Books published by publisher Shadow Mountain and Blackstone Audio

Being the new kid at school is hard, but Sophie has a secret weapon: her vivid imagination and her oversized, trusted Big Book of Monsters, an encyclopedia of myths and legends from all over the world. The pictures and descriptions of the creatures in her book help her know which kids to watch out for--clearly the bullies are trolls and goblins--as well as how to avoid them. Though not everyone is hiding a monster inside; the nice next-door neighbor is probably a good witch, and Sophie's new best friend is obviously a good fairy.Sophie is convinced she is a monster because of the monster mark on her face. At least that's what she calls it. The doctors call it a blood tumor, and it covers almost half of her face. Sophie can feel it pulsing with every beat of her heart. And if she's a monster on the outside, then she must be a monster on the inside, too. She knows that it's only a matter of time before the other kids, the doctors, and even her mom figure it out.The Big Book of Monsters gives Sophie the idea that there might be a cure for her monster mark, but in order to make the magic work, she'll need to create a special necklace made from ordinary items: a feather, a shell, and a crystal that Sophie believes are talismans. Once she's collected all the needed ingredients, she'll only have one chance to make a very special wish. If Sophie can't break the curse and become human again, her mom is probably going to leave just like Dad did. Because who would want to live with a real monster?

[Children's Fiction (Ages 8-12)]Fourteen-year-old Ozzy lives near Portland, Oregon, and is desperate for help. His scientist parents have been kidnapped after discovering a formula that enables mind control. Their work was so top secret that Ozzy is afraid to go to the police, but without help, he fears he'll never find his parents. Then he stumbles across a classified ad in the local newspaper that says ''Wizard for Hire. Call 555-SPEL.'' Ozzy has read about wizards in books like Harry Potter, but wizards couldn't actually exist today, could they? After Ozzy meets the wizard Labyrinth -- a.k.a. Rin -- he's even more skeptical.Sure, Rin dresses like a wizard, but the short robe and high-top tennis shoes seem unorthodox, as does Rin's habit of writing notes on his shoes and eating breakfast for every meal. Plus, Rin doesn't even cast any magic spells, which means that the unexplained coincidences that start happening around Ozzy are just that -- coincidences.With the help of a robotic talking raven invented by Ozzy's father, a kind and curious girl at school who decides to help Ozzy, and of course, a self-proclaimed wizard who may or may not have a magical wand, Ozzy begins an unforgettable quest that will lead him closer to the answers he desperately seeks about his missing parents.

On one dark and windy night, Ozzy steps out of bed, jumps out his window, and walks straight into the ocean. It's as if someone is controlling Ozzy's mind. He's saved by Sigi--Rin's daughter--and Clark, a mechanical robot bird. More than ever, Ozzy could really use the services of Rin, the Wizard for Hire.When a mysterious package arrives in the mail containing a plane ticket and a thumb drive, Ozzy is certain it's from Rin. But when Ozzy, Sigi, and Clark arrive in New York, Rin isn't there. Instead they are met by the man who was the money behind the mind-controlling ""discipline serum"" created by Ozzy's parents. Ozzy was the final test case and is now the key to discovering the serum's secret. He is a very valuable boy. Once again, he's on the run.As fate would have it, Rin appears just in time. But Rin's goal is more than a rescue mission. He needs an apprentice to cement his status and notoriety in the magical realm of Quarfelt--assuming the place even exists. As Rin's apprentice, Ozzy must complete five tasks to receive the Gift of Wonder. Ozzy is willing to help, but is now really the best time to enter a contest for wizards when something is controlling his mind? Especially when someone is out to destroy the people he loves?

On one dark and windy night, Ozzy steps out of bed, jumps out his window, and walks straight into the ocean. It's as if someone is controlling Ozzy's mind. He's saved by Sigi--Rin's daughter--and Clark, a mechanical robot bird. More than ever, Ozzy could really use the services of Rin, the Wizard for Hire.When a mysterious package arrives in the mail containing a plane ticket and a thumb drive, Ozzy is certain it's from Rin. But when Ozzy, Sigi, and Clark arrive in New York, Rin isn't there. Instead they are met by the man who was the money behind the mind-controlling ""discipline serum"" created by Ozzy's parents. Ozzy was the final test case and is now the key to discovering the serum's secret. He is a very valuable boy. Once again, he's on the run.As fate would have it, Rin appears just in time. But Rin's goal is more than a rescue mission. He needs an apprentice to cement his status and notoriety in the magical realm of Quarfelt--assuming the place even exists. As Rin's apprentice, Ozzy must complete five tasks to receive the Gift of Wonder. Ozzy is willing to help, but is now really the best time to enter a contest for wizards when something is controlling his mind? Especially when someone is out to destroy the people he loves?

