Books with author Mr. Simmons

Set in the fictional town of Lake Haven, Maine, Evoke examines the complexities of love and loss among childhood friends after a tragic accident claims the lives of three, while leaving two behind. When five friends return home from college for the summer, it feels as if the friendship that has bound them together since childhood is stronger than ever. But when Laney Thomas wakes up two-months later and discovers she is the sole survivor of the accident that has claimed the lives of three of her friends, Laney quickly realizes the world she awakened to is not the one she remembers. The one thing that hasn't changed however, is Evan - one of their group of five not in the car that night. Laney and Evan have always been close. Children of best friends, their lives inextricable, connection unbreakable. He is the only person that understands her grief and can help her get through their shared nightmare. But when Evan disappears from her life, Laney's very presence reminding him of all they've lost, Laney is left to manage through her new world alone. Dean Danvers, a former classmate, is more than happy to help her pick up the pieces of her broken life. But when Laney's reckless behavior brings Evan crashing back into her life, he sets out on a course to help her remember the events that led up to that tragic night, including the truth of the friendships she'd cherished, and love coveted.

"...death is the ultimate soldier, the equalizer of nations. Death is the fate that keeps things swaying, never in the same direction but always in equal motion."Kale had never thought himself a hero, nor had he ever considered himself brave, but when faced with the decision between giving up his own life or the lives of those that he cared for he discovered just what type of man he really was. His decision set him on a path through the darkest parts of his world and the deepest mysteries within himself to find redemption. Set in the mythical world of Telekkar, Outcast: A Sand Runner's Fate is a story about Kale, a young messenger who finds himself thrown into the path of two warring nations. Outcast: A Sand Runner's Fate explores the inner struggle of a hero and how one decision can shape the fate of an entire world.

Being the new kid in town just got a whole lot harder. That's because Matt McCoy is hardly your average thirteen-year-old: he folds his dirty laundry, cleans his sneakers every day, and is more than a little obsessed with numbers. Plus, he just moved into a creepy high rise with a history of grisly murders and hidden treasure. But before he can catch the killer and find the gold, he must first match wits with a strange group of residents, including a mad scientist, a super-powered orphan girl and more mutant zombie spiders than even Matt can count.

It's vacation time for Jessica Davies and her family, but Jessica is anything but happy about it. Forced out of school for a week in early autumn by her inconsiderate parents, Jessica must endure some long and boring days on a houseboat. There, on this floating prison, her very gross and infuriating kid brother severely complicates Jessica's life. Adventure comes by way of a small frog in an old shoebox. Follow out to the mudbank and listen in on the music.

Today, as much as ever before, the red-rock, pinon-covered state of New Mexico remains tierra encantada, "the land of enchantment," to Indians, Anglos, and descendants of the conquistadores. New Mexico's long history of intermingling peoples and of efforts to balance human needs with nature's resources can instruct a nation facing similar hard decisions in the late twentieth century. It is a story, believes author Marc Simmons, that contains within it a perpetual declaration of independence.

Written by the foremost historian on New Mexico, this popular fourth-grade-level textbook introduces the young reader to New Mexico's past and present. When students finish reading this book, they will better understand how different cultures shaped the way we live today as well as know about major events and key people in New Mexico's development. Simmons approaches history as a window to the past. That is, students come to understand they are part of a long flow of human events. This book surveys the experiences of first the Indians, then the Spanish, and finally those people who have come to New Mexico since it has been part of the United States.Supplementing each of the eleven chapters are maps and photographs, about a third of them in color.Reading level: grade 4.