When Bernie was in third grade, she thought Mr. Soren was the most amazing teacher in the universe. He played games, did wood shop, and every Friday they'd had movies and popcorn. Now that she's in fifth grade, Mr. Soren, the coolest teacher in the Universe, is her teacher once again. But unfathomably, he's now worse than Miss Boggs, all because he's making the class keep a journal of all the things that happen in their lives. What'd Bernie expected to be a wonderful fifth-grade year is off to a really revolting start.
Only a few short days from turning ten, disaster strikes for Bernie! While babysitting her stepbrother Kirby, she watched helplessly as he fell from a tree and now he's in a deep sleep the doctors call a coma. Bernie tries everything to wake him--from prayers she's not very good at to intimidation, her second nature. Nothing works until Bernie visits Mr. Ralston, the oldest person in the neighborhood. His house is old, smelly, cluttered and kind of creepy. But Mr. Ralston makes wonderful cookies and has a mysterious secret box he opens only after telling a story from his childhood filled with wonder and a little magic...the kind that might wake Kirby from his long sleep.
Feisty and fun, liberated and opinionated, nine-and-a-half-year-old Bernie Bolton's ready to take on the world. Not all gifts are the ones you receive... Bernie is taking her first trip to New York City. Angry at the lack of Christmas presents she's received, she decides to explore the city on her own. Eventually she makes her way to Central Park, where she meets remarkable homeless man named Ellis Duncan. As evening falls, Ellis Duncan tells Bernie about a long ago Christmas and a wonderful and unforgettable gift.
While vacationing on a houseboat situated smack dab in the middle of a dry lake bed, the Stanton kids and their cousins discover a time machine that makes their lives a whole lot more interesting...and without a doubt more dangerous! The Stanton kids once again return to their vacation houseboat. When their old enemy, Mr. Powers, creates a vortex which sends him back in time, the children use their time machine to travel back to 1870, where Mr. Powers is a wanted bushranger who tries to hold them prisoner. In a race against time itself, they try to outwit him by destroying the vortex and leaving him stranded--this time with no possible way of escaping back to their time!
Fairy princess turned mortal, Rebecca has a new cousin staying with her. Lianna and Prince Willdom are stolen by a troll while at the market. But Rebecca wants to know why, especially when she discovers that her cousin's loom was also stolen. Does the fact that Lianna is the finest weaver in the kingdom have anything to do with her kidnapping? And why was Prince Willdom taken with her? The Fairy Queen gives Rebecca a bracelet that lights up when help is near, and this leads her to the leprechauns, who are scared of something. The clues that Rebecca follow in her attempt to rescue her cousin and Prince Willdom become more and more dangerous, especially when the reason why the leprechauns are so afraid becomes abundantly clear... Flesch Reading Ease 81.7 Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level 4.4
From day one, however, Brad senses something seriously amiss on the set of "Pioneers"--terrifying visions, threatening ghosts, an accident that nearly costs the entire cast their lives. The director is forced to shut down filming while the kids recuperate, and it begins to look as if the show isn't even going to make it to the small screen--unless Brad and his scared but determined "Pioneers" castmates team up to play a game of baseball against the Los Angeles Pioneers, a ghostly, doomed baseball team made up of failed actors from the late 19th century. They need an ingenious solution--and Brad is confident he can satisfy both teams and keep their show in production.
George is in 6th grade when his grandfather dies and his life is dramatically changed. George has inherited a mirror--and not just any mirror. This extraordinary looking glass takes George on trips into fantasy lands. George becomes a boy with a double life: An ordinary school boy who will grow up into adulthood...and the intrepid explorer who never knows what awaits him on the other side of the mirror.
A former ambassador to the United Nations explains his controversial efforts to defend American interests and reform the U.N., presenting his argument for why he believes the United States can enable a greater global security arrangement for modern times. Reprint.
Mourning the Marigolds: Eccentric, sixtyish Bessie Levinson she sits on a park bench in Russell Square Park in London and tells her life story to Charlie Hampton, a stranger. Elsewhere in the park is Father Frank McAllister, an Irish priest, also in his sixties, strolling with his niece. He's telling Julie a very similar story... Frank's and Bessie's love affair unfolded and ended. However, on this particular chilly autumn afternoon, with Bessie's beloved marigolds about to gasp their last, there's a chance meeting between two old lovers... A Day in the Life of Eleanor Duncan: Eleanor Duncan is a 72-year-old homeless woman living on a park bench in Central Park. She believes her bench to be her "home", which is wonderfully located so she can overlook skaters and lovers. She has been on the streets for twenty-four years and wouldn't have it any other way. On this Christmas Eve, Eleanor welcomes a string of visitors and regales them all with stories from her past. As she enjoys Christmas Eve dinner, she's surprised by her final visitor of the day...the last visitor of her life. Wednesday: An aging woman chances to meet her long-time housekeeper in the park after thirty years. The time has been kind to one and not so kind to the other. As the two elderly women sit in the chill of a late November afternoon, they discover their differences may not be as great as they always thought. Thursday: Two sisters in their seventies--one with Alzheimer's, the other her caregiver--have taught each other about coping and unconditional love.
Crabbo: Ten-year-old Mark would rather be at home with his computer than holidaying at the beach. He certainly wouldn't admit he'd be pretty lonely doing that either. But everything changes when he meets Crabbo, a talking crab. Together they take on the camping ground bullies and turn his holiday into the best Mark's ever had. Clever Crabbo: Mark, Ellie and Crabbo, the talking crab, are on holiday at the beach where the Cripps are very unhappy. Fred and his mean gang are stealing from their milk bar, endangering their ability to stay in business. Can clever Crabbo come up with a plan to trap the bullies or will the Cripps be forced to close their shop?
