Thursday, May 15, 2014

How to Install Vine on Blackberry 10

vine-image-2

Vine is a tremendous guilty pleasure of many people, including myself. The app has popularized the six second looping video and has produced a number of celebrities and has earned them millions in endorsements. It is a great app to discover cute videos of cats to comedians doing their thing. Blackberry sadly does not have Vine on Blackberry World, so you have to download it from Good e-Reader instead.

Today we look at the step by step process to install Vine on your Blackberry Z10, Z30, Q5, Q10 and any future Blackberry 10 enabled phones. They all have a new firmware update that allows you to run Android apps right on the device, instead of doing anything really complicated.  Download Vine for Blackberry 10.


How to Install Vine on Blackberry 10 is a post from: Good e-Reader

How to Load Snapchat on Blackberry 10

Snapchat-flashy-features

Snapchat is one of the best apps people use for selfies or for candid photos. An entire 3rd party industry has popped up around this service that allow you to edit, add filters and see your friends. This app does not exist in Blackberry World, so you can’t install it normally on your phone. Instead, you can download it from the Good e-Reader App Store web version or download and install our client. Today, we will walk you through the exact setup to install and use Snapchat on your Blackberry Z10, Z30, Q5 or Q10.

Download Snapchat for Android


How to Load Snapchat on Blackberry 10 is a post from: Good e-Reader

New Kindle Fire HD to use MediaTek CPU

09102012-KINDLE-FIRE-HD-014edit

Amazon normally refreshes their entire product line every single year in September. The current generation HD and HDX tablets are getting a bit long in the tooth, but are still considered very viable tablets. Currently Amazon is in the hardware stage where they are deciding what processors they are going to employ in the 2014 edition of the Kindle family. We now have confirmation from many sources that Amazon is going with the Mediatek processor for their entry model Kindle Fire HD.

Amazon has employed a very interesting strategy in their last two generations of Android driven tablets. They normally release an HD version of their 7 and 8.9 models with higher specs and an entry level edition that they can appeal to people who don’t want to spend a lot. The current models Amazon sells is the Amazon Kindle HDX 7, Kindle HDX 8.9 and the entry level Kindle Fire HD. The HDX product line is currently using the Snapdragon processors, while the Kindle Fire HD uses a dual-core Texas Instructions version. In order to market a budget tablet and keep the cost down to around $129 it is important to use cost efficient components.

Amazon will be selecting China based MediaTek to power their entry level Kindle HD 7 refresh later in the year. The company successfully convinced Amazon that they are ready for prime time and used the new deal they signed with Google, for for Nexus tablet revamp as leverage. No one seems to know what the new processor will be, but there are rumors that it will be the new MT8135 quad-core that went into production late last year.

New Kindle Fire HD to use MediaTek CPU is a post from: Good e-Reader

Marvel Unlimited Adaptive Audio Review

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Marvel Unlimited is similar to Netflix, in the respect that you can subscribe for a low monthly fee and read as many comics as you want. Lately, the comic book publisher has implemented a number of new technology features in their iOS app. The most interesting enhancement is Adaptive Audio, which adds a soundtrack to a select number of comics.

Adaptive Audio is an immersive experience that goes beyond simple loops and creates a pacing of the stories, the pivotal moments in scenes and how certain characters are associated with specific sounds. You can think of it as storytelling device as opposed to just being some music that plays in the background.

There is less than a handful of comics using Adaptive Audio, mainly just a bunch of Captain America issues. There is background music in conjunction with sound effects. You can hear a character walking up the stairwell and hear the beeps of a holographic display. Villains are accompanied by ominous overtones and Captain America frames have soaring crescendos.


Marvel Unlimited Adaptive Audio Review is a post from: Good e-Reader

E-Ink Down $20 Million in Q1 2014

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E Ink Holdings, the company responsible for the vast majority of e-paper displays on the Kindle, Kobo, Nook and Sony e-readers has reported a loss of 19.96 million dollars in Q1 2014.

