Material appropriate for intermediate age groups
The almighty explosion that destroyed the volcano island of Krakatoa was followed by an immense tsunami that killed more than thirty thousand people. The effects of the waves were felt as far away as France, and bodies were washed up in Zanzibar. Today, one hundred and twenty-five years after the volcano erupted in one of the greatest catastrophes the world has ever known, the name Krakatoa is still synonymous with disaster.
It’s summertime 1874 and Jago Stonecipher is tired of being pushed around. The penniless apprentice of a mean-spirited magican, Jago dreams of a better life. It seems his wish is granted when he finds a mysterious message in a watch, which unexpectedly sets off a dangerous chain of events.
The year is 1942, and Norway is under Nazi occupation. Ten-year-old Merit is sent with her younger brother to Godoy Island to live with her aunt and grandfather after Germans Bomb Norway in 1940. Merit longs to join her parents in the Resistance and when her aunt, a teacher, is taken away two years later, she resents even more the Nazis’ presence and her grandfather’s refusal to oppose them.
Erin Law and her friends are Damaged Children. At least that is the label given to them by Maureen, the woman who runs the orphanage that they live in. Damaged, Beyond Repair because they have no parents to take care of them. But Erin knows that if they care for each other they can put up with the psychologists, the social workers, the therapists — at least most of the time. Sometimes there is nothing left but to run away, to run for freedom. And that is what Erin and two friends do, run away one night downriver on a raft. What they find on their journey is stranger than you can imagine, maybe, and you might not think it’s true. But Erin will tell you it is all true. And the proof is a girl named Heaven Eyes, who sees through all the darkness in the world to the joy that lies beneath.
Captured by Vikings, young Hekja is taken as a slave to Greenland by the daughter of Erik the Red, and accompanied by no one from her homeland but her loyal dog, shares adventures with her new mistress, who is determined to make a name for herself as her father and brother have.
When eleven-year-old Kate and her younger brother Michael encounter a baby griffin in an Italian garden, they vow to help the creature find its way back home and to keep Griffo’s existence a secret.
As summer dawns on the island of Mistmantle, its inhabitants prepare for the coronation of Crispin the Squirrel. Robes are stitched, cakes are baked, wine is brought up from cellars, and the Heartstone — the unique gold-and-silver flecked stone that only the priest or the rightful ruler of the island can hold — is readied.But the newly established peace in Mistmantle is soon under threat. A storm-ravaged ship from a distant land appears in the mists surrounding the island; a dramatic revelation about the revered Heartstone comes to light; and the extra-sensory powers of a young islander reveal the evil close at hand. Urchin finds himself journeying to a hostile island, where the maniacal King Silverbirch and his sorcerer Smokewreath await him. There, Urchin will have to face challenges greater than those he has ever known, and in doing so he will learn a secret about his past that will change his life forever.
Hob, an invisible house spirit who works hard for his family, even though they don’t know he is there. “Hob’s work is putting little things right, like folding away trampled thoughts, mending arguments, drying up spilt tears, unkicking bruises, or unscorching the milk pan.” In this second adventure, a peddler sells Hob to a new-and seemingly perfect-family. But Hob soon discovers a huge, horrible secret living in their pond. Accustomed to smaller, domestic problems, Bog must use every ounce of his power and wit to prevent the giant catastrophe looming ahead.
Shade is the runt of his Silverwing bat colony, determined to prove himself on the perilous migration to Hibernaculum. During a fierce storm, he loses the others and soon faces the most incredible journey of his short life.
Even as he grows stronger and closer to discovering the secret of his identity, Arthur must face further dangers and conflicts as he struggles to attain the Sixth Key from the powerful Saturday.