These traditional reads are brimming with spirited characters and positive values--but with a little extra excitement and bite, so hold on to your hats! Written expressly for the middle grade struggling reader, the series does not contain strong language, edgy themes, or dysfunctional families. In fact, family is the main theme of these titles. And one particular Latino family is the focus with their uncanny knack for finding humor, hope, and colorful personalities--even in unusual circumstances. Written at the lowest reading levels, the 50-page story structure is straightforward and moves the reader through the text quickly and efficiently. The bus should have arrived at the Heights at five o'clock. Two hours later, there was no sign of it. Everyone was scared and confused. A bus full of students had vanished.
Antonio slid down the rope. He held on for dear life. It got darker as the twister moved closer. It was loud. Like a giant freight train! These traditional reads are brimming with spirited characters and positive values—but with a little extra excitement and bite, so hold on to your hats! Family is the main theme of these titles. And one particular Latino family is the focus with their uncanny knack for finding humor, hope, and colorful personalities—even in unusual circumstances.
Rennie is in Uruguay when his cousins discover a secret cache at their dead grandfather’s cottage - thousands of dollars in foreign currencies, a mystifying notebook, multiple passports (some obviously fake), a gun, a disguise, and a photo of some Nazis. Rennie’s mission: to find out whether there was more to the old man than anyone knew. Was he a spy? If he was, what did he do? And for whom? Did he help a Nazi war criminal escape justice? Rennie’s quest leads him to Argentina and then to Detroit, where he finds more questions than answers and more than one gun pointed—and fired—in his direction. From the Dead is the sequel to both Slide, part of The Seven Prequels and Close to the Heel, part of Seven (The Series).
When Nat, her best friend Jess and singing-star wannabe Harper sing together, their harmonies bring down the house. For Nat, the experience sparks a driving new desire to perform. But when the girls form a trio and enter a contest for a chance to play at the Tall Grass Music Festival, Nat finds that harmony - musical and otherwise - is hard to maintain. Her bandmates almost never agree, her new boyfriend starts behaving more like a non-boyfriend, and the trio’s famous-musician mentor doesn’t even like the way Nat breathes. Every day, Nat’s dream of performing at Tall Grass seems farther away, and she questions whether she has what it takes to get there.
The last thing Chaz wants is to spend his summer working on his father’s Eye, a Ferris wheel with glass-bottomed gondolas set up to view scenic North Vancouver. For one thing, Chaz would prefer to pursue his own passion: dance in the style of the late, great Gene Kelly. More important, Chaz suffers from vertigo, and even the thought of the Eye makes him want to lose his lunch. But when a crowd of angry protestors and a mysterious vandal threaten his father’s dream, and the family’s livelihood, Chaz is forced to overcome his own fears to help out.
Shivani a quitté Mumbai il y a quelques mois à peine… Mais elle ne se sent plus vraiment comme une étrangère. Elle aime sa nouvelle école et elle a enfin une amie. Par contre, quand sa mère se propose pour cuisiner pour la fête-bénéfice annuelle de l’école, Shivani est sûre qu’elle deviendra la risée de tout le monde. Qu’est-ce qui arrivera si sa mère décide de préparer un de ses « plats qui puent » ? Shivani adore la cuisine indienne, mais pas question d’en manger devant ses amis. Dès son entrée dans le gymnase le jour de la fête de l’école, Shivani sait que ses pires craintes sont devenues réalité : l’odeur caractéristique des épices indiennes flotte dans l’air. Mais ensuite, elle voit que des dizaines de personnes font la file devant le stand de sa mère. C’est le plus populaire !
Jennifer Mah has a secret — a big one. She can move objects with her mind. She knows if people learn about her abilities, she would be taken and subjected to horrible experiments. That’s why she and her father have been living in a new city under false identities. But when Jennifer uses her powers to save someone from being hit by a car, she exposes herself to the authorities. Her father is taken away by agents and Jennifer has to find a way to save him without getting caught herself.
Prince Conn will never be king. And that's just fine with him. He's ninth in line for the pirate throne and is quite happy to sail the skies in his airship with his crew of cheery misfits, plundering as they go. But one by one his siblings are being murdered, in tragic fires, violent cannon attacks or mysterious poisonings. Soon all fingers are pointing toward Conn as the mastermind. To prove his innocence, Conn must make his way to Skull Island, navigating his airship through a gauntlet of villains, explosions and betrayals. Can he reach his father's kingdom before it's too late? Or will he suffer the same fate as the rest of his family?
