Kelly just wants to be popular, talented and fabulous. But when she and her two friends audition for a musical production of Cinderella, Kelly ends up on the backstage crew, working on sets and lighting. That's not so bad; it turns out Kelly has a gift for design, but a know-it-all, no-talent ninth grader and her mother's prejudice against "irresponsible artists" stand in the way of success. It's going to take guts to release her inner artist and make the show a triumph. Can Kelly do it?

It all starts with an anonymous letter. "Dear Friend: I would like your help in identifying a crime that is now centuries old. This crime has wronged one of the world's greatest painters..." A series of strange occurrences, culminating in the disappearance of a priceless painting, bring puzzle fanatic Calder Pillay and the insatiably curious Petra Andalee together to solve the mystery. Readers also receive clues and can race the young detectives to the final answer. Be sure to catch up with Calder and Petra again in their next adventure, The Wright 3.

"One warm March day, Max moved in above us, on the fourth floor... A small stairway with worn and creaking steps and a wrought-iron railing led to the fourth floor. Almost every day, I would stand in the gray-painted entrance and carefully try the door. If the place was not locked up, I was allowed to visit." So begins a quiet friendship with an artist, afternoons spent in companionable silence as Max paints and the boy reads, plays games, or makes his own imaginative creations. Finally, the boy is allowed to see the pictures - an art exhibition is left, just for him (and the reader). Each picture is a crisp clear moment, a captured second in a continuing story where amazing and impossible things happen alongside the ordinary. That is the artist's job, says Max - to be a collector of moments.

Mieko is a real artist. She has what her teacher calls the "four treasures" needed to create Japanese calligraphy: a brush, inkstick, inkstone and rice paper. More importantly, she has the fifth treasure, the quality of a great artist: beauty in the heart. But after the atomic bomb falls on Nagasaki, Mieko's village is lost, her hand is injured and her heart is filled with anger, not beauty. Could she still be a great artist? Will she ever really paint again? This is a sensitive and touching tale from the author of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes.

All is not well at the Snowdonia Oasis Auto Marvel, Dylan's family car-repair business. In fact, the whole town of Manod is in a bad way. But things start to change when a mysterious convoy of white vans makes its way up the hill to the abandoned slate mine. Just what are they up to? Dylan is determined to find out. His irrepressible spirit and bottomless curiosity, along with the power of art, just might transform his whole town - and everyone in it. Fans of Andrew Clements, Jerry Spinelli and Louis Sachar should enjoy this one. Don't miss his earlier novel, Millions.

Hollis Woods is staying put. She's been doing the rounds of foster homes all her life, always searching for a home. Maybe this is it. Her new foster parent, Josie Cahill is certainly unexpected. Movie star beautiful and a talented artist, she is kind, direct, and quirky. Even the prickly Hollis can't resist her. But if they knew how forgetful Josie is, Social Services would take Hollis away and put Josie in a home. Hollis isn't about to let that happen. Still, Josie's condition and Hollis' past may put an end to their oasis of friendship...

Running from accusations of theft and desperately ill, a boy tumbles from the very top of Milan's Cathedral and instead of certain death, finds rescue as he falls onto the scaffold where Leonardo Da Vinci is working. Leonardo saves him from the angry mob, cares for him, gives him a job, an education - and a name - Giacomo. Leonardo also hurls abuse at him, tortures him with Latin lessons, and threatens to throw him out into the street on a daily basis; all friendships have their problems. Giacomo is loyal to the master and as determined to help him finish The Last Supper, the great work he has struggled with for more than two years, as he is to find his own identity. This is a rip-roaring Renaissance adventure built around the real-life character of Leonardo's mischievous servant.

Homer can't remember his father. After all, he was only two when his dad died. But his mother has never been willing to answer any questions about the man, so Homer walks around feeling as though he has a hole inside where his father should be. Now a trip to their old house holds the hope of some answers. Homer's new (and slightly crazy) friend Roger puts him on the trail of an artist in disguise - could this be his father? Homer will only find out by following the fake man, but what if he discovers things he'd really rather not know?

Claudia feels under-appreciated. If she is ever to escape the crushing responsibility of being an older sister and predictably perfect A-student, Claudia will have to do something drastic. Like running away. But because Claudia is a sensible, comfort-loving girl, she will run to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. And because she is broke, she will take along her occasionally irritating but filthy rich younger brother James. While hiding out in the exhibits, the two may just solve a mystery that has stumped art experts around the world - with a little help from Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Winner of the Newbery Medal.

Did you ever wonder who the Mona Lisa really was? How did Leonardo come to paint the most famous picture in history? Here is a tale of the master artist and his enigmatic model, told through the eyes of an impish servant boy who is a friend to both. By the author of The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place.

It is 1942. Nazi submarines are torpedoing U.S. ships off the New England coast. Robert, sent to wait out the war with his grandparents, discovers a house full of secrets. What has happened to his missing father? Why will no one talk about him? Why does his cousin Elliott, a talented artist, hide his skill from his family? Is Elliott's mentor, the German artist Abel Hoffman, really a spy? The two boys will have to find their way through this labyrinth of dangerous secrets and lies - before someone gets hurt.

Saffron's family is just a little unusual. Both of her parents are artists and sometimes they have a hard time keeping up with the realities of everyday life - like dinner. But when Saffy discovers she is adopted and needs to know who she really is, her family all help her to find her place in the world - and with them. This hilarious tale is full of offbeat characters who seem too fascinating to be true, but the relationships among family and friends are bang on. This is the first in a quartet about the decidedly quirky Casson family. Readers won't want to miss Indigo's Star, Permanent Rose and Caddy Ever After.

Both Noi and her older sister Ting are learning to paint. Their grandmother patiently teaches them the delicate art of painting on silk umbrellas. But life is very hard in their Thai village and Noi's family needs more money, just to survive. Ting is sent to a factory job and Noi watches her spirit die, day by day. She is afraid that this will be her future too. Can Noi follow her artistic gift without betraying her family? By the author of The Gold-Threaded Dress and Moon Runner.

Spunky, smart-mouthed detective Sammy Keyes is on the case again. This time, suspicious goings-on at a local art gallery have Sammy chasing down the clues to find a really artful dodger. Readers who haven't met Sammy will want to investigate all of her mysteries, beginning with the Edgar Award-winning Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief.