(W) Kate Reed Petty (A) Andrea Bell In this compelling middle-grade graphic novel, Ruth, a young journalist, takes on issues of corruption, pollution, and freedom of the press, determined to uncover a secret that threatens her town. Ruth Keller is brash and precocious; she argues with her dentist, her parents, and her teachers. So, when she discovers a strange black slime in the man-made lake of her suburban neighborhood, she decides to investigate. Fortified by the encouragement of those around her, Ruth seeks the truth at all costs, even if it means taking on the rich local country club owner, who she believes is responsible for the pollution. Between the teasing of former friends, and a sudden viral spotlight, Ruth discovers how difficult it is for a journalist to take a stand for what's right in the face of critique and controversy. From writer Kate Reed Petty and illustrator Andrea Bell, comes a story about corruption, pollution, and freedom of the press, and the young journalist at the center of it all.

Zita's exploits from her first adventure have made her an intergallactic megastar! But she's about to find out that fame doesn't come without a price. And who can you trust when your true self is being eclipsed by your public persona, and you've got a robot doppelganger wreaking havoc while wearing your face? Still, if anyone can find their way through this intractable mess of mistaken identity and alien invaders, it's the indomitable Zita.

(W/A/CA) Ben Hatke When a little girl finds an adorable robot in the woods, she presses a button and accidentally activates him for the first time. Now, she finally has a friend. But the big, bad robots are coming to collect the little guy for nefarious purposes, and it's all up to a five-year-old armed only with a wrench and a fierce loyalty to her mechanical friend to save the day!

(W/A/CA) Falynn Koch Learn how to bake the perfect chocolate chip cookie and more in this volume of First Second's new DIY graphic novel series! Today is the first day of Sage's magical internship! Her fellow wizards-in-training get to study pyromancy and transfiguration, but Sage has been assigned an internship in... baking? She doesn't think that sounds fun, or particularly magical! But her instructor, Korian, insists that baking is a tasty form of alchemy. In an enchanted kitchen where the ingredients insist that you eat them, Sage learns the simple science behind baking, and that's the best kind of magic trick! Follow these simple recipes, and you'll be able to bake a pizza and frost a cake, no magic necessary! Available in softcover and hardcover editions.

(W) Colleen AF Venable (A) Kathryn Hudson The family toaster is preparing to take over the world, and he needs your help! Several obstacles lie in his path to greatness: your homework, household chores, and a dastardly kitty cat. All you have to do is build an army of robots, and world domination is within reach! Anyone can build a robot if they have the right tools! With some wire, a battery, and a simple motor - which you can often find lying around the house - building a robot is within your reach. Available in softcover and hardcover editions.

(W/A) JP Coovert Inside this volume of the popular new DIY comic series you'll find all the tips and tricks you need to create and print your own comic books! The International Comics Library is in a lot of trouble! If Maggie can't come up with $500,000 in a week, Dr. Carl is going to bulldoze her grandfather's library and turn it into a parking lot! To save the day, she'll need all her comic drawing skills, the loyal library watchdog, and her new assistant (that's you!). With Draw a Comic! you'll learn to create and print your own comics books! Follow these simple steps to sketch out your story ideas and ink a comic page. Learn which art supplies are best for drawing comics, you can use a pen, a brush, or even a computer! With the help of photocopy machine, you can even self-publish your own comics and share them with your friends!

(W/A) Alexis Frederick-Frost Inside this volume of First Second's new middle grade DIY comic series you'll find all the tips and tricks you need to grow tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, and more! Violet, Will, and Basil must be the unluckiest students at the Garden Gnome Academy. They've been stuck with Mr. Butternut, the school's most unpopular (and unusual) teacher. They have to learn about soil and compost while their classmates get to study exotic plants and butterflies. Although things get a little messy (and stinky) in his class, Mr. Butternut knows the secret to growing a great garden. Read along to get all the dirt on your favorite vegetables, from seed to harvest! Plus: easy step-by-step instructions to make everything from a compost bin, a grow-light shelf, and a container garden! Available in Softcover and Hardcover editions!

