Children’s Books

The Race to the Big Bang by Peter Solomon

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The Race to the Big Bang by Peter Solomon

The Race to the Big Bang illustrated science adventure book is the sequel to The Stardust Mystery. The Cosmic Kids had just returned from a wonderful trip to the moon as a reward for their second-place finish in the Science and the Future Contest. But then their lives were altered by the Covid-19 pandemic. They find relief by inventing new pandemic pastimes. Then they discover the best pastime of all. It’s a new contest called The Race to the Big Bang. The grand prize is $1 million in cash and $1 million in college scholarships. The four Cosmic Kids and coach Grandpa form a new team, the Cosmic Explorers, with two new coaches and their friends and last year’s contest winners Jackson and Johari. Neddy invites her friend Richie to join them too. They are going to compete in a new series of Virtual World adventures. They are time traveling to the Big Bang. Along the way, they discover unusual things on earth, in the solar system and in the universe. They help prove the Big Bang theory by measuring the distance to a nearby galaxy. They prove Albert Einstein’s Twin Paradox with Lizzy’s long solo round trip voyage to our closest star. She returns, after four years of travel, to discover that her younger sister Neddy, who stayed behind, is now her older sister. Neddy loves that. They turn a planet that they have found 7 billion years ago into their space station by adding the events that made Planet Earth habitable. They add water by redirecting comets to hit their planet, they create an oxygen atmosphere using cyanobacteria brought from Earth, and they plant vegetation for food from seeds also from earth. Their brilliant idea has some unintended consequences that are wonderful, awful, and then wonderful again. They have accidentally provided a dramatic example of the Survival of the Fittest principal of Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. The Cosmic Kids end their adventure by using the Virtual World to create videos to help other kids understand how we can become infected by the Covid-19 virus, and how a vaccine can keep us safe. With this new project, the learn some interesting biology about how our body’s cells are factories that can fabricate substances based on pieces of genetic codes.

The Stardust Mystery by Peter Solomon

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The Stardust Mystery by Peter Solomon

The Stardust Mystery illustrated book is a companion to the MissionKT video game. It follows the lives of cousins Lizzy, Milo, VC and Neddy as they unravel the Stardust Mystery. Their adventures take them across time during the evolution of the Universe and the history of Planet Earth in the Cosmic Egg time, space and size-change travel ship. They must figure out how everyone alive is made of the same Stardust that was once in the body of Albert Einstein and the Last T-Rex. They must find out what Stardust is, and how, when, and where it was created.
As the Cosmic Kids team, the cousins enter The Science and The Future Contest, held by the mysterious Dr. Q. The winners will be taken on a trip around the moon! What could be a better gift for the grandfather they love, a former NASA astronaut?
Along the way, they visit Einstein, dinosaurs, and even the Big Bang. To win, they’ll have to use their brains to answer the many science questions, but they’ll also have to use their hearts to come together to solve the problems of family.
The Mystery is presented in a poem:
“I was born in a place that is far, far away.
At a time long ago, but I am now here to stay.
Albert Einstein’s body was once my home.
I am now part of you, but I could always roam.
Some call me Stardust because of my history
It will all be clear when you solve the mystery.
Who am I, and what is my story
Write me a rhyme to tell of my glory”

Tales From the Arabian Nights: Stories of Adventure, Magic, Love, and Betrayal by Donna Jo Napoli

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Classic stories and dazzling illustrations of princesses, kings, sailors, and genies come to life in a stunning retelling of the Arabian folk tales from One Thousand and One Nights and other collections, including those of Aladdin, Sinbad the Sailor, and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. The magical storytelling of award-winning author Donna Jo Napoli dramatizes these timeless tals and ignites children’s imaginations.

Buy Tales From the Arabian Nights: Stories of Adventure, Magic, Love, and Betrayal by Donna Jo Napoli Here

Jimmy Crikey’s Adventures in the Sky Islands by Wallace Briggs

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Jimmy Crikey’s Adventures in the Sky Islands by Wallace Briggs

Jimmy Crikey’s Adventures in the Sky Islands
This stand-alone story is the second in the series of Jimmy Crikey’s adventures.
Jimmy Crikey is the orphan alien brought up by a loving lady who lived on the edge of the forest close to Esh Village.
Once bullied beyond endurance because of his strange appearance, Jimmy ran away, searching for a place where he could fit in. He found himself in the town of Roombelow, where Jimmy developed his abilities to protect his new home from the dangers that threatened. Jimmy chose to remain on Earth with his new family of friends, which included Gemma, the little lady he found at the bottom of the well but didn’t know how she got there. The four witch guardians became an integral part of his life, as did Lord Oron, the Weatherman who roamed the world in his cloud.
Far above Earth, a war-like, galactic race of Zyrons invade the Sky Islands.
[Read more…] about Jimmy Crikey’s Adventures in the Sky Islands by Wallace Briggs

Guinevere Trilogy by Cheryl Carpinello

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Guinevere Trilogy by Cheryl Carpinello

Guinevere Trilogy

GUINEVERE: ON THE EVE OF LEGEND
Princess Guinevere dreaded her upcoming thirteenth birthday. It signaled the beginning of her official role as the Lady of her father’s castle. No more adventures in the forest with Cedwyn. No more explorations outside the castle walls. No more excitement. No more danger. No more fun. Cedwyn—her companion for as long as she remembered—viewed her circumstances differently. A Medieval coming-of-age story relevant today.

