CHAPTER I GOOD NEWS "What are you doing, Freddie?" asked Bert Bobbsey, leaning over to oil the front wheel of his bicycle, while he glanced at his little brother, who was tying strings about the neck of a large, handsome dog. "Making a harness," answered Freddie, not taking time to look up. "A harness?" repeated Bert, with a little laugh. "How can you make a harness out of bits of string?" "I'm going to have straps, too," went on Freddie, keeping busily on with his work. "Flossie has gone in after them. It's going to be a fine, strong harness." "Do you mean you are going to harness up Snap?" asked Bert, and he stood his bicycle against the side of the house, and came over to where Freddie sat near the big dog. "Yes. Snap is going to be my horse," explained Freddie. "I'm going to hitch him to my express wagon, and Flossie and I are going to have a ride." "Ha! Ha!" laughed Bert. "You won't get much of a ride with THAT harness," and he looked at the thin cord which the small boy was winding about the dog's neck. "Why not?" asked Freddie, a little hurt at Bert's laughter. Freddie, like all small boys, did not like to be laughed at. "Why, Snap is so strong that he'll break that string in no time," saidBert. "Besides—" "Flossie's gone in for our booty straps, I tell you!" said Freddie. "Then our harness will be strong enough. I'm only using string for part of it. I wish she'd hurry up and come out!" and Freddie glanced toward the house. But there was no sign of his little sister Flossie. "Maybe she can't find them," suggested Bert. "You know what you andFlossie do with your books and straps, when you come home from schoolFriday afternoons—you toss them any old place until Monday morning." "I didn't this time!" said sturdy little Freddie, looking up quickly. "I—I put 'em—I put 'em—oh, well, I guess Flossie can find 'em!" he ended, for trying to remember where he had left his books was more than he could do this bright, beautiful, Saturday morning, when there was no school. "I thought so!" laughed Bert, as he turned to go back to his bicycle, for he intended to go for a ride, and had just cleaned, and was now oiling, his wheel. "Well, Flossie can find 'em, so she can," went on Freddie, as he held his head on one side and looked at a knotted string around the neck of Snap, the big dog. "I wonder how Snap is going to like it?" asked Bert. "Did you ever hitch him to your express wagon before, Freddie?" "Yes. But he couldn't pull us." "Why not?" "'Cause I only had him tied with strings, and they broke. But I'm going to use our book straps now, and they'll hold." "Maybe they will—if you can find 'em—or if Flossie can," Bert went on with a laugh. Freddie said nothing. He was too busy tying more strings about Snap's neck. These strings were to serve as reins for the dog-horse. Since Snap would not keep them in his mouth, as a horse does a bit, they had to go around his neck, as oxen wear their yokes. Snap stretched out comfortably on the grass, his big red tongue hanging out of his mouth....

An extraordinary portrait of true love that will move anyone who has a first love story of their own. Axi Moore is a "good girl": She studies hard, stays out of the spotlight, and doesn't tell anyone how all she really wants is to run away from it all. The only person she can tell is her best friend, Robinson--who she also happens to be madly in love with. When Axi spontaneously invites Robinson to come with her on an impulsive cross-country road trip, she breaks the rules for the first time in her life. But the adventure quickly turns from carefree to out of control after the teens find themselves on the run from the police. And when Robinson suddenly collapses, Axi has to face the truth that this trip might be his last. A remarkably moving tale very personal to James Patterson's own past, FIRST LOVE is testament to the power of first love--and how it can change the rest of your life.

