Jagger Jones and the Mummy's Ankh


Book Description

"This delightful book targets junior high age readers, but it's a treat for all ages... a magical fantasy that will make your heart dance then break then dance again. For lovers of Harry Potter, Jagger Jones is a natural." —The Cat That Reads Blog Jagger Jones is a whiz kid from Chicago's South Side. Ask him anything about Ancient Egypt, and Jagger can fill hours describing all that he knows. But when he and his precocious little sister Aria fall more than three thousand years back in time to the court of Amarna, Egypt, Jagger discovers a truth that rocks his world: books don't teach you everything there is to know. Mummies, pyramids, and cool hieroglyphics make awesome movie props, but the ancient court of Amarna is full of over-sized scorpions, magical amulets, and evil deities determined to scare unwanted visitors away. If Jagger and Aria are to return safely home, they must find nine soul-infested gemstones, defeat an evil general, save the royal family, and figure out how to rescue themselves! Armed only with Jagger's knowledge of history and a few modern objects mined from his pockets and Aria's sparkly purse, the siblings have exactly one week to solve supernatural riddles and rescue the royal family. If they can pull it off, Jagger Jones just might return to Chicago a hero. Includes a discussion guide for middle school readers. "This book would make a great classroom read aloud or book club selection, and since it's the first of a planned trilogy, there's more to look forward to. I, for one, can't wait!" —Kristin Thorsness, author of The Wicked Tree




Aria Jones and the Guardian's Wedja


Book Description

Twelve-year-old Aria Jones loves nothing more than a good adventure. But when she and her big brother Jagger are summoned back to ancient Egypt from their South Side Chicago home, danger lurks around every corner. Can Aria use her newfound superpowers to track the evil General and his sidekick in order to save Princess Tatia and the gods of ancient Egypt? Or will the evil sun god banish magic from the land and destroy the royal family—and Aria's own—in the process? The adventures continue when Aria and Jagger reunite with good friends, forge new alliances, and battle old enemies. This time, Aria must find a way to interpret a troublesome prophecy if she and Jagger are to return home, safe and sound.




The Wicked Tree


Book Description

Deep in the woods, a gnarled tree grows. Its thick, black trunk twists angrily up into the night sky. Held in place by the magic of a long-ago patriarch, it has waited centuries to lure a descendant into its trap. When Tavorian Kreet and his mom move in with his great-grandmother, Tav is forbidden to go into the woods on the estate. But like most eleven-year-olds, he just can't resist. After secretly exploring the woods, Tav begins having dreams about a supernatural tree. Soon, the dreams change from pleasant to dark and menacing. On a dare, Tav ventures farther into the woods with his new friend, Harper. There, they meet a mysterious, mute boy named Edward who lives in a decrepit cabin nearby. Afraid, and unable to speak, Edward scrawls "Wicked Tree" on the ground. Determined to help Edward, Tav enlists Harper, and they search the estate for clues to Edward's identity and how to help him. With Harper's help, Tav pieces together the Kreet family history and discovers an ancient curse. If Tav wants to save his friends and family, he must go into the heart of the woods, find the Wicked Tree, and confront a most evil magic. THE WICKED TREE, a MG dark fantasy that will appeal to fans of Jonathan Auxier's THE NIGHT GARDENER and Mary Downing Hahn's TOOK. If you love SERAFINA AND THE BLACK CLOAK, then THE WICKED TREE is for you!







Indiana Jones and the Cult of the Mummy's Crypt


Book Description

By the author of "Goosebumps" and "99 Fear Street." When two priceless mummies are stolen from the National Museum, it is your job to get them back. You travel with the intrepid Indiana Jones to Cairo, where an ancient cult has come back to life after a thousand years, but with a modern twist: laboratory cats trained as vicious killers. The mysterious pyramids hold other terrors. Deep within the maze of secret chambers and underground chasms, scorpions and snakes abound. And something else lurks in the shadows -- mummies that emerge from age-old tombs to walk the earth, hungry for human brains . . .




