Kevin heard a man’s voice from somewhere on the other side of his room.
“Show me your hands, Strange One.”
A grim voice.
“Stand–slowly–and show me your hands.”
Kevin is trying to remember what he’s supposed to do if there’s an intruder in the house: stay calm, don’t look scared, call 911. At the same time, he’s doing his best to figure out how the heck some guy with a bow and arrows got into the room. The archer’s explanation–“I lost my balance, fell off the tiger, and landed here”–just adds to Kevin’s bewilderment.
The stranger’s astonishing arrival is only the beginning of a dazzling adventure. For the man, whom Kevin calls Archer or Archie, has come from a centuries-old Korean kingdom. And it’s up to Kevin to find a way to send him back through space and time . . . before history is changed forever.
Drugged. Wounded. A price on her head. And that’s the good news.
Herself. For years, Hok has hidden her true identity from her brothers at Cangzhen. Now, at last, she can be herself. And yet, who is she? Calm and thoughtful, Hok is a crane-style kung fu master carefully attuned to others, but she has never spent much time looking inward. After barely surviving the destruction of two warrior monk strongholds, Hok realizes her old world is gone. She finds her way to the city of Kaifeng and begins a new life.
But her old life intervenes and she must join forces with Fu and Seh to pursue the captured Malao. Their quest takes them to the city of Jinan and into the sinister underground world of fight clubs, where matches are fixed and rules don’t exist. Against incredible odds, the young monks must use their sharp wits to stay together and their formidable kung fu skills to survive.
Griffith, Graham, and Ruby's father passed away in the war. And now they must join their mother and their father's wartime traveling baseball team, The Travelin' Nine, on a a tour of America to raise money. No one will tell the kids why the team needs money so badly. Their only clue is a baseball with a hole the size of an acorn in it that their Uncle Owen gave to them the night of their father's funeral. They know very little about its significance except that their father made it with his own two hands and carried it with him throughout the war. And when all three kids hold the ball, strange things begin to happen...
The Molly books from American Girl are delightful reads for young people. With a spunky and energetic heroine, exciting storylines set against the rich historical backdrop of World War II America, and important life lessons, the Molly books are modern children's classics that no library should be without.
Nothing ever happens in Toby's small Texas town. Nothing much until this summer that's full of big changes.
It's tough for Toby when his mother leaves home to become a country singer. And Toby takes it hard when his best friend Cal's older brother goes off to fight in Vietnam. But now their sleepy town is about to get an even bigger jolt with the arrival of Zachary Beaver, billed as the fattest boy in the world. Toby is in for a summer unlike any other, a summer sure to change his life.
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Lucky, age ten, can’t wait another day. The meanness gland in her heart and the crevices full of questions in her brain make running away from Hard Pan, California (population 43), the rock-bottom only choice she has.
It’s all Brigitte’s fault–for wanting to go back to France. Guardians are supposed to stay put and look after girls in their care! Instead Lucky is sure that she’ll be abandoned to some orphanage in Los Angeles where her beloved dog, HMS Beagle, won’t be allowed. She’ll have to lose her friends Miles, who lives on cookies, and Lincoln, future U.S. president (maybe) and member of the International Guild of Knot Tyers. Just as bad, she’ll have to give up eavesdropping on twelve-step anonymous programs where the interesting talk is all about Higher Powers. Lucky needs her own–and quick.
But she hadn’t planned on a dust storm.
Or needing to lug the world’s heaviest survival-kit backpack into the desert.
Everybody gets angry sometimes. And for children, anger can be very upsetting. In this Caldecott-honor book, children will see what Sophie does when she gets angry. People do lots of different things when they get angry. What do you do?
At 9, Tiffany Aching defeated the cruel Queen of Fairyland. At 11, she banished an ancient body-stealing evil. At 13, Tiffany faces a new challenge: a boy. And boys can be a bit of a problem when you're thirteen . . . .
But the Wintersmith isn't exactly a boy. He is Winter itself, snow, gales, icicles, all of it. When he has a crush on Tiffany, he may make her roses of ice, but his nature is blizzards and avalanches. And he wants Tiffany to stay in his gleaming, frozen world. Forever.
Tiffany will need all her cunning to make it to Spring. She'll also need her friends, from junior witches to the legendary Granny Weatherwax. They, Crivens! Tiffany will need the Wee Free Men, too! She'll have the help of the bravest, toughest, smelliest pixies ever to be banished from Fairyland, whether she wants it or not. It's going to be a cold, cold season, because if Tiffany doesn't survive until Spring, Spring won't come.
As her cousin Duke-the bully of Blue Wing, Minnesota-dangles her precariously from a steel bridge 20 feet above the flood-swollen Mississippi, Claire doesn't expect to softly land on a passing boat or to see Duke floundering in the river. And yet as these unlikely events-and more-suddenly begin to happen, some in the sleepy river town don't seem at all surprised. But when a rhino's horn suddenly sprouts from Duke's face and his parents turn to stone, 12-year-old Claire decides to take action. Tracking down trolls and convincing them to reverse a curse, however, may not be as easy as she thinks. Garnering starred reviews from School Library Journal and Publishers Weekly, Joseph Helgerson's debut novel Horns & Wrinkles is a captivating American fantasy that features a "touch of the Pinocchio effect" (School Library Journal) and a tenacious, likable heroine whose understated eloquence makes this endearing tale "thoroughly believable" (Publishers Weekly).
Jeremy Fink has big plans for this summer with his best friend Lizzy, a notorious troublemaker (and no, he does not have a secret crush on her). He has everything he needs within a few blocks of his home so he never has to leave his little neighborhood. And this summer, he officially becomes a teenager. A mysterious box engraved with the words THE MEANING OF LIFE: For Jeremy Fink To Open On His 13th Birthday arrives in the mail from Jeremy's long-departed father. The four keys needed to open the box are lost, setting Jeremy and Lizzy off on a quest to find them somewhere in the vastness of New York City. Along the way, they soon discover something about themselves in their search for the keys to the meaning of life. Author Wendy Mass is a recipient of the ALA's Schneider Family Award. She delights young audience with her quirky characters that are easy to relate to.
Brian Jacques' stories of Redwall have sparked the imaginations of innumerable readers and won the New York Times best-selling author countless fans. In The Long Patrol, Jacques delivers a wonderfully crafted tale set in his fantastical realm. The vicious Rapscallion army is threatening to batter down the walls of Redwall Abbey. But standing in their way are the brave hares of the Long Patrol and a stout-hearted contingent of forest creatures. And no defender of Redwall is more courageous than young Tammo, an inexperienced but eager hare who dreams of great adventure. Fueled by sumptuous feasting and hearts lifted by stirring ballads, Tammo and his honorable companions raise their swords in a pitched battle for the future of their land. The Long Patrol is a rich addition to a series already overflowing with action and warm humor. All of Jacques' memorable characters are skillfully portrayed by the rousing narration of the author and a full cast.
"A welcome episode for the series' legion of fans."-Booklist
In Ysabeau S. Wilce's exciting debut novel, Flora's mom is away, leaving Flora and her father home alone at Crackpot Hall with its 11,000 constantly shifting rooms. Late for school one day, Flora decides to take the elevator down to the first floor. But without her mother around, the elevator has ideas of its own and drops Flora in an unfamiliar room. Lost in her own house, Flora embarks on a harrowing quest to find her way back to where she started.
