by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Humor
It’s great to have a class pet, but imagine having a whole class pet alphabet? From Amanda Anaconda to our Rat Ralph, each letter of the alphabet has a pet and each pet has a rollicking rhyme. They’re hilarious, and this is a great way to make the alphabet...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Fiction
This is a collection of five stories that could come from the childhood of any young person you know. In the first story Julian and his father and brother are cooking up a special pudding present for Mom while she’s away. Once the pudding is done, Dad falls...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Realistic/Contemporary Fiction
1971 Newbery Medal Winner It’s hard to be 14 this summer. Sara is struggling with herself and with her little brother, Charlie. It’s easy for people to pick on Charlie, and Sara will always defend and protect him, but it’s hard for Sara this summer,...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Fiction
It’s his birthday, and Omri’s best friend, Patrick, has just given him his gift: a plastic Indian. Oh man, such a disap, ointment! He’s tired of playing with plastic figures, and he doesn’t know what he’s going to do with this one. That...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Science Fiction
It’s the days of the Dust Bowl. Young Matt decides to walk into town; a truck picks him up, and he disappears. The family struggles with the loss. Then a strange man, Mr. Abrams, comes to town with a special mirror. Everyone who looks into the mirror sees what...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Realistic/Contemporary Fiction
It’s the fourth of December, and Sam Gribley is “up on his mountain in his tree home.” Sam has moved out of his comfortable home with his parents and is surviving on his own in the forest. He makes a fire with flint and steel and is finding ways to...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Historical Fiction
It’s the Sixties and America is at war in Vietnam. Rick has decided to join the Army. He’s never been very good at anything, and he really wants to prove to himself and to his parents that he is good enough at something. The Army selects him to be a dog...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Picture Book
It’s the time of World War II, and everyone in William’s family is doing some kind of war work. William wants to do something powerful, exciting, important, and filled with adventure, but he’s too young. Then, a queen moves into his neighborhood....
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Realistic/Contemporary Fiction
Ivy Breedlove lives in a family of lawyers which is like being a goldfish in a tank full of snapping turtles: hard to keep a lasting presence. It’s hard to figure out who you are and stay true to that self when everyone around you is so different. Then, Ivy...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Fiction
Jack and the Beanstalk, move over! Here come Jumbeelia and the “iggly plops.” This is the fairytale told from the giants’ side of the story. When a “blimplestonk” appears, Jumbeelia, the giantess, climbs down, reversing the trend, and...
