The only home ten-year-old Mandy has ever known is the St. Martin’s Orphanage in St. Martin’s Green, England. Matron Bridie and the staff are kind and loving to all of the orphans there, but with 30+ children to care for, it is nothing like being part of a real family. Mandy longs for a home and a family of her own, but tries to be content with her life. She has her best friend, Sue, her part-time job at the grocery store to earn a little pocket money and quite a bit of freedom to wander the countryside. One day, while Mandy was searching for something to do, she decided to climb over the high, stone wall in near the orphanage [...]
Lenny Brewster is a quirky, intelligent nine-year-old boy. He loves exploring the world around him, but usually does so in slightly unusual ways. Lenny is super smart, but doesn’t really know how to get along with others and is constantly interrupting class with his observations. His teacher, his principal and even his mom don’t know quite what to do with him. So Lenny spends most of his time alone – or in the principal’s office – until he meets Van on the playground and shows him how to make the perfect slide. He and Van have a lot in common and enjoy spending time together, but Van cannot do everything that Lenny can do because he has leukemia, a type [...]
Jim Marlowe barely remembers leaving Earth with his family many years ago. He considers himself a Martian Colonist and loves his life on Mars. He is not looking forward to going to school on Syrtis Minor, but he knows that he is of the age where he has to go. The only thing that he insists on is that his pet/friend, Willis, a “bouncer” or Martian animal that is round, furry and stick-out appendages when he wants to see or move around, come with him. His parents are forced to admit that there is nothing in the school rules that say he cannot take Willis, so Jim wins out.
Eleven-year-old Augie Boretski dreams of escaping his rundown neighborhood in Camden, New Jersey. For one glorious afternoon, he accomplishes this dream when he saves his coins for a trip to downtown Philadelphia. He discovers an unusual bookstore with a magical book of fairy tales there and accidentally steals it. Augie forgets about the book for a while, consumed with his problems at school where he is beat up daily by three big bullies. His single mother tries hard to encourage him to make friends and develop his talents, but Augie finds it easier to stay at home and hide from the neighborhood around him. When his mother signs him up for the Big Brother program, Augie is horrified. He [...]
Teddy Fitzroy has a murder on his hands – and no one is taking him seriously! Someone murdered Henry the Hippo, beloved mascot of FunJungle, America’s newest, most popular animal theme park, but all of the adults seem to want to cover up the facts rather than discover the truth! Sure Henry was hated by all who knew and worked with him, but that doesn’t mean that he deserved to die. Teddy is convinced that, if he follows up on the clues he discovered by eavesdropping at the autopsy, he will be able to discover who the criminal is. Was it Large Marge, a rather dim-witted security guard who seems to have it out for Teddy? Or was it the [...]
Hank just started 4th grade and he has already been called to the Principal’s office. Then his teacher assigns them a 5-paragraph essay about their summer vacation. And spelling and grammar counts! Hank despairs of being able to write just a few sentences let alone several paragraphs! Then Hank hits upon the perfect solution: he will bring Niagara Falls into the classroom and everyone will be so impressed, they will forget all about the missing essay!
Brian Dudley is one of 4 lucky teenagers selected to work as batboys for the Detroit Tigers. He is finally experiencing the game like the big league baseball players – just like his dad, a former Major League pitcher. Baseball was all that Brian and his dad had in common, but now that his mother and father are divorced, he doesn’t hear from his dad at all, who is coaching in Japan. But Brian still loves the game and is a huge fan, particularly of Hank Bishop, Brian’s baseball hero. When Hank Bishop is signed by the Tigers to start playing again after a drugging scandal, Brian is thrilled to meet his hero – only to find out that his hero [...]
Matthew Lanchester recently moved with his family to the small town of Hay-on-Wye in Wales so that his mother could open up a book shop. He didn’t want to move, but Matt is adjusting, making friends and planning on having some fun during school holidays. Then Matt goes on a thrilling bike ride down a huge hill and has a vision of another boy being hit by a landrover. The boy’s initials “M.L.” are carved into a tree at the end of the hill. It is too much of a coincidence that their initials are the same so Matt tries to find out about the victim and how he died.
Horace Carpetine is apprenticed to Enoch Middleditch, a society photographer in 1872 New York City. He has been raised to believe only in science and rationality, but thinks of his trade as being quite scientific and thus worthy of learning. So far, he has only been able to prep and clean the equipment, but Mr. Middleditch has promised that Horace will soon get to take photographs. His moment comes when wealthy society matron Mrs. Frederick Von Macht hires Mr. Middleditch to take a photograph of her to put on her niece’s grave. Mr. Middleditch decides that he can make more money if he can insert the ghostly image of Eleanora, Mrs. Von Macht’s niece, into the photograph. He assigns [...]
Twelve-year-old Isabel is dying to travel. She wants to get out of Oregon more than anything! She spends her free time reading about exotic locations and dreaming about becoming a flight attendant like her aunt. When her mom decides to open a cupcake shop in their small town of Willow, Oregon, Isabel feels like she is stuck. Isabel now finds herself faced with moving to a new home, helping her parents prepare the new cupcake shop and missing her best friend and summer activities – not exactly what she was looking forward to! It seems like the entire summer is going to be a big disappointment, until Isabel’s best friend, Sophie, tells her about a baking contest. The winner [...]
Birdie Bright has just been transplanted from her beloved California to cold New York City. Her mother got a huge promotion and so Birdie and her dad moved to NY so that she could take the job. Birdie feels like her mother just doesn’t understand her and she really misses all of the green plants that she had in California. Her dad understands that Birdie is having a difficult time adjusting to her new home so he sends Birdie to visit Granny Mo, her mother’s mother. Birdie has never met Granny Mo before as Birdie’s straitlaced mom doesn’t really have anything in common with her free-spirited, kooky, gardener mother. But Birdie finds herself hitting it off with Granny Mo right away! [...]
Jason is unexpectedly sent to Florida to help his father clean up his grandmother’s house. The temperature is sweltering, Jason is always damp in places he would prefer not to think about, the house is packed with all kinds of junk and his dad is losing it. See, Jason never really knew his grandmother and it seems like his dad didn’t either. It turns out that Jason’s dad doesn’t even know who his father is! His grandmother was never married and spent most of her life as an invalid in wheelchairs. Jason is hoping that the funeral will be over quickly and he will back on his way home to Boston, but his dad seems to be falling apart. [...]
