A stable of dragons to groom, train, and ride!
That's Dragonsdale, a riding school run by Cara's dad. All Cara's friends are busy people preparing their dragons for the Island Championships-even spoiled Hortense, who dumps her hard work on guess who? But Cara doesn't mind. She loves every minute she can spend with the beautiful beasts. Because ever since her mom's terrible accident, Cara herself is forbidden to ride. Against her father's wishes, she trains the wild dragon Skydancer in secret, and dreams of a day when she, too, can take flight.
Katie is an ordinary third-grader, except for one very extraordinary problem! She accidentally wished on a shooting star to be anyone but herself. But what Katie soon learns is that wishes really do come true, and in the strangest ways . . .
Drat! You Copycat!Becky, the new girl in class 3A, is a great big copycat! She copies everything Suzanne does. Suzanne can't stand Becky! Then the magic wind turns Katie into Becky. Will Suzanne change her mind about the new girl? Will Katie turn back into herself without causing too much trouble?
Doggone It!When Katie's teacher, Mrs. Derkman, moves in next door, Katie can't believe her bad luck! Mrs. Derkman hates dogs, and she wants the dogs on their street to be kept on leashes at all times! When the magic wind blows and turns Katie into her own dog, Pepper, will Katie convince her teacher that dogs are not all bad?
From the Compact Disc edition.
Introducing everyone's new best friend: Stick Dog!
He'll make you laugh . . . he'll make you cry . . . but above all, he'll make you hungry. Follow Stick Dog as he goes on an epic quest for the perfect burger.
The power of reading is beautifully captured in this 2006 Newbery Honor-winning book. Bernie keeps a barn full of animals the rest of the world has no use for-two retired trotters, a rooster, some banty hens, and a Muscovy duck with clipped wings who calls herself The Lady. When the cat called Whittington shows up one day, it is to the Lady that he makes an appeal to secure a place in the barn. The Lady's a little hesitant at first, but when the cat claims to be a master ratter, that clinches it. Bernie' s orphaned grandkids, Abby and Ben, come to the barn every day to help feed the animals. Abby shares her worry that Ben can't really read yet and that he refuses to go to Special Ed. Whittington and the Lady decide that Abby should give Ben reading lessons in the barn. It is a balm for Ben when, having toughed out the daily lesson, Whittington comes to tell, in tantalizing installments, the story handed down to him from his nameless forebearer, Dick Whittington's cat-the legend of the lad born into poverty in rural England during the Black Death, who runs away to London to seek his fortune. This is an unforgettable tale about how learning to read saves one little boy. It is about the healing, transcendent power of storytelling and how, if you have loved ones surrounding you and good stories to tell, to listen to, and to read, you have just about everything of value in this world. From the Hardcover edition.
Chet Gecko has always loved a good mystery. Like how do you squeeze ketchup into those little plastic packets? And, who put the boom in Shaka-laka-boom-boom?
If there is a mystery to be solved, Chet's the one to do it. Who is he? Chet Gecko - Private Eye, the lizard from the fourth grade at Emerson Hickey Elementary.
Listen to the first two hilariously hip Chet Gecko mysteries in this one audio package!
Meet rufa red knot B95. Scientists call him the Moonbird because, in the course of his astoundingly long lifetime, this robin-sized shorebird has flown the distance to the moon - and halfway back! Each February he joins a flock that lifts off from Tierra del Fuego, headed for breeding grounds in the Canadian Arctic, 9,000 miles away. Late in the summer, he begins the return journey.
B95 can fly for days, but eventually he must descend to refuel and rest. However, recent changes at stopover sites along his migratory circuit - changes caused mostly by human activity - have reduced the food available and made it harder for the birds to reach. During B95’s lifetime, the worldwide rufa population has collapsed by nearly 80 percent.
Still, the Moonbird wings on; he is now nearly 20 years old. Shaking their heads, scientists ask themselves: How can this one bird make it year after year when so many others fall? National Book Award-winning author Phillip Hoose shows the obstacles rufa red knots face, introduces a worldwide team of scientists and conservationists trying to save them, and offers insights about what we can do to help shorebirds before it’s too late. With inspiring prose, thorough research, and stirring images, Hoose explores the tragedy of extinction through the triumph of a single bird.
