Michele Norris

NPR's Backseat Book Club polled children's booksellers and librarians to find 2012's best books for middle-graders. The winners are a heartwarming city kid's tale, a Chinese folklore-inspired adventure, and an encounter with a 10-year-old you'll never forget.

In 1877, Anna Sewell wrote a novel about human kindness and cruelty — all from the point of view of a horse. In the decades since, Black Beauty has been embraced by generations of children, and has helped change the way we treat and think about horses.

Former schoolteacher Rick Riordan delivers a lesson in ancient Egyptian history cleverly disguised as a hair-raising kids adventure. Carter and Sadie Kane have no idea they are descended from age-old sorcerers until their archaeologist father accidentally unleashes ancient gods into modern society.

Margi Preus' Heart of a Samurai tells the story of Manjiro, a fisherman's son who dreams of becoming a samurai. When his boat is shipwrecked off the coast of Japan, he embarks on a series of adventures that turn his dreams into reality.

Sheriffs' detectives in Inyo County, Calif., believe a one-time hideout of the notorious Charles Manson clan may be concealing the bodies of murder victims from nearly 40 years ago. The detectives are converging Tuesday on the Barker Ranch with shovels and high-tech ground-penetrating radar to search for graves.

Ted Kennedy has been diagnosed with malignant brain cancer. In his eighth full term, he is the third longest serving senator in U.S. history. Many of his fellow lawmakers — both Democrat and Republican — are offering prayers and support for the 76-year-old.

Barack Obama has gotten one of the most sought-after endorsements of the Democratic primary race. John Edwards will join Obama at a rally Wednesday night and announce his support. Edwards' endorsement has been the object of intense wooing — by both the Obama and Clinton campaigns.

Following her landslide defeat on Tuesday in North Carolina and a narrow win in Indiana, the conventional wisdom is that Hillary Clinton has a vastly diminished chance at winning the Democratic presidential nomination. The question is, what does she do between now and when it becomes official?

Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad, faced tough questions on Iraq from members of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The New York Times says federal prosecutors have wiretap evidence that New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer was a client in a prostitution ring. The first-term Democrat held a news conference and did not deny the allegations.