(W) Colleen AF Venable (A) Kathryn Hudson Inside Build a Robot!, the latest volume of First Second's DIY comic series, you'll find step-by-step instructions on how to construct six different robots! The family toaster is preparing to take over the world, and he needs your help! Several obstacles lie in his path to greatness: your homework, household chores, and a dastardly kitty cat. All you have to do is build an army of robots, and world domination is within reach! Anyone can build a robot if they have the right tools! With some wire, a battery, and a simple motor-which you can often find lying around the house-building a robot is within your reach. Follow the easy step-by-step instructions and you can learn to make these robots! Brush bot Art bot Scare bot Noisy bot LED throwie Remote controlled car bot

(W/A) Sarah Myer Learn simple techniques to make over six costumes-and dream up your own designs-in First Second's new DIY graphic novel series! The comic convention is just a few short weeks away. All Bea and Connor need now are great costumes but won't they cost a fortune to make? Not if they follow some simple instructions from Bea's pet hamster: Costume Critter, the world's cutest cosplayer! With Create a Costume! you can create fun, easy, budget-friendly costumes. And you don't have to start from scratch: a few simple modifications can transform thrift store clothes into a variety of costumes. Even mastering the sewing machine isn't as hard as it looks! You can make amazing costumes-all you need are the right tools, a little know-how, and a lot of imagination.

(W/A) JP Coovert Inside this volume of the popular new DIY comic series you'll find all the tips and tricks you need to create and print your own comic books! The International Comics Library is in a lot of trouble! If Maggie can't come up with $500,000 in a week, Dr. Carl is going to bulldoze her grandfather's library and turn it into a parking lot! To save the day, she'll need all her comic drawing skills, the loyal library watchdog, and her new assistant (that's you!). With Draw a Comic! you'll learn to create and print your own comics books! Follow these simple steps to sketch out your story ideas and ink a comic page. Learn which art supplies are best for drawing comics-you can use a pen, a brush, or even a computer! With the help of photocopy machine, you can even self-publish your own comics and share them with your friends!

(W/A/CA) Chris Schweizer Learn how to maintain your car and handle tricky roadside repairs in this volume of First Second's new DIY graphic novel series! Lena, Mason, Abner, Rocky, and Esther only have one thing in common: They're crazy about cars. A few of them already have their driver's licenses. And even though Rocky and Esther are too young to drive, they still have a lot questions. In Car Club, Ms. Gritt has all the answers. When is the best time to check the oil? How do you change a tire? And why is Mason's car making that squeaky noise? Before you get behind the wheel, learn what's going on underneath the hood. Follow along as Ms. Gritt covers all the basics of preventative maintenance and roadside repairs. Colorful diagrams illustrate the inner workings of complex parts and systems. With Maker Comics: Fix a Car!, you can keep your automobile in tip-top shape!

(W/A) Alexis Frederick-Frost Inside this volume of First Second's new middle grade DIY comic series you'll find all the tips and tricks you need to grow tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, and more! Violet, Will, and Basil must be the unluckiest students at the Garden Gnome Academy. They've been stuck with Mr. Butternut, the school's most unpopular (and unusual) teacher. They have to learn about soil and compost while their classmates get to study exotic plants and butterflies. Although things get a little messy (and stinky) in his class, Mr. Butternut knows the secret to growing a great garden. Read along to get all the dirt on your favorite vegetables, from seed to harvest! Plus: easy step-by-step instructions to make everything from a compost bin, a grow-light shelf, and a container garden! Available in Softcover and Hardcover editions!

(W) Arthur Yorinks (A) Shelli Paroline, Braden Lamb (CA) Shelli Paroline Mickey isn't like his brothers and sisters. They're stronger, faster, and they're definitely better when it comes to smelling. You see, Mickey's parents are dog nuts, and his 'brothers and sisters' are their prize bloodhounds. Mickey eventually learns how to sniff out a trail as good as his siblings, and his parents have never been prouder. Life can't get much better, but it's about to get much worse. When a tragic accident leaves Mickey an orphan, he must leave his dog family behind to live with an aunt and uncle he's never met before. Even worse, they hate dogs and kids.