When I was a little girl, Daddy told me never to fear the dark. “We exist because of the darkness,” he told me. “All of you are daughters of darkness.” Beloved bestselling author V.C. Andrews’s passion for vampires comes to spellbinding life in a long-awaited novel of dark desires as all-consuming—and forbidden—as in Flowers in the Attic. One night, with the sound of a young man’s scream, high school senior Lorelei discovers that her stern but loving father, who adopted Lorelei and her sisters as infants, is no ordinary man. He has raised his beautiful girls for one purpose: to lure young men into their world of shadows. Like her sisters, Lorelei has been trained in the art of seduction and warned never to fall in love. But when she meets a handsome and charming classmate, she boldly defies her family and follows her heart—even if love is a poison. . . .Dangerously enticing and deliriously intoxicating, V.C. Andrews’s Daughter of Darkness will leave readers thirsting for more.

Meet Clara Lee. Likes: her best friends, her grandpa, her little sister (when she's not being annoying, which is almost always), candy necklaces, and the Apple Blossom Festival. Dislikes: her little sister (when she's being annoying, which is almost always), her mom's yucky fish soup, and bad dreams (even though Grandpa says they mean good luck). After a bad dream, Clara Lee has a whole day of good luck. But when her luck changes, she upsets her friends and family. Will Clara Lee have good luck again in time to try out for the Little Miss Apple Pie pageant? Clara Lee is a delightful character from acclaimed author Jenny Han. This charming, humorous chapter book is perfect for fans of Clementine and Judy Moody!

Four best friends, one lucky bracelet, and an utterly charming new middle-grade series! When she's not hanging out at her family's sweetshop, Libby loves walking her dog around London. She always meets the most interesting people -- like Cedric, who's her age and also has a dog. They become fast friends, until Libby finds out his family are the new owners of a competing store! Libby tries to keep her parents' business a secret, because she really likes Cedric and wants to be his friend. But the secrets start adding up, and Libby needs the charm bracelet she shares with her besties to bring her some luck . . . right now!

Mallory hasn't been feeling well for awhile now. And finally she discovers why she's been so tired and run-down. Mallory has mono. Having mono means staying in bed and resting - for a long time. No school, no activities, no baby-sitting, and no Baby-sitters Club. Mallory is crushed. So are the Baby-sitters. It's bad enough that Dawn is away in California. But now it looks like Mallory's out of the club, too.

A day at the beach turns into another mystery for the Polka Dot Private Eye to solve! Dawn Bosco is excited about her trip to the beach. With her Polka Dot Private Eye box and her grandmother’s Marvelous Metal Finder, it’s going to be a great day! There are teenagers at the beach, too. One of them loses her almost-diamond necklace, and she says it’s been stolen. Can Dawn find the thief, or is the necklace gone forever? This ebook features an illustrated biography of Patricia Reilly Giff including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.

The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Juvenile Fiction / General; Juvenile Fiction / General; Juvenile Fiction / Action

