Boys Adventure

Combine a crime, a criminal, a fat man in a fez, and a guy named "Chicken Man," and you get a zany sci-fi adventure that defies gravity. As Wizard of Comedy Daniel M. Pinkwater transports the Snarkout Boys and the Rat through the tunnel under North Aufzoo Street to the warmth of Beanbenders, you'll meet some strange characters and learn much about the versatile avocado.

In summer 2006, 20-year-old Gerald Yeung and his childhood friends from Hong Kong travel to South America and Africa on their parents' dime. Confronted by challenges foreign to their privileged upbringing, the "Wannabe Backpackers" persevere in their Christian Dior clothes. They make plans to do it again when they turn 30. The decade that follows doesn’t go exactly to plan.

It is 1942. Lt. Harry Gilmour has already made a name for himself in the Royal Navy submarine service. He has risked his life to save a fellow seaman after his first boat, HMS Pelorus is rammed and sunk in the North Sea. He’s played a leading role in HMS Trebuchet’s epic foray into a fjord in the then-neutral Soviet Union to scatter German ships secretly assembling to invade Iceland. And as number three on HMS Umbrage in the Mediterranean, he had assumed command after her skipper had been lost overboard and gone on to attack an Italian cruiser squadron.

Fifteen-year-old Shreve Cannon doesn't mind juvie. He's got a good business dealing contraband candy, and three meals a day are more than his drunk mother managed to provide. In juvie, the rules never change and everyone is the same. In juvie, Shreve has life figured out. Then the new fish shows up. Jack's a quiet kid. Small. Cries himself to sleep too. He's no standard-issue titty-baby, though. There's his hands - more specifically his fingers, all 12 of 'em. And when he gets angry, something weird happens.

Gunnar is the son of a Viking chieftain, living peacefully with his mother, father, and their people - until they are raided by Skuli and his Wolf Men, who raze his home to the ground and take his father’s life. Gunnar swears to avenge his father’s death and save his mother from Skuli - but first he must run to save himself facing murderous raiders, hand to hand battles, mythical flying wolves, and a relentless sea journey to the Land of Fire and Ice... Unknown to Gunnar, his life has been foretold, and he finds he has a destiny greater than his own story.

Horatio Alger, Jr. (1832-1899) was the author of over 100 adventure books, many focusing on a poor boy's struggle to overcome poverty and adversity. Alger's books are fast-paced page-turners that have enjoyed immense popularity while advocating generosity, honesty, industry, thrift, temperance, education and bravery. Mark the Match Boy recounts the adventures of a boy ill suited to life on the streets of New York and his fortunate association with Richard Hunter.

Longing to feel closer to his favorite grandfather, Oliver skips school on a sparkling September afternoon and hides out on a tired schooner. When he wakes up on the ways of his grandfather's boatyard and realizes he's been transported back to 1938, he must decide what to do before the dangerous hurricane he'd been studying in school hits. While the main character is a 12-year-old boy, Oliver's story, and the story of a powerful weather event that still reverberates along the east coast, is more than appropriate for an adult audience.

Twelve-year-old Manuel leaves his small town in Mexico to join his older brother in Los Angeles. To cross the US border, he must become a “beast rider” - someone who hops on a train. The first time he tries, he is stopped by the Mexican police, who arrest and beat him. When he tries again, he is attacked by a Mexican gang and left for dead. Just when Manuel is ready to turn back, he finds new hope.

After defecting from Cuba's Special Forces and making a harrowing escape from his homeland, Frank faces new challenges in America. With five dollars in his pocket and a boatload of determination, he rejects an offer to join the CIA and takes his chances on achieving the American dream. Frank and his sweetheart Magda want nothing more than marriage, children, and a nice life for themselves. Frank dreams of celebrating milestone anniversaries with Magda, but his dreams are dashed.

Will Dudgeon is 13 year old when his body is stolen by a century-hopping villain. Suddenly Will's the oldest man he's ever seen (with all the aches and pains that go with that). At least he's inherited the right job. As assistant at Nettlefold and Dad Funeral Directors, Will can offer really wicked, wedged, full-on, top-dog, superfine funerals, best and plushest on the terrace! But for how long? Can Will persuade the dastardly Hornbeam to give him his young body back, or will his next funeral be his own?

