A mysterious apothecary. A magic book. A missing scientist. An impossible plan. It’s 1952 and the Scott family has moved unexpectedly from Los Angeles to London. Janie feels uncomfortable in her strange new school, until the local apothecary promises her a remedy for homesickness. But the real cure is meeting the apothecary’s son Benjamin, a curiously defiant boy who dreams of becoming a spy. Benjamin’s father is no ordinary apothecary, and when he’s kidnapped, Benjamin and Janie find themselves entrusted with his sacred book, the Pharmacopoeia. And it seems that Russian spies are intent on getting their hands on it. What secrets does the book contain? Who is the Chinese chemist Jin Lo? And can they trust a skinny pickpocket called Pip to help them? Discovering transformative elixirs they never imagined could exist, Janie and Benjamin embark on a dangerous quest to save the apothecary and prevent an impending nuclear disaster. The Apothecary sparkles with life and possibility. This is a story that will delight kids and return not-so-young readers to the magic of childhood.

Since The Book of Three was first published in 1964, young readers have been enthralled by the adventures of Taran the Assistant Pig-keeper and his quest to become a hero. Taran is joined by an engaging cast of characters that includes Eilonwy, the strong-willed and sharp-tongued princess; Fflewddur Fflam, the hyperbole-prone bard; the ever-faithful Gurgi; and the curmudgeonly Doli--all of whom become involved in an epic struggle between good and evil that shapes the fate of the legendary land of Prydain.Released over a period of five years, Lloyd Alexander's beautifully written tales not only captured children's imaginations but also garnered the highest critical praise. The Black Cauldron was a Newbery Honor Book, and the final volume in the chronicles, The High King, crowned the series by winning the Newbery Medal for "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."Henry Holt is proud to present this classic...

This children's story is one of a series of books about the Moomins that blend magic, humour and adventure in the setting of the small, but ever-changing Moominvalley.

The year is 1942, and Chaim and Gittel, Polish twins, are forced from their beautiful home and made to live in the Lodz Ghetto. Their family's cramped quarters are awful, but when even those dire circumstances become too dangerous, their parents decide to make for the nearby Lagiewniki Forest, where partisan fighters are trying to shepherd Jews to freedom in Russia. The partisans take Chaim and Gittel, with promises that their parents will catch up -- but soon, everything goes wrong. Their small band of fighters is caught and killed. Chaim, Gittel, and their two friends are left alive, only to be sent off to Sobanek concentration camp. Chaim is quiet, a poet, and the twins often communicate through wordless exchanges of shared looks and their own invented sign language. But when they reach Sobanek, with its squalid conditions, rampant disease, and a building with a belching chimney that everyone is scared to so much as look at, the bond between Chaim and Gittel, once a source of strength, becomes a burden. For there is a doctor there looking to experiment on twins, and what he has in store for them is a horror they dare not imagine.

Anakin Skywalker infiltrates an elite boarding school in this harrowing Jedi adventure. Anakin Skywalker is not an average teen. He has spent his adolescence surrounded by other Jedi. But now the son of a Senator has gone missing, and Anakin must infiltrate an elite school in order to find out what's happened. What he discovers involves a conspiracy much bigger than anyone anticipates -- a conspiracy with repercussions for the whole galaxy.

From one of the great novelists of our day, a vital, brilliant new book of essays, speeches and articles essential for our times. Step Across This Line showcases the other side of one of fiction’s most astonishing conjurors. On display is Salman Rushdie’s incisive, thoughtful and generous mind, in prose that is as entertaining as it is topical. The world is here, captured in pieces on a dazzling array of subjects: from New York’s Amadou Diallo case to the Wizard of Oz, from U2 to fifty years of Indian writing, from a tribute to Angela Carter to the struggle to film Midnight’s Children. The title essay was originally delivered at Yale as the 2002 Tanner lecture on human values, and examines the changing meaning of frontiers in the modern world -- moral and metaphorical frontiers as well as physical ones. The collection chronicles Rushdie’s intellectual journeys, but it is also an intimate invitation into his life: he explores his relationship to India through a moving diary of his first visit there in over a decade, “A Dream of Glorious Return.” Step Across This Line also includes “Messages From the Plague Years,” a historic set of letters, articles and reflections on life under the fatwa. Gathered together for the first time, this is Rushdie’s humane, intelligent and angry response to a grotesque threat, aimed not just at him but at free expression itself. Step Across This Line, Salman Rushdie’s first collection of non-fiction in a decade, has the same energy, imagination and erudition as his astounding novels -- along with some very strong opinions. From the Hardcover edition.

