"Look into the tiger's eyes. I wish to show you lives different from your own," Soma-Nandi tells the boy-king Tamar. When you join Tamar on his enchanted journey, you too can look into the tiger's eyes. But beware, for along the way, nothing is as it appears to be: forest creatures speak and populate hidden kingdoms, hacked-down vines regenerate before your very eyes, and holy men spring up from ant hills. In a dream, Tamar has lost everything to the impressive King Jaya in a game of dice. Tamar feels honor bound to obey the king's command: he must give up his kingdom to travel to a Jaya's domain. His obligation is confirmed when he awakens to find an iron ring on his finger. Inspired by the classic mythology of India, virtuoso storyteller Lloyd Alexander creates dazzling visions of high adventure and deep humanity. A sprinkling of Hindi and singsong verses add spice to this epic tale. Narrator Ron Keith's clear, compelling English accent adds vivid atmosphere and makes the extraordinary real.
Best-selling and award-winning author Margaret Peterson Haddix delivered an instant classic when she launched her Missing series. Two books ago, a plane landed with no pilot and no adults-and a passenger load of 36 infants. Years later, teens were shocked when clues began to turn up about just what it meant to be one of "the missing." Now young heroes Jonah and Katherine must help a girl return to the past amid a host of unexpected challenges. "Best of the series so far."-Kirkus Reviews
In this seventh madcap entry from Jim Benton's New York Times best-selling series, pint-sized Franny K. Stein has the perfect solution for getting elected class president the mad science way. In the privacy of her laboratory, Franny combines the DNA of a dog, a chameleon and a parrot to create the Frandidate-a candidate who says and does exactly what appeals to her classmates. But just as the Frandidate is poised to win the election, something goes terribly wrong.
Read by Paul McGann, 'Dear Olly' was written by Michael Morpurgo in 2000.A stunning performance and narrative.Ollie's brother wants to go and work with children who have been made orphans, through war, in Africa. He wants to be a clown and make them laugh. His mother and sister want him to stay in England and go to university.Hero, a swallow, has a journey to make too. He must fly to Africa for the winter to join all the other swallows. His journey is difficult and fraught with danger.Three separate stories are woven into one powerful and moving novel whose central theme exposes the horrors of war and of landmines, but also the endurance of the human spirit.
Read by the inimitable Richard Attenborough. Billy was a champion soccer star, playing for Chelsea in the 1930s. But that was before war broke out...Billy the Kid is told through the voice of an 80 year old man, who looks back on his life as Chelsea's champion striker until the outbreak of war in 1939 and on through his subsequent life. Billy joins Chelsea as a football apprentice, rises through the reserves to become a real champion. His passion for football sees him through the war years - even as a prisoner of war he organises a friendly against the Italians - but, having been injured by a mine he cannot play for Chelsea on his return to England. Billy turns to vagrancy and alcohol and for years he wanders up and down the country. he re-settles in London in a derelict house and is befriended by a family who move him to a shed in their garden. He, in turn, helps their son with his football who in his turn becomes a Chelsea player. Billy becomes a Chelsea Pensioner and his 80th birthday is celebrated when Chelsea play at home. A novel for both children and adults which deals with some difficult issues. Michael Morpurgo's storytelling is superb.
READ BY SOPHIE ALDREDOn January 1st 2001, Becky Morley begins to write her diary. By March 12th, her world has changed for ever...When Becky Morley begins keeping her diary in January, foot and mouth disease is just an item on the news, something happening hundreds of miles from her family's farm in Devon. But now the nightmare is a few fields away and local flocks are being destroyed. Will the Morleys' animals be next? Will their cattle, their sows and piglets escape the cull? And what about Little Josh, Becky's hand-reared lamb? The waiting and hoping is the most agonising experience of Becky's life...Out of the Ashes is a powerful and moving fictional account of true events by award-winning author, Michael Morpurgo.
