Synopsis: "Steer infuses the exciting story with the flavor of a nineteenth-century novel and incorporates dragon lore found in his earlier books. Dragon lovers will be well pleased." —-BOOKLIST

Adventure! Villains! And dragons, dragons, dragons! From the creators of the best-selling Dragonology series, this first volume of the Dragonology Chronicles finds Daniel Cook and his sister, Beatrice, studying with eccentric dragonologist Dr. Ernest Drake. Soon they’re caught up in a race to find the stolen Dragon’s Eye —- a jewel that has the power to reflect the true Dragon Master —- before it is stolen by the evil Ignatius Crook. Working with Dr. Drake (and many friendly dragons), can these young siblings foil Ignatius and recover the Dragon’s Eye?

Synopsis: Read the bestselling books that inspired the hit movie sensation!

When Hiccup finds a coffin at sea, he opens it to discover a riddle that will lead to the treasure of Grimbeard the Ghastly, the world's greatest pirate and Hiccup's ancestor. So Hiccup and his friends set out on a treasure hunt, determined to master the art of swordfighting. How else will they escape an island of murderous dragons, defeat a boatload of Viking pirates, and survive all the twists and turns their journey will bring?

Join Hiccup and his friends on another rollicking illustrated adventure, and discover the brilliant combination of magic, action, humor, and heart that has made Cressida Cowell a beloved bestseller around the globe.

Synopsis: "Tom Townsend has written a compelling story of World War II...and has just the right touch."-JoAnn W Martin in the Review of Texas Books Spring 2006

Gypsy Prince was born small, the last foal of an of an old German war horse who had survived World War I. The stablemaster expected that because of his small size, the horse would end up pulling a beer wagon. But it was the late 1930s, and the Reich needed every horse for the conflict to come. And it needed all the expertise it could find to care for the horses, and so Gypsy Prince, and Hans the stable boy who had looked after the horse, ended up in the same unit of the German Army paired for the duration of the conflict. They go into battle on the Eastern Front as part of the invasion of the Soviet Union. Together they make it as far as Stalingrad, where with the Russians encircling the Germans, Gypsy Prince is turned loose rather than be turned into a stew for the hungry troops. With extraordinary luck, he makes it through enemy lines back to the German forces, where he is once again pressed into the war effort. This time he is shipped to the Western Front where he is taken and used by the French Resistance after the invasion at Normandy. Eventually, the horse finds himself loose and travels through France to German. He crosses the Rhine at Remagen just ahead of the American troops and continues to make his way across the countryside until he reaches the farm where he was born.

Through the eyes of the horse and the perspective of his interaction with humans-kind and unkind-Tom Townsend has provided a very basic and comprehensible history of the Second World War. This perspective is superb at allowing kids to see the values of the participants in the war without being didactic or preachy.

Synopsis: Phillip comes from a circus family, but all he really wants is to be a regular kid. After persuading his parents to let him move in with his aunt and uncle, he winds up in Hardingtown, where everyone is wild about dodgeball. When he gets slammed in the face with a speeding ball in gym class, he decides to take the dodgeball bully to court. But can a circus boy take on the Unofficial Dodgeball Capital of the World?
This uproariously funny middle-grade novel carries an inspiring message about sticking to your beliefs, however unpopular they may be.

Synopsis: Readers and audiences have long greeted As You Like It with delight. Its characters are brilliant conversationalists, including the princesses Rosalind and Celia and their Fool, Touchstone. Soon after Rosalind and Orlando meet and fall in love, the princesses and Touchstone go into exile in the Forest of Arden, where they find new conversational partners. Duke Frederick, younger brother to Duke Senior, has overthrown his brother and forced him to live homeless in the forest with his courtiers, including the cynical Jaques. Orlando, whose older brother Oliver plotted his death, has fled there, too.

Recent scholars have also grounded the play in the issues of its time. These include primogeniture, passing property from a father to his oldest son. As You Like It depicts intense conflict between brothers, exposing the human suffering that primogeniture entails. Another perspective concerns cross-dressing. Most of Orlando’s courtship of Rosalind takes place while Rosalind is disguised as a man, “Ganymede.” At her urging, Orlando pretends that Ganymede is his beloved Rosalind. But as the epilogue reveals, the sixteenth-century actor playing Rosalind was male, following the practice of the time. In other words, a boy played a girl playing a boy pretending to be a girl.

The authoritative edition of As You Like It from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes:

-Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play

-Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play

-Scene-by-scene plot summaries

-A key to the play’s famous lines and phrases

-An introduction to reading Shakespeare’s language

-An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play

-Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s vast holdings of rare books

-An annotated guide to further reading

Essay by Susan Snyder

The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu.

Synopsis: A whimsical, funny, heart-warming story for seven-to-nine year-olds, from a talented new storyteller.

This is the story of Toby, a little boy found in a room at a hotel by the sea. It is also the story of the Flots, a family of mermaids who are marooned under the pier. Together, the Flots and Toby plan how to help each other, find some buried treasure, and outwit Mr. Harris, the mean-minded hotel proprietor. In the process, Toby and the mermaids bring smiles to the faces of everyone they meet!

Synopsis: "Compellingly readable."—Horn Book
A seven-year-old boy is transported from the mean streets of nineteenth-century New York to the splendor of his grandfather's English manor in this beloved classic of children's literature. Young Cedric is astonished to find himself in possession of the title of Lord Fauntleroy and dismayed at his separation from his adored mother during the schooling for his new position. The Earl of Dorincourt, Cedric's crotchety grandfather, intends to instruct Cedric in the manners of the peerage; as it happens, the child teaches the man some valuable lessons about the true meaning of nobility.
Written by the author of A Little Princess and The Secret Garden, Little Lord Fauntleroy has enchanted generations of readers. Its conviction that nothing in the world is as strong as a kind heart has made the lovable lordling’s name synonymous with his gentle sincerity and tenderness.