Synopsis: Chris Serbo loves to play football. "I've played football so many years, it's instinct to me. . . . I know the rules and I know the chaos. . . . There is nothing more satisfying than hitting someone with all your force. . . . When all else fails, Iknowhow to play football." But Chris Serbo has some problems--and one of them is that he drinks to hide from the other problems. In this powerful story of a high school senior trying to find some hope…

Synopsis: National Bestseller The true story of one family, caught between America’s two biggest policy disasters: the war on terror and the response to Hurricane Katrina. Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun run a house-painting business in New Orleans. In August of 2005, as Hurricane Katrina approaches, Kathy evacuates with their four young children, leaving Zeitoun to watch over the business. In the days following the storm he travels the city by canoe,…

Synopsis: A modern-day classic underdog story to share with middle graders alongside such favorites as Wonder, Holes, and Bridge to Terabithia.Paul Fisher sees the world from behind glasses so thick he looks like a bug-eyed alien. But he’s not so blind that he can’t see there are some very unusual things about his family’s new home in Tangerine County, Florida.Where else does a sinkhole swallow the local school, fire burn underground for years, and…

Synopsis: This is how wars are fought now: by children, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s. Children have become soldiers of choice. In the more than fifty conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child soldiers. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them.What is war like through the eyes of a child soldier? How does one become a killer? How does one stop? Child soldiers have been profiled by journalists, and novelists have…

Synopsis: Battle in the BullpenFor as long as Billy Baggs can remember, rich townie and ace pitcher Archer "King" Kenwood has been his nemesis--both on the field and off. And the summer before they enter high school, their long-standing rivalry explodes into violence. Desperate to keep the peace between his two star players, Coach Anderson comes up with a plan: If they want to play, they have to pay--by spending a week together, twenty-four hours a day.…

Synopsis: Congratulations, you are a teenager! The big question is, now what?! The teenage years are an exciting yet every changing period of your life. New challenges and tasks seem to pop up almost daily, not to mention all the changes your body is going through.As you get older and take on more responsibilities, you have probably often wondered how to do many of the adult tasks your parents or older siblings seem to breeze through daily. Everything…

Synopsis: The thrill of in-line skating has always fascinated young people. Kids will learn basic skating techniques, important safety rules, and how to buy skates and safety gear. The exciting world of in-line skating is packed into one informative and fun-filled book.

Synopsis: A lonely obese boy everyone calls "Butter" is about to make history. He is going to eat himself to death-live on the Internet-and everyone is invited to watch. When he first makes the announcement online to his classmates, Butter expects pity, insults, and possibly sheer indifference. What he gets are morbid cheerleaders rallying around his deadly plan. Yet as their dark encouragement grows, it begins to feel a lot like popularity. And that…

Synopsis: A riveting debut that combines the relentless immediacy of Thirteen Reasons Why with the can't-look-away drama of TV shows like Biggest Loser.A lonely obese boy everyone calls "Butter" is about to make history. He is going to eat himself to death-live on the Internet-and everyone is invited to watch. When he first makes the announcement online to his classmates, Butter expects pity, insults, and possibly sheer indifference. What he gets are…

Synopsis: California Treasures meets the specific literacy needs of all California's teachers and students. The program content is aligned to national and state standards. It is customized to both California's language arts content and English language development standards. Lessons are informed by ongoing assessment of each student's strengths and needs to meet California standards. The curriculum, created specifically for California, is grounded in…

Synopsis: An ardent activist, champion of political reform, novelist, and progressive journalist, Upton Sinclair is perhaps best known today for The Jungle — his devastating exposé of the meat-packing industry. A protest novel he privately published in 1906, the book was a shocking revelation of intolerable labor practices and unsanitary working conditions in the Chicago stockyards. It quickly became a bestseller, arousing public sentiment and resulting…

Synopsis: Jessie, Troy, and the rest of the crew from Downriver have returned to the Grand Canyon for adventure down the Colorado River. In the year since they last were together, each has changed; each feels more mature. But how will they interact now that they are facing new challenges--challenges greater than anything they've had to deal with at home? For Troy, it is a chance to prove he can be a team player, someone worthy of friendship and love. For…

Synopsis: For Eddie there isn't much to do in his rundown neighborhood but eat, sleep, watch out for drive-bys, and just try to get through each day. His father, two uncles, and his best friend are all dead, and it's a struggle not to end up the same way. The violence makes Fresno wallow in tears, as if a huge onion with its ubiquitous vapors were buried beneath the city. Making an effort to walk a straight line despite constant temptations and…

Synopsis: Ethan Frome and Selected Stories, by Edith Wharton, is part of theBarnes…

Synopsis: One of the most powerful and enduring of Greek tragedies, Medea centers on the myth of Jason, leader of the Argonauts, who has won the dragon-guarded treasure of the Golden Fleece with the help of the sorceress Medea. Having married Medea and fathered her two children, Jason abandons her for a more favorable match, never suspecting the terrible revenge she will take. Euripides' masterly portrayal of the motives fiercely driving Medea's pursuit…

Synopsis: This daily digest of intellectual challenge and learning will arouse curiosity, refresh knowledge, expand horizons, and keep the mind sharpMillions of Americans keep bedside books of prayer and meditative reflection—collections of daily passages to stimulate spiritual thought and advancement. The Intellectual Devotional is a secular version of the same—a collection of 365 short lessons that will inspire and invigorate the reader every day of the…

Synopsis: "Quince años más tarde, la memoria de aquel día ha vuelto a mí. He visto a aquel muchacho vagando entre las brumas de la estación de Francia y el nombre de Marina se ha encendido de nuevo como una herida fresca. Todos tenemos un secreto encerrado bajo llave en el ático del alma. Éste es el mío.» En la Barcelona de 1980 Óscar Drai sueña despierto, deslumbrado por los palacetes modernistas cercanos al internado en el que estudia. En una de sus…

Synopsis: In this brilliant biography T. J. Stiles offers a new understanding of the legendary outlaw Jesse James. Although he has often been portrayed as a Robin Hood of the old west, in this ground-breaking work Stiles places James within the context of the bloody conflicts of the Civil War to reveal a much more complicated and significant figure. "Carries the reader scrupulously through James’s violent, violent life.... When [Stiles]… calls Jesse…