Books published by publisher Brown Books

Lilac Sophia Carpenter is sixteen years old. She’s going to be sixteen years old for the rest of her life. Confined to her bed as her health declines, Lilac lives her life in daydreams, imagining her love story to her former best friend, Nathan Emery. But Lilac and Nathan haven’t talked since that fateful night—the night of her sister’s wedding, when her health worsened and his life unraveled and the already-fractured pieces of their friendship became irreparable.With the comfort of her daydreams becoming more and more elusive, Lilac must decide if reality can be greater than her own imagination when there’s little time left for living.

The most trusted study guide to learning The Screwtape Letters!Reading The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis can be a little difficult and confusing at times. Not so with The Screwtape Letters Study Guide! This comprehensive Bible study workbook breaks down each of the thirty one letters into easy-to-understand segments helping you understand and be able to confidently share with others.The Screwtape Letters is a brilliant and satirical look at spiritual warfare and the dynamics of temptation. Screwtape, a senior demon in the bureaucracy of Hell, writes letters to his incompetent nephew Wormwood, a junior devil. The younger demon's assignment is to corrupt a young man living in London during the tumultuous days of World War II.Using Scripture references, discussion questions, and related commentary, The Screwtape Letters Study Guide examines each letter through a Christian lens of morality, temptation, and good and evil.This complete Bible study experience is perfect for book clubs, church groups, and independent study. Detailed character sketches and an easy-to-read book summary provide deep insights into each character and letter of the book. To help with those more difficult discussion questions, a complete Answer Guide and Scripture Reference Guide is available for free online.The Screwtape Letters Study Guide includes: Twelve sessions of study with multi-week options included Comprehensive Bible study workbook with studies for each week Complete character sketches and summaries to go deeper Bible study questions that are ideal for group discussion Answer Guide for all questions and Scripture Reference Guide available for free online Perfect for book clubs, small groups, or individual Bible study Available in print or e-book formats Explore every shocking and amusing detail of this iconic classic to better understand Christianity and the foolish war raging against it. There's no better tool for making that happen than with The Screwtape Letters Study Guide! Endorsement Vermilye walks the reader through each Screwtape letter and wisely asks questions to bring out turns and twists in the thoughts and emotions that we each experience and that Lewis wanted us to recognize. Steven Urban PhD, Author of Mere Christianity Study Guide

Danny Bundy has bright red hair, freckles, and a love of the outdoors. Exploring the forest behind his house is one of his favorite things to do – there is so much to see in there! The other boys in his class like to trap bullfrogs and other animals, but for show-and-tell on Monday, Danny is looking for something much more beautiful – a monarch butterfly. But the forest has more in store for Danny than he thought, and he’s in for a magical adventure. Travel through these enchanted woods and find out all about different plants and animals. With informative vocabulary words and a touching story, you will love learning about how to respect our fellow creatures and environments with Danny Bundy, Bernie the Bullfrog, Lady Sue the Squirrel, and more!

Nick, 17, is in a holding cell awaiting trial and telling his lawyer what happened. He begins with his admission of guilt: he killed someone. The identity of the victim isn’t revealed until the final pages, but the author sustains suspense with Nick’s short, simple recap of recent events. He is in a special-education program at his high school. His alcoholic father verbally abuses him every chance he gets, and calls him stupid and “thick.” The teen meets Alice and her boyfriend, who physically abuses her. Between helping his 18-year-old sister keep her plans to go to college a secret from her father, being tormented by a bully at school, and trying to help Alice escape her boyfriend, Nick begins to crack. With an intense emotional climax, he finds himself armed with a gun and facing all of his hopes and fears. The chapters are short—some are only a paragraph or two—and the action never stops, making the book ideal for reluctant readers. The narrative is conversational and easy to read. Even though readers know the outcome in the first few pages, they will want to know more about Nick and the answer to the ultimate question: Who did he kill?

Robby's high school life changes when his best friend and co-captain of the soccer team is suspended from the team for drinking, his parents compare him to his perfect older brother, his sadistic coach finally crosses the line in practice, and the girl he's interested in turns out to be unpredictable and haunted by a miserable secret. Robby needs a soccer scholarship for college--and he's still got to lead his team to the State championships. An exciting, realistic coming of age novel of a smart kid surviving high school.Reviews: Hazuka captures the essence of a teenager's actionpacked high school life where making choices and learning how to be yourself go hand in hand. Everything from drunk driving to naggin parents are smartly intertwined into a well written story from the point of view of an everyday, likable high school student. BooklistWhat sets this apart is the sometimes coarse but always realistic portrait of high school life. Readers will find plenty that is familiar here... ALAN ReviewHazuka's first young adult novel realistically depicts one teen's struggle to prepare for the future without compromising the present. There ae enough plot twists here to keep readers guessing, and soccer fans will appreciate the author's obvious love of the game. School Library Journal