GUINEVERE: AT THE DAWN OF LEGEND
Ancient Stones. Mystical Stones. Autumnal Equinox. Down upon a wide plain the yellow orb shines strong. Racing side by side, the two laughingly ride. A mist descends. The laughing stops. A dangerous Medieval tale of two friends. Of a loyalty not often seen.

GUINEVERE: THE LEGEND
Fiercely loyal, Cedwyn always rushes to Guinevere’s defense. Stubborn to a fault. Always there for her. A future Knight? His one and only hope. A hero? Not what Cedwyn strove for, but it sought him.
Guinevere rarely thinks with her head. Just the opposite. Thinking with one’s heart: a recipe for trouble. And trouble finds Guinevere, all too often. Stubborn, she refuses to abandon those depending upon her. Even when ordered by her father, the king.
And so these two—both on the edge of Legend—barrel forth in this deadly dangerous and riveting Arthurian adventure.

Cleo Can Tie A Bow: A Rabbit and Fox Story by Sybrina Durant

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Cleo Can Tie A Bow: A Rabbit and Fox Story by Sybrina Durant

Cleo can tie a bow. She learned what she knows from a rabbit and a fox. They can teach your child how to tie a bow, too. This fun picture book is intended to be a family bonding parent-child activity. It’s a great way to learn to tie shoe laces.

The Magpie King by M. J. Fahy

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The Magpie King by M. J. Fahy

A beautiful middle grade magical adventure: In the large and frightening world of the Bigguns, Tatty Moon, a faerie child, must rid her village of thieving magpies and rampaging Gnomes, all under the spell of the Queen’s merciless nephew. With the help of a group of friends who include a gypsy, an elf, a wood sprite, an elderly rat, and a hawk-sized dragonfly, Tatty journeys far to try and defeat him.

Andee the Aquanaut by S J House

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Andee the Aquanaut by S J House

Andee the Aquanaut series
by S J House
Genre: fantasy
Readership: middle grade
Synopsis for Book One: Guardian of the Great Seas
This is a story of high adventure under the low seas, as one extraordinary boy finds his destiny. The forces of evil are gathering to take control of the ocean’s underworld. Only one boy and his unique marine friends can stop them. Andee the Aquanaut becomes the greatest eco-warrior of all time.
Andee is a curious and spirited boy living on an island. His parents, marine biologists, search the reef for new sea-life that could cure illnesses. Andee befriends two young dolphins, Tingo and Tango. One day a terrifying storm rips across the island and waves pull Andee out to sea. In their dinghy, his parents are lost forever. Tingo and Tango save Andee and he becomes a member of their dolphin family. Little does he know, however, he is the Chosen One.
Exploring the sunken Lost City, Andee meets the Wise White Dolphin. Special powers are given to him, allowing him to become one of the great and legendry Aquanauts of the Marine Kingdom. Wearing his magical Aquanaut suit, Andee can breathe underwater, dive to great depths, and speed through the currents. He courageously uses his powers to daringly rescue and save endangered marine life, including dolphins, turtles and manta rays, from fishermen and poachers. The Wise White Dolphin mentors him, and he learns to talk to the jellyfish which can communicate over vast distances.
But Andee misses his parents very much. The Wise White Dolphin gives him a locket that his mother wore, and Andee sets out on a quest to find them. He’s also found an ancient tooth; the key to a dangerous world. Using the tooth to open a submerged door, Andee is sucked into a vortex that whirls him to great depths where he’s attacked by a sea monster.
His seemingly lifeless body is saved by Yolanda, princess of the merpeople. She takes him to her castle where he revives and meets Yolanda’s formidable step-mother, the evil Zadora. As Yolanda’s father, the king, lies dying, Zadora plots to usurp the throne from Yolanda. A water spirit tells the princess and Andee how the treasures of the Lost City were stolen, and are now stored in the castle. Andee still wants to find his parents, but now has a new mission: to return the treasures to the Lost City, reversing the greed of the merpeople, so that balance can be restored in the oceans of the world.
However, the greedy Zadora is plotting to do the exact opposite: to loot and plunder the oceans for gain. Who will win this epic struggle; and will Andee even survive against the terrifying power of the evil mer queen? Will he ever find his parents, and will he one day return to his true love, Yolanda?