When a pesky dragon visits their farm and hard boils their chickens' eggs, turns the wheat fields to toast, and the cows' milk to yogurt, Izzy needs to find a solution before the Remove-A-Dragon lady arrives.

Fred the dragon has a list of tasks he must complete in order to be a successful dragon—none of which comes naturally. But he's determined to make #5—eat people—work. Before you can say "pass the salt" he's gobbled up three people even though he doesn't have the stomach for it. Luckily a local shepherd, with the help of a giant and a witch, knows how to cure what ails him and get those pesky people out of his belly. It's happily-ever-after for everyone in ways you'd never expect. Geisel award-winning author/illustrator Geoffrey Hayes is a stepped reader maestro. The common threads between his wildly popular Uncle Tooth and Otto SIRs and the more recent Benny and Penny series (Toon Books) are clear and constant. The art is adorable, the characters are bursting with personality, and the stories are humorously subversive. From marauding pirates to misbehaving mice to a dragon who swallows people whole (and then continues to communicate with them in his belly!), Geoffrey always hits that sweet spot for the stepped reader audience—easy to decode, illustrative tales that tickle the funnybone.

A little boy just knows there is a dragon under his door. Every night when he goes to bed, he can hear him breathing under there. His mom thinks he is silly, but she does not hear that dragon panting in the darkness. The boy does his best to ignore him. Even when he pulls his blankets over his head and buries his head under his pillow, that pesky dragon is still there, waiting. Finally after he falls asleep and awakens the next morning, the boy cautiously opens his bedroom door. What will he find there? In this charming children’s story, an imaginative boy who believes a dragon is sleeping under his door must become brave enough to learn the truth, once and for all.

Would you like to really know how to empower employees to take greater charge over their careers? To teach employees how to take more responsibility for their performance appraisals? To delegate work to employees? You'll get clear direction in Quality Leadership - a practical manual that addresses today's need for quality performance and gives techniques for handling a wide array of employee problems. This how-to-do-it resource for new and future leaders explains basic leadership tasks in a simple, step-by-step manner. It is full of practical advice - not theories - and outlines clear standards of performance. Even if you have been trained - and retrained - in leadership principles, you'll pick up fresh, new techniques here. The 22 chapters show you how to handle the many day-to-day interactions that are key to empowering your employees and helping them be more productive and fulfilled. You'll gain down-to-earth, clear directions for how to: Delegate, solve problems, make decisions, plan, develop objectives with employees, conduct effective performance appraisals, manage time, conduct meetings, interview and select employees, develop employees, manage organizational transitions and lead others. The many detailed worksheets included will help you apply on the job what you learn. If you follow these standards of performance, you will become a good leader. Your organization will thank you. And so will your employees.

Prepare yourself for the wrath of the Norsemen! That is, if you don't mind and it's not too inconvenient... Everyone knows Vikings are ruthless barbarians whose idea of a good time involves pillaging, plundering and feasting. But Thorfinn is no ordinary Viking! He is always polite and happily offers to wash the dirty dishes. Too bad his dad is Harald the Skull-Splitter, Village Chief and the roughest and toughest Viking of them all. Vikings far and wide are travelling to Scotland's Shetland Islands for the great Fire Festival where they'll compete to become ultimate champion by creating dazzling fire displays. Chief Harald is determined to be victorious but it seems as if Thorfinn has ruined their chances against rival Viking Chief Magnus the Bone-Breaker, until he remembers a story about a once-legendary dragon, now in hiding... Can Thorfinn and his ragtag crew track down the dreadful dragon and persuade her to help them put on a winning performance? Thorfinn and the Dreadful Dragon is the seventh adventure for Thorfinn the Nicest Viking in this funny, action-packed illustrated series for young readers which bridges the gap between Horrid Henry and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, set in a world where manners mean nothing and politeness is pointless!

New York Times bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson triumphantly returns to epic fantasy with the Wake the Dragon series. Spine of the Dragon is a politically charged adventure of swords, sorcery, vengeance, and the rise of sleeping giants. Two continents at war, the Three Kingdoms and Ishara, are divided by past bloodshed. When an outside threat arises—the reawakening of a powerful ancient race that wants to remake the world—the two warring nations must somehow set aside generational hatreds and form an alliance to fight their true enemy. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Prince Lucas, his friend Clara, and Ruskin the dragon travel with a team of knights to the forest of Trellis, where they discover that an evil sorcerer's shadow has cursed the land and only someone pure of heart and full of hope can save them.

Queen Verity is queen only because her mother has said she has to be. She agrees because, after all, somebody has to liberate the dragons who have long toiled in the boiler room bowels of the city. Now that they are free, nobody has any idea what to do with them or how to feed them. Everyone is used to dragons being docile cogs in the machinery of industry, tamed into tranquility by food treated with a hypnotic tranquilizer, now largely destroyed, leaving a lot of huge hungry beasts roving the capital city of Queenston. Verity needs to act fast, before the dragons remember what dragons once did to feed themselves. The crown has scarcely mussed her hair before her political enemies have her shanghaied and sold to an outward bound vessel, leaving the kingdom to the random mercies of her erstwhile assistant, Malady Hyde.

After Volstov defeated the neighbouring Ke-Han following more than a century of war, a precarious peace was achieved between the two nations. But now it appears that Volstov's ruler, the Esar, has been secretly pursuing the possibility of bringing the beautiful and fearsome mechanical dragons back to life--the very thing that could ignite another war.

The human race is an endangered species. Vampires, werewolves, Bigfoot, and killer robots – they’re all trying to kill us. Killer robots even have the word “killer” in their name. Can it get more obvious? We need to rid the world of these monsters before they rid the world of us. All of them. But these monsters aren’t real, right? Wrong, and you’re dead. These creatures wander the periphery of our reality, waiting for a moment of weakness, and then attack while we’re home alone in our underwear. “How to Kill Monsters Using Common Household Items” is a guidebook on how to rid your life of these monsters before they kill you, so sharpen that machete and gas up the weed whacker, folks. Each chapter contains: · How to identify the monster · Who’s going to help you kill it · Your arsenal and where to keep it (kitchen, bathroom, living room, garage, etc.). · Behavior of the monster while you’re trying to kill it · Disposing of the body · Monster powers · Monster weaknesses · How to avoid the monster “How to Kill Monsters Using Common Household Items” is a must have home defense guide for the do-it-yourself slayer. After using this book, you too can understand that setting gnomes on fire with a Bic lighter and a can of Aqua Net is funny.