A few million miles away from Los Angeles, danger is lurking. Evil aliens with some seriously hard to pronounce names like Zzykrkv are visiting earth from their home planet, Dork—to kidnap earthlings for their science class! While busy on a snack food errand . . . uh, mission . . . Melvin Beederman, official superhero of Los Angeles, senses that something doesn't feel quite right. Can Melvin, Candance, and friends from the Superhero Academy prevail over extraterrestrial bad guys with a spaceship powered by a Gamma drive? Holy alien invasion!

Valley Girls Chantele and Brittany, under the influence of a mad scientist's evil potion, hatch a plan to take over the city by kidnapping the mayor's wiener dog, Schnitzel, but Melvin and his partner in uncrime, Candace, are on their trail.

The three members of the Bad Guy Brotherhood buy a time machine to keep the younger Melvin from gaining his superhero powers, and Melvin and his sidekick Candace, disguised as pirates, travel back in time to stop them.

After graduating from the superhero academy, Melvin Beederman heads for Los Angeles, where he unexpectedly teams up with Candace Brinkwater, school play actress, to nab the evil McNasty Brothers.

As Melvin and Candace continue their crime-fighting work as superheroes, the McNasty Brothers, the McNasty Sisters, and the school bullies all plot to get even with them.

On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first person in history to leave the Earth's atmosphere and venture into space. His flight aboard a Russian Vostok rocket lasted only 108 minutes, but at the end of it he had become the most famous man in the world. Back on the ground, his smiling face captured the hearts of millions around the globe. Film stars, politicians and pop stars from Europe to Japan, India to the United States vied with each other to shake his hand. Despite this immense fame, almost nothing is known about Gagarin or the exceptional people behind his dramatic space flight. Starman tells for the first time Gagarin's personal odyssey from peasant to international icon, his subsequent decline as his personal life began to disintegrate under the pressures of fame, and his final disillusionment with the Russian state. President Kennedy's quest to put an American on the Moon was a direct reaction to Gagarin's achievement--yet before that successful moonshot occurred, Gagarin himself was dead, aged just thirty-four, killed in a mysterious air crash. Publicly the Soviet hierarchy mourned; privately their sighs of relief were almost audible, and the KGB report into his death remains secret. Entwined with Gagarin's history is that of the breathtaking and highly secretive Russian space program - its technological daring, its triumphs and disasters. In a gripping account, Jamie Doran and Piers Bizony reveal the astonishing world behind the scenes of the first great space spectacular, and how Gagarin's flight came frighteningly close to destruction.

When Melvin goes to Las Vegas for the Superhero's Convention, Candace is left in charge of Los Angeles. Between the horrible bullies at school and the devious and sinister Spaz brothers (Major and his brother, Big), Candace has her hands very full. And someone has stolen her cape! How will she stop all the bad guys before the city is overrun with crime? The super-sidekick gets her turn in the spotlight in this fifth hilarious book in the Melvin Beederman series.

Reaching Reluctant Young Readers features 150 middle-grade books. Each profiled title has the potential to hook the reluctant reader and lure them to read the entire book. To specifically encourage elementary and middle-school-age reluctant children to read, there is first a pitch to get the reader’s attention. That is followed by a short reading passage to “set the hook” and encourage the young person to read the rest of the book on their own. Further, the book contains several hundred additional recommended titles. The books selected for this collection were chosen following the criteria of reluctant reader books created by the Quick Picks committee sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association. While these guidelines were designed for young adult books, they also work well for middle-grade books. The criteria include: clear writing (no convoluted long sentences with sophisticated vocabulary), high interest “hook” in the first few pages, well-defined characters, interesting plot, and familiar themes.

Practical guidance and advice on writing from professional authors.

Written with a focus on the English Language Arts Common Core Standards, this book provides a complete plan for developing a literacy program that focuses on boys pre-K through grade 12. Despite the fact that reading and literacy among boys has been an area of concern for years, this issue remains unresolved today. Additionally, the emphasis and focus have changed due to the implementation of the English Language Arts Common Core Standards. How can educators best encourage male students to read, and what new technologies and techniques can serve this objective? The Common Core Approach to Building Literacy in Boys is an essential resource and reference for teachers, librarians, and parents seeking to encourage reading in boys from preschool to 12th grade. Providing a wide array of useful, up-to-date information that emphasizes the English Language Arts Common Core Standards, the bibliographies and descriptions of effective strategies in this book will enable you to boost reading interest and performance in boys. The chapters cover 16 different topics of interest to boys, all accompanied by a complete bibliography for each subject area, discussion questions, writing connections, and annotated new and classic nonfiction titles. Information on specific magazines, annotated professional titles, books made into film, websites, and apps that will help you get boys interested in reading is also included.