Spotlight: The Carnival of Wishes & Dreams by Jenny Lundquist

In the tradition of Wishtree and You May Already Be a Winner, this hopeful middle grade novel tells the story of three former friends who must come together at their annual town carnival to heal and reconnect after a tragedy.

The small town of Clarkville has seen better days. Ever since the Cohen factory burned down a few years ago, jobs are scarce and unemployment is high. But each year for one night the Carnival of Wishes and Dreams comes to town and everyone gets to indulge in a little wonder and delight. And for three girls who each receive notes asking them to meet the anonymous sender at midnight at the Ferris Wheel, it’s an evening that promises to be truly magical.

Audrey McKinley can’t believe someone would ask her to ride the Ferris Wheel. Everyone in town knows she’s afraid of heights; the last time she rode the Ferris Wheel it ended with her having a panic attack. But ever since her dad lost his job after the Cohen factory burned down he’s been working too little. The carnival gives him a chance for some seasonal work, and she plans to spend the evening checking up on him and making sure he does his job. Maybe she’ll face her fears tonight, after all.

Grace Chang isn’t supposed to go to the carnival. It’s too close to the burned remains of the old Cohen factory—the place where her firefighter father lost his life. And they always rode the Ferris Wheel together, so that’s also something Grace isn’t supposed to do. But since her mom just announced they’ll be moving away from Clarkville the day after the carnival, Grace is sick of only doing things she’s supposed to do. She’ll be at the carnival. And she is definitely riding that Ferris Wheel.

Harlow Cohen is surprised anyone would want to ride the Ferris Wheel with her. Harlow used to be popular. But ever since her grandparents’ old factory burned down and so many people lost their jobs, many of the kids at school blame her—and her rich family—for their own parents’ worsening economic situations. Harlow can never resist a dare, but when a note arrives asking her to meet an anonymous person at the Ferris Wheel at midnight, she’s far from certain it will be a friend waiting for her.

Can these three girls put their differences aside long enough for their wishes to come true? And is it possible to save a friendship that once seemed lost for good?

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About the Author

Jenny Lundquist is the author of The Charming Life of Izzy Malone, Seeing Cinderella, and Plastic Polly. She grew up in Huntington Beach, California, and earned a degree in Intercultural Studies at Biola University. Jenny has painted an orphanage in Mexico, taught English at a university in Russia, and hopes one day to write a book at a café in Paris. Jenny and her husband live in northern California with their two sons and Rambo, the world’s whiniest cat.

Spotlight: Trees By Verlie Hutchens and Illustrated by Jing Jing Tsong

Every tree has its own story to tell in this evocative collection of poems celebrating the many varieties—from maple to willow to oak.

There are so many different kinds of trees in the world, and each has special qualities that make it unique. This lyrical, fanciful collection of poems celebrates the singular beauty of each tree, from the gnarled old apple tree to the tall and graceful aspen.

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About the Author & Illustrator

Verlie Hutchens is an author and artist who lives in a wildly cluttered house in Easthampton, Massachusetts, after a lifetime of living in the outdoors as much as possible. She has been a lover of trees and birds and animals since she was a child, and the trees in her picture book Trees are all ones she has known personally.

Jing Jing Tsong is a mom, musician, and surfer whose grown-up job is drawing pictures. Her technique, which layers color and texture, is influenced by her experiences working in traditional stone lithography and monoprints. Her debut picture book, A Bucket of Blessings, written by Kabir and Surishtha Sehgal, was a New York Times bestseller. Jing Jing and her husband Mike Austin (also a designer turned illustrator) live on an island in Washington state. Visit her at JingJingTsong.com.

Spotlight: A Girl Named Lovely: One Child's Miraculous Survival and My Journey to the Heart of Haiti by Catherine Porter

An insightful and uplifting memoir about a young Haitian girl in post-earthquake Haiti, and the profound, life-changing effect she had on one journalist's life.

In January 2010, a devastating earthquake struck Haiti, killing hundreds of thousands of people and paralyzing the country. Catherine Porter, a newly minted international reporter, was on the ground in the immediate aftermath. Moments after she arrived in Haiti, Catherine found her first story. A ragtag group of volunteers told her about a “miracle child”—a two-year-old girl who had survived six days under the rubble and emerged virtually unscathed.

Catherine found the girl the next day. Her family was a mystery; her future uncertain. Her name was Lovely. She seemed a symbol of Haiti—both hopeful and despairing.

