Showing results by author "Kenneth Oppel" in All Categories

For 13 years, Ben Tomlin was an only child. But all that changes when his mother brings home Zan - an eight-day-old chimpanzee. Ben’s father, a renowned behavioral scientist, has uprooted the family to pursue his latest research project: a high-profile experiment to determine whether chimpanzees can acquire advanced language skills. Ben’s parents tell him to treat Zan like a little brother. Ben reluctantly agrees. At least now he’s not the only one his father’s going to scrutinize,

Shade, a young silverwing bat, is searching the countryside for his father when he discovers a huge glass building. When he flies inside, he finds a forest haven where, safe from predatory owls, hundreds of bats are finally living in the sunlight. But when he tries to find an exit, Shade quickly realizes that instead of a paradise, the building is really a prison.

The Rylance family is stuck. Dad's got writer's block. Ethan promised to illustrate a group project at school - even though he can't draw. Sarah's still pining for a puppy. And they all miss Mom. So much more than they can say. Enter Inkling. Inkling begins life in Mr. Rylance's sketchbook. But one night the ink of his drawings runs together - and then leaps off the page! This small burst of creativity is about to change everything.

Shade, a young silverwing bat, is the runt of his colony. Determined to show how brave he is, Shade breaks one of the ancient rules that governs the bats. As punishment, owls burn the bats' roost, forcing them to migrate earlier than normal. While on the trip south to the Hibernaculum, Shade becomes separated from his flock during a rain storm. His destination is millions of wing beats away. Now he must find a way to make the journey on his own.

High in the sky, far above the normal lanes of travel, drifts a ghost ship carrying unbelievable treasure. Matt Cruse is on the trail of that treasure, with the help of his charming society friend Kate de Vries and a mysterious gypsy girl named Nadira. With them flies Hal Slater, roguish captain of a boldly designed Skybreaker aircraft that can reach heights previously undreamed of.

For some kids summer is a sun-soaked season of fun. But for Steve it's just another season of worries. Worries about his sick newborn baby brother, who is fighting to survive; worries about his parents, who are struggling to cope; even worries about the wasp's nest looming ominously from the eaves. So when a mysterious wasp queen invades his dreams, offering to "fix" the baby, Steve thinks his prayers have been answered.

The invasion begins - but not as you'd expect. It begins with rain. Rain that carries seeds. Seeds that sprout - overnight, everywhere. These new plants take over crop fields, twine up houses, and burrow below streets. They bloom - and release toxic pollens. They bloom - and form Venus flytrap-like pods that swallow animals and people. They bloom - everywhere, unstoppable. Or are they? Three kids on a remote island seem immune to the toxic plants. Anaya, Petra, Seth. They each have strange allergies - and yet not to these plants. What's their secret?

Will Everett has always wished for an adventure. Little does he know his adventure starts the moment he boards the Boundless. There is a murder, and now Will protects a key that can unlock the train¹s hidden treasures. Villains are fast on his heels and strange creatures are lurking outside the windows, as the Boundless hurtles across the country. Together with Maren, a gifted escape artist, and Mr. Dorian, a circus ringmaster with amazing abilities, Will must save the Boundless before someone else winds up dead.

Griffin is just a newborn bat when he falls through an underground fissure into the most dangerous of all places, the Underworld - the land of the dead. Though his father, the heroic Shade, will try to rescue him, Griffin bravely sets off on his own adventure to find the Tree that will take him home. Will he make it? This companion to Silverwing and Sunwing is mesmerizing, full of extraordinary details and vibrant imagery.

Matt Cruse is back in the phenomenal third volume in Kenneth Oppel's bestselling, award-winning series - and this time he's heading for outer space. Airborn and Skybreaker, the first two books in the series, have been among our best-selling and most-honored titles, and we think you'll find this one just as thrilling - if not more so. Featuring an international cast of larger-than-life characters, this is adventure fiction at its finest.

Matt Cruse is a cabin boy on the Aurora, a huge airship that sails hundreds of feet above the ocean. One night he meets a dying balloonist who speaks of beautiful creatures drifting through the skies. It is only after Matt meets the balloonist's granddaughter that he realizes that the man's ravings may, in fact, have been true, and that the creatures are completely real and utterly mysterious.

Seth, Anaya, and Petra are strangely immune to the plants' toxins and found a way to combat them. But just as they have their first success, the rain begins again. This rain brings eggs. That hatch into insects. Not small insects. Bird-sized mosquitoes that carry disease. Borer worms that can eat through the foundation of a house. Boat-sized water striders that carry away their prey.

The alien invasion of Earth is imminent. But maybe not all the aliens are united. A rebel faction has reached out to Anaya, saying there's a way to stop the larger invasion - a way for humans and hybrids and cryptogens to work together. Can they be trusted? Or is this a trap? It's not even clear if Anaya, Petra, and Seth are united - some of the hybrids think they'd be better off if the aliens won. With everything on the line, these three teens will have to decide who they are at their core - alien or human, enemy or friend.

Victor and Konrad are the twin brothers Frankenstein. They are nearly inseparable. Growing up, their lives are filled with imaginary adventures... until the day their adventures turn all too real. They stumble upon The Dark Library, and secret books of alchemy and ancient remedies are discovered. Father forbids that they ever enter the room again, but this only peaks Victor's curiosity more. When Konrad falls gravely ill, Victor is not be satisfied with the various doctors his parents have called in to help. He is drawn back to The Dark Library....

Gabe tells this story every day when he gives the ghost tour on Toronto Island. He tries to make it scary enough to satisfy the tourists, but he doesn’t actually believe in ghosts—until he finds himself face to face with Rebecca Strand.

Tragedy has forced 16-year-old Victor Frankenstein to swear off alchemy forever. He burns the Dark Library. He vows he will never dabble in the dark sciences again — just as he vows he will no longer covet Elizabeth, his brother’s betrothed.

If only these things were not so tempting.... When he and Elizabeth discover a portal into the spirit world, they cannot resist. Together with Victor’s twin, Konrad, and their friend Henry, they venture into a place of infinite possibilities where power and passion reign.

Somewhere in the Badlands, embedded deep in centuries-buried rock and sand, lies the skeleton of a massive dinosaur, larger than anything the late nineteenth century world has ever seen. Some legends call it the Black Beauty, with its bones as black as ebony, but to seventeen-year-old Samuel Bolt it's the "rex," the king dinosaur that could put him and his struggling, temperamental archaeologist father in the history books if they can just quarry it out.

Welcome to Other Worlds, the fourth volume in the Guys Read Library. Prepare yourself for 10 trips into the unknown, as 10 of your favorite writers spin tales of fantasy and science fiction the likes of which you have never imagined. Compiled by National Ambassador for Children's Literature (and Secret Ambassador for the Intergalactic Alliance) Jon Scieszka, Guys Read: Other Worlds is the most exciting collection of stories on this - or any other - planet.

Max is the cook's dog. And because he is also the king's taster, Max gets to feast on French Fries! Rose Pudding! Cheese Pie! Pizza! No wonder Max loves his job. Who wouldn't want to dine on these delicious dishes? The new king, that's who. And if the new king has his way, it won't just be their job that the cook and Max lose!

The story of the tragic death of sixteen-year-old Rebecca Strand and her lighthouse keeper father is just an elaborate tale Gabe tells tourists for his summer job on Toronto Island. Or so he thought. When his ghost tours awaken Rebecca’s spirit, Gabe is drawn into a world far darker than any ghost story he’s ever heard. Rebecca reveals that she and her father were connected to the Order, a secret society devoted to protecting the world from "the wakeful and wicked dead".