Books published by publisher Joanna Cotler

The shootings in Pleasant Valley were fifty miles away, but at Central High a grief and crisis counselor is hired, security is increased, and privileges are being taken away. No one knows why. If you break the new rules the punishment is severe. And the rules keep changing every day. School feels like a prison. It's for their protection, yet fifteen-year-old Tom Bishop and his friends learn that things are far more sinister than they seem. Students and teachers begin disappearing. There's no way to stop it. Nationally best-selling and acclaimed author Francine Prose has written a haunting novel about what happens when protection goes too far and what it means to have freedom extinguished -- in the name of safety.

The bestselling team of Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell has returned, patting kids on the back in a super-spirited picture book that celebrates confidence. With rhyming text that uses the memorable repeat phrase "I'm gonna like me when...," Curtis describes various experiences during which children ought to remember their self-esteem. It's especially important during hard times, such as when a student gives the wrong answer in front of the class or someone is picked last for the team. It's also important at good points in life, too, like "when I'm feeling strong. I'll walk with a smile, arms swinging, legs long." But of course, the best time for liking yourself is at home, knowing that a loving family is keeping you safe: "I'm gonna like me 'cause I'm loved and I know it, and liking myself is the best way to show it." A jovial book reminding kids that despite life's highs and lows, there's no need to get down on yourself, I'm Gonna Like Me stands out as a feel-good triumph. Curtis's voice is sweetly childlike without getting mushy, and her charismatic lines roll off the tongue. Cornell's alternating girl-and-boy illustrations add just the right flair, giving the added humor and perspective that readers have come to love in all of her and Curtis's books. A book that's ideal for reading aloud or giving to someone in need of a little TLC, this surefire hit is reassuring reading. Matt Warner

Maybe I would become a mermaid....I would live in the swirling blue-green currents, doing exotic underwater dances for the fish, kissed by sea anemones, caressed by seaweed shawls. I would have a dolphin as a friend. He would have merry eyes and the thick sleeked flesh of a god. My fingernails would be tiny shells and my skin would be like jade with light shining through it. I would never have to come back up...Echo is caught at the crossroads of a physical world full of hope and despair and the realm of the supernatural, where young men have wings and skeletons speak. On the way, she is graced by angels and fairies and haunted by ghosts, psychopomps, and vampires. But as Echo falls under the spell of demons who threaten to destroy her, she must ultimately look within to find the strength to survive. Through shifting points of view, Francesca Lia Block weaves pure magic into this deftly constructed tale -- a novel told in the form of linked stories. One girl's life emerges from a tapestry of voices, lives, and loves -- lost and found -- that deliver her finally to herself, triumphant, ever-changing.