26 April 1986

01:18

Alina & Lev are two siblings living in Pripyat, one of the Soviet Union's proud nuclear cities. Both are asleep in their beds.

Their cousin, Yuri, is a custodian at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, where he's fiercely attacking a spill in the hallway with a mop.

Alina's best friend, Sofiya, sleeps just a few doors down. Her father is an engineer at the plant, a fact that has always filled her with pride.

In five minutes, Reactor No. 4 will explode in a ball of fire. It will expel radiation across their town for nine days before it's finally contained. For the people of Pripyat, it will be far too late.

Two young siblings flee the Chernobyl disaster with their parents, but the Communist party is on their heels. Meanwhile, the friends and family they were forced to leave behind must contend with a disinformation campaign that's determined to pretend nothing is wrong-even as deadly radiation spills into the air.

Emily Elizabeth is struggling to fit in at home and in school when she meets Clifford, a tiny red puppy who is destined to become her best friend. But when Clifford undergoes a magical growth spurt overnight, he attracts the attention of a genetics company looking for a way to supersize animals.

With the help of her Uncle Casey, the people in her neighborhood, and some new friends made along the way, Emily Elizabeth and Clifford have to go on the run across New York City!

This graphic novel adaptation features original illustrations and exclusive new scenes and stories not seen in the movie.

Dinky woke one weekend with wonder in her eyes.

Today her daddy, Wonky, promised such a big surprise...

Another sequel to the viral sensation, The Wonky Donkey, is here! Join the world's #1 bestselling family of laughable and lovable donkeys in a wild, wonky, and wonderful guessing game.

Brought to life by Craig Smith's signature playful verses and Katz Cowley's charming illustrations, Wonky Donkey's Big Surprise is laugh-out-loud fun.

Friendship? Just add science . . .

LB messed up. Even though her best friend, Kat, says she's forgiven her for that whole using-science-to-make-herself-popular thing, things are still pretty weird between them. Then the bully from their old school, Courtenay, shows up -- pretending to be nice! Worst of all, Kat seems to . . . like Courtenay? Just when she thought things were getting back to normal, LB's friendships are more confusing than ever!

She needs a new hypothesis, and fast, to revamp her relationship with Kat before Courtenay can ruin everything again. Sure, LB has never seen a superhero movie or drawn a comic, and LB has definitely never done roller derby before -- but if Kat likes those things, why not try? As she steps out of her comfort zone and into Kat's, LB discovers a world of new adventures. Maybe her first experiment started this mess, but her second plan is sure to fix it! Will her two wrongs make a right?

Twelve-year-old Grace is desperate for a puppy. All she wants is someone to love -- and to love her back. Someone who won't disappear on her like her dad did. Someone who'll make her new stepfather's house feel like home.

Christmas morning, Grace springs out of bed hopeful that her dreams are about to come true. But the present that awaits her isn't soft and furry. It doesn't have padded paws. And instead of a dark, wet nose, there's a flat, pink nose instead. It's not a puppy at all -- it's a PIG.

Grace tries to make the best of the situation. She names the pig Bernard and dutifully learns how to care for him. But spending time with him is nothing like being with a dog. Bernard is awful at playing fetch and walking on a leash -- in fact, he's all around terrible at doing the things Grace dreamed of doing with a pet. But when a good friend lands in the hospital, Grace discovers that Bernard might have a special talent for making sick people feel better and that his calling might be as a certified therapy animal.

Grace loves the idea of visiting patients with Bernard and bringing a smile to their faces during an otherwise tough time. But can Grace convince her skeptical family to get on board? Or will she and Bernard both end up out in the cold?

When fear reigns supreme, only hope can save the Clans.

The impostor’s reign of terror has brought the Clans to the brink of destruction, and now, every warrior—living and dead—must unite to defeat him before he delivers his final blow. To ensure their future and protect their past, StarClan, the Dark Forest, and all five Clans must band together to turn back the tide of darkness—before the impostor’s fury destroys them all.

Packed with action and intrigue, this sixth Warriors series unfolds after the events of A Vision of Shadows.