On his way to baseball practice, Zeke lines up for Vancouver's newest thrill ride: Death Drop, an elevator that falls faster than gravity. The theme of the ride is based on the story of Persephone, who tumbled into the underworld. Zeke tumbles into a frightening situation himself after he discovers a little girl who is lost. He takes her to the Death Drop manager's office. But later, when he tries to find out what happened with her, the ride's staff say they never saw her! To find the missing girl, Zeke must navigate a devilish plot that includes Dante Gabriel Rossetti's famous painting Proserpine, a fiery drop into flames, and an angry coach.
Fifteen-year-old Aiden is a minor cast member on a long-running high school "dramedy" with a low budget and a loyal following. Aiden and his friends are excited that they're being promoted to lead roles for the upcoming tenth season of Pop Quiz. But then they learn the show is being canceled. According to the producers, no one even watches TV anymore, with kids preferring the antics of YouTube stars. With the help of some former cast members and a group of hardcore fans, Aiden and his friends attempt to create a movie special to wrap up the storylines and give the series the send-off it deserves.
Fourteen-year-old Skye Richardson had to leave her home, school and friends when she and her mom moved across the country to a small town on the East Coast. She’s not happy about it. Then she gets a part-time job at a local coffee shop and meets Digby Jones. Digby lives in a group home. He loves Ping-Pong and watching his favorite TV shows. He likes things done in a certain way. One day, Digby tells Skye he has the winning million-dollar lottery ticket everyone in town has been talking about. At first, all Skye can think about is how she’d love to have that money to buy her old life back. Soon, however, she begins to worry that people are going to take advantage of her new friend.
Jay doesn't believe in Bigfoot. His dad loves hunting for Bigfoot, but searching for a mythical creature in the dark isn't Jay's idea of fun. Especially because he always gets stuck looking out for his little sister while his dad plays with the cool gear, like night-vision goggles. But while out on a camping trip, a large creature starts hunting them, and then Jay’s father goes missing. Jay is forced to start tracking the creature himself while still keeping his sister safe. It turns out that not only is Bigfoot real, but it isn't the only threat in the woods. There’s a different kind of monster out here, one who is armed with a gun. Jay must act fast to save his father before it’s too late. And he needs Bigfoot’s help to do it.
Teen astronaut Houston Williams is finally headed into outer space. Houston Williams was thrilled to win a scholarship to attend a space program at NASA. What he didn’t realize was that organizers were recruiting people for a cutting-edge research project aimed at studying how space travel affects people of different ages. Now, after months of intense training, Houston is blasting off into space! He and his new friend and former rival, Ashley, are on their way to the International Space Station (ISS) where, along with veteran astronaut Colonel Sanderson, they will be subjected to a variety of experiments. Meanwhile, back on Earth, the politics of space travel are getting complicated. Many feel the money being spent on Mars exploration should be redirected to address issues such as access to clean water and global warming. A planned mission to Mars may be accelerated before funding is canceled, and there is talk of repurposing the ISS crew. Houston doesn't dare say out loud what he's thinking: Is there a chance he could actually be going to Mars? This is the second book in the Teen Astronauts series, following Houston, Is There A Problem?
Camp Clearwater is home to best friends Nate, Owen and Mercy. They practically grew up on the Starling River. But the summer they turn sixteen an incident forces the camp to close its doors. Mike Elliot, the river guide who taught the teens everything they know, is lost to the rapids. A tragic accident, everyone agrees. Except for Nate. Mike was the best kayaker he’d ever met. The smartest. The safest. He respected and loved the river, and as far as Nate is concerned, the river loved Mike back. If his instructor was pulled under by the Starling, then Nate is sure foul play was involved. To find the truth, Nate must face his greatest fears as he retraces Mike’s final run through the Black Hole, the most treacherous waters on the Starling.
Steve thinks he made the right choice turning down a snowy week with his cousins at a cabin in northern Ontario in favor of a relaxing (and perhaps romantic) time under the Spanish sun with his friend, Laia. But when an email from his brother DJ arrives, implicating their grandfather in some shadowy international plots involving nuclear bombs, Steve and Laia immediately put aside all thoughts of a lazy, sun-drenched vacation. In a desperate attempt to find out if Steve’s grandfather was a Cold War-era spy, they crack mysterious codes, confront violent Russian mobsters, dodge spies, unearth a bomb and avoid nudists. But the more they uncover, the more Steve wonders: whose side was Grandpa really on? Broken Arrow is the sequel to both The Missing Skull, part of The Seven Prequels and Lost Cause, part of Seven (The Series).
Sam and Annabel are visiting Sam's mom in Drumheller, Alberta. The farm she is living on is hosting a dinosaur dig. Annabel is thrilled to have access to paleontologists and spends as much time as she can near the dig, much to Sam’s dismay. But when they learn the dig has uncovered scientifically important bones, even Sam is curious. In fact, the whole town is talking about the discovery. When Sam and Annabel learn that Humphrey Battleford, a famous collector of stolen goods, is in the area, they realize they need to do their part to keep the ancient bones safe.