2013 was a year of major decline for e Ink, as they were down three of the four quarters. The managed to eek out a small profit for the holiday season due to ravenous demand for new products by Amazon.

In Q1 2014 e Ink did see revenue of 9.7 million dollars US, but it was not enough to offset operating expenses and overall loses. The company has seen weak demand for their e-Paper displays and many of the companies employing their latest tech are fairly niche products. Bookeen, Pocketbook, Onyx, Tolino and a few others placed orders for their latest generation e-readers but most are not commercially available yet. Normally Amazon, which is e Inks largest partner will not release a new unit until September. E Ink is betting on secondary screens, wearable tech and luggage tags as being an avenue of expanded growth. At the upcoming SID Display Week conference in San Diego the company intends on only revealing a single new product that I was told was quite different than any other product offering in their portfolio.

E-Ink Down $20 Million in Q1 2014 is a post from: Good e-Reader

One Direction and Justin Bieber Audiobooks Available via Bluewater

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Bluewater Productions is a comic book company best known for their biography based editions. The company has made a name for themselves writing origin stories of famous pop culture icons. Over the course of the last few weeks they have dipped their toes into the audiobook industry with three new offerings.

Female Force: Princess DianaFame: One Direction and Fame: Justin Bieber will kick off the new product line. Each audiobook is available to be purchased for $3.99 and is available via Audible, iTunes and Nook.  Bluewater is working on biographies of Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato and Taylor Swift that will be released in the next two months.

Michael Frizell the head writer of the comic books said in a statement "The stories, and legends, behind the real people featured in Bluewater titles continue to grow. In order to keep the stories timely and current, the scripts had to be expanded. Longtime readers will find something new and up-to-the-minute here, while new readers will be immersed in the topics.”

One Direction and Justin Bieber Audiobooks Available via Bluewater is a post from: Good e-Reader

Review: Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 (Video)

I decided it was way past time that I review one of Samsung’s tablets. I’ve reviewed all the major brands of tablets before, and a lot of non-major brands, so when Samsung released their latest line of Android tablets at the beginning of this month I picked up the 7-inch model. I initially wrote off […]

Cambridge Jam: focus on education

Liz: Last week’s Cambridge Raspberry Jam was one of the biggest yet. I asked the organisers, Michael Horne (whom you might know as Recantha: he has a brilliant Raspberry Pi blog, which you should check out) and Tim Richardson, whether they’d be prepared to write a guest post for us about the event. They’ve done so in spades. Thanks both!

We (Michael Horne and Tim Richardson) have been asked to write an account of the Cambridge Raspberry Jam that took place on Saturday, 10th May 2014. Thanks to Jarle TeiglandDarren Christie and Alan O'Donohoe for some of the photos and thanks to Andy Batey for arranging the streaming and recording of the talks. Think of this as a Virtual Raspberry Jam!

Introduction

This was a very special Jam. We had decided after the December 2013 event that we wanted to try and make each Jam different to the previous one. We had already introduced programming workshops for kids and planned to continue that into the February Jam. So, what could we do for the event after that to make it special, to make it unique? The answer lay in the aims of the Raspberry Pi Foundation: Education! We decided that for the May Jam we would have our focus on education; we just had to make the concept for the event fit the resources and space we had available.

Institute of Astronomy

The Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge

At our current venue, the Institute of Astronomy (above), we're fortunate to have the following available: a 180-seat lecture theatre; a large foyer; a small 30-person meeting room and a small mezzanine with a couple of levels. It would be fair to say we went through quite a few ideas before finally settling on the concept: We would turn the lecture theatre over to presentations for educators (calling it 'Focus on Education') and hold workshops in the meeting room and foyer. We would also have projects on display on the mezzanine (we call it 'Show and Tell') and a cut-down version of our normal marketplace around the edges of the foyer with a slant towards education where possible.

Preparation… or "What does it take to make Jam for 200 people?"