Flint loves to draw. In fact, he s furiously trying to finish his comic book so he can be the youngest winner of the Find a Comic Star contest. He is also rushing to finish because he has keratoconus an eye disease that could eventually make him blind.McKell is the new girl at school and immediately hangs with the popular kids. But McKell s not a fan of the way her friends treat this boy named Squint. He seems nice and really talented. He draws awesome pictures of superheroes. McKell wants to get to know him, but is it worth the risk? What if her friends catch her hanging out with the kid who squints all the time?McKell has a hidden talent of her own but doesn t share it for fear of being judged. Her terminally ill brother, Danny, challenges McKell to share her love of poetry and songwriting. Flint seems like someone she could trust, someone who would never laugh at her, someone who is as good and brave as the superhero in Flint s comic book named Squint.Squint is the inspiring story of two new friends dealing with their own challenges, who learn to trust each other, believe in themselves, and begin to truly see what matters most.

[Children's Fiction (Ages 8-12)] [Read by Kirby Heyborne] It's time to take the battle to the dragons. In the third and final volume of the bestselling Mysteries of Cove series, Trenton and Kallista -- along with their friends, Plucky, Simoni, Angus, and Clyde -- fly their mechanical dragons south toward San Francisco, looking to rescue any survivors from the battle of Seattle. Arriving in San Francisco and investigating the area in secret, the young riders are reunited with Kallista's father, Leo Babbage, who reveals that the humans in the city are working as slaves to the dragons, but that they don't want to be rescued--himself included. He says they are being protected by their new master: a huge, powerful white dragon who lives in an impenetrable tower fortress overlooking the city. Kallista is stunned by the news. Why would her father ever willingly want to work for dragons? Trenton and his friends are confronted by the guards and their mechanical dragons are seized. Evading capture, the young riders escape and begin looking for a way to break the white dragon's hold over the city -- and over Leo. Working with the kids from the city, the young riders track down the source of the dragon's power to an underground chamber that is accessible only through an underwater passageway below the tower fortress. With the white dragon watching their every move, Trenton and Kallista will need every bit of creativity and ingenuity they can manage to find a way to retrieve their stolen dragons, enter the tower fortress, and take down the dragons once and for all.

[Children's Fiction (Ages 8-12)][Kirby Heyborne] Trenton Colman is a creative thirteen-year-old boy with a knack for all things mechanical. But his talents are viewed with suspicion in Cove, a steam-powered city built inside a mountain. In Cove, creativity is a crime, and invention is a curse word. Kallista Babbage is a repair technician and daughter of the notorious Leo Babbage, who died in an explosion -- an event the leaders of Cove point to as an example of the dangers of creativity. Working together, Trenton and Kallista learn that Leo Babbage was developing a secret project before he perished. Following clues he left behind, they begin to assemble a strange machine that is unlike anything they've ever seen before. They soon discover that what they are building may threaten every truth their city is founded on -- and quite possibly their very lives.

[Children's Fiction (Ages 8-12)] After finding a compass and clues left by Kallista's father, Leo Babbage, Trenton and Kallista head west aboard their homemade mechanical dragon to search for the missing inventor. The two teenagers hope to find answers about their mountain city of Cove, but instead, they find only a blackened forest, ruined buildings, and a small underground city.Almost immediately, Trenton and Kallista get caught up in a civil war between a clan of scavengers called Whipjacks and the Order of the Beast -- people who believe that dragons are immortal and divine.Stranded in a new city, the two friends meet Plucky, a Whipjack girl with mechanical legs, and Ander, a young member of the Order who claims humans are able to communicate with dragons. Can they trust anyone, or have they unknowingly stepped into a trap?

