Books published by publisher Fir Valley Press

Joel Suzuki gets a huge surprise when he bumps into his favorite rock star while walking down the street. You see, this particular rock star – multiplatinum bandleader Marshall Byle – is supposed to be dead. Joel gets an even bigger surprise when Marshall makes him the offer of a lifetime: the chance to become a rock star himself. There's a catch, of course, but this one is a little different. To unlock the shortcut to success, Joel must travel to an alternate world where his unique brain waves can be combined with the sound waves of music to create magical effects. If he can learn to harness these powers, he will be able to write songs that capture the hearts of millions. As a sensitive sixteen-year-old with Asperger's Syndrome living in a single-parent home, Joel leads a stressful life full of bullies, bad grades and money woes. Figuring that stardom will solve all of his problems, he accepts Marshall’s offer. But once Joel arrives in the new world, he finds himself faced with an unexpected audition that is unlike anything he has ever imagined...

Meet Lilo – an inflatable, blue-and-red seaside accessory. Being an inanimate object in a story grounded firmly in reality, Lilo cannot talk, think or make decisions for himself; so when he is blown from the hand of his first owner onto the open sea, his fate (and survival) will be decided by chance. Chance, ocean currents, and the actions – brutal or tender – of the humans and animals whose paths he crosses.As Lilo joins the huge fleet of flotsam travelling our globe, he becomes the driving force in a narrative which extends across hundreds of years, forwards and backwards in time. Felix Hodcroft’s imaginative, lyrical first novel is written for readers aged eleven to a hundred and eleven, an epic modern fable that provides a sweeping description of the world (or worlds) in which we live, and proves that even a lilo – even the dream, or the memory of a lilo – can have an effect, significant or imperceptible, on the lives of all those it encounters.

Joel Suzuki gets a huge surprise when he bumps into his favorite rock star while walking down the street. You see, this particular rock star – multiplatinum bandleader Marshall Byle - is supposed to be dead.Joel gets an even bigger surprise when Marshall makes him the offer of a lifetime: the chance to become a rock star himself. There's a catch, of course, but this one is a little different. To unlock the shortcut to success, Joel must travel to an alternate world where his unique brain waves can be combined with the sound waves of music to create magical effects. If he can learn to harness these powers, he will be able to write songs that capture the hearts of millions.As a sensitive sixteen-year-old with Asperger's Syndrome living in a single-parent home, Joel leads a stressful life full of bullies, bad grades and money woes. Figuring that stardom will solve all of his problems, he accepts Marshall’s offer. But once Joel arrives in the new world, he finds himself faced with an unexpected audition that is unlike anything he has ever imagined. . . .

It was a bittersweet victory for Joel Suzuki and his fellow Wavemakers: The Six States under the Shroud were liberated, Spectraland was spared a possible invasion, and the Earth was kept safe for now. But it all came at a heavy cost.There’s no time to wallow in sorrow, however. After Joel gains some amazing new abilities—time travel among them—an unexpected attack occurs, placing Spectraland in jeopardy once more and fatally injuring the one person who can safely guide Joel to his potential destiny as the most powerful Wavemaker ever to live.Now it appears that the only way to make things right is for Joel to travel back in time and prevent the attack long before it even happens. But doing so might mean that he never discovers Spectraland in the first place! Will Joel be able to change the past, preserve the present, and save the future…all at once?

Sami can’t swim.This hasn’t been a problem since he lives on a planet covered in ice.Until a meteor strikes one night, shattering the ice and forcing hot water from deep underground through the cracks.Unaware the planet is in the beginning of a worldwide meltdown, Sami presses on with his plight to help his new friend Ela find her long lost family.After a series of accidents, attacks, and tough decisions, Sami finds himself alone and stranded on a rapidly melting iceberg in the middle of a vast and unforgiving sea.Only a miracle can save him and reunite him with his friends.But some miracles carry ancient secrets that completely redefine who you are and who you can become.

