Playing a sport requires training and skill. But many believe winning also involves luck. Athletes often have good luck charms or pregame rituals. Coaches and fans do too. From college and professional leagues to the Olympics, superstitions are everywhere in the world of sports. But do these interesting items and peculiar practices actually help teams win?
Heroes are all around us. They may be famous for their deeds, or they could be our friends and neighbors. What sets heroes apart from the crowd is courage. It takes courage to save a life, help others, or fight for what you believe in. How have heroes made an impact on your life?
Six million Jewish people were killed in the Holocaust. Children were not spared. But some managed to survive. Large numbers were sent to concentration camps. Others were hidden by friends and neighbors. Some were smuggled across borders. Many lost their families. Still, they did not give up. These are their stories of survival.
Jim and his friends have the treasure map but they're badly outnumbered. Do they have a chance against the bloodthirsty mutineers? Long John Silver says he's on Jim's side. But the one-legged old pirate is clever and wily-- and Jim's very life is at stake!
"The white bar can propel my Time Machine into the future," he explained. "The black bar can send it into the past." As the Time Traveler continues his amazing story, his friends become increasingly suspicious. They can't quite believe his wild story about the evil Morlocks and the beautiful Eloi. Would you believe it?
The mysterious prisoner is called Marchiali- but is that his true name? And why has an innocent man been imprisoned for so long? The fabled three musketeers suspect a royal conspiracy. But there are deadly dangers in confronting the royal family. The musketeers could be killed- and poor Marchiali could end up wearing an iron mask!
The Civil War battlefields are nothing like Henry Fleming had imagined them to be. Isn't it the duty of every living creature to save its own life? Yet Henry is afraid to return to his regiment. His comrades are sure to sneer at his cowardice.
Jane Eyre has had bad luck. In a fit of anger, her cruel aunt sent her off to Lowood, a bleak, charity institution for orphaned girls. There Jane learned to expect little from life. But her new position at a great country estate promises to be far more interesting than she ever dreamed.
Quasimodo, the deformed bell ringer, and Frollo, the archdeacon, are both in love with Esmeralda. But the beautiful gypsy has already married another man to save his life- and her heart belongs to an army captain! Poor Quasimodo doesn't have much of a chance. Then an angry crowd cries out for Esmeralda's blood, and Quasimodo proves that true love is eternal.
On the run from his kidnapper, an orphaned boy acquires an unexpected traveling companion. Is Alan Breck the notorious outlaw that people say he is? Or is he really a patriotic hero?
Two young boys discover that they look just alike. But the lives they lead could hardly be more different. What could it hurt to trade places for a while? When the old king dies, they find out in a hurry. Will poor Tom Canty actually be crowned the new King of England?
Lemuel Gulliver has bad luck at sea. A series of shipwrecks lands him in some unimaginable places. First, there's the land of the little people. Next there's the fantastic flying island and the land of the giants. Last but not least, Gulliver visits a nation ruled by intelligent horses!
Uncas and Chingachgook are the last survivors of the once mighty tribe of Mohicans. Their friend, a white scout named Hawkeye, needs their help in the British fight against the French. The odds they face are overwhelming. Magua, a cunning Huron, is determined to see them fail.
Pip is headed for an apprenticeship at the blacksmith's forge. Then an anonymous donor appears, and sends Pip to London to live as a gentleman. Pip is sure he knows the identity of his secret benefactor. He couldn't be more surprised when he finds that he's been mistaken all along.
Freedom is everything to Huckleberry Finn. How can he avoid being "civilized" by the good-hearted Widow Douglas? But just now Huck has more important things on his mind-- like helping his friend Jim escape the slave-catchers!
Scrooge is downright mean and cold-hearted-- the stingiest man in all of London. Could anything on earth transform him into a kind and caring human being? Probably not. But the spirit of Christmas is very powerful--more powerful by far than anything on earth.
As usual, Tom Sawyer and his pal Huck Finn were only out looking for fun. They never dreamed they'd witness a murder! And that isn't Tom's only problem. There's a new girl, Becky Thatcher, and the fence he's suppose to paint-- not to mention the hunt for Injun Joe's buried treasure!
Sam is spending the summer working for his dad’s construction company, a business he is supposed to be a part of after graduation. This is not what Sam wants, but it is what his family expects. Will an accident on the construction site change things?
Marta is an outsider at school. Partly because she chooses to be. With parents who were once farm workers, she was used to moving a lot. It was hard to make friends. Though now the family is settled, trouble seems to follow her. To escape, she draws. Her art teacher thinks she has a gift. He signs her up for a program in another city. As she leaves behind the drama back home, she encounters other places, people, and events that are just as dramatic and even dangerous. Her drawings seem to be responsible.
Jackson doesn't like school very much, but he is good at computer programming. He’s even developed an app. When Jackson enters it in a contest, he gets a a chance to be on his favorite TV show. While taping the show, Jackson makes a disturbing discovery. What will he decide to do?
Joe is working at an accounting office over the summer instead of hanging out at the park shooting hoops with his friends. He discovers something strange at work. Is his boss a thief?
Ricky is the only family Donyell Mason has left. When Ricky becomes a prime suspect in a terrible crime, Donyell sets about to clear his big brother.
Cecilia has always been secure in her world. A high school cheerleader, she is pretty and popular. And she dates Ryan, one of the cutest boys in her school. She leads a charmed and pampered life. Clearly everyone forgot the warnings buried deep in the quatrains of Nostradamus-- the end of days. When the world they know is destroyed, will their struggle to survive destroy their love? This new normal-- this new life-- is cruel and unpredictable and tests both of them in ways that they've never imagined. But it's not the end, only the beginning, but the beginning of what? From what we've calculated, it's been seven days since The End. We don't really have a more suitable name for it. There was absolutely no warning. It was three days after Christmas. We were alone and scared. Nobody expected the theories and stories to actually come true. After 2012 passed with no strange activity, the whole idea of the apocalypse seemed like rubbish. But we were proven terribly wrong. Nostradamus got it right after all.
Cecilia has always been secure in her world. A high school cheerleader, she is pretty and popular. And she dates Ryan, one of the cutest boys in her school. She leads a charmed and pampered life. Clearly everyone forgot the warnings buried deep in the quatrains of Nostradamus-- the end of days. When the world they know is destroyed, will their struggle to survive destroy their love? This new normal-- this new life-- is cruel and unpredictable and tests both of them in ways that they've never imagined. But it's not the end, only the beginning, but the beginning of what? This situation was way out of my control. I was willing to give up anything to go back to the way things were before... I tried my best to comfort and reassure Cecilia that somehow everything would be okay. But I really couldn't be convincing when I could barely convince myself. We were walking into an unknown world. A world without leadership. No government. No medicine. No transportation. No food except what we could grow... or kill. It was going to be mass chaos.
Gabby Herrera is not like her perfect sister, Celia--straight-A student, obedient, responsible. Her parents don't get it. They don't get er C-average report card. Her love for basketball. "The three of them think anything is possible if you just try hard enough. Well, I've tried. It's not possible." She can't be who she is unless she is just like them. And if she's not like them, she's not a real person. She's a broken person. A broken Herrera. And that is unacceptable.
