Darren Dirkowitz thought his life was over when his tippity-top-secret alter ego, Dirk Daring, Secret Agent, was outed to the entire Preston Middle School student body. If only he’d been so lucky. Now the Wolf Lords—a gang of teen thugs bent on wringing every last penny out of Preston students—are breathing down his neck. There’s only one solution: Dirk Daring must embark on his most daring mission yet. A mission so audacious, so cunning, so doggone crazy, that if it succeeds, the Wolf Lords will wind up begging for mercy. But first, Darren must bring his own disobedient “associates” to heel. Let Sleeping Dogs Lie is the sequel to the runaway bestseller Dirk Daring, Secret Agent.
School's almost over, and best friends Ava and Sammi are heading to summer camp as volunteer camp counselors.
Through twenty-six letters to her friend Nina, twelve-year-old Kasey chronicles the often humorous observations and impressions of her unexpected, month-long stay in a geriatric ward for the treatment of a rare but treatable bone disease ("osteo-something-something-itis"). Kasey tries to make her life less dull by wearing her own nightgowns, surrounding herself with her favorite stuffies and developing an unusual exercise routine. Hospital food, insomnia and the germy communal bath are enduring sources of dread, but some new (and unexpected) friends make her life bearable.
Little worms! Squirmy Wormy and Mortimer are three little worms who know how to have big fun! See what happens when they play jump rope, or when they enter a talent contest. What will they get up to next? Stories by David L. Roper.
Time for a nap! Spot tries to find a peaceful place to nap. On a sunny day, Spot naps in the shade. Playing with a new toy can be exhausting for a puppy like Spot. Spot wants to take a nap but Splinter wants to play. A fly disturbs Spot as he tries to nap. Stories by Marileta Robinson and Highlights for Children.
A chance friendship with an elderly ex-magician helps Jared come to terms with the tensions in his own family.
Two boys harassed by a group of rowdy kids at school get their revenge when they stumble into the school custodian's cleaning closet and find something very unusual.
Gabby finds herself in a courageous situation when she is exploring the causeway and thinking about things that are bothering her. Someone needs help and she's the only one around who knows the causeway well enough to save the person.
Queeneka loves fashion, and a good mystery. So when there were missing kickball at Watson Elementary she was on the case! Who would take the kickballs? Why is Mr. Hambrick giving her the evil eye? And why are fourth graders so mean? Making a new friend along the way, Queeneka and Keely question suspects, encounter giant fourth graders, and learn that everyone is embarrassed about something. These mysteries are perfectly suited to keep readers guessing as they solve for clues. With longer sentences and fewer illustrations, they are just the right fit for your early fluent reader. Paired to the nonfiction title Everyone Goes to School.
Miles Darr and his friends in room 217 love band. And they love their director, Mr. Byrd. Colorful tropical shirts? Check. Sandals in winter? Check. High expectations? Double check. But lately, he’s been distracted. And rumor has it, Byrd might be flying the nest. Can they convince him to stay? Aligned to Common Core standards and correlated to state standards.
Colby Ellis wants to start his own band. He has the drive. He has his saxophone. And he has a garage. He just needs a name. And bandmates! He finds some fresh faces, and some of his friends from Benton Bluff Junior High band join too. But harmony isn’t their forte, so Colby makes a bold decision. Will it be the end of the band, or just the beginning? Aligned to Common Core standards and correlated to state standards.
From the percussion section at the back of room 217, Carmen Trochez keeps the Benton Bluff Junior High band steady. But when a student teacher enters the scene, the band’s loyalties are divided. Carmen is usually the glue. Can she keep everything from falling apart? Aligned to Common Core standards and correlated to state standards.
Maisey Lopez loves fashion. When her best friend, pop star Cadence Hudson, faces a fashion emergency Maisey steps up to help. But the real Cadence may get lost beneath the makeover! Aligned to Common Core standards and correlated to state standards. Book 2 in the series
With the concert tour coming to an end, Cadence Hudson, Maisey Lopez, and Kenya Jackson are heading in opposite directions. They’re hoping they can grow up, without growing apart. Because when something ends, doesn’t that mean something new is beginning? Aligned to Common Core standards and correlated to state standards. Book 4 in the series
Sawdust in his locker and weird music on his MP3 player—someone is messing with Grady Hopkins. Determined to put an end to the pranks, Grady enlists friends Marco and Ava to help him decode anagrams left by the culprit. Will he solve the mystery before the trickster strikes again?
