There are people in our lives who are predictable and who can be described in just a few words. Then, there’s Big Al, who’ll surprise you just when you think you’ve got him pegged. Author C. L. Adams met Big Al through a friend who attended Big Al’s world-class martial arts school. She never expected to befriend Big Al, but every time they met, he astounded her with stories, showing a different side of himself. Trained in the martial arts from a young age, Big Al lives his life according to its principles. He works with what he has, he’s adaptable to and aware of his surroundings, and he makes the most of every moment. Knowing that anything could happen at any time makes Big Al observant, so his stories are vivid enough to make you feel like you’re right there with him. The Adventures of Big Al is an enthralling short story collection that captures your attention through an unexpected but wonderful friendship. C. L. believes that good stories don’t need a lot of hype, and that truth can sometimes be as entertaining as fiction, as evidenced by the factual events Big Al sprinkles throughout. Be prepared to be amazed and walk away laughing.

A big, ugly fish has trouble making the friends he longs for because of his appearance--until the day his scary appearance saves them all from a fisherman's net.

Selected for the 2019-2020 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year A determined 12-year-old girl bikes across the country in this quirky and charming debut middle grade novel. Introverted Bicycle has lived most of her life at the Mostly Silent Monastery in Washington, D.C. When her guardian, Sister Wanda, announces that Bicycle is going to attend a camp where she will learn to make friends, Bicycle says no way and sets off on her bike for San Francisco to meet her idol, a famous cyclist, certain he will be her first true friend. Who knew that a ghost would haunt her handlebars and that she would have to contend with bike-hating dogs, a bike-loving horse, bike-crushing pigs, and a mysterious lady dressed in black. Over the uphills and downhills of her journey, Bicycle discovers that friends are not such a bad thing to have after all, and that a dozen cookies really can solve most problems. A Junior Library Guild selection!

1955: Rose Thorne, high school student, genius auto mechanic, and aspiring rock ‘n’ roller, catches sight of a mysterious object in the hills behind her house. Tracking down the anomaly, she makes a discovery that will drastically and forever change her world. 2444: A massive spaceship nears the end of its 250-year journey across the galaxy. Onboard are the last remnants of human civilization. What happened to cause Earth’s demise? And what awaits as the ship approaches its final destination? The answer to these questions just might be found on the outskirts of town, at Big Al’s Wrecking and Salvage. Hots rods, rock ‘n’ roll, girl power, and interplanetary space travel. It’s the new novel from the author of Teatime At The Gryphon’s Claw, Angels’ Keep, The Komodo Café, Sleeping Gods, and the Elvis trilogy.

Travel back in time in this collection of exhilarating dinosaur adventures for kids and grandchildren aged 7-10 from paleontologist and YouTuber Kallie Moore. Who needs Jurassic World when the truth is this exciting? Prepare yourself for jaw-dropping discoveries, scandalous stories, and dinosaurs so weird you won’t believe they’re real! The tales in this dinosaur book are all completely true and many are included in a kids’ book for the first time. Readers will come face-to-face with incredible prehistoric beasts including the Australian dinosaurs that fossilized into gemstones, the prehistoric shark with a circular saw in its mouth, and the relative of T. rex that was found frozen at the top of a mountain in Antarctica... The book is broken down into chapters covering the whole of Earth’s history: Chapter 1 - The Beginning - featuring prehistoric goo and the first squishy animals Chapter 2 - An Explosion of Life - featuring king-sized trilobites, armored fish, and giant bugs! Chapter 3 - The Age of Reptiles - featuring spiny sauropods, pterosaurs the size of airplanes, and musical dinosaurs. Chapter 4 - The Recent Past - featuring gigantic snakes, Ice Age mammoths and sabre-toothed cats, and the hairy primates that would one day evolve into humans! Every thrilling story has been meticulously researched by author Kallie Moore, a fossil expert who also hosts the hit YouTube show PBS Eons. Beautiful illustrations by critically-acclaimed illustrator Becky Thorns bring incredible prehistoric beasts like Stegosaurus and Triceratops to life for younger readers. Unlike most kids’ dinosaur books on the market, Tales of the Prehistoric World shines a light on the work of palaeontologists – from Susan Hendrickson, who discovered the most complete T. rex ever found, to Nizar Ibrahim, whose discoveries in the Sahara desert changed everything we thought we knew about Spinosaurus (SPOILER: it could swim!) "Will please both fledgling and confirmed dinophiles. . .An insider’s view of exciting sites and finds, with prehistoric portraits aplenty to match." –Kirkus A gift to stand the test of time This beautiful hardback book makes the perfect gift for dino-mad kids. The cloth-textured cover is gilded with gold foil, and everything is printed using sustainable FSC® certified paper. Collect the series Part of Neon Squid’s acclaimed series of educational bedtime stories that also includes Tales of Ancient Worlds and Tales of World War II.

I guess we never can tell about some of the things we do in life and how they will affect other people later on...I guess that's why it's so important to always try to do the right thing in life, huh, Ricky? Ricky lives life in 'the middle.' In the middle of his brothers. In the middle of the city and country life. And in the middle of every new adventure just waiting right around the corner. Beginning with the discovery of the artesian well near his parents' home to unearthing pirate booty and the secret family history that has been buried for decades, follow Ricky down the hot-sand sidewalks of 1969 Florida to the best places 'in all the world'. With the help of his camouflaged G.I. Joe survival watch, Ricky will transport you to a different time; a time with Peggy's Popcorn, the 'cowboy life' in Texas, road trips, and bicycling to new places in hopes of discovering the unknown. Learn about life in the middle during Ricky's Adventures!

The Adventures of Harley the Hotdog is about friendship, working together, and childhood social issues and behaviors. It’s about a child who can stand up for himself and find his voice. Mildred M. Patterson has created a series of books from six magical characters that youth, children, and adults will be able to relate to. You will be able to sit around, laugh, and have real conversations with your kids about some social and emotional behaviors and issues that our youth face today on a day-to-day basis. Some of the stories will make you laugh, and some will make you cry, but all the stories will help you, the reader, find your voice.