Houdini's a super dog. Nobody will ever catch him! Red O'Malley secretly admires the wily dog who has created trouble ever since he cem to town. But his father, the dog-catcher, has been outsmarted by Houdini once too often ... and is determined to put an end to him once and for all! The touching story of a clever mutt and the boy who risked his life to save him.
One family’s household has been in a state of disarray because of one small furry problem. Meet Houdini, an extraordinarily brilliant escapologist. No, not that Houdini. This one is a hamster. Once you meet him, you will understand that his owners just couldn’t name him anything else, for his name is quite fitting. He can escape from anything—a cage or the clutches of a mean cat. While on his escapades, he causes all kinds of trouble from chewing through wires to causing a flood. But Houdini thinks it’s all worth it, because he is desperate to explore the great Outdoors. But once he gets out, will he ever come back? Or will this be his final escape?
Joe Posnanski enters the colorful world of Harry Houdini and his legions of devoted fans to explore the illusionist’s impact on global culture—and why his legacy endures to this day. Nearly a century after Harry Houdini died on Halloween in 1926, he feels as modern and alive as ever. The name Houdini still leaps to mind whenever we witness a daring escape. The baby who frees herself from her crib? Houdini. The dog who vanishes and reappears in the neighbor’s garden? Houdini. Every generation produces new disciples of the magician, from household names in magic like David Copperfield and David Blaine to countless other followers whose lives have been transformed by the power of Houdini. In rural Pennsylvania, a thirteen-year-old girl finds the courage to leave a violent home after learning that Houdini ran away to join the circus; she eventually becomes the first female magician to saw a man in half on television. In Australia, an eight-year-old boy with a learning impediment feels worthless until he sees an old poster of Houdini advertising “Nothing on earth can hold Houdini prisoner,” and begins his path to becoming that nation’s most popular magician. In California, an actor and Vietnam War veteran finds purpose in his life by uncovering the secrets of his hero. But the unique phenomenon of Houdini was always more than his death-defying stunts or his ability to escape handcuffs and straitjackets. It is also about the power of imagination and self-invention. His incredible transformation from Ehrich Weiss, humble Hungarian immigrant and rabbi’s son, into the self-named Harry Houdini has won him a slice of immortality. No one has withstood the test of time quite like Houdini. Fueled by Posnanski’s personal obsession with the magician—and magic itself—The Life and Afterlife of Harry Houdini is a poignant odyssey of discovery, blending biography, memoir, and first-person reporting to trace Houdini’s metamorphosis into an iconic figure who has inspired millions.
How much do you think you could take? Try this: your husband dies suddenly and, weeks later, while you're still grieving, you're diagnosed with cancer. Would you keep fighting? Newspaper editor Jill Baker arrived home to find her husband George dead on the bedroom floor. Then - while still in shock - she was diagnosed with breast cancer and given odds on being alive in five years' time. Surgery, chemo and radiation therapy followed during Jill's extraordinary year from hell. It took a huge toll. Some days she barely recognised herself. When a doctor suggested a dog might heal her, Jill took a chance on her first wag. She needed something to make life worth living, but could that really be a crazy, snoring, howling, digging, chewing, barking, hipster 70s orange pup like Harry? Harry and Jill are an unlikely duo. Jill is quiet, Harry is loud as hell. Jill meticulously plans the day while Harry says let's wing it. She sips pinot while he's an espresso martini guy. Turns out Harry and Jill were made to be together. Theirs is a beautiful friendship, an unbreakable bond. A Dog Called Harry is the moving story of a dog dubbed Dirty Harry who helped Jill love life again.
Can Kat, Maya and Grace keep Houdini out of trouble? When Aunt Jenn asks Kat, Maya and Grace to help her care for a little mischievous beagle pup named Houdini, the girls don't know the trouble they're in for. True to his name, Houdini somehow manages to escape from his kennel the very first time they come to play with him! Houdini proves to be a master escape artist, and though the girls foil a couple of his attempts to get away, it's not long before he manages to sneak away from under their noses. Will the girls be able to find the missing puppy?