(W) Alison Wilgus (A) Wyeth Yates Travel to deep space and back again with The Mars Challenge, a nonfiction graphic novel for teens about the science and logistics of a manned mission to Mars. Nadia is a teenager with a dream: to be the first woman on Mars. But there are a lot of obstacles in her way: gravity wells, interplanetary trajectories, space weather, and that pesky rocket equation. It's a good thing Nadia's friend Eleanor is a space wiz. Eleanor explains how scientists are working to overcome the numerous challenges involved in a manned mission to Mars. The challenges are great, but not insurmountable. Humans can reach Mars in our lifetime, and this book explains how it can be done. Available in softcover and hardcover editions.

(W) Alison Wilgus (A) Wyeth Yates Travel to deep space and back again with The Mars Challenge, a nonfiction graphic novel for teens about the science and logistics of a manned mission to Mars. Nadia is a teenager with a dream: to be the first woman on Mars. But there are a lot of obstacles in her way: gravity wells, interplanetary trajectories, space weather, and that pesky rocket equation. It's a good thing Nadia's friend Eleanor is a space wiz. Eleanor explains how scientists are working to overcome the numerous challenges involved in a manned mission to Mars. The challenges are great, but not insurmountable. Humans can reach Mars in our lifetime, and this book explains how it can be done. Available in softcover and hardcover editions.

The companion text to the First Second 2008 publication, Drawing Words & Writing Pictures! Want to be a cartoonist? Mastering Comics will show you how - with step-by-step lessons (accompanied by exercises, tips, and illustrated examples from the work of great cartoonists) providing instruction in writing, developing your own style, book production, and the publication process.

(W/A/CA) Ben Hatke The garden behind Jack's house has gone wild with creatures set loose by the magic beans Jack and his kid sister Maddy planted. One particularly mean creature has kidnapped Maddy and carried her off. Now Jack and his neighbor Lilly must follow her to a world between worlds beyond the vines and stalks, where giants grind the bones of human children to feed their beast in the castle up above, and a fearsome goblin king rules down below. It'll take more than Lilly's bag of concoctions and tricks, and more than one hero, to rescue Maddy, reunite Jack's family, and bring them all safely home again. Available in Softcover and Hardcover editions.

(W/A/CA) Ben Hatke It's the middle-grade team-up of the century as the heroes of Ben Hatke's New York Times-bestselling Zita the Spacegirl join forces with Mighty Jack and his friends to save the world! Jack and Lilly are no strangers to heroics. They've befriended dragons, battled giants, and even earned the loyalty of a goblin army. So when they meet Zita the Spacegirl, fresh from her interplanetary travels and seeking their help to face a new threat, they're more than ready for another adventure. But the danger growing just outside the door to their world is greater than anything the new friends could have imagined. An army of giants and screeds stands ready to lay siege to Earth, determined to put the age of humans to an end. With the gate between worlds growing weaker and time running out, can the heroes come together to save their world from their greatest enemy yet? Available in softcover and hardcover editions.

(W/A/CA) Ben Hatke Jack might be the only kid in the world who's dreading summer. But he's got a good reason: Summer is when his single mom takes a second job and leaves him at home to watch his autistic kid sister, Maddy. It's a lot of responsibility, and it's boring, too, because Maddy doesn't talk. Ever. But then, one day, she does talk. Maddy tells Jack in no uncertain terms to trade their mom's car for a box of magic beans. It's the best mistake Jack has ever made. The little garden behind his house is about to become home to tiny onion babies running amok, dangerous biting cabbages, and, in a fiery cliff-hanger at the end of this first volume: a dragon.

(W/A/CA) Ben Hatke Ben Hatke, the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Zita the Spacegirl, concludes his latest middle-grade fantasy-adventure series with the energetic finale to his retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk. The garden behind Jack's house has gone wild with creatures set loose by the magic beans Jack and his kid sister Maddy planted. One particularly mean creature has kidnapped Maddy and carried her off. Now Jack and his neighbor Lilly must follow her to a world between worlds beyond the vines and stalks, where giants grind the bones of human children to feed their beast in the castle up above, and a fearsome goblin king rules down below. It'll take more than Lilly's bag of concoctions and tricks, and more than one hero, to rescue Maddy, reunite Jack's family, and bring them all safely home again.

