Books with author Michael Braun

Liam Stewart thinks he is just like any other ‘normal’ sixteen-year-old guy. He is doing his best to juggle school assignments, hormones, dodging bullies, working for his parents at their bed and breakfast, and practicing for cross country and crew. All this, while trying to catch the attention of his crush, Daniel McCarthy, star athlete and poster boy for his all-male boarding school, without neglecting his best friend, Leanne Thomas. As if that wasn’t enough to handle, there's also the appearance of a strange man claiming to be his uncle, who tries to kidnap him. Liam’s troubles don’t end there as odd energies begin to manifest in and around him. What if Liam’s family secrets are darker than he thought?

When you make learning fun, you make learning easier than it would be otherwise. This is good news! The easier it is for your child to pick up the concepts he or she needs to pick up in preparation for school, the more quickly you can go on to complex topics – or take an afternoon off to hang out and have fun together! From the lion to the elephant to the hippopotamus, the animals in this story are full of life and character, and your child will take to them immediately. They are eager to start playing, eager to get out onto the field and see just who the best animal is, but what they find is that each animal is the best in their own way. The elephant belongs in the goal, of course, and the giraffe can whack the ball, so long as it can reach down far enough! This book tells a story about a football team comprised of animals, each animal playing a specific role on the team. As you follow along, you will see that each animal connects to a number, making this book an engaging and original method for teaching counting. Learn to count – while you and your new animal friends enjoy a football match!

“If Thoreau drank more whiskey and lived in the desert, he’d write like this.”—High Country News Welcome to the land of wildfire, hypothermia, desiccation, and rattlers. The stark and inhospitable high-elevation landscape of Nevada’s Great Basin Desert may not be an obvious (or easy) place to settle down, but for self-professed desert rat Michael Branch, it’s home. Of course, living in such an unforgiving landscape gives one many things to rant about. Fortunately for us, Branch—humorist, environmentalist, and author of Raising Wild—is a prodigious ranter. From bees hiving in the walls of his house to owls trying to eat his daughters’ cat—not to mention his eccentric neighbors—adventure, humor, and irreverence abound on Branch’s small slice of the world, which he lovingly calls Ranting Hill.

“If Thoreau drank more whiskey and lived in the desert, he’d write like this.”—High Country News Welcome to the land of wildfire, hypothermia, desiccation, and rattlers. The stark and inhospitable high-elevation landscape of Nevada’s Great Basin Desert may not be an obvious (or easy) place to settle down, but for self-professed desert rat Michael Branch, it’s home. Of course, living in such an unforgiving landscape gives one many things to rant about. Fortunately for us, Branch—humorist, environmentalist, and author of Raising Wild—is a prodigious ranter. From bees hiving in the walls of his house to owls trying to eat his daughters’ cat—not to mention his eccentric neighbors—adventure, humor, and irreverence abound on Branch’s small slice of the world, which he lovingly calls Ranting Hill.

Agent Amelia returns with three more spooky-but-funny adventures as she secretly saves the world! The three secret agent case files in this book are: The Case of the Spooky Ballet, in which Amelia is tricked into taking a dance class, but the teacher uses her class to take revenge on the local theater. It takes all of Amelia's mind control to foil her! The Case of the Gobbledygook Books, in which a new librarian has reprogrammed all the school’s computers with intent to rule the world. But Amelia overcomes her―with a little help from the real librarian and the works of William Shakespeare! The Case of the Whispering Scarecrow, in which Amelia goes on a picnic with her mother, only to find out a phantom is stealing the food! Amelia soon uncovers the thieves―a flock of crows led by a scarecrow. But who’s the real mastermind? Trust Amelia to find out!

The intrepid Agent Amelia is back in three more howlingly hilarious stories, as she saves the world from yet more evil geniuses! The three secret agent case files in this book are: The Case of the Hypno Hounds, in which a pack of dogs are menacing the cottage where Amelia and her mom go on vacation. Could there be a connection with the local animal shelter? Trust Amelia to foil the dastardly plan! The Case of the Sneaky Scientist, in which Amelia sees the new chemistry teacher buying amazing amounts of cereal. Whatever can he be up to? Luckily Agent Amelia is ready to counter any wicked schemes he may be stirring up. The Case of the Turbo Teddies, in which remote-controlled, roller-skating teddies are the latest toy craze. But when Amelia goes to buy one, all the teddies in the latest shipment have disappeared, and someone is pickpocketing the customers! Amelia is soon after the psychotic criminal behind it all.

In pro football today, it’s good to be a stathead. Coaches use stats to decide which plays to run, how defend against each opponent, when to go for it on fourth down, and when to punt. Players use stats to train and prepare and to get an edge after the kickoff. And sports reporters rely on data to describe the games. Today’s football fans, who always want to be in the know, get more out of the action by joining the ranks of the statheads.

Inside the race to save a great American high school, where making the numbers is only the beginningBeing principal was never her dream. Anabel Garza, the young widow of a young cop, got by teaching English to immigrant children, taking college classes at night and raising her son.And Reagan High was no dream assignment. Once famous for its state football championships, educational achievements and award-winning design, the school was a shadow of its former self. “Identified for improvement,” said the federal government. “Academically unacceptable,” said the state. Promising students were fleeing. Test scores were plunging. The education commissioner set a deadline of one year, threatening to close the school for good.But when Anabel took the job - cruising the mall for dropouts, tailoring lessons to the tests, firing a few lazy teachers and supporting the rest – she started something no one expected. As the numbers rose, she set out to re-create the high school she remembered, with plays and dances, yearbooks and clubs, crowded bleachers and teachers who brought books alive.And soon she was not alone. There was Derrick Davis, a star player on the basketball team in the early 1990s, coaching the Raiders toward a chance at the playoffs. There was Candice Kaiser, a science teacher who had left hard partying behind for Christ, drilling her students on chemistry while she drove them to games, tutoring sessions, Bible studies and sometimes even doctors’ appointments. There were JaQuarius Daniels, Ashley Brown and 900 other kids trying to pass the exams, escape the streets and restore the pride of a neighborhood, all while still growing up.Across the country, public schools face the threat of extinction in the numerically ordained churn of the accountability movement. Now, for the first time, we can tally the human cost of rankings and scores. In this powerful rejoinder to the prevailing winds of American education policy, Michael Brick takes us inside the high-pressure world of a school on the brink. Compelling, character-driven narrative journalism, Saving the School pays overdue tribute to the great American high school, and to the people inside.