Rachel breaks her pencil during a test. Her teacher hands her a short pencil with gnaw marks to use. Disgusted, Rachel attempts to rid herself of the pencil, but it keeps returning. She soon discovers it possesses a talent she does not have: the ability to tell stories.

Fellow educators, poets, and creative writers will be moved and inspired by this collection.

For decades, Ruth Chew’s classic chapter books full of everyday magic have enchanted early readers. Now a new generation can fall under her spell and fall in love with reading. This e-collection turns tiny magic into big surprises! In Do-It-Yourself Magic, a special “Build Anything” kit makes imagined settings come to life. In Earthstar Magic, a slow summer turns upside down when a clumsy witch’s spells go awry. And in Mostly Magic, enchanted objects lead two siblings and a mysterious cat into a series of miniature adventures. "Ruth Chew's classic books capture the joy of everyday magic." — Mary Pope Osborne, author of the Magic Tree House series

The third novel in The Conrad Chronicles series finds Gloria of the House of Vasilis married to Ambassador Arsilin Lucas and living on Earth. While she bears and raises three children with the assistance of her loyal friend Hobbs, her brother, Zeplan, is aboard the Galactic Falcon, endeavoring to foil Xavier of the House of Baldemar's plans to eradicate all the humans living on the planet Karna. Unfortunately Gloria and Zeplan don't know that Xavier has located Gloria and arrived on Earth to challenge her to Death Duel in order to absorb her Light-given abilities. What Xavier doesn't know is that The Chosen One, Gloria's youngest child, Lucy, has been born, and that this seven year old girl will change all his plans.

Outstanding collection of nearly 200 crowd-pleasing mental magic feats requiring no special equipment. Author offers insider's tips and expert advice on techniques, presentation, diversions, patter, staging, more.

Book 2 in the Conrad Chronicles begins with Xavier locked in a thousand cycle Death Duel with Gloria's twin sister Thera. Gloria, Regal, and the other Conrads of the Light struggle to heal the damage Xavier, his Outcasts, and his Carmine army have caused to the planet Karna and her inhabitants. As the Conrads of the Light work at advancing Karna's decimated technology, they come to learn that during Karna's former years, under the reigning High Kings, ships of people left to colonize other planets and head out to learn more while waiting for the Death Duel to end.

For 250 planet cycles the elders concealed their secret: they had been exiled from Karna for using their Conrad abilities. Upon settling the planet Aleron they raised their children and continued to evolve as handlers of energy forces. The Conrads of the Light believed their thriving, peaceful world would endure. When ""the children"" learn of the exile, the Conrad utopian world on Aleron disintegrates. Desiring to become the next Conrad leader, Xavier of the House of Baldemar craves vengeance. He convinces several of his peers to follow him on his quest to annihilate the humans of Karna. Meanwhile, Gloria of the House of Vasilis is assailed by guilt over the questions she asked that sparked Xavier's desire for revenge. Forced into a position of leadership, Gloria is sent by the elders to stop Xavier. Gloria doubts her own abilities, especially when her twin sister chooses to follow Xavier.

Lucy Gloria Vasilis Lucas struggles to accept her new life. She no longer is seen as the daughter of Ambassador Arsilin Lucas, the child who witnessed her mother's murder, but is now valued as the daughter of Gloria of the House of Vasilis, a Conrad of the Light, and the Chosen One who is destined to defeat Xavier of the House of Baldemar. At the age of eighteen, Lucy has gone from living at Willow Manor on Earth to living aboard the space ship, the Galactic Falcon. Her life has gone from one of surviving the brutality of the adults around her to being presented with a universe full of options. The magnitude of these sudden changes has sent Lucy's mind into shock. As Lucy adjusts to space living, and slowly accepts she is alive and not delusional, she finds herself trying to accept the concept of being a Conrad, a human able to control energy. In addition, she must get to know her Uncle Zeplan, an uncle she never knew existed until the day he rescued her off of Earth.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 298-309) and index.

B will cast a S-P-E-L-L on middle-grade readers in this funny, fast-paced series!Eleven year-old Beatrix, B for short, is a witch with a quirky talent. When she spells out words, magic spells take shape!B's dad's job at Enchanted Chocolates has always been a great thing -- who doesn't like free candy and special tours of a chocolate factory? But when something goes wrong with the new batch of treats, there's nothing sweet about it! Everyone seems to be losing their magic touch -- can B whip up a solution, or could this spell the E-N-D of witches?