After a hacker breaches the school’s grading system and gives students failing grades, Grady Hopkins wants to set the record straight. Along with coders Ava and Marco, Grady follows a trail of IP addresses as he searches for the perpetrator. Will they find the truth before everyone flunks sixth grade?
When Ava Rhodes’s brand new tablet computer goes missing, she’s desperate to solve the mystery. Can her fellow coding club members Marco and Grady and some quick coding help her? Or is everyone a suspect?
When his little brother loses the class hamster, Marco Martinez comes to the rescue with a robot and some coding tricks. But will a robot rescue mission be enough to catch this speedy rodent?
When weird noises in the school’s media center have students spooked, Marco Martinez is on the case. Marco writes up a code to alert him of any ghost-like activity. But does he have more than ghosts to be afraid of?
Thirteen-year-old Nate needs a break from looking after his newly disabled mom. One day when his mom thinks he's at a cross-country meet, he goes to the mall with a friend he's forbidden to have contact with. At the skate shop he sees a new board he can't afford but has to have, and Nate gets talked into running a scam. It turns out Nate looks a lot like a teen TV star filming in the area. So he and his buddy get girls to pay cash to be extras on set. It's all fine until Nate meets a girl he really likes. Nate knows he has to tell her the truth, but he's not sure he has what it takes to come clean.
It really seems like Dani's dad has gone around the bend. Ever since Dani's mother died of cancer, all her dad does is stand around on street corners with his crazy signs, proclaiming that processed foods mean the end of the world. The Food Freak, as he is known, has already scared away all of Dani's friends at her old school. But it's a new year, and Dani is at a new school in a different part of town. Maybe things will be better now. Dani just needs to keep her head down and avoid making any friends. That way, nobody will find out about her dad and his insane protests. The plan seems to be working fine until one day Dani meets a boy who helps her see things in a different light.
Fourteen-year-old Taz knows one thing for sure: she's a perfect disaster in the kitchen. Every time she tries to cook, chaos ensues. After fires, toxins and more than one minor injury, Taz will be happy if she makes it through her food-science class in one piece. But when the class enters a competitive race for a coveted program and Taz is put in a group that expects to win, the pressure is on. As the competition heats up, Taz is desperate to hold her own and not let her team down.
Hailey McEwan has many interests - soccer, field hockey, animation. She'd probably never have started singing if her best friend, Crissy, hadn't persuaded her to take singing lessons and join her choir. No one had any idea that Hailey would be such a natural, least of all Hailey herself. A shared love of music from pop to opera has been a big part of the girls' friendship, but when the two face off in a competition for a role in a production of The Marriage of Figaro, their closeness turns into a bitter rivalry. Hailey will have to make a tough decision. Is opera as important to her as it is to Crissy? And is landing a role worth losing her best friend?
Adina has always wanted to be a part of the annual fashion show at her school for the arts. Now that she's finally in the ninth grade, she and her friends can audition. She knows their act could be perfect. They've got great music, gorgeous costumes and wicked dance moves. But Willow is being her usual flaky self, and Sandra's getting touchy. Maybe even a bit mean. Luckily, Seth remains steady and reliable. Their biggest competition is the annoyingly perfect Prima Donnas, who are doing everything they can to undermine Adina and her friends. Adina is used to working hard at everything she does, including her violin, art, drama and singing classes. But her friends are getting sick of her ordering them around. They just don't get what a huge deal this is. When one of the Prima Donnas gets injured during their audition, minutes after Sandra storms off in a huff, the two groups realize that in order to succeed, they may have to work together.
Melissa is waiting for the "new life" that her mother Sharlene has promised her since a fire devastated their family. But nothing ever seems to change. Melissa has difficulty making friends at school, they never have enough money and her little brother Cody is a brat. When Sharlene announces that they will be spending the month of August at a remote cabin on a wilderness lake, Melissa is less than thrilled. But there is more to do at the lake than she expected, and she is surprised to learn that her mother knows how to paddle a canoe, fish and make bannock and s'mores. On an island in the middle of the lake, Melissa meets Alice, a strange girl who is writing a fantasy novel. Alice shares her tree fort on the island with Melissa, and while at first Melissa is attracted to Alice's strong personality and her stories of her "perfect family," she becomes increasingly uneasy around Alice. As Melissa's relationship with her mother improves and her confidence increases, she is able to hold her own with Alice and start to appreciate her own imperfect family.
