The Illryian Adventure

Sample

Jonathan Stroud

Blood feuds, epic battles and a undersized hero come together in this brilliant new fantasy adventure from the author of the bestselling Bartimaeus trilogyListen then, and I'll tell you again of the Battle of the Rock. But none of your usual wriggling, or I'll stop before I've begun . . . Halli loves the old stories from when the valley was a wild and dangerous place - when the twelve legendary heroes stood together to defeat the ancient enemy, the bloodthirsty Trows.Halli longs for adventure but these days the most dangerous thing in the valley is boredom. He tries to liven things up by playing practical jokes. But when one of his jokes goes too far, he reawakens an old blood feud and finds himself on a hero's quest after all. Along the way he meets a ruthless thief, a murderous rival, and a girl who may just be as fearless as he is . . . Jonathan Stroud has created an epic saga with a funny, unique spin, and an unforgettable anti-hero.

Sample

Anna Holmes

"Emmet Brickowski was the most ordinary guy in the whole world. That is, until he found the Piece of Resistance! Now a group of rebels called the Master Builders want Emmet to use the Piece of Resistance to stop Lord Business from gluing the world together. Emmet isn't quite sure he has what it takes. But there's one thing Emmet is sure of: Today is going to be the most awesome day of his entire life."--Page 4 of cover. After finding the Piece of Resistance, Emmet is drafted into a group of rebels, the Master Builders. The rebels are on an epic quest to stop the evil Lord Business, a journey for which Emmet is hopelessly underprepared.

Sample

Dr. Seuess [pseudonym

The book begins by introducing Fox and Knox (sometimes called "Mr. Fox" and "Mr. Knox") along with some props (a box and a pair of socks). After taking those four rhyming items through several permutations, more items are added (chicks, bricks, blocks, clocks), and so on. As the book progresses the Fox describes each situation with rhymes that progress in complexity, with Knox periodically complaining of the difficulty of the tongue-twisters. Finally, after the Fox gives an extended dissertation on Tweetle Beetles who fight (battle) with paddles while standing in a puddle inside a bottle (a Tweetle Beetle Bottle Puddle Paddle Battle Muddle), Knox acts on his frustration by stuffing Fox into the bottle, reciting a tongue-twister of his own: When a fox is in the bottle where the tweetle beetles battle with their paddles in a puddle on a noodle-eating poodle, THIS is what they call... a tweetle beetle noodle poodle bottled paddled muddled duddled fuddled wuddled fox in socks, sir! Knox then declares that the game is finished, thanking the Fox for the fun, and walks away while the beetles, a poodle, and the stunned Fox watch. - Wikipedia.

Sample

Cary Fagan

""If you always feel fully and completely happy, my friends, then you do not need my drops and I will not sell them to you for any amount of money." --Master Melville Eleven-year-old juggling enthusiast Sullivan Mintz helps his family run the Stardust Home for Old People. It's not ideal: his best friend, Manny, is eighty-one years old. But life as usual turns upside down when Master Melville's Medicine Show comes to town. Sullivan's excitement at finding performers his own age dissolves into dread when he steps onstage for a magic act only to wake up imprisoned in the traveling show's caravan. As his fears subside, his questions multiply. Is his family better off without him? Would life as a juggler performing with other kids be worse than living in an old folks' home? Being kidnapped could be the best thing that ever happened to him. or decidedly not"-- "A charming, humor- and heart-filled middle grade story of a misfit boy who finds an unexpected second life after being kidnapped by a colorful traveling medicine show"--