From the beloved author of Because of Mr. Terupt and its sequels comes The Perfect Score, a new middle-grade school story with a very special cast of unforgettable characters who discover that getting the perfect score-both on the test and in life-is perhaps not so perfect after all.
No one likes or wants to take the statewide assessment tests. Not the students in Mrs. Woods's sixth-grade class. Not even Mrs. Woods. It's not as if the kids don't already have things to worry about. . . .
Under pressure to be the top gymnast her mother expects her to be, RANDI starts to wonder what her destiny truly holds. Football-crazy GAVIN has always struggled with reading and feels as dumb as his high school-dropout father. TREVOR acts tough and mean, but as much as he hates school, he hates being home even more. SCOTT's got a big brain and an even bigger heart, especially when it comes to his grandfather, but his good intentions always backfire in spectacular ways. NATALIE, know-it-all and aspiring lawyer, loves to follow the rules-only this year, she's about to break them all.
The whole school is in a frenzy with test time approaching-kids, teachers, the administration. Everyone is anxious. When one of the kids has a big idea for acing the tests, they're all in. But things get ugly before they get better, and in the end, the real meaning of the perfect score surprises them all.
From the beloved author of Because of Mr. Terupt comes the sequel to The Perfect Score, about a lovable group of students at Lake View Middle School and the rewards and challenges of seventh grade.
These students are in for a year of secrets, discoveries, and kid power!
GAVIN finally joins the football team--a dream come true!--but Coach Holmes refuses to play him for reasons that also threaten to tear Gavin's family apart. When RANDI attends an elite gymnastics camp, she uncovers a startling family connection. SCOTT starts researching an article for the school newspaper and stumbles right into a hornet's nest of lies. With his loser older brother, Brian, out of the house, TREVOR's life is loads better--until he realizes that only he can save Brian from getting into deep trouble. NATALIE's top goals: (1) find out why Mrs. Woods and Mrs. Magenta no longer speak to each other--a mission shared by all the kids--and (2) teach a certain someone an important life skill without anyone knowing. It's tough keeping secrets. And tougher still to deal with the fallout when secrets spill out.
Cast of Narrators:
Ozzie Rodriguez, as Gavin
Caitlin Davies, as Natalie
Robbie Daymond, as Scott
Abigail Revasch, as Randi
Todd Haberkorn, as Trevor
Sure to enchant fans of the Lemony Snicket series, this wonderful sequel to Peppermints in the Parlor is an exciting tale that follows the adventures of young orphan Emily Luccock. Finally free from a dark and dangerous boarding school, Emily learns that she is to be sent away again. Award-winning author Barbara Brooks Wallace has written many suspenseful books for children, including Sparrows in the Scullery (RB# 95913).
In The Tell-Tale Start, twins Edgar and Allan Poe foiled the nefarious Professor Perry, who wanted to use them in his deadly quantum entanglement experiment. In Once Upon a Midnight Eerie, they took on his equally evil mother and daughter. Now, in The Pet and the Pendulum, it's time for the real showdown, which takes place in an old mansion right outside Baltimore. As with the first two books, The Pet and the Pendulum is filled with codes, brain-teasers, smart (not snarky) humor, and cameos by the actual Edgar Allan Poe, who is watching over his great-great-great-nephews from the Great Beyond. Listeners won't want to miss the Misaventures' end!
Join Mary and Tim on this Original Audio Adventure into The Phantastic Zoo!
Featuring the story, voice and cinematic music and sound design of accomplished author, composer and educator, Doctor Christopher Kaufman; the virtuosic flute performances and voice acting of Robert Dick; and the voice talents of Stephanie Erb as the Mermaid and Sofia Rose Kaufman as Mary.The story begins with young Mary and Tim on a Field Trip to the zoo.
At the zoo, they see elephants, exotic, birds and lions! During these exhibits you’ll hear Kaufman’s unique environmental music, where he combines music with natural sounds!
Later the wizard Zitthoona appears, he performs on his magic flute and invites them into his Phantastic Zoo!
In The Phantastic Zoo, they meet mythical beasts and hear their stories, which teach life lessons and give secrets to living life with imagination! THE PHOENIX! THE MERMAID!
THE DRAGON tells the most important secret of all, that Music Magic is Everywhere! Which is the title of beautiful song which ends this audio adventure!
Get the beautifully illustrated book version at store.soundartus.com.
Kirkus revews…
“A warmhearted, encouraging book about the wonders of imagination.
Kaufman gives children a fantastical experience with his collection of magical creatures... The author presents it all in heightened language that helps build a sense of awe... The siblings’ affection for each other is sweetly depicted, as well... (and in the book version) illustrations have the colorful, flat feeling of Matisse paintings, emphasizing the narrative’s air of strange adventure.
An archipelago of over 7,100 islands in Southeast Asia, the Philippines sit near the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area often affected by earthquakes and volcanoes.
With a long coastline and many rain forests, the country contains a variety of plant and animal life. Children will find out what else makes the Philippines unique in this informative title!
When the tsunami destroyed Makio's village, Makio lost his father . . . and his voice. The entire village is silenced by grief, and the young child's anger at the ocean grows. Then one day his neighbor, Mr. Hirota, begins a mysterious project—building a phone booth in his garden. At first Makio is puzzled; the phone isn't connected to anything. It just sits there, unable to ring. But as more and more villagers are drawn to the phone booth, its purpose becomes clear to Makio: the disconnected phone is connecting people to their lost loved ones. Makio calls to the sea to return what it has taken from him and ultimately finds his voice and solace in a phone that carries words on the wind.
The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota's Garden is inspired by the true story of the wind phone in Otsuchi, Japan, which was created by artist Itaru Sasaki. He built the phone booth so he could speak to his cousin who had passed, saying, 'My thoughts couldn't be relayed over a regular phone line, I wanted them to be carried on the wind.' The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011 destroyed the town of Otsuchi, claiming 10 percent of the population. Residents of Otsuchi and pilgrims from other affected communities have been traveling to the wind phone since the tsunami.
The melodic music from a priceless piano turns haunting as it begins to play on its own... The Houston family can't believe their luck when they stumble upon a beautiful piano at a low price. Their delight soon turns to horror when the piano comes to life. The melodies that it plays over and over again are eerie and it becomes clear that someone from the past has a message for them. About the Creepers Horror Stories series: Strange things are happening in the Creepers series! These high-interest, low-vocabulary middle-grade chapter books are perfect for listeners who love a good mix of spooky and silly. Featuring stories with tween protagonists who find themselves in paranormal predicaments, the Creepers series is sure to give listeners goosebumps as they dive into each haunting tale.
Robert Browning's classic tale about a magical rat catcher. When Hamelin is overrun by rats, only the magical music of the Pied Piper can solve the problem. The town council tries to trick the piper out of his agreed reward, and he wreaks terrible revenge.
