Liz and her friends battle a prehistoric dinosaur with a craving for junk food Everyone knows W. Reid Elementary has the grossest lunches—and the strangest problems. When piles of junk food start disappearing from the school’s cellar, Liz Duffey and her friends brush it off as another unexplainable mystery of life in the Weird Zone—their nickname for the zany town of Grover’s Mill. But when a scaly beast bursts out from underneath the cafeteria, they realize that what they thought was a mystery is a real monster with major hunger pangs! The kids must stop the creature from eating their entire school—and everyone in it. Is there anything this animal won’t eat? Liz has an idea, but she may not have time to put her plan into action before becoming a meal herself!

Think your town is weird? Step into Grover’s Mill—known to the local kids as the “Weird Zone”—from the award-winning author of the Secrets of Droon series. There’s no place like home. Seriously, there’s no place like the bizarre town of Grover’s Mill, home to friends Liz, Holly, Sean, Jeff, and Mike—but also to aliens, monsters, dinosaurs, giant robots, and a potato capable of mind control. It could have something to do with the location—in the middle of a triangle containing a secret UFO testing base, a dinosaur burial ground, and a cheesy horror movie studio. Whatever the reason, enter at your own risk . . . Zombie Surf Commandos from Mars!: When disgusting alien zombies start rising from the lake, Holly, Liz, and Jeff must escape—or their brains will become an afternoon snack. The Incredible Shrinking Kid!: After a blast of purple light zaps Holly’s brother, Sean—shrinking him to four inches—the friends need to make sure he doesn’t end up in an evil toy-store owner’s collection. The Beast from Beneath the Cafeteria!: Liz and her friends battle a dinosaur with a craving for junk food—and an appetite for destruction. Attack of the Alien Mole Invaders!: Not to make a mountain out of a molehill—but a colony of giant moles from outer space has tunneled under Grover’s Mill. With the help of a secret government invention, Jeff and Holly must stop them in their tracks. The Brain That Wouldn’t Obey!: Mike is sure he’s going to win the school science fair with his potato-powered radio, “Potadio.” But when his invention is electrocuted to life and takes over the minds of the teachers and students, it’s boy vs. spud. Gigantopus from Planet X!: When Sean and Holly must battle a gigantic robot octopus controlled by an evil alien, it sucks big-time. Cosmic Boy Versus Mezmo Head!: After an alien blasts Jeff with an X-ray on his way to audition for his school’s outer space version of The Wizard of Oz, his favorite childhood toy, a Cosmic Boy space helmet, gets stuck on his head. The space invader has his own mind-controlling Mezmo head helmet, and now the two will butt heads . . . or, uh, helmets. Revenge of the Tiki Men!: There’s no time to lounge around—huge Tiki heads with a grudge against Grover’s Mill are turning the town back into a jungle. It’s up to the kids to fend off a total disaster.

Crazy toymakers, disappearing houses, and shrinking boys: Just another day in the Weird Zone! A blast of strange purple light zaps Sean Vickers while he is riding his bike in Grover’s Mill. His sister Holly assures him that nothing is wrong, but Sean is not so certain—and the creepy new toy-store owner in town is not making him feel any better. When Sean rapidly starts shrinking, he knows the purple light is to blame, But how can he save himself when he is only four inches tall? Holly and her friend Jeff must snap into action and figure out how to reverse the process before Sean disappears forever and becomes part of the evil toymaker’s permanent collection!

When a huge creature with bad breath bursts through the cafeteria floor, only a clever plan involving cauliflower and broccoli can subdue it.

Much literature for children appears in the form of series, in which familiar characters appear in book after book. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, authors began to write science fiction series for children. These early series generally had plots that revolved around inventions developed by the protagonist. But it was the development and use of rocket and atomic science during World War II that paved the way for interesting and exciting new themes, conflicts, and plots. While much has been written about the early juvenile science fiction series, particularly the Tom Swift books, comparatively little has been written about children's science fiction series published since 1945. This book provides a broad overview of this previously neglected topic. The volume offers a critical look at the history, themes, characters, settings, and construction of post-1945 juvenile science fiction series, including the A.I. Gang, the Animorphs, Commander Toad, Danny Dunn, Dragonfall Five, the Magic School Bus, and Space Cat. The book begins with an introductory history of juvenile science fiction since 1945, with chapters then devoted to particular topics. Some of these topics include the role of aliens and animals, attitudes toward humor, the absence and presence of science, and the characterization of women. A special feature is an appendix listing the various series. In addition, the volume provides extensive bibliographical information.

The Danger Guys find themselves in a real-life scary movie, and the ending is up to them It’s Halloween, and best friends Noodle and Zeek have decided to make a horror movie in honor of the holiday. To show the boys how real films are made, Zeek’s family takes them to Paragon, the oldest studio in Hollywood. During the tour, a huge lightning storm separates Noodle and Zeek from the rest of the group. The two boys suddenly find themselves in a world of famous sets and exciting props. It’s the perfect location for their own movie! But it turns out that Paragon Studio has more than a little danger—and not just the staged kind. The lightning damaged the studio’s central control center, and all the electronic props are now going crazy. Noodle and Zeek must battle an evil robot, a sneezing dinosaur, and a deadly mummy in order to find and warn Zeek’s family. Little do they know that Zeek’s family is also under attack! With some luck and a lot of movie drama, the Danger Guys show Paragon Studio what real heroes look like. Danger Guys: Hollywood Halloween on Ice is the 3rd book in Danger Guys, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

From Bigfoot and the Yeti, to the spooky Chupacabra, these monsters live among us . . . or do they?