An El Salvadorian family flees political oppression in their homeland and takes a perilous journey north, through Mexico to America, where they hope they will find a better life. A compelling, provocative, and exciting novel. Details of the brutal realities in El Salvador are dexterously woven into the story of one family?s struggle to beat the odds.
Intermediate (ages 9-14)
Material appropriate for intermediate age groups
The Ink Drinker
Book lovers everywhere will adore this twist on an old tale:This young boy cannot think of a worse way to spend his summer: he has to help his Dad out with his bookstore, and he absolutely hates to read! His job is to watch the store for shoplifters, but things take a twisted turn when he spies a pale character who seems to float through the aisles of the store.But this stranger is not trying to steal books–he is drinking the words out of them with a straw! So the boy goes on a chase to find out what this fellow is all about and they both wind up in a cemetery, where the boy discovers a taste for something much more filling than ink!
The Whole Sky Full of Stars
Barry can punch anyone hard enough to make them see a whole sky full of stars, though that’s not really his style. Barry and Alby have been friends since the first grade. They’ve always protected one another. When Barry’s pop dies, times are tough and the only thing Barry has of value is his dad’s 1964 Ford Galaxie. Meanwhile Alby’s got himself into big trouble with a cardshark. So he hatches a plan to make money. To help out Barry, but also to help himself. The problem is, Barry could get hurt, and it just might cost Alby their friendship. How much can you ask of a friend?
The Island on Bird Street
During World War II a Jewish boy is left on his own for months in a ruined house in the Warsaw Ghetto, where he must learn all the tricks of survival under constantly life-threatening conditions.
The Mystery of the Cupboard
When Omri puts away the cupboard in The Secret of the Indian, he vows that it will be forever. Little Bear, Boone, and the other miniature figures he had brought to life will remain plastic. But then Omri and his family move to an old country farmhouse that they inherited from a distant relative, and he unearths a faded journal hidden in the thatched roof. To Omri’s utter amazement, the notebook was written by his “wicked” great-great-aunt Jessica Charlotte on her deathbed. Even more astonishing: It reveals how the cupboard and its magic were created–and changed the destiny of his family. In trying to right a wrong done in the past, Omri finds he has no choice but to break the promise he made to himself. The magical cupboard is opened once more.
Fearless
When a storm brings down his father’s boat, Digory Beale is forced to leave home to discover his fate. For if Digory has been orphaned, he can never go home again. On his journey, Digory becomes the apprentice to a charming stranger whose life’s obsession is to save sailors’ lives. Digory must face his fears of the sea to help Henry bring candles to the lighthouse he’s built on a killer reef.
Death in the Air: The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His Second Case
After the harrowing experience of losing his mother while solving a brutal murder in London’s East End, young Sherlock Holmes commits himself to fighting crime … and is soon involved in another case. While visiting his father at the magnificent Crystal Palace, Sherlock stops to watch a remarkable and dangerous trapeze performance high above, framed by the stunning glass ceiling of the legendary building. Suddenly, the troupe’s star is dropping, screaming and flailing, toward the floor. He lands with a sickening thud just a few feet away, and rolls up almost onto the boy’s boots. Unconscious and bleeding profusely, his body is grotesquely twisted. In the mayhem that follows, Sherlock notices something that no one else sees — something is amiss with the trapeze bar! He knows that foul play is afoot. What he doesn’t know is that his discovery will put him on a frightening, twisted trail that leads to an entire gang of notorious criminals. Wrapped in the fascinating world of Victorian entertainment, its dangerous performances, and London’s dark underworld, Death in the Air raises The Boy Sherlock Holmes to a whole new level.Be sure not to miss Eye of the Crow, The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His First Case.
Lady Friday: The Keys to the Kingdom
Four of the seven Trustees have been defeated and their Keys taken, but for Arthur, the week is still getting worse. Suzy Blue and Fred Gold Numbers have been captured by the Piper, and his New Nithling army still controls most of the Great Maze. Superior Saturday is causing trouble wherever she can, including turning off all the elevators in the House and blocking the Front Door. Amidst all this trouble, Arthur must weigh an offer from Lady Friday that is either a cunning trap for the Rightful Heir or a golden opportunity he must seize – before he’s beaten to it.
Double or Die: A James Bond Adventure
James Bond is no ordinary boy. In a north London cemetery, a professor is kidnapped at gunpoint. Then, a suspicious letter crammed with cryptic clues arrives at Eton. To decipher the deadly mystery, James Bond must take a series of dangerous gambles. Once the code is cracked he has just forty-eight hours to save the professor from the dark forces that threaten to destroy them both. And if they can’t escape, it’s not only their future under threat.
Piratica: Being a Daring Tale of a Singular Girl’s Adventure upon the High Seas
Artemesia is the daughter of a pirate queen, and she’s sick of practicing deportment at the Angels Academy for Young Maidens. Escaping from the school, she hunts up her mother’s crew and breezily commands them out to sea in a leaky boat. Unfortunately, Art’s memories of her early life may not be accurate-her seasick crew are actors, and Art’s infamous mother was the darling of the stage in a pirate drama. But fiery, pistol-proof Art soon shapes her men into the cleverest pirate crew afloat. And when they meet the dread ship Enemy and her beautiful, treacherous captain, Goldie Girl, Art is certain that her memories are real. The Seven Seas aren’t large enough for two pirate queens: Art will have the battle of her life to win her mother’s title–and the race for the most fabulous treasure in pirate lore.