The old woman’s gift—a small bronze figurine of the ancient Egyptian cat-goddess Bastet—is fine, but why does it grow hot in Maggie’s hand? And why, everywhere she goes in Cairo with her artist father and diplomat mother, does Maggie see cats? Do they have some connection to Bastet, goddess of balance and abundance? Now a factory is about to be built on the site of the goddess’s temple. These plans would destroy the tombs of the ancient sacred cats, mummified thousands of years ago. Needing help to restore good to Egypt in the modern world, the goddess has awakened angry from her millennia-long sleep.Is Bastet mysteriously speaking to Maggie through her disciples, the myriad of cats wandering freely through the streets, cemeteries, markets and mosques of modern Cairo? If so, Maggie must take action to protect the tombs. But what can Maggie do? She doesn’t speak much Arabic, and she doesn’t know her way around Cairo. With determination and the aid of an Egyptian boy she has befriended, Maggie must battle powerful enemies--some strange, some all-too-familiar--that are set upon destroying the very life force of Egypt and her children.

Robby's parents don't mean to, but they continually compare Robby, who's a high soccer star, to his perfect brother, now playing football, far better than soccer, in college. Robby's best friend and co-captain of the soccer team, Jim has been grounded and suspended from the team for drinking, and his position as goalie has to be filled by freshmen whose playing is questionable. And Robby needs his team to go to the State championships to help him get a soccer scholarship to college. In addition, he has an eccentric, unpredictable girl friend whom the rest of his team dislikes, and a difficult, if not actually sadistic, coach. Robby finds some help with his problems from a sympathetic English teacher, but he needs to work extra hard to deal with the realistic trials of contemporary high school social and athletic life.

Reads like James Bond for Kids!Fourteen-year-olds Serena and J.T. are headed to Cancun, Mexico. They're not traveling together. Not even on the same plane. In fact, they haven't met. Yet.Serena won't have time for fun. For her, this is no vacation. She's a technologically enhanced spy, and she’s hot on the trail of the monster responsible for her parents’ death. Her heart is set on revenge.J.T. can't wait to get started on his long overdue vacation with his dad. It's going to be an awesome week of fun, sun and surf. If his luck holds, he might even meet a nice girl.When their paths cross, forces are set in motion that will change their lives and the world they believe in. They learn they have much more in common than they ever guessed. But with danger closing in from all sides, will it be enough to help them solve the terrible mess they’re in? Brown keeps you guessing all the way through. - Scott Peters, Author of Mystery of the Egyptian Scroll I would’ve happily purchased for my classroom library. - Laura, Five Stars I could not put it down . . . It had EVERYTHING a spy thriller should have for young adults. - C.M. Anderson, Five StarsCome travel with J.T. and Serena to the Cancun Riviera. Stay in a posh resort with room service and more. Visit the pyramids. Swim in the warm Caribbean Sea. Discover the mysteries of the Yucatan. Get your copy now and join the adventure!

School Library Journal, July 2007SCHAENEN, Inda. All the Cats of Cairo. 225p. CIP. Brown Barn. 2007. pap. $8.95. ISBN 978-0-9768126-5-4. LC 2006025613. Gr 5-8–Maggie, the 13-year-old daughter of an American diplomat, is living in Cairo with her parents when she begins to suspect that the cats of the city are trying to send her a message. With the guidance of Oum, a wise Muslim woman, she determines that the cat goddess Bastet needs her help to set right some terrible wrong occurring in Zagazig, the modern-day town built over the ancient site of Bastet’s temple. Maggie enlists the help of Tareq, Oum’s grandson, to discover that American businessman Bill Ramsey is in hiding as he plans to expand the cotton factory in Zagazig. Maggie uncovers the terrible conditions of the workers–poor Egyptian boys forcibly taken from their homes–and is able to stop Ramsey in a climax that sees thousands of cats appear at her summoning. Unfortunately, this book does not quite reach its potential. The idea of Bastet working through Maggie and the cats gets in the way of the real crux of the novel: child labor in less-developed countries. By mixing the two major themes–the fantasy element based upon Egyptian mythology and the focus on a serious issue–the impact of each one is diminished.–Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, ILBooklist, 5/2007COPYRIGHT 2007 American Library Association All the Cats of Cairo. By Inda Schaenen. May 2007. 232p. Brown Barn, paper, $8.95 (9780976812654). Gr. 6-9. When her mother's government job takes her family from Washington, D.C., to Cairo, Maggie has mixed feelings about leaving her eighth-grade class for a year. Then, surfing the Internet for school research, she gets caught up in what is happening in her strange new country, where ancient lives are always part of the present, and cats from everywhere--in the crowded streets, on an obelisk, in a sacred carving--warn her that dark forces are threatening the people in the Nile delta. The magical realism is not enough to make up for the huge plot holes in Schaenen's first YA novel. There is sometimes too much local detail, and the first-person narrative stays true to the superficial viewpoint of a young tourist. It is the action that will hook readers, as Maggie uncovers an American big-business connection with local child slave labor.--Hazel Rochman COPYRIGHT 2007 American Library Association