Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2018 Showcase and Giveaway

Beyond the people I work with and the people this blog has led me to get to know, by far the best aspect of blogging for TLT is the constant influx of books. All of the books I get end up going back out the door in some fashion—to teen readers I know, to classroom libraries of friends, to my own school, my kid’s school, or in giveaways. I can’t read/review every book I get, but it’s fun to be able to sift through boxes and see what grabs my attention, and to see what books will find loving new homes with the right reader.

Today I’m sharing with you titles from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All annotations are from the publisher.

I’m also doing a giveaway for some of these ARCs. Enter via the Rafflecopter between May 15th and May 20th. One winner will win 3 books. U.S. only!

The Gift of Dark Hollow by Kieran Larwood, David Wyatt (ISBN-13: 9781328696014 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publication date: 08/07/2018)

Book two in the series that is Redwall meets Watership Down continues the stirring adventure of the young rabbit Podkin One-Ear as he battles to save his land from the evil Gorm tribe. The Longburrow series is Middle Earth for middle graders!

The Race to Chimney Rock by Jesse Wiley (ISBN-13: 9781328549969 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publication date: 09/04/2018)

Go west, young pioneer–your journey begins here! In this first leg of your trek on the Oregon Trail, you need to find your way to Chimney Rock–but not without unpredictable challenges ahead. This is the first installment of four books that will take you all the way to Oregon Territory–if you make the right choices.

In book one of this exciting choose-your-own-adventure series, it’s 1850 and your first goal is to get your family, covered wagon full of supplies, and oxen to Chimney Rock on time. But hurry–you’ll need to make it through the rugged mountains before winter snow hits. Plus, there are wild animals, natural disasters, unpredictable weather, fast-flowing rivers, strangers, and sickness that will be sure to stand between you and your destination!
Which path will get you safely across the prairie? With twenty-two possible endings, choose wrong and you’ll never make it to Chimney Rock on time. Choose right and blaze a trail that gets you closer to Oregon City!

Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist by Sylvia Acevedo (ISBN-13: 9781328809568 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publication date: 09/04/2018)

The inspiring memoir for young readers about a Latina rocket scientist whose early life was transformed by joining the Girl Scouts and who currently serves as CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA.

A meningitis outbreak in their underprivileged neighborhood left Sylvia Acevedo’s family forever altered. As she struggled in the aftermath of loss, young Sylvia’s life transformed when she joined the Brownies. The Girl Scouts taught her how to take control of her world and nourished her love of numbers and science.
With new confidence, Sylvia navigated shifting cultural expectations at school and at home, forging her own trail to become one of the first Latinx to graduate with a master’s in engineering from Stanford University and going on to become a rocket scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Simultaneously available in Spanish!

The Girl in the Locked Room: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn (ISBN-13: 9781328850928 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publication date: 09/04/2018)

Ghost story master Mary Downing Hahn unrolls the suspenseful, spine-chilling yarn of a girl imprisoned for more than a century, the terrifying events that put her there, and a friendship that crosses the boundary between past and present.

A family moves into an old, abandoned house. Jules’s parents love the house, but Jules is frightened and feels a sense of foreboding. When she sees a pale face in an upstairs window, though, she can’t stop wondering about the eerie presence on the top floor—in a room with a locked door. Could it be someone who lived in the house a century earlier?

Her fear replaced by fascination, Jules is determined to make contact with the mysterious figure and help unlock the door. Past and present intersect as she and her ghostly friend discover—and change—the fate of the family who lived in the house all those many years ago.

Mary Shelley: The Strange True Tale of Frankenstein’s Creator by Catherine Reef (ISBN-13: 9781328740052 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publication date: 09/18/2018)

On the 200th anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein, comes a riveting biography of its author, Mary Shelley, whose life reads like a dark gothic novel, filled with scandal, death, drama, and one of the strangest love stories in literary history. 

The story of Frankenstein’s creator is a strange, romantic, and tragic one, as deeply compelling as the novel itself. Mary ran away to Lake Geneva with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley when she was just sixteen. It was there, during a cold and wet summer, that she first imagined her story about a mad scientist who brought a corpse back to life. Success soon followed for Mary, but also great tragedy and misfortune.
Catherine Reef brings this passionate woman, brilliant writer, and forgotten feminist into crisp focus, detailing a life that was remarkable both before and after the publication of her iconic masterpiece. Includes index.

Bluecrowne: A Greenglass House Story by Kate Milford (ISBN-13: 9781328466884 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publication date: 10/02/2018)

Return to the world of the bestselling Greenglass House, where smugglers, magic, and pyrotechnics mix, in a new adventure from a New York Times best-selling, National Book Award–nominated, and Edgar Award–winning author.

Lucy Bluecrowne is beginning a new life ashore with her stepmother and half brother, though she’s certain the only place she’ll ever belong is with her father on a ship of war as part of the crew. She doesn’t care that living in a house is safer and the proper place for a twelve-year-old girl; it’s boring. But then two nefarious strangers identify her little brother as the pyrotechnical prodigy they need to enact an evil plan, and it will take all Lucy’s fighting instincts to keep her family together.

Set in the magical Greenglass House world, this action-packed tale of the house’s first inhabitants reveals the origins of some of its many secrets.

West by Edith Pattou (ISBN-13: 9781328773937 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publication date: 10/23/2018)

In the sequel to the beloved high fantasy East, Rose sets off on a perilous journey to find her true love when he goes missing in a thrilling tale of danger, magic, adventure, and revenge.

