They say a lot of things about the Schwa, but one thing’s for sure: no one ever noticed him. Except me. My name is Antsy Bonano—and I can tell you what’s true and what’s not, ’cause I was there. I was the one who realized the Schwa was “functionally invisible” and used him to make some big bucks. But I was also the one who caused him more grief than a friend should. So if you all just shut up and listen, I’ll spill everything. Unless, of course, "the Schwa Effect" wipes him out of my brain before I'm done....

    You'll learn how to construct houses, bridges, ships, floating islands and rollercoasters of the highest quality.

    Olive’s father has a sadness so big that she imagines it as a large grey elephant following him around. With the help of her cheery grandfather and her best friend, Arthur, Olive sets out to chase away her father’s elephant.Beautifully written, this novel from acclaimed author and illustrator Peter Carnavas will stay with you long after you finish.

    It includes character studies and summaries of the plot with discussions of the major themes, as well as a background to John Steinbeck.

    Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (released in the United States and India as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) is a 2001 fantasy/adventure film based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. Directed by Chris Columbus, it is the first in the popular Harry Potter films series. The story follows Harry Potter, a boy who discovers on his eleventh birthday that he is a wizard, and is sent to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to begin his magical education. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The adult cast features Richard Harris, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman and Ian Hart. Warner Bros. bought the film rights to the book in 1999. Production began in 2000, with Columbus being chosen from a short list of directors to create the film. Rowling insisted that the entire cast be British or Irish, in keeping with the cultural integrity of the book and the film. Rowling also approved the screenplay, written by Steve Kloves.

    The legwork is done for you. The chapter-by-chapter guides incorporate research-based, high-order reading, writing and thinking activities. (This is NOT the paperback novel.)

     As a child, you counted down the days to Halloween, thrilled at the prospect of venturing out into the night in a monster’s clothing and returning with a sack stuffed full with candy. As you grew through adolescence, your tastes gradually changed. You still lived in anticipation of Halloween, but you no longer cared much for its typical offerings. The costumes weren’t real. The candy was too sweet. What you wanted was adventure, panic, black magic. You wanted to find yourself on a dark hilltop, shaking with fear as impossible shadows crept up the slope toward you. You wanted to see the dead sit up in their graves. You wanted to stumble through the fog trying to escape the clutches of a madman. You wanted to survive a nightmare... Death by Halloween is a 'choose-your-own-adventure' style interactive book for adults and mature teens. It features: Masterfully executed hyperlink navigation Over 100 choices Over 50 endings A gender-neutral protagonist Ghosts Ghouls Murderers Self-loathing Cannibals Demons Mutilation Scarecrows Specters Zombies Pie And much more! Please have a look at the sample to get a better idea of whether or not this book is right for you. Because this is an interactive book, the sample chapters will be out of order and not interactive. They will, nevertheless, give you a pretty good idea of what to expect. PLEASE NOTE: As mentioned above, this book has some fairly graphic scenes of violence and is intended for a somewhat mature audience.

    Their ultimate goal: the Olympics. As each girl struggles with life's challenges and rejoices with each triumph, the encouragement of the other Girls Only club members and their faith in God give the girls the moral support needed to push their limits and learn important lessons. Dreams on Ice When Livvy's family moves across the country and away from her amazing ice-skating coach, Livvy is sure her Olympic dreams are shattered. Only the Best Jenna lives and breathes gymnastics, but now she must decide: compete in the all-important meet at the Olympic Training Center or go with her parents to meet her adopted brother. A Perfect Match Heather wants to end her couples' ice-dancing career to skate solo, but when she doesn't get her family's support, she wonders if she's really going for what she wants or if she's just being selfish. Reach for the Stars Manda is focused on her ski competition, but when her mom needs help, Manda has to put her dream of winning the Dressel Hills Downhill Classic on ice.

    Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Still Life With Woodpecker, Villa Incognito, Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates, Jitterbug Perfume, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Skinny Legs and All, Another Roadside Attraction, Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: Still Life With Woodpecker (1980) is the third novel by Tom Robbins, concerning the love affair between an environmentalist princess and an outlaw. As with most of Robbins' books, it encompasses a broad range of topics, from aliens and redheads to consumerism, the building of bombs, romance, royalty, the moon, and a pack of Camels. The novel continuously addresses the question of how to make love stay. The story is sometimes called a post-modern fairy tale. The book begins in "the final quarter of the twentieth century," at a year never specified, presumably in the early 1980s. It revolves around a family of deposed European royalty living in a small house in the suburbs outside of Seattle, under the protection of the CIA. They consist of: the father, King Max, a former gambler and poker player whose prosthetic heart valve makes a loud scraping noise when he gets excited; the mother, Queen Tilli, an opera-lover with a strong foreign accent and a fondness for saying "Oh, oh, spaghetti-o"; Gulietta, the non-English-speaking maid (and, as it turns out, Max's half-sister) and the daughter, Leigh-Cheri, a redheaded vegetarian liberal princess and former cheerleader, having pulled out of classes after being asked to resign from the cheer squad after having a miscarriage while cheering at a football game. Leigh-Cheri proclaims herself celibate, withdraws from public life and cloisters herself in her room, only to emerge to ask her parents for permission to go to the Care Fest, a lib...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=217300

    No coaches, no practices, just nonstop action with his best friend, JJ, at his side. But lately JJ's been acting like he's too busy for Toby, and Toby knows it will only get worse once basketball season begins at their junior high. That's because JJ is the star of their school team, while Toby is just an ordinary gym rat.When Coach Applewhite offers Toby a chance to join the team, Toby's eager to prove he can keep up with JJ. But then the coach announces the lineup, and Toby's hopes of playing ball with JJ are history: he's an eighthgrade benchwarmer! Befriending the coach's daughter only makes matters worse. Now the only way Toby will get in the game is if he starts thinking like a team player, on and off the court.

    George is surprised to wake up and find snow outside! But it's hard for a little monkey to walk in such deep snow. Thankfully, his friends teach him all about snow and the different ways to play in it, and he uses his new skills to rescue a farmer’s stranded pig! The animated series Curious George is available to watch on Peacock, NBC Universal’s streaming platform.

    Despite his conversion to the gospel, Greg is surrounded by people who want to exploit his fame and wealth. It is a constant battle to find time for his new faith…and his new love. Meanwhile, Andi’s sister Clytie, an anchondroplastic dwarf, is also discovering the magic of romance, but hers comes at a terrible price because intelligent, cynical, funny Thaddeus is dying. Will she be able to give her heart, knowing that soon all she will have left of their love is her memories?

    She knows the two children in it are her mother, Claire, and her aunt Dulcie. But who’s the third person, the one who’s been torn out of the picture?Ali figures she’ll find out while she’s vacationing in Maine with Dulcie and her four-year-old daughter, Emma, in the house where Ali’s mother’s family used to spend summers. All hopes for relaxation are quashed shortly after their arrival, though, when the girls meet Sissy, a kid who’s mean and spiteful and a bad influence on Emma.Strangest of all, Sissy keeps talking about a girl named Teresa who drowned under mysterious circumstances back when Claire and Dulcie were kids, and whose body was never found. At first Ali thinks Sissy’s just trying to scare her with a ghost story, but soon she discovers the real reason why Sissy is so angry. . . . Mary Downing Hahn is at her chilling best in this new supernatural tale that’s certain to send shivers down her readers’ spines.

    . . Niño!Fwap! Slish! Bloop! Krunch! He takes down his competition in a single move!No opponent is too big a challenge for the cunning skills of Niño—popsicle eater, toy lover, somersault expert, and world champion lucha libre competitor!A Neal Porter Book

    Filled with insights about the mental stamina and emotional clarity that peak performance requires, this is an indispensable story for young athletes, coaches, educators, and anyone interested in the astonishing potential of team sports to unlock individual growth.THE GAME WILL NEVER BE THE SAMEMagic doesn’t seem possible for the West Bottom Badgers. They’re the lowest-ranked basketball team in their league, and they live in the poorest neighborhood in Dren. Nobody expects them to succeed at anything. Plus, every kid on the team has secret struggles of his own.When a new coach named Professor Wizenard arrives on the first day of training camp, the Badgers can’t explain the magical-seeming things they see and hear. Every player experiences unique and strange visions―visions that challenge everything they thought they knew about basketball, and about their lives and their secrets off the court. To survive the increasingly intense ordeals of training, the Badgers will need to take unimaginable risks, learn to trust their teammates, and confront the darkness within themselves.