Books with author Samuel Richardson

Joel Demetrius is quite looking forward to moving in with his new step-family, but as far as his sister Cassie's concerned, they're nothing but intruders. She doesn't want anything to do with Gerald and his two sons, and to make matters worse their new home is a derelict old house, neglected for decades. Joel thinks it's interesting. Cassie thinks it's a dump.But his sister isn't the only reason the house doesn't feel like a home. As fascinated as he is by the place, Joel has to admit there's something not quite right about it. Not only does he keep seeing things out of the corner of his eye, but his sleep is plagued by nightmares. He can't seem to stop dreaming about a terrified boy who keeps repeating the same fractured prayer:IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE, I PRAY THE LORD MY SOUL TO TAKE . . .As events in the house become harder and harder to explain, it seems that the line between nightmare and reality is getting steadily more blurred. And when the battle between Cassie and her step-brothers draws everyone deeper into the mystery, all four kids are forced to confront the question of just who the intruders really are.

When Marjorie went to live with her frosty maiden aunt, she couldn’t imagine the adventures she would have with dragons — good and bad — and all the strange creatures that live in a mysterious land beneath the Tarn. The spunky 9-year-old redhead forges an unlikely friendship with an insecure young boy named Rufus who lives with his crusty grandfather next door. When Jorie — for that is what she prefers to be called — finds a dusty ancient book about dragons, she learns four strange words that will send the two of them into a mysterious land beneath the Tarn, riddled with enchantment and danger. Hungry for adventure, the children take the plunge, quite literally, and find themselves in the magic land of Cabrynthius. Upon meeting the good dragon, the Great Grootmonya, Jorie and Rufus are given a quest to find the three Stones of Maalog — stones of enormous power — and return them to their rightful place in Cabrynthius. Their mission is neither easy nor safe, and is peppered with perils in the form of the evil black half-dragon who rules the shadowy side of the land. They have to deal with a wicked and greedy professor, the tragic daughter of the bad dragon, caves of fire, rocky mountainous climbs, and a deadly poisonous butterfly.Jorie must rely on her wits and courage to win the day? Can she do this? Can she find all three Stones? Can she save Rufus when disaster befalls him? Can she emerge victorious? She and Rufus have some hair-raising challenges, in which they learn valuable lessons about loyalty, bravery, and friendship.

Written and hand drawn by award-winning author Sarah Richardson, Make Your Mark functions as a drawing aid, taking its readers on a creative journey. Beginning with the joys of scribbling, children learn how to create tone, line, shape, texture, and pattern, eventually arriving at the more sophisticated principles involved in drawing animals and people and mastering perspective. Sarah Richardson, a well-regarded art educator, brings a vitality and freshness to the book’s pages with her own drawings and photographs, which are as inspiring as her concise and pithy texts. Through its wide range of activities and creative challenges, this book will help young artists discover their own potential, giving them the confidence to go ahead and make their mark.

Bryan was 10 when his brother, Adam, just . . . disappeared. That was five years ago, and now Bryan is the only one who seems to remember what happened. Until he meets two others with their own unsolved mysteries. It seems that Adam isn’t the first to disappear. Someone or something is after the kids in their neighborhood. The adults can’t hear it, and they can’t see it or feel it—but the kids can. And it all comes back to the skipping rhyme that every child in town knows by heart . . . and the Dark Man who haunts everyone’s worst nightmares—while they’re awake.

Merlin and a group of his friends were at their middle school on the night of the Fall Festival. Ms. White, a long term substitute teacher, showed them a mirror and told them to look into a mirror and think about whatever they saw. The magical mirror gave the students a curse or blessing based on how they saw themselves in the mirror. Unfortunately, it was Halloween when they looked into the mirror and everyone was wearing costumes. If they saw themselves as shorter than their friends, they might start getting shorter each day. If they thought they looked strong, they grew stronger each day. Merlin was dressed as his hero, Merlin the Enchanter, and imagined that he could do magic as well. Unfortunately, a friend was not so lucky. He had to either help his friend and risk losing his powers, forget about her and keep the powers of the mirror. Unfortunately, he and his friends were not the only ones who looked at the mirror. Another group of students had also gained powers from the mirror. They felt no need to help the cursed friend and decided to stop Merlin and his friends from getting to the mirror.Will he risk losing his powers to help his friend? Can Merlin and his friends save the cursed friend or will they be stopped by the other students?

It was just a bit of fun, a local legend. The Devil's Footsteps: thirteen stepping stones, and whichever one you stopped on in the rhyme could predict how you would die. A harmless game for kids - and nobody ever died from a game. But it's not a game to Bryan. He's seen the Dark Man, because the Dark Man took his brother five years ago. He's tried to tell himself that it was his imagination, that the Devil's Footsteps are just stones and the Dark Man didn't take Adam. But Adam's still gone. And then Bryan meets two other boys who have their own unsolved mysteries. Someone or something is after the children in the town. And it all comes back to the rhyme that every local child knows by heart: Thirteen steps to the Dark Man's door, Won't be turning back no more . . .