Take the middle schoolers in your community on an adventure! Hickory Hollow is a premier collection of original content, featuring six spellbinding short films and six captivating ebooks/audiobooks, available exclusively on Kanopy Kids, Libby and Sora. 

Shellbark Forest: Natalie’s Story, the first book in the series, has been donated to your digital library at no cost to you through Everyone Reads. Visit Marketplace to add all Hickory Hollow titles to your collection today! The ebooks are available in English, Mandarin, German, Vietnamese and Korean, so you can meet the diverse needs of your community.  

In addition, the companion films are automatically added to Kanopy Kids! Don’t have Kanopy Kids? Let us know you’re interested. 

Be sure to also visit the Hickory Hollow website to find a free marketing kit you can use to promote these titles to the young readers in your community. 

About Hickory Hollow 

The town of Hickory Hollow may be tiny, but it is a special place for the people who live there. Whether it is exploring off-trail in Shellbark forest, investigating the historical monuments that decorate Town Square, enjoying one of the many town celebrations, or even grabbing some popcorn and a flick at the Hickory Hollow Cinema, there is always an adventure to be had in Hickory Hollow. There are important discoveries to be made, secret riddles to be solved, unexplained mysteries to be discovered, and even hidden treasures to be found. But watch out! Sometimes, the town seems to have a mind of its own. 

About Lost in Shellbark Forest: Natalie’s Story 

Natalie Kim is the new girl in Hickory Hollow. Her parents took over the local candy store after her Grandma Bernie passed away. But Natalie isn’t too happy about the move. She misses her old home. She misses her old friends. Worst of all, she misses Grandma Bernie. Natalie feels lost in her new town. But that is nothing new. As her twin brother Josh often reminds her, Natalie is terrible with directions. 

Natalie joins her school’s orienteering club hoping to make new friends and get to know her way around Hickory Hollow. But the Shellbark Forest that surrounds the town seems to have a mind of its own, and soon Natalie finds herself lost and alone. Does she have what it takes to find her way back home? 

Shellbark Forest: Natalie’s Story has been added to your collection at no-cost to you!  

Meet the other residents of Hickory Hollow 

A Hickory Haunting 

Josh has created a pumpkin sculpture to be proud of. But when his winning pumpkin and other special items go missing, he becomes convinced there is a ghost haunting Hickory Hollow! Will Josh be able to solve the mystery and find the missing items in time?  

The Perfect Recipe 

Eva is determined to bake the perfect pie, but she’ll need something extra special to win the Hickory Hollow High Pie Competition. Eva enlists the help of her friends Ollie and Natalie to go into Shellbark Forest to collect the perfect ingredients. But will their pie be good enough to win the competition? 

The Problem at Halfway Pond 

Ollie loves spending time with his dog, Duke, down at Halfway Pond. But today, all of the animals that call the pond home have mysteriously disappeared and there is a smelly goop polluting the water. Ollie enlists the help of his friend Eva to investigate what, or who, is polluting the pond. Will Ollie be able to solve the mystery and save Halfway Pond?  

Secrets in the Shadows 

Skye has better things to do with her time than research a former Hickory Hollow resident. But when Skye stumbles across a poem on Annabelle Ainslow’s town monument, she’s intrigued. The poem hints about a mysterious creature that supposedly lives in Shellbark Forest. But no one, aside from Annabelle, has ever seen this creature. Will Skye ever find the creature and prove Annabelle right? Find out in Secrets in the Shadows.  

X Marks the Spot 

Mateo loves history, especially when he gets to help out his abuela at the Hickory Hollow History Museum. When Mateo stumbles upon a riddle on a monument in Town Square, he and his friends embark on a grand treasure hunt around town. Will Mateo and his friends be able to find the treasure?   

 Visit Marketplace to add all Hickory Hollow titles to your collection today! 

About the author: Jill is a Marketing & Communications Specialist on the North America Public Library Marketing Team. A former librarian, she joined OverDrive in 2015. Outside of the office she can be found writing, hanging out with her cats, collecting more Tarot decks than she has room for, and playing competitive pinball. Her favorite genre is something she calls “Murder at an educational institution that involves a close-knit group of suspicious characters.”