"The perfect cozy-spooky middle-grade read, these eerie, spine-shivering tales from Newbery Medalist and bestselling author Avi a include a never-before-published story.
In this uncanny collection, children change into cats, a girl discovers she is invisible, a man makes a deal with the Devil himself, and multiple transformations, strange and chilling, explore what it might be like to exchange places with someone-or something-else. Young readers will be spellbound by Avi's masterful storytelling, as the celebrated writer combines his unique creativity and startling originality with the intimacy of goosebump-inducing campfire tales."
"Newbery Medalist Avi is back with a gripping exploration of the immigrant experience at the turn of the twentieth century. A must-read for fans of Moon over Manifest and Echo Mountain.
When Santo’s father left their tiny town in Italy for America, he made Santo promise to keep their family together until he has enough money to bring the rest of them to the US.
It takes a few years, but Mama finally gets word that their family can join Papa. Santo couldn’t be more excited to go to America—and to see his father again. However, Santo gets separated from his mother and siblings at Ellis Island, and he is left to fend for himself on the mean streets of Manhattan. Santo doesn’t speak English, he doesn’t know anyone, and he has nowhere to go. He has no money and no help.
While searching desperately for a clue as to where his family has gone, Santo gets caught up with a gang of boys who steal to stay alive. But when an unexpected betrayal leaves Santo scrambling, it will take all the street smarts he’s gained to find a way back to his family."
"Newbery medalist Avi tells the story of a young girl determined to define her own place amidst old rules and new ways in the Roaring Twenties.
Attending high school in Steamboat Springs is Ida Bidson’s dream—it’s her next step toward becoming a teacher and her best shot at escaping a life of milking cows. It’s 1925, and from using telephones to attending movies, Ida is thrilled by her new experiences in Steamboat. She and her school friends even form a club, the Secret Sisters, to celebrate everything modern.
But when they accidentally antagonize the strict, traditionalist principal, Ida’s high school career may be over before it even begins. It's up to the Secret Sisters find a way to save Ida’s dream!
Readers will cheer for Ida as she continues the adventure begun in the one-room schoolhouse of Avi's popular The Secret School!
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook."
"From Newbery Medalist Avi comes a richly imagined, action-packed companion to his bestselling medieval mysteries Midnight Magic and Murder at Midnight
* 'The novel's pace is quick, and. . . the ending completely satisfying.' - Booklist, starred review
When King Claudio sends Mangus the Magician and his faithful servant, Fabrizio, to Venice to steal a manuscript that explains a magical method of making money, they must succeed in their mission or risk death. The manuscript is key to obtaining great profits for the king-and a secure future for Mangus and Fabrizio.
But Venice in 1492 is a dangerous place, full of foggy canals, cunning informers, and harsh punishments for those who steal its secrets. Before long, Mangus is snatched away into prison, and it's up to Fabrizio and his secretive new friend, Bianca, to navigate the city, find the manuscript before their enemies do, and keep Mangus alive!"
"Newbery Medalist Avi explores the American Revolution from a fresh perspective in the story of a young Loyalist turned British spy navigating patriotism and personal responsibility during the lead-up to the War of Independence.
When his father is killed by rebel vigilantes, Noah flees with his family to Boston. Intent on avenging his father, Noah becomes a spy for the British and firsthand witness to the power of partisan rumor to distort facts, the hypocrisy of men who demand freedom while enslaving others, and the human connections that bind people together regardless of stated allegiances.
Awash in contradictory information and participating in key events leading to the American Revolution, Noah must forge his own understanding of right and wrong and determine for himself where his loyalty truly lies."
"When Philip Malloy starts humming along to his school's daily playing of the Star Spangled Banner, his insistence on continuing to do so even after his teacher, Miss Margaret Narwin, asks him to stop sets in motion a chain of events that will soon ripple out beyond anything Phil or Miss Narwin could have imagined. Phil's friends, his teachers, and the school administration are soon swept up in the controversy . . . and that's just the beginning!"
"Newbery Medalist Avi brings us mud-caked, tent-filled San Francisco in 1848 with a willful heroine who goes on an unintended — and perilous — adventure to save her brother.
Victoria Blaisdell longs for independence and adventure, and she yearns to accompany her father as he sails west in search of real gold! But it is 1848, and Tory isn’t even allowed to go to school, much less travel all the way from Rhode Island to California. Determined to take control of her own destiny, Tory stows away on the ship. Though San Francisco is frenzied and full of wild and dangerous men, Tory finds freedom and friendship there. Until one day, when Father is in the gold fields, her younger brother, Jacob, is kidnapped. And so Tory is spurred on a treacherous search for him in Rotten Row, a part of San Francisco Bay crowded with hundreds of abandoned ships. Beloved storyteller Avi is at the top of his form as he ushers us back to an extraordinary time of hope and risk, brought to life by a heroine readers will cheer for. Spot-on details and high suspense make this a vivid, absorbing historical adventure."
