Books in The Oz Books series

The beloved Noel Streatfeild classic back in print!It's a stroke of great luck when Harriet Johnson’s doctor prescribes skating after an illness that has left her feeling frail and listless. For on her very first day at the rink, Harriet meets orphaned Lalla Moore, who is being brought up by her wealthy aunt Claudia to be a skating champion. Although they have little in common, the girls form a fast friendship. Harriet is energized by talented, funny Lalla, and Lalla in turn blossoms under the affection of openhearted Harriet. The girls skate together more and more. But just as Lalla’s interest in skating starts to fade, Harriet’s natural talent begins to emerge. Suddenly Lalla and Harriet seem headed in two very different directions. Can their friendship survive?From the Trade Paperback edition.

Imagine you’re learning to read a new language. How would you do it? First you’d learn the alphabet, if it has one. Then you’d string letters into simple words and read stories to get familiar with the words and how they’re used. That seems hard to me. But it would be even harder if you’d never learned a language before. And what if you were only a little kid? That would be a big challenge. But—think about it—that’s what we expect children to do routinely to learn reading. I think we should do whatever we can to make this big leap easier for kids. We as adults have experience with reading, and we’re older; we should take the burden off kids and do the hard work of WRITING stories so they’ll be easy for kids to READ. How? Well, using short words might help. They’re probably easier to learn than long words. But children’s books are often peppered with long words like “elephant” and “xylophone”, which is fine if adults are reading TO children. But though I like elephants and xylophones, and even elephants playing xylophones, for kids to learn how to read, long words are probably not ideal. When I was teaching my own children to read, I looked for books with only short words. But I had trouble finding books like that. Could I write one myself? If I limited word length to 3 letters, could I write a story? Sure. What about 2 letters? That would be a challenge. There are so few 2-letter words to work with. But I juggled them until I came up with a story, with characters, action, and even humor. I found Joanna Pasek, who beautifully illustrates children’s books in a semi-realistic style I liked, so we set to work, eventually producing our book, “WE GO TO BO”: wegotobo.com. Teachers who saw it told me it would be even easier for children to read if I used only the simplest sounds, and consistently used one sound for each letter. Should I write another 2-letter word book following that advice? Meanwhile, at a public reading of “WE GO TO BO”, I asked the children if someone could write a book with only 3-letter words, and they said yes. 2-letter words? Again yes. And then one smart aleck said 1-letter. My first impulse was to ignore him, but then I thought, “Why not 1-letter?” If I use the letter “C” to mean “S-E-E” and the letter “U” for “Y-O-U”, maybe. And if I write both a 1-letter word book and a new 2-letter book, maybe I can add a 3-letter book for a 1-2-3 series. Joanna and I finished the 3 books: “Y”, “BO, GO UP!”, and “Cat Egg”. They comprise “The Bo Books” series: bobooks.org. You can get the e-books for free and the paperback books at about my cost. The 1-letter word book is about a curious kid, asking her dad “why?” about things in the park. Why is the sky blue? Why is the grass green? He doesn’t know, but she opens his eyes to the world. With only 1-letter “words”, Joanna’s illustrations do the heavy lifting of telling this story. The 2-letter word book starts with children playing with a ball and ends with a much larger ball, because one kid’s mom runs a hot air balloon company and gives them a ride. Using all capital letters avoids confusing children about when to use upper case or lower case. In the 3-letter word book, one kid has a cat, and when her friends play with it, they think it’s laid an egg. Once children can read the alphabet, they can read the 1-letter word book, “Y”. That accomplishment gives them pride in reading a whole book, and gives them confidence to continue reading. Then they can read the 2-letter word book, “BO, GO UP!”. I used very simple vocabulary: less than half the alphabet, and only 11 different words. That makes it easy for kids to feel good that they can read a real book. Next, the 3-letter word book, “Cat Egg”, teaches 39 words, including 17 of the 100 most common words. Millions of people worldwide take a long time to learn reading, or never learn. Let’s remove obstacles to reading. Get The Bo Books, and tell your friends about them. Thank you.

A perfect middle-grade adventure for the same fans as Alex Rider readers.Tim Malt; his parents; his dog, Grk; and his friends Natascha and Max Raffifi have just arrived in India. They are all set to see the famous sights and watch Max compete in a tennis tournament. But after meeting a boy named Krishnan, they learn about the Blue Rat Gang, a group that enslaves children. Krishnan needs help to rescue his sister from a cruel life of forced labor, and Tim and Grk are up to the challenge. Racing against time, Tim and Grk are chased through dark alleys only to find themselves face-to-face with the infamous leader inside the Blue Rats’ headquarters. Can they foil his evil plans before it’s too late?Praise for the Grk books:“Pure adventure fun.”—Kirkus Reviews“Crackles with Doder’s crisp prose and absurdist sensibility . . . [a] wildly engaging story.”—Time Out NY Kids

The magical, bestselling series from Pseudonymous Bosch, the author of the Secret Series! Magic is BAD. As in fake. Cheesy. Unreal. At least, that's what Clay, who has seen one magic show too many, thinks. When words from his journal appear mysteriously on his school wall as graffiti, he never imagines that magic might be to blame. And when the same graffiti lands him at Earth Ranch, a camp for "troubled" kids on a remote volcanic island, magic is the last thing he expects to find there. But at Earth Ranch, there is one strange surprise after another, until Clay no longer knows what to expect. Is he really talking to a llama? Did he really see a ghost? What is the scary secret hidden in the abandoned library? The only thing he knows for sure is that behind the clouds of vog (volcanic smog), nothing is as it seems. Can he solve the riddle of Earth Ranch before trouble erupts? Elusive author Pseudonymous Bosch introduces an extraordinary new series that will have you believing in the unbelievable.

