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He'd been swimming laps for a half hour every day, mostly with Tony and sometimes with Eldon. A few times he'd seen other kids practicing, but nobody had done as much swimming as he had.

He stopped by the water and looked across the lake, all the way down to the totem pole.

Could he win it? He could dream about it, but it seemed impossible. He'd studied the results of the trials in the Bulletin, and a top-ten finish seemed within his reach. But the best swimmers were just too far out there.

For Elise, nothing has seemed right since middle school started. She gets tortured by her locker partner and can't get her homework done. A new baby moves into her house, interrupting her wonderful life with Uncle Hugh and Aunt Bessie. Worst of all, things with her best friend, Franklin, are just not the same as they used to be.

A year after Stephie Steiner and her younger sister, Nellie, left Nazi-occupied Vienna, Stephie has finally adapted to life on the rugged Swedish island where she now lives. But more change awaits Stephie: her foster parents have allowed her to enroll in school on the mainland, in Goteberg. Stephie is eager to go. Not only will she be pursuing her studies, she'll be living in a cultured city again—under the same roof as Sven, the son of the lodgers who rented her foster parents' cottage for the summer.

Hiding is Roo Fanshaw’s special skill. Living in a frighteningly unstable family, she often needs to disappear at a moment’s notice. When her parents are murdered, it’s her special hiding place under the trailer that saves her life.

When Pa brings a turkey poult home to fatten for Christmas dinner, he assures Ma that it will be no trouble since it can live in a box by the stove and eat table scraps--and just think of the money we'll save! But it's not quite so simple to raise a turkey in a tiny flat in a nineteenth-century New York City tenement. Can Pa and the children manage the willful and growing Alfred and keep the neighbors happy until Christmas? Pa finds a solution for every difficulty--until he encounters one that threatens to ruin Christmas completely.

What’s a California miner to do when gold dust sifts right out of his holey pockets? With such a raggedy wardrobe, he may as well be mining in the vanilla (that is, his birthday suit)! Good thing Levi Strauss is out west, ready with his needle and a head full of bright ideas. With some quick thinking, quicker stitching, and handy arithmetic, Levi keeps all the gold rushers clothed—and becomes a modern American hero. A Wild West tall tale, Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea celebrates creativity, innovation, and the ubiquitous item that fills the closets of grateful jeans wearers worldwide.

Dong! Dong! Dong! The school bell is ringing. The fall wind is blowing. Mr. Putter wishes he could go back to school—even for just one day. Then he has an idea: How about a visit during show-and-tell with his fine cat, Tabby? And Zeke and Mrs. Teaberry? The teacher agrees, but there’s one problem. She and the students expect pet tricks. Will Tabby and Zeke be able to deliver?

From the moment Spot answered Henry's ad in the newspaper, the two have been inseparable. But then on Henry's birthday, he gets a dog--the pet he's always wanted! Feeling left out, Spot leaves for his old home, and gets caught in a terrible storm. Henry is devastated when he finds Spot missing and is quickly hot on his trail. With the help of his new dog, Henry saves him and Spot finds out that even with a new pet in his life, Henry would never let his best friend go.

Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. That’s what all the other numbers think of Zero. He doesn’t add anything in addition. He’s of no use in division. And don’t even ask what he does in multiplication. (Hint: Poof!) But Zero knows he’s worth a lot, and when the other numbers get into trouble, he swoops in to prove that his talents are innumerable.

In Caddy's world, things are always changing. People vanish for days, come to live in your bedroom, hide under tables for hours and hours, count pennies in jam jars until they have enough to buy bread, and then the next day gild halos for the school play with real gold leaf. Caddy's home is a turmoil of piled possessions, lost belongings, and unexpected adventures. Her one constant is her three best friends, a charmed circle that she never wants to leave.

America: The Story of Us is a full-color, deluxe history that is at once penetrating and lively, elegant and authoritative—as perfect for serious reading as it is for casual skimming. A companion to the groundbreaking HISTORY™ series America: The Story of Us, this stunning volume illuminates the epic story of our nation in a new way for a new generation.

Lucas Cott is one of the smartest kids in Mrs. Hockaday's third grade—but he's always in trouble. He races pencils, cracks jokes, and calls out in class without raising his hand.

Lucas doesn't mean to be the class clown. He even decides to become the perfect student. But when he tries to change his ways, the most unexpected things happen....

Second-grader Ronald Morgan inadvertently turns a failing class play into a success.

Were the green, glowing crystals the little man gave James really magic? Maybe, but it was magic lost to James when he tripped and spilled the crystals by the old peach tree. Now it looked like he'd never escape his hideous aunts. But what was happening to that peach at the tip of the tree? It was growing bigger and bigger... it was as big as a house! And when James crawled inside, he met a houseful of friends: giant Grasshopper, Ladybug, Centipede, and more. Then with one snip of the stem, the peach was rolling away—and marvelous things started happening...

Captured by a giant! The BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It's lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by the Bloodbottler, the Fleshlumpeater, the Bonecruncher, or any of the other giants—rather than the BFG—she would have soon become breakfast. When Sophie hears that they are flush-bunking off to England to swollomp a few nice little chiddlers, she decides she must stop them once and for all. And the BFG is going to help her!