Books with author Stephen Mangan

From the author of Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days! and the Pulitzer prize-winning illustrator of Uncle Pirate:The giant video game that appears one day in Pete's Pizza Palace is the strangest one Oscar Noodleman has ever seen. It looks more like a rocket ship than a game. There's not a word of English on it anywhere; everything from the control panel to the coin slot is labeled in some strange language that seems to use squiggles instead of letters. And when he and Pete finally figure out how to get it working, they discover the loudest game they've ever heard.But as the screen pops out to wrap around Oscar's head and he gets deeper into the game, he discovers levels and challenges unlike any he's ever seen. He begins to wonder if this isn't just a game, but a real rocket from outer space. Some colorful bugs run down the screen and into the coin slot. And that's when things start getting downright weird . . .

What if you and your scorecard could control the biggest baseball game of the year? There's a wild, weird night of baseball in store for Nottingham Shoppers fan Jake Kratzer. The pennant is on the line, and it's do or die for his favorite team. When Jake takes his place in the stands, he's only hoping for a Shoppers win, a few good hot dogs, and maybe a Fan Appreciation Night prize to top it off. But when Jake starts marking plays on his scorecard, strange things begin to happen on the field. It seems to him that with a few strokes of his pencil, he can control the game. Or can he? Jake can't quite figure out why some of his dream plays come true, while others backfire miserably. Can Jake figure out the card's secret in time to lead the Shoppers to victory and help his favorite player make baseball history? Or will the game find a way to throw him one of its classic spitballs? Praise for An Almost Perfect Game! A valentine to a game that was, and could be again, almost perfect. . . . Manes deftly slips readers into the stands, recreating the authentic flavor of a minor league ball game. . . . Funny incidents and one-liners sparkle throughout . . . --Kirkus Reviews Manes captures the experience of a family sharing its love and knowledge of baseball and makes it easy to follow the play-by-play action. Filled with baseball lore and jargon, this will appeal to young fans of the game . . . --Booklist These tales are hits . . . What baseball fan hasn't sat in front of the TV or in the stands, wishing for the power to change the outcome of the game? --Associated Press An Almost Perfect Game puts an imaginative twist on one child's love of our national pastime. --Boston Globe An easy-to-read mix of fantasy and baseball that is sure to appeal to many sports-oriented readers. --Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Manes wonderfully evokes minor-league baseball at its most irrepressible, and the witty, first-person narration helps to carry the story along. For enthusiasts of the sport with a taste for a little fantasy, this will be just the ticket. --School Library Journal

What if you and your scorecard could control the biggest baseball game of the year? There's a wild, weird night of baseball in store for Nottingham Shoppers fan Jake Kratzer. The pennant is on the line, and it's do or die for his favorite team. When Jake takes his place in the stands, he's only hoping for a Shoppers win, a few good hot dogs, and maybe a Fan Appreciation Night prize to top it off. But when Jake starts marking plays on his scorecard, strange things begin to happen on the field. It seems to him that with a few strokes of his pencil, he can control the game. Or can he? Jake can't quite figure out why some of his dream plays come true, while others backfire miserably. Can Jake figure out the card's secret in time to lead the Shoppers to victory and help his favorite player make baseball history? Or will the game find a way to throw him one of its classic spitballs? Praise for An Almost Perfect Game! A valentine to a game that was, and could be again, almost perfect. . . . Manes deftly slips readers into the stands, recreating the authentic flavor of a minor league ball game. . . . Funny incidents and one-liners sparkle throughout . . . --Kirkus Reviews Manes captures the experience of a family sharing its love and knowledge of baseball and makes it easy to follow the play-by-play action. Filled with baseball lore and jargon, this will appeal to young fans of the game . . . --Booklist These tales are hits . . . What baseball fan hasn't sat in front of the TV or in the stands, wishing for the power to change the outcome of the game? --Associated Press An Almost Perfect Game puts an imaginative twist on one child's love of our national pastime. --Boston Globe An easy-to-read mix of fantasy and baseball that is sure to appeal to many sports-oriented readers. --Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Manes wonderfully evokes minor-league baseball at its most irrepressible, and the witty, first-person narration helps to carry the story along. For enthusiasts of the sport with a taste for a little fantasy, this will be just the ticket. --School Library Journal

From the author of Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days!, here's the monstrously hilarious tale of a battle between brother and sister:Everybody thinks Irving's little sister is adorable. Everybody but Irving. To him, Claire is nothing but a little monster. He even calls her "Monstra."So Irving decides to teach her a lesson. With the help of a miraculous potion called "Monster-Ade," he'll turn himself into a monster--a real one--just long enough to scare Claire silly.But things don't quite work out the way he'd planned. And his parents begin to wonder: Just how do you handle a genuine monster in the family?

