Showing titles in Family Life

Twelve-year-old Gordy Stitser is one of the few people who knows the truth about the secret society of potion masters, because not only is Gordy's mom on the Board of Ruling Elixirists Worldwide (BREW), but she has also been training Gordy in the art of potion-making. Gordy is a natural, and every day he sneaks down to the basement lab to invent new potions using exotic ingredients like fire ant eggs, porcupine quills, and Bosnian tickling juice. One afternoon, Gordy receives a mysterious package containing an extremely rare potion known as "The Eternity Elixir."

Go to The Dancing Men and ask for a saucer of milk for your snake. Then all will be revealed. That’s all the note says - before the ink disappears! Xena and Xander Holmes think living in London will be boring. But when they discover they’re related to Sherlock Holmes and inherit his unsolved casebook, life becomes much more exciting. The siblings set out to solve the cases their famous ancestor couldn’t, starting with the mystery of a prized painting that vanished 1000 years ago. Can two smart 21st-century kids succeed where the celebrated Sherlock Holmes could not?

Rion Kwirk comes from a rather odd family. His mother named him and his sisters after her favorite constellations, and his father makes funky-flavored jellybeans for a living. One sister acts as if she’s always on stage, and the other is a walking dictionary. But no one in the family is more odd than Rion’s grandfather, Papa Kwirk. He’s the kind of guy who shows up on his motorcycle only on holidays handing out crossbows and stuffed squirrels as presents. Rion has always been fascinated by Papa Kwirk, especially as his son - Rion’s father - is the complete opposite.

In R. J. Palacio's best-selling collection of stories, Auggie & Me, which expands on characters in Wonder, audiences were introduced to Julian's grandmother, Grandmère. Here, Palacio presents Grandmère's heartrending story: how she, a young Jewish girl, was hidden by a family in a Nazi-occupied French village during World War II; how the boy she and her classmates once shunned became her savior and best friend.

Sara Johnston-Fischer loves her family, of course. But that doesn't mean she's thrilled when her summer plans are upended for a surprise cross-country train trip with her two moms, Mimi and Carol; her younger sister, Ladybug; her older sister, Laurel; and Laurel's poncho-wearing activist boyfriend, Root. And to make matters worse, one of her moms is writing a tell-all book about the trip...and that means every ridiculous and embarrassing moment of Sara's life.

Erik Carlson's life is going great. He's just passed his Hunter Safety Course and is scheduled to make his first hunting trip with his best friend, Patrick, that very weekend. His plans are shattered by the news that his parents, who are Army Reservists, have been unexpectedly called for duty in Iraq. With almost no warning, Erik is shipped off to North Dakota to stay with grandparents he barely knows. Though his grandmother is warm and welcoming, his grandfather, Big Darrell, is cold, gruff, and distant.

When Sam rescues an abused mare from outlaw horse rustlers, she knows she's done the right thing. But the ranch already has a full corral, and a long drought means the cattle are running out of grass. Of course her dad refuses to allow her to adopt another mustang. The frightened and dangerous mare is just beginning to trust Sam when the rustlers learn Sam is the one who told the authorities about their illegal wild horse trap. Now, it's up to Sam to keep the mare - and herself - safe.

An extraordinary quest, a magician’s powers, and the journey to find a kingdom.... Timoken is a prince from a secret kingdom. Before his birth, a forest-jinni bestowed upon him two magical gifts: a cloak made from the web of the last moon spider, and a potion called Alixir, the water of eternal life. Yet in exchange for the protection of these gifts, Timoken will always have one foot in the world of men and the other in the strange world of magic.

Thirteen-year-old Matthew is miserable. His journalist dad is stuck overseas indefinitely, and his mom has moved in his one-hundred-year-old great-grandmother to ride out the pandemic, adding to his stress and isolation. But when Matthew finds a tattered black-and-white photo in his great-grandmother’s belongings, he discovers a clue to a hidden chapter of her past, one that will lead to a life-shattering family secret.