(W/A/CA) Ben Hatke It's the middle-grade team-up of the century as the heroes of Ben Hatke's New York Times-bestselling Zita the Spacegirl join forces with Mighty Jack and his friends to save the world! Jack and Lilly are no strangers to heroics. They've befriended dragons, battled giants, and even earned the loyalty of a goblin army. So when they meet Zita the Spacegirl, fresh from her interplanetary travels and seeking their help to face a new threat, they're more than ready for another adventure. But the danger growing just outside the door to their world is greater than anything the new friends could have imagined. An army of giants and screeds stands ready to lay siege to Earth, determined to put the age of humans to an end. With the gate between worlds growing weaker and time running out, can the heroes come together to save their world from their greatest enemy yet?

(W) Jack Baxter, Joshua Faudem (A/CA) Koren Shadmi Mike's Place was one of the few spots in Tel Aviv where Jews, Christians, and Muslims could hang out peaceably, surrounded by the expats who filled the bar every night. It was a cosmopolitan haven from the conflict, a local gem that many pointed to as a hopeful sign that peace could come to the Middle East after all. In the spring of 2003, filmmakers Jack Baxter and Josh Faudem had just begun making a documentary about the phenomenon of Mike's Place. And then the bar was destroyed in a suicide bombing that took three lives and wounded another fifty people - an attack that changed Jack and Josh's lives forever. Mike's Place is a gripping nonfiction accounting of the lives of a handful of people who came together in hope, then had to find their way together through despair.

(W/A/CA) Sara Varon Sara loves to draw and tell stories, but sometimes deals with writer's block. With the help of her trusty pencil, she learns that it's okay to not be perfect, as long as she uses her imagination and has fun!

(W/A/CA) Faith Erin Hicks Every nation that invades the City gives it a new name. But before long, new invaders arrive and the City changes hands (and names) once again. The natives don't let themselves get caught up in the unending wars. To them, their home is the Nameless City, and those who try to name it are forever outsiders. Kaidu is one such outsider. He's a Dao born and bred--a member of the latest occupying nation. Rat is a native of the Nameless City. At first, she hates Kai for everything he stands for, but his love of his new home may be the one thing that can bring these two unlikely friends together. Let's hope so, because the fate of the Nameless City rests in their hands. Available in softcover and hardcover editions.

(W/A/CA) Faith Erin Hicks Kai and Rat must sacrifice everything for peace in the riveting conclusion to the Nameless City trilogy! The Nameless City is under siege-held by the rogue Dao prince Erzi, and under attack by a Dao general determined to end the war for the Nameless City for once and for all. And the people of the city - the 'Named' - are caught in between. Meanwhile, Rat and Kai must infiltrate Erzi's palace and steal back the ancient and deadly formula for napatha, the weapon of mass destruction he has unearthed from the ancients - before he can use it to destroy everything Rat and Kai hold dear! In her third and final installment in the Nameless City trilogy, Faith Erin Hicks delivers a heart-thumping conclusion.

(W/A/CA) Faith Erin Hicks written and illustrated by HICKS, FAITH ERIN SYNOPSIS: _______________________________________________________________________ Book two in the groundbreaking Nameless City trilogy from graphic novel superstar Faith Erin Hicks Kaidu and Rat have only just recovered from the assassination attempt on the General of All Blades when more chaos breaks loose in the Nameless City: deep conflicts within the Dao nation are making it impossible to find a political solution for the disputed territory of the City itself. To complicate things further, Kaidu is fairly certain he's stumbled on a formula for the lost weapon of the mysterious founders of the City. . . . But sharing it with the Dao military would be a complete betrayal of his friendship with Rat. Can Kai find the right solution before the Dao find themselves at war?

(W/A/CA) Mike Cavallaro All our favorite ancient myths and legends get an Adventure Time-y makeover in this hilarious middle-grade graphic novel. Got a problem? At Vulcan's Celestial Supply Shop, you can find the magical merchandise to set things right. The seasoned staff-a kid named Nico Bravo, a sphynx named Lula, and a unicorn named Buck-pride themselves on providing 'legendary service and expertise in all areas of the arcane.' But Nico's world is about to be turned upside down, and it's all thanks his latest customer: Eowulf, the pint-size descendant of the monster slayer Beowulf. Determined to carry on the family business, this would-be warrior plans to slay Cerberus, the terrifying, three-headed hound of Hades. There's just one problem-Cerberus is the only thing preventing the hordes of the Underworld from entering the land of the living. Can Nico stop Eowulf from unleashing a zombie apocalypse?

