When a matchmaker begins to question her latest match, Isabel Dalhousie is called upon to help. A new baby brings an abundance of joy to Isabel and her husband, Jamie—but almost-four-year-old Charlie is none too keen on his newborn brother. In fact, he refuses to acknowledge Magnus, and Isabel must find a way to impress upon her older son the patience and understanding that have served as guiding principles in her own life. These are the very qualities that bring Bea Shandon, an old acquaintance of Isabel's, to seek her help in a tricky situation. Something on a matchmaker, Bea has introduced a wealthy female friend to a cosmetic surgeon at her most recent dinner party. Then new information comes to light about the surgeon that causes Bea to doubt his motives and the auspiciousness of the match. Isabel agrees to find out more, but as her enquiries take an unexpected turn, she starts to wonder whom exactly she should be investigating. As ever, Isabel's... Views: 25
Why won't Phoebe's annoying neighbour, Monty B, leave her alone? Can she get her dippy dad and over-worked mum back together again? Will class mean girl, Polly Carter, just get off her case for once? And most important of all - will she overcome her stage fright in time to sing her musical solo?"New tween series set in a drama club. Tackling issues of family and friendship, it's warm and accessible and spot on for the Cathy Cassidy market." - The Bookseller Views: 25
Jack Frost has stolen the Pet Fairies' magical pets! Can Rachel and Kirsty help find them? Or will the pets be lost forever?The Pet Fairies have one of the most important jobs in Fairyland! Along with their special pets, they make sure that all animals find safe homes with the right owners. But when Jack Frost steals the magical pets, Fairyland is in an uproar! Can Rachel and Kirsty help set things right?When Georgia the Guinea Pig Fairy's pet goes missing, this fairy is all aflutter. She has to get him back — and fast! Views: 25
Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny used to live alone in a boxcar. Now they have a home with their grandfather and they have become friends with a real pro-hockey player. The Boxcar Children cannot believe it when they meet their favorite hockey star, Kevin Reynolds, while out skating one day. Kevin is coaching a girls' hockey team and planning to build a huge new skating rink right in Greenfield. Kevin offers Jessie a place on the team and Henry is going to be assistant coach! As soon as practices begin, however, strange things start to happen. Suddenly, equipment is missing and Kevin's plans for the new rink are almost ruined. Is someone trying to prevent Kevin's new rink from being finished? The Boxcar Children want to help their new friend and solve this mystery! Views: 25
Enter the spell-binding worlds of best-selling author Robert Stanek and dream a new dream. The book contains a beautiful collection of the author's early work, including two novellas, two short stories and a special feature exclusive.Absolutes: Blends science fact with science fiction when a brilliant young scientist searches for the final absolute: a new state of matter that may be capable of bending time and space. "My colleagues hit an invisible wall...They couldn't get the atoms cold enough or dense enough...and no one truly understands. Cryoterraform. No one has ever seen it; no one has ever done it. And it all starts with an entity perhaps akin to an incredibly dense white dwarf—and that's what I am after, a super-dense, white star of my own design and then..."Magic Lands: A refreshingly unique fantastic adventure that is suitable for readers of all ages while containing all the icky-gooey-creepy details that are sure to delight! Views: 25
It was a job any kid would kill for: to play a role in the Historical Society's Haunted House Halloween fundraising event. Ellen Streater was thrilled to play Joan of Arc, burning at the stake. It was for a good cause—to benefit the eerie old Clayton House, soon to reopen as a museum. They said the house was haunted. Ellen didn't believe it—until she felt a strange, icy feeling when she touched the beautiful Fairylustre bowl. Then she saw the ghost in the mirror—a beautiful phantom who beckoned her into a nightmare beyond her wildest dreams. "Entertaining and appealing, with lively and believable young people and a personable ghost." —School Library Journal Views: 25
Get Goosebumps with the startling repackage of a best selling classic. Now with bonus materials!Two pink flamingos. A whole family of plaster skunks. Joe Burton's dad loves those tacky lawn ornaments. But then he brings home two ugly lawn gnomes. And that's when the trouble starts.Late at night, When everyone's asleep.Someone's creeping in the garden. Whispering nasty things. Smashing melons. Squashing tomatoes.No way two dumb old lawn ornaments could be causing all the trouble? Is there? Views: 25
It's time for Jack Frost to learn his lesson! Best friends Kirsty Tate and Rachel Walker usually only get to spend vacations and holidays with each other. But for a special week, they'll both be going to the same school! It's a good thing the two friends are together. Jack Frost is causing trouble at the Fairyland School—and the School Day Fairies need help! Alison's gold art badge is nowhere to be found. Rachel and Kirsty have to find it before art class gets really messy! Views: 25
