Showing results by narrator "Joshua Swanson" in All Categories

Fourteen-year-old cousins Gwen and Vic have lived together ever since the mysterious deaths of Gwen's parents and the disappearance of Vic's mother. But Vic's scientist father accidentally transports them through a magical crystal door to the island of Elantya. Cobblestone streets and silver towers mark the picturesque island, a trading hub and center of knowledge that runs on advanced physics and sorcery.

Ever since Herbie Jones had to be Annabelle's partner in the class dance contest, he's been acting weird, even going to the library instead of going fishing with his best friend, Raymond. Lucky for Herbie, Raymond is determined to get to the bottom of this mess...

One of America’s premier writers, the bestselling author of Ragtime, Billy Bathgate, The Book of Daniel, and World’s Fair turns his astonishing narrative powers to the short story in five dazzling explorations of who we are as a people and how we live. Ranging over the American continent...

There are things in Winter, Wisconsin, folks just don't talk about. The murder way back in '45 is one. The near-suicide of a first-grade teacher is another. And then there is 17-year old Christian Cage. Christian's parents disappeared when he was a little boy, and ever since he's drawn and painted obsessively, trying desperately to remember his mother. The problem is Christian doesn't just draw his own memories. He can draw the thoughts of those around him.

The thrilling conclusion to the Crystal Doors trilogy finds cousins Gwen and Vic and their three friends forging the magical Ring of Might and defending all of the worlds beyond the crystal doors in their final battle with the dark sage, Azric.

Gwen and Vic are still celebrating their victory in the battle with the Merlons when they learn that Vic's father has finally made it through the crystal doors to the magical island of Elantya. But their victory is short-lived when they and their friends are kidnapped by their underwater enemies and taken beneath the sea. There, they learn of a scheme that could bring Elantya to ruins. Can they escape in time to save the island from destruction?

How did Joe, Fred, and Sam end up in King Arthur's court? It all started with The Book, a present from Joe's magician uncle. One minute they were looking at pictures of knights in The Book—and the next minute they are knights, battling fire-breathing dragons and gross-smelling giants! Can the...

From Ragtime and Billy Bathgate to World’s Fair, The March, and Homer & Langley, the fiction of E. L. Doctorow comprises a towering achievement in modern American letters. Now Doctorow returns with an enthralling collection of brilliant, startling short fiction about people who, as the author...

Hairstyles of the Damned is an honest and affectionate depiction of wanting to belong, but never quite belonging. Joe Menos pitch-perfect prose illuminates the tumultuous realities of American adolescence, the disintegration of the modern family, and the way a mix-tape can change a persons life. Following the riotous exploits of Brian, a Catholic school malcontent, and his best friend Gretchen, a punk rock girl fond of brawling, this work pursues what it means to develop your own identity.

An entertaining and engaging" exploration of the invisible forces influencing your life-and how understanding them can improve everything you do. The world around you is pulling your strings, shaping your innermost instincts and your most private thoughts. And you don't even realize it. Every...

The elusive, bestselling author of the Secret Series, Pseudonymous Bosch, delivers a page-turning, mysterious, magical book that will have readers believing the unbelievable! Magic is BAD. As in fake. Cheesy. Unreal. At least, that's what Clay, who has seen one magic show too many, thinks. When...

Follow the humorous mishaps of a second grader who is learning to read. Nothing's going right for Ronald—he drops his pencils, inadvertently squirts water on Joy’s dress, mistakenly eats Jimmy’s sandwich, misses the ball during recess, loses his ice cream money, and drops Miss Tyler’s...

Tao is an outcast. Unlike the great hunters of his clan, Tao does not want to kill the wild bears or woolly mammoths of the hunt. Instead he wants only to paint them. But only Chosen Ones can be cave painters. What's more, Volt, the clan leader, violently despises Tao. And when the other clan...

Horrible Harry has always loved insects, especially digging in the dirt for them. And, recently, he's discovered a new favorite: earwigs! But when he tries to tell his friends about these critters, only Song Lee listens. So when Miss Mackle assigns groups in Room 3B to act out different fairy...

"I cannot tell a lie," said General George Washington. "The Time Warp Trio helped me cross the Delaware River and surprise the enemy troops." So how did Christmas Eve in the Twenty-First century turn into Christmas Day in 1776? Well, it was sort of an accident. And for once...

Joe, Sam, and Fred just want a relaxing summer. But when Fred accidentally places their summer reading list inside The Book, the guys find themselves trapped in Hoboken while villains from children's classics run amok! The intrepic trio must find The Book before the Headless Horesman, Long John...

Horrible Harry thinks he's the world's second-best detective–second only to Sherlock Holmes, of course. But the rest of the kids in Room 3B aren't so sure. So he's determined to prove himself by solving the latest mystery at South School–how to win the new cafeteria contest. He knows the...

The kids in room 3B have found out that their teacher, Miss Mackle, is engaged! But who is the lucky groom? Leave it to Harry and his best friend, Doug, to find out. Harry goes into detective mode, and wastes no time starting his investigation. Doug is willing to help—until he sees Harry...

Doug discovers that though being Harry's best friend in Miss Mackle's second grade class isn't always easy, as Harry likes to do horrible things, it is often a lot of fun...

In the tradition of E. B. White and Kate DiCamillo comes the magical and moving story of a bird-like boy who longs to fly. Ten-year-old Nashville doesn’t feel like he belongs with his family, in his town, or even in this world. He was hatched from an egg his father found on the sidewalk and...