Material appropriate for intermediate age groups
Meet the most impressive of the gods and goddesses of Olympus-and even a few monsters-and see them revealed for what they really were: ancient superheroes with the power to shift shape, move mountains, and change fate.
THE FIRST THING I remember is waking up in the woods. I didn’t know where I was, or how I got there. I didn’t know my own name. All I knew was that the little silver key hung round my neck had always been there.This is how Lexi’s story begins. She is taken into a shelter where there are clean clothes, warm food, and, most importantly, a woman who remembers her. Safe from the wars and the dangers of the street, Lexi begins to rebuild her identity with the small pieces of the past she can fit together. Then the silver key around her neck unlocks the secrets of a life she never knew she had.This is Lexi’s story. This is how she finds her way home.
Rigoberta Menchu returns to the world of childhood. The novel’s seven-year-old heroine, Ixkem, is chosen to tend to the prized cornfields once her grandfather has passed away. But Ixkem isn’t sure she can accept this great responsibility. Out in the fields, she discovers a legion of tiny people, no bigger than bananas. They are nahuales — secret animal spirits — and when they take Ixkem into the underworld where they live, she regales them with tales of the surface. What they offer in return helps Ixkem to accept both her grandfather’s wishes for her and the fact that she must soon wish him goodbye. This moving story is rich with emotion and Mayan folklore, perfect to captivate any young reader.
Seen from space, our planet looks blue. This is because almost 70 percent of Earth’s surface is covered with water. Earth is the only planet with liquid water — and therefore the only planet that can support life. All water is connected. Every raindrop, lake, underground river and glacier is part of a single global well. Water has the power to change everything — a single splash can sprout a seed, quench a thirst, provide a habitat, generate energy and sustain life. How we treat the water in the well will affect every species on the planet, now and for years to come. One Well shows how every one of us has the power to conserve and protect our global well.
Many years have passed since the Occitanian knights killed Richard the Lionheart in a courageous battle to keep the Blue Flame–sparked at the moment of Christ’s death–from falling into the wrong hands. Now it is in danger once again, as enemies from the north draw near. In the midst of this looming battle, lifelong friends Raimon, son of a Cathar weaver, and Yolanda, daughter of a Catholic Count, are falling in love. But a new religious crusade is about to begin, setting boy against girl, family against family, neighbor against neighbor, south against north. Though many seek to possess the Blue Flame, only one person is destined to wield its power to save the people and the sovereignty of the Occitan.
JOSH’S FAMILY IS used to changes—but now they are hurtling into even more. Although Josh has always had an affinity with animals, it’s his younger brother Jamie who falls under the all-pervading wild cat spell.“Leo” seems to have taken over Jamie’s life. He eats when and what he wants, speaks only when he needs to. Soon it becomes impossible for the family to cope with his frightening, unpredictable behavior. Only Josh understands his brother’s moods, but is he brave enough to break through Jamie’s unhappy mask, and save them all?
A sinister cloud has appeared on the edge of the solar system, and seems to be moving closer. The closest planet, Georgium Sidus, has but two human inhabitants: the missionary Reverand Cruet and his daughter Charity. Their last communication: ‘Great danger— imperative that—’And then nothing. Art, Myrtle and family decide to investigate whatever monstrous force of darkness was hiding within the cloud. But how could they know what mothy horrors lay in wait!? Because the evil they discover is far beyond anything their imaginations could concoct. Now, with the Empire in dire peril, it’s up to Art (and his family, truth be told) to muster all their cunning and courage to try to Save It (again).
It’s 1969, and thirteen-year-old Scott is doing all the things that normal boys do — and also flying airplanes with his Air Force flight instructor father. When Scott successfully crash-lands a training plane, NASA takes notice. They hope to recruit him for their top-secret space program, which will launch a test flight to the moon before the first lunar landing. This craft was intended to be piloted by chimps, but one chimp had to be dismissed, and now they need a quick substitute — who better than a boy aviator?
Soon Scott is on his way to the NASA training facility. There he’s surprised to discover just how clever and competent the chimps are — they’re able to control the flight simulators like regular astronauts do. The chimps are more like humans than Scott ever imagined, so why, then, did one of them go crazy? Is there something about this mission that NASA isn’t telling him?
G-forces collide with government secrets as Scott races to prepare for his journey to the moon. Brimming with nonstop action and adventure, this is the story of a courageous young man who dares to follow his dream.
In this sequel to “The Last Polar Bears”, Grandfather and his demanding, but delightful, dog Roo journey to Australia in search of Uncle Vincent, last heard of prospecting for gold. Their adventures are told in letters sent back to Grandfather’s grandchild.
This stunning, fully-illustrated collection offers a dazzling array of narrative poems—-each of which tells an unforgettable tale. Readers will find poems to suit every taste—from stirring, heroic verses to magical fables, and from cautionary tales to humorous tongue-twisters. “Old masters” such as William Wadsworth Longfellow and Lewis Carroll are paired with great twentieth century poets such as W.H. Auden & Roald Dahl. Contemporary poets such as Tony Mitton & Kevin Crossley-Holland (who introduces each poem) are featured as well. A one-of-a-kind anthology for every child’s bookshelf.