Celebrate reading, Scott Foresman

Returning a library book is easy. Unless the book in question is a rare, valuable, very overdue library book. And it must be retumed to the famed library at Bel-Saaba in the North African country' of Jedera. And it's in the hands of Vesper Holly. Who's guaranteed to turn any seemingly simple errand into an exciting adventure. Adventure it is! Feuding desert tribes, rough terrain, slave traders, and a biting camel all threaten Vesper as she leads a caravan toward the library. But the biggest threat of all is the evil Dr. Helvitius, who awaits Vesper in Bel-Saaba. Can Vesper stop the fiendish plot he's hatching and triumph over her archrival?

A boy discovers that he doesn't have to feel personally responsible for his uncle's drowning.

An American Library Association's Notable Children's Books of 1982, this story weaves a fantasy quest with elements of Chinese mythology. Princess Shimmer is a dragon without a home after Civet, a sorceress, imprisoned Shimmer's sea home in a jewel. Shimmer is on a quest to get it back and to restore her home to its former glory. While tracking Civet, Shimmer meets up with Thorn, a young boy, and the two become friends as they both seek to right Civet's past theft.

Vicki and her best friend fear that their sixth grade project, carrying around five-pound bags of sugar to learn about parental responsibility, will make them look ridiculous in the eyes of the seventh grade boy they both love.