Ghost

by Jason Reynolds

Castle Cranshaw, aka Ghost, has been running for a long time. Three years ago, his father tried to shoot Ghost and his mom. His father is now behind bars, and Ghost has a lot of anger issues that lead to him continually getting into trouble at school.

His mom works long hours at a hospital cafeteria to try and make ends meet, and Ghost is bullied at school in part because of the fact he and his mom don't have much money. 

One day Ghost comes across a track team practicing, and he convinces the coach to let him run one race.  Much to everyone's amazement, Ghost is fast. Like really fast. Coach agrees to let him be part of the team, as long as Ghost can stay out of trouble at school, and Ghost starts training with the team after school.

Ghost has a lot of anger inside - will being part of a team help him find something to help work out his anger in a positive way?

This is the first book in a planned series, with each book featuring one of the kids on the track team.

The Blackthorn Key

by Kevin Sands

It's 1665 in London, England. Christopher Rowe is an apothecary's apprentice. His master, Benedict Blackthorn - a well-respected, if slightly absentminded, apothecary, is teaching Christopher all about combining ingredients to create powerful medicines, as well as codes and puzzles that help to keep recipes for said medicines a secret. 

Suddenly apothecaries all over the city are being murdered. What is going on, and who is responsible for the deaths?  After the murders hit much too close to home, Christopher and his best friend Tom follow a series of clues and puzzles to discover that there was much more to Master Blackthorn than they first thought. As they get closer to solving the mystery they uncover a secret that has the power to change the world forever.

After reading The Blackthorn Key, you'll also want to read the sequel, Mark of the Plague, which was published this year.

Daytime Nightime

by William Low

What do you see during the daytime? Butterflies, robins and rabbits.  What do you see at nighttime?  Bats, raccoons and the moon. 

With lovely, colourful illustrations and very simple text, this book is great for toddlers.  Your kids will have a great time recognizing the different animals, and they might even add their own ideas of other things that you can see during the day and at night.
    

A Tale Dark & Grimm

by Adam Gidwitz

You may think you know the story of Hansel and Gretel - the Brother Grimm's fairy tale about the siblings who were almost eaten by an evil witch who lived in a gingerbread house.  But you've never heard this version before.  The author weaves the story of Hansel and Gretel into eight other classic Grimm-inspired fairy tales.

Full of adventure, warlocks, hunters, dragons and a narrator that interrupts the story with advice to the reader, this is a great adventure story for kids looking for a well-written fractured fairy tale or horror story.  As the narrator states, 'It may be frightening, it's certainly bloody, and it's definitely not for the faint of heart, but unlike those other fairy tales you know, this one is true.'

You'll want to keep turning the pages to find out what happens to Hansel and Gretel next