Erik and Emily skillfully show it is possible to live big on a shoestring budget while giving their family an astonishing education in adventure, creativity, purpose, and grit. Linda and Richard Eyre are the bestselling authors of Teaching Your Children ValuesWorking the night shift as a temp in a high-rise cubicle, Erik Orton knew something had to change. He felt the responsibility of providing for his wife and their five children, the youngest with Down syndrome, but craved a life that offered more than just surviving.Watching the sailboats on the Hudson River during his sunset dinner breaks, Erik dared to dream. What would it be like to leave the hustle of the city and instead spend a year on a sailboat, somewhere beautiful, as a family? Despite having no sailing experience, his wife Emily's phobia of deep water, and already stretching every dollar to pay rent and buy groceries, the family of seven turned their excuses into reasons and their fears into motivation. Sure, they would miss their friends, they could go broke, they could get injured or die. Worst of all, they could humiliate themselves by trying something audacious and failing. But the little time they still had together as a family, before their oldest daughter left for college, was drifting away. The Ortons cast off the life they knew to begin an uncertain journey of 5,000 miles between New York City and the Caribbean, ultimately arriving at a new place within themselves.A portrait of a captivating and resilient family and a celebration of the courage it takes to head for something over the horizon, this is a deeply compelling story, told alternately by Erik and Emily, for all those who dream of leaving routine in their wake.

[Children's Fiction (Ages 8-12)][Edited by Jonathan Diaz]An encouraging collection of short stories by bestselling middle-grade authors.This one-of-a-kind treasury brings together the talents of nearly two dozen bestselling middle-grade authors including Shannon Hale, Brandon Mull, Ally Condie, and Jennifer A. Nielsen -- who have created original short stories and modern-day fairy tales, based on the lives and dreams of children they have met who all have two things in common: they have very big hopes and dreams, and they are all cancer patients.

Like the classic ''Beauty and the Beast,'' this steampunk romance features an unlikely love story. The Lord of Blackwell Manor, Miles, is plagued by a family curse that changes him into a shape-shifting wolf every month during the full moon. Lucy, a smart, attractive, and well-respected botanist, travels to Blackwell Manor to take care of her sick cousin, Kate, who is married to Miles' younger brother. For Lucy, the trip is a welcome respite from her work and recent discovery of a breakthrough serum that could eliminate the scourge of vampires from London. But Lucy finds more than she bargained for when she arrives at the Manor.Miles, who is brash and inhospitable, does not take kindly to visitors. He is still unsettled by the mysterious death of his newlywed wife. And then there's Marie, Miles' sister, who was attacked and murdered just weeks earlier. Miles is horrified to think that he might be to blame for the deaths. And who is the ghost that haunt the halls?Lucy is convinced that the death of Miles's wife and sister -- as well as her cousin's mysterious illness -- are tied together, but how? Lady Charlesworth has her eye on inheriting Blackwell Manor for her family. Could her daughter, Candice, or her son, Arthur, have had a hand in the mysterious deaths? The clues make a vampire suspect highly likely.During her investigation, Lucy finds herself caring deeply for Miles, but he fights to keep his distance in order to protect Lucy from his family's secret. And, yet, he feels attracted to the woman who is able to look past the fearsome-looking scar that has marred his handsome face. With no other option, Miles and Lucy must work together if they are to find the answer to the mysteries at the manor. But that's not all Lucy wants to solve. There's a deeper mystery behind Miles. Can she solve that too? Ultimately, she must decide if she can love the man -- beast and all.

Twelve-year-old Gordy Stitser is one of the few people who knows the truth about the secret society of potion masters, because not only is Gordy's mom on the Board of Ruling Elixirists Worldwide (BREW), but she has also been training him in the art of potion making.Gordy is a natural, and every day he sneaks down to the basement lab to invent new potions using exotic ingredients like fire ant eggs, porcupine quills, and Bosnian tickling juice.One afternoon, Gordy receives a mysterious package containing an extremely rare potion known as the Eternity Elixir. In the right hands, the elixir continues to protect society. But in the wrong hands, it could destroy the world as we know it.Now, sinister potion masters are on the hunt to steal the Eternity Elixir. It's up to Gordy, his parents, and his best friends, Max and Adilene, to prevent an all-out potion war.