We've held three previous Jams at the Institute of Astronomy and have sold out each time. Normally, we sell about 180 tickets and this time we were going to be inviting educators to the party, so we knew we had to be very prepared and very organised. We simply didn't want to let anyone down, especially the teachers!

Normally we meet once every week or two for a two-hour meeting to discuss progress on the various tasks that need doing. Sometimes, we meet at the pub (if you're ever in Potton, Bedfordshire, visit The Rising Sun where we meet!) and sometimes we meet round Tim's house. We realised with an event of this size and importance that we would definitely need to meet every week in the three months after the February Jam, just to make sure that everything was done.

Rising Sun Potton

The Rising Sun, Potton – place of many-a-meeting

An idea that we had been thinking about for some time was having 'maker tables', where people could bring their kit along and experts would help them out with building them, or they could buy kits at the event and make them then and there.  We decided that this would be hard to plan for as we would not know what kits were coming and therefore who could help.  However, the idea of making things stayed with us, so we started to plan for a number of workshops instead of the usual one.

Eventually we fixed on workshops in which the Pi would detect and control the outside world: flashing LEDs (everybody likes those!), making sound, detecting temperature, light and movement, using a line follower and distance sensor, and controlling motors.  On top of that, we added in using the Raspberry Pi Camera module, Minecraft and using the Pibrella add-on board.

In the end we had nine hands-on workshops to sort out.  Yes, nine – we must have been out of our minds! Actually, make that ten, because some bright spark had the idea of running a soldering workshop throughout the day!

One of the things we wanted from the workshops was to develop a set of worksheets and kits that we could sell at close-to-cost to the people attending, which they could then take away with them. This meant ordering a lot of individual components from China and sorting them out into the kits. Tim ordered dozens of mini breadboards, hundreds of LEDs and resistors and lots and lots of sensors, along with motors, wheels and jumper cables. Which all needed to be sorted into bags. And our SD cards needed sorting out with all the software that would be required. And we also needed to find people to lead and assist in the workshops. Fortunately we'd built up an ideas-and-assistance group of about 20 people, and many of them were willing to give their time and energy to preparing the workshop material and teaching it.

Sensor man

Nice sensors, man! Just a small part of the huge amount of kit ordered for the workshops.

Meanwhile, Mike started sorting out a programme for the Focus on Education and asking people to the Show and Tell, doing a lot of the Jam & EventBrite admin and communications along the way. So, as you can tell, weekly meetings were a must!

On the day

So, there we were, and suddenly it was three months later: the 10th of May had swung around. We had even managed to find time to hold a social Jam (Potton Pi and Pints) in the meantime just to keep in touch with everyone.

At 8.30am on the morning of the 10th, we hit our first snag. Normally, we can get everything in Tim's estate car (which is, basically, a huge cavern) for the trip to Cambridge. This time, however, we had a lot more to transport: we'd bought some tables plus all the kit for the workshops meant that we just couldn't fit everything in. So, in two cars, we set out for the Institute.

The get-in for a Jam is always a bit chaotic, and damned hard work, and this time was no exception. The Institute looks very different on our arrival but, thanks to Andy Batey, (who works at the Institute, arranged the venue in the first place and is just an all-round helpful chap) we (including half-a-dozen volunteers, known as Jam Makers) manage to transform it into the configuration visitors see when they arrive. The most 'fun' task this time was to move a big marquee about 50 metres from one end of the quad to the other. Much mud was encountered!

Foyer workshop area (foreground), Marketplace (left) and Show and Tell mezzanine (top right)

Foyer workshop area (foreground), Marketplace (left) and Show and Tell mezzanine (top right)

If you want to get a feel for the day overall, Mathew and Leo have put together this brilliant video. You can even spot Tim (getting interviewed at the beginning) and Mike (with the loudhailer):

You might also want to listen to this podcast from Alan O'Donohoe which was recorded at the Jam.