Perfect for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, T.H. White’s The Sword in the Stone, Christopher Paolini’s Eragon series, and George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire series.

Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl's castle.

To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there's far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye.

In this giant jigsaw puzzle of a fantasy, people and things are never quite what they seem. Destinies are intertwined, identities exchanged, lovers confused. The Witch has placed a spell on Howl. Does the clue to breaking it lie in a famous poem? And what will happen to Sophie Hatter when she enters Howl's castle?

All fans of classic fantasy books deserve the pleasure of reading those by Diana Wynne Jones, whose acclaim included the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. As Neil Gaiman stated, she was "quite simply the best writer for children of her generation."

The three books in the World of Howl are:

• Howl's Moving Castle
• Castle in the Air
• House of Many Ways

Other beloved series from Dianna Wynne Jones include the Chronicles of Chrestomanci and the Dalemark Quartet.

From the moment Mary Poppins arrives at Number Seventeen Cherry-Tree Lane, everyday life at the Banks house is forever changed.
   It all starts when Mary Poppins is blown by the east wind onto the doorstep of the Banks house. She becomes a most unusual nanny to Jane, Michael, and the twins. Who else but Mary Poppins can slide up banisters, pull an entire armchair out of an empty carpetbag, and make a dose of medicine taste like delicious lime-juice cordial? A day with Mary Poppins is a day of magic and make-believe come to life!

This is a STEM book and more! An inspiring, inclusive, whimsical way to learn about computers and technology from real-life trailblazers.

Read the book, download hands-on activities, follow learning resources. Visit the website www.arastarengineer.com for more. 

 Ara is a young girl who loves BIG numbers. She wants to count all the stars in the sky… but how? This is an upbeat adventure of Ara and her sidekick droid, DeeDee (“Beep!”). They use smarts and grit to solve a BIG problem and discover an amazing algorithm! A quest that takes them through a whirlwind of intriguing locations at Innovation Plex -- Data Centre, Ideas Lab, Coding Pods, and X-Space. Along the way, they encounter real-life women tech trailblazers of diverse backgrounds, including a Tenacious Troubleshooter, an Intrepid Innovator, a Code Commander, and a Prolific Problem Solver. They tinker-and-tailor, build-and-fail, launch-and-iterate, and in the end discover an amazing algorithm of success -- coding, courage, creativity, and collaboration (“Beeeeep!”).

Ara is making a splash with industry CEOs and best-selling kids authors.

“‘If she can see it, she can be it.’ With this story, girls can see leaders and be inspired to become one. A book for all ages and genders!” - Geena Davis, Founder and Chair, Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media 

This edition of Margot Lee Shetterly’s acclaimed book is perfect for young readers. It's the powerful story of four African-American female mathematicians at NASA who helped achieve some of the greatest moments in our space program. 

Before John Glenn orbited the earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as “human computers” used pencils, slide rules, and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space.

This book brings to life the stories of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden, who lived through the Civil Rights era, the Space Race, the Cold War, and the movement for gender equality, and whose work forever changed the face of NASA and the country.

“Emerson's writing explodes off the page in this irresistible space adventure, filled with startling plot twists, diabolical aliens, and (my favorite!) courageous young heroes faced with an impossible task.” —Lisa McMann, New York Times bestselling author of the Unwanteds series

It is Earth year 2213—but, of course, there is no Earth anymore. Not since it was burned to a cinder by the sun, which has mysteriously begun the process of going supernova. The human race has fled to Mars, but this was only a temporary solution while we have prepared for a second trip: a one-hundred-fifty-year journey to a distant star, our best guess at where we might find a new home.

Liam Saunders-Chang is one of the last humans left on Mars. The son of two scientists who have been racing against time to create technology vital to humanity’s survival, Liam, along with his friend Phoebe, will be on the last starliner to depart before Mars, like Earth before it, is destroyed.

Or so he thinks. Because before this day is over, Liam and Phoebe will make a series of profound discoveries about the nature of time and space and find out that the human race is just one of many in our universe locked in a dangerous struggle for survival.