Growing Fish

Rusty-James wants to be just like his big brother, the Motorcycle Boy. He wants to be the toughest streetfighter on this side of the city, to keep his cool when things get dangerous, and to laugh when gang members challenge him to fight. Rusty-James isn't book-smart; he depends on his fists more often than his brains. So far, the Motorcycle Boy has bailed him out when his fists have gotten him into trouble.

A collection of short stories from The Big Garage on Clear Shot chronicles the offbeat lives of the colorful inhabitants of The End of the Road, a small town in Alaska.

Deborah Diesen's 5-Minute Pout-Pout Fish Stories is a treasury of 12 short stories starring the New York Times best-selling Mr. Fish and all his friends, perfect for bedtime or on the go!

Hermit Crab lives in a little shell house on the ocean floor. Wherever he crawls, he carries the shell on his back. He feels safe and snug in his cozy house. But in January, the shell begins to feel tight. Hermit Crab steps out of his safe house into the open sea. Without his shell, the ocean floor seems frightening. Large, hungry fish swim all around. When Hermit Crab finds a bigger, empty shell, he wiggles into it. It feels just right. But it’s so plain. Will he ever feel at home in his new house?

Stella Diaz loves marine animals, especially her betta fish, Pancho. But Stella Diaz is not a betta fish. Betta fish like to be alone, while Stella loves spending time with her mom and brother and her best friend, Jenny. Trouble is, Jenny is in another class this year, and Stella feels very lonely. When a new boy arrives in Stella's class, she really wants to be his friend, but sometimes Stella accidentally speaks Spanish instead of English and pronounces words wrong, which makes her turn roja. Plus, she has to speak in front of her whole class for a big presentation at school!

Deep in the water, Mr. Fish swims about with his fish face stuck in a permanent pout. Can his pals cheer him up? Will his pout ever end? Is there something he can learn from an unexpected friend?

One morning, the lighthouse family wakes up to find a baby sea lion asleep in their kitchen! The baby, whose name is Topper, explains that his mother left him here and instructed him to wait for her return. Pandora the cat and Seabold the dog are happy to care for Topper, and mouse children Lila, Whistler, and Tiny are excited to make a new friend.

The colorful cast of characters in End of the Road, Alaska, congregate around the coffeepot at the Big Garage to share wit and wisdom.

Mr. Fish wants to help his friend Ms. Clam when she loses her pearl, but though he's fast as a sailfish, as smart as dolphin, and as strong as a shark, Mr. Fish has a secret: He's scared of the dark!

Maggie is finding it harder and harder to get along with her stepmother and stepsiblings while her father is away. It doesn't help that every time Maggie finishes cleaning laundry, flying pigs swoop in to muddy everything up and get her into trouble! One day while she's out collecting berries and her stepbrother is fishing, Maggie catches a magical fish herself. The fish promises to make one of her wishes come true, but only if she frees him. Maggie wants a new family more than anything, but how much faith can she put into a talking fish?

After her best friend dies in a drowning accident, Suzy is convinced that the true cause of the tragedy was a rare jellyfish sting. Retreating into a silent world of imagination, she crafts a plan to prove her theory - even if it means traveling the globe alone. Suzy's achingly heartfelt journey explores life, death, the astonishing wonder of the universe...and the potential for love and hope right next door.

When a baby beluga whale loses his mama and is heard crying out for her, Whistler and Lila are reminded of how lucky they are to have such a wonderful family in their lighthouse home. Their great adventures begin when they team up with a cranky old cormorant named Huck to bring the mother and child together again. Acclaimed author Cynthia Rylant is a Newbery Medal winner and has penned more than 60 heartwarming books for children. This sweet tale is filled with warm, caring characters.

Odder spends her days off the coast of central California, practicing her underwater acrobatics and spinning the quirky stories for which she’s known. She’s a fearless daredevil, curious to a fault. But when Odder comes face-to-face with a hungry great white shark, her life takes a dramatic turn, one that will challenge everything she believes about herself—and about the humans who hope to save her.

Newbery Medal winner Cynthia Rylant pens the enchanting tale of Whistler and Lila’s adventures during the low tide of the full moon. The mice children set off to meet new creatures before the tide comes back in and washes the creatures back to sea. Suddenly, a young octopus named Cleo startles the children, but the three soon become good friends. Yet as the tide comes back in, Lila discovers her feet are stuck in the mud. Will Cleo be able to help her in time and save the day?

Mr. Fish is nervously awaiting his first day of school, and he frets about not knowing how to write his name, how to draw shapes, and how to do math - until he's reassured that school is the perfect place to learn how to master all of these new skills.

When 12-year-old Zinnia Manning's older brother, Gabriel, is diagnosed with a mental illness, the family's world is turned upside down. Mom and Dad want Zinny; her 16-year-old sister, Scarlett; and her eight-year-old brother, Aiden, to keep Gabriel's condition "private" - and to Zinny, that sounds the same as "secret". Which means she can't talk about it to her two best friends, who don't understand why Zinny keeps pushing them away, turning everything into a joke.

Peter and his best friend, Tommy, have a goal for their last summer before middle school: finish their Discovery Journal, a catalog of the wildlife around their Florida town. When they spot a manatee in a canal, Peter knows they’ve found something special—and when the manatee is injured by a boat, something to protect! As Peter joins the fight to save Florida manatees, he also finds himself taking care of his ailing grandfather and facing an unwelcome surprise that jeopardizes his friendship with Tommy.

Mr. Fish and his friends have noticed something strange in their ocean - a big, big mess! How did it get there? What can they do about it? The closer they look, the more they see where the mess came from...and they'll have to work together to get rid of it.

The Avery Diary: The Lice Outbreak! Hilarious Book for Kids 9-12 When a lice outbreak takes over Avery’s school, things go from bad to downright hilarious. With chaos in the cafeteria, dramatic “lice patrols,” and a queen bee spreading rumors (and maybe bugs), Avery finds herself in the middle of it all. Will she blow the whistle on the mean girl’s not-so-secret scratching? Or can she save the day with her brilliant plan for Anti-Itch Week? From DIY lice detectives (featuring colanders and mayonnaise) to school dances where “scratching moves” steal the show, Avery’s journey is...

Continuing the story begun in Under the Blood-Red Sun, House of the Red Fish returns to Honolulu one year after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Thirteen-year-old Japanese American Tomi Nakaji must struggle to support his family after the arrest of his father and grandfather.