When Rennie's dad, the Major, goes overseas on assignment, he enlists his mother-in-law to babysit Rennie. Babysit! A guy who's about to turn fifteen! But Grandma is no surrogate drill sergeant. She has fun on her mind. That means ditching school and heading to avalanche country for a surprise ski trip. Nothing can ruin Rennie's vacation, not the lodge owner, who turns out to be Grandma's geriatric long-ago boyfriend, not the annoying backcountry guide or the crooked park ranger or the pushy businessman from Mumbai, not even the explosions. And definitely not the most beautiful girl in the world, whom he meets while stumbling onto a murder plot. In this hair-raising prequel to Close to the Heel and From the Dead, the loyal, smart and observant Rennie heads to avalanche country.
Sixteen-year-old Rasheed is smart, tough and a survivor. In his neighborhood, he has to be. The streets are run by a gang called the E Street Locals, and they've been trying to jump him in since he was a child. So far, he's managed to escape their clutches. But the gang is not his only problem. Rasheed's sister, Daneeka, was paralyzed in a drive-by shooting, and now she's confined to a wheelchair, mentally frozen at the age of nine. His mother is an addict. His father hasn't been heard from in years. High school is no safer than the streets, so Rasheed seeks solace at the local university campus. There he meets a young woman named Lanaia who takes an interest in him. He also bumps up against a police officer who he thinks at first is hassling him just because he's black. But eventually Rasheed realizes that the officer is only pushing him to become a better person. Though he can't escape his home life, or the gang, as easily as he'd like, Rasheed does learn some valuable lessons in his struggles: you and you alone are accountable for the decisions you make in life; even though the world is not a fair place, you can still accomplish whatever you set your mind to; and we all become stronger when we admit we need someone to lean on.
Thirteen-year-old Chris and his family are setting up a bungee jump in his backyard. It's a real large-scale bungee jump off a bridge that connects his backyard to a small island owned by his family. Not only is it going to be the coolest attraction around, but it also provides Chris with an opportunity to watch a real engineer in action. Chris would be excited about it if things didn't keep going wrong. The rumors of hauntings on the island, once the site of a hospital for children with leprosy, are getting out of control. And there are mysterious mishaps on the bridge. Chris worries that all of these problems will keep customers away. And if the bungee jump isn't a success, his family will lose everything.
Escaping the pressures of big-city policing, Maxine Benson is happy to be appointed police chief in the resort town of Port Ainslie. Max's biggest challenge is to overcome skepticism at her ability to deal with major crimes like the murder of Billy Ray Edwards. Few people mourn Billy Ray's passing. He was a bully and was also intent on derailing the biggest development project in the town's history. But murder's murder, and Max is ready to solve it on her own and prove her worth to the townspeople. And maybe even to herself.
Step into a world of wonder and learning in these enduring fables of ancient Greece. You'll come face to face with the wrath of the Olympian gods. You'll meet unforgettable characters with all-too-human shortcomings, including the conceited Narcissus, the greedy King Midas, and the disobedient Icarus. Come, listen and learn as their choices lead to some surprising outcomes!
Who was the greatest hero of Ancient Greece? Who killed the most monsters? Who rescued the most damsels in distress? Who was the coolest dude in sandals? Listen to the heroes themselves as they tell the stories of their adventures and decide for yourself who was the most HEROIC HERO!
Zak and his family are off for a vacation to the trailer park, and Zak has brought his new metal detector. He hopes he can find some treasure! But when he unearths a broken sword, it leads to a much bigger adventure!
Ella's next door neighbor, Mr. Willis, is mean. She stays out of his way as much as possible. But when she accidentally sends her baby brother's favorite teddy bear into Mr. Willis' garden, Ella is forced to go over to his house. And Ella is in for a SHOCK!
There is trouble brewing on Scarytops Mountain. The Dragons are trying to outscare the Dinosyet again! However when a baby Dragon goes missing, both sides come together to discover a surprise.
Farmer Marchant gets a shock when he discovers pirates are stealing his COWS! What on Earth do pirates want with cows? Find out and join Farmer Marchant on a crazy high seas chase...
Adventure stories are exciting stories that take readers on a journey out of the ordinary and into the dangerous unknown. This action-packed book introduces young writers to the elements of an adventure story and provides fun ideas for writing a daring tale of ones own!
"I always knew my father was a pirate and I always knew I wanted to be one, too." At age fifteen, Catherine's life is about to change. Her mother has just died and Catherine can't stand the thought of being sent to live with her aunt in Boston. She longs for a life of adventure. After she discovers her father's secret life as captain of the pirate ship Reprisal, her only thoughts are to join him on the high seas. Catherine imagines a life of sailing the blue waters of the Caribbean, the wind whipping at her back. She's heard tales of bloodshed and brutality but her father's ship would never be like that. Catherine convinces her father to let her join him, disguised as a boy. But once the Reprisal sets sail, she finds life aboard a pirate ship is not for the faint of heart. If her secret is uncovered, punishment will be swift and brutal.
