Showing results by publisher "Tantor Media" in Growing Up & Facts of Life

The Grimsbane women have been hunting witches and monsters for generations—ever since the Watcher, the most powerful witch in the Midwest, cursed the Grimsbane men to die untimely and unusual deaths. Part-time skater, full-time troublemaker Anna Grimsbane may be only twelve, but she's been learning about hunting her whole life and is tired of waiting to do the real thing. She and her twin brother Billy are about to turn thirteen, the age the curse takes hold, and Anna wants to be on the front lines fighting to break it.

Eleven-year-old Norman Ollestad is no stranger to extreme situations. Whether it's surfing big swells off Topanga Beach or skiing in a blizzard, he has braved one adrenaline-rush adventure after another, pushed by his thrill-seeking father to realize that "anything's possible." And with Dad by his side, sometimes Norman believes him. That motto is put to the ultimate test when the small plane Norman and his dad are aboard is engulfed by a snowstorm and crashes in the San Gabriel Mountains—with deadly consequences.

Sydney Mackenzie is an aspiring filmmaker and average less-than-popular California Girl. So when her parents drop the biggest bombshell ever—they have inherited a cemetery called Lay to Rest, which means a move to boring Delaware—Sydney is NOT happy. And to make matters worse? Their "new" house is actually right on the cemetery grounds—and it isn't exactly California chic. But after settling in, Sydney discovers that the creepy old house might have more history than she once thought.

Ten-year-old Jada Sly is an artist and a spy-in-training. When she isn't studying the art from her idols like Jackie Ormes, the first-known African American cartoonist, she's chronicling her spy training and other observations in her art journal. Back home in New York City, after living in France for five years, Jada is ready to embark on her first and greatest spy adventure yet. She plans to scour New York City in search of her missing mother, even though everyone thinks her mom died in a plane crash. Except Jada, who is certain her mom was a spy, too.

Minerva Soledad Miranda is determined to reach her goals, despite shouldering more responsibility than the other kids at school—like caring for her two sisters while her mom works two jobs. But one night, Minerva's mom doesn't come home, and Minerva has to figure out what to do. Was Mamá snapped up by immigration enforcement? Will the girls be sent to foster homes or holding centers for migrant kids? Minerva and her sisters can't let anyone know Mamá has disappeared. They'll just pretend everything is normal until she comes back.

Flora and her brother, Julian, don't believe they were born. They've lived in so many foster homes, they can't remember where they came from. And even now that they've been adopted, Flora still struggles to believe that they've found their forever home. Though Flora is trying her best to trust two new people, when she finds out that there will be a new baby, she's worried that there won't be enough love for everyone. So along with their new mother, Flora and Julian begin a journey to go back and discover their past—for only then can they really begin to build their future.

After a perilous train ride, Rudolph joins Tony in the countryside where his family is enjoying a taste of life on a farm. They spend the week hiding from Tony's parents, exploring old farm buildings under the full moon, and even getting chased by a bull! But will their sneaking around be enough to keep Rudolph from discovery?

Rafael Fuentes isn't easily scared. He loves writing ghost stories, reading scary books, and entertaining his friends with terrifying tales he creates on the spot. Rafa has come up against enough real-life scary situations that fictional hauntings seem like no big deal. Rafa's incarcerated mom is being released from jail soon, and will be coming to live with him, his sister, and their grandparents. For the first time in a while, Rafa feels a pit of fear growing in his stomach.

When his parents plan a vacation to a farm, Tony and his friend Rudolph the little vampire hatch a plan for Rudolph to come along to keep Tony company. Rudolph needs to have his coffin with him so he can sleep during the day, so he takes the train instead of flying. Can he make the trip without drawing too much attention to himself?

Cruzita is going to be a pop star. All she has to do is win a singing contest at her favorite theme park and get famous. But she can't go to the theme park this summer. Instead, she has to help out at her family's bakery, which has been struggling ever since Tio Chuy died. Cruzita's great-uncle poured his heart into the bakery-the family legacy—and now that he's gone, nothing is the same. When Cruzita's not rolling uneven tortillas or trying to salvage rock-hard conchas, she has to take mariachi lessons, even though she doesn't know how to play her great-grandpa's violin.

