Boxers & Saints Boxed Set by Gene Luen Yang

One of the greatest comics storytellers alive brings all his formidable talents to bear in this astonishing new work.

In two volumes, Boxers & Saints tells two parallel stories. The first is of Little Bao, a Chinese peasant boy whose village is abused and plundered by Westerners claiming the role of missionaries. Little Bao, inspired by visions of the Chinese gods, joins a violent uprising against the Western interlopers. Against all odds, their grass-roots rebellion is successful.

But in the second volume, Yang lays out the opposite side of the conflict. A girl whose village has no place for her is taken in by Christian missionaries and finds, for the first time, a home with them. As the Boxer Rebellion gains momentum, Vibiana must decide whether to abandon her Christian friends or to commit herself fully to Christianity.

Boxers & Saints is one of the most ambitious graphic novels First Second has ever published. It offers a penetrating insight into not only one of the most controversial episodes of modern Chinese history, but into the very core of our human nature. Gene Luen Yang is rightly called a master of the comics form, and this book will cement that reputation.

This boxed set includes the trade paperback Boxers as well as the trade paperback Saints, packaged together in one slipcase.

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal,

It says quite a lot about Jeremy Johnson Johnson that the strangest thing about him isn't even the fact his mother and father both had the same last name. Jeremy once admitted he's able to hear voices, and the townspeople of Never Better have treated him like an outsider since. 

After his mother left, his father became a recluse, and it's been up to Jeremy to support the family. But it hasn't been up to Jeremy alone. The truth is, Jeremy can hear voices. Or, specifically, one voice: the voice of the ghost of Jacob Grimm, one half of the infamous writing duo, The Brothers Grimm. 

Jacob watches over Jeremy, protecting him from an unknown dark evil whispered about in the space between this world and the next. But when the provocative local girl Ginger Boultinghouse takes an interest in Jeremy (and his unique abilities), a grim chain of events is put into motion.

And as anyone familiar with the Grimm Brothers know, not all fairy tales have happy endings..

The author's site - http://mcnealbooks.com/home.aspx

A TANGLE OF KNOTS by Lisa Graff

National Book Award nominee!

The magic of Savvy meets the complexity of When You Reach Me in this "blithe magical puzzle," --The Wall Street Journal

Told in multiple viewpoints, A Tangle of Knots is a magnificent puzzle. In a slightly magical world where everyone has a Talent, eleven-year-old Cady is an orphan with a phenomenal Talent for cake baking. But little does she know that fate has set her on a journey from the moment she was born.  And her destiny leads her to a mysterious address that houses a lost luggage emporium, an old recipe, a family of children searching for their own Talents, and a Talent Thief who will alter her life forever.  However, these encounters hold the key to Cady's past and how she became an orphan.  If she's lucky, fate may reunite her with her long-lost parent.

Lisa Graff adds a pinch of magic to a sharply crafted plot to create a novel that will have readers wondering about fate and the way we're all connected.
  The Author's site - http://www.lisagraff.com/a-tangle-of-knots.html
Praise for A TANGLE OF KNOTS:

"Lisa Graff has created a beautiful world of deliciously interconnected stories that draw you in." --Abby West, Entertainment Weekly [A-]

* "Subtle and intricate, rich with humor and insight, this quietly magical adventure delights." --Kirkus Reviews [STARRED]

* "Combining the literary sensibility of E. B. White with the insouciance of Louis Sachar, Graff has written a tangle that should satisfy readers for years to come." --Booklist [STARRED]

"Graff’s story has a warmth and gentle humor that, along with the premise, calls to mind Ingrid Law’s Savvy." --Publishers Weekly

Bugs in My Hair by David Shannon

Not a topic to be taken lightly - here is a wonderful read for the dreaded head lice!

Is something bugging you? Bestselling award-winner David Shannon shows the funny side of waging war against--oh no!--head lice.

This book is guaranteed to make you laugh--and itch! From the opening picture of a happy, oversize louse appearing with his suitcases, you know these bugs are determined to stay, and Mom is about to go nuts!

Nobody talks about them, but they are everywhere. (Some estimate 20 million children a year host them.) Oh the shame and humiliation of having bugs in your hair! But if you go to school, or have play dates, chances are good you might meet them someday. Maybe you already have! Lucky for you, the unwelcome bugs in this story are so funny you will be laughing aloud--even when Mom attacks them with battle-tested anti-lice weapons.

Shannon peppers his hilarious scenes with fun, "nitpicking" facts about these "lousy" critters and pokes fun at common denial: "It's probably ash from that volcano in Pogo Pogo."

Soon the party's over--Bye bye, Little Nasties! Once again Shannon has created a fresh, highly entertaining read-aloud classic that begs to be read again and again.

Here is a fun interview as well with the author - 
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=229472269