Joel Suzuki gets a huge surprise when he bumps into his favorite rock star while walking down the street. You see, this particular rock star – multiplatinum bandleader Marshall Byle – is supposed to be dead.Joel gets an even bigger surprise when Marshall makes him the offer of a lifetime: the chance to become a rock star himself. There's a catch, of course, but this one is a little different. To unlock the shortcut to success, Joel must travel to an alternate world where his unique brain waves can be combined with the sound waves of music to create magical effects. If he can learn to harness these powers, he will be able to write songs that capture the hearts of millions.As a sensitive sixteen-year-old on the autism spectrum living in a single-parent home, Joel leads a stressful life full of bullies, bad grades and money woes. Figuring that stardom will solve all of his problems, he accepts Marshall’s offer. But once Joel arrives in the new world, he finds himself faced with an unexpected audition that is unlike anything he has ever imagined...

Jess's life begins to unravel on her thirteenth birthday. First, she learns of her parents' separation. Then she's forced to spend the rest of the summer living in her grandparents' camper trailer by the lake. When she finally gets to come home for the first day of school, she discovers that her friends have abandoned her and nothing she remembers seems to be true anymore. Everyone keeps calling her Jessica when they know she goes by Jess! Does she have amnesia, or is everyone at school in on some elaborate joke? The truth is crazier and scarier than she could have ever imagined. Please note: This book was previously published under the title Jessica's Story. Significant changes have been made to the last two chapters.

Joel Suzuki and friends have saved Spectraland—the island of music and magic—once again. But now those responsible for the island’s near destruction have gone missing, and all clues point to a mysterious land across the Forbidden Tides known as the Six States beneath the Shroud.At least, it used to be—since a new leader rose to power, it has been called the Mono Realm, a place where diversity isn’t tolerated. For people on the autism spectrum like Joel and his bandmate Felicity Smith, it’s a hostile environment indeed.And now, to make matters worse, Joel discovers that the fugitives they’re pursuing are not simply hiding in the Mono Realm, they’re intent on taking it over—with potentially dire consequences not only for this world, but for Earth as well.A rebellion is stirring in this land of magic and tech, and if Joel can just get his mind off Felicity—and her prickly love interest, Thornleaf—his unique gifts and abilities might just save the day.

Telling and listening to stories is a cornerstone of culture. Stories are also a source of relationship, entertainment, and delight. Early childhood teachers and parents will find plenty of age-appropriate stories to tell or read in this collection of 14 folktales. In addition, a section on skills and techniques will help novice tellers learn and animate the stories they share with the children in their lives.

After discovering a genuine dinosaur fossil in the woods outside of his Grandpa's cabin, Robert is eager to look for more bones. When his new friend Emily tags along, they find something a lot cooler than dusty bones.Aliens!Inside the spaceship are four alien siblings trying to find their way home. Not only are they on the wrong planet, they might even be in the wrong galaxy.Can Robert and Emily keep them a secret while the aliens fix their spaceship? Can the aliens figure out where they are and how to get home?No one is prepared for the truth.

Joel Suzuki gets a huge surprise when he bumps into his favorite rock star while walking down the street. You see, this particular rock star – multiplatinum bandleader Marshall Byle – is supposed to be dead. Joel gets an even bigger surprise when Marshall makes him the offer of a lifetime: the chance to become a rock star himself. There's a catch, of course, but this one is a little different. To unlock the shortcut to success, Joel must travel to an alternate world where his unique brain waves can be combined with the sound waves of music to create magical effects. If he can learn to harness these powers, he will be able to write songs that capture the hearts of millions. As a sensitive sixteen-year-old with Asperger's Syndrome living in a single-parent home, Joel leads a stressful life full of bullies, bad grades and money woes. Figuring that stardom will solve all of his problems, he accepts Marshall’s offer. But once Joel arrives in the new world, he finds himself faced with an unexpected audition that is unlike anything he has ever imagined. . . .

Things are going pretty well for seventeen-year-old Joel Suzuki. He doesn’t have a girlfriend yet, but he does have a band, a record deal, and some really cool memories of saving a faraway place called Spectraland a little over six months ago.But then his old friend Fireflower shows up at one of Joel’s concerts and asks for his assistance. Apparently, things are not going quite as well back in Spectraland as they are on Earth.Joel agrees to help. But soon after he arrives in Spectraland, the situation takes a turn for the worse: the tropical island’s majestic twin moons suddenly burst into flames, and Wavemakers—the people with the power to create magic through music, of which Joel is one—begin to go missing.Now Joel must solve the mystery of who is behind these malevolent misdeeds before he falls victim to them as well. Could it be the Silencers, a group of angry individuals who are opposed to the Wavemakers’ very existence? Or perhaps another, even more sinister force that no one—including Joel—is expecting…