When Archie accidentally pops his football, it starts him thinking about Christmas - and especially Christmas PRESENTS! On his journey to deliver his wish to Santa, Archie meets Robyn, Willow and Nigel and discovers what Christmas is really all about.

    A few months later, he received a call from a gentleman who told him that he showed the story to an important friend who didn't think much of it. And who might that be? asked Jeff. The next thing he knew, he was whisked off to the North Pole to meet with this "very important friend," and the rest is, well, as they say, history. An enchanting holiday treasure, The Autobiography of Santa Claus combines solid historical fact with legend to deliver the definitive story of Santa Claus. And who better to lead us through seventeen centuries of Christmas magic than good ol' Saint Nick himself? Families will delight in each chapter of this new Christmas classic-one per each cold December night leading up to Christmas!

    Harassed by Iroquois, the Verchere family's fort must keep a continual guard. 14-year-old Madeleine is left alone with two younger brothers and few others when the Indians attack. We follow the brave and determined stratagems of Madeleine and her small circle. Madeleine's youthful leadership, especially of her brothers, will win the reader's admiration.

    D. Wilson (100 Cupboards)- Jennifer Trafton (The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic)- Douglas McKelvey (The Angel Knew Papa and the Dog)- A. S. Peterson (The Fiddler's Gun)Featuring illustrations by Justin Gerard, Cory Godbey, John Hendrix, Nicholas Kole, Aedan Peterson, Joe Sutphin and Doug TenNapel.Here are untold stories of the distant past, lost adventures, forgotten songs, and heartbreaking histories. The Shining Isle is restored, but Aerwiar is vast—and there are tales yet to tell.

    Desperate to help her mother and siblings survive another bleak season in the Winter King's frozen grasp, Cora begins to bend (and even break) the rules she has kept since she was a little girl. But when she discovers a secret that's much bigger than herself, she realizes too late that she has put herself—and those she loves—in even greater peril.

    Haoyou looked about him and saw the whole world beneath him. And it was his. He could breathe! Today Haoyou was a kite, a windhover riding on spread wings. The great Miao, master of the Jade Circus, offers twelve-year-old Haoyou the amazing chance to change his life—to escape from his family's poverty and the pain of his father's recent death—by becoming a kite rider!Strapped onto a beautiful scarlet-and-gold kite, Haoyou is sent into the sky to soar perilously among the clouds and entertain the awestruck crowds below. Traveling the Empire as part of the Jade Circus, Haoyou earns freedom, money, and unexpected fame—as he skillfully performs for local villagers who believe he can bring back messages from lost loved ones whose spirits haunt the sky. Miao even plans for Haoyou to perform before the Mongol conqueror Kublai Khan himself!But what about the duties that bind Haoyou to the ground—his duties to his family, especially to his widowed mother? And is the Great Miao all that he seems, or could he be using Haoyou in a treacherous plot?From incredibly versatile Carnegie Medalist Geraldine McCaughrean, author of The Stones Are Hatching, comes this dazzling story of adventure, betrayal, family, and sacrifice set in the dramatic, dangerous world of thirteenth-century China.

    His Elven mother is dying of a wasting disease. His Human father, severely injured in the war, struggles to walk. A brutal Winterfall clasps his mountainous kingdom in talons of ice. The people are starving. His family, his little sisters, depend on him to see them to Dragonmas Day.They need a miracle. But who believes in miracles anymore?Long ago, the mighty Dragon Santaclaws rescued Humankind and resettled them in the magical realm of Tyanbran – but Santaclaws and his miracles are gone, and his Dragons disappeared. Now, a stubborn half-Elf must brave blizzards and treacherous trails to bring food to the kingdom, and find winterberry to ease his mother’s suffering.What he discovers on this journey will shatter all unbelief. The lightning-born treasure he places beneath his Dragonmas tree changes everything, for wishes are different when it comes to Dragons.Wishes take wing, and come true.The start of a new Dragon Rider epic for fans of Anne McCaffrey, Eragon and How to Train Your Dragon. Santa Claus - Santaclaws - is really a dragon.

    This engaging story based on a real event includes an author's note.

