Casey will have to do a lot of pet-sitting to earn the money she needs to buy Lightning, a beloved horse. Her hopes of buying Lightning are dashed when she learns that his owner has found a buyer and must sell the horse immediately. Across the street from Casey's house a mystery unfolds as a seldom-seen woman who seems to be able to read minds prepares to host a carnival and a yo-yo contest that boasts a $1500 prize. Casey's yo-yo is buried in her closet. She has a great talent and a greater case of stage fright.
Joe and his friend Skip are enjoying the thrill of the Big Dip, a famous rollercoaster, until they learn the old man in front of them has been shot. The old man mutters with his dying breath something about getting a Margaret Rose to the police. Joe leaves the crime scene to get on with his life. But someone is desperate for the Margaret Rose and thinks Joe has it. When his sister is kidnapped, Joe is in a race against time to solve the puzzle.
Jake and his younger brother Tommy are visiting family at a beach house on the coast. Having already lost a race to his cousin Lexie, Jake can't resist a second chance at victory when she challenges him again. Only this time it's a boat race-to the legendary Smuggler's Cave and back. The ocean is deep and choppy, and the boat is harder to control than Jake thought it would be. When he and Tommy reach Smuggler's Cave, the unthinkable happens. The boat capsizes, and they are swept into the cave. Lexie comes to their rescue, but the rising tide prevents them from escaping, and the three of them soon realize they are trapped.
Clay would much rather work as a lifeguard at the beach than at Safari Splash, the new water park in town. He's certain the summer will drag along, despite his position at the Boa, the park's fastest slide. The summer job starts to get interesting when he learns that someone has been wandering the park in a lynx costume, scaring the staff. When forty thousand dollars is stolen from the till, and his friends are under suspicion for the theft, boring is starting to look good. But Clay is certain that the mask and the thefts are connected, and he's determined to solve the crime.
Dylan and his friends snowball cars for entertainment on the weekend. When they don't get enough reaction from passing cars, they put rocks in the middle of their snowballs. Their first attack with the loaded snowballs causes a car crash. His friends flee, but Dylan goes to the scene of the accident to make sure the driver is okay. He runs off when he knows help is on the way. Dylan is sighted, and rather than being punished, he is lauded as a hero. As his lies pile up, so does the hype about his heroics, and along with it, Dylan's guilt.
Zeke's parents have split up. His dad is hurt and angry when Zeke sides with his mother. But Zeke's emotions go on a crazy roller coaster ride when he's visited by a mysterious kid that only he can see ... until he finds out his grandpa can also see the ghost. Zeke's world is rocked in new ways when he finds out that he can see and talk to the dead.
Kemba feels like the lamest kid in school. If only he could be cool like the computer game superhero Underdog. But he can't even save himself from the biggest bully in the sixth grade, let alone protect the weakest of the weak like Underdog does. He has zero friends. Or so he thinks. Kemba hasn't even had the courage to try until one act of cruelty pushes him over the edge.
Chris always does the right thing. But when he knows who messed with Sam in the school yard, he can't speak up. His friends can't either. There's the silent Code that every kid follows. Chris decides he can't live with himself if he doesn't say something, so he makes a stand and is shocked at the outcome. Mean bully Phil is actually ... cool. But then Phil asks him to do something so wrong.
No way will Tiggs and Jess be able to raise $700 for soccer camp. Time is running out. Tiggs may be replaced as keeper on her team, something she does not want to happen. At the last minute, the girls are asked to clean an old and possibly haunted house. The job will pay exactly what they need. But what they find inside may keep them trapped there forever.
"Leo the Liar" is in big trouble now. He's promised the toughest kid in school a photo of a real zombie. And he has to deliver. Now Leo knows there are no such things as zombies. But he wants to prove a point. Plus, he doesn't like being called a liar. So he sneaks out late at night and finds more than he ever bargained for. Can he save himself and his family from a zombie swarm?
When Leyla draws, she's in another world, not in this war-ravaged country. Her school has been destroyed. There are occupying forces in her village. Americans. Each trip to the water pump must be taken with care. She won't even look at the soldiers. But then she sees a woman, a soldier. And she does something unexpected, then courageous.
This global collection of 80 very short tales from Europe, Asia, the Americas and even a story from Africa include chants, scary ghost stories, humorous stories and more.
This collection of world tales focuses on stories originating from nearly every continent. They are short, gripping stories that "kick in fast including comedy, trickster, tall tales and family themes for middle and young readers.
As a companion to her award-winning story collection Three Minute Tales, Margaret Read MacDonald has compiled another delightful collection of entertaining stories from around the world edited especially for the tastes and interests of young readers.
