Gail Shalan

All science classrooms discuss animals that hibernate during winter months, but few know about animals that estivate, a prolonged sleep during hot or dry periods. Learn about the reasons estivating animals become dormant, whether it's because warm weather threatens food supply or to avoid increased body temperatures. From the ladybug to the salamander, from the lungfish to the desert hedgehog, twelve estivating animals and their habits, both when...

"When Colin finds a shoebox full of letters hidden in a stranger's attic, he knows he's supposed to throw them away. That's his summer job, getting rid of junk. But Colin wants to rescue the letters--and find out what really happened to best friends Rosemary and Toby way back in the 1970s. Meanwhile, across town, Nevaeh also finds a mysterious letter. But this one reads like a confession to a crime. And Nevaeh knows her father, the 'Junk King,' expects...

"Two girls find friendship--and more--when they bond over a traumatic event that took place in their middle school"-- Provided by publisher.

By encouraging massive accumulations of debt from its underclass, a single corporation, Caerus, controls all aspects of society. Inesa lives with her brother in a half-sunken town where they scrape by running a taxidermy shop. Unbeknownst to Inesa, their cruel and indolent mother has accrued an enormous debt, enough to qualify one of her children for Caerus's livestreamed assassination spectacle : the Lamb's Gauntlet. Melinoe is a Caerus assassin,...

When twelve-year-old Maddie hatches a scheme for a secret sleepover with her two best friends, she ends up waking up to a nightmare. She's alone--left behind in a town that has been mysteriously evacuated and abandoned. With no one to rely on, no power, and no working phone lines or internet access, Maddie slowly learns to survive on her own. Her only companions are a Rottweiler named George and all the books she can read. After a rough start, Maddie...

Twelve-year-old Autumn, the beastkeeper at Inglenook School for Magicians, befriends Cai Morrigan, the young magician prophesied to destroy the dragon suspected of devouring Autumn's twin brother, and together they uncover the dark truth that lies at the heart of Inglenook School.

Told in two voices, eleven-year-olds Mimi, who is visiting her wealthy grandparents in Karachi, Pakistan, for the first time and Sakina, daughter of the grandparents' cook, form an unexpected friendship.

"Once upon a time, Ramona Riley was a student at a prestigious art school, with dreams of landing in Hollywood as a costume designer to the stars. But after her father's car accident, she had to quit everything and return to her small New Hampshire town, Clover Lake, to help take care of her younger sister. Twelve years later, Ramona is still working at the town's café, all but given up on her dream. But when a big-budget romantic comedy comes to...

Alex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives the opportunity to attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. Even the knowledge that Wren, her former best friend and current rival, is attending doesn't dampen her excitement. Then Roza drops a bombshell: participants must all complete an entire novel from scratch during the next month, and the author...

"Colin and Nevaeh are great at finding things. After all, they found each other and became best friends -- even though their parents are business rivals. They also found hidden boxes of secret letters, which led them to unravel mysteries about kids from the 1970s. But when they started Mystery Solvers Inc., they didn't expect to be asked to find a ghost. Ree recruits them to investigate a series of old, spooky photos left behind in her family's new...