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The Great White Bear (The World’s Deadliest School Trips)
Some school trips can turn out to be deadly dangerous—like this one.
Six young teens visit the Canadian wilderness to view polar bears. They become snowbound in a castle with its terrifying owner, Mr. Lagrave. With escape attempts thwarted, Lance and his schoolmates must find the courage to face Lagrave and the massive polar bear which terrorizes the estate.
This thriller contains references to alcohol and moments of violence which are unsuitable for children under 10. Such activities are brief and not glamorized.
For Readers 10-15 from author Jame DuBern.
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Kestrel Island
A thrilling adventure story about friendship, courage and never giving up.
In a sleepy English seaside town, Sophie Watson is enjoying a peaceful holiday in the sunshine. But when she befriends a mysterious and charismatic girl called Sienna, she is drawn into a heart-stopping adventure where the future security of the world may be under threat.
To find out the truth, they must go to Kestrel Island. The plot they uncover is more terrifying than anything they could have imagined.
When they are discovered by armed guards, they are shot at and chased across the island. But they know they have to make it back to the mainland alive.
The beautiful island may be in peril, but the secret the girls have uncovered threatens the world.
If you’re looking for an action-packed adventure with surprising twists and a thrilling climax, this is it.
Sophie and Sienna fight to save a beautiful island from a gang of unscrupulous developers and discover a plot that is far more sinister and dangerous.
For Readers 9-13 from author A.B. Martin.
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Stealing Magic (The Legacy of Androva Book 1)
Jax is a fourteen-year-old magic-taker from Androva. He’s also a rule breaker. He should not have opened a portal to our world in daylight, no matter how fed up he was with the rules, or how interested he was in Shannon.
Shannon considers herself to be ordinary. She loves escaping into fantasy books, but she never actually believed in magic. Not until the day she opens her eyes to find herself surrounded by it. And that boy, the one with the green eyes, who winks at her before he disappears into thin air. Who is he? Where does he come from?
When Shannon first touches the silver force field created by Jax, a treaty is broken, giving an ancient enemy the chance he needs to regain his power. The two teenagers don’t have much time to figure out what is going on, and they’re going to need all of their combined magical ability to stand a chance of surviving.
The next ten days will be the most exciting and terrifying of their lives (so far!).
From author Alex C. Vick for Readers 10-14.
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Strangeworlds Travel Agency
Perfect for fans of The Train to Impossible Places and Nevermoor, this imaginative middle grade fantasy, by author L. D. Lapinski, follows a young girl who uses a travel agency’s magical suitcases to travel to different worlds.
When twelve-year-old Flick Hudson accidentally ends up in the Strangeworlds Travel Agency, she uncovers a fantastic secret: there are hundreds of other worlds just steps away from hers. All you have to do to visit them is just jump into the right suitcase. Then Flick gets the invitation of a lifetime: join Strangeworlds’ magical travel society and explore other worlds.
But, unbeknownst to Flick, the world at the very center of it all, a city called Five Lights, is in danger. Buildings and even streets are mysteriously disappearing. Once Flick realizes what’s happening, she must race against time, travelling through unchartered worlds, seeking a way to fix Five Lights before it collapses into nothingness—and takes her world with it.
For kids 8 – 12.
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Pack Horse Librarians
Can you imagine riding your horse or mule over 100 miles each week, crossing steep terrain, hooves slipping on treacherous footing on barely discernable trails, perhaps with drop-offs hundreds of feet just beside you? Yikes! How about crossing icy waters that made your boots freeze to your stirrups—all the while packing up to 100 books and hoping that your horse didn’t trip on submerged rocks and dump you into the water? What if you rounded a turn and came face-to-face with a wild animal?
That’s exactly what librarians braved in the early 1900’s through 1943. The dedicated women of The Pack Horse Library Project delivered books to families in remote areas of the Appalachian Mountains where there was no access to books. Because of these women and their equine partners, children and their parents were able to expand their knowledge of the world. Books lit up their imaginations, allowing them to dream of possibilities that they might never have known otherwise. Some families even began donating recipes and quilting patterns to share, bringing families miles away closer to each other in friendship.
I found this information and much more on a Wikipedia link—more information than I could share here.
I can hardly believe that 63 counties in Kentucky had no libraries at all when today we can buy and borrow books via our computers and tablets within seconds.
There were abundant challenges for the Pack Horse Women and for their trusted equines. The women received paychecks, but I suspect that their reward came from seeing the shining faces of families as they sorted through new selections of books. I can hear the shouts of joy when someone found just the book they wanted. If it was me, I would’ve been looking for any ‘horse book’ first—of course.
I encourage researching the Wikipedia page to learn more about these dedicated librarians and to find links to books written on this subject, including The Giver of Stars, a historical fiction Best Seller for which Universal Pictures has purchased movie rights.
In the meantime, I think I’ll head out back to see my horses and tell them about how their ancestors helped expand the world of readers back in the day. They always like a good story.
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City of Bones
Discover this first installment of the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series and “prepare to be hooked”.
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder — much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing — not even a smear of blood — to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?
This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know…
Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare’s ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end. Once you read the first book in this exciting series you will definitely want to continue with the rest of the series.
Readers Mature 12 and up
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Explorer Academy: The Falcon’s Feather
In Book 2 of this great series it’s an adventure of a lifetime when Cruz Coronado sets sail aboard the Explorer Academy ship to continue his studies at sea. But, things take a turn while exploring the icy north, when he embarks on a dangerous mission to uncover the first piece of an important puzzle his mother left behind.
In the exciting follow-up to The Nebula Secret in the 7-book Explorer Academy series, Cruz, Sailor, and Emmett, along with their new ally Bryndis, embark on their first globe-trotting mission aboard the ship Orion. Cruz jumps right back into school and starts using the latest technology in submersible underwater dives, but is soon reminded of the dangers of exploration when his equipment fails and he almost drowns. Determined to keep his eyes on the prize, Cruz sneaks away to try to find answers, but unknowingly lures his friends into bigger trouble. When a friend of Cruz’s mom meets an untimely end, Cruz’s luck really seems about to run out and the questions multiply. What does the message mean? Where will it lead? Who is following him? And why?
A great read for explorers 8-12.
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Welcome Blog
Once upon a time…our very favorite words of all time and the start to so many adventures.
Once upon a time
…a girl who loved horses had to solve a mystery to save one
…a brother and sister stepped through a magical door into a story and lost their way
…a brave boy helped his alien friend hide from dangerous marauders
…a boy switched places with his math teacher
All stories ask, what if? The answers bring magic and possibilities into our lives. You will never be able to meet every interesting person in your lifetime (and all people are interesting in their own way), so long ago, clever people told stories. As time went on, these stories were written down and passed around.
Now, we are so fortunate to have this incredible tool—books—so we can meet and go on adventures with people all over the world and all over time—even into the future.
We are writers here. We want our stories to light a fire of imagination in your mind and offer a chance to explore the world. Come with us as we find new places and new people. Solve mysteries. Find treasure. Make friends.
Create your own, Once upon a time.
