Unusual Heroes: Stuffies, Ghosts, and Warriors, Oh My!

Katie Zhao grew up in Michigan, graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in English and a minor in political science; she also completed her master's in accounting there. She wrote The Dragon Warrior during her last year of school, in between classes. Inspired by Chinese mythology, Katie Zhao’s debut novel The Dragon Warrior (Bloomsbury Children's Books) is a middle-grade fantasy that follows an outcast as she embarks on a quest to save the world from demons. As a member of the Jade Society, twelve-year-old Faryn Liu dreams of honoring her family and the gods by becoming a warrior. But the Society has shunned Faryn and her brother Alex ever since their father disappeared years ago, forcing them to train in secret. Then, during an errand into San Francisco, Faryn stumbles into a battle with a demon--and helps defeat it. She just might be the fabled Heaven Breaker, a powerful warrior meant to work for the all-mighty deity, the Jade Emperor, commanding an army of dragons to defeat the demons. But first, she must prove her worth so with her brother and other unlikely allies at her side, Faryn sets off on a daring quest across Chinatowns. Kirkus in a starred review noted that “Zhao's impressive and captivating debut adventure novel brings mythology and magic to life ... ”

Liz Braswell spent her childhood reading fairy tales, catching frogs, and going on adventures in the woods with her stuffed animals. She has a degree in Egyptology from Brown University (and yes, she can write your name in hieroglyphs). After making video games for ten years Liz now writes full-time and plays video games for fun. She has written Snow, Rx, The Nine Lives of Chloe King, and several books in the best-selling Twisted Tales series, including Part of Your World and As Old as Time. In Stuffed (Disney-Hyperion), everyone thinks that Clark is too old to still play with stuffed animals. He's almost eleven! Bullies target him at school while his mother tries increasingly un-subtle ways to wean him off his toys and introduce more "normal" interests. But Clark can't shake the feeling that his stuffed friends are important, even necessary. Sometimes they move around in the night, and sometimes in the morning they look a little worse for wear, as if they've engaged in battle. And it turns out . . . he's right.Stuffed confirms every kid's dream: that stuffed animals do have a life and a purpose, and that sometimes the most unconventional friendships are also the most valuable.

William Lashner is a former criminal prosecutor with the Department of Justice in Washington D.C. and a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. His novels have been published world-wide and have been nominated for two Shamus Awards, a Gumshoe Award, an Edgar Award, and been selected as an Editor's Choice in the New York Times Book Review. When he was a kid his favorite books were The Count of Monte Cristo and any comic with the Batman on the cover. Elizabeth Webster and the Court of Uncommon Pleas (Disney-Hyperion) is his first novel for young readers. Elizabeth Webster is happy to stay under the radar (and under her bangs) until middle school is dead and gone. But when star swimmer Henry Harrison asks Elizabeth to tutor him in math, it's not linear equations Henry really needs help with--it's a flower-scented, poodle-skirt-wearing, head-tossing ghost who's calling out Elizabeth's name. But why Elizabeth? Could it have something to do with her missing lawyer father? Maybe. Probably. If only she could find him. In her search, Elizabeth discovers more than she is looking for: a grandfather she never knew, a startling legacy, and the secret family law firm, Webster & Son, Attorneys for the Damned. Elizabeth and her friends soon land in court, where demons and ghosts take the witness stand and a red-eyed judge with a ratty white wig hands out sentences like sandwiches. Will Elizabeth's father arrive in time to save Henry Harrison--and is Henry the one who really needs saving?