The Haunting of Granite Falls


Eva Ibbotson - 1987
    Hopgood will stop at nothing to make his daughter, Helen, happy—even if it means buying her an ancient Scottish castle and shipping it back to Texas. Assembling the castle isn’t a problem for the oil tycoon . . . it’s the ghosts that worry him. Hopgood has made up his mind: the ghouls have got to go. But these spirits don’t spook so easily. Instead, they make their way to America, where they meet up with a magical severed hand and three fiendish, cross-dressing kidnappers for a Texassized adventure with a ghostly Scottish flair.

The Brimstone Key


Derek Benz - 2010
    That was before they learned about the existence of evil fairies, werewolves, and other things that go bump in the night. Now they are monster-hunters, celebrated heroes, and allies to the legendary Templar knights---but even heroes have to go to school. When the Griffins enroll at Iron Bridge Academy, a school to train young recruits in the fight against the forces of evil, they find themselves at the center of a whole new adventure. The Clockwork King, a Templar foe from days past, has returned to finish the plan he set in motion decades ago. A plot to steal the souls of changelings---humans infused with fairy blood and supernatural abilities---in order to power his army of clockwork war machines. In The Brimstone Key, authors Derek Benz and J.S. Lewis deftly blend the mystical wonder of steampunk with magic and adventure to create an action-packed thrill ride.

Night Gate


Isobelle Carmody - 2002
    Walker. When Rage sets off for the hospital where her mother lies in a coma, the dogs and the neighbor’s goat tag along. On the way, they run into the firecat, who talks them into going through a magical gate. And something wonderful happens! Each of Rage’s friends is transformed. Bear becomes a real bear; Billy Thunder, a teenage boy; Elle, a warrior woman; Mr. Walker, a small, large-eared gentleman; and the goat, a satyr with an inferiority complex. Together, Rage and her companions embark on a quest to save the world of Valley, a journey that is somehow tied to Rage’s family. In this brilliant tale of courage and transformation, Isobelle Carmody captures the magic of Narnia and the whimsy of Wonderland without losing sight of the real world and all its difficulties.From the Hardcover edition.

The Tomorrow Code


Brian Falkner - 2008
    . . .Tane and Rebecca aren’t sure what to make of it—a sequence of 1s and 0s, the message looks like nothing more than a random collection of alternating digits. Working to decode it, however, Tane and Rebecca discover that the message contains lottery numbers . . . lottery numbers that win the next random draw! Suddenly Tane and Rebecca are rich, but who sent the numbers? And why? More messages follow, and slowly it becomes clear—the messages are being sent back in time from Tane and Rebecca’s future. Something there has gone horribly wrong, and it’s up to them to prevent it from happening. As they follow the messages’ cryptic instructions, Tane and Rebecca begin to suspect the worst—that the very survival of the human race may be at stake.

Knightley Academy


Violet Haberdasher - 2010
    They thwart Henry’s efforts to become a full-fledged Knight of the Realm, but he and two commoner classmates are determined to succeed. In the process, the boys uncover a conspiracy that violates the Hundred Years’ Peace treaty—and could lead to war! Can Henry manage to save his school and country from their enemies—and continue to study at the Academy?

The Golden Acorn


Catherine Cooper - 2009
    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.

There's a Hair in My Dirt!: A Worm's Story


Gary Larson - 1998
    It was a cartoon that appeared for many years in daily newspapers and was loved by millions. (And was confusing to millions more.) But one day he stopped.Gary went into hiding. He made a couple short films. He played his guitar. He threw sticks for his dogs. They threw some back.Yet Gary was restless. He couldn't sleep nights. Something haunted him. (Besides Gramps.) Something that would return him to his roots in biology, drawing and dementia--a tale called There's a Hair in My Dirt! A Worm's Story.It begins a few inches underground, when a young worm, during a typical family dinner, discovers there's a hair in his plate of dirt. He becomes rather upset, not just about his tainted meal but about his entire miserable, wormy life. This, in turn, spurs his father to tell him a story--a story to inspire the children of invertebrates everywhere.And so Father Worm describes the saga of a fair young maiden and her adventuresome stroll through her favorite forest, a perambulator's paradise. It is a journey filled with mystery and magic. Or so she thinks.Which is all we'll say for now.What exactly does the maiden encounter?Does Son Worm learn a lesson?More important, does he eat his plate of fresh dirt?Well, you'll have to read to find out, but let's just say the answers are right under your feet.Written and illustrated in a children's storybook style, There's a Hair in My Dirt! A Worm's Story is a twisted take on the difference between our idealized view of Nature and the sometimes cold, hard reality of life for the birds and the bees and the worms (not to mention our own species).Told with his trademark off-kilter humor, this first original non--Far Side book is the unique work of a comic master.Now Larson can finally sleep at night.Question is, will you?(from the back cover)

