If April showers bring May flowers – that must mean March has some great new book releases.

MASTER OF MIRRORS (Magic Repair Shop) – Amanda Marrone (Author), Maggie has discovered a kobold—a creature similar to a house brownie but with an evil bent. Her grandfather trapped a particular kobold thirty years ago to keep it away from Maggie’s father, but the creature has escaped and is out to punish Maggie’s family. Narrowly escaping the creature in her house, Maggie and Hasenpfeffer head to Mr. McGuire’s Magic Repair Shop to repair the spell and end up in a tricky spot thanks to Milo the Magnificent. Milo may still be trapped in the magice mirror, but he’s trying to get out, and in the kobold he may have found someone to help him–even if that includes kidnapping Fiona and Mr. McGuire! Can Maggie foil Milo’s plans, stop the kobold, rescue her friends, and escape the mirror maze? Or will she be stuck inside forever?

YOUR FRIEND IN FASHION, AMY SHAPIRO – Amy Axelrod (Author), The lightbulb of good ideas is burning bright for eleven-year-old Abby Shapiro. As personal fashion designer for Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy, Possible Future First Lady of the United States, she ll become famous and earn enough money to buy both a Barbie doll and a bra. Abby decides to get in touch immediately. In her letters to Jackie, she shares her wry, insightful observations along with her drawings and fashion tips. The letters help Abby through a tumultuous year in which her father abandons the family, her gangster uncle falls in love, her beloved aunt suffers a stroke, and her relationship with her mother goes from bad to worse. This book is based in part on the author s childhood and is illustrated with paper dolls she made when she was Abby s age.

SCORPIA RISING: AN ALEX RIDER MISSION (An Alex Rider Novel) – Anthony Horowitz (Author), Scorpia has dogged Alex Rider for most of his life. They killed his parents, they did their best to con Alex into turning traitor, and they just keep coming back with more power. Now the world’s most dangerous terrorist organization is playing with fire in the world’s most combustible land: the Middle East. No one knows Scorpia like Alex. And no one knows how best to get to Alex like Scorpia. Until now.

A WORLD WITHOUT HEROES (Beyonders) – Brandon Mull (Author), The first book in a new series (Beyonders), A World Without Heroes is an addictive blend of fantasy, humor, and heroic quest. Jason is an ordinary 13-year-old involuntarily transported to Lyrian, a world ruled by the evil wizard Maldor. Jason stumbles across a book bound with human skin and learns of a secret word with the power to unmake Maldor–knowledge that puts Jason in grave danger. Galloran, a blind king who once searched for the word himself, introduces Jason to Rachel, another Beyonder (as people from Earth are called) who had appeared in Lyrian at the same time. Jason and Rachel set out to retrieve the word, and the resulting pages are filled with adventure, drama, loyalty and betrayal

DRAGONBREATH: LAIR OF THE BAT MONSTER – Ursula Vernon (Author), Danny Dragonbreath is hoping to see lots of cool bats when he and his best friend, Wendell, visit Danny’s cousin, a bat specialist in Mexico. But he isn’t expecting to get up close and personal with a giant bat monster, who kidnaps Danny and carries him off to her lair! Now nerdy Wendell will finally get a chance to be a hero . . . but only if he can hunt down the bat monster before she permanently adopts Danny as her bat monster baby.

LIAR, LIAR: THE THEORY, PRACTICE AND DESTRUCTIVE PROPERTIES OF DECEPTION – Gary Paulsen (Author), Kevin doesn’t mean to make trouble when he lies. He’s just really good at it, and it makes life so much easier. But as his lies pile up, he finds himself in big—and funny—trouble with his friends, family, and teachers. He’s got to find a way to end his lying streak—forever.

HOTHEAD – Cal Ripken Jr. (Author), Kevin Cowheard (Author), Connor Sullivan is an All-Star third baseman on his Babe Ruth League team, the Orioles. He can hit and field with the best of them, but he’s got one big problem: his temper. When he strikes out or makes an error, he’s a walking Mt. Vesuvius, slamming batting helmets and throwing gloves. His teammates are starting to avoid him, even his best friend Jason. His coach is ready to kick him off the team.

THE INCORRIGIBLE CHILDREN OF ASHTON PLACE: BOOK II: The Hidden Gallery – Maryrose Wood (Author),  Jon Klassen (Illustrator), the Ashton household is on the move to London, where Lady Ashton hopes she will be the belle of British society, and Penelope looks forward to civilizing the Incorrigibles further with trips to the theater and museums. But the undercurrent of – something wicked this way comes – and the signs of impending trouble for both governess and charges make the air here thick with (dreadful!) possibilities.

13 PLANETS: THE LATEST VIEW OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM – David A. Aquilar (Author) First, Pluto left. Then it came back, along with Ceres and Eris…and now Haumea and MakeMake, too! The recent actions of the International Astronomical Union have put every solar system book out of date. In response, National Geographic joins forces with David Aguilar of the Harvard Smithsonian Astronomical Observatory to revise our 2008 book—and to update young readers on the high-interest topic of space. Using simple text and spectacular photorealistic computer art by the author, this book profiles all 13 planets in their newly created categories—plus the sun, the Oort Cloud, comets, and other worlds being discovered. Back-of-the-book activities offer hands-on fun for budding astronomers.

