Books with author Stephen Gilpin

In most ways, Robert is a typical sixteen year old boy growing up in the small village medieval village of Masden. He attends school, goes fishing with friends, and increasingly, has been learning his father's trade as stable master. As the story begins though, he's frustrated because his father seems to demand so much more from him than his friends' fathers want from their sons. He studies longer and reads more than anyone else. Strangest of all, his father has been teaching him to read, write, and speak in the old tongue, the forbidden language spoken by the nobility.Late one night, his life is turned upside down. He's awakened by loud pounding on the door and is stunned when he pokes his head over the railing of the loft, to see armed soldiers in chain mail pouring into the living room. Suddenly, his father leaps out with his own sword, turning the house into a battle zone. After his father is killed, Robert and his mother flee for their lives. Later, she takes out an old wooden box, opens it, and hands him a heavy ruby ring. "This belonged to your father. Now, I suppose it's yours."Mixing magic, swordplay, and adventure, Casting The Die is the first in a series that follows Robert's search for his true identity.

And you thought your family was strange. I am dying. . . I might get the chance to know you before death takes me...I would like you to be my guest at Sommerset. . .I have enclosed a check for $ 10,000. . . Should you accept my offer... Uncle Silas has always been greedy, evil, insulting, and extremely rich! But a dying uncle with a vast fortune is definitely one worth getting to know. Even if it means spending 2 months on his secluded island home with a houseful of suspicious servants and a hungry pet crocodile. But what is Uncle Silas really up to? Will Adele, Milo, and Isabella outlive Uncle Silas to inherit his money? And just who is that mysterious "guest" in his basement? Is it worth the money (or their lives) to stick around and find out?

On the outskirts of Gordonville, deep in the heart of the burkeburke hills, lives a creature so strong, so fearsome and so meaty….Yes, that’s right meaty….that even the most fearless, tender and breaded of heroes might not be strong enough to foil him. He’s Massive Meatloaf Man. And once Fernando Goldberg gets a load of the meaty monster, he decides it may just be best to steer clear.

Now that Daniel Funk has finally figured out what makes him shrink to the size of his fourth toe, he and his tiny twin brother, Pablo, can go on all sorts of mini adventures. They make a list of fun things they can do when they’re small: snowboarding down an ice cream sundae, trampolining on a marshmallow, and more. When the Science Club has a model-rocket launch, they have a great idea: They’ll launch themselves for the rocket ride. But when Daniel’s rocket crash-lands in the La Brea tar pits, things get sticky. Will Daniel become an ittybitty fossil?

Mickey who hears pretty well except when he can't remember what his mom told him to do embarks on a journey of imagination and discovery. Not only will children learn how their ears work but they'll also be prompted with the importance of listening. So Mickey did what we Really all want to do Just shrunk himself down Much smaller than me or you. And then he went in Right into his ear Because he wanted to know Just how his ear hears.

The first book of the Ruby Ring series, Casting The Die, tells the story of Robert, a sixteen year old boy from the village of Masden, who learns that the life he has been living has been a disguise. He wakes one night, to find that his home has been invaded by soldiers, sent by Duke Henry to capture him and his father. During the ensuing battle, Robert's father is killed and his twin sister kidnapped. Robert and his mother escape and go into hiding in a cave beneath an old hill fort.Several days later, his friend Johnny Tuppence, along with his family, also escape to the cave, bringing food and other supplies. They talk, and Robert discovers that his father was far more than the stable master in Masden, and that his legacy for his son is a large ruby ring that glows mysteriously whenever Robert slips it onto his finger. Johnny's father, Albert, refuses to say more, instead sending him with Johnny to hike across the country to the port of Waterton, where they meet with one of his father's old friends, Andrew Jameson.After a harrowing escape from Waterton, Jameson tells Robert that his father was actually Prince Gerald, son of the murdered King Stefan. When Robert refuses to believe him, Jameson has him put on the ring, which lights the room in a ruby glow. "It's the ring of kingship. It only glows when worn by the rightful King of Bonterra." Later, during one of his conversations with Johnny, Robert learns that his friend's family have always been the king's wizards. Robert scoffs at the idea until Johnny provides examples of his strange 'voice' and other pieces of his magic.The book ends with Robert forming a small group of followers, determined to restore his family to the throne.This book, Seizing The Crown, continues where the first leaves of. The book follows Robert and Johnny, as they work on enlisting allies in their cause. It also tells the story of his sister Marie, imprisoned in the duke's dungeon, and of the people she meets in her struggles to escape and join her brother.The first book introduces Frederick, Duke Henry's son, and the heir to his throne. Frederick becomes a major, and malevolent character in this book, and ultimately, he, Robert, and Marie battle for the throne of Bonterra.This is a story of adventure, swordplay, magic, intrigue, and betrayal. In the end, all of the characters are tarnished, and only one will claim the throne.

Mickey who hears pretty well except when he can't remember what his mom told him to do embarks on a journey of imagination and discovery. Not only will children learn how their ears work but they'll also be prompted with the importance of listening. So Mickey did what we Really all want to do Just shrunk himself down Much smaller than me or you. And then he went in Right into his ear Because he wanted to know Just how his ear hears.

Eight year old James knows how difficult life can be. The child of a single mother, he's had to move frequently, always the new kid in the class, and in the town. Finally, he and his mother are able to leave apartment living behind and move into an old house in central California.The first day, while sweeping out the barn, he meets the girl next door. They become fast friends, and she introduces him to his school and to other boys and girls. His life changes though, when she takes him walking down the creek and stops by a shack built under a bridge. "That's Tom's house," she says. "Let's go see if he's home."

SIR FARTSALOT is on a quest to defeat a villain most foul! SOMETHING STINKS IN THE KINGDOM OF ARMPIT. King Reginald the Not Very Realistic has had it up to here with his naughty son Prince Harry, whose pranks around the castle have earned him the nickname The Royal Pain. He loosens the tops on all the Royal Pepper Shakers, teases the moat monster, and wants nothing to do with rescuing fair damsels. Even Sir Bedwetter has had quite enough of the prince's Royal Clowning Around! ENTER SIR FARTSALOT--the bravest, boldest, and most, er, potent knight in all the land. He's on a quest to solve the riddle of the Foul West Wind--a ghastly odor that turns up whenever dangers lurking. Harry decides to play the biggest--and BOOGERIEST--prank of all time! He convinces Sir Fartsalot that a Snotty Scoundrel is on the prowl, and that it's up to him to save The Kingdom of Armpit. So Harry, Sir Fartsalot, and their buddy Sir Knotaclew set out on a hilarious quest to come face-to-phlegm with the dreaded Booger, and rid the world of him, Once and for All! Look out for the Booger! It could be right under your nose! (WARNING: This Book May Contain Obnoxious Ogres, Preposterous Princesses, and Things that Only Exist in Your Imagination!)

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. The Chicken Squad is back for their fourth (mis)adventure, and this time they're facing their darkest mystery yet: shadows! . There's a big, SHADOWY, mystery lurking about on what was supposed to be a nice chicken-family vacation to a farm. Sugar is certain that she is being watched, and when Poppy's beloved shoe (the shoe that keeps her safe and snug) goes missing, Sugar is sure that this shadow is the culprit. But how does the Chicken Squad tackle a shadow? And do it without ruining the family reunion... ;which includes meeting eighty-five cousins whose names all begin with the letter B, a lesson on figuring out perimeters (no, Sugar, the perimeter of a car is not one mile), and deciding how many bags of jellybeans one should pack for a road trip?