Showing titles in Performing Arts

The pressure's really piling up on Greg Heffley. The only thing he's good at is playing video games, but his mother wants him to broaden his horizons by doing something - anything! - else. When Greg finds an old video camera in his basement, he thinks he may have discovered just the thing to prove he's got big-time talent. With the help of his best friend, Rowley, Greg hatches a plan to make a scary movie and become rich and famous in the process. But is doubling down on moviemaking a smart plan? Or is it just a recipe for doubling Greg's troubles?

The Boxcar Children don't want to miss the chance to meet Madlynn Rose, their favorite pop star. But it turns out she is the one who's missing!

On Halloween eve 1938, people across America gathered around the radio to listen to their favorite Sunday evening program. Expecting to hear the latest drama from Orson Welles's Mercury Theatre, many were alarmed when news bulletins interrupted the show. New Jersey had been rocked by mysterious explosions. The announcements continued, each more frantic than the last. An invading army's strange and powerful weapons had killed thousands. Listeners feared the worst. Was America under attack by the Germans? Could this be the start of another world war?

Jacky Hart finally knows the thrill of having people laugh with her (not at her). She tries to put her comedy and theater skills to use in her summer job—but the boardwalk crowds aren’t exactly adoring. So Jacky jumps at the opportunity of a lifetime: an all-expense paid trip to theater camp! When Jacky gets to Camp Footlights, she realizes she’s way out of her depth. The highly trained campers all seem to know everything about performing, and exactly how to command the spotlight.

The Alden children are helping out at a radio station and they’re going to be actors in a live mystery show. Benny is excited to play the ghost dog! But some folks say the station is haunted - for real! Can the Boxcar Children catch the radio ghost before the station’s listeners are scared away?

The world’s most reluctant reader, Charlie Joe Jackson, is becoming an expert in extra credit. How is that possible? His report card is so grim that Charlie Joe has promised his parents that he’ll get straight As so they won’t send him to an academic summer camp. Now, instead of finagling ways to get out of reading, Charlie Joe is staying late after school, posing for art class, and even acting in a school play about the inventor of paper towels...all while falling for the new girl in town! If there’s one thing Charlie Joe is discovering, it’s that extra credit can definitely make your life extra complicated.

In Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things, Max Starling proved that he is more than a detective, he’s a Solutioneer. His reputation for problem-solving has been spreading - and now even the mayor wants his help. Someone is breaking windows and setting fires in the old city, but the shopkeepers won’t say a word about the culprits. Why are they keeping these thugs’ secrets? When the mayor begs for help, Max agrees to take the case, putting himself in grave danger. It’s a race to catch up with the vandals before they catch him. Meanwhile, Max is protecting secrets of his own.

Even though his awful great-aunt Gertrudis doesn't approve, Micah believes in the stories his dying grandpa Ephraim tells him of the magical Circus Mirandus: the invisible tiger guarding the gates, the beautiful flying birdwoman, and the magician more powerful than any other - the Man Who Bends Light. Finally Grandpa Ephraim offers proof. The circus is real. And the lightbender owes Ephraim a miracle.

Max's parents are missing. They are actors, and thus unpredictable, but sailing away, leaving Max with only a cryptic note, is unusual even for them. Did they intend to leave him behind? Have they been kidnapped? Until he can figure it out, Max feels it's safer to keep a low profile. Hiding out is no problem for a child of the theater. Max has played many roles, he can be whoever he needs to be to blend in. But finding a job is tricky, no matter what costume he dons. Ironically, it turns out Max has a talent for finding things.

Norbert Riddle lives in the United State of Earth, where normal means following the rules, never standing out, and being exactly the same as everyone else, down to the plain gray jumpsuits he wears everyday. He's been normal his whole life - until a moment of temporary hilarity when he does a funny impression of their dictator, Loving Leader...and gets caught! Now, Norbert's been arrested and banished to planet Zorquat 3 in the Orion Nebula, where kids who defy the rules roam free in the Astronuts camp.

While Tate Radison was filming his last movie, a lot of odd things happened. So he wants to keep his presence in Greenfield a secret to avoid any more mishaps. But soon the troubles start again. Why would someone want to ruin Tate's career? It's another mystery for the Boxcar Children!

The Wundermutt dog food company is searching for a very special dog to be in their commercials, and the Aldens bring their dog, Watch, to the tryouts! But plenty of other dog owners are hoping their dogs get the job too - including a dog that's already famous. Does Watch have what it takes to be a star?

Tris Levin thought moving from New York City to middle-of-nowhere Petersville meant life would definitely get worse...only it actually got better. But just when things are looking up, problems start rolling in. His doughnut business has a major supply issue. And that's not the worst part, Petersville has its own supply problem - it doesn't have enough people. Folks keep moving away and if they can't get people to stay, Petersville may disappear.

After a successful first competition, twelve-year-old Harper is eager to keep on making her mark in Dance Starz. But lately, she's having a bit of "dancer's block." In her one-on-one with her teacher, Harper is reminded that dancing isn't just about the spins and leaps; it's about the emotion and passion for dancing, too. And lately, she hasn't felt that Harper has been living up to her usual standards. Vanessa will be choosing the first soloist to compete at the next competition for the team, and suggests to Harper that she find a way to figure out how to get that mojo back.

Every kid has heard of Harry Houdini, the famous magician who could escape from handcuffs, jail cells, and locked trunks. But do they know that the ever-ambitious and adventurous Houdini was also a famous movie star and the first pilot to fly a plane in Australia? This well-told biography is full of the details of Houdini's life that kids will really want to know about!

James Patterson's newest hilarious heroine returns in Jacky Ha-Ha: My Life Is a Joke, the sequel to the smash hit Jacky Ha-Ha—a number one New York Times best seller! Jacky Hart has found a hidden talent in the performing arts, and she's a triple threat onstage! She wants nothing more than to act and sing all summer—but her parents have other plans for her. Jacky reluctantly signs up for a summer job in her resort town of Seaside Heights, New Jersey, where tourists come to enjoy the beach and fun carnival atmosphere.

Allie is crushed when she is cast as the evil queen in the fourth grade class play. But she soon learns it's the size of the heart, not the size of the part that matters.

Reasons why our musical is going to be amazing: I could be the star; Landon could be my co-star...which means we'll hang out together; working on the sets, props, music, script, and costumes will be tons of fun; there's so much to do, I'd better get started! Between her crush, the musical, and her friends--not to mention school work---Zee is torn in a thousand different directions. With all the real-life drama going on, will she lose sight of what's really important?

Laura Amy Schlitz wrote the Newbery Medal winner Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! for the students at the school where she is a librarian. The 22 monologues introduce readers to everyone in a medieval village, from the town half-wit, to Nelly the Sniggler, to the Lord's daughter.

When orphans Sorrel, Mark, and Holly are sent to live with their grandmother, a famous English actress, she enrolls them in the Children's Academy of Dancing and Stage Training, the same academy that made the orphans from Ballet Shoes famous so long ago. It's the chance of a lifetime, but the academy won't give the children the "proper" education their parents would have wanted. However, the children learn to love the academy when they find out that Sorrel has dramatic flair, Mark can sing, and Holly charms everyone with her adorable, impish ways.