    Its eyes rolled back in its head, and its wings jerked wide open...   When 12-year-old Billy Chan finds out his parents are sending him to a summer camp in middle-of-nowhere China, he doesn't know what to expect. There he meets fellow campers Dylan, Charlotte, and Ling-Fei, and together they stumble upon an age-old secret: there are four powerful warrior dragons hidden deep within the mountain behind the camp! They need the children's help to set them free before terrible evil in the guise of the Dragon of Death is unleashed upon the earth. Billy and his friends must set off on a dangerous adventure that will take them to the heart of the Dragon Realm. But can they save the dragon and human worlds from destruction?

    "Now we shall go a-Viking," Harald Redbeard announced, and so it was that Jan and Brus, Harald's twin sons, found themselves on the dragon-prowed Raven of the Wind, its striped sails set for England. But storms, ancient enemies of the sea-faring Norsemen, swooped down, and in their wake left disaster. Their mother's ship was lost and the Raven was wrecked on the Isle of Skye, stronghold of the giant Scot, Began Mor. Then Jan and Brus met Gavin, the Black Fox of Lorne, and began the long journey that was to take them across half the wild land of Scotland, in search of their mother and their father's murderer. The story is like a panorama of 10th century Scotland. Loyal clansmen at war with marauding Picts and invading Englishmen; staunch crofters and kindly shepherds; arrogant, powerful lairds - and among them the young Norsemen, practicing the clever deception that saved their lives. For no one in this strange land knew that there were two boys, identical in appearance, and by the time the secret was revealed, it had served its purpose, and the long quest was ended.

    He warmly conveys his own love for his two countries and described the strong and constant desire to be in both places at once: When in one country, he invariably misses the other. His grandfather, he tells us, would understand.

    Daisy and Hazel invite you to discover their untold stories . . .Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are famous for the murder cases they have solved - but there are many other mysteries in the pages of Hazel's casebook.From the macabre Case of the Deepdean Vampire, to the baffling Case of the Blue Violet, and their very first case of all: the Case of Lavinia's Missing Tie.Just like Daisy and Hazel's cases, there's more to this book than meets the eye, including: Brilliant mini-mysteries, including two brand-new and never seen before storiesDaisy and Hazel's own tips, tricks and facts.This is the perfect book for Agatha Christies In Waiting and fans of the award-winning, bestselling Murder Most Unladylike series. Cream Buns and Crime Note: Cream Buns and Crime is a short story collection containing; #0.5, The Case of Lavinia's Missing Tie, #3.5 The Case of the Blue Violet and #4.5 The Case of the Deepdean Vampire.

    What can be done? The enchantress Morgan knows who to ask for help: young Jack and Annie of Frog Creek, Pennsylvania! Monday with a Mad GeniusThey know they have to search for one of the four secrets of happiness to help Merlin the magician find joy in his life again. And so they head off in the magic tree house for Florence, Italy, in the early 1500s to spend the day with one of the greatest artists and inventors of all time–Leonardo da Vinci!Dark Day in the Deep SeaJack and Annie have to find one of the four secrets of happiness to help save Merlin the magician. But when the magic tree house whisks them off to a misty island in the middle of nowhere, they wonder how they will find anything. As the fog lifts, they see a huge three-masted ship–could it be a pirate ship?Eve of the Emperor PenguinJack and Annie continue their quest for the secrets of happiness–secrets they need to save Merlin. This time, the Magic Tree House takes them to the one continent they haven’t visited before: Antarctica! What can they hope to learn about happiness in such a barren place? Only the penguins know for sure . . . Jack and Annie are about to find out!

    Vibrant storytelling and finely wrought action have made her version of the classic tale of the Fall of Troy accessible to generations of young readers.

    1 bestselling children’s author, David Walliams comes his biggest and most epic adventure yet! Illustrated by the artistic genius Tony Ross. This is the story of a ten-year-old orphan and a 10,000-year-old mammoth… Read all about it! Read all about it! ICE MONSTER FOUND IN ARCTIC! When Elsie, an orphan on the streets of Victorian London, hears about the mysterious Ice Monster – a woolly mammoth found at the North Pole – she’s determined to discover more… A chance encounter brings Elsie face to face with the creature, and sparks the adventure of a lifetime – from London to the heart of the Arctic! Heroes come in all different shapes and sizes in David Walliams’ biggest and most epic adventure yet!