The Egypt Game


Book Description

The first time Melanie Ross meets April Hall, she’s not sure they have anything in common. But she soon discovers that they both love anything to do with ancient Egypt. When they stumble upon a deserted storage yard, Melanie and April decide it’s the perfect spot for the Egypt Game. Before long there are six Egyptians, and they all meet to wear costumes, hold ceremonies, and work on their secret code. Everyone thinks it’s just a game until strange things start happening. Has the Egypt Game gone too far?




Below the Root


Book Description

In the “Newbery Honor–winning author’s compelling fantasy” for young adults, a boy is chosen to rule his idyllic land—only to discover its dark secrets (Publishers Weekly). Green-sky is an ideal place. Violence doesn’t exist. Its citizens, the Kindar, glide from tree to tree and exchange happy thoughts. This is all thanks to their rulers, the Ol-zhaan. And on his thirteenth birthday, Raamo D’ok is chosen to become one of the Ol-zhaan. Raamo is surprised to be named a Chosen. He isn’t a very good student—but the Ol-zhaan believe he has strong Spirit-force. But during his training, Raamo discovers that these good rulers aren’t as benevolent as they appear. They harbor secrets about his people, his family, and what lies below the forest floor. Now Raamo must decide: Should he keep the peace, or reveal the secrets that the Ol-zhaan have protected for so long? This ebook features an extended biography of Zilpha Keatley Snyder.




Gib Rides Home


Book Description

DIVAll Gib ever wanted was to be adopted, but life with a family isn’t quite what he thought it would be/divDIV Gib was sent to an orphanage when he was six years old, and with each year, he knows it becomes less likely that he will be adopted into a loving family. As kids get older, they are more likely to be adopted onto a farm, meaning a hard life of unpaid labor. And after seeing a friend come back battered and near death, Gib is understandably worried./divDIV /divDIVWhen his turn for adoption finally comes, Gib is surprised to learn that life on the farm isn’t too difficult. His new “parents,” the Thorntons, are kind to him, and his job in the stables is fun and interesting. It is as close to the home of his dreams as he could possibly imagine. And though Gib doesn’t remember much of his past before the orphanage, as time passes, Gib realizes that his new family may be more connected to his real family than he ever imagined. This smart, touching novel is based on the life of author Zilpha Keatley Snyder’s father and his experience as an orphan in the 1900s./divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features an extended biography of Zilpha Keatley Snyder./div




Cat Running


Book Description

DIVAn award-winning, thoughtful, and moving glimpse into life during the Depression/divDIV Cat is the fastest kid at her school—and with Play Day is coming up soon, she will be able to show off her speed to everybody. Unfortunately, her old-fashioned father forbids her to wear pants, even while playing sports. So Cat refuses to race, and Zane, an Okie boy whose family works on a nearby farm, wins. Cat is furious that Zane is so fast, and angry that he was able to beat all the sixth-grade boys, even in his bare feet./divDIV /divDIVThough Cat hates Zane at the start, soon the two become friends. They are the school’s best runners, after all. But while Cat’s family is doing well, Zane’s family has lost everything in the Depression. All Cat can offer Zane’s family is sympathy and friendship . . . until Zane’s sister gets pneumonia and Cat and Zane are forced into a race for the little girl’s life./divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features an extended biography of Zilpha Keatley Snyder./div




The Witches of Worm


Book Description

Twelve-year-old Jessica, who is lonely and unhappy, is convinced that the cat she finds is possessed by a witch and is responsible for her own strange behavior.




The Gypsy Game


Book Description

The kids from The Egypt Game are back. What game will they play next? The answer is Gypsies. While April plunges in with her usual enthusiasm, the more Melanie learns, the more something seems to be holding her back. But it's Toby who adds a really new wrinkle when he announces that he himself is a bona fide Gypsy. Plus he can get them some of his grandmother's things to use as real Gypsy props for the new game. What could be more thrilling? Then Toby suddenly and mysteriously disappears, and the kids discover that living as real-life Gypsies may not be as much fun as they thought. How will they find Toby and rescue him from the very real problems that are haunting his life?




And All Between


Book Description

In this “vividly drawn fantasy” from the Newbery Honoree, the trees of Green-sky are peaceful, while Teera struggles to survive below the forest floor (Publishers Weekly). While the Kindar thrive in the leafy utopia of Green-sky, the Erdlings struggle to survive in their underground caves and tunnels. Hunger threatens, and Teera, an eight-year-old Erdling, is forced to run away before her pet, Haba, is killed for food. Once away, Teera finds her way to the beautiful forest floor, where the sights are breathtaking and the food is abundant. There, she meets the friendly Ol-zhaan Raamo and Neric. Teera and her new Ol-zhaan friends want to reveal the truth about life above and below the trees, but powerful forces are at work to ensure that the two worlds remain apart. This ebook features an extended biography of Zilpha Keatley Snyder.




The Runaways


Book Description

From three-time Newbery Medal winner Zilpha Keatley Snyder comes the story of three desperate kids who just want to run away Dani O’Donnell hates the dusty desert town of Rattler Springs and the ramshackle cabin where she lives with her widowed mother. On the eve of her thirteenth birthday, Dani hatches a plan to run away and return home to Sea Grove, California, with its palm trees and ocean breezes. But her scheme gets complicated when Stormy Arigotti, a dyslexic nine-year-old, decides he wants in. As if that weren’t enough, a big-city family just set up shop on the rundown ranch Dani’s mother inherited from her husband—and the daughter, Pixie Smithson, wants to join the runaway group. Pixie’s the strangest girl Dani has ever met, but now they have to think about practical things, like raising money for three bus tickets. For Dani, Stormy, and Pixie, running away might not turn out to be the great adventure they envisioned. This ebook features an extended biography of Zilpha Keatley Snyder.




The Trespassers


Book Description

DIVHalcyon House has everything: a beautiful location, incredible amenities, and life-threatening danger/divDIV In the beautiful Northern California coastal town of Monterey, Halcyon House is exactly the kind of place that any kid would want to explore. It’s huge, abandoned, and— rumor has it—haunted. Neely and her little brother, Grub, are determined to get inside. The two siblings climb through an open window and find an old nursery, filled with old toys and, possibly, a ghost./divDIV /divDIVThe siblings’ trespassing ends, however, when the mysterious Hutchinson family arrives and reclaims the house. Neely and Grub should be in trouble, but instead Curtis Hutchinson welcomes the siblings in with open arms. But as Neely spends more time at Halcyon House, she realizes that this mansion and its inhabitants are far more dangerous than she could have possibly imagined./divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features an extended biography of Zilpha Keatley Snyder./div




William S. and the Great Escape


Book Description

Twelve-year-old William S. Baggett is one of eight Baggett children, and he is ready to escape his negligent family. Since his very first day of school in 1931, he has been saving up money to run away. That’s exactly what he does—along with three of his younger siblings—after his older brothers flush a pet guinea pig down the toilet. The four children are headed to their aunt Fiona’s house, but the trip doesn’t go exactly as planned—especially when a lonely rich girl decides to “help” them. Will they ever make it to Aunt Fiona’s? And if they do, will she let them stay?