Fourteen-year-old Matt has only one goal in life: to become a hermit. He has no use for school, but he loves the solitude of the forest. When he hikes up to the cabin he built for himself, he discovers a mysterious stranger named Forrest has moved in. At first Matt doesn't connect Forrest's appearance with the rash of local robberies. Forrest seems to be the perfect hermit, and he teaches Matt the skills he needs to achieve his goal, including how to hunt with a crossbow. But when Forrest tries to kill an endangered Roosevelt elk, Matt questions the ethics of his new friend. When Matt discovers a stolen rifle in his cabin, he finds himself trapped in a dangerous situation.
The principal announces that the school is implementing uniforms, and Ian finds himself caught in a conflict. His friend Julia wants him to devise a plan to fight the decision, and the principal is determined to convince Ian the uniforms are a good idea. Ian wants nothing to do with the issue. While doing research for a social-justice class, he learns that the manufacturer of the uniforms is on the top-ten list for human-rights violations. When he tells the principal this, all he gets is a reminder that the penalty for refusing to wear the uniforms is suspension, and Ian finds himself caught in a whole new conflict -- one with himself.
Trevor, Nick and Robyn are ready to solve another mystery. When bobsledder Josh Gantz is accused of deliberately injuring a fellow competitor, he runs the risk of being thrown out of the sport -- right before the World Cup. Courtney Gantz asks Trevor, Nick and Robyn to help clear her brother's name. Can they find out who framed Josh? What is the meaning of the strange coded messages they keep finding around Olympic Park? Who eats orange bananas, anyway? The kids must unearth the clues in a race against time, before Josh's championship dreams end up on ice.
It's hard enough for Eve to adjust to a new high school without the extra weight she's gained over the summer. Her best friend is ashamed to hang out with her, and she's become the focus of a schoolmate's cruelty. Determined not to be "that pathetic fat girl" at school, Eve struggles with a diet and forces herself to join a mentoring program. The diet only makes her food obsessed, and she feels she is failing as a mentor. How can a lonely fat girl gain the confidence she needs to succeed?
Trevor, Robyn and Nick decide they have a mystery to solve when Trevor discovers a suspicious looking young man snooping around. They learn about missing research involving the use of carob beans to aid in cancer treatment-potentially valuable information. With a shady looking grad student, a bitter activist and an employee of a medical research firm to deal with, our amateur sleuths are faced with their greatest challenge yet.
Angus and his best buddy, Shahid, share a love of science and their robot, Gordon. But recently, the artistic Ella Eckles has had a peculiar effect on Angus. When a stink bomb at the school provides a chance for him to talk to her, he claims to share her interest in reading facial expressions and declares his ambition to become a crime-solving mentalist. He impresses Ella by identifying the stink bomber, but fails to mention he witnessed a scrawny kid setting off the bomb. When Ella's treasured sketchbook is stolen, she asks Angus to find the thief. Shahid thinks Angus should confess that he's not a mentalist, but Angus is certain he can learn to read people and recover Ella's sketchbook. He asks Shahid to help him investigate the suspects: Gaga Girl; the art teacher, Mr. Wilder; and finally, "scrawny kid." Equipped with rearview sunglasses and an informant who lurks in the washroom, the duo bungles their way through a series of encounters that alarm Shahid and provide Angus with some unfamiliar exercise.
Mexican-American traditions are richly nourished by the folkways of three cultures: Indian, Spanish, and Mexican. This comprehensive look at the Mexican-American world includes a range of traditional proverbs, riddles, stories and folksongs.
This collection of world tales focuses on stories originating from nearly every continent. They are short, gripping stories that "kick in fast including comedy, trickster, tall tales and family themes for middle and young readers.
Back by popular demand, these timeless, scary and spine-tingling thrillers are collected together for young readers.
In the Native American tradition, a strong connection exists between the spirit world and the natural world. It is believed that what happens in one has a definite impact on the other. In this collection, Choctaw storyteller Tim Tingle draws from the rich heritage of the Five Civilized Tribes - the Creek, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole nations.
Twenty-three original, horrific tales of vengeful spirits and nefarious supernatural creatures are made all the more sinister by the comfortable, contemporary settings of these cold-blooded tales.
In this collection of eerie tales, a ghostly gazetteer chronicles the numerous contemporary accounts of Northwestern hauntings and other strange happenings reported around British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon. The typical Northwestern ghost almost always appears alone, in the form of a faint, often grayish wisp.