Our first activity started at 11.10am and it was a Minecraft workshop led by Craig RichardsonMatt Timmons-Brown and Clare Macrae. This workshop had sold out within 1 hour of the free tickets becoming available. We'd had to cancel another workshop that we had been planning and replace it with a repeat of the Minecraft workshop, and that one sold out as well! We ended up with a waiting list big enough that we could have held another one! Minecraft is a major draw for kids.

Craig Richardson Minecraft workshop

Minecraft workshop number 1: Craig attempts the impossible by trying to reach into the big screen

Once we'd got that workshop going, it was all hands on deck to get the rest of the venue ready. Matt Manning, Andrew Scheller and Tim were our welcome team, and attempted the near-impossible task of checking tickets and ticking names off the registration list. With the teachers beginning to arrive, it got very busy, very quickly!

Mike and Tim had decided to split up so that Tim was outside managing the workshop preparations while Mike hosted the Focus on Education in the lecture theatre. We swapped halfway through the day.

Mike and Tim kicked off Focus on Education with a quick intro and then handed over to Clive Beale from the Foundation who was delivering the keynote: "Computing in Education and the new Curriculum".

After Clive, Elizabeth Crilly from STEMNET and David Whale talked about the STEM Ambassador programme and what they can do for schools.

We then had a more practical presentation from Dr Sam Aaron, the developer of Sonic Pi. Sam's a real rock star when it comes to live demos!

At the same time, in the meeting room we had a PiCamera workshop run by Jarle TeiglandMatt Manning and Andrew Schelle and in the foyer we had a beginners electronics/breadboarding workshop run by Alex EamesSway Grantham and Andrew Gale.

electronics workshop

Sway and Andrew watch over the basic electronics workshop

Back in the lecture theatre, we continued our presentation with Sophie Deen talking about Code Club and Code Club Pro (video not available) and then two live demo-style talks from Gordon Henderson (who covered FUZE and Return to BASIC):

and Darren Christie (who talked about the Pibrella and how simple it is to use):

At the same time as all of this, of course, we had our soldering workshop going on. Over 30 people took advantage of the free lessons given by Gee Bartlett (from Pimoroni) and Andrew Gale. They took place outside under a tent (so we didn't set the fire alarms inside off!). We should mention at this point that we had a lot of generosity from the community with the soldering – Gee brought a load of stuff with him, including some kits that lit up; David Whale donated an entire box of oddments; Tom Hartley donated a batch of old AirPi boards.

soldering workshop

Andrew Gale teaches Sidney the finer points of not touching the hot end

We also had our Show and Tell area in full swing. We had projects from Brian CorteilRussell BarnesRyan WalmsleyIpswich SchoolWayne KeenanStewards Academy and Zach IgielmanAlex Eames was also to be found here showing off the latest prototype of the HDMIPi.

Brian Corteil

Brian Corteil and his naughty-and-nice machine (right) and egg-dispensing Easter bunny (left)

Ipswich School kids

Kids from Ipswich School showing off their automatic greenhouse watering system

robotic arm

Joseph from Stewards Academy shows off his robotic arm controlled by his real arm

We should also mention the exhibitors in the marketplace – we had the FUZE team, a group from the Little British Robot CompanyCyntechThe Pi HutGPIO.co.uk and Seven Segments of Pi. These guys really helped to give the Foyer a buzz!

Concurrently with the talks, soldering and Show and Tell, Tim had in the meantime started off a further two sessions: temperature, light and movement sensors in the Foyer (led by Matt Manning & Clare Macrae) and our second Minecraft workshop in the meeting room (Craig Richardson and Matt Timmons-Brown again).

Matt Manning

Matt Manning holds court in the sensors workshop

It was half-time in the lecture theatre so Tim and Mike swapped. We hit a slight snag at this point because the entire lecture theatre emptied and it became a little difficult to hear in the Foyer workshop… lesson learnt for next time!

