Avoiding a group of bullies, Barney Pennimen and his friend Snowy discover a cave with an amazing secretBarney Penniman is afraid of his eighth grade friends at boarding school. Since they're the nastiest guys at school, Barney is safe from being teased, but the gang's bullying finally pushes Barney too far, and he finds himself alone.Then Snowy Cobb, an elf-like, ostracized younger boy, makes a sudden appearance in Barney's life. And when Snowy finds a mysterious bone on campus, the boys try to determine its origins. Their investigation leads them to a deep, dark, sandy-bottomed cave, and what they discover beneath the sand will test their beliefs—and everything they hold dear. This  adventure story was the runner-up for an Edgar Award.This ebook features an illustrated biography of Rosemary Wells including rare images from the author's collection.

It's going to be a brilliant summer for Dorothy—but suddenly, the sun hides behind the clouds and a secret she couldn't have imagined appears . . .While on a class trip to a museum, fourteen-year-old Dorothy Coughlin can't believe her luck: She practically falls into a summer job as a nanny for a wealthy family in Pennsylvania, in the biggest house she has ever seen. It doesn't even matter that she's not experienced with children, or that the family is a little strange. She'll be paid $400 for the summer—money she can use for college. But her employer, Mrs. Hoade, is awkward and anxious. Is she hiding something? Sweet and harmless Mr. Hoade, on the other hand—with his movie-star looks—has a strange personality. And when Dorothy discovers the secret one of the Hoades is hiding in the guest cottage, everything changes. This summer could change the course of her life, that is, if she survives!This ebook features an illustrated biography of Rosemary...

Nothing—and no one—will stand in Kathy's way of winning the tennis championship. After all winning is everything . . . or is it?Kathy Bardy doesn't have the good looks and ease of her best friend, Julia. She doesn't have the grades of her little sister, Jody. What she has is tennis. Kathy's coach even says she's the most promising New England junior to come along in years. With tennis come trophies, free equipment, and tournament prize money—and all these things put Kathy on equal more footing with pretty and well-heeled Julia.Then, out of nowhere, comes Ruth Gumm, an indifferent player Kathy should beat every time. But Kathy can't beat her. She loses her cool and her nerves every time Ruth is on the other side of the net. And Ruth is supposed to play Kathy in the first round of an important tournament, one that could lead to enormous future success for young Kathy Bardy.Suddenly, Ruth is found drowned in a swimming pool. Is Kathy connected to Ruth's...

In a heart- and humor-filled adventure by On the Blue Comet author Rosemary Wells, a girl spends a summer caring for animals in the mid-century Southwest. Brokenhearted after her best friend leaves for the entire summer, Ivy rallies and finds herself something new and exciting to do: she hires herself out to look after people's farm animals and pets while they're away. So begins a summer of discovery and definition for tenderhearted but sensible Ivy, who must win over the stubborn pony Chestnut, take on the training of a puppy named Inca, and patiently court the trust of the magnificent but scarred racehorse, Andromeda. All this while tending to her own private hurts and hopes, and managing the hapless tagalong Billy Joe, who has a knack for trouble and accidents like nobody else.Celebrated writer Rosemary Wells delivers a compassionately observed and exquisitely distilled novel set in mid-century Nevada about a heroine with an exceptional gift, a heart of gold, and a...

Who is the man in the woods—and can Helen catch him before it's too late?Helen's first day at New Bedford Regional High School is off to a hectic start. Her locker combination doesn't work, she's late to all her classes, and she doesn't know a single person. But she doesn't need friends to figure out the unofficial rules: Cheerleaders simply don't associate with frizzy-haired new girls who look too young and draw political cartoons. And when Mr. Brzostoski confiscates one her drawings during class, Helen thinks her first day can't get any worse, but her luck changes.Instead, Mr. Bro invites Helen to join the school paper, where she meets Pinky Levy—who helps her get her locker open. But after school, fate throws Helen and Pinky together again when they both witness a car wreck. Someone threw a stone at the car window and caused the crash, and Helen is sure she saw a man in the woods nearby. When the police arrest one of her fellow students, she knows they have...

Historians claim him as one of America's most revered presidents. But to his rambunctious sons, Abraham Lincoln was above all a playful and loving father. Here is Lincoln as seen by two of his boys: Willie, thrilled to be on his first train trip when Lincoln was deciding to run for president; Willie and Tad barging into Cabinet meetings to lift Lincoln's spirits in the early days of the Civil War; Tad accompanying him to Richmond just after the South's defeat. With the war raging and the Union under siege, we see history unfolding through Willie's eyes and then through Tad's — and we see Lincoln rising above his own inborn sadness and personal tragedy through his devotion to his sons. With evocative and engaging illustrations by P.J. Lynch, Rosemary Wells offers a carefully researched biography that gives us a Lincoln not frozen in time but accessible and utterly real.