Look up on a clear night far from city lights and you will see about 6,000 stars. That is less than 0.00001 % of the stars in the Milky Way alone, which holds 100 billion to 400 billion suns. This book opens 100 doors into that scale, each is a strange but true fact that makes the sky feel less like a ceiling and more like a map you can read.You start with the nearest furnace, the Sun, a middle aged yellow dwarf that holds 99.8 % of the solar system's mass and turns 4 million tons ...

In this unputdownable, spine-tingling coming-of-age adventure of a lifetime called “a winner at every level,”* fourteen-year-old Peak Marcello attempts to be the youngest climber to summit Mount Everest.After Peak Marcello is arrested for scaling a New York City skyscraper, he's left with two choices: wither away in juvenile detention or go live with his long-lost father, a world-famous mountaineer who runs an overseas climbing company.But Peak quickly learns that his fathe...

This is a story based on domestic animals who lived in a European village and belonged to my wife and myself. Everything in the story was real - even the wicked witch - although her house was not made of gingerbread.In this particular European country, there is a festival in the Spring where the locals dress up in costumes that are made from animal skins. Because of this, any animal with an attractive skin had better watch out!The story was intended for my granddaughter who g...

When Briggs Barclay first meets his new neighbor Theodore Ranly he can't imagine what they might have in common. Briggs' main ambition in life is to dazzle the freshman football coach. Theodore's got a killer arm, but the fact that he's confined to a wheelchair rules out any possibility of playing backyard tackle. They soon enter into a relationship that sends Briggs on the adventure of his life

A little yellow duck is hungry and looks for its breakfast. While it is searching for something to eat, it meets some of its friends and asks them to help it find something tasty to eat, Its friend aren't much help as they have either already eaten their own breakfasts or have a different idea of what would be a suitable meal, so it solves the problem on its own.

This is a story that I used to tell to my grandchildren until they got too old to believe it any more. It gave us some fun at the time and I would even play the Bogle songs on a guitar or using a computer to generate a "bogle organ" sound.The story is based on the idea that our highly washed and fragrant offspring could not possible be responsible for the naughty things they seem to do and that there must be some other, more sinister, agency involved. It is suggested that the bogles...

A thrilling dystopic story from Roland Smith about how far people will go to survive -- perfect for fans of Dryand Distress Signal.On the morning of Henry Ludd's thirteenth birthday, the power goes out. No phones, no news, and planes are literally falling out of the sky. Henry's father was away from the family farm and he has not returned. It's worrisome as people descend into lawlessness.Four months later...

The first in a middle-grade action-adventure series from Roland Smith! Chase Masters and his father are "storm runners," racing across the country in pursuit of hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. Anywhere bad weather strikes, they are not far behind. Chase is learning more on the road than he ever would just sitting in a classroom. But when the hurricane of the century hits, he will be tested in ways he never could have imagined.

The fourth book in the CAHILLS VS. VESPERS series, the follow up to the worldwide bestseller THE 39 CLUES. After pulling some spectacular heists, Amy and Dan have become two of Interpol's most wanted criminals. So when Vesper One orders them to steal the world's largest diamond, they know they're facing life in prison . . . or worse. But with the Cahill hostages still in peril, Amy and Dan have no choice but to launch a mission that leads them to an ancient city full of dangerous secrets. ...

What dangers lurk above?Pat O'Toole and his brother, Coop, are on the run from an enemy that specializes in hiding in plain sight. Along with their new companion, Kate, they've narrowly escaped a cultlike community situated beneath the streets of New York City. Kate has lived underground since birth, and the world above thrills her, but it's treacherous as well. With the cult's leader -- Kate’s grandfather -- hatching a new scheme of global consequence, the three runaways may be th...

Roland Smith, the master of middle-grade adventure, returns with a new novel full of high-speed chases, secret identities, and a dangerous underground world.What waits Beneath?Pat O'Toole has always idolized his older brother, Coop. He's even helped Coop with some of his crazier plans -- such as risking his life to help his big brother dig a tunnel underneath their neighborhood in the suburbs of Washington, DC. Coop is . . . different. He doesn't talk on the phone, doesn't use emai...