The funniest alien in the universe lands on the galaxy’s weirdest planet: Earth On the planet Crouton, kids never have to straighten their rooms or make their own beds. That’s because their rooms aren’t crooked, and when they need beds, they just buy them. It’s a pretty neat place. But when Funny Boy—a Croutonian smart-aleck with the galaxy’s best sense of humor—shoots his brother with a spitball, his parents strap him into a spaceship and blast him to Earth. Things get strange from the minute his spaceship crash-lands in the underwear factory. A planet-gobbling alien is about to attack his new home, and Funny Boy doesn’t have any weapons besides a talking dog and a razor-sharp wit. But there is good news: Something about Earth’s atmosphere has made Funny Boy even funnier. His job is to crack the jokes, but he needs somebody to turn the pages. So get to it! Earth won’t save itself! This ebook features an illustrated biography of Dan Gutman including rare images from the author’s personal collection. Funny Boy Meets the Airsick Alien from Andromeda is the 1st book in Funny Boy, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

When Funny Boy--a Croutonian smart-aleck with the galaxy's best sense of humor--shoots his brother with a spitball, his parents strap him into a spaceship and blast him to Earth. Things get strange from the minute his spaceship crash-lands in the und

Can Oliver become a hero—even when no one needs saving? Oliver knows he’s destined for greatness. Deep in his bones, he feels his courage growling like a lion, just waiting for a chance to prove itself. As for a Boy Scout or a firefighter, the trick is to always be prepared. Oliver’s only problem is that he’s already finished the fourth grade and might be running out of chances to show his stuff. But don’t bet against him. The odds are that when he’s tested, Oliver will be ready to save the day. In a series of wacky misadventures spanning a day of fishing turned shark attack and an evening at a red-hot Tex-Mex restaurant, Oliver does his best to be heroic.

DIVOne boy’s journey to see his favorite soccer player in action becomes an uplifting song to the South African spiritDIV /divA modern-day folktale set in the heart of South Africa, Bafana Bafana is the story of Pelé, an eleven-year-old village boy whose dream is to see his soccer team play. Such a dream is considered crazy for a boy from the distant outback, but Pelé is far from ordinary; determined to see his favorite player, Sibusiso Zuma, play live, Pelé treks hundreds of kilometers to the jostling, jiving Cape Town. From the dangers of townships, the incredible story of Nelson Mandela, and the magic of a local medicine man, Bafana Bafana is a joyous and lively tale about following your dreams, even in the face of daunting hurdles.DIV /div /div

Wimbley is a curious preschool boy who can't help wondering what will happen if he... When Wimbley gets to wondering, there's no telling what sort of trouble he'll get into next.

DIVRama the cat has no home. He is the Gypsy Cat, and a life full of travel and adventure awaits him./divDIV When a gypsy woman found Rama as a kitten, she pierced his ear with a golden earring and named him after an exiled prince who wandered for years, having many adventures. Rama the cat lives up to his namesake when he strays from the wagon that was his home, and begins his own thrilling journey, discovering dangers on the wharf, in the forest, and by the river, encountering new foes and friends. Will Rama ever return to his old life . . . and does he even want to?/divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features an illustrated biography of Betsy Byars including rare images from the author’s personal collection./div

In this remarkable debut novel, a boy’s bittersweet passage to maturity and sexual awakening is set against escalating political tensions in Sri Lanka, during the seven years leading up to the 1983 riots. Arjie Chelvaratnam is a Tamil boy growing up in an extended family in Colombo. It is through his eyes that the story unfolds and we meet a delightful, sometimes eccentric cast of characters. Arjie’s journey from the luminous simplicity of childhood days into the more intricately shaded world of adults – with its secrets, its injustices, and its capacity for violence – is a memorable one, as time and time again the true longings of the human heart are held against the way things are.

The bestselling landmark account of the first emergence of the Ebola virus. Now a mini-series drama starring Julianna Margulies, Topher Grace, Liam Cunningham, James D'Arcy, and Noah Emmerich on National Geographic. A highly infectious, deadly virus from the central African rain forest suddenly appears in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. There is no cure. In a few days 90 percent of its victims are dead. A secret military SWAT team of soldiers and scientists is mobilized to stop the outbreak of this exotic "hot" virus. The Hot Zone tells this dramatic story, giving a hair-raising account of the appearance of rare and lethal viruses and their "crashes" into the human race. Shocking, frightening, and impossible to ignore, The Hot Zone proves that truth really is scarier than fiction.

DIVDIVA special four-in-one edition of Dan Gutman’s hilarious and delightful Funny Boy series/divDIV In Funny Boy Meets the Airsick Alien from Andromeda, Funny Boy—a smart-aleck from the planet Crouton with the galaxy’s best sense of humor—shoots his brother with a spitball, and his parents strap him into a spaceship and blast him to Earth. Things get strange right away. A planet-gobbling alien is about to attack his new home, and Funny Boy doesn’t have any weapons besides a talking dog and a razor-sharp wit./divDIV In Funny Boy Versus the Bubble-Brained Barbers from the Big Bang, Funny Boy, just like Superman, has mastered the powers he gained when he landed on Earth. He’s not super strong or super fast, but his super sense of humor lets him crack jokes faster than a speeding bullet. Now he must face the least hilarious thing in the universe: the first day of school. As he tries to fit in among his human peers, Funny Boy learns that three intergalactic barbers have come to steal every strand of hair on Earth. He’ll have to dust off his freshest material to stop them, because everybody knows there’s nothing funny about a bad haircut./divDIV In Funny Boy Takes on the Chit-Chatting Cheeses from Chattanooga, the nation’s cattle have gotten too smart for their own good. Tired of letting humans steal their milk, American cows have gone on strike. This is trouble for anybody who likes cheese. Funny Boy is mourning the cheese shortage when five giant cheeses fall on Wisconsin, and then begin to talk. The cheeses are aliens from the faraway planet Chattanooga, and they have come to stop the shortage. The country’s woe is ended, but something about the aliens’ story stinks worse than month-old Muenster. It will take Funny Boy and his galactic sense of humor to curdle these curds before America starts to spoil./divDIV And in Funny Boy Meets the Dumbbell Dentist from Deimos (with Dangerous Dental Decay), Funny Boy’s super-powered sense of humor has won him the love of his life: Tupper Camembert. But this riddle-flinging superhero’s work is far from over. When the president of the United States is summoned for a cleaning with Dr. Denny the dentist, he knows something is wrong—he doesn’t even have an appointment! This is a job for Funny Boy, who must once again use every joke in his arsenal to destroy the evil dentist villain and his hygienist henchmen./div/div

Exiled on Earth, Funny Boy must save his new planet from an evil haircut Never spit spitballs at your brother. That’s the lesson Funny Boy learned on his last day on the planet Crouton, when his parents strapped him to a rocket and shot him to Earth as punishment for misbehaving. But just like Superman, this exiled Croutonian gained powers when he landed on the new world. He’s not super strong, super fast, or super stylish, but his super sense of humor lets him crack jokes faster than a speeding bullet, and leap over boring situations with a single pun. But now he must face the least hilarious thing in the universe: the first day of school. As he tries to fit in among his human peers, Funny Boy learns that three intergalactic barbers have come to steal every strand of hair on Earth. He’ll have to dust off his freshest material to stop them, because everybody knows there’s nothing funny about a bad haircut. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Dan Gutman including rare images from the author’s personal collection. Funny Boy Versus the Bubble-Brained Barbers from the Big Bang is the 2nd book in Funny Boy, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.