As Coke and Pepsi dodge nefarious villains from the Pez museum in California all the way to the Infinity Room in Wisconsin, black-and-white photographs and maps put young readers right into the action. And don't miss the next leg of the journey in The Genius Files: Never Say Genius!Supports the Common Core State Standards

    Bartholomew and Hettie are changelings--Peculiars--and neither faeries nor humans want anything to do with them.One day a mysterious lady in a plum-colored dress comes gliding down Old Crow Alley. Bartholomew watches her through his window. Who is she? What does she want? And when Bartholomew witnesses the lady whisking away, in a whirling ring of feathers, the boy who lives across the alley--Bartholomew forgets the rules and gets himself noticed.First he's noticed by the lady in plum herself, then by something darkly magical and mysterious, by Jack Box and the Raggedy Man, by the powerful Mr. Lickerish . . . and by Arthur Jelliby, a young man trying to slip through the world unnoticed, too, and who, against all odds, offers Bartholomew friendship and a way to belong.Part murder mystery, part gothic fantasy, part steampunk adventure, The Peculiar is Stefan Bachmann's riveting, inventive, and unforgettable debut novel.

    Poor Lilly is out fishing with her trusty sea-cat when greedy raiders pillage the town--and kidnap the prime minister's daughter. Her village blamed, Lilly decides to find the girl. Off she sails, in secret. And with a ransom: a mysterious talking jewel. "If I save his daughter," Lilly reasons, "the prime minister's sure to reward me." Little does Lilly know that it will take more than grit to outwit the tricky, treacherous piratical tribes!

    For one thing, he can talk. For another, he's got the power to travel through time. And the instant he tells this to Jason, the two of them are in ancient Egypt, on the first of nine amazing adventures that Jason will never forget.

    Speak outside the approved lexicon and face banishment. The exceptions are the Wordsmith and his apprentice Letta, the keepers and archivists of all language in their post-apocalyptic, neo-medieval world. On the death of her master, Letta is suddenly promoted to Wordsmith, charged with collecting and saving words. But when she uncovers a sinister plan to suppress language and rob Ark’s citizens of their power of speech, she realizes that it’s up to her to save not only words, but culture itself.

    Each day, her father braves the tumultuous waves and returns home in time for dinner. One stormy evening, he doesn’t come back. Merryn has a vision that he’s been dragged underwater by a terrifying sea creature, and he needs her help. Determined to rescue him, Merryn builds a tiny submarine and embarks on a journey through the undersea worlds she’s only heard about in her father’s lullabies. As she faces the dangers and wonders of the world below the waves, she realizes that her father’s stories were all real.  Readers can also experience Merryn’s daring journey firsthand in the new Song of the Deep video game from acclaimed developer Insomniac Games.

    Can they stop an alien takeover and save the world in time to win the Invention Convention? John Kloepfer, author of the popular Zombie Chasers books, has done it again. Galaxy's Most Wanted is full of sidesplitting descriptions; a fast-paced, silly plot; a cast of diverse and endearing characters; and a slew of creepy-crawly aliens oozing off the page. With out-of-this-world black-and-white illustrations by Nick Edwards throughout, the first book in this new series is going to blast off!Meet the Characters:Kevin: Science genius. Physics, biology, chemistry, you name it, Kevin can do it. He's the brains of the operation, leader of the crew.Warner Reed: Kevin's best friend and resident cool dude. He's the guy to see if you've got a 2 a.m. junk food craving—but you'll pay top dollar for his top secret stash.Tara Swift: Not only is Tara supersmart and great at building things out of next to nothing, she's also in an all-girl punk band and the best drummer in the universe. (It's true—just ask her.)TJ Boyd: Computer problems? He's your man. TJ's a regular computer-programming prodigy. He's not much of a talker, though. Word around the campfire is that he damaged his voice box in a botched robotics experiment.