"In this sequel The Unexpected Life of Oliver Cromwell Pitts by Newbery Medalist Avi, Oliver's adventures take him to the 18th century American colonies, where he is forced to fend for himself in the harsh wilderness, live as an indentured servant, and come face to face with the brutality of enslavement. Convicted of thievery and transported from England to America, Oliver Cromwell Pitts, shackled to his fellow prisoners, endures inedible food, filthy conditions, and deadly storms on his voyage across the Atlantic. But the hazardous shipboard journey is nothing compared to the peril that waits for him on the colonial shores. In Annapolis, Oliver's indentured servitude is purchased by the foul, miserly Fitzhugh, who may have murdered another servant. On Fitzhugh's isolated tobacco farm, Oliver's only companion is an enslaved boy named Bara. Oliver and Bara become fast friends with one powerful goal: to escape Fitzhugh. Oliver hopes he can find his sister, Charity, brought somewhere in the colonies on a different ship. Bara dreams of reaching a community of free black people in the cypress swamp who may help him gain his liberty. But first the boys must flee Fitzhugh's plantation and outrun their brutal pursuer and the dangers that lurk in the swamp."
"Renowned, award-winning author Avi pens a stark, unflinching tale of ordinary boys living in wartime as tensions — and desperations — mount among them.
Twelve-year-old Patryk knows little of the world beyond his tiny Polish village; the Russians have occupied the land for as long as anyone can remember, but otherwise life is unremarkable. Patryk and his friends entertain themselves by coming up with dares — some more harmful than others — until the Germans drop a bomb on the schoolhouse and the Great War comes crashing in. As control of the village falls from one nation to another, Jurek, the ringleader of these friends, devises the best dare yet: whichever boy steals the finest military button will be king. But as sneaking buttons from uniforms hanging to dry progresses to looting the bodies of dead soldiers — and as Jurek's obsession with being king escalates — Patryk begins to wonder whether their 'button war' is still just a game. When devastation reaches their doorstep, the lines between the button war and the real war blur, especially for the increasingly callous Jurek. Master of historical fiction Avi delivers a fierce account of the boys of one war-torn village who are determined to prove themselves with a simple dare that spins disastrously out of control."
"From Newbery Award-winning author Avi comes the gripping and amazingly true tale of a boy plucked from the gutter to become the King of England. England, 1486. King Henry VII has recently snatched the English Crown and now sits on the throne, while young Prince Edward, who has a truer claim, has apparently disappeared. Meanwhile, a penniless kitchen boy named Lambert Simnel is slaving away at a tavern in Oxford-until a mysterious friar, Brother Simonds, buys Lambert from the tavern keeper and whisks him away in the dead of night. But this is nothing compared to the secret that the friar reveals: You, Lambert, are actually Prince Edward, the true King of England! With the aid of the deceitful Earl of Lincoln, Brother Simonds sets out to teach the boy how to become the rightful English king. Lambert has everything to gain and nothing to lose, or so he thinks. Yet in this dangerous battle for the throne, Lambert is not prepared for what's to come-or for what it really means to play at being a king."
"High adventure from a master storyteller about one boy's attempt to fend for himself among cruel orphan masters, corrupt magistrates, and conniving thieves. In the seaside town of Melcombe Regis, England, 1724, Oliver Cromwell Pitts wakes to find his father missing and his house flooded by a recent storm. He's alone in his ruined home with no money and no food. Oliver's father has left behind a barely legible waterlogged note: he's gone to London, where Oliver's sister, Charity, is in trouble. Exploring damage to the town in the storm's aftermath, Oliver discovers a shipwreck on the beach. Removing anything from a wrecked ship is a hanging offense, but Oliver finds money that could save him, and he can't resist the temptation to take it. When his crime is discovered, Oliver flees, following the trail of his father and sister. The journey is full of thieves, adventurers, and treachery--and London might be the most dangerous place of all. In the tradition of his Newbery Honor book The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Avi mixes high adventure and short, page-turning chapters with a vivid historical setting featuring a cast of highwaymen, pickpockets, and villainous criminal masterminds."
"In this spine-tingling story from Newbery Medal winner Avi, a boy must solve the mystery of the ghost haunting him.
For most of Tony Gilbert’s life, he has thought of his uncle as “Weird Uncle Charlie.” That is, until Uncle Charlie moves in with Tony and his family. Uncle Charlie is still odd, of course—talking about spirits and other supernatural stuff—but he and Tony become fast friends, and Tony ends up having a lot of fun with Uncle Charlie.
When Uncle Charlie dies suddenly, Tony is devastated. Then he starts seeing Uncle Charlie everywhere! It doesn’t help that Tony switched schools—it was Uncle Charlie’s dying wish that Tony attend the Penda School, where Uncle Charlie himself went as a kid. The Penda School is eerie enough without his uncle’s ghost making it worse. On top of that, rumors have been circulating about a student who went missing shortly before Tony arrived. Could that somehow be related to Uncle Charlie’s ghost?
Full of twists and turns that get spookier by the chapter, School of the Dead is a fast-paced mystery that Avi’s fans will devour! "
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