For sixth-grader Nina Tanleven, trying out for a part in a play is pretty scary. But nothing can compare to seeing a ghost, a woman in white, sitting in the audience! Nina senses that she has nothing to fear from this apparition, but she is intrigued. Nina learns that fifty years ago, a beautiful actress was murdered--on this very stage! According to legend, she has haunted the theater ever since....
Strange things begin to happen
scripts are ripped up, sets are knocked down, a costume is torn to pieces--and everyone thinks that the ghost wants to stop the show from going on. Everyone, that is, except for Nina and her best friend, Chris, who decide to do some ghost hunting of their own. But only the Woman in White can lead them to the answer!
Pleskit Meenom, the first alien to go to school on Earth, is starting to fit in with his new class. It's not easy, given how slippery the language is. (Just how many meanings does the word "cool" have, anyway?) But the biggest problem is Jordan Lynch, the class bully who just can't resist picking on the new kid. Finally Pleskit and his new best friend, Tim Tompkins, decide to take action. But taking action when you have alien technology at your disposal can mean taking things just a little too far . . . and we do mean little! This hilarious mix of comedy, alien adventure, and social satire is enhanced by a brilliant reading from the late, great William Dufris (the original American voice of Bob the Builder), which School Library Journal said, "makes the recording a hoot!"
Ranging from the hilarious to the horrifying, this acclaimed collection of nine short stories - five of them read by full casts - showcases the remarkable variety of Bruce Coville's work. Listeners will meet a ghost who haunts a kitchen after a tragic baking accident, visit the goblin world with an unconventional princess, and fly with Justin Jones to an enchanted island that requires a heartbreaking decision. A rich, varied, and dazzling set of listening experiences!
'There is a disease that can twist men's hearts and make them mad, and the name of that disease is jealousy.' So begins this engaging retelling of one of William Shakespeare's last plays-a fascinating and unique combination of intensity and whimsy. When King Leontes unfairly accuses his wife of infidelity, he sets off a terrible chain of events. But this is not one of Shakespeare's tragedies. It's a romance, and one with a healthy dose of fancy and surprise. A story of redemption and the strength of friendship and true love, The Winter's Tale is perhaps also Bruce Coville's most eloquent retelling yet.
Brains are sizzling in the seventh grade...The first day of seventh grade is probably the worst day of Duncan Dougal's life. He knows that things are really bad when he finds an alien's hand in a Dumpster and then gets plugged into an alien brain fryer! Can Duncan find out which of the four new teachers in his school is an alien before his brains get fried to a pulp-or before the aliens try to fry the whole planet?
Starring Ayre Gross as Duncan Dougal
Directed by Pam Fraser Solomon
If you liked the movies Elf and Shrek, you'll love THE ENCHANTED FILES-a magical, hilarious comedy series about fantastical creatures in the modern world by the bestselling author of My Teacher Is an Alien: Bruce Coville!
Any troll worth their farts knows that a proper troll should:
1. Avoid thinking or feeling! (Feelings? Blech!)
2. Love burping and farting! (But who doesn't?)
3. And, most important, despise humans!
But Ned is not just any troll. Even though Ned is nearly seven feet tall, with a nose the size of a pickle, Ned has a heart full of LOVE! A heart that swoons over poetry and craves true friendship!
And when it comes to humans . . . it's complicated. So complicated that long ago, Ned fled the Enchanted Realm for the one place no one would notice a troll hiding in plain sight: NEW YORK CITY. But one human boy-Cody-has noticed. And Cody's snooping leads to a wild and hilarious adventure that takes readers from the tunnels underneath Grand Central all the way to the Enchanted Realm (and back again!).
"Bruce Coville is a wizard at telling stories." -Christopher Paolini, New York Times bestselling author of Eragon
A 6th grade student is convinced that an odd substitute teacher is from another planet. Will she be able to prove she's right before he completes his evil plan?
Starring Lisa Bonet as Susan Simmons.
Adapted for radio. A BBC co-production recorded at KCRW in Santa Monica in October 1992.
Introducing the second book in the The Enchanted Files! Told in diary entries and more, it's a new magical, modern-day comedy series by the master of funny fantasy and bestselling author of My Teacher is an Alien: Bruce Coville!
Meet Gerald. Gerald is a griffin—a creature with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. According to the Code of the Griffins, that means he should be:
1. Brave and fierce in all situations!
2. A guardian of a great treasure!
3. Completely and totally hidden from the human realm!
But what if a Griffin ISN’T brave or fierce? What if he’s NEVER found a great treasure (or ANY treasure for that matter)? What if he feels like such an embarrassment that the only thing left to do is run away? And what if the only place no one will look for him is . . . the human world?
This laugh-out-loud adventure, full of humor and heart, is ideal for fans of Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library or Chris Grabenstein.
"Hilarious. Middle-grade readers will be carried along by the buoyancy of the writing, the skillful design, and the humor on almost every page. Egg-ceptionally funny!"—Kirkus Reviews
"Coville brings his signature wit and humor to this fantasy story. This second installment adds authentic and engaging, multidimensional characters to a strong series that finds heroes in outcasts." –School Library Journal
Praise for Enchanted Files Book 1, Cursed:
* “Smart, amusing, and a lot of fun” —Booklist, Starred
“With magic, mischief, and mayhem to spare, this sweet story of an unlikely friendship ought to delight readers of any age.” —Publishers Weekly
“A knee-slapper.” —Kirkus Reviews
Introducing The Enchanted Files! Told in diary entries and other "documents," this magical, modern-day new comedy series by the master of funny fantasy, Bruce Coville is filled with laugh-out-loud humor and heart.
In the first hilarious Enchanted Files, Angus is a brownie. No, not the kind you eat! He's a tiny magical creature that loves to do chores. Angus has just "inherited" a new human girl, Alex. To say that Alex is messy would be an understatement. She's a total hurricane-like disaster-and she likes it that way, thankyouverymuch! Living with each other isn't easy but Angus and Alex soon learn there is a curse that binds them. What's worse, it threatens Alex's family! Working together, Angus and Alex will set out to break the curse . . . without killing each other first . . . hopefully.
Read by Euan Morton, Nancy O'Connor, Amanda Carlin, Scott Sherratt, Amanda D'Acierno, Jennifer Rubins, Joe Scalora, Dan Zitt, Tavia Gilbert, Matt Hostetler, and Karen Dziekonski
When Benjie Perkins meets the ghost of Elvira Thistledown he learns the strange story behind why she haunts his kitchen -- and what he must do to free her from her curse. A lighter-than-air ghost story that mixes thrills with chuckles.
When a boy is given a box by an angel who asks him to care for it, the task shapes his entire life.
Originally published in DRAGONS AND DREAMS (edited by Jane Yolen) this is one of Bruce Coville's personal favorites among all his stories.
When the messiest kid in Minnesota is saddled with her family's obsessively tidy brownie, the sparks are sure to fly. Warning: you may not want to listen in public, since this story will have you laughing out loud!
