Books with author Catharine Hapka

Welcome to the Pet Rescue Club! Zach's mom has a new patient—a giant dog named Maxi who has been helping her owner train for a marathon. Maxi's knees can't handle all that running and now she needs an expensive operation! Time for the kids in the Pet Rescue Club to help! Together they find a way to help Maxi.  When Janey starts a blog where people can share cute pet photos and stories, she never imagined she’d receive a heartbreaking photo of a skinny, abandoned dog. She calls on her friends Lolli, Zach, and Adam to help – and that’s just the start! When these animal-loving fourth graders discover how many animals need help in their suburban hometown, they can’t just sit by and do nothing… Read a book and help save a life: 5-7% of the purchase price of every ASPCA® (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) Pet Rescue Club book goes directly to the ASPCA® so they can continue their mission of helping the helpless, with a minimum donation of $50,000 through December 2019.

Brooke has major boy problems—from her brothers to her crush to her horse—in this sixth book in a contemporary middle grade series in the tradition of Marguerite Henry’s Misty of Chincoteague.Boys + ponies = trouble. Lots of it. Brooke’s parents force Brooke to share Foxy with her little brothers and Brooke is none too happy. But she is happy that her friend Adam has been hanging around more again. She even lets him talk her into entering Foxy in a local show. But it doesn’t help that the twins riding Foxy so much lately is making the pony backslide in her training and act up a bit. And then: disaster! Adam backs out of attending the show, and Brooke almost backs out as well when Foxy throws her off for the first time ever! Will Brooke give up on riding for good?

Seabiscuit, National Velvet, and now Dreamer. It's a story about a girl, a horse, and a family.DREAMER, loosely based on a true story, is the story of a Kentucky horse trainer and his daughter who rescue a horse with a broken leg. The two then help nurse the animal back to health and take it to race in the Breeders' Cup. Along the way, father and daughter discover that they have a lot more in common than they ever imagined.Dakota Fanning, Kurt Russell, Elisabeth Shue, and Kris Kristofferson head the cast.MORE TO COME

In At First Sight, when Lauren meets the perfect guy at the planetarium, she feels like the stars have finally aligned in her favor. The only problem is she met him in the dark and they never got a good look at each other… or got each other’s names. Now, Lauren must take matters into her own hands and find the mystery guy before she loses him forever.

From the creators of Ice Age and Epic, Rio 2 flies into theaters in April 2014. Join Blu, Jewel, and all your favorite Rio characters for a wild adventure in this retelling of the movie, perfect for young fans!When a wild blue Spix's Macaw is spotted in the Amazon jungle, Blu and Jewel head off to search for more of their kind. But who they meet is the biggest surprise of all.Based on the movie, Rio 2: One Big Blue Family is a Level 2 I Can Read book, perfect for kids who read on their own but still need a little help.

When all of Haley’s time goes to training her pony, keeping an eye on the prize causes problems in this third book in a contemporary middle grade series in the tradition of Marguerite Henry’s Misty of Chincoteague.For months, Haley Duncan has been saving up to ride with her pony Wings in a clinic with a world-famous event rider. On top of that, she wants to make sure Wings is as fit and ready as he can be, which means extra trot sets before school and training and cleaning tack all weekend. So what if Haley’s friends complain that she doesn’t have time for them anymore? So what if she has to miss her very first ever school dance, or skip a favorite family tradition, or leave early from her BFF’s first boy-girl party? Everyone will get it when they see her in the Olympics someday. But when Haley’s overscheduled existence and exhaustion causes an accident, she may have to say good-bye to her dreams…

Homeward Bound meets Elf in this heartwarming tale for the whole family. Can Chris, Holly, and Ivy help Santa’s dog, Peppermint Bark, jingle all the way home to the North Pole before Christmas Day ends? For 364 days of the year, Santa and his best friend, Peppermint Bark, are inseparable. Santa’s fluffy white dog helps herd the reindeer, keep tabs on the elves, and check the list—twice. But though Peppermint Bark asks every Christmas, he never gets to join Santa on his sleigh ride around the world. Until the dog decides to stow away . . . When eight- and eleven-year-old Chris and Holly Kerstman discover a small white dog wedged in their chimney on Christmas morning, they can’t imagine where he came from, until he tells them. Peppermint Bark is unlike any dog they and Holly’s best friend, Ivy, have ever met: His breath smells of mint, faint jingle bells can be heard when he wags his tail, and he can talk! He tells the kids all about his secret sleigh ride and how he got accidentally left behind on their rooftop, but when it comes to answering the question of how he’ll get home to the North Pole, Peppermint Bark is stumped. It’s up to the kids to work together to get Peppermint Bark home before the last magical portal to the North Pole closes at midnight on Christmas Day. A Christmas tale with enough heartwarming moments and heart-pounding action to entertain the entire family this holiday!