SMALL AS AN ELEPHANT – Jennifer Jacobson (Author), Ever since Jack can remember, his mom has been unpredictable, sometimes loving and fun, other times caught in a whirlwind of energy and “spinning” wildly until it’s over. But Jack never thought his mom would take off during the night and leave him at a campground in Acadia National Park, with no way to reach her and barely enough money for food. Any other kid would report his mom gone, but Jack knows by now that he needs to figure things out for himself – starting with how to get from the backwoods of Maine to his home in Boston before Social Services catches on. With nothing but a small toy elephant to keep him company, Jack begins the long journey south, a journey that will test his wits and his loyalties – and his trust that he may be part of a larger herd after all.

THE ADVENTURE AT SIMBA HILL (A Kari and Lucas Mystery) – Susan Runholt, Best friends Kari and Lucas are thrilled to go on safari in Africa. They’re fascinated by the lions, giraffes, and zebras. Even more intriguing to Kari is the cave where her uncle and other archaeologists have discovered artwork from thousands of years ago. But when some of the ancient artifacts are stolen, Kari and Lucas are thrust into an art mystery as compelling as any they’ve faced before-only, surrounded by wild animals, far more dangerous.

FANTASY BASEBALL – Alan Gratz (Author), Alex Metcalf must be dreaming. What else would explain why he’s playing baseball for the Oz Cyclones, with Dorothy as his captain, in the Ever After Baseball Tournament? But Alex isn’t dreaming, he’s just from the real world. And winning the tournament might be his only chance to get back there, because the champions get a wish granted by the Wizard. Too bad Ever After’s most notorious criminal, the Big Bad Wolf, is also after the wishes. Anyone who gets in his way gets eaten. Watch out, Alex!

CALVIN COCONUT: HERO OF HAWAII – Graham Salisbury (Author), Jacqueline Rogers (Illustrator), Hawaii boy Calvin Coconut has come up with the best idea ever for his sister Darci’s birthday party. But a huge tropical storm hits the islands and threatens everything. It rains and rains. And rains. The river next to Calvin’s house rises high. When Calvin’s friend Willy falls into the raging water, Calvin grabs his skiff to save him. As Willy is swept into the bay, Calvin struggles in the wild waves. What happens next shows Calvin what heroes are made of.

DOGTAG SUMMER – Elizabeth Partridge (Author), Twelve-year-old Tracy-or Tuyet-has always felt different. The villagers in Vietnam called her con-lai, or “half-breed,” because her father was an American GI. And she doesn’t fit in with her adoptive family in California, either. But when Tracy and a friend discover a soldier’s dogtag hidden among her father’s things, it sets her past and her present on a collision course. Where should her broken heart come to rest? In a time and place she remembers only in her dreams? Or among the people she now calls family? Partridge’s sensitive portrayal of a girl and her family grappling with the complicated legacy of war is as timely today as the events were decades ago.

CHEESIE MACK IS NOT A GENIUS OR ANYTHING – Steve Cotler (Author), Adam Mccauley (Illustrator), Ronald “Cheesie” Mack is not a genius or anything, but he remembers everything that happened before, during, and after fifth-grade graduation, and he’s written it all down in his own unique and hilarious way—with lots of lists, drawings, and splenderful (that’s splendid plus wonderful!) made-up words.

THE TROUBLE WITH CHICKENS: A J.J. Tully Mystery – Doreen Cronin (Author), Kevin Cornell (Illustrator), Retired search-and-rescue dog J.J. Tully is enjoying the simple life on a farm when his world is turned upside down by an annoying hen, Moosh, and her two equally obnoxious chicks, Dirt and Sugar, who hound him to help locate Poppy and Sweetie. They fear that the missing chicks have been kidnapped and are being held hostage inside the house where ferocious Vince the Funnel-an aptly named canine-lives.

POSSUM SUMMER – Jen Blom (Author), Omar Rayyan (Illustrator), Possum Summer is an uplifting novel about a girl and her father whose fractious relationship is healed by the hard lessons they learn about love and letting go. Eleven-year-old P (short for Princess) longs for a pet, but her father insists that all animals on their Oklahoma farm earn their keep. While he’s away on combat duty, P rescues an orphaned opossum that she names Ike. When her father is injured and her world falls down around her ears, P knows she must find it in herself to betray Ike’s trust and force him to survive in the wild – no matter how much it kills her to do it.

STORM RUNNERS (Storm Runners – Trilogy) – Roland Smith (Author) Chase Masters and his father are “storm runners,” racing across the country in pursuit of hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. Anywhere bad weather strikes, they are not far behind. Chase is learning more on the road than he ever would just sitting in a classroom. But when the hurricane of the century hits, he will be tested in ways he never could have imagined.

SUDDENLY IN THE DEPTHS OF THE FOREST – Amos Oz (Author), In a gray and gloomy village, all of the animals—from dogs and cats to fish and snails—disappeared years before. No one talks about it and no one knows why, though everyone agrees that the village has been cursed. But when two children see a fish—a tiny one and just for a second—they become determined to unravel the mystery of where the animals have gone. And so they travel into the depths of the forest with that mission in mind, terrified and hopeful about what they may encounter. 

EYEWITNESS CIVIL WAR – John Stanchak (Author), The most trusted nonfiction series on the market, Eyewitness Books provide an in-depth, comprehensive look at their subjects with a unique integration of words and pictures.

AMELIA’S BFF – Marissa Moss (Author, Illustrator), Amelia is so excited that Nadia, her BFF from back in California is coming to visit. She’s sure that Nadia and Carly, her BFF in Oregon are going to really hit it off and they’ll have a great week together. Trouble is Nadia and Carly can’t stand each other and Amelia is trapped in the middle. When your two best friends are warring how do you choose sides? Who’s her real BFF now?