Eric and Chris are avid geocachers who stumble into a very strange search for a series of geocaches. At first they are merely curious, but as the stakes rise and the challenges become more trying, the boys get truly hooked. Convinced they are indeed on the trail of treasure, they become consumed with the search, and though their quest tests their strength, intelligence, courage and even their friendship, they don't give up.
In their fourth adventure together, Jake and his younger brother, Tommy, visit their grandparents' farm, Thunder Creek Ranch. When Jake spots a kid on the neighbor's farm, he goes over to investigate and meets Cory McNash, a city kid. Cory thinks he's tough and likes to brag. He offers Jake a ride on a quad bike, and Jake can't resist. When Cory leaves a gate open and a young calf chases Tommy over the creek and into the woods, Jake and Cory follow on the quad. There's a storm coming, and they soon discover why the trickle of water in the creekbed is called Thunder Creek. The boys are stranded, and the tiny creek in now a raging torrent too dangerous to cross
The four volumes of Andrea Spalding's Summer of Magic Quartet are among her most exciting work. The White Horse Talisman was nominated for the Silver Birch, Hackmatack and Manitoba Readers' Choice Awards. Dance of the Stones was also a Silver Birch nominee. Heart of the Hill left one of her four characters in grave danger. Now, in Behind the Sorcerer's Cloak, as the Dark Being discovers our planet and takes one of the children hostage, the others must restore the balance between light and dark, but at what cost? Book 4 in the series.
Eleven-year-old Sam's first visit to the remote west coast of Vancouver Island is nothing like she'd expected. Her older cousins tease "the city kid" mercilessly, when they're not ignoring her altogether. She often finds herself left to her own devices. Still, the woods and beaches around Brackenwood Point offer plenty of room to explore. Then, one day, Sam comes face-to-face with a wild cougar and her two cubs, and her summer vacation suddenly gets much more exciting.
Twelve-year-old Tabitha is less than thrilled when her parents send her on a hiking trip with her cousins, Ashley and Cedar, and her Aunt Tess. For one thing, she's not much of a hiker. And she's pretty sure her cousins hate her. But even Ashley can't blame Tabitha for everything that goes wrong: the weather turns ugly, a bear comes into the cabin, Ashley and Tess are injured and Max, the family's beloved dog, disappears. When rescue finally arrives, Tabitha realizes that she is no longer the timid, out-of-shape girl she used to be. She's become strong, resourceful and brave in the face of adversity-no matter what form it takes.
Robin can hardly wait for her cousin April and her Aunty Liz to come to the ranch for Christmas. When a devastating car accident sends Aunty Liz to the hospital for several months, Robin can't help but be overjoyed to learn that April will live with Robin and her family while her mother is recuperating. But April has changed, and Robin must deal with April's growing anger and resentment at being forced to leave her injured mother and her life in the city. Then Robin's little sister, Molly, disappears during a blizzard, and Robin and April's friendship faces the ultimate test.
In this sequel to "Flight from Big Tangle," Kaylee is furious about being left to spend the summer with a girl her own age, Jaz, and Jaz's uncle, Jack. All she wants is time alone with her dog, Sausage. Things change quickly, though, when Jack is injured after his helicopter goes down near a group of grizzly bears. Kaylee and Jaz must team up to save him, and Kaylee finds herself once again at the controls of a plane.
With seconds to the finish line, Dalen and Gole lead the distant world of Budap's annual Junior-Jet Race. Suddenly they are overtaken. Left behind in a cloud of mysterious purple exhaust, they realize something doesn't add up. Looking for clues, the two friends uncover a tunnel that leads them to Earth. They arrive in Port Angus, once a lively west coast fishing community. The fishing industry is dying, and Dalen and Gole find themselves embroiled in a sinister plot to steal fish and send them to Budap. Pursued by government agents and angry aliens, Dalen and Gole are in a race against time to save both their own distant world and the fishing community of Port Angus.
Joe and his friend Skip are enjoying the thrill of the Big Dip, a famous rollercoaster, until they learn the old man in front of them has been shot. The old man mutters with his dying breath something about getting a Margaret Rose to the police. Joe leaves the crime scene to get on with his life. But someone is desperate for the Margaret Rose and thinks Joe has it. When his sister is kidnapped, Joe is in a race against time to solve the puzzle.
When the children on the bus get a substitute driver who they think has too many rules, they quickly learn that following rules isn't a bad idea as they get caught in a storm and Mr. Goldfluss keeps them safe until the storm passes.
The alien robots are back! Googol and Googolplex are back from space, ready to continue their scavenger hunt. Pippa and Troy are eager to help, but runaway bulls and disappearing rainbows make their task difficult. And dangerous!
Long, long ago, Johnny's grandpa found a bottle on the beach. When Johnny roots it out of the back of Grandpa's closet, he can see a mysterious shadow through the green glass. "We should break it," Johnny says. "Maybe later," says his grandpa. And so the story begins.
In Jeremy and the Enchanted Theatre, Jeremy traveled to Mount Olympus with an orange cat named Aristotle to save Mr. Magnus's theatre, but Zeus only agreed to help Mr. Magnus if he could solve the riddles on three scrolls. Now, in Jeremy in the Underworld, Jeremy is willing to help solve the first riddle, but is he ready to travel into the Underworld to do so?