Lizzie, Ella, and Betsey Best grew up believing they were identical triplets. Then they learned the truth... and no one else can know. Now, to the outside world, the Best family appears to consist of a single mother with one seventeen-year-old daughter named Elizabeth. Lizzie, Ella, and Betsey take turns going to school, pursuing extracurriculars, and even dating. Then Lizzie meets Sean Kelly, the one person who can help her realize she's not a carbon copy of the others - she's an individual with unique dreams and desires. Digging deeper into her background and her mother's role in her life, Lizzie begins to dismantle the delicate balance of an unusual family that only science could have created.

Percy Jackson isn't expecting freshman orientation to be any fun. But when a mysterious mortal acquaintance appears at his potential new school, followed by demon cheerleaders, things quickly move from bad to worse. In this fourth installment of the blockbuster series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. Even the safe haven of Camp Half-Blood grows more vulnerable by the minute as Kronos's army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To stop the invasion, Percy and his demigod friends must set out on a quest through the Labyrinth - a sprawling underground world with stunning surprises at every turn.

Friday is a secret courier. She is employed by a man known to her only as "Boss." Operating from and over a near-future Earth, in which North America has become Balkanized into dozens of independent states, where culture has become bizarrely vulgarized and chaos is the happy norm, she finds herself on shuttlecock assignment at Boss' seemingly whimsical behest. From New Zealand to Canada, from one to another of the new states of America's disunion, she keeps her balance nimbly with quick, expeditious solutions to one calamity and scrape after another.

Who are the followers of the Sith? Devoted to the study of the dark side of the Force, they live an underground existence . . . but their threat is growing. Although they do not have Sith power, they are on a constant search for it. Nothing--not even the Jedi--will get in their way. Dr. Lundi is the leader of the Sith followers. As he gets closer to attaining a Sith Holocron, he comes face-to-face with Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan. Ten years later, when the Sith followers reappear, Obi-Wan and his own apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, must rely on Lundi to help them. But he is to be feared, not trusted. The Sith are on the rise. The Jedi must stop them.

One long-ago Christmas, Earl Gibson lost the two things most precious to him: his wife and daughter. Angry and heartbroken, he ended up living on the streets and abandoned any belief he'd once had in God. Ten years later Big Earl meets Gideon, a seven-year-old leukemia patient who believes with all her heart that "Christmas means never having to ask God how much he loves us." Gideon is determined to reach this lonely and hurting man who hates Christmas--and he is just as determined to rebuff her. It will take a miracle for Earl to come to understand the true meaning of Christmas. But if he can accept what Gideon wants to give him, he might find that he can return the favor with a precious gift of his own. In GIDEON'S GIFT, Karen Kingsbury reminds us that Christmas is still a time of miraculous possibilities if only we reach out to those around us.

Get ready for a wild ride in book two of bestselling author Kathryn Lasky's brand-new middle grade animal fantasy series. For the filly Estrella, nothing is more precious than freedom. She was born at sea, chattel to men sailing to the New World in search of gold. But Estrella and her herd escaped the conquerors and embarked on a journey across thousands of miles -- braving harsh terrains and fierce predators -- to a land where they can finally run wild. But now, an unforeseen danger threatens to destroy the pack. A boy with a special gift is lost in the wilderness, and only the horses can keep him alive. But to save the boy, the herd will have to abandon their quest, and risk galloping straight back into the hands-and harnesses- of their captors. And so, it's up to Estrella, the herd's unlikely leader, to make a life-changing decision. Should the horses accept the orphan boy as one of their own? How do you choose between freedom and friendship?

Layla Harrison has finally found herself in the middle of a celebrity story worth reporting. Aster Amirpour’s name is in every tabloid—even if it isn’t the good kind of publicity she hoped for. Tommy Phillips is inches away from getting the girl of his dreams, which may be harder than scoring a VIP ticket to an Unrivaled nightclub. But Layla, Aster and Tommy never imagined it would be because they’re entangled in the disappearance of Madison Brooks—a story that’s blinded the world like a starlet blinded by the flash of a paparazzi camera. Now, Layla is receiving mysterious messages from an anonymous source, Aster’s looming murder trial is so huge even her parents’ lawyer can’t save her, Tommy is retracing his steps as the last person Madison saw alive, and Layla’s ex Mateo finds himself lured into the fold. You can dig up dirt about celebrities that the tabloids miss if you search long enough. But when Layla, Aster, and Tommy team up with an unsuspecting insider to unearth the truth, they’ll find that some secrets are best kept in the grave.