(W/A/CA) Mike Cavallaro All our favorite ancient myths and legends get an Adventure Time-y makeover in this hilarious middle-grade graphic novel. Got a problem? At Vulcan's Celestial Supply Shop, you can find the magical merchandise to set things right. The seasoned staff-a kid named Nico Bravo, a sphynx named Lula, and a unicorn named Buck-pride themselves on providing 'legendary service and expertise in all areas of the arcane.' But Nico's world is about to be turned upside down, and it's all thanks his latest customer: Eowulf, the pint-size descendant of the monster slayer Beowulf. Determined to carry on the family business, this would-be warrior plans to slay Cerberus, the terrifying, three-headed hound of Hades. There's just one problem-Cerberus is the only thing preventing the hordes of the Underworld from entering the land of the living. Can Nico stop Eowulf from unleashing a zombie apocalypse? Available in softcover and hardcover editions.

You wouldn't expect Nate and Charlie to be friends. Charlie's the laid-back captain of the basketball team, and Nate is the neurotic, scheming president of the robotics club. But they are friends, however unlikely - until Nate declares war on the cheerleaders. At stake is funding that will either cover a robotics competition or new cheerleading uniforms - but not both. After both parties are stripped of their funding on grounds of abominable misbehavior, Nate enrolls the club's robot in a battlebot competition in a desperate bid for prize money. Bad sportsmanship? Sure. Chainsaws? Why not. Running away from home on Thanksgiving to illicitly enter a televised robot death match? Of course!

Theodora is a perfectly normal duck. She may swim with a teacup balanced on her head and stay north when the rest of the ducks fly south for the winter, but there's nothing so odd about that. Chad, on the other hand, is one strange bird. Theodora quite likes him, but she can't overlook his odd habits. It's a good thing Chad has a normal friend like Theodora to set a good example for him. But maybe Chad's not the only odd duck here.

(W) Brian McDonald (A/CA) Les McClaine Chris Olsen has a good life. He has a regular job, a wife and daughter who love him, and a promising future. By any measure this is a good life, but it isn't his first. When a troubling encounter with a homeless man triggers something inside Chris, memories of his past lives bubble to the surface. A lost Chinese boy, a wailing grandmother, and a love so powerful it never left his soul-all compete for his attention. As Chris sinks deeper into the seedy and seductive world of 'grave robbers,' vagrants known for their ability to relive their former lives, he discovers that he must find closure to a tragic episode in his past without losing himself in the process.

(W/A/CA) George O'Connor WRITERS: written and illustrated by O'CONNOR, GEORGE SYNOPSIS: The Goddess of the Hunt is on the prowl in the ninth volume of the New York Times-bestselling Olympians series.Shunned even before she was born and destined to live a life of solitude, Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, finds power through her skilled hunting ability and mighty bow. She slays those who wish to do harm to the innocent and takes care of the young and helpless. She protects women and young girls, helps in childbirth, soothes, and is unrivaled in her hunting abilities. In the latest volume of Olympians, New York Times-bestselling author George O'Connor continues to turn his extensive knowledge of the original Greek myths into rip-roaring graphic novel storytelling.

(W/A/CA) George O'Connor In the newest of the New York Times-bestselling Olympians series, author/artist George O'Connor focuses on Hephaistos, the god of forge and fire. Thrown from Mount Olympus as a newborn and caught by Thetis and Eurynome, who raised him on the island of Lemnos, Hephaistos had an aptitude for creating beautiful objects from a very young age. Despite his rejection from Olympus, he swallowed his anger and spent his days perfecting his craft. His exquisitely forged gifts and weapons earned him back his seat in the heavens, but he was not treated as an equal-his brothers and sisters looked down at him for his lame leg, and even his own wife, Aphrodite, was disloyal. In this installment of the bestselling Olympians series, witness Hephaistos' wrath as he creates a plan that'll win him the respect he deserves.

