Everyone has days in their lives when they help a kind stranger that they may never see again. But when Maddie decides to help these kind strangers, they become people that she sees every day. Maddie's walking her dog on a normal day when she falls into a field of an everlasting snowstorm and finds a mother and son buried deep inside. After speaking with them and finding out how they ended up stuck in the winter season year-round, she decides to help them get out and, hopefully, see the other three seasons they've been missing. Her world is flipped upside down beneath her feet, and she loses relationships that she holds dear to her heart but gains new ones that she will hold dearer. As Maddie goes on this quest, she fights monsters, gains powers, gets a talking dog, and most importantly learns about her life and the life of those around her.
Two lovers torn asunder by World War II face a terror from beyond the stars in this cosmic horror graphic novel by the creators of The Whispering Dark. It is 1945 and Hitler is dead. Ben and Katherine are supposed to be together, happy. Instead, Ben fights the war in the Pacific with the reckless heroism of one who believes his fiancée killed in action. Yet, Katherine lives, undercover aboard a submarine about to arrive at the Third Reich’s last bastion. Ben tries to move on, until the Navy receives a message. In Antarctica, the Nazis are plotting their return, powered by strange and foreboding technology. Katherine is there, and Ben is coming to get her. But the Nazis are meddling with powers beyond their comprehension, for whom humanity is a petty thing. As war engulfs the edge of the world, Ben and Katherine confront the truth about the boundaries of love, and what lies beyond them. Collects The Secret Land #1–#4.
“Utterly captivating and beautifully written, this book is a hugely entertaining and enlightening exploration of a bird so wickedly smart, curious, and social, it boggles the mind.”—Jennifer Ackerman, author of The Bird Way “A fascinating, entertaining, and totally engrossing story.”—David Sibley, author of What It's Like to Be a Bird An enthralling account of a modern voyage of discovery as we meet the clever, social birds of prey called caracaras, which puzzled Darwin, fascinate modern-day falconers, and carry secrets of our planet's deep past in their family history. “As curious, wide-ranging, gregarious, and intelligent as its subject.”—Charles C. Mann, author of 1491 In 1833, Charles Darwin was astonished by an animal he met in the Falkland Islands: handsome, social, and oddly crow-like falcons that were "tame and inquisitive . . . quarrelsome and passionate," and so insatiably curious that they stole hats, compasses, and other valuables from the crew of the Beagle. Darwin wondered why these birds were confined to remote islands at the tip of South America, sensing a larger story, but he set this mystery aside and never returned to it. Almost two hundred years later, Jonathan Meiburg takes up this chase. He takes us through South America, from the fog-bound coasts of Tierra del Fuego to the tropical forests of Guyana, in search of these birds: striated caracaras, which still exist, though they're very rare. He reveals the wild, fascinating story of their history, origins, and possible futures. And along the way, he draws us into the life and work of William Henry Hudson, the Victorian writer and naturalist who championed caracaras as an unsung wonder of the natural world, and to falconry parks in the English countryside, where captive caracaras perform incredible feats of memory and problem-solving. A Most Remarkable Creature is a hybrid of science writing, travelogue, and biography, as generous and accessible as it is sophisticated, and absolutely riveting.
Trevor McKinney, who was once an ordinary teenager, has become a well-known wizard once he is sent to Wandsparks School for Young Witches and Wizards. There he makes new friends as well as enemies. During his first year, he realizes he's no average wizard, but one with special powers and a mission that needs to be accomplished. Trevor therefore realizes his parents had been kidnapped by his evil aunt Madam Victoria, who is set out to kill him. Someone within the castle is not who they say they are. Could they be out to kill Trevor? Trevor has visions of the Forbidden Door that is hidden deep within the Enchanted Forest. His mind tells him something or someone behind that door needs his help. Who could it be? Can Trevor and his friends find his parents before it's too late? Can Trevor find the golden key that will lead him into the Forbidden Door? Or would he be another victim of Madam Victoria? Will Trevor finally be reunited with his parents?
Secret of the Dragon's Eye is a tale of fantasy for all ages, with a high-spirited dragon named Thaddeus Osbert and three adolescents who befriend him. Faced with danger and intrigue, the children band together with the dragon, to thwart a German top-secret mission, aimed at seizing the mystical and magical sword of King Arthur-Excalibur. By combining their wits, their courage, and their imagination, the children overcome many obstacles to forge friendships as solid as time itself. Yet there is a price to pay for their brave intervention against the forces of evil. Will they be willing to once again battle incredible odds to make amends? What sacrifices will be required to save their mythical, fire-breathing friend from his pre-ordained fate?
A sea creature is on the loose at Wild-World Beach! Will the gang stick together or split up? Should Shaggy and Scooby tackle their fears or their hunger first? Does Scooby-Doo deserve a Scooby Snack? In this interactive story, YOU CHOOSE the path the gang should take. With your help, they'll solve this maritime mystery.
Join Thea Stilton and the Thea Sisters in their third magical special edition adventure! There's a mystery in the land of the lotus flowers!Thea Stilton and Thea Sisters are called to help to an enchanted land! It's a world linked to the legends of Japan, and it is in danger. The realm's special lotus flowers are disappearing, and no one knows why!The mouselets set off on a quest to solve this mystery. They must discover the secret of the lotus flowers -- but can they trust the strange magical creatures that they meet on their way? It's a fabumouse adventure!
The tale begins over three-hundred years ago, when the Fair People—the goblins, fairies, dragons, and other fabled and fantastic creatures of a dozen lands—fled the Old World for the New, seeking haven from the ways of Man. With them came their precious jewels: diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls... But then the Fair People vanished, taking with them their twelve fabulous treasures. And they remained hidden until now... Across North America, these twelve treasures, over ten-thousand dollars in precious jewels, are buried. The key to finding each can be found within the twelve full color paintings and verses of The Secret. Yet The Secret is much more than that. At long last, you can learn not only the whereabouts of the Fair People's treasure, but also the modern forms and hiding places of their descendants: the Toll Trolls, Maitre D'eamons, Elf Alphas, Tupperwerewolves, Freudian Sylphs, Culture Vultures, West Ghosts and other delightful creatures in the world around us. The Secret is a field guide to them all. Many "armchair treasure hunt" books have been published over the years, most notably Masquerade (1979) by British artist Kit Williams. Masquerade promised a jewel-encrusted golden hare to the first person to unravel the riddle that Williams cleverly hid in his art. In 1982, while everyone in Britain was still madly digging up hedgerows and pastures in search of the golden hare, The Secret: A Treasure Hunt was published in America. The previous year, author and publisher Byron Preiss had traveled to 12 locations in the continental U.S. (and possibly Canada) to secretly bury a dozen ceramic casques. Each casque contained a small key that could be redeemed for one of 12 jewels Preiss kept in a safe deposit box in New York. The key to finding the casques was to match one of 12 paintings to one of 12 poetic verses, solve the resulting riddle, and start digging. Since 1982, only two of the 12 casques have been recovered. The first was located in Grant Park, Chicago, in 1984 by a group of students. The second was unearthed in 2004 in Cleveland by two members of the Quest4Treasure forum. Preiss was killed in an auto accident in the summer of 2005, but the hunt for his casques continues.
