The Gecko & Sticky are a fabulous crime-fighting duo! This quartet of funny adventures will appeal to fans of superheroes both young and old, and would make terrific all-family read-alouds. "Don't move a muscle!" shouts a strangely clad crook in the act of robbing a bank. But of course somebody does. That somebody is Dave Sanchez, and the crook is none other than the dastardly Damien Black, fresh out of prison and back to his villainous ways. But Dave and his gecko sidekick, Sticky, are on the case, and this time they have a trick up their sleeve--literally! It's an Aztec wristband that give its wearer powers like invisibility and flight. Asombroso, right? But power alone does not a superhero make, and they'll have to learn how to use it if they want to defeat their nemesis not once--but twice. Don't miss all the Gecko & Sticky adventures: 1. The Villain's Lair 2. The Greatest Power, 3. Sinister Substitute 4. The Power Potion

Initially delighted by an unpopular frog-dissecting teacher's absence, Dave becomes increasingly suspicious of a substitute's fascination with pet geckos and realizes that the substitute is the nefarious treasure hunter Damien Black in disguise.

The Gecko & Sticky are a fabulous crime-fighting duo! This quartet of funny adventures will appeal to fans of superheroes both young and old, and would make terrific all-family read-alouds. Dave Sanchez, crime-fighting courier, has just been handed the scariest package he's ever seen, and it's addressed to none other than the dastardly Damien Black! Dave is well award that he should deliver the package, but when he sees the evil-looking potion inside, he knows he can't. So he comes up with a totally clever ruse to trick the villain and . . . it backfires. Big-time. Soon he's facing off with six-horned goats, terrifying tarantulas, a java-junkie monkey--and, of course, Damien Black! Don't miss the other Gecko & Sticky Adventures: 1. The Villain's Lair, 2. The Greatest Power, 3. Sinsister Substitute, and 4. The Power Potion.

You are surrounded by stickiness. With every step you take, air molecules cling to you and slow you down; the effect is harder to ignore in water. When you hit the road, whether powered by pedal or engine, you rely on grip to keep you safe. The Post-it note and glue in your desk drawer. The non-stick pan on your stove. The fingerprints linked to your identity. The rumbling of the Earth deep beneath your feet, and the ice that transforms waterways each winter. All of these things are controlled by tiny forces that operate on and between surfaces, with friction playing the leading role. In Sticky, Laurie Winkless explores some of the ways that friction shapes both the manufactured and natural worlds, and describes how our understanding of surface science has given us an ability to manipulate stickiness, down to the level of a single atom. But this apparent success doesn't tell the whole story. Each time humanity has pushed the boundaries of science and engineering, we've discovered that friction still has a few surprises up its sleeve. So do we really understand this force? Can we say with certainty that we know how a gecko climbs, what's behind our sense of touch, or why golf balls, boats and aircraft move as they do? Join Laurie as she seeks out the answers from experts scattered across the globe, uncovering a stack of scientific mysteries along the way.

The Gecko & Sticky are a fabulous crime-fighting duo! This quartet of funny adventures will appeal to fans of superheroes both young and old, and would make terrific all-family read-alouds. Dave Sanchez is an average boy with an after-school job and a pet gecko named Sticky. All very normal—until the day Sticky talks! Sticky tells Dave a wild tale of a former life of crime, searching for Aztec gold with a treasure hunter named Damien Black, and of a magical Aztec wristband with shiny gold power ingots that will give the wearer super powers. Dave doesn’t believe a word—until Sticky shows him the wristband. But while Sticky managed to escape with the wristband, Damien Black has the power ingots. So the lizard and treasure hunter each have something the other wants . . . very badly. Filled with wild adventures, larger-than-life characters, and snappy-funny dialogue, The Gecko and Sticky books are perfect for young superheroes everywhere. Don't miss the other Gecko & Sticky adventures: 1. The Villain's Lair, 2. The Greatest Power, 3. Sinister Substitute, and 4. The Power Potion.

Even superheroes have problems. That’s what Nolan discovers when he meets Chase Morton, the boy who plays his favorite TV superhero on The Gecko and Sticky. Chase is being hounded by a sleazy tabloid reporter who is evil! Sneaky! A liar! So Nolan vows to expose the truth on Shredderman.com. After all, superheroes have to stick together in the fight for truth and justice. Oh, yeah!

From the award-winning author of The Running Dream and Flipped comes a remarkable portrait of a girl who has hit rock bottom but begins a climb back to herself at a wilderness survival camp. 3:47 a.m. That’s when they come for Wren Clemmens. She’s hustled out of her house and into a waiting car, then a plane, and then taken on a forced march into the desert. This is what happens to kids who’ve gone so far off the rails, their parents don’t know what to do with them anymore. This is wilderness therapy camp. Eight weeks of survivalist camping in the desert. Eight weeks to turn your life around. Yeah, right. The Wren who arrives in the Utah desert is angry and bitter, and blaming everyone but herself. But angry can’t put up a tent. And bitter won’t start a fire. Wren’s going to have to admit she needs help if she’s going to survive. "I read Wild Bird in one long, mesmerized gulp. Wren will break your heart—and then mend it." —Nancy Werlin, National Book Award finalist for The Rules of Survival "Van Draanen’s Wren is real and relatable, and readers will root for her." —VOYA, starred review