Books with author Francis B.

Finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Young People’s Literature–Text Dads can be such a drag Life has been a struggle for Toby Goodman. Her mother died by suicide five years ago, and her father left their small town before Toby was born. Now a teenager living on her grandparents’ dairy farm, Toby has trouble letting people in. She keeps even her closest friend, the brash but endearing Trisha, at arm’s length, and recently ended her first relationship, with Trisha’s burnout brother, Mike. Convinced that she is destined to follow her mother’s path, Toby creates a plan to escape her pain. But after learning the news that her father is coming home and finally wants to meet her, Toby must face the truth of her family’s story. Not only is her father gay, but he’s also a world-famous female impersonator—and a self-absorbed, temperamental man-child who is ill-prepared to be a real parent. When Toby’s careful plans go awry, she is forced to rebuild the life she thought she knew from the ground up. While she may not follow an expected path, through the support of a quirky but lovable circle of friends and family, Toby may finally be able to put together the many different pieces that make up her past, her present and her future.

Circe Kellar is the only person ever to witness spontaneous human combustion when she sees her grandmother consumed by fire.Soon after her grandmother's death, a mysterious young man, Evan Royce, appears claiming to have known Circe's grandmother, even though he is much too young. Was Circe's grandmother a Promethean, a member of a nearly extinct race that gave birth to the phoenix legend, and has Circe inherited those powers?A series of inexplicable events forces Circe to confront Evan's outlandish claims and the possibility that she has special powers, not to mention her growing attraction to the powerful stranger.

Jules and Oliver are spirited eleven-year-old boys living in the London Orphanage in the late 1800s. The boys are well-mannered and hardworking. They are also intelligent, courageous, and adventurous. While Jules is more of the explorer, Oliver, who is constantly hungry, is the inventor. His gadgets frequently assist the boys in getting out of the increasingly dangerous predicaments they find themselves in.One Saturday when the boys are working at the shoppe owned by Mr. Brookshire, they discover a small metal box that is attached to the ceiling in the basement. Curiosity consumes the pair, and they work as a team to knock the box down and retrieve the parchment inside of it. When the boys return to the orphanage, they learn that the piece of paper contains a treasure map and the first clue they need to pursue their new adventure.Jules and Oliver enlist the assistance of their friend, Mr. Cambridge, who was once a child at the London Orphanage and later the guardian of the London Museum until he was blamed for a terrible fire there that occurred years ago. Mr. Cambridge nurtures the boys’ inquisitive natures by supplying them with books of historical relevance to their hunt for jewels stolen by a pirate named Jorden Berg. He also helps his young friends dissect the clues they collect when they sneak out of the orphanage at night.The treasure hunt leads Jules and Oliver to several historic structures in London, including Big Ben and Scotland Yard. As the story progresses, the search for the treasure becomes less about pursuing adventure and wealth, and more about the boys’ determination to help a friend in distress.

When Amelia and Susie Jackson decide to hire a grandmother for the summer holidays it is because they want someone who will bake with them, read stories and take them to the seaside. Their real grandmother has broken her leg, their father is stuck in his study all day everyday and they have no-one to look after them. But who is this person who turns up on her strange looking bike? She doesn't look like a grandmother and she thinks that cleaning can be fun. This is not what Amelia had in mind at all! Things don't seem to be going as Amelia planned and what will she do? Will this person ever bake her cakes? Will her sister stop being awful towards her? And will her father stop thinking about dinosaurs and actually come out of his study? Find out what happens to Amelia, Susie and the grandmother they've hired when you read this story.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Madeleine liked everything to be perfect in her ordered world. That is why when a mysterious package arrives addressed to her she is not at all pleased. It asks her to solve a mystery with the help of her friends.But Madeleine does not have any friends and does not like to be told what to do. She wants to ignore the parcel and the letter that asks for help. Madeleine is though an extremely inquisitive girl who likes to know what is going on. Does Madeleine solve the mystery? Does she find any friends to help her? And what happens when another problem adds to her altogether mysterious world? Read about Madeleine and discover the truth behind that parcel she just cant ignore!

Zazi, Elma’s Dog, and Zweetch is based on the true story of a dog whose friendship, loyalty, and unconditional love help Elma regain self-confidence and relearn how to love and trust others. When Zazi arrives as a birthday present to Elma, Frieda interrupts Elma’s excitement and Elma is confronted with her first Zweetch of fear. Elma refuses to relent. She defies Frieda’s attempt to get rid of Zazi, but will Elma be able to keep the puppy? How will Zweetch help Frieda and what will happen to the puppy?