Showing results by narrator "Kevin M Connolly" in All Categories

One of Ethasar’s gods has just died. Five more gods must perish until only one remains. The War of the Seven rages on as Ethasar’s kingdoms fight for the fates of their gods. In the north, Queen Marion and her knights battle Queen Elena’s diminished forces, while most of Elena’s vampire nobles fly to defend their kingdom from the giants’ invasion.

If you think YOU have a busy schedule, take a look at Ernestine Buckmeister's weekly calendar: On Mondays she sculpts with Clay Lumpkin. On Tuesdays she does water ballet with Miss Goldfisher. On Wednesdays she knits with Mrs. Pearl Stitchem. On Thursdays she takes tuba lessons with Mr. Oompah. On Fridays she yodels with Little Old Lady Hoo. On Saturdays she studies karate with Grand Master HiYa! And on Sundays she practices yoga with Guru Prakash Pretzel.

The epic conclusion of the great war of the gods. With two gods and thirteen champions already dead, the War of the Seven nears its end. Queen Elena continues her advance toward Hearthstone, intent on destroying the Lady and avenging her lover's death. Emperor Lucius and Queen Frida travel...

In this wondrous story, two children explore the caves and coves of the tiny and oddly-named Giant Island. They are thrilled to discover that the island is, in fact, a submerged giant.

When Carla brings weird sandwiches to school, her classmates have plenty to say about them. “That's sick!” says Leslie. “That's disgusting!” says Natie. But Carla thinks otherwise. “It's unique. It's creative.” Just like Carla. Although she is teased and even ignored by her classmates, Carla's strong inner sense of uniqueness eventually wins them over.

Cats. You either love 'em or hate 'em. But what happens when Mom loves cats and Dad detests them? In That Cat Can't Stay, Mom keeps adopting stray cats while Dad's objections get more and more absurd: “Mom found a little calico. / Dad said, That thing has got to go. There's no use begging. Don't say please. / I don't like cats. They scratch my knees. They carry fleas. They make me sneeze. / They're always getting stuck in trees. I want it gone. Send it away. / I'm telling you, that cat can't stay.”

What do you get when you put together the coolest kid in class, an unpredictable live-in grandmother, and a caring but anxious grandson? Disaster? No. You get to know Ruben Plotnick. David is worried about how zany Ruben Plotnick will react when he meets Grandma Rosie, who often says and does unexpected things. Will Ruben make fun of her to their classmates? Will he imitate her whispery voice? What will he do if Grandma Rosie suddenly wants to dance?

When Emmy accidentally spills juice on her dad's pants, she takes refuge behind Mom's knee. Expecting a reprimand, Emmy is surprised when Mom tells Dad, “Now, sweetheart, you should let it be. After all...she's only three.” What an amazing discovery! She's too young to be punished!

Despite some silly, sleepy mistakes, genteel Jackson finds a fun and quiet activity for each of his noisy neighbors. He finally gets a great night's sleep–and discovers three new friends in the morning.

Darcy has plans. She and her friend are going to play dress up, do each other's hair, and polish their nails. Daddy has plans, too. He's going to read the paper, mow the lawn, and fix the fence. When Darcy's friend cancels and she's sure her day is ruined, Daddy suggests a Darcy-Daddy Day. Now they can tackle their to-do lists together. But will Darcy enjoy hammering? Will Daddy do nails? You bet!

If you build a perfect sandcastle, a dragon will move in. And that's exactly what happens to one very lucky boy at the beach. Dad is busy sunbathing, and Mom is busy with her book, so the boy and dragon roam the beach together, flying a kite, braving the waves, and roasting marshmallows. But no one believes him when he shares the news of his magnificent dragon: Mom only hears the roar of the ocean, Dad thinks the dragon feather is a seagull feather, and know-it-all sis claims there's no such thing as a dragon.

If you build a perfect castle, a dragon will move in - and that's exactly what happens to one very lucky boy when his family gears up for some changes. The boy and his dragon bounce in their castle, duel with delight, and have an amazing time together...until they find out that their castle is a crib for a new baby. Huh? As soon as they get used to the news, the boy and dragon are back in roaring form, entertaining the infant with marching music, aerial acrobatics, and baby-bottle bowling. But merriment turns to mischief and mischief leads to consequences.

One night, when Ethan reaches under his bed for a toy truck, he finds this note instead: “Monsters! Meet here for final test.” Ethan is sure his parents are trying to trick him into staying in bed...until he sees five colorful sets of eyes blinking at him from under the bed. Soon, a colorful parade of quirky, squeaky little monsters emerge from beneath the bed and compete to become Ethan's monster. But only the little green monster, Gabe, has the perfect blend of stomach-rumbling and snorting needed to get Ethan into bed and keep him there.

When Ethan checks under the bed for his monster, he finds this note instead: “So long, kid. Gotta go. Someone needs me more than you do. - Gabe” Ethan knows that the "someone" must be his little sister, Emma, who keeps climbing out of bed to play. She obviously needs a monster to help her get to sleep, but not his monster! Will Ethan lose Gabe forever?

Early in August 1937, a news flash came: A sea monster had been spotted lurking off the shore of Nantucket Island. Historically, the Massachusetts island had served as port for whaling ships. Eyewitnesses swore this wasn’t a whale, but some new, fearsome creature. As eyewitness account piled up, newspaper stories of the sea monster spread quickly. Across the nation, people shivered in fear.

Solid wax is somehow changed into light and heat. But how? Travel back in time to December 28, 1848 in London, England to one of the most famous juvenile science Christmas lectures at the Royal Institution. British scientist Michael Faraday (1791-1867) encouraged kids to carefully observe a candle and to try to figure out how it burned. Known as one of the best science experimenters ever, Faraday’s passion was always to answer the basic questions of science: “What is the cause? Why does it occur?”

In seven years, the Vengeful One will shatter the world into pieces. To stop him, one god must take the others’ powers–and six gods must die. And so, Ethasar’s kingdoms clash in a war for the fates of their gods. Frida, a fearless pirate captain, leads the Islanders to war. But a treacherous rival sinks half her fleet and joins forces with the vampire queen. Now, Frida must prevail over orcs and giants, knights and vampires, desert men and imperial legions. If she fails, the sea god dies.

“What does Dudley do all day while we're away?” Sam wonders. Mom explains that Dudley does ordinary dog things: he eats, naps, guards the house, and plays. But in Sam's mind, Dudley's day at home is anything but ordinary. Delightful digital paintings depict the human activities Sam imagines Dudley is doing–which don't quite match Mom's explanations.

During the holiday season, Jennifer Jacobs discovers that she is the only Jewish student in her class. She is thrilled and so creates The Only One Club, of which she is the only glittery-badge-wearing member. When her classmates want to join her exclusive club Jennifer at first resists, but she later realizes that each person is “the only one” at something. She makes glittery badges for everyone, and distributes them while revealing the quality that makes each friend “the only one”.

Ben is short. Zip is shorter. One day while they are walking on the boardwalk, a sudden storm blows in. Frightened by the thunder, Zip disappears into the crowd. Pint-sized Ben tries to search for Zip, but all he sees are knees! Right knees, left knees, knees with sandy patches. Fat knees, bony knees, knees with bumps and scratches. Ben finds a higher spot. Now all he sees are bellies! He climbs the highest lookout on the beach—the lifeguard stand—and sees that the rain has chased everyone from the beach! Now how will Ben find Zip?