Books with author Michael Ford

In this highly anticipated follow-up to the bestselling How to Be a Supervillain, Victor Spoil must save the world from an evil scheme to enslave the superheroes and villains -- to his parents' utter disappointment. A sequel has never been this good . . . at being bad! Victor Spoil hates the Junior Super Academy. It makes him cranky -- and his parents couldn't be prouder, because supervillains aren't meant to be nice. Until Victor confesses he wants to leave and become a librarian. The horror! But when superheroes and villains -- including his parents -- start disappearing, only a dedicated do-gooder like Victor can track them down. He discovers that the supers are being captured to square off against aliens in gladiator-like shows. And unlike the scripted fights that the supers usually sign up for, these battles are to the death! Victor and his fellow super students must join together and harness their super powers to battle this dastardly mega-villain. But to be a hero, Victor finally has to embrace his inner villain. Will he be able to stoop that low?

Survival is just the beginning in this action-packed middle grade adventure that’s Mad Max for kids. Thirteen years ago, the world ended. A deadly chemical called Waste began to spread across the globe, leaving devastation in its wake. Millions died. Cities fell into chaos. Anything the Waste didn’t kill, it mutated into threatening new forms.Kobi has always believed he and his dad were the only survivors. But when his dad goes missing, Kobi follows his trail—and discovers a conspiracy even deadlier than the Waste itself.Nonstop action, chilling dangers, and edge-of-your-seat twists make this gripping, fast-paced read perfect for young readers who love survival adventures like Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet and dystopian series like Jeanne DuPrau’s City of Ember.

Victor Spoil realizes he's not cut out for life as a supervillain and instead decides to be...a librarian. Little does he know that librarians are a kick-butt secret society who will stop at nothing to control---and shush---the world! It's time for Victor Spoil to hang up his cape. After trying to be the supervillain his diabolical parents always wanted, it's time he followed his own dream to become a librarian. As a nice guy who likes quiet and order, Victor knows he'll be happy reading books for the rest of his life.But when his library is suddenly attacked by robot ninjas and he sees his boss leap into battle, Victor learns that librarians are actually a secret league working to bring order to the whole world. It all sounds wonderful to Victor...until he finds out that his friends are planning to destroy the librarians' plan for peace. Who's right and who's wrong? Sometimes it's hard to tell if you're a good guy...or a supervillain.

This gripping sequel to Forgotten City is a twist-filled survival adventure that’s Mad Max for tweens. Everything Kobi once believed was a lie. Not only are there other survivors of the Waste that devastated the world thirteen years ago, but beyond the wasteland of Old Seattle lies a gleaming new city where thousands are desperate for a cure. To put an end to the Waste—and bring justice to those responsible–Kobi and his new friends will have to return to the heart of Old Seattle, where the outbreak began. It’s a dangerous journey. But Kobi knows what lies ahead. And he’s ready to fight. Nail-biting suspense and nonstop thrills make this action-packed adventure perfect for young readers who love survival adventures like Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet or dystopian series like Jeanne DuPrau’s City of Ember.

In the early 1970s photographer and documentary filmmaker Michael Ford left graduate school and a college teaching position in Boston, Massachusetts, packed his young family into a van, and headed to rural Mississippi, where he spent the next four years recording everyday life through interviews, still photographs, and film. The project took him to Oxford (in Lafayette County), as well as to Marshall, Panola, and Tate Counties, a remote area north of Sardis Lake. His efforts resulted in the award-winning documentary film Homeplace (1975), but none of the still photographs from this time were ever published. With this illustrated volume, those photographs are now available and offer a valuable window onto the rural, local culture of northern Mississippi at that time.These moving photographs illustrate Ford’s experiences as an apprentice to blacksmith Marion Randolph Hall, his visits to Hal Waldrip's General Store in Chulahoma, a day spent with AG Newsom and his crew making molasses, and Othar Turner's barbecues accompanied by traditional African American fife-and-drum music. They also capture the evocative landscape of the Mississippi hill country and the everyday lives of its residents. In 2013 Ford returned to his adopted homeplace, camera in hand, only to find that most everything had changed―or was gone. This photo essay project juxtaposes the rural Mississippi of the 1970s and the mid-2010s with Ford’s personal reflections drawn from his journals, interviews, and archival notes.

Lysander had to leave his roots as a Helot slave far behind him, when he discovered his true identity as the descendant of a Spartan warrior. The training is ruthless and now he faces his toughest challenge. Sent to the mountains with nothing but a goatskin flask, he and two other boys must prove their ability to survive before they can return. Facing starvation, wild animals and the elements, Lysander discovers that his real enemy is in fact one of the other boys, sent to sabotage his trial. From his vantage point in the mountains, Lysander can see another threat on the horizon - the Persians are invading. He must prove his worth as a Spartan and return to the village as soon as possible in order to warn of the attack. But who is Lysander fighting for - to save Spartan honour, or to protect the Helot slaves, whom he used to live among?

Rosalind Franklin: air-raid warden, scientist, pioneer. Uncover fascinating facts about the extraordinary life of trailblazing scientist, Rosalind Franklin. A Life Story: This gripping series throws the reader directly into the lives of modern society's most influential figures. With striking black-and-white illustration along with timelines and never-heard-before facts. Also in the series: Katherine Johnson: A Life Story Stephen Hawking: A Life Story Alan Turing: A Life Story

Lysander is a slave in ancient Sparta, a Helot, but a chance meeting reveals his noble heritage and he is permitted to begin training as a Spartan warrior. The vestiges of his life as a slave are hard to shake off and he struggles to survive the brutal and nepotistic life of a Spartan-in-training. Worse still, his precious amulet, the Fire of Ares, is stolen from him, and with it goes some of his formidable strength. His mother had made him swear he would guard the amulet with his life, without ever telling him why. Lysander is desperate to find the missing jewel, but when he picks up the trail, it leads him to dark secrets about the few people he felt he could trust, and forces him to make a choice between his Helot friends and his Spartan instincts.

A lovely and topical picture book about the threat of pollution to the environment, particularly the seashoreA brother and sister spend their day playing on the beach by a rock pool. They create their own tiny marine world in a bucket and, with its wildlife, shells, oil, and even a tin can, it is a microcosm of the larger world outside. With a series of stunning watercolors, multi award-winning children's author Michael Foreman makes clear his underlying concern about pollution within the environment.