Showing results by narrator "Tara Sands" in All Categories

In The Wishing Tree, Ivy Marshall, a savvy, determined woman, finds out her husband has cheated on her on the same day her sister’s perfect boyfriend proposes on national television. When Ivy’s mother asks her to return to her family’s beach home to plan her sister’s upcoming wedding, she decides to use the excuse to escape from the pain of her circumstances.

Of her two granddaughters, Grandma Yvette clearly prefers Ruby Taylor's perfect cousin Sarah. Ruby suspects Grandma Yvette doesn't think she's Jewish enough. So when Sarah starts acting out—and getting in trouble—Ruby can’t help but be pleased.

Willa lives in the Wild, in a city squished between two warring witch covens. The non-magical Wildians spend their days dodging wayward spells—from raining frogs to dancing chickens—all because of the witch war raging around them. Being stuck in the middle of a magical war means the Wildians hate witches—none more so than Willa, whose parents were turned into clouds by a misplaced curse. Willa spends her days with her army of cats, dreaming of an end to the war and her parents’ return.

In this delightful chapter book, you'll meet Jamal, Lindalee, Hans, Matteo, and others - the kids who live on Cattywampus Street, not far from the Waddlebee Toy Store. Each of the 11 chapters in this magical, mysterious, silly, scary, happy, and sometimes sad chapter book tells an utterly unforgettable tale about one of the kids.

Ring in Valentine's Day - and love - with the New York Times best-selling Crayons! This charming title featuring everyone's favorite coloring crew is the perfect gift for that special someone on Valentine's Day - or any day of the year.

Elfie Oster was sure that Hampshire Academy was going to be the perfect school for her. She was sure about it right up to the minute she got expelled. On her first day. It was all a terrible misunderstanding, but until she can find a way to fix things, Elfie has to go back to Cottonwood Elementary for fifth grade. Where she's never really fit in. Or had friends. It is not a perfect situation. And then it gets worse. Her babysitter gets really sick. Her aunt and uncle aren't speaking. She's forced to do a group project involving an egg....

The fallen queen of the sprites is about to be voted in as Head Councilor, and she wants Nathanial in her control. The magical battle blade that he wields is too good a weapon to pass up. If only adults like Boss would let him help stop this disaster, but even Nathanial's friends think this problem is too big for teenagers to interfere with. Now, he must prove to them how imperative it is for all to act.

It's time for school, but Ms. Bronte has one small problem...she really loves eating books. (Did I mention she's also a dinosaur?) Math books, cookbooks, old books, new books - she just can't help herself. Will Ms. Bronte ever be able to curb her page-turning appetite, or will she continue chomping her way through a tasty book buffet?

It is 1884, and Molly and Cassandra Pepper, Emmett Lee, and Emmett’s long-lost father are sailing back to New York following their death-defying adventure in Antarctica. Having discovered a subterranean world at the South Pole while saving the world from certain doom once again, surely their accomplishments will finally earn them the recognition they deserve. Unless, of course...well, you know by now. And so do the Peppers and Lees.

Sloane isn't expecting to fall in love with a group of friends when she moves from New York to Florida - especially not a group of friends so intense, so layered with private tragedies and secret codes, so all-consuming. Yet that's exactly what happens. And it will lead her (and, um, her dad) on a life-changing adventure. Sloane becomes closest to Vera, a social-media star who lights up any room, and Gabe, Vera's twin brother and the most serious person Sloane's ever met.

It's the summer of '83 on Trowbridge Road, and June Bug Jordan is hungry. Months after her father's death from complications from AIDS, her mother has stopped cooking and refuses to leave the house, instead locking herself away to scour at the germs she believes are everywhere. June Bug threatens this precarious existence by going out into the neighborhood, gradually befriending Ziggy, an imaginative boy who is living with his Nana Jean after experiencing troubles of his own.

Becoming a sprite has come with the consequence of learning how to be tricky, a trait Nathanial has never respected but now relies on for his survival. He must use this skill to navigate the castle walls in which young sprites are learning how to properly dominate the planet. Having come here to free Aliya, Nathanial must now save her from a fate worse than her imprisonment, but she may not be the only one in need of a rescue.

Horace Homer Higgins III despises dirt. And the outdoors. And ducks. But when his person, Eleanor, moves to a farm called the Homestead, the anxious Boston Terrier is forced to adapt. As if that isn’t enough to strain his nerves, Ellie adopts a perpetually cheerful potbellied pig named Bunwinkle to be his baby sister. Bunwinkle is delighted to be on the farm despite the stuffy demeanor of her new canine brother. She’s sure she’ll crack his shell eventually—no one can resist her cuteness for long—especially once they bond over watching a TV pet-tective show.

When Fenway sees a dog leap into the air and catch a Frisbee, he wants to do it, too. But catching a Frisbee is harder than it looks. Good thing Fenway is willing to keep trying, and he impresses everyone with a special trick of his own!

There’s nothing better than a brand-new bone! And nothing worse than sneaky squirrels trying to steal it! But Fenway is smarter than those squirrels, and he finds the perfect place to hide his bone. The only problem is the hiding place might be too hard for Fenway to find, too!

When Green Crayon claims that green is the only color for Christmas, other crayons let him know that there would be no Christmas without them either. No candy canes or Santa without Red, no snow without White, no bells or stars without Silver, and no cookies or reindeer without Tan! The crayons agree that they all need to come together to make Christmas special.

Gwendolyn longs for a pet. What kind? Any kind! How many legs? Two, four, 10 - she's not picky! But her parents have other ideas, and instead they give her...a box of dirt. "It smells of swamp," Gwendolyn says - but her parents say it smells of possibilities. And once Gwendolyn gets savvy about seeds and soil, sun and shade, she finds they are right.

Bailey and Vanessa shared everything: laughter, secrets, and packets of Pop Rocks to ward off bad days. But that all changed the night Vanessa left Bailey’s, headed for home, and ended up swerving off a cliff nowhere near her house. Now Bailey, who thought she knew Vanessa better than anyone in the world, is left with a million unanswered questions, and the only person with answers is gone.

Shy, 11-year-old Lily made her dad an important promise before he passed away - that she would “Strive for Five” and speak her mind at least five times. But speaking up one time, let alone five, is easier said than done. It’ll be even harder now that Lily must attend public school for the first time. Fortunately, she meets curling-obsessed Hobart and quiet Dunya at the beginning of sixth grade. Their kindness gives Lily hope that life without Dad might just be bearable. But then Lily and her friends are bullied by Ryan and his mean clique....

In the storybook kingdom of Wanderly, everyone wants to be a Triumphant: the kingdom’s most glorious heroes. Everyone except Pippa North, who is quite happy with her perfectly common family. No one in Wanderly wants to be a magician, would-be villains who are nothing more than nuisances. But Oliver Dash wants it more than anything in the world. When Pippa is swept away to the Triumphant academy, and Oliver finds himself in danger of flunking out as a magician, a wayward wish puts them on opposite ends of a villainous scheme.