Heterick Summer Book Bingo 2018

Virgil: shy, kind, out of place in his family. Valencia: deaf, smart, brave, nature-lover, secretly lonely. Kaori: self-proclaimed psychic, little sister Gen always follows her around. Chet: wishes the weird kids would stop being different so he can concentrate on basketball. When Chet's prank traps Virgil and his guinea pig in a well, Kaori, Gen, and Valencia embark on an epic quest to find them. Through luck, smarts, bravery, and a little help from the universe, a rescue is performed, a bully is put in his place, and friendship blooms.

Every year, the people of the Protectorate sacrifice a baby to the forest witch to prevent her from terrorizing them. But the witch, Xan, is kind. She rescues the children and takes them to other towns, nourishing them with starlight on the way. One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead, filling it with magic. Xan decides to raise this girl as her own. As the girl's thirteenth birthday approaches, her magic begins to emerge. Meanwhile, a man from the Protectorate is determined to kill the witch and free his people.

Every Sunday after church, CJ and his grandma ride the bus across town. But today, CJ wonders why they don't own a car like his friend Colby. Why doesn't he have an iPod like the boys on the bus? How come they always have to get off in the dirty part of town? Each question is met with an encouraging answer from grandma, who helps him see the beauty--and fun--in their routine and the world around them.  

Dread-locked, 12-year old Josh Bell and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood, he's got mad beats, too, that tell his family's story in verse, in this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood.

It begins, as the best superhero stories do, with a tragic accident that has unexpected consequences. Ulysses the squirrel never saw the vacuum cleaner coming, but self-described cynic Flora Belle Buckman is just the right person to step in and save him. What neither can predict is that Ulysses has been born anew, with powers of strength, flight, and misspelled poetry -- and that Flora will be changed too, as she discovers the possibility of hope and the promise of a capacious heart.

Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. He has grown accustomed to life at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, and rarely thinks about the jungle at all. Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he's seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art. Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home--and his own art--through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it's up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.

Jack Gantos' plans for vacation excitement are shot down when he is "grounded for life" by his feuding parents. But plenty of excitement comes Jack's way once his mom sends him to help a feisty old neighbor with an unusual chore--typewriting obituaries about the people who founded his utopian town. As one obituary leads to another, Jack is launched on a strange adventure involving molten wax, Eleanor Roosevelt, a homemade airplane, Girl Scout cookies, a dancing plague . . . and possibly murder.

Abilene's father has sent her to live with a friend in Manifest, Kansas while he works a railroad job. At first she's disappointed that Manifest is just a dry, worn old town. But her disappointment turns to excitement when she discovers a cigar box full of mementos, including letters that mention a spy. These mysterious letters send Abilene and her new friends on a spy hunt, during which they discover Manifest's long-held secrets.