After her best friend, Annie, leaves for a fancy camp in New Hampshire, Ivy can't imagine how she's going to endure the long, hot Nevada summer with no one around but that pain-in-the-neck Billy Joe Butterworth next door and all those melancholy visitors to the Red Star Guest Ranch. Happily, an answer comes to Ivy in a flash of honey-colored topaz, and she cleverly hires herself out to take care of people's farm animals or pets while they're away. So begins a summer of discovery for tender- hearted but sensible Ivy, who must win over the stubborn pony Chestnut, take on the challenge of training a puppy named Inca, and patiently court the trust of the magnificent but scarred racehorse Andromeda. All this while tending to her own private hurts and hopes and managing the hapless tagalong Billy Joe, who has a knack for trouble and accidents like nobody else! Celebrated writer Rosemary Wells delivers a compassionately observed and exquisitely distilled novel set in the midcentury Southwest about a young heroine with an exceptional gift, a heart of gold, and a budding dream for her future.
The gods and monsters of India roar to life in this thrilling fantasy!
After three weeks of vacation, Ash Mistry is ready to leave the heat and dust of India behind him. Then he discovers a gleaming gold arrowhead hidden in the sands--a weapon used to defeat evil King Ravana in legend.
At least, Ash is pretty sure it's only a legend . . .
But when Lord Alexander Savage comes after Ash, the legends are suddenly way too real. Savage commands an army of monstrous shapechangers called rakshasas, who want only to seize the arrowhead and restore Ravana to power. As they hunt Ash through magnificent fortresses and brutal deserts, he must learn to work with a powerful rakshasa girl named Parvati, and find the strength within himself to fight on no matter what. Because this isn't just a battle to stop the end of the world. It's a battle to stop the end of reality as we know it.
No pressure.
Grampa Bender couldn't run the Bed and Biscuit animal boardinghouse without the help of Ernest the mini-pig, Gabby the Vietnamese mynah bird, and his young cat, Milly. These three animals think of themselves as Grampa's family, and they have always assumed he felt the same way. But when Grampa brings home a mysterious bundle and stops paying attention to his faithful friends, they start to worry. Will an earnest, loyal pig be able to soothe Milly's injured feelings, calm Gabby's ruffled feathers, and bring the family back together? "Ernest the pig is particularly fetching." - ;EW.com "Kids just past the easy-reader stage will enjoy this. Each animal has a distinct, fully rounded personality, and the story is nicely paced with a certain amount of mystery." - ;Booklist "Worth a place in most collections. . . . Kids will welcome sequels." - ;Kirkus Reviews
The Bed and Biscuit animal boardinghouse has gone wild! Grampa Bender is temporarily caring for a wounded Canada goose, a cranky old muskrat, and two starving fox kits. Luckily Ernest, Grampa's capable mini-pig, is there to encourage the other animals to be good hosts. But the visiting creatures are wild, not tame, and they all just want to go home! Despite the chaos, Ernest also takes on the training of Sir Walter the Scottie, the newest addition to Grampa's blended animal family. But, intrigued by the sassy fox kits, Sir Walter is turning a bit wild himself. Why should he obey Ernest? After all, no one tells the foxes what to do, and being wild and free is mighty appealing to the impressionable puppy. . . . "¯ From the author of Welcome to the Bed & Biscuit comes another raucous story of life in an engaging and quirky animal family.
Digger the Dinosaur is starring in a play! But will he remember all the lines he has to say? Young children just learning to read will enjoy the warmth and humor of this My First I Can Read story about a little dinosaur who keeps trying, no matter what.
Author Rebecca Kai Dotlich is a poet and picture book author of such titles as What Is Science? and Lemonade Sun (an American Booksellers "Pick of the Lists"). Her work is featured widely in poetry anthologies and textbooks. My First I Can Read books are ideal for sharing with emergent readers.
