Showing results by narrator "Tara Sands" in All Categories

Once upon a time, Cat Starr lived with her astronaut mom in Houston. But when her mother gets sent on a long-term mission, Cat has to move to a faraway land - her dad's house, halfway across the country - and share a room with her real-life evil stepsister, Olivia. Just when Cat can't take it anymore, Great Aunt Abyssinia comes to the rescue. And things go from bad to cursed. The next morning, Cat opens her mouth and a toad hops out! What's more, when Olivia speaks, diamonds and flowers appear. How unfair is that?

Gertie Reece Foy is 100 percent not-from-concentrate awesome. She has a daddy who works on an oil rig, a great-aunt who always finds the lowest prices at the Piggly Wiggly, and two loyal best friends. So when her absent mother decides to move away from their small town, Gertie sets out on her greatest mission yet: becoming the best fifth grader in the universe to show her mother exactly what she'll be leaving behind.

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.

Annie has been promised a summer of freedom in the country. Freedom from a difficult school year, freedom from her fake "friends" back in the city, and, most of all, freedom from her mom's life-governing spreadsheets and rigid schedules.

The summer story of three sisters, one restaurant, and a (possible) German spy. World War II is coming in Europe. At least that’s what Frankie Baum heard on the radio. But from her small town in Maryland, in the wilting summer heat of 1939, the war is a world away. But when some people in town start accusing her father of being a German spy, all of a sudden the war arrives at Frankie’s feet and she can think of nothing else. Could the rumors be true? Frankie has to do some spying of her own to try to figure out her father’s secrets and clear his good name.

"I can't stand this poky little town any more. How can I bear it for three more months? Today alone has lasted years..." Disinherited by her father, the debutante Miss Layla Beck is forced to spend the hot summer of 1938 in Macedonia, West Virginia, and is tasked with recording the small town's history. She arrives with one goal: to get out as quickly as possible. Macedonia's history seems simple enough - brief and uneventful.

Left behind in a cold and dark burrow, a baby rabbit named Tumkit is destined to die of starvation until Vella, a shrewd and fearless mockingbird, discovers Tumkit and brings him a magic berry. The berry comes from a solitary bush that grows in a cave near the top of Laurel Mountain. Vella warns Tumkit the bush is struggling to survive, and unless they act quickly the supernatural powers of its berries will be lost forever.

When Sir Sidney, a kindly old circus owner, becomes too tired to travel with his show, he places a Help Wanted ad in the newspaper. Enter Barnabas Brambles: "I have a degree in lion taming from the University of Piccadilly Circus." But does Leo the lion need taming? Will Elsa the elephant still get her gourmet peanuts? And what will Brambles say when he discovers Bert and Gert - two mice who travel with the circus on popcorn cleanup patrol?

The Spaghetti is a floating palace of elegance and entertainment. There's only one problem: Miss LaPasta doesn't want Barnabas Brambles to come aboard, because she's heard he's the meanest man alive. Lucky for Barnabas Brambles, his boss is Sir Sidney, the nicest man alive.

The Cyborg Wars are over and Earth has peacefully prospered for more than one hundred years. Yet sometimes history must repeat itself until humanity learns from its mistakes. In the year 2170, despite technological and political advances, cyborgs and clones are treated no better than slaves, and an underground abolitionist movement is fighting for freedom. Thirteen-year-old Leanna's entire life is thrown into chaos when The World Federation of Nations discovers her mom is part of the radical Liberty Bell Movement.

In this highly useful guide, international literary agent Jennifer Lyons leads more than 30 expert contributors in demystifying the business side of writing for aspiring authors.Whether you’re unclear on what to expect from your first book deal or just a little puzzled by your editor’s whims, The Business of Writing is the book for you. In it, Lyons empowers aspiring and experienced writers with everything they need to know about the business of selling books, from publicity to the legal and financial aspects of the trade.

Barbit is not any rabbit. He is a curious rabbit who needs to know and explore everything around him. Living with his mother, Barbit always felt secure and protected. However, his curiosity made him leave his home alone one day. Where will this lead him? Will he be safe? Who will he meet and will he ever return home? Enjoy listening to this story of discovery, friendship as well as danger as the result of the ambitions of a curious rabbit, Barbit!

Baby squirrels, Hazel, Pistachio, and Hickory embark on a forest adventure that leads them to realize the importance of listening to their mother's advice.

I'm Lucy Rose and here's the thing about me: I am eight and according to my grandfather I have the kind of life that is called eventful, which means NOT boring. According to my mom and my grandmother I'm what they call a handful. And according to my dad I am one smart cookie.

In her most dangerous mystery to date, Sammy runs into a strange girl trying to escape from a scary looking guy at the mall. When the girl asks Sammy to watch her shopping bag and then flees, Sammy is alarmed to discover that inside the bag is a baby! In her seventh adventure, the intrepid detective puts her life on the line as she confronts the seamy gang life of her hometown in her search for the baby's mother and the evil man who is threatening them all in this edge-of-your-seat mystery.

When Sammy attends a fancy reception at an art gallery (wearing high-tops, of course) she ends up tackling a gun-wielding art burglar who crashes the party. But is he the real criminal? As always, Sammy's instinct guides her through the many layers of the mystery to uncover the real crime and criminal. And this time, the determined detective gets a little help from her gutsy grandmother, who, Sammy realizes, is a person in her own right.

Sammy accidentally makes a deadly mistake, but all clues point to her nemesis, Heather, and she gets blamed. As Sammy struggles with her conscience, she should confess, but there's a certain justice in Heather finally getting what she deserves, and she gets distracted helping an ailing senior citizen in her fight against urban renewal.

Cats are disappearing and Sammy is finding some of them in neighborhood garbage cans - dead! Miss Kitty, a local psycho cat lady, blames Sammy. Meanwhile, there's something fishy going on with one of the students from Slammin' Dave's Pro Wrestling School that just opened up next door to Sammy's friend Holly.

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.

Set in the same world as Justin Sayre's previous books, Husky and Pretty, Mean explores the private and public life of Ellen, who is confident, cool, and, according to Davis, mean. But if speaking the truth and being unconcerned with petty gossip makes you mean, Ellen is fine with that.