Visser


K.A. Applegate - 1999
    The engine backwash of the Bug fighter would capsize the boat. Or I might put the Taxxon pilot to the test and see if he could ram the low-slung boat. That would puzzle the humans.Either way, my body would never be found...My time of lying low was over...I would spearhead the invasion of Earth. I would take charge of our greatest conquest. I would stand alone atop the Yeerk military hierarchy.I was to become Visser One.From the Hardcover edition

The Magic Finger


Roald Dahl - 1966
    To the girl who lives next door, it's just plain horrible. She tries to be polite. She tries to talk them out of it, but the Greggs only laugh at her. Then one day the Greggs go too far, and the little girl turns her Magic Finger on them. When she's very, very angry, the little girl's Magic Finger takes over. She really can’t control it, and now it's turned the Greggs into birds! Before they know it, the Greggs are living in a nest, and that's just the beginning of their problems…

Tanglewreck


Jeanette Winterson - 2006
    Time tornadoes are ripping people from the present, never to return them, while a woolly mammoth inexplicably appears on banks of the River Thames. Eleven-year-old Silver and her guardian live in a house called Tanglewreck, which is somehow at the center of these mysterious time warps. A strange heirloom called the Timekeeper is hidden somewhere in the house, and Silver must find it and protect it . . . because whoever gets hold of the Timekeeper will have the power to control time-and life as we know it-forever. Reviews The sheer exhilaration of the adventure and the many fascinating historical and scientific allusions will keep readers engrossed through to the satisfying conclusion. -Publishers Weekly An appealing read for fantasy and science- fiction fans alike...Well-developed main characters add liveliness and suspense to the story, while secondary characters (a pair of inept thugs, the original Schr�dinger's cat) add touches of humor to a basically sober story. The climax is chaotic and exciting; the resolution is realistic, bittersweet. -Kirkus Reviews Winterson masterfully weaves together an imaginative array of settings and characters to bring the story to its exhilarating fulfillment. Silver's varied relationships add even more depth, encapsulating family, friendship, deceit, and abuse... [T]his time-bending sci-fi adventure will be a fine addition to young adult collections. -School Library Journal Winterson seamlessly combines rousing adventure with time warps, quantum physics, and a few wonderfully hapless flunkies. Her clever science will draw fans of Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, and her dastardly villains and resourceful youngsters will remind readers of the Lemony Snicket's books about the hapless Baudelaires. --Booklist Silver is a plucky hero in the mold of Neil Gaiman's Coraline and Philip Pullman's Lyra, a creature of action not introspection.

His Dark Materials: Trilogy, Fantasy Literature, Philip Pullman, Northern Lights (Novel), The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass, Coming Of Age, Will Parry (His Dark Materials), Costa Book Awards


Frederic P. Miller - 2009
    It follows the coming-of-age of two children, Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry, as they wander through a series of parallel universes against a backdrop of epic events. The three novels have won various awards, most notably The Amber Spyglass, the 2002 Whitbread Book of the Year prize, while the trilogy as a whole took third place in the BBC's Big Read poll in 2003. The story involves fantasy elements such as witches and armoured polar bears, and alludes to a broad range of ideas from fields such as physics, philosophy, theology and spirituality. The trilogy functions in part as a retelling and inversion of John Milton's epic, Paradise Lost; with Pullman commending humanity for what Milton saw as its most tragic failing. The series has drawn criticism from some religious individuals and groups due to its alleged negative portrayal of organized religion. Pullman's publishers have primarily marketed the series to young adults, but Pullman also intended to speak to adults.

The Forests of Silence


Emily Rodda - 2000
    All that stands against him is the magic Belt of Deltora with its seven gems of great and mysterious power. When the gems are stolen and hidden in dark terrible places throughout the kingdom, the Shadow Lord triumphs, and Deltora is lost.In secrecy, with only a hand-drawn map to guide them, two unlikely companions set out on a perilous quest. Determined to find the lost gems and rid their land of the tyrant, they struggle towards their first goal - the sinister Forests of Silence.

Fergus Crane


Paul Stewart - 2004
    C., your long-lost Uncle Theo"Fergus Crane has an almost ordinary life having lessons taught by rather odd teachers on the school ship "Betty Jeanne "and helping his mother in the bakery. But then a mysterious flying box appears at the window of his waterfront home and Fergus is plunged headlong into an exciting adventure! The box is followed by a winged mechanical horse that whisks him off to meet his long-lost uncle and his penguin helpers, Finn, Bill, and Jackson. Fergus finds out that his teachers are not quite what they seem they re actually pirates! Can Fergus and his winged horse save his schoolmates on the far-off Fire Island? And who else will he find there?

Tom's Midnight Garden


Philippa Pearce - 1958
    What a boring summer it's going to be. But then, lying in bed one night, he hears the old grandfather clock in the hall strike the very strange hour of 13 o'clock. What can it mean? As Tom creeps downstairs and opens the door, he finds out...a magical garden, a new playmate, and the adventure of a lifetime. Una Stubbs stars as Aunt Gwen in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation.© and (P)1999 BBC Audiobooks LTD2 h 16 min

Artemis Fowl Collection (Artemis Fowl, #1-7)


Eoin Colfer - 2010