I was a goofy-looking kid growing up. My ears were so big that someone once said I didnât need an alarm clock because I could hear the sun coming up. On top of that, I was also very average at everything I tried. However, I found that being funny made people like me. I also realized that, as long as God loved me and had a plan for me, I could be a superhero despite being average at everything. So when Focus on the Family asked me to start writing, I knew exactly what Iâd write aboutâŚme! Average Boy!
I like to root for the underdog. I love reading about people, or in this case, a swan overcoming obstacles in life to become extraordinary. Louis the Swan was born without a voice, yet he found a way to overcome this set back and become triumphant in life.
Reading this story as a kid made me feel like I could achieve anything if I kept working hard and looking for strange opportunities to thrive. Sometimes, you just have to go for it, and without giving too much away, Louis went for it!
The delightful classic by E. B. White, author of Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, about overcoming obstacles and the joy of music.Â
Like the rest of his family, Louis is a trumpeter swan. But unlike his four brothers and sisters, Louis can't trumpet joyfully. In fact, he can't even make a sound. And since he can't trumpet his love, the beautiful swan Serena pays absolutely no attention to him.
Louis tries everything he can think of to win Serena's affectionâhe even goes to school to learn to read and write. But nothing seems to work. Then his father steals himâŚ
Who doesnât like a kid trying to be a superhero? Alvin is assigned a pollution project for school. Instead of writing a paper or doing an art project, Alvin becomes a superhero who fights pollution in his small town.
Alvin is a kid in a small town with a giant imagination and we get to go along for the ride as he tries to expose the biggest polluter in town-the chemical plant. And he does it with a funny mask and cape. Growing up, I didnât need Superman because I had Superweasel as my inspiration. Â
Mal's older brother has disappeared into thin air. Laura's parents went away for the weekend and when she gives them a call, they have no idea who she is. In pursuit of answers, the teens become entangled with two others similarly targeted by a force they don't understand and now,âŚ
I grew up way out in the country. We had to drive 9 miles before we got to something called âa paved road.â So I spent my childhood roaming the woods fishing, hunting and camping. Then someone gave me A Fine and Pleasant Misery.
This book combined my two favorite things-laughing and the great outdoors. This book is a collection of funny stories about Pat as he takes us all back to nature with a hilarious look through a kidâs eyes who had never seen a video game but did run into some strange creatures. (Spoiler alert: giant mosquitos)
âA hilarious compilationâ (Los Angeles Times), A Fine and Pleasant Misery gathers twenty-seven witty, cautionary tales of the outdoor life from beloved humorist Patrick F. McManus in a collection edited and introduced by Jack Samson, long-time editor-in-chief of Field & Stream.
The great outdoors have never been rendered as hysterically as in the reminiscencesâtrue and exaggeratedâof Patrick F. McManus. If youâre thinking about getting back to nature, the surreal adventures chronicled here will make you think twice about giving it all up for a life of camping, hiking, and hunting.
This book is a classic. It has heart, action, comedy and an awesome Grandpa who is always there with some wise wisdom. Billy Coleman is a country kid growing up on a farm. He decides he wants to get two Coonhounds andâŚwell, I donât want to spoil the tale.
I first read this book at age 12 and have read it once a year since then. If you grew up out in the country, like I did, with wide open skies, a big heart, and a little bit of mischief, this book is for you. Â
Read the beloved classic that captures the powerful bond between man and manâs best friend. This edition also includes a special note to readers from Newbery Medal winner and Printz Honor winner Clare Vanderpool. Â Billy has long dreamt of owning not one, but two, dogs. So when heâs finally able to save up enough money for two pups to call his ownâOld Dan and Little Annâheâs ecstatic. It doesnât matter that times are tough; together theyâll roam the hills of the Ozarks.
Soon Billy and his hounds become the finest hunting team in the valley. Stories of their great achievementsâŚ
The summer holidays have finally arrived and Scout canât wait for her adventure in the big rig with Dad. Theyâre on a mission to deliver donations of dog food to animal rescue shelters right across the state. Thereâll be dad-jokes, rock-collecting, and a brilliant plan that will make sure everyoneâsâŚ
As a boy growing up, I didnât read a lot of books with girl leads. After all, they had cooties, and I might get them just reading about girls. However, my Mom convinced me to read this book. It was the first time I laughed out loud reading something.
Ramona is a very mischievous kid but with a big heart. She knows what sheâs supposed to do but something usually messes it upâŚand by âsomethingâ I mean her. Â
In this edition of the Newbery Honor Book Ramona Quimby, Age 8, the timeless classic features a special foreword written by actress, producer, and author Amy Poehler, as well as an exclusive interview with Beverly Cleary herself.
Ramona likes that sheâs old enough to be counted on, but must everything depend on her? Mrs. Quimby has gone back to work so that Mr. Quimby can return to school, and Ramona is expected to be good for Mrs. Kemp while her parents are away, to be brave enough to ride the school bus by herself, and to put up with beingâŚ
Average Boy, the longtime popular character from the Clubhouse magazine feature âAdventures of Average Boy,â is at it again. Average Boy finds himself in hilarious situations as he attends a new school, deals with new bullies, and faces new goals to live out a Godly life. Thereâs also a food fight.
Boys and girls will laugh and relate to Average Boyâs wild adventures while learning some Godly principles in life.
Zeni lives in the Flint Hills of Southeast Kansas. This tale begins with her dream of befriending a miniature zebu calf coming true and follows Zeni as she works to befriend Zara. Enjoy full-color illustrations and a story filled with whimsy and plenty of opportunity for discussions around the perspectivesâŚ
4.5 billion years ago, Earth was forming - but nothing could have survived thereâŚ
From Cells to Ourselves is the incredible story of how life on earth started and how it gradually evolved from the first simple cells to the abundance of life around us today. Walk with dinosaurs, analyseâŚ
