In the middle grade (MG) space, Amber loves to tell stories that are full of heart and imagination. Her debut MG novel, Code Name: Serendipity will be released in January of 2022 from Razorbill Books/Penguin Random House. Inspired in part by her own love of animals and a life spent rescuing them, Code Name tells the heartwarming story of family, friendship, and the special connection between a girl and her dog.

Amber grew up in Buffalo, New York and now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her wife and their ever-growing family of rescued dogs and cats. Fueled by a lifelong passion for the arts, story, and creative expression, Amber graduated from art school with a BFA in Painting and went on to earn her master’s degree in Art History. When she’s not writing she’s usually reading, but can also be found in her studio making art or freelancing as an editorial consultant. She has also written on the topics of art history and modern and contemporary art.

Fans of Katherine Applegate, Holly Goldberg Sloan, and Lynda Mullaly Hunt will love New York Times bestselling author Amber Smith’s heartwarming middle grade debut about family, friendship, and the special connection between a girl and her dog.

Eleven-year-old Sadie’s school year is off to an awful start. Her best (and only) friend moved away, her older brother is a jerk (as always), and her beloved Gramps is having more and more trouble keeping his memories straight. But when she comes across a stray dog, she discovers something wonderful and magical—she and the dog, Dewey, are able to communicate telepathically. Sadie knows that Dewey is destined to be her friend.

Dewey is quickly captured and sent to a shelter. And Sadie’s moms say Dewey is dangerous, a bite risk, and that Sadie, whose mind is always wandering with a larger than life imagination, needs to prove she’s more responsible before she can adopt any pets. But Sadie is running out of time—Dewey lets Sadie know that her days at the shelter are numbered.

The only solution: break Dewey out of doggie jail.

In this reaffirming, magical, and uplifting story of friendship, family, and believing in yourself, New York Times bestselling author Amber Smith assures the reader: it’s okay to think big and act with your whole heart.

Dog Man meets SpongeBob in Officer Clawsome: The Kelpcake Crisis!, a fast-paced and funny middle grade graphic novel series about the crimefighting duo Clawsome, a lobster, and his partner Stariana, a starfish, as they fight such denizens of the deep as the Catfishburglar, Chowderhead, and the Brain Sturgeon.

Crime doesn’t pay in Caper Cove with Officer Clawsome and his partner, Stariana, on the case. Just ask the notorious Catburglarfish—she’ll confirm.

But when the beloved bakery Kelpy's Kelpcakes goes missing and rumors begin swirling about shark sightings for the first time in a hundred years, the duo is about to find themselves claw-deep in a mystery for the ages.

Will this dynamic duo save the day yet again, or have the citizens of Caper Cove eaten their last Kelpcake…for good?

Jennie Liu is the daughter of Chinese immigrants. She has been fascinated by the attitudes, social policies, and changes in China each time she visits. Her young adult novels have won honors including a Freeman Book Award Honorable Mention and an In the Margins: Best Books for Teens award. She lives in North Carolina with her family.

Twelve-year-old Enly Wu Lewis is determined to go to band camp and follow in the footsteps of his musician father, who died years ago.

But his mom, a single parent working two jobs, is saving every penny for his older brother’s college tuition. So Enly sets out to earn the money for camp on his own, by busking with an obscure instrument he can only kind of play. When someone drops a winning scratch-off lottery ticket into his tip box, Enly thinks it’s the answer to his problems—but he’ll have to overcome teenage thieves and his own family if he wants to achieve his dreams.

Writing and creating have always been essential avenues in author Frank Morelli’s life. As an eight or nine-year-old, Morelli would hole himself up in his room reading Tom Sawyer or paging through the National Geographic books he’d lifted from his grandfather’s barbershop. He would sit at his desk and write brand-new storylines to his favorite video games, complete with the most awful pencil sketches you’ve ever seen, and he’d store them all in a barrel-shaped piggy bank he’d won playing Skee-ball on the New Jersey boardwalk. Morelli never put a dime in that bank, but it was always overflowing with crinkled pages and future ideas. And many terrible drawings. Even though Morelli swore he’d become a pediatrician, like one of his childhood idols, Doogie Howser, the need to create overtook his love of biology. He eventually realized his Doogie-worship was more connected to the whiz-kid doctor’s consistent journaling habits than his bedside manner.