The Mummy's Curse


Book Description

In Egypt in 1908, nine-year-old Indiana Jones meets Lawrence of Arabia and encounters a mystery involving a mummy's curse and a murdered guard at an archeological dig.




Tales of Sasha 9: The Disappearing History


Book Description

In book nine of the Tales of Sasha series, Sasha has to figure out what to do when the recorded history of the flying horses disappears! The History Day celebration is coming up in Crystal Cove, and Sasha has to pick her favorite story to read aloud. But when she unrolls the magical fabrics with the flying horse history on them, she discovers that all the words have disappeared! Can Sasha figure out what happened and find a way to return the stories to the fabrics in time for the celebration?




Boo Stew


Book Description

Award-winning storyteller Donna L. Washington has cooked up a delightfully spooky tale in this imaginative twist on the classic "Goldilocks." Curly Locks is a good-hearted girl, but she's an awful cook. All the townspeople of Toadsuck Swamp know to steer clear of her peculiar dishes—like batwing brownies and toad eye toffees. So it's quite a mystery when one of her dishes goes missing from her windowsill. Next morning, chaos breaks out in town and word spreads how the Scares of Toadsuck Swamp are running wild and terrorizing the town at mealtime. They shriek "Gitchey Boo, Gitchey Bon! Gitchey Goo, Gitchey Gone!" and send folk running for their lives! But Curly Locks isn't frightened, and she has an inkling her unsavory cooking can help corral those Scares for good. Exercising tremendous narrative skill, internationally known storyteller Donna L. Washington breathes a spirited new life into an old classic. Her clever, can-do protagonist and joyful language pair brilliantly with Jeffrey Ebbeler's fantasy-like illustrations. This enchanting read is a treat for any time of the year!




Buyology


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A fascinating look at how consumers perceive logos, ads, commercials, brands, and products.”—Time How much do we know about why we buy? What truly influences our decisions in today’s message-cluttered world? In Buyology, Martin Lindstrom presents the astonishing findings from his groundbreaking three-year, seven-million-dollar neuromarketing study—a cutting-edge experiment that peered inside the brains of 2,000 volunteers from all around the world as they encountered various ads, logos, commercials, brands, and products. His startling results shatter much of what we have long believed about what captures our interest—and drives us to buy. Among the questions he explores: • Does sex actually sell? • Does subliminal advertising still surround us? • Can “cool” brands trigger our mating instincts? • Can our other senses—smell, touch, and sound—be aroused when we see a product? Buyology is a fascinating and shocking journey into the mind of today's consumer that will captivate anyone who's been seduced—or turned off—by marketers' relentless attempts to win our loyalty, our money, and our minds.




The Last Last-day-of-summer


Book Description

"The Last Last-Day-of-Summer reminds me that all children deserve to exist in magical spaces where their imaginations and familial bonds will them into heroism. Every single child should have the freedom to be one of The Legendary Alstons. And I, for one, am grateful to Giles, and this brilliant story, for that reminder." --Jason Reynolds, author of Newbery Honoree Long Way Down "The legendary heroes of this legendary book are already legendary when the story begins From there things can only get legendary-er " --Tom Angleberger, author of the Origami Yoda series "Lamar Giles has written an instant classic--readers won't want their time with the Legendary Alston Boys of Logan County to end." --Gwenda Bond, author of the Lois Lane series The Hardy Boys meets The Phantom Tollbooth, in the new century When two adventurous cousins accidentally extend the last day of summer by freezing time, they find the secrets hidden between the unmoving seconds, minutes, and hours are not the endless fun they expected. Otto and Sheed are the local sleuths in their zany Virginia town, masters of unraveling mischief using their unmatched powers of deduction. And as the summer winds down and the first day of school looms, the boys are craving just a little bit more time for fun, even as they bicker over what kind of fun they want to have. That is, until a mysterious man appears with a camera that literally freezes time. Now, with the help of some very strange people and even stranger creatures, Otto and Sheed will have to put aside their differences to save their town--and each other--before time stops for good.