by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Humor
Third-grader Cody thinks doing a project on why he’s named Cody is pretty cool … until he finds out why he IS named Cody. Oh no! He has to stand up in front of everyone in his class and say THAT?
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Fiction
Thirteen-year-old Conn is a born stick and rudder man. He’s a natural with planes. His air force father takes him up and teaches him to fly. The unintended consequences of this father-son bonding time come with a knock at the front door. NASA has arrived and...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Realistic/Contemporary Fiction
Thirteen-year-old Dallas and his twin sister Florida are troubled orphans who have been foisted off, unsuccessfully, on a string of foster families and are now living in the Boxton Creek Home owned by Mr. and Mrs. Trepid. Florida has a mean mouth and has learned to...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Mystery
Thirteen-year-old Gilda Joyce knows who she is, what she likes to wear and what she likes to do. Her mother has decided that she should leave the school, where she is comfortable, and apply to attend a private school, where everyone dresses alike. Gilda does not want...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Mystery
Thirteen-year-old Ginger keeps seeing this woman wherever she goes – outside of her school, outside of her house – and now someone is calling her house. What is going on? Who is this woman? The sense of danger spirals up, and we are drawn along as Ginger...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Mystery
Thirteen-year-old Ingrid Levin-Hill is fascinated by Sherlock Holmes, but she never expected to have to carry on his work in her own town. She’s involved in the town community theater, and suddenly there has been a murder of a woman connected to that theater....
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Realistic/Contemporary Fiction
Thirteen-year-old Joey Willis has been deaf since she was six years old, but her parents won’t let her learn sign language. They believe she will look weak and disabled if she is seen signing. Her world is one of lip-reading and tremendous frustration, until the...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Realistic/Contemporary Fiction
Thirteen-year-old Kola is being married off to sick boy, Hari, whose parents want her dowry money. They want the dowry money so they can take Hari to the Ganges River to cure him of his disease, but Kola is soon to be widowed, and, as her husband passes on, she...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Historical Fiction
Thirteen-year-old Thomas finds himself in an old house that was once owned by an abolitionist named Dies Drear and used as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Thomas is a curious boy, and his questions take him exploring the house … into secret tunnels and into...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Historical Fiction
This beautiful rifle was made by a craftsman and used back in the Revolutionary War. The story follows the rifle through history and owner-by-owner until we arrive at the present day and experience the tragic finale of this rifle’s usefulness. Strong feelings...
