Books with author Jon McDonald

From the winner of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award, this provocative story about a young man straddling two very different worlds unfolds against a backdrop of brotherhood and betrayal, friendship and loyalty, and captures the dilemma of those who would carve out a unique destiny for themselves. Nate Whitely's life at a prestigious prep school in upstate New York takes him far from his Harlem home but not so far as to sever the strong bond he has to his neighborhood. Like his prep school friends, Nate is doing well academically and has his sights set on college. But complications from one life intrude into the other. His childhood friend Hustle won't give up his street-smart ways and doesn't want Nate to either. Nate's older brother, Eli, just can't seem to keep things together and is headed for major trouble. Will Nate be able to sustain these powerful ties without jeopardizing all that he's achieved?

Chill Wind is the 2003 winner of the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe New Talent Award.A tough and funny project girl manages to make that chill wind blow away in Janet McDonald's sequel to Spellbound.The good life, according to Aisha Ingram, is easy. It's hanging with friends, dancing, listening to music, whatever . . . but it doesn't include worrying about the future. Chilling out is her mantra until she receives a sixty-day termination-of-welfare-benefits notice. Without her monthly food stamps and assistance checks and with no help from the father of her two children, Aisha's life threatens to become a little too "chilly." The clock is ticking and she doesn't have many options, but one thing she knows for sure: workfare is not for her. There's no way she's going to scrub subway cars or sweep city sidewalks. Aisha tries to come up with other ways to get money, but things don't look good. Soon another notice comes: only thirty days left. Then she sees an ad on TV for BIGMODELS, and she figures she might as well check out the agency. After all, she is pretty enough. But just when it looks like Aisha's problems might be solved, things grow crazy again. In Aisha, Janet McDonald has created a larger-than-life heroine who finds and succeeds at what is right for her.

Raven never expected to be a mother at sixteen. Is she going to be just another high school dropout, a project girl with few prospects? Could be, except Raven has ambition. Still, when is she going to find the time to finish school? Then her older sister tells her about a spelling bee that promises the winner a scholarship for college. Spelling? There isn't a subject she's worse at. But once Raven's got her mind set, nothing gets in her way...

Third Graders Miles, Ellen and Kendra discover more than the answer to the mystery of the missing arrowhead in this fictional tale. The Lighthouse Mystery was written to commemorate the installation of an 1877 replica Fresnal lens for the Vermilion Ohio lighthouse. The lighting of this lens means that the lighthouse, an exact copy of the one made in 1877 from melted obsolete cannons, is now a U.S. Coast Guard sanctioned private navigational aid and is included in navigational charts.

Spunky and headstrong, Cameron blasts music, challenges adults, and cuts class when she feels like it. She lives with her single mom in Brooklyn and hangs out with best friends Amanda, P, and Crystal. Life in their working-class neighborhood is pretty cool until Cameron's mother suddenly loses her job and can no longer afford the rent. Move to public housing? YG2BK! But no one's kidding, and Cameron finds herself living in the projects. Can a white girl from across town hope to be accepted by the black girls in the projects? A revelation from the past forces Cameron to confront a startling truth that just might put things in perspective . . . that is, if Cameron can handle it.Hilarious, surprising, and defiantly candid, Off-Color is a thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining new novel from Janet McDonald. Hip and wise, the author grabs the readers and doesn't let go.

Janet McDonald introduces readers to two sisters who discover that all you have to do is stick together to handle life's many twists and turns.It may have taken them an extra year or two to do it, but the Washington sisters finally graduated high school, and this definitely calls for a celebration. But after the party ends, then what? The girls have no plans. Unlike their smart best friend Raven Jefferson, who's away at college, and their nerdy best friend Toya Larson, who's in computer training, and their overall best friend Aisha Ingram, who's rocking in TV commercials, Keeba and Teesha are still hanging out on neighborhood benches as if nothing's changed. Then an older friend convinces the sisters that they, too, have a skill – braiding hair – and why not make a business of it? With a loan from Aisha, the Washingtons open TeeKee's Tresses in a rented storefront, and the future looks pretty solid . . . that is, until a rival's jealousy, a landlord's greed, and a politician's scheme turn the sisters' world upside down. Twists and Turns is a 2004 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

An eclectic collection of tales following various woodlanders throughout the Nine Realms, Cosmic Driftwood plunges the reader through the deepest layers of reality and voyages to wonders within the farthest reaches of the Yggdrasil Star Current. Adventures not for the faint of heart, species new and familiar contend and die for the wills of the Fates and the Highest Crown. While the Dreath and Jahkra vie for power, the Traveller Thor and his Immortalim companions lead the dwellers of the Temporal Realms along a path culminating as Ragnarok unfolds, right around the unwitting Midgardians, who go about their lives unaware of the reality of the old legends...The young otter Gillain struggles to find his place among the residents of the Stone Face. Compelled by his Father to face an impossible task or risk banishment, the community is visited by a strange traveling squirrel that bears the Tales of Valhalla, who might just hold the key to changing Gillain's fate...

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.

Stolen artwork! And . . . woodland animals?When art goes missing around the old English town of Corpenny Village, the inhabitants start pointing fingers. Well, actually, they start pointing paws and feathers.Piccadilly the chipmunk and Trafalgar the raccoon set out to find clues and gather evidence to solve the mystery. In the end, they find out more about each other – and themselves – than they ever could about art. Dear Parents: When your elementary schooler has a brain that is too old for Captain Underpants and a heart that is too young for The Hunger Games, what does he or she read? Wouldn’t it be great if there were a series of mystery books for kids that challenged the intellects of young, smart readers without presenting ideas for which they are not emotionally prepared? Kidsteries™, if you will. Enter Corpenny Village. A quintessential English place where woodland animals and birds solve small but interesting mysteries. The stories use complex vocabulary and include life lessons. This story, for example, deals with the difference between cost and value, the worth of friendship, and what makes something real.Children’s books do not have to involve sorcery to be magical. Children (and adults!) need delight, imagination, enchantment, and challenge. I know it sounds different. Would you please give it a try?

Doodle and design in this book filled with habitats from all around the world and over 100 stickers!This is a unique introduction to wild, wonderful habititats that will take readers on a journey around the globe through the wildest parts of the world and allow them to discover the creatures that live there! Add color to foliage and flowers, doodle tree frogs amongst the leaves, draw monkeys swinging between branches, and discover fascinating facts!Coloring-in as you’ve never seen it before—especially for all design-conscious, creative kids. Beautiful black line images inspire children to think about and experiment with design, pattern and style as they learn from professional artists. Pages studded with fascinating facts add a learning element, helping young readers to use their imaginations to increase focus, hone artistic skills, and lose themselves in gadget-free creative time.

Quinn and her family have seen better days. Mom has gone off to sing in a band, and Pa-Daddy is moving them out of their hometown and into the swampy backcountry. Worst of all, Quinn has lost her chance to edit the sixth-grade newspaper at her old school. Pa-Daddy is having serious money troubles, but is that any excuse for turning Quinn's world upside down? Warmth and wit bring spice to this memorable novel about a family's discovery that sticking together is the only way to beat the rough times.