Showing results by narrator "Tara Sands" in All Categories

It's time for school, but Ms. Bronte has one small problem...she really loves eating books. (Did I mention she's also a dinosaur?) Math books, cookbooks, old books, new books - she just can't help herself. Will Ms. Bronte ever be able to curb her page-turning appetite, or will she continue chomping her way through a tasty book buffet?

Bat 6 - that’s the softball game played every year between the sixth-grade girls of Barlow and Bear Creek Ridge. All the girls - Beautiful Hair Hallie, Manzanita who gets the spirit, the twins Lola and Lila, Tootie, Shadean - they’ve been waiting for their turn at Bat 6 since they could first toss a ball. This time there’s a newcomer on each team: Aki, at first base for the Ridgers, who just returned with her family from a place she’s too embarrassed to talk about. And Shazam, center field for Barlow, who’s been shunted around by her mother since her father was killed.

Horace is flying high after solving the pet-tectives' first mystery. But Bunwinkle just hasn’t been herself - she’s scared all the time and is too embarrassed to tell anyone. Before they can work on getting Bunwinkle’s confidence back, a new case lands in their laps - well, actually their trash cans - when Shoo the raccoon asks for help. The neighborhood humans think he’s behind a series of garbage upheavals and home break-ins - but he swears he’s innocent. Just because people call him a trash bandit doesn’t mean he is one.

Erin Bailey's life changes forever the day her mom is diagnosed with breast cancer. It's always just been Erin and Mom, so living without her is not an option. Life takes another turn when the cancer is linked to a rare genetic mutation, and Erin must grapple with the decision of whether or not to have her own DNA tested. Her only outlets are flying lessons, where looking to the horizon calms her deepest fears, and her new friend Ashley, a girl she met in an online support group.

Mackenzie "Mac" Lowell is living a dream come true on tour with her favorite boy band. Spending time on the road with Perfect Storm hasn't been what Mac expected, though—it's even BETTER! But with screaming fans and big-time recording sessions come haters and copycats, like Thunder and Lightning, a new band on the label whose first single sounds suspiciously like the song Perfect Storm's guitarist wrote for Mac.

The Arclight refugees thought they were the only survivors. But they were wrong. More people are out there, somewhere. But so are more terrifying dangers. The Fade - the creatures that destroyed civilization - are not finished. They thought she was their last hope. And they might be right. Marina may be the one who can save them. If she doesn't lead them straight into disaster. The Arclight has secrets. The base is supposed to keep them safe, but it is hiding secrets darker and older than Marina and her friends realize.

In this delightful chapter book, you'll meet Jamal, Lindalee, Hans, Matteo, and others - the kids who live on Cattywampus Street, not far from the Waddlebee Toy Store. Each of the 11 chapters in this magical, mysterious, silly, scary, happy, and sometimes sad chapter book tells an utterly unforgettable tale about one of the kids.

The Arclight is the last refuge in a postapocalyptic world consumed by terrifying monsters called the Fade. No one crosses the wall of light that keeps the last human survivors safe. There's nothing else left and nowhere to go. Or so they thought, until Marina, a lone teenage girl, stumbles out of the Dark. Marina doesn't remember who she is, where she came from, or how she survived. And the Fade want her back.

When everything in your real life is going wrong (fighting parents! bullied little brother! girls at school who just. don't. get. it!) skipping school starts to look like a valid mental-health strategy. And when Callie runs into Cassius, a mysterious and prickly "unschooled" kid doing research at museums all across the city, it seems only natural for her to join him. Because museums are educational, which means they're as good as going to class. Right?

I'm Lucy Rose, and here's the thing about this summer: I am big on fun and big on plans. I am desperate to make a lanyard keychain, and Jonique is feeling the same about potholders. Plus I have to get rid of 78 or more squirrels that are climbing all over Madam and Pop's apricot tree and taking bites out of the puny fruits and flinging them to the ground which is maddening to Madam who wants to make them into jam. The apricots, not the squirrels.

A collection of sweet, tender, poetic, beautiful, heart-wrenching, sensual love stories.

Faye is Lori’s opposite in a lot of ways—maybe that’s why they’re such good friends. In fact, the only problem in Faye’s life is that her brother hates her, and she’s hooking up with his best friend, Kellan, behind his back. She can’t let Adam find out, as that’ll only make their relationship worse. At the same time, she doesn’t want a hookup; she wants a real relationship with Kellan. This vacation is her chance to figure out if he’s in this for real or not.

Sometimes in life it feels like everything that can go wrong does, but everything happens for a reason. A relationship crumbles so someone else can mend the pieces of your broken heart. Jenn's life is nothing as she had imagined it would be. She is 20-something with a failing career and her love life has officially ended with an ultimate act of betrayal. She is ready to throw away her dreams when a chance run-in with a soldier alters her course and changes her perspective on life.

Gwendolyn longs for a pet. What kind? Any kind! How many legs? Two, four, 10 - she's not picky! But her parents have other ideas, and instead they give her...a box of dirt. "It smells of swamp," Gwendolyn says - but her parents say it smells of possibilities. And once Gwendolyn gets savvy about seeds and soil, sun and shade, she finds they are right.

Willa lives in the Wild, in a city squished between two warring witch covens. The non-magical Wildians spend their days dodging wayward spells—from raining frogs to dancing chickens—all because of the witch war raging around them. Being stuck in the middle of a magical war means the Wildians hate witches—none more so than Willa, whose parents were turned into clouds by a misplaced curse. Willa spends her days with her army of cats, dreaming of an end to the war and her parents’ return.

As a beautiful little girl who's destined to rule over the kingdom of Aris, Princess Eleanor has been cursed by her evil uncle, Lord Balthazar, as part of his plan to overthrow her family's kingdom. She has been cursed into becoming a mouse and with a bit of magic from her Fairy Godmother, she can turn human by day. One night, she meets a lonely, orphaned mouse named Dredge who longs for a family of his own after losing his parents in a tragic magical accident.

Life is never quiet at the Homestead. First, it was disappearing animals, then a power-hungry dairy queen. Now it’s a Renaissance Faire, a noisy, stinky spectacle that drives Horace to distraction. Bunwinkle, on the other hand, can’t get enough of the festivities—she loves the thrilling jousts, the court intrigue…and especially the pickles on a stick.

Like every other woman in Daniel's life, Charlotte wants something from him - the deed to her family farm. Daniel agrees, but only if he gets something in return: Charlotte's company for the weekend! The property is Charlotte's only link to the mother she never knew. Desperate to keep her history alive, she'll accept Daniel's indecent proposal, but not without a few terms of her own. Namely, a propriety clause. No flirting. No kissing. No sex.

Have you ever wondered how water moves around on Earth? An introduction to the water cycle, including precipitation, evaporation, condensation, and more, is explored through this newest addition to the How Do series. The How Do series is a great introduction to various STEM topics, each presented in a format that encourages audiences to ask questions and guess the answers before exploring the science behind them.

Who ever said being nice would get you to the top? Certainly not Alexandra Miles. She isn't nice, but she's more than skilled at playing the part. She floats through the halls of Spencer High, effortlessly orchestrating the actions of everyone around her, making people bend to her whim without even noticing they're doing it. She is the queen of Spencer High - and it's time to make it official.