With Tim now in charge in the lecture theatre, next up was Matthew Timmons-Brown giving his talk on how to make computing exciting for kids:

In the meantime, outside we had started off another two workshops: distance sensors and line followers (a vital robotics skill) led by Zach IgielmanRyan Walmsley and Jarle Teigland in the Foyer and a Pibrella workshop in the meeting room (led by Darren Christie, our in-house Pibrella expert!).

workshop

Young and old alike getting to know distance sensors and line followers in a workshop led by Zach Igielman (standing, in the green t-shirt)

In the lecture theatre, Alan O'Donohoe was up next: Engage and Inspire the Digital Creators of Tomorrow:

… followed by Craig Richardson giving a talk on using Minecraft in the classroom:

Out in the Foyer, Ryan Walmsley started off his workshop on controlling motors with the Pi, whilst in the meeting room Phil Howard and Jim Darby began their session on creating an Arduino and programming it with the Pi (we're supporters of the school of thought that these devices can work together rather than in competition with one another!).

motor controller workshop

Ryan and Zach at the motor controller workshop, soldering workshop in the background outside

Back in the lecture theatre, Nevil Hunt talked about his invention, the Seven Segments of Pi, and how it can be used in schools:

Then, we had a talk from James Robinson from Computing at School:

And finally… we had a panel session that involved some of the Picademy graduates and was chaired by David Whale:

Then the big get-out began. This was a mammoth task at the end of a very long day. Many, many thanks to those who helped with both the get-in and, especially, the get-out. Without you guys we'd probably still be there!

All that was left to do was to drive home and… oh yeah… empty out both cars. Argh!!!

Aftermath

And so, the May Cambridge Raspberry Jam was over. It would be fair to say that neither Mike nor Tim could form a coherent sentence the next day, but it was worth it! We sent feedback forms out to attendees and, judging by the response, people were, on the whole, very happy with the way the day went. We certainly felt as though it had been a success, both in Focus on Education and in the activities in the Foyer/Meeting room.

What's next? Well, we have a fair amount of work still to do for this Jam. We need to analyse all the feedback and come up with a list of 'lessons learnt'. We also need to resort all the equipment we hurriedly packed and brought back from the Jam into the correct boxes.

And then there's the small matter of the Jam on 5th July… and possibly a Potton Pi & Pints in June!

Right then… to the pub!

If you want to find out more about the Cambridge Raspberry Jam, visit our website at http://camjam.me or come and watch some more videos on the YouTube channel.

Love YouTube videos? Wait ‘til you see our new app!

Curate the YouTube videos you love to watch with GCF Projects, our latest mobile app!

eBook Pricing: What’s Wrong with Free?

Yield graph courtesy of Smashwords.com blog

Yield graph courtesy of Smashwords.com blog


Once publishers began to truly embrace ebooks as a viable business model for their content, the next great debate became how much to price them. Numerous studies and surveys have been conducted that look for consumer behavior where price is concerned, and a few logical guidelines have come about as a result.

One thing that still riles both publishers and authors is the concept of free ebooks. When consumers think of free pricing, there is the justified concern that public perception will lean towards a negative view. After all, how good can it be if the author didn’t want money for it, right?

But a growing number of people are taking the opposite view when it comes to pricing. Authors like Hugh Howey have long been proponents of giving readers free content to read as a way to build a loyal following, citing the behavior that readers will pay for future content from a writer whose work they enjoyed. Studies by Kobo have demonstrated that readers are more likely to pay for a book or its sequel if they read content first by borrowing it through ebook lending. Even platforms like Amazon’s exclusive KDP Select lure authors with the ability to promote their books at free pricing for a limited number of days.

But in an interesting blog post on a crucial decision to not include its authors’ novels in the voter packs for this year’s Hugo awards, Orbit (an imprint of Little, Brown and Co) explained that it wasn’t good business to require their authors to give away their content for free.

"We are of course very much in favour of initiatives that help readers to engage with important awards, and we are always looking for new ways to help readers discover new authors," publisher Tim Holman wrote. "However, in the case of the voter packets, authors and rights holders are increasingly feeling that if their work is not included in the packet it will be at a disadvantage in the awards. It's difficult for anyone to know for certain whether this is the case, but either way we don't feel that authors and rights holders should feel under pressure to make their work available for free. There are a lot of different attitudes to the idea of giving work away for free, but we hope most people would agree that writers and rights holders should be able to make their own choice, without feeling that their decision might have negative consequences."

