The Wedding Planner's Daughter - Coleen Murtagh Paratore

This book is as sweet a confection as the cherry cordials its 12-year-old protagonist is so fond of eating. Willafred Havisham is starting to put down roots in Bramble, Cape Cod, where her grandmother runs a candy shop and where she's made a friend. She is hoping that her mother will stay here longer than the two years they usually live anywhere, and that she will remarry. Stella is a successful wedding planner who is unaware that her daughter has been adding her own touch for years: she sews cherry pits into the hem of the gowns for good luck. Next thing she knows she is sewing pits onto a celebrity gown - the wedding was on the beach, meaning it attracted bugs... because of this, Stella feels her business is ruined and the two leave town. The girl's letter to her mother about the meaning of the pits (they represent love) provides emotional heft to what has up to that point been just a pleasant story. Chapters begin with a quote from a book or, less successfully, from a character in this novel. These allusions may prompt readers to look into some of Willa's favorite books and writers.
Perfect for girls 7+

Good condition. Price: $1.50

How to be a Girly Girl in Just Ten Days - Lisa Papademetriou

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Nicolette Spicer ("Nick" to her friends) is a tomboy through and through. While her friends focus on shopping and lip gloss, Nick would rather buy new basketball shoes and practice her free throw. But everything changes when she meets a cutie named Ben and decides she has to ditch the jock look if she wants him to notice her. With the biggest party of the school year just ten days away, Nick is in a crunch. But when her best friend Lindsay suggests a magazine-article-inspired makeover, it seems like the perfect solution. But can Nick change her looks and still be herself? Perfect for girls 8+

Good Condition. Price - $2.50.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling

For most children, summer vacation is something to look forward to. But not for our 13-year-old hero, who's forced to spend his summers with an aunt, uncle, and cousin who detest him. The third book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Series catapults into action when the young wizard "accidentally" causes the Dursleys' dreadful visitor Aunt Marge to inflate like a monstrous balloon and drift up to the ceiling. Fearing punishment from Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon (and from officials at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who strictly forbid students to cast spells in the non magic world of Muggles), Harry lunges out into the darkness with his heavy trunk and his owl Hedwig. Perfect for all children 8+

Good Condition. Price: $2.50.

A Jar of Dreams - Yoshiko Uchida

The book "A Jar of Dreams" is the story of Rinko Tsujimura, an 11-year old 2'nd generation Japanese-American, growing up in California in the 1930's, as well as her family which includes her mama, and papa, her younger brother Joji, and her older brother Cal, which discourages his sister by saying that no school district will hire a Japanese teacher (It is Rinko's dream to be a teacher). Rinko often resents being Japanese because she and her family are ridiculed, especially by Wilbur Starr, the owner of a laundry business. Starr wants to drive the Tsujimura's laundromat out of business, and threatens them. When Aunt Waka comes to visit them, from Japan, she teaches them to b proud of their unique Japanese heritage. Eventually Rinko's father and his good friend Mr. Kanda, stand up Wilbur Starr. In the end, Rinko, Cal and Joji, learn to be proud of being Japanese. Perfect for all girls 8+

Used Condition. Price: $1.99