Une histoire inspirante sur les hauts et les bas dans les familles. Dylan, quatorze ans, doit aller vivre avec son grand-père qu’il connaît peu, Angus. Les deux, qui sont pratiquement des étrangers, s’évitent le plus possible. Un jour, Dylan découvre un jeune épaulard (ou orque) échoué sur une plage rocheuse. Il court prévenir son grand-père qui lui dit qu’il n’y a rien à faire. Le soleil chauffe de plus en plus et l’orque risque de mourir de chaleur. Mais Dylan doit essayer de sauver l’orque. Il prend des draps et des serviettes pour couvrir la peau délicate de l’animal et se met à transporter des seaux d’eau de mer pour le garder hydraté. C’est une tâche épuisante et il faudra des heures avant que la marée remonte et que l’eau soit assez haute pour que l’orque se dégage des rochers et se libère. Angus est ému par la détermination de son petit-fils et l’aide du mieux qu’il peut. Ensemble, ils espèrent que l’orque puisse aller rejoindre sa famille qui l’appelle au loin.
Tanya is a huge fan of horror author Joel Southland...AND he's coming to visit her school! Even though she is his biggest fan, she barely gets a chance to say hello. But he does give her a signed bookmark: For Tanya. Stay Scared! Reading later that night, she figures it's just her eyes playing tricks on her when she sees the ink on the bookmark move a little. But when the ink slithers toward her, it's too late... As Tanya tries to get to the bottom of Southland's nefarious schemes, the book is broken up by nine other creepy tales, including one about middle-school horror movie fans who track down the scariest horror movie of all time, another about a kid whose "baby eye" is beginning to fall out, and yet another about a vampire suffering due to a virus that is keeping people indoors. A mix of squirmy, funny and downright terrifying, these tales will leave readers thinking twice about the things that go bump in the night.
Jack’s a star player on an elite soccer team along with his brother, Alex. The Lancers are on top of the league, even favored to win the National Championship. But the game’s about to change. A slick bookie wins Jack’s friendship and introduces him to illegal betting. Before long, Jack is hooked on the adrenaline rush, and early wins convince him that gambling could make him rich. Meanwhile, an ever-widening rift is forming between the two brothers. Suddenly, Jack’s “system” fails and his luck runs out. How could a few losses pile up to a gut-kicking ten grand? When he can’t pay, the bookie gives Jack one way out - throw the National Championship. But can he betray his brother, his team and himself?
Toubon et son meilleur ami Dany remarquent que les filles adorent les musiciens, même s'ils sont un peu crétins. Ils décident donc de former un groupe et Toubon se découvre une passion pour la musique. Avec un son à faire vomir le chat, le groupe prend son envol. Un concours viendra cependant semer la zizanie dans le groupe. Le batteur Crado est plus intéressé à soigner son image qu'à faire de la musique et l'intérêt de Dany pour les filles les perdra tous. Ace and his best friend Denny notice that girls like musicians, no matter how dorky the dudes might be. So they start a band, and Ace discovers that he loves playing music more than anything he's done in his life. Fueled by Denny's tweets and a sound guaranteed to make cats barf, the band takes flight until a contest draws them into conflict. Their drummer, Pig, cares more about hygiene than music, and Denny's drive to impress the girls leads them all astray.
Stuck in a boring little town, Mia wants something exciting to happen. But getting kidnapped on the way home from school is not what she had in mind. Now Mia is trapped in a world she knows nothing about, and her time may be running out.
BFFs Danya and Emma are known around school as Demma. The girls are total opposites, but they know each other so well that they finish each other's sentences. Danya is plagued with guilt when the girls and Rosie, Emma's mom, are involved in a terrible car accident that leaves Emma in a wheelchair. Danya believes the wreck was her fault because she distracted Rosie from the road and had to be scolded. For a while, Emma believes it too. And she can't forgive her friend.
Sherlock Holmes thinks that Inspector Lestrade's latest case is a waste of his time. But when the details of several Napoleon statues being destroyed are revealed, he decides it may be worth looking into after all. Follow the clues with Holmes and Dr. John Watson as they uncover their biggest find yet.
When the prime minister and the secetary of foreign affairs ask Sherlock Holmes for help, Dr. John Watson knows this is an important case. The investigative duo must find a stolen letter that could lead to war. If Holmes solves the case by uncovering a second stain, he could save England and a marriage all at the same time.
Innkeeper Mrs. Warren is suspicious of her new guest. He never leaves the room and hasn't been seen in days. She has asked Sherlock Holmes and his partner Dr. John Watson to investigate the strange man. What Holmes uncovers is much more interesting than a reserved guest. Follow along as Holmes uncovers a mystery and murder in one investigation.
