Sinister Substitute


Book Description

Initially delighted by an unpopular frog-dissecting teacher's absence, Dave becomes increasingly suspicious of a substitute's fascination with pet geckos and realizes that the substitute is the nefarious treasure hunter Damien Black in disguise.




The Gecko and Sticky: Sinister Substitute


Book Description

The Gecko & Sticky are a fabulous crime-fighting duo! This quartet of funny adventures will appeal to fans of superheroes both young and old, and would make terrific all-family read-alouds. Dave Sanchez's most despised teacher, a gleeful frog dissector named Ms. Veronica Krockle, is absent. Her students are psyched! But Sticky is suspicious. Especially when the substitute teacher turns out to be Damien Black--dastardly treasure hunter and master of disguise! If Damien Black is in school, does that mean he’s behind Ms. Krockle’s absence? Could she have been kidnapped? Stashed away in the Black mansion? Oh yeah, that sounds about right. Dave and Sticky realize that if they want to get Damien Black out of their school, they'll have to rescue the horrid Ms. Veronica Kronckle. Don't miss the other Gecko & Sticky adventures: 1. The Villain's Lair, 2. The Greatest Power, 3. Sinister Substitute, and 4. The Power Potion




The Gecko and Sticky: The Greatest Power


Book Description

The Gecko & Sticky are a fabulous crime-fighting duo! This quartet of funny adventures will appeal to fans of superheroes both young and old, and would make terrific all-family read-alouds. "Don't move a muscle!" shouts a strangely clad crook in the act of robbing a bank. But of course somebody does. That somebody is Dave Sanchez, and the crook is none other than the dastardly Damien Black, fresh out of prison and back to his villainous ways. But Dave and his gecko sidekick, Sticky, are on the case, and this time they have a trick up their sleeve--literally! It's an Aztec wristband that give its wearer powers like invisibility and flight. Asombroso, right? But power alone does not a superhero make, and they'll have to learn how to use it if they want to defeat their nemesis not once--but twice. Don't miss all the Gecko & Sticky adventures: 1. The Villain's Lair 2. The Greatest Power, 3. Sinister Substitute 4. The Power Potion




The Gecko and Sticky: The Power Potion


Book Description

The Gecko & Sticky are a fabulous crime-fighting duo! This quartet of funny adventures will appeal to fans of superheroes both young and old, and would make terrific all-family read-alouds. Dave Sanchez, crime-fighting courier, has just been handed the scariest package he's ever seen, and it's addressed to none other than the dastardly Damien Black! Dave is well award that he should deliver the package, but when he sees the evil-looking potion inside, he knows he can't. So he comes up with a totally clever ruse to trick the villain and . . . it backfires. Big-time. Soon he's facing off with six-horned goats, terrifying tarantulas, a java-junkie monkey--and, of course, Damien Black! Don't miss the other Gecko & Sticky Adventures: 1. The Villain's Lair, 2. The Greatest Power, 3. Sinsister Substitute, and 4. The Power Potion.




Sammy Keyes and the Night of Skulls


Book Description

"The most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)" —Midwest Children's Book Review After being chased by a man wielding a shovel, scared silly by a mummy, and attacked by Heather Acosta, Sammy and her pals decide they've had their fill of monsters and head home to eat some candy. But along with bubble gum and chocolate bars, they discover something frightening in their trick-or-treating bags. Something that's definitely not sweet! Before they know it, Sammy and her friends are following suspicious gravediggers, ghoulish embalmers, and shady undertakers. And somebody is following them . . . The Sammy Keyes mysteries are fast-paced, funny, thoroughly modern, and true whodunits. Each mystery is exciting and dramatic, but it's the drama in Sammy's personal life that keeps readers coming back to see what happens next with her love interest Casey, her soap-star mother, and her mysterious father.




Smells Like Dog


Book Description

Meet Homer Pudding, an ordinary farm boy who's got big dreams-to follow in the footsteps of his famous treasure-hunting uncle. But when Uncle Drake mysteriously disappears, Homer inherits two things: a lazy, droopy dog with no sense of smell, and a mystery. Why would his uncle call this clumsy dog his "most treasured possession?" And why did he put a gold coin on the dog's collar? And who will continue Uncle Drake's quest-to find the most coveted pirate treasure in the world? Join Homer, his sister Gwendolyn, and Dog on an adventure that will test their wits and courage as they leave their peaceful farm and head into a world where ruthless treasure hunters hide around every corner. Where they discover that Dog has a hidden talent and that treasure might be closer than they ever imagined...




The Palace of Laughter


Book Description

Miles Wednesday, orphaned, unwashed and living in a barrel, has never been to a circus before—but then the Circus Oscuro is no ordinary circus. There's a strange beast called The Null and an array of sinister-looking clowns, and when an unusual little girl with wings falls from a tower during the performance, Miles's life is changed forever. As Miles and Little embark on an extraordinary journey to rescue two friends who have been captured at the Palace of Laughter, they discover nothing less than the power of friendship and the gift of family.




The Gecko & Sticky


Book Description

Seventh-grader Dave Sanchez and his talking gecko sidekick Sticky decide they must rescue an odious science teacher who has been kidnapped by the even more villanous Damien Black, who is masquerading as a substitute teacher in order to steal Dave's magic Aztec armband.




The Dragon at the North Pole


Book Description

Using magic snowshoes, cousins Jesse and Daisy travel to the North Pole to retrieve their pet dragon.




The God of Small Things


Book Description

The beloved debut novel about an affluent Indian family forever changed by one fateful day in 1969, from the author of The Ministry of Utmost Happiness NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • MAN BOOKER PRIZE WINNER Compared favorably to the works of Faulkner and Dickens, Arundhati Roy’s modern classic is equal parts powerful family saga, forbidden love story, and piercing political drama. The seven-year-old twins Estha and Rahel see their world shaken irrevocably by the arrival of their beautiful young cousin, Sophie. It is an event that will lead to an illicit liaison and tragedies accidental and intentional, exposing “big things [that] lurk unsaid” in a country drifting dangerously toward unrest. Lush, lyrical, and unnerving, The God of Small Things is an award-winning landmark that started for its author an esteemed career of fiction and political commentary that continues unabated.