Interestingly, Orbit made that decision for three of their authors whose works were nominated for a Hugo this year, and the authors seem to have taken issue with the decision.

While some of the stigma of self-publishing has thankfully been erased, there is still a very unfortunate stigma surrounding pricing. An indie author who opts to sell an ebook at traditional industry prices may face backlash from consumers who laugh at the nerve of comparing one’s work to Big Five titles, while an NYT bestselling author who is published by a major publishing house has no ability to say that his work should be free or cheaper. Now that publishing perceptions are changing in a variety of ways, hopefully pricing and royalties attitudes will be the next shift.

eBook Pricing: What’s Wrong with Free? is a post from: Good e-Reader

Weekly eHighlights: Children’s edition

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Click here for the full list of titles!

 

Fiction

Jonathan Auxier – The Night Gardener (Ages 10 and up)
Abrams eBook

The Night Gardener follows two abandoned Irish siblings who travel to work as servants at a creepy, crumbling English manor house. BookPage: Most Anticipated Children's and Teen Books of 2014

 

Michael D. Beil – Lantern Sam and the Blue Streak Bandits (Ages 8-12)
Random House eBook

Lantern Sam is the wise-cracking, sarcastic, talking cat (for those who can hear him, that is) who lives onboard the Lake Erie Shoreliner train and is one of the best detectives no one knows about. An Amazon Best Book of the Month

 

G. M. Berrow – Rarity and the Curious Case of Charity (Ages 8-9)
Hachette Digital eBook

Rarity is excited to welcome her new apprentice, Charity, to Ponyville. Rarity is sure that the two of them will become best friends, bonding over their love of fashion and glamour.

 

Jean Craighead – Ice Whale (Ages 9-11)
Penguin Group (USA) eBook

In 1848 in Barrow, Alaska, a young Eskimo boy witnesses a rare sight—the birth of a bowhead, or ice whale, that he calls Siku. But when he unwittingly guides Yankee whalers to a pod of bowhead whales, all the whales are killed.

Read about how the late beloved author's last book was completed, thanks to her children

 

Gitty Daneshvari – Monster High: Ghoulfriends 'til the End (Ages 9-11)
Hachette Digital eBook

The ghoulfriends’ new GFF, Wydowna Spider, starts to clear the cobwebs about the mysterious threat to Monster High. The previous generation of monsters formed a secret society that seems bent on turning the school into something that’s more like a prison! 200,000 print run.

 

Kate de Goldi & Gregory O'Brien – The ACB with Honora Lee (Ages 10 and up)
Random House eBook

The story is a meditation on kindness and patience and acceptance; that of the very young and the very old. It’s a story that will resonate with echoes of recollection for many — from Perry’s endearing perspective on the adult world to the embracing kindness of those who care for the elderly.

 

Marisa de los Santos & David Teague – Saving Lucas Biggs (Ages 8-12)
HarperCollins eBook

Thirteen-year-old Margaret knows her father is innocent, but that doesn’t stop the cruel Judge Biggs from sentencing him to death. Margaret is determined to save her dad, even if it means using her family’s secret and forbidden ability to time travel. 75,000 print run.

 

Paul Durham – The Luck Uglies (Ages 8-12)
HarperCollins eBook

Strange things are happening in Village Drowning, and a terrifying encounter has eleven-year-old Rye O’Chanter convinced that the monstrous, supposedly extinct Bog Noblins have returned. 100,000 print run.

 

Tad Hills – Duck & Goose Go to the Beach (Ages 3-7)
Random House eBook

In this delightful follow-up to the New York Times bestselling Duck & Goose and Duck, Duck, Goose, Duck wants to go on an adventure. Goose doesn’t. He doesn’t see the point. After all, why would they go anywhere when they’re happy right where they are?

