My girlfriend, Jila, gave me a gift on January 17, 2000 exclaiming, “Happy 17th!” I was speechless. It wasn’t my birthday, but I thanked her for the shirt, and asked, “What makes today so special?” “It’s the 17th!” “Oh, yeah. Right!” I thought it was a Persian thing and gave her a hug and a…
Echo is a beautifully orchestrated novel by award winning author Pam Munoz Ryan involving the lives of four different children. The book begins with Otto’s story, a young boy lost in a forbidden forest. There, three mysterious sisters—Eins, Zwei, and Drei—who give him a melodious harmonica, rescue him. It is this harmonica that becomes the…
Earlier this month the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards announced its winners in its Middle Grade Fiction category. Taking First Place was Star Sapphire and the Land of Gems: The Crystal Cavern (Book3) by Anthony Pardoe. The Second Place winner was Koolura and the Mayans (Koolura Series Book 3) by Michael Thal. The Royal Dragonfly Book…
Nine-year-old Portia Maddox needs to use the restroom every time she drinks water. She’s always thirsty and hungry and still bone thin. School Nurse Bryant recommends a doctor appointment, and Dr. Thomas confirms her suspicions—Portia has childhood diabetes. She now needs to test her blood regularly and inject herself with insulin; which turns out to…
Tak Spinner, the 15-year-old son of Taktinius Spinner, the Royal Sailweaver, is a mischievous boy who enjoys sailing his airship, the Arrow, in and around the Kingdom of Spire testing the security of the Royal Fleet, to their continuous annoyance. One day, Tak follows the Vigilance, commanded by Captain Adam Strake. Since Etherium, Tak’s home…
Grace Adams’ life in small town Texas has been a living hell for the twenty-two year old brunette. While in high school she dated school hunk Bruce Davis, son of the town’s ruling family. After their senior prom, Grace wanted nothing to do with him, who turned out to be a brutal and controlling misogynist….
“Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. It’s five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.” Fifty years ago, on September 8, 1966 William Shatner, the actor who played Captain James T. Kirk, first…
Think back to your childhood experience in the school cafeteria. Remember the wasted food tossed into trash after a small bite? Recall the garbage cans brimming with discarded lunches? According to DoSomething.org, one of the largest global organizations for young people and social change, one in six Americans face hunger and more than one in…
Children are being offered the chance to become deep sea explorers as part of a groundbreaking science expedition launching in the North West Atlantic this week. Deep ocean scientific research charity, Nekton, is calling on young people around the world to ‘virtually’ join their first expedition to explore and research the Earth’s largest and…
About the Book Mica, by Lee Ducote is about lacrosse star Micah Spearman. When the teen moved to the quiet little town of Seven Springs, he never expected to become such a significant part of his lacrosse team, his group of friends, or of the battle raging just beyond human reach. With a gift to…