Afraid her sister (and maybe even herself) could lose sight of their Vietnamese identity, twelve-year-old Bom writes a poetic memoir to help them both remember—a love letter in verse to sisterhood and the places we leave behind. Bom can't believe that her sister doesn't see herself as Vietnamese, only American. She says she doesn't remember Vietnam or their lives there, their family there, their house and friends. How could her sister forget the terrible journey through Saigon and the airplanes and . . . everything?

With his summer headed downhill fast, thirteen-year-old Justin faces a tricky choice—stand up to bigotry or let fear hold him back. When he's targeted by a bully, and a good friend stops speaking to him, Justin counts on help from Leroy Usher, the ghost whose magical carnival helped transform Justin's life after his father died last year. So this should be a breeze, right? His expectations rise further when a mysterious message from Mr. Usher invites him and pals Darby and Naz for a midnight visit.

Rocky Race is living the dream: she's won a scholarship to a prestigious high school in Los Angeles, where she gets to play soccer and train for going pro. She's got an amazing best friend, and a supportive mum and brother back home in the UK. But living away from home isn't easy, and fitting in with American kids in high school is scary and new. Not to mention she has to keep her grades up if she wants to stay on the pitch! Will Rocky survive high school?

Twelve-year-old Rosie is a musical prodigy whose synesthesia allows her to see music in colors. She's never told anyone this, though. She already stands out more than enough as a musical "prodigy" who plays better than most adults. Rosie's mom expects her to become a professional violinist. But this summer, Rosie refuses to play. She wants to have a break. To make friends and discover new hobbies. To find out who she would be if her life didn't revolve around the violin.

Ten-year-old Angus is unique. He quotes Shakespeare and wants to stage a Werewolf Hamlet play for his fifth grade legacy project. Angus's seventeen-year-old brother, Liam, is like a werewolf now—Angus never knows if he'll be nice or mean or when he'll sneak out to get drunk or worse. Meanwhile, tension continues to build for Liam's family in Los Angeles. Mom and Dad are going to default on the mortgage. Older sister Hannah is fed up and ready to move herself to Maine, and little sister Sidney doesn't really get what's happening. Then Liam goes missing, and Angus decides he has to find him.

Thirteen-year-old twins Gabby and Trent Manning are Connecticut's youngest paranormal investigators. Both have inherited "the gift" from their grandparents, the Mannings, whose legendary ghost hunts inspired several books and movies—but whose names have been nearly forgotten since their untimely deaths years ago. Armed with EMF machines, flashlights, and recording equipment, the twins' mom drags them all over New England in an attempt to bring their family back into the limelight.

Piper Shapiro has the best mom in the world: Noura, a single parent by choice who always has a plan, whether it's for a spontaneous Saturday adventure or helping Piper navigate middle school as a nonbinary kid. They're a package deal, and they tell each other everything. At least, they used to. But then Noura invites Piper out to dinner with her girlfriend Gwinny . . .and Gwinny’s son, Colton—a boy Piper knows, and doesn't exactly get along with. Piper panics when the realization hits: Noura and Gwinny are serious about each other.

When Sloane Osborn and Amelia Miller-Poe arrive at Tangle Glen mansion, they have one goal: find the two million dollars that went missing on its premises decades ago. Solving the mystery would be just the kind of splashy victory their new detective agency needs to gain traction. Except that everything from the weirdly intense peony competition to the mansion's cook who may or may not be hiding murder dolls in the attic seems to get in the way of their investigation. Not to mention Amelia's obsession with speaking in 1920s slang, which sounds like a whole lot of nonsense to Sloane.

Sloane and Amelia’s amateur detective agency has landed their first paid gig! After seeing their YouTube documentary series, eccentric millionaire Covington Cooley hires them to solve a mystery: the secret location of a time capsule buried in 1865 somewhere on the grounds of Cedar Point Amusement Park. Cooley is sure that the box holds documents proving that his ancestor is the rightful owner of the land, a fact which, if proven, would turn him from a millionaire to a billionaire overnight.

For Melia and her sister Myrto, summer means a break from Grandfather's history lessons and weeks of running free at the seaside with their ragtag group of friends. Best of all, cousin Nikos will visit and tell his fabulous stories about the taxidermied wildcat, which opens its blue glass eye when it wants to do good deeds and its black one when it makes trouble. The black eye must be open lately because all the adults have been acting strangely, arguing about politics and fearful of the police. Soon even the children are divided—who can Melia trust?