When Catherine learned that Lovely had been reunited with her family, she did what any journalist would do and followed the story. The cardinal rule of journalism is to remain objective and not become personally involved in the stories you report. But Catherine broke that rule on the last day of her second trip to Haiti. That day, Catherine made the simple decision to enroll Lovely in school, and to pay for it with money she and her readers donated.

Over the next five years, Catherine would visit Lovely and her family seventeen times, while also reporting on the country’s struggles to harness the international rush of aid. Each trip, Catherine's relationship with Lovely and her family became more involved and more complicated. Trying to balance her instincts as a mother and a journalist, and increasingly conscious of the costs involved, Catherine found herself struggling to align her worldview with the realities of Haiti after the earthquake. Although her dual roles as donor and journalist were constantly at odds, as one piled up expectations and the other documented failures, a third role had emerged and quietly become the most important: that of a friend.

A Girl Named Lovely is about the reverberations of a single decision—in Lovely’s life and in Catherine’s. It recounts a journalist’s voyage into the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, hit by the greatest natural disaster in modern history, and the fraught, messy realities of international aid. It is about hope, kindness, heartbreak, and the modest but meaningful difference one person can make.

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About the Author

Catherine Porter is the Canada bureau chief for The New York Times, based in Toronto. She joined the paper in February 2017 from Toronto Star, Canada’s largest-circulation newspaper, where she was a columnist and feature writer. Catherine has received two National Newspaper Awards in Canada, the Landsberg Award for her feminist columns, and a Queen’s Jubliee Medal for grassroots community work. She lives in Toronto with her husband and two kids. Visit her at PorterWrites.ca or on Twitter @PortertheReport.

Spotlight: Nursery Rhyme Search and Find by Margaret Wise Brown and Illustrated by Lisa Sheehan

Find your favorite nursery rhyme characters hiding throughout this magical title from Margaret Wise Brown, author of children's classics Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny.

Find the cow who jumped over the moon. Find Little Bo Peep's lost sheep. Find the Owl and the Pussycat. Look carefully as you turn each page, and find your favorite nursery rhyme characters hiding throughout this magical title from Margaret Wise Brown, author of children's classics Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny.

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Spotlight: The Griffins of Castle Cary by Heather Shumaker

A charming, adventure-filled debut novel that’s perfect for fans of The Penderwicks series.

Siblings Meg, Will, and Ariel Griffin are off on an adventure! They can’t wait to spend a week visiting their eccentric aunt and her giant, tongue-drooling Newfoundland dog in England. But when they finally arrive, they’re faced with a few local secrets that stir up more than a little trouble.

Add in some very peculiar lights, strange new friends, a police chase and some stampeding sheep, and the Griffin kids are in over their heads—literally. Apparently this town has a ghost problem and the three children must race to solve the mystery before the ghosts take something that doesn’t belong to them.

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About the Author

Heather Shumaker grew up always wanting to be an author. She began writing books in elementary school and is now an award-winning author of several books for adults (It’s OK Not to Share, It’s OK to Go Up the Slide and Saving Arcadia). Heather has tried many jobs including sailing on tall ships, leading llama treks, and recycling at the South Pole, Antarctica, but she likes writing best. Today Heather lives up in northern Michigan with her husband and two children. The Griffins of Castle Cary is her first book for children.

Spotlight: A Storm of Strawberries By Jo Cotterill

Twelve-year-old Darby loves living on her family's strawberry farm. But a big storm is coming, and it threatens to destroy everything she and her family hold dear.

Darby is twelve years old and has Down syndrome. Her favorite things are music, chocolate, and her big sister Kaydee. It's a big weekend for Darby. It's time for their annual chocolate hunt, and it's all she can think about. Well, that and spending time with her big sister. But this year Kaydee's friend Lissa is staying over for the weekend, and she seems to be stealing all of Kaydee's attention. And to make things worse, the strawberry farm is hit by a tornado. Suddenly, it's as though both the chocolate hunt and her sister are slipping away from her.

Although the family is prepared for the tornado, they aren't prepared for the storm of emotions that surface when a truth is brought to light. With tension rising within the family, can Darby mend what's been broken when it seems like no one is listening to her?

A Storm of Strawberries is a warm, thoughtful, and empathetic novel from acclaimed author Jo Cotterill.

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About the Author

Jo Cotterill has had several careers - actor, musician, teacher, fireworks technician - but is now a full-time writer in Oxfordshire. She has published over thirty books for children and young people, including the award-winning Looking at the Stars, A Library of Lemons, and the superhero comic/novel Electrigirl. 

Jo loves going into schools and talking about books and reading, and can be found making cards and writing music when she's not spending time with her two young daughters.

Find her online: jocotterill.com / @jocotterillbook