When Rose first met Charles, he was trapped in the form of a white bear. To rescue him, Rose traveled to the land that lay east of the sun and west of the moon to defeat the evil Troll Queen. Now Rose has found her happily-ever-after with Charles—until a sudden storm destroys his ship and he is presumed dead. But Rose doesn’t believe the shipwreck was an act of nature, nor does she believe Charles is truly dead. Something much more sinister is at work. With mysterious and unstoppable forces threatening the lives of the people she loves, Rose must once again set off on a perilous journey. And this time, the fate of the entire world is at stake.

Sweet Senior Pups (True Tales of Rescue) by Kama Einhorn (ISBN-13: 978-1328767035 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publication date: 11/20/2018)

Photo-packed series explores the stories and science behind animal sanctuaries. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Visit the Senior Dog Sanctuary of Maryland to meet three very special old dogs—Mino, Buffy, and Jack—who are ready and waiting to make new families very happy. Includes full-color photos, maps, and graphics throughout.

At many animal shelters, older pets are often overlooked in favor of puppies and kittens. But you’ll find only dogs over the age of six at the Senior Dog Sanctuary of Maryland. Mino, Jack, and Buffy are three dog roommates at the SDS, each having a unique personality but all of them in need of a new home. For every dog at SDS, the road to release is a different one but always features rescue, recovery, rehabilitation, and ultimately release. Join Mino as he shares stories about Buffy, Jack, and the SDS staff they get ready for their forever families. Other books in the photo-packed Sanctuary Stories series include Welcome, Wombat.

Welcome, Wombat (True Tales of Rescue) by Kama Einhorn (ISBN-13: 978-1328767028 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publication date: 11/20/2018)

Photo-packed series explores the stories and science behind animal sanctuaries. An up-close look at what life is like at a real wombat sanctuary in Australia—straight from a wombat herself in a nonfiction chapter book for elementary-aged readers. Includes full-color photos, graphics, and maps.

When a new baby wombat shows up at Sleepy Burrows Sanctuary in Australia, Chance, the veteran wombat, is excited to show the new gal the ropes. Before any animal can be successfully released, many things have to happen. After rescue comes recovery, then rehabilitation, and finally, release. Those are animal-sanctuary tenets—an animal will remain safe until release or until it dies. For Chance and the new wombat, Panzer, this means learning how to find food, dig, and find a lifelong companion. Readers will love Chance, Panzer, and the crew of wombats. Other books in the photo-packed Sanctuary Stories series include Sweet Senior Pups.

Beavers by Rachel Poliquin (ISBN-13: 9780544949874 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publication date: 12/04/2018)

Beavers, the first book in the new middle-grade nonfiction Superhero Field Guide series is a look at the most unsuspecting of animal heroes.

Meet Elmer, an ordinary beaver. He may not be as mighty as a lion or as dangerous as a shark. He may be squat and brown. But never underestimate a beaver.

I can almost hear you saying, “But aren’t beavers just lumpy rodents with buck teeth and funny flat tails?”

Yes, they are! And believe it or not, those buck teeth and funny flat tails are just a few of the things that make beavers extraordinary.

Click by Kayla Miller (ISBN-13: 978-1328911124 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publication date: 01/09/2019)

A debut graphic novel about friendship and finding where you “click” in school.

Olive wants to get in on the act . . .
. . . Any act!

Olive “clicks” with everyone in the fifth grade—until one day she doesn’t. When a school variety show leaves Olive stranded without an act to join, she begins to panic, wondering why all her friends have already formed their own groups . . . without her. With the performance drawing closer by the minute, will Olive be able to find her own place in the show before the curtain comes up?

Author-illustrator Kayla Miller has woven together a heartfelt and insightful story about navigating friendships, leaning on family, and learning to take the stage in the most important role of all.

Bad Babysitters by Caroline Cala (ISBN-13: 978-1328850898 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publication date: 02/05/2019)

A funny new middle grade series about three 12-year-old best friends who start a babysitting club in their small California town. Perfect for fans of series like Whatever After and the Dork Diaries.

Once upon a time, a girl named Kristy Thomas had a great idea: to form The Baby-Sitters Club with her best friends. And now twelve-year-old Malia Twiggs has had a great idea too. Technically, she had Kristy’s idea. (And technically, little kids seem gross and annoying, but a paycheck is a paycheck). After a little convincing, Malia and her friends Dot and Bree start a babysitting club to earn funds for an epic birthday bash. But babysitting definitely isn’t what they thought it would be.

Three friends. No parents. Unlimited snacks. And, okay, occasionally watching other people’s children. What could possibly go wrong?

The Owls Have Come to Take Us Away by Ronald L. Smith (ISBN-13: 978-1-328-52689-2 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publication date: 02/19/2019)

In this delightfully creepy novel from Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award winner Ronald L. Smith, twelve-year-old Simon thinks he was abducted by aliens. But is it real, or just his over-active imagination? Perfect for fans of Mary Downing Hahn and Louis Sachar.

Twelve-year-old Simon is obsessed with aliens. The ones who take people and do experiments. When he’s too worried about them to sleep, he listens to the owls hoot outside. Owls that have the same eyes as aliens—dark and foreboding.

Then something strange happens on a camping trip, and Simon begins to suspect he’s been abducted. But is it real, or just the overactive imagination of a kid who loves fantasy and role-playing games and is the target of bullies and his father’s scorn?

Even readers who don’t believe in UFOs will relate to the universal kid feeling of not being taken seriously by adults that deepens this deliciously scary tale.

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