Simon Thorn has only recently discovered that he's an Animalgam, a member of a secret race of people who can shift into animals, and found a home where he truly belongs at the Animalgam academy. But not everything is as good as it seems. Simon's evil grandfather, Orion, is bent on taking over the entire animal kingdom, and to do so, he'll need to gather the pieces of a terrible weapon--one that could shred the very foundations of the Animalgams' world. . . unless Simon can gather the pieces first. And that's not all. Orion has kidnapped Simon's mother, and if Simon has any hope of rescuing her, he'll need to head cross-country with his friends, battling rogue Animalgams and their own doubts along the way. With dangers around every corner, it will be harder and harder for Simon to keep Orion from succeeding in his plot before it's too late. This exhilarating story is packed with action, adventure, and characters full of heart, making it perfect for fans of Rick Riordan and Brandon Mull.

Twelve-year-old Simon Thorn's life has never been normal--especially since he's been keeping a big secret: he can talk to animals. But when his mom is suddenly kidnapped by a herd of New York City rats, Simon finds out that he, his mom, and his uncle are all Animalgams--someone born with the ability to change into an animal at will--and suddenly talking to animals doesn't seem so crazy after all. In search of his mom, Simon discovers that Animalgams belong to an ancient world made up of Five Animal Kingdoms (Mammals, Birds, Insects, Reptiles, and Underwater) which are now under attack . . . and Simon just may be the only one who can save them all. Imaginative and vivid with themes of bravery, loyalty, and finding one's true self, this exciting, five-book adventure series is perfect for fans of the Spirit Animals and The School of Good and Evil series.

For ten years and in two classic books, Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell have described how to analyze the characteristics of texts and select just-right books to use for guided reading instruction. Now, for the first time, all of their thinking and research has been updated and brought together into Leveled Books, K-8 to form the ultimate guide to choosing and using books from kindergarten through middle school. Fountas and Pinnell take you through every aspect of leveled books, describing how to select and use them for different purposes in your literacy program and offering prototype descriptions of fiction and nonfiction books at each level. They share advice on: the role of leveled books in reading instruction, analyzing the characteristics of fiction and nonfiction texts, using benchmark books to assess instructional levels for guided reading, selecting books for both guided and independent reading, organizing high-quality classroom libraries, acquiring books and writing proposals to fund classroom-library purchases, creating a school book room. In addition, Fountas and Pinnell explain the leveling process in detail so that you can tentatively level any appropriate book that you want to use in your instruction. Best of all, Leveled Books, K-8 is one half of a new duo of resources that will change how you look at leveled books. Its companion-www.FountasandPinnellLeveledBooks.com-is a searchable and frequently updated website that includes more than 18,000 titles. With Leveled Books, K-8 you'll know how and why to choose books for your readers, and with www.FountasandPinnellLeveledBooks.com, you'll have the ideal tool at your fingertips for finding appropriate books for guided reading. Book jacket.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a documentary from Ken Burns on PBS, this New York Times bestseller is “an extraordinary achievement” (The New Yorker)—a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography” of cancer—from its first documented appearances thousands of years ago through the epic battles in the twentieth century to cure, control, and conquer it to a radical new understanding of its essence. Physician, researcher, and award-winning science writer, Siddhartha Mukherjee examines cancer with a cellular biologist’s precision, a historian’s perspective, and a biographer’s passion. The result is an astonishingly lucid and eloquent chronicle of a disease humans have lived with—and perished from—for more than five thousand years. The story of cancer is a story of human ingenuity, resilience, and perseverance, but also of hubris, paternalism, and misperception. Mukherjee recounts centuries of discoveries, setbacks, victories, and deaths, told through the eyes of his predecessors and peers, training their wits against an infinitely resourceful adversary that, just three decades ago, was thought to be easily vanquished in an all-out “war against cancer.” The book reads like a literary thriller with cancer as the protagonist. Riveting, urgent, and surprising, The Emperor of All Maladies provides a fascinating glimpse into the future of cancer treatments. It is an illuminating book that provides hope and clarity to those seeking to demystify cancer.

"Simon Thorn is a hero worthy of a young Harry Potter, and readers are bound to be delighted." --Booklist on Simon Thorn and the Wolf's Den For fans of Rick Riordan and Spirit Animals, this thrilling follow-up to Simon Thorn and the Viper's Pit continues the adventures of a boy who can shapeshift into an animal. Simon Thorn has only recently discovered that he's an Animalgam, a member of a secret race of people who can shift into animals, and found a home where he truly belongs. But not everything is as good as it seems. Simon's evil grandfather, Orion, is bent on taking over the entire animal kingdom, and to do so, he'll need to gather the pieces of a terrible weapon--one that could shred the very foundations of the Animalgams' world. . . unless Simon can gather the pieces first. So when Simon's dolphin Animalgam friend Jam is summoned home to the underwater kingdom's headquarters, Avalon, Simon sees it as an opportunity to secure another piece. But as soon as he and his friends arrive in Avalon, their search is complicated by Jam's strict family--and a potential traitor. Can they locate the piece before it falls into Orion's hands and puts the entire underwater kingdom at risk? With plenty of action and adventure and characters full of heart, this story is perfect for fans of Rick Riordan and the Spirit Animals series. Don't miss the other books in the Simon Thorn series: Simon Thorn and the Wolf's Den Simon Thorn and the Viper's Pit Simon Thorn and the Shark's Cave

Sent to England for a summer with relatives, twins Zac and Lu learn that their recently-deceased mother's tales of mythical creatures are true, and they must find a phoenix to break a curse.

This the rousing third book in a high stakes adventure series about "a hero worthy of Harry Potter," from bestselling author Aimée Carter.