Allie Johnston's secret wish since the day she was twelve is to have her nose done. But she hasn't told anyone—not her parents, or even her best friend, Jen. But when she starts visiting a plastic surgery discussion board on the Web, she finds people who get her, for the first time in her life. Her new friends, including two girls her age with vastly different backgrounds who share her obsession with changing their faces—but for very different reasons. A sharply written, insightful book about learning to be happy with who we are. Views: 25
For more than a hundred years, the tales of Joel Chandler Harris have entertained and influenced both readers and writers. Nights with Uncle Remus gathers seventy-one of Harris's most popular narratives, featuring African American trickster tales, etiological myths, Sea Island legends, and chilling ghost stories. Told through the distinct voices of four slave storytellers, indispensable tales like "The Moon in the Mill-Pond" and other Brer Rabbit stories have inspired writers from Mark Twain to William Faulkner, Zora Neale Hurston to Toni Morrison, and helped revolutionize modern children's literature and folktale collecting. Views: 25
A magical fantasy that is fast-paced and easy-to-read. Charlie Bone has a special gift- he can hear people in photographs talking.The fabulous powers of the Red King were passed down through his descendants, after turning up quite unexpectedly, in someone who had no idea where they came from. This is what happened to Charlie Bone, and to some of the children he met behind the grim, gray walls of Bloor's Academy.Charlie Bone has discovered an unusual gift-he can hear people in photographs talking! His scheming aunts decide to send him to Bloor Academy, a school for genius's where he uses his gifts to discover the truth despite all the dangers that lie ahead.From School Library JournalGrade 4-6-When he is 10 years old, Charlie discovers that he is able to look at photographs and hear conversations and even thoughts that were taking place at the time the photo was taken, a legacy of his ancestor the Red King, whose descendants all have different magical abilities. Charlie hears one conversation that sets him on a search for a girl who has been missing for years, and when he begins attending Bloor's Academy, an elite boarding school for the rich and the endowed (as the Red King's descendants are called), his life becomes full of intrigue and danger. Charlie, his friend Benjamin, and other allies try to unlock the secrets of a mysterious case that could get the girl back, while the sinister Bloors and Charlie's ghastly relatives who are endowed try to thwart them. While the parallels with Harry Potter are obvious, this fantasy has its own charms, chief among them being the endoweds' often-odd magical abilities. The writing is deft, most of the characters are intriguing, and Charlie Bone is an appealing boy. The story is marred by some predictability, and the role of the endowed in this otherwise contemporary, unmagical society is not clear. Many aspects of the book are not fully thought out, making it less compelling than it might be. However, this is the first of a projected series, so it will be interesting to see if some of these vague points are resolved. A flawed but worthwhile offering for avid fantasy fans.Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public LibraryCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. From BooklistGr. 4-6. These days stories about schools for budding magicians are inevitably compared to the Harry Potter books. Indeed, British author Nimmo's creation, Bloor's Academy "for gifted children," bears some resemblance to Hogwart's School, but the story itself is quite different. Seemingly ordinary Charlie Bone suddenly discovers that he can hear the thoughts of people in photographs, a talent that dour Grandma Bone and her three baleful sisters work to bend to their own ends by sending him to Bloor's and to its sinister headmaster. It's not an easy year for Charlie despite the friends he makes. Too many people have it in for him as he's swept into an age-old battle being waged by descendants of a powerful king of long ago. A mysterious box, a missing girl, a strange man who flits in and out in the company of three brightly colored cats, and various villains all figure into Charlie's exciting, fast-paced adventure tale, which happily is the first book in planned quintet called Children of the Red King. Harry Potter's myriad fans will be well pleased. Sally EstesCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reservedAbout the AuthorJenny Nimmo lives in a converted watermill in Wales. Her husband, David, is a painter and print-maker, and all three of her children speak Welsh fluently. She finds Wales, a land of legends, a very inspiring place to live. For as long as she can remember, Jenny has loved books. She feels passionately that every child should have access to as many books as they want. Jenny enjoys writing about magic because it is inexplicable and unpredictable, and anything can happen. In 1986 her book, The Snow Spider, won the Smarties Grand Prix, and in 1987 it was awarded the Tir na n-Og by the Welsh Arts Council. The Rinaldi Ring, was chosen as Guardian Book of the Week and was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and received a commendation. Views: 25
