"A 12-year-old boy uses his new magical powers and the help of a snarky fire hare to defeat his evil stepfather in a magical version of St. Paul"--

From the author of School for Sidekicks comes a witty and thoughtful middle-grade fantasy about the bonds of family and the strength of true friendship. Kalvan Monroe is worried. Either he’s going mad or he really did wake up with uncontrollable fire magic and accidentally summon a snarky talking fire hare. (Yes, that’s right, a hare. Made of fire. That talks.) He’s got to be going crazy, right? But if he’s not, then magic actually is real, and he’s got even more problems to worry about. Because Kalvan isn’t the only one with powers. The same fire magic that allows him to talk his way into and out of trouble burned too brightly in his mother, damaging her mind and leaving her vulnerable to the cold, manipulative spells of the Winter King. Can Kalvan gain control of his power in time to save his mother, or will their fires be snuffed out forever? Kelly McCullough combines Magic, Madness, and Mischief--as well as danger--in a delightful fantasy set in a magical version of St. Paul, Minnesota.

In 1856 William Dove, a young tenant farmer, was tried and executed for the poisoning of his wife Harriet. The trial might have been a straightforward case of homicide, but because Dove became involved with Henry Harrison, a Leeds wizard, and demonstrated through his actions and words a strong belief in magic and the powers of the devil, considerable effort was made to establish whether these beliefs were symptomatic of insanity. It seems that Dove murdered his wife to hasten a prediction made by Harrison that he would remarry a more attractive and wealthy woman. Dove employed Harrison to perform various acts of magic, and also made his own written pact with the devil to improve his personal circumstances. The book will study Dove’s beliefs and Harrison’s activities within the rural and urban communities in which they lived, and examine how modern cultures attempted to explain this largely hidden mental world, which was so sensationally exposed. The Victorian period is often portrayed as an age of great social and educational progress. This book shows how beliefs dismissed by some Victorians as ‘medieval superstitions’ continued to influence the thoughts and actions of many people, viz most famously Conan `table tapper' Doyle.

Insulted because her character has been left out of a movie of The Odyssey, Circe turns the entire movie crew into pigs, and when Wonder Woman intervenes the sorceress conjures up a portal that takes the hero into a realm of magical movie genres--and it is up to the reader to decide which genre Wonder Woman ends up in, and what dangers she must face there.

Magic. Mayhem. And Nerf crossbows. Welcome to Magical Madness. If you like wizards, dragons, knights and magical adventures, you'll love this ...Thomas Tinkler is ten years old. He's too mature for a trip to the soft play centre, in his opinion. He's adamant that he won't go. But his parents insist he goes anyway, because his younger brother, Finlay, needs to burn off some energy. When they arrive, they see that the play centre is no longer called Tumble Kids. It's been taken over by a mysterious man, who's rebranded the place as MAGICAL MADNESS.Once inside, the boys meet some new friends, Brady and Ella, who help them explore. They enjoy playing together. They chase each other down padded aisles. They race down slides and muck about in the ball pool. They even have a friendly contest, trying to knock each other off a balance beam with foam axes. All is going well - until Thomas discovers a door that leads to another part of the centre. And that's when the real adventure begins ...

She must learn to fly, but can she withstand the allure of the handsome new teacher? The decision has been made. Jessie has taken the magic, and all the weird that goes with it. Including wings. There's only one problem - she can't figure out how to access them. Through a series of terrible decisions, Jessie realizes she must ask for help. Gargoyle help. But she could've never predicted who answers her call - he's an excellent flier, incredibly patient, and a good trainer. He's also incredibly handsome. And interested. Maybe flying isn't the only thing she needs help with. Maybe she needs help getting back on that saddle, too, emerging into the dating pool. Except, the new gargoyle is also an alpha, just like Austin, and the town isn't big enough for two. Turns out, flying is the least of her problems.

Many human beings have considered the powers and the limits of human knowledge, but few have wondered about the power that the idea of knowledge has over us. Steven Connor’s The Madness of Knowledge is the first book to investigate this emotional inner life of knowledge—the lusts, fantasies, dreams, and fears that the idea of knowing provokes. There are in-depth discussions of the imperious will to know, of Freud’s epistemophilia (or love of knowledge), and the curiously insistent links between madness, magical thinking, and the desire for knowledge. Connor also probes secrets and revelations, quarreling and the history of quizzes and “general knowledge,” charlatanry and pretension, both the violent disdain and the sanctification of the stupid, as well as the emotional investment in the spaces and places of knowledge, from the study to the library. In an age of artificial intelligence, alternative facts, and mistrust of truth, The Madness of Knowledge offers an opulent, enlarging, and sometimes unnerving psychopathology of intellectual life.

In Spirits, Spells, and Snark--the middle-grade sequel to Kelly McCullough's Magic, Madness, and Mischief--a 13-year-old boy and his snarky fire hare familiar must use his new magical powers to rescue his long-lost father in a magical version of St. Paul. Kalvan Monroe is worried. Every story he’s ever read told him things should be better now. He mastered his magic, defeated his evil stepfather, and freed the land. Everything should be good now. But in breaking the Winter King's power, he also broke the spell that helped his mother keep her grip on reality. Basically . . . things at home aren’t great. And it turns out that the magical powers that be aren’t done with him yet. So, he’s also dealing with that. And the constant attempts on his life. And, oh yeah, there’s school, too. Not to mention that the Earth itself is talking to him . . . Is it too late for him to just give up and hide under the bed? Praise for Magic, Madness, and Mischief: "The author excels at introducing magic into the everyday modern world." —School Library Journal "McCullough smoothly blends family drama, school story, and magical coming of age in this entertaining fantasy. ... Fans of Percy Jackson will be eager to hop into Kalvan’s world."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (BCCB)

A Wall Street Journal Bestseller!It's time for a magical battle Jessie isn't sure she's prepared for.Elliot Graves has been a thorn in Jessie's side since before she agreed to take the house magic. He has constantly brought the fight to her doorstep.Not this time.With the help of Austin's shifters, the Ivy house crew will meet Elliot Graves in one of the most dangerous places imaginable - his home turf.But not before another creature joins the circle.