 

Erin Hunter – The First Battle: Warriors: Dawn of the Clans series, Book 3 (Ages 8-12)
HarperCollins eBook

The Dawn of the Clans series takes readers back to the earliest days of the Clans, when the cats first settled in the forest and began to forge the warrior code. The rivalry between Gray Wing and Clear Sky has driven a bitter wedge between all of the forest cats. 200,000 print run.

 

Wendy Mass, Michael Brawer, & Elise Gravel – Space Taxi: Archie Takes Flight (Ages 8-9)
Hachette Digital eBook

It’s not every day a regular kid like Archie gets to wake up at midnight. But today is Take Your Kid to Work Day, and Archie is finally allowed to ride along in his dad’s taxi cab.

 

James Patterson, Chris Tebbetts, Laura Park – Middle School, the Worst Years of My Life, Book 1 (Ages 8-12)
Hachette Digital eBook and Blackstone audiobook

Rafe Khatchadorian has enough problems at home without throwing his first year of middle school into the mix. Luckily, he’s got an ace plan for the best year ever, if only he can pull it off:

 

Aaron Reynolds & Jeremy Tankard – Here Comes Destructosaurus (Picture Book, Ages 3-5)
Chronicle Books eBook

Anyone who has witnessed (or been) a toddler in the throes of a full-blown fit will delight in this clever book’s moviemonster rampage, and may just come away from it with a bit more sympathy for toddler and caregiver.

 

Dianne K. Salerni & David McClellan – The Eighth Day (Ages 8-12)
HarperCollins eBook

In this riveting fantasy adventure, thirteen-year-old Jax Aubrey discovers a secret eighth day with roots tracing back to Arthurian legend.

 

Darren Shan – Zom-B Mission, Zom-B series, Book 7 (Ages 12-14)
Hachette Digital eBook

B Smith and the other Angels are relieved to finally receive their first mission – to safely escort a group of human survivors from the zombie-infested streets of London to New Kirkland, a barricaded safe haven in the country.

 

Natalie Standiford – Countdown: 39 Clues Unstoppable Series, Book 3 (Ages 8-12)
Scholastic eBook

The clock has run out for 13-year-old Dan Cahill. As head of the most powerful family the world has ever known, he and his older sister, Amy, have been in the crosshairs for too long.

 

Kiki Thorpe & Jana Christy – The Woods Beyond, Never Girls series, Book 6 (Ages 6-9)
Random House eBook

Lainey’s day is turned upside down when she’s captured by the Lost Boys while visiting Never Land! Tinker Bell and the Disney Fairies star in a magical early chapter book series for girls. 125,000 print book.

 

Marcia Wells & Marcos Calo – Eddie Red Undercover: Mystery on Museum Mile (Ages 9-11)
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt eBook

When the NYPD is stumped by a mastermind art thief, Eddie becomes their secret weapon to solve the case, drawing Eddie deeper into New York’s famous Museum Mile and closer to a dangerous criminal group known as The Picasso Gang.

 

J. A. White & Susan Duerden – The Thickety: A Path Begins (Ages 8-12)
HarperCollins eBook and audiobook

When Kara Westfall was six years old, her mother was convicted of the worst of all crimes: witchcraft. Years later, Kara and her little brother, Taff, are still shunned by the people of their village, who believe that nothing is more evil than magic. 100,000 print run.

 

Nonfiction

Animal Planet – Finding Bigfoot: Everything You Need to Know (Ages 7-12)
Macmillan eBook

Stacked with information for your burning questions, this work features a compelling narrative with commentary from the stars of the show, photographs and extras from the Animal Planet‘s archives, and so much more.

 

Samone Bos – Twister! (Ages 8-11)
Dorling Kindersley eBook

Jeremy joins his cousins in Tornado Alley for the holidays. To his surprise, he discovers they are storm chasers and has the ride of his life! There’s great excitement as they chase a twister, but what happens when the twister turns to chase them?