Cordelia Hatmaker has saved England from war. She stopped Lord Whitloof’s sinister plans, rescued the king and princess, and restored the Makers Guild. But she still hasn’t found her missing father. Ever since Cordelia discovered the hidden map in her father’s telescope, she’s been searching the streets of London by starlight, trying to uncover its secrets. She never expects to stumble upon a secret society of Mapmakers—or to learn that magic isn’t limited to the few Maker families, but instead is all around, if you know where to look.

It’s almost time for school to start again, and Nikki is a little worried—but, as always, she has her BFFS to help. Only, it turns out her friends need Nikki’s help. Nikki quickly gets overwhelmed and even starts feeling sick…which is when her little sister, Brianna, takes her chance to steal Nikki’s diary! How much damage can Brianna do before Nikki is back on her feet?

The first thing every listener will want to know is whether Anne Shirley appears in these stories of Avonlea and Spencervale. She certainly does. As a matter of fact, page one starts off in this manner: "Anne Shirley was curled up on the window seat of Theodora Dix's sitting room one Saturday evening, looking dreamily afar at some fair starland beyond the hills of sunset. Anne was visiting for a fortnight of her vacation."

In commemoration of the 75th anniversary of D-Day, author Lauren Tarshis shines a spotlight on the story of the Normandy landings, the largest seaborne invasion in history and foundation for the Allied victory in World War II.

The town of Spindrift is frequented by all kinds of Shadow Mages and charlatans. It's also home to the Orphanage School, where Finlay lives with Glim, Taya, and Eli. Just outside town is the painfully posh Brathelthwaite Boarding School, home to Honey Bee, Hamish, and Victor, Duke of Ainsley. When the two schools compete at the Spindrift Tournament, the stakes are high, tensions are higher, and some people are out to win at any cost. Before long, the orphans and the boarding school kids are at each other's throats.

When the Aldens go to their favorite Chinese restaurant, Benny can’t wait for the delicious fortune cookies! But when he opens his cookie, he finds a handwritten riddle! One cookie leads to another, and the Aldens soon realize they’ve bitten into another mystery!

The Mother-Daughter Book Club is back! This year the mothers have a big surprise in store for Emma, Jess, Cassidy, and Megan: They've invited snooty Becca Chadwick and her mother to join the book club! But there are bigger problems when Jess finds out that her family may have to give up Half Moon Farm. In a year filled with skating parties, a disastrous mother-daughter camping trip, and a high-stakes fashion show, the girls realize that it's only through working together - Becca included - that they can save Half Moon Farm.

Since its original publication in 1911, The Secret Garden has ranked as one of the world's best-loved novels, captivating children and adults alike with its luminous tale of secrets and revelations, growth and renewal, and, above all, the transforming power of love.

A puzzling photograph, a box filled with faded toy horses, and a single fractured memory are all that Maya has left of her mother. In Grandmother's house in California, she lives like a captive, tethered by Grandmother's rules: no talk of her mother, no friends, no foolishness of any kind...until a shocking event changes everything.

This is the thrilling story of how a hurricane destroyed the wild herds of Assateague, and how strength and love helped rebuild them. Misty of Chincoteague has been delighting millions since its publication in 1947. Like the favorite classic, this sequel features siblings Paul and Maureen Beebe's special relationship with their ponies, and is filled with fascinating horse lore and amusing regional color.

Twelve-year-old Mary Hayes can't stand her orphanage. But when an attempted escape doesn't go quite as well as she'd hoped, Mary fears she'll be stuck in the Buffalo Asylum for Young Ladies forever. The very next day, a mysterious woman named Madame Z appears at the orphanage requesting to adopt Mary. The matron's all too happy to get the girl off her hands. Soon Mary is fed a hearty meal, dressed in a clean, new nightgown, and shown to a soft bed with blankets piled high.