In the Secret, they can imagine anything into reality, and shape destiny. Then the unbelievable happens: by trick or by chance, they actually find themselves in the Secret Country, their made-up identities now real. The five have arrived at the start of their games, with the Country on the edge of war. What was once exciting and wonderful now looms threateningly before them, and no one is sure how to stop it… or if they will ever get back home.   "An intricate sparkling web of intrigue and magic. One of me very favorites.”—Patricia C. Wrede, author of Dealing with Dragons

    There are two rules when it comes to the dragons: don't let them out of the bag, and don't feed them anything sweet. Before he knows it, Jax and his friends Vikram and Kavita have broken both rules! Will Jax get the baby dragons delivered safe and sound? Or will they be lost in Brooklyn forever?

    While their authors toil at getting their stories written and printed, these characters are killing time at The Questing Academy. As their stories take shape, they endure many changes, some good, and some bad. At the academy, heroes learn the plotting ropes alongside villains, supporting characters and even window dressing castmates such as guard three whose only contribution to his scene is a poorly timed sneeze. Ah, but the academy stresses there are no small roles. Plopped into the middle of things is a grand hero, Irving Wishbutton. As he adjusts to life on a literary campus, he has to also deal with the twists and turns of his character and story development. It isn’t always pretty. For one, he arrives a smudge, his only distinct feature, a gaudy red button on his chest. Everything else about him is hazy and not defined yet due to his writer who has avoided describing him early on. Two, he immediately gets on Dean Harmstrike’s bad side when a pack of emberhounds from Irving’s own story attack him at the Office of Fine Aunts. Three, there are a plethora of mysteries and entanglements afloat at the academy. Irving’s creator has marked him as acutely curious. While the faculty tells him to dig into what makes himself tick, he can’t help but unravel the mysteries and secrets that abound on campus. On his quest of self-discovery, he is befriended by another fellow smudge, a beautiful fairy from another book’s supporting cast. He also gets mixed up with a confused vampire whose fickle writer is constantly making revisions, including writing her twin brother out of her story. Lord Raggleswamp, a short-statured short-tempered braggart of a villain and Gared, The Golden Knight, whose silver tongue can command any and all monsters, are both constant thorns at Irving’s side as he seeks answers and to fit in. With the help of an equally headstrong cast, Irving tackles the big questions: Who built the academy? What’s Dean Harmstrike’s true agenda? Why is being branded a smudge so very wrong to others on campus? What lurks beneath the library? What happens to each character upon graduation?

    However, the gray-haired, grandmotherly Mrs. White is not an ordinary candy maker. Her confections have magical side effects. Purposefully, she invites the kids on a special mission to retrieve a hidden talisman under Mt. Diablo Elementary School.

    In this volume, three children enter another dimension and through captivating allegorical drama, learn key principles of the Kingdom of God.

    Cloaked in mystery, Auralia grows up among criminals outside the walls of House Abascar, where vicious beastmen lurk in shadow. There, she discovers an unsettling–and forbidden–talent for crafting colors that enchant all who behold them, including Abascar’s hard-hearted king, an exiled wizard, and a prince who keeps dangerous secrets. Auralia’s gift opens doors from the palace to the dungeons, setting the stage for violent and miraculous change in the great houses of the Expanse. Auralia’s Colors weaves literary fantasy together with poetic prose, a suspenseful plot, adrenaline-rush action, and unpredictable characters sure to enthrall ambitious imaginations.

    Just an ordinary boy, Jack has been chosen for a hugely important task, and enters a world he believed only existed in legend. Full of twists and turns and featuring characters such as talking ravens and mischievous Spriggans, The Golden Acorn is a hugely entertaining and exciting tale from a very talented new author.

    When Emily and Jess Volnik's family inherits a remote, crumbling Scottish castle, they also inherit the Boggart - an invisible, mischievous spirit who's been playing tricks on residents of Castle Keep for generations. Then the Boggart is trapped in a rolltop desk and inadvertently shipped to the Volniks' home in Toronto, where nothing will ever be the same - for the Volniks or the Boggart.In a world that doesn't believe in magic, the Boggart's pranks wreak havoc. And even the newfound joys of peanut butter and pizza and fudge sauce eventually wear thin for the Boggart. He wants to go home - but his only hope lies in a risky and daring blend of modern technology and ancient magic.

    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!

       When Mrs. Sorensen’s husband dies, she rekindles a long-dormant love with an unsuitable mate in “Mrs. Sorensen and the Sasquatch.” In “Open the Door and the Light Pours Through,” a young man wrestles with grief and his sexuality in an exchange of letters with his faraway beloved. “Dreadful Young Ladies” demonstrates the strength and power—known and unknown—of the imagination.  In “Notes on the Untimely Death of Ronia Drake,” a witch is haunted by the deadly repercussions of a spell. “The Insect and the Astronomer” upends expectations about good and bad, knowledge and ignorance, love and longing. The World Fantasy Award–winning novella The Unlicensed Magician introduces the secret magical life of an invisible girl once left for dead—with thematic echoes of Barnhill’s Newbery Medal–winning novel, The Girl Who Drank the Moon.

    but they still have to go to school! Ailis and Na'ya are pretty average students (NOT losers), but when a shadow starts looming and a classmate gets all weird, they are the first to notice. It gets personal, though, when Na'ya's little brother D'esh disappears-It's time to confront the secrets of the forbidden mansion in the Silent Woods!Join the acclaimed author of Awkward, Svetlana Chmakova, for an outing into her favorite fantastical world full of magic and adventure!

    Where are Ethan and Lily's parents being held, and where have the Sun Sword and its magical gems been hidden? Joined by their friend Saxon and the determined Princess Roana, Ethan and Lily must solve puzzles and riddles, escape legendary sea monsters, and outwit bandits along the way. But the greatest threat to the children is the sinister Sedah tracker, Sniffer, who is close on their trail. Can the four friends find the Sun Gem—before the Sedah can find them?

    Linn wants nothing more than to be left in peace–but her brutish stepfather has other plans. When he demands that she convert her faith and worship the demon Rane in order to wed a local Ranite townsman, Linn dares to do the one thing she dreams of: escape. But not before receiving a whipping at her stepfather’s cruel hands, an act that leaves a gash in her palm in the shape of an arrow–and sets in motion Linn’s destiny.A mystifying path opens up before her, a path of bent grasses and sloping tree branches. It guides her through the landscape of Maether on a quest to find the City of Trees, home to the mythical lysefolk. . . and to a world whose future depends on Linn alone.

    In New York City, a young, secretive street tough who calls himself, Bear, lands on the doorstep of two teenaged sisters. On the one hand Rose is delighted with his surprising knowledge of literature, poetry, and music; on the other hand Blanche is afraid of his apparent connections to drugs, murder, and a hidden treasure. Even as Blanche learns to trust him, her fears that Bear's friendship threatens their family prove terrifyingly true.Originally published in hardcover in 1997 as Snow White and Rose Red: A Modern Fairy Tale, Bethlehem Books released The Shadow of the Bear: Snow White and Rose Red Retold in paperback in 2002.

    Tolkien’s five acclaimed modern classic ‘fairie’ tales in the vein of The Hobbit.Enchanted by a sand-sorcerer, the toy dog Roverandom explores a world filled with strange and fabulous creatures; the fat and unheroic Farmer Giles of Ham is called upon to do battle with the dragon Chrysophylax; Hobbits, princesses, dwarves and trolls partake in the adventures of Tom Bombadil; Smith of Wootton Major journeys to the land of Faery via the magical ingredients of a giant cake; and Niggle the painter sets out to paint the perfect tree.