As the story begins, a pack of coyotes chase a rat into Casseomae’s den, and the rat, Dumpster, becomes Casseomae’s companion. Together, they go investigate when a huge . . . something . . . falls and crashes into the forest.

It has been many years since the animals of the forest, led by the Ogeema (wolves), rose up against the Skinless Ones (humans) and took back the world. However, when Casseomae and Dumpster arrive at whatever it is that has fallen from the sky, they discover that not all of the human race had been wiped out. There are two dead humans inside the airplane and, most surprising, one living human boy who climbs out.

Casseomae makes a split-second decision to save the boy from the approaching coyotes and wolves and to help him survive. With Dumpster and Pang, a shabby dog who invites himself on their journey, Casseomae is determined to take the boy across the forest to what she hopes is safety. Full of action, mishaps and humor, The Prince Who Fell From the Sky is perfect for animal lovers and adventure lovers alike.

If only fourth-grader Anna Wang could read My Side of the Mountain, A Wrinkle in Time and her other beloved books all day long instead of worrying about making friends. It doesn’t help that she doesn’t own matching sweater sets like some of the “whispering” girls in class, that she’s ashamed to admit that her Chinese mother cleans apartments, and that she has to waste time each weekend at Chinese school, learning words she’ll never remember. In the softly affirming The Year of the Book, it’s time for Anna to open up to more than a book.

When classmate Laura’s separated parents argue dangerously, the girl must spend time with Anna’s family for Chinese New Year. Together they discover a mutual love for reading, sewing fabric bags and wanting to feel connected. Soon the once reserved Anna finds friends all around, from her chatty crossing guard and observant teacher to fellow Chinese American Camille, who could use Anna’s help to pass the fourth grade.

Abigail Halpin’s small sketches—as sweet as Anna herself—add to the charm of her expanding world. In addition to making new friends, she relishes her classroom writing assignments and finds gems of happiness all around, whether in the paper airplanes she makes with her “ABC” (American Born Chinese) father and brother, the tiny cereal boxes her father brings home from the convenience store or the Chinese characters she’s finally beginning to understand. And somehow Anna’s mother doesn’t seem as clueless about American culture anymore. Just as Anna’s favorite books take all forms, so too do her Chinese culture and community.

Sentimental without being cloying, The Year of the Book will create a new chapter in young readers’ own lives as they see the connections among reading, family and friendship.

Katie Sutton (parent trainer extraordinaire) offers up a comprehensive manual for effective handling of grown-ups in this delightful novel. Thirteen-year-old Katie knows quite a lot about Grown-Up Studies, since she’s had to pay particular attention to the effective control of her mom, a widow who has just begun dating.

Katie and her two siblings live with their mom in Brindleton, a sprawling English town with posh houses—and public housing units like the one where the Suttons live. Katie’s manual takes the form of a summer journal, and the impetus for completing her Users’ Guide to Grown-ups is Stuart, her mum’s first boyfriend since her husband died.

“I suppose my main problem with Stuart is that he’s turned up in our lives at all,” admits Katie. And with Stuart’s strong environmental values (including no logos on T-shirts), Mum has every intention of keeping him around. The situation calls for drastic action from Katie and her sister Mandy. Added to this decidedly unwelcome summer romance are Katie’s own tribulations in matters of the heart.

First published in the U.K., Diary of a Parent Trainer is a story of love, friendship and family that arrives in the U.S. just in time for summer reading. But a word to the wise: Parents, watch out! Your young reader may apply some of the information in this manual to ensure your optimum performance as a Grown-Up.