by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Realistic/Contemporary Fiction
Madame President, Libby Johnson, has just called to order a meeting of the Boris Avenue Beauties dog club. Boris is Annie Bananie’s dog, and Annie Bananie is Libby’s best friend. Libby wishes she had a dog. She’s the only one in the club with no dog. Then, the girls...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Realistic/Contemporary Fiction
Maya is so excited. Her family is going to Magic Mountain, and she gets to bring a friend. But, when she picks up the phone to invite a friend, one after another, they say no. Then, Maya finds out the girls are having a party without her. One minute she is part of...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Realistic/Contemporary Fiction
Wanda Petronski hasn’t come to school today. No one notices. They don’t notice she’s missing until Wednesday because Maddie and Peggy wait for her to “have fun” with her, only the fun they have isn’t so fun for Wanda. Maddie and Peggy love to ask Wanda about her...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Humor
Milton and Marlo Fauster have just been blown to heck where the “souls of the darned toil for all eternity – or until they turn eighteen, whichever comes first!” It makes sense that Marlo is there, but how did Milton get here? They are met by Bea “Elsa” Bubb,...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Non-Fiction
We’ve all seen the wonder of “The March of Penguins.”This is the story of a woman who wanted to travel to Antarctica to see and paint penguins.How do you go to Antarctica?What do you wear?What did she learn about Adelie penguins?This is a two-month journal of her stay...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Picture Book
A young Muslim girl, Farah, is the new girl at school.She feels so alone and so different from everyone else.Then, one day, the class goes on a field trip to an apple orchard.There she sees things and experiences things that are the same back at home.One boy belches,...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Picture Book
Can you smell the sweat of the gym and hear the sound of the fists on the punching bags? Can you hear the music? There’s a community of people coming to the gym to work out: kids of all ages and Sugar Boy, who has been coming since he was two years old. He has a great...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Picture Book
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Picture Book
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel to Mongolia? Have you heard of the Naadam, the Mongolian summer festival? Child jockeys are gathering to compete for honor, glory and prizes in the big race. This is the story of one rider, Tamir. The Lewin’s went...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 24, 2009 | Picture Book
Violet, a golden retriever, is out having a catch with a tennis ball. She misses a throw, and the ball bounces its way down into a prairie dog hole. The prairie dogs study the ball. What can it be? “A thing.” “A good thing or a bad thing?” They see that it has fuzz,...