(W) Ian Lendler (A) Shelli Paroline (CA) Braden Lamb One Day a Dot explores the age-old question: Where did we come from? Where did everything come from? Starting with one tiny dot and continuing through the Big Bang to the rise of human societies, the story of our universe is told in simple and vivid terms. But the biggest question of all cannot be answered: Where did that one dot come from? One Day a Dot is a beautiful and vibrant picture book that uses the visual motif of circles as to guide young readers through the stages of life on Earth.

(W/A/CA) Faith Erin Hicks With revamped art and now in full color, One Year at Ellsmere is an endearing middle-grade friendship story from Faith Erin Hicks! Was boarding school supposed to be this hard? When studious thirteen-year-old Juniper wins a scholarship to the prestigious Ellsmere Academy, she expects to find a scholastic utopia. But living at Ellsmere is far from ideal: She is labeled a 'special project,' Ellsmere's queen bee is out to destroy her, and it's rumored that a mythical beast roams the forest next to the school. Available in softcover and hardcover editions.

(W) Bryan Caplan (A) Zach Weinersmith Economist Bryan Caplan makes a bold case for unrestricted immigration in this fact-filled graphic nonfiction illustrated by SMBC creator Zach Weinersmith. American policy-makers have long been locked in a heated battle over whether, how many, and what kind of immigrants to allow to live and work in the country. Those in favor of welcoming more immigrants often cite humanitarian reasons, while those in favor of more restrictive laws argue the need to protect native citizens. But economist Bryan Caplan adds a new, compelling perspective to the immigration debate: He argues that opening all borders could eliminate absolute poverty worldwide and usher in a booming worldwide economy-greatly benefiting humanity.

(W/A/CA) Nidhi Chanani Priyanka Das has so many unanswered questions: Why did her mother abandon her home in India years ago? What was it like there? And most importantly, who is her father, and why did her mom leave him behind? But Pri's mom avoids these questions-the topic of India is permanently closed. For Pri, her mother's homeland can only exist in her imagination. That is, until she finds a mysterious pashmina tucked away in a forgotten suitcase. When she wraps herself in it, she is transported to a place more vivid and colorful than any guidebook or Bollywood film. But is this the real India? And what is that shadow lurking in the background? To learn the truth, Pri must travel farther than she's ever dared and find the family she never knew. Available in Softcover and Hardcover editions.

(W) Eddy Simon (A/CA) Vincent Brascaglia Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known to his schoolmates as Pel?, grew up in poverty in the Sao Paulo region of Brazil. He was too poor to afford a real soccer ball, so he played with a ball of newspaper tied together with string. Yet he dominated the youth leagues and signed his first professional soccer contract at the age of fifteen. Within two years he was celebrated internationally, when he led Brazil to victory at the world cup. Known by his fans as 'O Rei' (The King), Pel? is widely regarded as the greatest soccer player of all time. But he's more than just an athlete: he also traveled the world as goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. Pel? is the living symbol of a sport he dubbed 'the beautiful game,' a game that brings people together regardless of race or nationality. Available in Softcover and Hardcover editions.

(W/A/CA) Annable Graham From Box Trolls director Graham Annable comes an immensely charming sequel to his brilliant debut graphic novel about the endearing friendship between two sloths. When a hurricane blows away Peter and Ernesto's beloved tree, they and the rest of their sloth friends must venture into the jungle to find a new home. But the jungle is full of dangers, including angry ants, slithering snakes, and a ravenous jaguar, so the cautious Peter and confident Ernesto must work together to keep their tribe safe.

(W/A) Lisa Brown A young woman is haunted by the ghost of her conjoined twin, in this sweetly spooky graphic novel set in a turn-of-the-century sideshow. Isabel spent her life following Jane's lead. Literally-of the two conjoined twins, Jane was always the stronger one, both physically and emotionally. But when Jane dies on the operating table during a risky attempt to separate the twins, Isabel is left alone. Or is she? Soon, Jane returns, attached to Isabel from shoulder to hip just like she used to be. Except Isabel is the only person who can see Jane-a ghost, a phantom limb, a phantom twin. Against a vivid backdrop of the hardscrabble life of circus sideshow freaks at the turn of the century, Isabel's story unfolds as an unforgettable coming-of-age tale from picture book star Lisa Brown.