The Treasure Hunt of the S-18 By Graham M. Dean

Chapter I A Strange Request Tom Swift closed the book of adventures he had been reading, tossed it on the table, and got up. Then he yawned. "What's the matter?" asked his chum, Ned Newton, who was deep in another volume. "Oh, I thought this was going to be something exciting," replied Tom, motioning toward the book he had discarded. "But say! the make-believe adventures that fellow had, weren't anything compared to those we went through in the city of gold, or while rescuing the exiles of Siberia." "Well," remarked Ned, "they would have to be pretty classy adventures to lay over those you and I have had lately. But where are you going?" he continued, for Tom had taken his cap and started for the door. "I thought I'd go out and take a little run in the aeroplane. Want to come along? It's more fun than sitting in the house reading about exciting things that never have happened. Come on out and--" "Yes, and have a tumble from the aeroplane, I suppose you were going to say," interrupted Ned with a laugh. "Not much! I'm going to stay here and finish this book." "Say," demanded Tom indignantly. "Did you ever know me to have a tumble since I knew how to run an airship?" "No, I can't say that I did. I was only joking." "Then you carried the joke too far, as the policeman said to the man he found lugging off money from the bank. And to make up for it you've got to come along with me." "Where are you going?" "Oh, anywhere. Just to take a little run in the upper regions, and clear some of the cobwebs out of my head. I declare, I guess I've got the spring fever. I haven't done anything since we got back from Russia last fall, and I'm getting rusty." "You haven't done anything!" exclaimed Ned, following his chum's example by tossing aside the book. "Do you call working on your new invention of a noiseless airship nothing?" "Well, I haven't finished that yet. I'm tired of inventing things. I just want to go off, and have some good fun, like getting shipwrecked on a desert island, or being lost in the mountains, or something like that. I want action. I want to get off in the jungle, and fight wild beasts, and escape from the savages!" "Say! you don't want much," commented Ned. "But I feel the same way, Tom." "Then come on out and take a run, and maybe we'll get on the track of an adventure," urged the young inventor. "We won't go far, just twenty or thirty miles or so." The two youths emerged from the house and started across the big lawn toward the aeroplane sheds, for Tom Swift owned several speedy aircrafts, from a big combined aeroplane and dirigible balloon, to a little monoplane not much larger than a big bird, but which was the most rapid flier that ever breathed the fumes of gasolene. "Which one you going to take, Tom?" asked Ned, as his chum paused in front of the row of hangars. "Oh, the little double-seated monoplane, I guess that's in good shape, and it's easy to manage. When I'm out for fun I hate to be tinkering with levers and warping wing tips all the while. The Lark practically flies herself, and we can sit back and take it easy....

"SLOW AND SURE" is a volume of the stories of New York street life inaugurated by Ragged Dick. While it chronicles the advancement of Paul, the young street merchant, from the sidewalk to the shop, a large portion of it is devoted to the experiences of a street waif, who has been brought up by burglars, and passed the greater part of his time among them, without being wholly spoiled by his corrupt surroundings. His struggles between gratitude and duty on the one hand, and loyalty to his vicious guardians on the other, will, it is hoped, excite the interest and sympathy of the reader. The author has sought to indicate some of the influences which make it difficult for the neglected street children to grow up virtuous and well-conducted members of society. Philanthropy is never more nobly employed than in redeeming them, and "giving them a chance" to rise to respectability.

A little story of Swiss peasant life by the author of Heidi. “The popular author of ‘Heidi’ here writes another charming tale of the Alps. Its scene is the Bernese Oberland, and its characters the simple mountaineers and village folk whom Miss Spyri knows so well. Toni, the central figure, is a little goat-herder who longs to develop his gift of wood carving. How his fondest wish is gratified is the theme of the story. Every child will like it for its direct simplicity – and older readers as well.” -Publishers Weekly “Another Alpine story by an author who has already become beloved by the children. Her stories are told in a simple, sympathetic way which holds the attention. The life of little Toni and his mother in their stone hut on the mountain side and later the opportunity which came to this gentle little boy to develop his passion for carving animals are brought out with the same charm which has characterized the earlier stories.” -American Childhood, Volumes 4-5, 1919 Toni, the Little Woodcarver will capture and hold children's interest while developing their reading skills and deepening their appreciation of the world's great stories.

The story of a very cheerful young man who loved his job and his flock with all his heart. Lovers of 'Heidi' will be glad to welcome another book by the same author. The clear, refreshing air of the Swiss mountains is in all Johanna Spyri's work. She is to the little folk of Switzerland what Louisa M. Alcott is to American children….There is a constant revelation of the wholesome joys and pleasures of peasant life. The author's selection of characteristic details gives to her pictures a reality which is rare I books written for children. CONTENTS I. ALL IS WELL WITH MONI II. MONI'S LIFE IN THE MOUNTAINS III. A VISIT IV. MONI CAN NO LONGER SING V. MONI SINGS AGAIN

In the tradition of Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot, Cirque Du Freak is the frightening saga of a young boy whose visit to a mysterious freak show leads him on a journey into a dark world of vampires. Filled with grotesque creatures, murderous vampires, and a petrifying ending, Cirque Du Freak will chill, thrill, and leave readers begging for more.

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