 

Britannica Educational – Greek Gods & Goddesses (Ages 12 and up)
Also Roman Gods & Goddesses, and Egyptian Gods & Goddesses
Encyclopaedia Britannica eBook

Readers will be introduced to the many figures once believed to populate Mount Olympus as well as related concepts and facts about the Greek mythological tradition.

 

Renata Fossen Brown – Gardening Lab for Kids (Ages 5-12)
Quayside Publishing Group eBook

This fun and creative book features 52 plant-related activities set into weekly lessons, beginning with learning to read maps to find your heat zone, moving through seeds, soil, composting, and then creating garden art and appreciating your natural surroundings.

 

Catherine Chambers – Clash of the Gladiators (Ages 8-11)
Dorling Kindersley eBook

In Clash of the Gladiators, join DK Adventures’ exclusive SLIP club (Secret Living In the Past)—a group of young history buffs who belong to a top-secret club that allows them to travel throughout history to any time, any place, through a phone app.

 

Barry Denenberg – Nelson Mandela: "No Easy Walk to Freedom" (Ages 8-12)
Scholastic eBook

From his humble beginnings in rural South Africa to his tragic death at age 95 in 2013, Nelson Mandela’s life is a tale of inspiration and courage. The most up-to-date biography of Nelson Mandela.

 

Deborah Hopkinson – Titanic: Voices from the Disaster (Ages 8 and up)
Scholastic eBook

Critically acclaimed nonfiction author Deborah Hopkinson pieces together the story of the TITANIC and that fateful April night, drawing on the voices of survivors and archival photographs.

 

Amanda Kingloff – Project Kid: 100 Ingenious Crafts for Family Fun (Ages 6 and up)
Workman Publishing eBook

Perfect for crafty parents who are eager to get their kids excited about DIY. PW starred review.

 

Don Mitchell – The Freedom Summer Murders (Ages 12 and up)
Scholastic eBook

To coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Summer murders, this will be the first book for young adults to explore the harrowing true story of three civil rights workers slain by the KKK. Kirkus starred review.

 

Ann Whitehead Nagda & Cindy Bickel – Tiger Math: Learning to Graph from a Baby Tiger (Ages 7-10)
Also: Polar Bear Math: Learning about Fractions from Klondike and Snow, and Panda Math: Learning Subtraction from Hua Mei and Mei Sheng, and Cheetah Math: Learning About Division from Baby Cheetahs
Macmillan eBook

Learn to graph while following the growth of T.J., an orphaned Siberian tiger cub who is hand-raised at the Denver Zoo.

 

Marcel Prins, Peer Henk Steenhuis, & Laura Watkinson – Hidden Like Anne Frank (Ages 12 and up)
Scholastic eBook

Jaap Sitters was only eight years old when his mother cut the yellow stars off his clothes and sent him, alone, on a fifteen-mile walk to hide with relatives.

 

R. Kent Rasmussen – World War I for Kids: A History with 21 Activities (Ages 9 and up)
Chicago Review Press (IPG)

In time for the 2014 centennial of the start of the Great War, this activity book provides an intriguing and comprehensive look at World War I.

 

Lorna Robinson & Soham De – Telling Tales in Latin: A New Latin Course and Storybook for Children (Ages 9-12)
Souvenir Press (IPG) eBook

Narrated by the chatty and imaginative Roman poet Ovid, this new course takes young learners on a journey through some of the tales from Ovid's Metamorphoses

 

Charles J. Shields – I Am Scout: the Biography of Harper Lee (Ages 12 and up)
Macmillan eBook

Charles J. Shields is the author of the New York Times bestseller Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee, which he has adapted here for younger readers.

 

Becky Thomas & Monica Sweeney – Loom Magic Creatures! (Ages 5 and up)
Sky Pony Press (Perseus) eBook

According to the New York Times, Rainbow Looms are the hottest trend on the market, and it is continuously growing in popularity.

 

*Geographical rights may vary by title.