Who are the Obnoxious Jerks?A: The weirdest band of total misfits ever seen at any known high school in the free world.B: Amateur comedians whose routines include kazoos, used chewing gum, and gooey lemon meringue pies.C: Members of a club whose Official Ice Cream Flavor is Nuts to You.D: A disorganized organization whose exploits are required reading for anybody with a sense of humor.All of the above--and more . . . There are jerks in every high school. The Obnoxious Jerks are found only at Ullman Griswold Memorial High (or, as they prefer to call it, UGH). They specialize in pranks (better known as "jerk-outs") designed to show how ridiculous some school rules can be. Which means the detention hall sometimes becomes the Jerks' unofficial meeting room.Then something happens to shake up Jerkdom: A girl known as "Iceberg" Freeze asks to join the all-male club-that's-not-a-club. It's not long before she finds herself at the center of the greatest jerk-out ever--one that involves picket signs, mass demonstrations, and guys wearing skirts.What's acceptable behavior? What's worth fighting for? The Obnoxious Jerks twist, bend, and break the rules to find out. And in the process learn a lot about questioning not only the outside world, but also themselves.

'I started reading and couldn’t put it down till I’d finished it, which is always an indication of a great book.' Amazon reviewer.'It is a cross between Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and, I reckon, Lord of the Rings. It has all the best elements of each of them. It will hold you, it will entertain you, and it will surprise you'. Amazon reviewer.'Do not bandy words with me, woman!' he shrieked, his spit fizzing like acid as it splattered the stone around the window. 'You are nothing. I could squash you with a thought if I wished. You live only as long as I might find you useful in aiding my escape from this place.' Teenage twins, Luke and Alice Goodnight, live an idyllic life in modern-day rural England. However, when Luke discovers a mysterious object in an old book, a disastrous chain of supernatural events ensues. Recruiting their elderly aunt, Augustine Cherrybrum, an eccentric sorceress, only makes things worse for the twins when her curiosity gets the better of her. Something truly evil is stirring in an ancient mine under a nearby wood. Luke and Alice will need all the help they can get to fight it. Can a retired Special Forces soldier, and a secret society of Arthurian knights, founded by Merlin fifteen hundred years ago, aid the twins in their perilous quest?

Here's the best-selling sequel to the hilarious Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days!Is is possible? Can an ordinary kid become a multimillionaire in one short week?Jason Nozzle thought so. What gave him the idea was a book he dug up in the park--a book called Make Four Million Dollars by Next Thursday! The author, Dr. K. Pinkerton Silverfish, didn't look like a multimillionaire, but he claimed to be the world's leading authority on getting rich quick.Rich! The more Jason thought about it, the better it sounded. Jason took the book home and tried to follow its instructions. But that wasn't as easy as it seemed.Did Jason become four million dollars richer in a matter of days? More important, can you? You'll find the hilarious answers here. Once again, noted author Stephen Manes teams up with noted authority K. Pinkerton Silverfish--and you'll laugh all the way to the bank!

From the author of Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days!, a biting satire about growing up contrarian in an all-American town:Bright lights! Dancing girls! Cheap eats! Gambling (but only if you're over 21). Sun! Fun! The world's third-largest man-made volcano! What more could a guy ask for?Plenty. Ivan Zellner and his father have just moved to Carmody, Nevada. It calls itself "The Future Entertainment Capital of the World." Ivan calls it "the toilet bowl." To him, the tacky town is an endless traffic jam full of tourists in search of cheap thrills and quick bucks. The air smells like rotten eggs. The tap water can make you sick. And the new high school, in a remodeled hotel, offers courses in performing, sports, hospitality, gambling and comedy--not, Ivan suspects, the finest preparation for college.Home? To Ivan, Carmody seems more like an alien planet. But when he meets other kids who feel the same was, a funny thing happens on the way to high school--in fact, lots of funny things in a Labor Day weekend like no other.Once more, the blisteringly funny pen of Stephen Manes has produced a totally original, totally hilarious slice of American life. It's a sure bet: Comedy High is high comedy.

From the author of Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days!, here's the hilarious sequel to Hooples on the Highway: Alvin Hoople can't face Halloween without the annual haunted house in the neighbors' garage. But when that neighbor's steaming cauldron blows a hole in the wall of that garage two weeks before Halloween, it looks as though the haunted house just won't happen this year. Then Alvin has a brainstorm: They can have the haunted house in his garage. His parents aren't thrilled with the idea, but Alvin has made up his mind. Still, he hasn't counted on coming up against Mr. Goralski, the neighborhood grouch; spiteful Dwight, who wants to sabotage the plans; or a pesky little sister who won't disappear.Will Halloween turn into a real horror show? Alvin wonders if he can work it all out before his nerves unravel and he goes as mad as his ghouls and monsters!

From the author of Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days!, a biting satire about growing up contrarian in an all-American town:Bright lights! Dancing girls! Cheap eats! Gambling (but only if you're over 21). Sun! Fun! The world's third-largest man-made volcano! What more could a guy ask for?Plenty. Ivan Zellner and his father have just moved to Carmody, Nevada. It calls itself "The Future Entertainment Capital of the World." Ivan calls it "the toilet bowl." To him, the tacky town is an endless traffic jam full of tourists in search of cheap thrills and quick bucks. The air smells like rotten eggs. The tap water can make you sick. And the new high school, in a remodeled hotel, offers courses in performing, sports, hospitality, gambling and comedy--not, Ivan suspects, the finest preparation for college.Home? To Ivan, Carmody seems more like an alien planet. But when he meets other kids who feel the same was, a funny thing happens on the way to high school--in fact, lots of funny things in a Labor Day weekend like no other.Once more, the blisteringly funny pen of Stephen Manes has produced a totally original, totally hilarious slice of American life. It's a sure bet: Comedy High is high comedy.