Everybody loves a scary story and nobody more than kids, but these tales collected from kids themselves - are particular favorites. These traditional scary stories are the ones that kids ask for the most. Children love to hear how Wylie outwitted the terrible Hairy Man, how Skunnee Wundee and an unexpected friend got the best of the fierce Stone Giant. Shivery stories of vengeful ghosts, spooky stories of witches and spirits, and giggly stories that turn fear into fun are part of this collection. Symbols precede each story to indicate the most appropriate age group. The stories in this multicultural collection come from the Ozark Mountains, the desert Southwest, even Japan and Hawaii, as well Native American tribal stories, Yiddish tales, and even Laotian legends.
More than 100 tales of the supernatural, drawn from Tidewater Virginia to the Lone Star State, are included in this collection. The author, W.K. McNeil's introduction traces themes peculiar to the South, such as the screaming bridge and the levitating railroad light. Line drawings contribute to the mood of the stories and an index references various Southern localities by town and state.
Over 140 spine-tingling tales from the hills of the Missouri Valley, the mesas of Texas, the great plains, the swamps of the Bayou and even the cities of California. These classic, timeless ghost stories range from the Monster of Mongollon Run, to the Blue Lady, to the Wolf Girl to Haunted places, to Native American spirits and to ghostly lights.
Young or old, playful or terrifying, clad in the brocades of the 16th century or the jeans of today, the phantoms of these tales vary as much as the places they haunt. Whatever their demeanor, wherever they are, however their actions are explained or dismissed, these ghosts have a common power: anyone reading this anthology will see that they still haunt us today.
Born on January 1, 1900, on a family farm in the mountains of North Carolina, Medford McGee grows up awestruck by the rapid changes that blazon the New American Century and the promise of new opportunities that come along with these changes .
This coming of age story takes place in 1944 in rural Arkansas where a twelve year old boy named, Richard has a simple dream: he just wants to buy a red scarf for Rosalie, the prettiest girl in school.
Andrew Jackson Fielder wants to pitch in the major leagues. It should seem a distant dream to a kid in Smackover, Arkansas, in 1939. But for Jackson, it comes true, partly due to the afternoons he and his brother spend practicing pitches in a pipe yard down in the south Arkansas oilpatch.
These traditional reads are brimming with spirited characters and positive values--but with a little extra excitement and bite, so hold on to your hats! Written expressly for the middle grade struggling reader, the series does not contain strong language, edgy themes, or dysfunctional families. In fact, family is the main theme of these titles. And one particular Latino family is the focus with their uncanny knack for finding humor, hope, and colorful personalities--even in unusual circumstances. Written at the lowest reading levels, the 50-page story structure is straightforward and moves the reader through the text quickly and efficiently. Neither one noticed the large creature in the woods. It quietly ran alongside them. Its red eyes stared at them. Lilia thought she heard a scream. She stopped and listened. Then she heard it again.
These traditional reads are brimming with spirited characters and positive values--but with a little extra excitement and bite, so hold on to your hats! Written expressly for the middle grade struggling reader, the series does not contain strong language, edgy themes, or dysfunctional families. In fact, family is the main theme of these titles. And one particular Latino family is the focus with their uncanny knack for finding humor, hope, and colorful personalities--even in unusual circumstances. Written at the lowest reading levels, the 50-page story structure is straightforward and moves the reader through the text quickly and efficiently. They were trapped. Then Ana remembered the old stone church. It was nearby. She knew the old building was the safest place for her family. It could withstand the high winds and rising water.
Iago is bitter over the loss of an important job promotion. How can he get revenge? Aha! Nothing could hurt Othello worse than the ruin of his own marriage.
Fearful of Caesar's growing popularity, a group of powerful Roman politicians begin to plot his death. Can a man remain loyal to Caesar and still be loyal to Rome? Caesar's noble friend Brutus is forced to make a terrible decision.
These traditional reads are brimming with spirited characters and positive values--but with a little extra excitement and bite, so hold on to your hats! Written expressly for the middle grade struggling reader, the series does not contain strong language, edgy themes, or dysfunctional families. In fact, family is the main theme of these titles. And one particular Latino family is the focus with their uncanny knack for finding humor, hope, and colorful personalities--even in unusual circumstances. Written at the lowest reading levels, the 50-page story structure is straightforward and moves the reader through the text quickly and efficiently.
These traditional reads are brimming with spirited characters and positive values--but with a little extra excitement and bite, so hold on to your hats! Written expressly for the middle grade struggling reader, the series does not contain strong language, edgy themes, or dysfunctional families. In fact, family is the main theme of these titles. And one particular Latino family is the focus with their uncanny knack for finding humor, hope, and colorful personalities--even in unusual circumstances. Written at the lowest reading levels, the 50-page story structure is straightforward and moves the reader through the text quickly and efficiently.