A Philadelphia native, Morelli’s life was transformed when he graduated with an English degree from Albright College and accepted a teaching fellowship in the NYC Public Schools. There, he discovered that a lifetime spent eating cafeteria tater tots would be a small price to pay for a chance to shape the future and he became enlightened to how enriching the teaching life was to the writing life. It’s probably not surprising to hear that Morelli continues to split time between the page and the classroom.

Morelli now lives in High Point, NC with his best friend, their obnoxious alley cats, and two hundred pounds worth of dog.

Breaking News is a contemporary middle grade epistolary novel told in the often conflicting journal entries, field notes, audio files, and school newspaper articles of three eighth grade students dedicated to searching for the truth…or maybe shielding us from it.

Things don’t usually come to a screeching halt at the RAT, also known as Ridgewood Arts & Technical School, Ridgewood City’s most prestigious progressive institution. But that’s what happens when Headmistress Hardaway interrupts class and proclaims, “A scandal has rocked the fundraising committee!” Everyone’s a suspect and Hunter Jackson, student council special investigator, vows to root out the student who’s heartless enough to steal donation money or die the death of a thousand forensic notes trying.

He’s not alone. Ridgewood Roar news editor, Anthony Ravello, and the rogue, indie-press pioneer, Liberty Lennon, plan to do some journalistic digging of their own as they race each other to scoop the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth to their faithful readers…or at least their versions of it.

With reality getting murkier by the day, all students at the RAT can do is gobble up news bytes and wash them down with lockerside gossip as they try to unmask the classmate responsible for the missing funds.

Michael Leali grew up in the suburbs of Chicago with two parents, three siblings, and occasional pets. His mom read to him and his siblings early on, everything from Little House on the Prairie to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. He was homeschooled most of his elementary and middle school years before attending Oswego High School in Oswego, Illinois.

While in high school, Michael decided to say “yes” to just about every opportunity that came his way. He sang in several choirs, acted in plays and musicals, competed in multiple Speech Team events, assisted in daily morning broadcasts, participated in literary festivals, and was a member of the National Honors Society.

After high school, Michael thought he would pursue vocal performance—he was classically trained and loved singing Italian arias. But, at the last moment, he decided to pursue English, and attended the University of Iowa.

After graduating from college in 2013, Michael worked for the Oswegoland Park District, assisting the marketing and special events teams. Then Michael was hired at Oswego High School to teach English, Broadcast Journalism, and Creative Writing.

Michael tried to balance the responsibilities of writing and teaching, but it became an increasingly difficult challenge. In his third year of teaching, Michael knew something needed to change if he was going to achieve his dream of writing stories for children. So, he quit and received his Master of Fine Arts at Vermont College of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults.

While Michael chased educational and occupational adventures, he also signed with Sara Crowe at Pippin Properties for representation. In the fall of 2020, they sold Michael’s debut middle grade novel, The Civil War of Amos Abernathy, to Stephanie Stein at HarperCollins in a two-book deal.

Now, Michael writes in all of his spare moments and teaches in the others. He is very happy with all of this.

A heartfelt debut novel about a boy’s attempt to find himself in the history he loves—perfect for fans of Dear Sweet Pea and From the Desk of Zoe Washington.

Amos Abernathy lives for history. Literally. He’s been a historical reenactor nearly all his life. But when a cute new volunteer arrives at his Living History Park, Amos finds himself wondering if there’s something missing from history: someone like the two of them.

Amos is sure there must have been LGBTQ+ people in nineteenth-century Illinois. His search turns up Albert D. J. Cashier, a Civil War soldier who might have identified as a trans man if he’d lived today. Soon Amos starts confiding in his newfound friend by writing letters in his journal—and hatches a plan to share Albert’s story with his divided twenty-first century town. It may be an uphill battle, but it’s one that Amos is ready to fight.

Told in an earnest, hilarious voice, this love letter to history, first crushes, and LGBTQ+ community will delight readers of Ashley Herring Blake, Alex Gino, or Maulik Pancholy.