New Line Cinema is in negotiations with British director Anand Tucker ("Shopgirl," "Hilary and Jackie") to helm "The Golden Compass," the feature film adaptation of the first installment of author Philip Pullman's popular "His Dark Materials" trilogy. In this first book, an orphaned ward named Lyra Belacqua finds her carefree life among the scholars at Oxford's Jordan College shattered by the arrival of two powerful visitors. First, her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, appears with evidence of mystery and danger in the far North, including photographs of a mysterious celestial phenomenon called Dust and the dim outline of a city suspended in the Aurora Borealis that he suspects is part of an alternate universe. He leaves Lyra in the care of Mrs. Coulter, an enigmatic scholar and explorer who offers to give Lyra the attention her uncle has long refused her. In this multilayered narrative, however, nothing is as it seems. Lyra sets out for the top of the world in search of her kidnapped playmate, Roger, bearing a rare truth-telling instrument, the compass of the title. All around her children are disappearing — victims of so-called "Gobblers" — and being used as subjects in terrible experiments that separate humans from their daemons, creatures that reflect each person's inner being. And somehow, both Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter are involved. It's 416 pages in trade paperback.

This summer the Penderwick sisters have a wonderful surprise: a holiday on the grounds of a beautiful estate called Arundel. But the best discovery of all is Jeffrey Tifton, son of Arundel’s owner, who quickly proves to be the perfect companion for their adventures. The icy-hearted Mrs. Tifton is not as pleased with the Penderwicks as Jeffrey is, though, and warns the new friends to stay out of trouble. One thing’s for sure: It will be a summer the Penderwicks will never forget. Written by Jeanne Birdsall, this book was first published in June 2005 and won a National Book Award plus four other awards that same year. It’s 272 pages and available in hardcover.

Darkness falls … despair abounds … evil reigns … Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have just saved the rebel state from destruction by the mighty forces of King Galbatorix, cruel ruler of the Empire. Now Eragon must travel to Ellesmera, land of the elves, for further training in the skills of the Dragon Rider: magic and swordsmanship. But chaos and betrayal plague him at every turn, and nothing is what it seems … Eldest was a No. 1 New York Times bestseller, and a No. 1 Publisher’s Weekly bestseller. This series of popular books was written by Christopher Paolini, a homeschooler born in 1983. The 704-page hardcover Book II of the Inheritance trilogy was published in August 2005.