Egmont USA celebrated its fifth anniversary at a pleasant gathering in New York City this month, at which librarians enjoyed a sneak peek at the publisher’s new spring books and enjoyed some afternoon tea. Those librarians in attendance were also treated to a visit from debut novelist Len Vlahos, who shared details of his new book The Scar Boys. The publisher’s list is short, but it features plenty of books to keep young readers and librarians busy, especially for the middle grades. If you aren’t familiar with M.E. Castle’s “Clone Chronicles,” now is the time to check out the series, as its third installment, Game of Clones, will debut in February, 2014. It has been called “James Bond for the middle school set” featuring main character Fisher Bas, who has a flare for science—and a clone that is more popular than he is. More offerings of middle-grade humor are on the horizon, two entries from Patrick Jennings. Odd, Weird, and Little (January), features a suit-wearing owl as the new “kid” in school. And in My Homework Ate My Homework, a ferret named Bandito takes center stage; it will be available in paperback in March. If middle-school magic and mystery is what you’re after, Egmont USA will be publishing The Magician’s Tower, by Shawn Thomas Odyssey, in May; it’s the sequel to The Wizard of Dark Street (2011), which was nominated for both an Agatha and an Edgar Award. Mysteries for even younger readers will also abound next spring. Tony Abbott’s Goofballs series will debut its sixth book, The Crazy Classroom, in January, featuring a cast of multi-cultural characters. Author Mary Amato is just about to kick off a new chapter series called Good Crooks, illustrated by Ward Jenkins. It features the twin children of crooks, a brother and sister, who band together to do good.  Book two of the series will follow right behind in February, 2014. And, although it was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon, it actually wasn’t the tea sandwiches and cookies that demanded our attention—it was titles for teens. Kristi Helvig will make her author debut in April, 2014 with Burn Out, a novel based hundreds of years in the future. It keeps the reader guessing if heroine Tora will survive on a dying planet. What teen doesn’t like to be frightened? White Space: Book One of the Dark Passages by Ilsa J. Bick, debuting in February, is a lead title for Egmont’s Spring 2014 list.  If you are going to ALA Midwinter, you can pick up a galley or check it out on NetGalley. Meanwhile, Greek myths, gods, and romance are the basis of Bree Despain’s “Into the Dark” series, a modern-day telling of the Hades and Persephone love story.  Book one of the trilogy is The Shadow Prince, out in March. Capping off the day was the appearance by Vlahos; his new novel The Scar Boys is due out in January. Each chapter heading in the book—a story of a boy that was severely scarred boy by bullies—is the title of a song, which lends itself nicely for a playlist, he told with the crowd. The book is described as “a love letter to music”—fitting, Vlahos shared, since he was a member of a punk rock band in the 1980s.