James Bond never had to wear a dress! Joe discovers his parents are spies, which is great. But Joe’s parents are in danger, which is not so great. And Joe has to go undercover as a girl, which is definitely not great at all. Joe (now Josephine) is miserable when he starts his new school in a blond wig, a dress and tights. But soon he has a spy mission of his own. Using a host of unusual gadgets, Joe investigates some suspicious goings on. But can he do so without revealing his true identity?

This inspirational children's book is a hidden gem that tackles some of the difficult issues kids face today like absent parents, divorce, and fitting in. This is a story of how a young boy turned to the beloved game of basketball to help him cope with life's struggles, and to ultimately excel and succeed.

A mysterious young boy appears on the doorstep of a kindly couple in the middle of a storm. They take him in, not realizing that he is their future king. The boy and his new guardians learn that he has special abilities, but his failure to use those powers as others desire ultimately forces him to leave that village. But on his way into exile, he is joined by new friends Aubrey and Olivia, two children who are transported from New York City into this magical realm, called Triletus. They help their new friend through adventures to search for a new home.

“Do something, even if it’s wrong!” yell his coaches. They say anything is better than just standing around. But for a second-string skinny kid, everything he does is wrong in the crazy world of high school sports. Can anyone live up to the legacy of a dad who played in the pros or a wild rebel brother who inspires fear on and off the field? Who is more important the individual or the group? Do you join a team led by psychos? Who is crazier: The brutal hoods, the obsessive dean, or the dark coaches who endlessly torture him?

Josh Rondell is 12 years old and known as the "living dead boy" due to his rampant love of all things zombie. As the head of the Zombie Hunters Club, he's obsessed with preparing for the zombocalypse. Though no one around him really believes that zombies will one day rise to devour the living, Josh is convinced it just might happen. When zombies do shamble into his schoolyard, Josh finds himself the leader of the dwindling band of zombie hunters, and he is charged with protecting them all. Josh's baby brother, his closest friends, and the love of his young life try to survive as the undead take over their town.

In this first volume of the series, Felix (together with his good friends Max and Alex) suddenly finds himself in a summer camp, sent there by his parents. What he's doing here is what he knows best: He's making a fool of himself by getting into the craziest situations, he's playing pranks (pretty nasty ones) on other fellow campers, or he's simply annoying everyone. Anyway, it's the kind of tricks you definitely haven't heard of before!

This is the first volume on an epic science fiction series, covering journals #1 to #4 in a total series of 25 journals. It begins when two friends uncover a secret underground passageway to where dinosaurs have evolved and become intelligent. After learning how to grow a night flowering fruit and eating it, a boy enters a coma, and has to win a virtual game in order to free himself.

One early October afternoon, 10-year-old Jacob Rossi begins the short walk home from school. But he never makes it. Days later, DCI Anna Tate is called to the scene of a burning building, where an awful discovery has been made. A body has been found, and the label in his school blazer reads: J. Rossi. As Anna starts digging, she soon learns that a lot of people had grudges against the boy’s father. But would any of them go so far as to take his son? And is the boy’s abductor closer than she thinks?

Kiplings' tales of Mowgli and his exciting life in the Indian jungle have been loved by children and adults alike ever since their publication in 1895. Mowgli the 'man-cub' must learn to fend for himself against terrible foes like Shere Khan the tiger, but he can always call upon his friends Baloo the Bear, Bagheera the Black Panther, and Kaa the Rock Python from whom he learns the Law of the jungle.

Nobody wants to adopt the Shluffmuffin twins. Wally's feet stink something awful, and Cheyenne is allergic to everything. Then why are the Mandible sisters so eager to take them home? And what sort of old maids would choose to live in a place called Dripping Fang Forest, where zombies wander the woods singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and 10-foot-long glowing slugs want to suck the feet right off your ankles?