There is an unseen world of good and evil where nightmares are fought and hope is reborn. Enter The Door Within. Aidan Thomas is miserable. And it's much more than the strange nightmares he's been having. Just when life seemed to be coming together for Aidan, his parents suddenly move the family across the country to take care of his wheelchair-bound grandfather. When strange events begin to occur, Aidan is drawn into his grandfather's basement where he discovers three ancient scrolls and an invitation to another world. No longer confined to the realm of his own imagination, Aidan embarks on an adventure where he meets knights, warriors, kings and mysterious Glimpses who can travel between worlds. Aidan joins them in the struggle between good and evil. With the fate of two worlds hanging in the balance, Aidan faces Paragory, the eternal enemy. Will Aidan be willing to risk everything and trust the unseen hand of the one true King? The answer comes from The Door Within.
One of the classic fantastical adventures of all time!William has just received the best present of his life an old, real-looking stone and wooden model of a castle, with a drawbridge, a moat, and a fingerhigh knight to guard the gates. It's the mysterious castle his housekeeper has told him about, and even though William is sad she's leaving, now the castle is his! William can't wait to play with the castle he's certain there's something magical about it. And sure enough, when he picks up the tiny silver knight, it comes alive in his hand! Sir Simon tells William a mighty story of wild sorcery, wizards, and magic. And suddenly William is off on a fantastic quest to another land and another time where a fiery dragon and an evil wizard are waiting to do battle. . . .An IRA-CBC Children's ChoiceA California Young Reader Medal WinnerA Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award WinnerFrom the Trade Paperback edition.
Is the kingdom's fate in the hands of an orphan cat?
Running fast to save his life, Aldwyn ducks into an unusual pet store. Moments later Jack, a young wizard in training, comes in to choose a magical animal to be his familiar. Aldwyn's always been clever. But magical? Jack thinks so'and Aldwyn is happy to play along.
He just has to convince the other familiars'the know-it-all blue jay Skylar and the friendly tree frog Gilbert'that he's the powerful cat he claims to be.
Then the unthinkable happens. Jack and two other young wizards are captured by the evil queen of Vastia.
On a thrilling quest to save their loyals, the familiars face dangerous foes, unearth a shocking centuries-old secret, and discover a destiny that will change Vastia forever. Their magical adventure'an irresistible blend of real heart, edge-of-your-seat action, and laugh-out-loud humor'is an unforgettable celebration of fantasy and friendship.
The First Rule of Torching: Cleanse with fire.
Josh is by far the best zombie Torcher around'at least, he is in his virtual-reality zombie-hunting game. Josh has quickly risen through the player ranks, relying on the skill, cunning, and agility of a real Torcher.
The Second Rule of Torching: Save all humans.
But luckily for Josh, zombies exist only in the virtual world. The real zombie war is now more than fifteen years in the past, and the battle to defeat the deadly epidemic that devastated his family'and millions of others'is the stuff of history lessons.
The Third Rule of Torching: You can't bring them back.
Charlie is the top-ranked player in the game. Since all the players are shrouded in anonymity, Josh never expects Charlie to be a girl'and he never expects the offer she makes him: to join the underground gaming league that takes the virtual-reality game off the screen and into the streets. Josh is thrilled. But the more involved he gets, the more he realizes that not everything is what it seems. Real blood is spilling, members of the team are disappearing, and the zombies in the game are acting strange. And then there's the matter of a mysterious drug called Z. . . .
Nastasya has spent the last century living as a spoiled, drugged-out party girl. She feels nothing and cares for no one. But when she witnesses her best friend, a Dark Immortal, torture a human, she realizes something's got to change. She seeks refuge at a rehab for wayward immortals, where she meets the gorgeous, undeniably sexy Reyn, who seems inexplicably linked to her past.
Nastasya finally begins to deal with life, and even feels safe--until the night she learns that someone wants her dead.
Cate Tiernan, author of the popular Sweep series, returns with an engaging story of a timeless struggle and inescapable romance, the first book in a stunning new fantasy trilogy.
M is for Mummy. . . . It's Mummy Monday at the museum, and Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose are excited about the new Egyptian exhibit. It features a child mummy in an actual tomb! But then the mummy is stolen and the tomb robbed of its treasure. Can Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose unravel the mystery and return the mummy to its rightful resting place?