Kids love to tell stories among themselves, and the two most popular types are funny stories and scary stories. Scared Witless delivers double dividends - it contains thirteen stories that are funny and scary. These tales are surefire entertainment for sleepovers, summer camp and parties.
Mitch Morris finds the new girl odd. There's something strange about her--it might be her dark hair and pale skin, the way she can get him to do things he doesn't want to do, or the fact that he just can't remember her name! Even more odd is the sudden disappearance of blood from the local blood bank. When Mitch spends some time with Mercy, he finds he really likes her, even after he discovers her parents are vampires! The other Zombie Hunters think Mercy and her family have to go. Can Mitch be friends with a vampire? Book 5 in the series.
Stan's race through Hilltop Cemetery ended with a fall on Randall Fortin's grave. That fall caught Stan in the middle of a 100-year-old ghost feud over an apple orchard that no longer exists. When the Zombie Hunters go to investigate, a glowing ghost apple tree sucks Stan into the past and right in the middle of the fight! Can Stan negotiate a truce between the Fortins and Wymans? Or will he die with the four men who lost their lives that night many years before? Book 6 in the series.
Barry Bannon and his dog, Lucy, walk every day in Marshfield Grove, the biggest cemetery in Marshfield. They've seen several ghosts, so that doesn't bother Barry. But zombies are a different matter! When zombies begin kidnapping neighborhood dogs to eat their brains, they steal the ghost dog of Alma Simmons's ghost. Alma doesn't want to be alone, so she takes Lucy for company. Barry will not rest until his dog is back. Can Barry and the other Zombie Hunters find the missing dogs and get rid of the zombies without being killed themselves? Book 3 in the series.
Stan Summer has always lived next to Hilltop Cemetery. So when Amy Martinez moves in nearby, she asks Stan to show her the graveyard. Stan brings Amy to Deadman's Hill, his favorite place in the cemetery--at least it was until a strange red fog started chasing him. When Amy and Stan approach the fog, it splits into balls of colored light. Some of the balls are playful and some are just plain mean. Can Amy, Stan, and the rest of the Zombie Hunters find a way to help the lights find peace? Book 2 in the series.
Jared Jenson lives next to Woodland Cemetery at the far corner of Marshfield. He used to think it was funny that he and his best friend, Stan, live by cemeteries, but now it's starting to creep him out. In his dreams each night, he sees people dragging bodies through the cemetery . . . until he is dragged for real! Ghostly grave robbers think he is supposed to be buried in the Potter's Field grave. Can Jared, Stan, and the rest of the Zombie Hunters track down Jared's nightmare and free them all from the grave robbers before it's too late? Book 1 in the series.
A normal camping trip in Woodland Cemetery soon takes a turn for the strange for Jared and Stan. In the middle of the night, a splash wakes Jared. When he goes to investigate, he finds a strange teen swimming in the pool. The stranger can't remember what he does all night, hunts rabbits and squirrels with his bare hands, and feels odd during the full moon--all the signs of a werewolf! Can Jared, Stan, and the rest of the Zombie Hunters track down the werewolf before it transforms and hunts them down? Book 4 in the series.
Bus 445 has a mind of its own--it honks for no reason! Is it a malfunction or a malicious ghost? Malcolm and Dandy open an investigation that has them colliding with a spiteful spirit. But can they steer him away from his mission of revenge? Their runaway adventure brings the reader along for a bumpy ride. Book 8 in the series.
The local movie theater is hosting Horrorfest--two days of backtoback monster movies. Malcolm and Dandy can't wait to see their favorite horror classics up on the big screen. But the spine tingling chills continue even after the movies end. The Wolfman, The Fly, and King Kong have escaped their black and white films and are after Malcolm and Dandy! After much ducking and dodging, the boys discover that it's more than cinema magic. The secret lies behind the small window of the theater's projection booth. Book 12 in the series.
When the local museum hosts the exhibit for the mummy of Egyptian king, Tuturtikum, Malcolm and Dandy want to be the first in line. But they soon learn there is more to the mummy than just a wad of rotting rags. They've both become victims of the Tuturtikum curse! It seems the only way to zap the curse is to zap the ghost of Tuturtikum. But can the curse be lifted or will they be jinxed for life? Book 10 in the series.
It's field trip day and Mrs. Goolsby is taking the class to the sugar factory. It seems like a sweet place, until they're all dodging the flying sugar beets! The tortured tour guide finally reveals the factory's secret . . . it's haunted. Can Malcolm and Dandy rid the refinery of the clinging ghost who vows she'll never! never! never! leave? Book 9 in the series.