Readers will enjoy double the amount of exotic locales, intrigue, and fast-paced adventure in this paperback omnibus edition.Grk: Operation TortoiseWhen Tim discovers a man badly hurt on a beach, his relaxing holiday in the Seychelles takes on a dangerous twist. He and Grk find themselves speeding towards a well guarded private island in the hopes of foiling a dastardly plot threatening the local endangered giant tortoises.Grk Smells a RatWhile in India to see the famous sites and cheer on Max in a championship tennis tournament, Tim, Natasha, and Grk meet a boy named Krishnan who enlists their help to rescue his sister from a life of forced labor. Racing against time, they find themselves face to face with the Blue Rat Gang's infamous leader. Can they foil his evil plans before it's too late?

The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum is a children's novel, the 7th set in the Land of Oz. In the previous Oz book, The Emerald City of Oz, magic was used to isolate Oz from all outside worlds. Baum did this to end the Oz series, but was forced to restart the series with this book due to financial hardships. In the prologue, he explains how he managed to get another story about Oz, even though it is isolated from all other worlds. He explains that a child suggested he make contact with Oz with wireless telegraphy.

Imagine you’re learning to read a new language. How would you do it? First you’d learn the alphabet, if it has one. Then you’d string letters into simple words and read stories to get familiar with the words and how they’re used. That seems hard to me. But it would be even harder if you’d never learned a language before. And what if you were only a little kid? That would be a big challenge. But—think about it—that’s what we expect children to do routinely to learn reading. I think we should do whatever we can to make this big leap easier for kids. We as adults have experience with reading, and we’re older; we should take the burden off kids and do the hard work of WRITING stories so they’ll be easy for kids to READ. How? Well, using short words might help. They’re probably easier to learn than long words. But children’s books are often peppered with long words like “elephant” and “xylophone”, which is fine if adults are reading TO children. But though I like elephants and xylophones, and even elephants playing xylophones, for kids to learn how to read, long words are probably not ideal. When I was teaching my own children to read, I looked for books with only short words. But I had trouble finding books like that. Could I write one myself? If I limited word length to 3 letters, could I write a story? Sure. What about 2 letters? That would be a challenge. There are so few 2-letter words to work with. But I juggled them until I came up with a story, with characters, action, and even humor. I found Joanna Pasek, who beautifully illustrates children’s books in a semi-realistic style I liked, so we set to work, eventually producing our book, “WE GO TO BO”: wegotobo.com. Teachers who saw it told me it would be even easier for children to read if I used only the simplest sounds, and consistently used one sound for each letter. Should I write another 2-letter word book following that advice? Meanwhile, at a public reading of “WE GO TO BO”, I asked the children if someone could write a book with only 3-letter words, and they said yes. 2-letter words? Again yes. And then one smart aleck said 1-letter. My first impulse was to ignore him, but then I thought, “Why not 1-letter?” If I use the letter “C” to mean “S-E-E” and the letter “U” for “Y-O-U”, maybe. And if I write both a 1-letter word book and a new 2-letter book, maybe I can add a 3-letter book for a 1-2-3 series. Joanna and I finished the 3 books: “Y”, “BO, GO UP!”, and “Cat Egg”. They comprise “The Bo Books” series: bobooks.org. You can get the e-books for free and the paperback books at about my cost. The 1-letter word book is about a curious kid, asking her dad “why?” about things in the park. Why is the sky blue? Why is the grass green? He doesn’t know, but she opens his eyes to the world. With only 1-letter “words”, Joanna’s illustrations do the heavy lifting of telling this story. The 2-letter word book starts with children playing with a ball and ends with a much larger ball, because one kid’s mom runs a hot air balloon company and gives them a ride. Using all capital letters avoids confusing children about when to use upper case or lower case. In the 3-letter word book, one kid has a cat, and when her friends play with it, they think it’s laid an egg. Once children can read the alphabet, they can read the 1-letter word book, “Y”. That accomplishment gives them pride in reading a whole book, and gives them confidence to continue reading. Then they can read the 2-letter word book, “BO, GO UP!”. I used very simple vocabulary: less than half the alphabet, and only 11 different words. That makes it easy for kids to feel good that they can read a real book. Next, the 3-letter word book, “Cat Egg”, teaches 39 words, including 17 of the 100 most common words. Millions of people worldwide take a long time to learn reading, or never learn. Let’s remove obstacles to reading. Get The Bo Books, and tell your friends about them. Thank you.

Here, the Patchwork Girl is brought to life by Dr. Pipt’s magic Powder of Life. From that moment on the action never slows down in this exciting book. It tells of Ojo’s quest for the strange ingredients necessary to brew a magic liquid that will release his Unk Nunkie from a spell. In addition to the Patchwork Girl, Ojo and Unk Nunkie, this book introduces such famous Oz creatures as the Woozy and Bungle the glass cat. Oz certainly has become a merrier, happier land since the Patchwork Girl came to life.