Bookworm

When Hank the Cowdog sticks his nose where it doesn't belong - into an old pipe behind the machine shed - he gets more than he bargained for. Before he can say "boy howdy", Hank gets a nip that sets his eyes a-watering and his snouta-throbbing.

Callie Vee, Travis, Granddaddy, and the whole Tate clan are back in this charming follow-up to Newbery Honor-winner The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. Travis keeps bringing home strays. And Callie has her hands full keeping the wild animals-her brother included-away from her mother's critical eye. Whether it's wrangling a rogue armadillo or stray dog, a guileless younger brother or standoffish cousin, the trials and tribulations of Callie Vee will have listeners laughing and crying and cheering for this most endearing heroine.

Talk about a rude awakening! Things go from bad to worse when Hank and Drover wake up in the wee hours of the morning to a full-fledged invasion of the ranch. It's the coyotes, and they're set on making a take-out dinner out of the resident cat, Pete. But, when Hank does Pete a favor and prepares to join him in what promises to be the next great Battle of the Alamo, things take an even more unexpected turn. The coyotes catch sight of Drover and decide to kidnap him instead!

No sooner has Sally May finished planting her vegetable garden when some kind of unearthly being decides to burrow in the neatly planted rows of tomatoes and peppers. It looks like a job for the Head of Ranch Security, so Hank sets straight to work trying to dig the space monster robot out of its hole.

Welcome to the Sweet Tooth Ice Cream & Candy Shoppe, where the confections are a bit on the... unusual side. Rock candy that makes you weightless. Jawbreakers that make you unbreakable. Chocolate balls that make you a master of disguise. Four young friends - Nate, Summer, Trevor, and Pigeon - meet the grandmotherly Mrs. White, owner of the Sweet Tooth, and soon learn about the magical side effects of her candies.

Cat ranch or cattle ranch? Hank the Cowdog doesn't like cats. Not one bit. So when a mother cat and her kittens take up residence in the haystack, he does all he can to get them to leave. But they've got nowhere to go. Unfortunately, neither does the gigantic bull who has knocked down the fence - and is headed right for the haystack! Hank knows that it's up to him to run that bull off and keep the ranch safe for everyone...even if that includes a bunch of cats.

As Head of Ranch Security, Hank knows that it's his job to clear the ranch of all intruders - and that includes gophers. But when Hank's efforts to rid the yard of one such critter causes a stampede in the middle of the cattle roundup, Loper decides that he just can't take it any more. He wants Hank to learn some manners, so he's sending him to - gulp! - obedience school.

Tis the season for chaos. It's the night before Christmas, and Hank the Cowdog, head of ranch security, is looking forward to a long winter's nap when duty calls him to accompany Slim into town for a last-minute shopping spree. Along the way, Hank and the gang are struck not only by the meaning of Christmas but also by a 25-pound buzzard who crashes through their windshield.

Hank is in real trouble this time. Loper and Sally May's relatives are coming for Christmas dinner, and Sally May has been working to get the entire ranch in order - including preparing for the Christmas feast. Unfortunately, when she discovers that the turkey she bought has met a terrible end, she pins the blame on Hank! Is he the guilty party, or have more sinister forces been at work to frame him for the crime?

The summer of 1899 is HOT in Calpurnia Virginia Tate's sleepy Texas town, and there aren't a lot of good ways to stay cool. Her mother has a new wind machine from town, but Callie might just have to resort to stealthily cutting off her hair, one sneaky inch at a time. She also spends a lot time at the river with her notoriously cantankerous grandfather, an avid naturalist. It turns out that every drop of river water is teeming with life - all you have to do is look through a microscope!