The #1 bestselling series that started with Stalking Jack the Ripper and Hunting Prince Dracula continues its streak in this third bloody installment . . . Audrey Rose and Thomas Cresswell find themselves aboard a luxurious ocean liner that becomes a floating prison of horror when passengers are murdered one by one, with nowhere to run from the killer. Embarking on a week-long voyage across the Atlantic on the opulent RMS Etruria , Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her partner-in-crime-investigation, Thomas Cresswell, are delighted to discover a traveling troupe of circus performers, fortune tellers, and a certain charismatic young escape artist entertaining the first-class passengers nightly. But privileged young women begin to go missing without explanation, and a series of brutal slayings shocks the entire ship. The strange and disturbing influence of the Moonlight Carnival pervades the decks as the murders grow more and more bizarre. It's up to Audrey Rose and Thomas to piece together the gruesome investigation before more passengers die before reaching their destination. But with clues to the next victim pointing to someone she loves, can Audrey Rose unravel the mystery before the killer's horrifying finale?
For fans of Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee, Gary D. Schmidt's The Wednesday Wars, and Jack Gantos's Joey Pigza Books comes a hilarious and poignant slice-of-life novel from critically acclaimed author and poet Peter Johnson. When an author comes to speak to his class in a rundown area of Providence, Houdini decides to make money by writing his own novel. Houdini chronicles his life as he and his friends start a leaf-raking business, befriend Old Man Jackson (a Vietnam War veteran with a seriously intimidating dog), and get even with the neighborhood bully, Angel. But it's hard to find a way to write about his dad losing his job or his brother, Franklin, who is first reported missing in action in Iraq and then still seems to be missing when he comes home. No matter what, Houdini and his friends rely on one another to figure out how to do the right thing. And Houdini discovers that writing and thinking about his friends and family lets him get to know them in completely new ways.
Multicultural fiction is an essential part of the American literary landscape. This reference helps scholars, teachers, and librarians choose significant texts from both the past and present, and provides guidance in approaching multicultural issues as they are discussed in fiction for young adults. Included are entries for 51 writers, some of whom have nearly been forgotten, others who are just emerging. Each entry provides biographical, critical, and bibliographical information, while a general bibliography of works on multicultural literature concludes the book. Authors included range from the nearly forgotten, such as Laura Adams Armer, to the newly discovered, such as Graham Salisbury, winner of the 1994 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. The breadth of authors covered ensures an historical context for the issues raised by multiculturalism, and the sections on the critical reception of each author address such important issues as the authority and authenticity of the writer to comment on a different culture. Contributors are of many different ethnicities and include important scholars of children's literature, lending authenticity and authority to the volume itself.
“It’s been an honour and privilege to have looked after so many dogs and been introduced to their owners. The warm feeling of pleasure when a dog greets us or pulls their owner inside the house is priceless. At times I’ve felt like I should be paying the owners because of the joy and interest their pets give us.” When Graham Matthews began walking Nero, a trainee guide dog, he had no idea how life-changing this seemingly simple job would be. Once Nero passed on to his advanced training, the hole he left behind in Graham’s life was immense, and so Graham became a dog carer, offering a home from home to a wide range of canines – from rumbustious rescue dogs to languid labradors. “When Nero left for his advance training, I was so upset that I never took on another guide dog. When you’ve been up all night with the dog throwing up at both ends, cleaning up and lying on the floor, saying, Daddy wishes he could do it for you, well that’s not a dog, but a family member. Nero’s legacy lasted long after he had gone and it was an experience I wouldn’t have missed for the world.” It all Started with a Dog is a simple tale of dog walking experiences which are both funny and sad. Aimed at all dog lovers, it conveys the love and affection that passes between man and dog and shows that a dog really is a man’s best friend.
