It is an ordinary tale of not so ordinary circumstance, where nothing is as it seems. It is a tale where heroes aren't exactly heroes and villains save the day. It is a test of endurance and a journey that leads to a cryptic discovery that perhaps we are nothing more than scarecrows on our perches dreaming of better lives. It is ultimately the age old tale of good verses evil, but in this case, the lines between those domains are as clear as chalk lines beneath a tempest storm.
Josh and Safi dream of winning the scarecrow competition, but dreams turn to nightmares when the scarecrows go missing. Have they been stolen ... or did they walk? Graphic novels serve a number of needs. They encourage reluctant readers because of the high ratio of pictures to text and because they are viewed as a leisure activity rather than school work. In spite of this perception, pupils can learn a lot from them, such as the use of direct speech, the logical order in which to read text boxes and, of course, narrative forms. This brilliantly illustrated series of six books will excite and engage readers of about 11-13 who have a very low reading age of 6-7.
On a mission to circumnavigate the universe, the crew of the Eldorado discovers an entire hidden universe, separated from our universe by the speed of light, composed of temporal dimensions. Yet the astronauts, their overtaxed minds pushed beyond rational thought, are increasingly unable to study the very phenomena they were sent to discover. Then the fighting breaks out. Colleagues gun one another down, friends turn against friends, and in the irrational combat the ship itself is damaged. The mission itself is part of the structure of the cosmos; the end of time is both the cause and the effect of the relativistic journey. Human nature becomes part of the physics of spacetime, and whoever controls the Eldorado controls the fate of the universe.
From the traditional straw guy to a painted sheet-metal mermaid, these 30 scarecrows and their yard figure cousins are simply out of the ordinary—and that’s great news for the many crafters who compete in “Best Scarecrow” contests held at fairs and other venues throughout America. It’s easy to construct one of these wildly creative figures with the information and instruction contained in this whimsical, charming celebration of scarecrow art. Some are crafted from organic materials such as gourds and bamboo. Others use recycled items, including a “Tin Can Man” and a quirky woman made from old umbrellas. A few double as a planter, trellis, or address marker. Whether to scare away birds or attract attention to the garden, these make great additions to any outdoor space.
The two short novels in this volume, like fables in tone, are books of the dead recounting a journey from death to rebirth, a Jungian journey through a subconscious world peopled by archetypes. "Beautiful Woman" extends the Keats poem but keeps its mystery. A road atlas is supplied for the freak show in "Scarecrow," but the protagonist never has his feet on the ground.
In the 11th installment of the Star Friends series, Mia, Lexi, Sita, and Violet suspect dark magic when everyone in town suddenly becomes lazy. But how can the girls stop it when they're being affected, too? Westport is hosting a scarecrow competition, and the Star Friends are so excited to be taking part. But suddenly, everyone in the town becomes extremely lazy. The girls suspect that there might be dark magic at work, but how can they stop it when they’re being affected, too? With black-and-white illustrations throughout. In the Star Friends chapter book series, Mia and her friends Lexi, Sita, and Violet all discover that they are Star Friends -- they can communicate with the animals that have traveled from the Star World. The animals show the girls how to use their unique magic abilities to do good. A whole world of magical adventures awaits!
There were three people, standing in the darkest place, watching him. Simon is outraged that his Mum plans to remarry. He can't bear her new fiancé or the way his mother and sister seem to have forgotten his late father. Overwhelmed by hatred and anger he seeks solace in a nearby abandoned water mill. But another, powerful hatred lingers within its walls. And it is about to be unleashed... Westall's immense talent is evident from the opening line - Simon's anger and unhappiness are tangible, and the Scarecrows' ill-intentions terrifying.
Seventeen-year-old Meridian Page has a rich imagination. To escape her quiet and boring town of Biddleborn, she makes up stories in her head—stories about a magic-filled world called Detritus and its inhabitants, including a princess named Lanora and a man called the Cat Lord. Not realizing how thin the walls of reality can be in a town where children have nothing better to do than tell stories, Meridian is shocked when the Cat Lord shows up in Biddleborn and warns her that imaginary characters like him are slipping through from Detritus to the real world. With a doorway from the imaginary world of Detritus open, Meridian’s imaginary characters—talking lawnmowers, a friendly skeleton, mutant animals and other creatures, living appliances, a wise dragon, zombies, dangerous creatures called shadow wights, and more—are increasingly slipping through to Biddleborn. By the time other Biddleborn residents’ imaginary characters begin showing up as well, the town is awash in chaos as evil characters battle good ones and the town’s residents. Can Meridian, her friends Artie and Cheese Fry, their parents, and Biddleborn’s other residents save the town from Meridian’s imagination? Read and find out.
