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.

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.

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.

Includes an excerpt from: Doom with a view.

When Los Angeles superhero Melvin Beederman starts receiving mysterious, threatening emails, he and Candace, his partner in uncrime, must figure out who is out to get him and then do something about it.

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.

Want to identify fiction books that boys in grades three through nine will find irresistible? This guide reveals dozens of worthwhile recommendations in categories ranging from adventure stories and sports novels to horror, humorous, and science fiction books. In Get Those Guys Reading!: Fiction and Series Books that Boys Will Love, authors Kathleen A. Baxter and Marcia A. Kochel provide compelling and current reading suggestions for younger boys—information that educators, librarians, and parents alike are desperate for. Comprising titles that are almost all well-reviewed in at least one major professional journal, or that are such big hits with kids that they've received the "stamp of approval" from the most important reviewers, this book will be invaluable to anyone whose goal is to help boys develop a healthy enthusiasm for reading. It includes chapters on adventure books; animal stories; graphic novels; historical fiction; humorous books; mystery, horror, and suspense titles; science fiction and fantasy; and sports novels. Within each chapter, the selections are further divided into books for younger readers (grades 3–6) and titles for older boys in grades 5–8. Elementary and middle school librarians and teachers, public librarians, Title One teachers, and parents of boys in grades 3–9 will all benefit greatly from having this book at hand.

Is Melvin Beederman DOOMED? Mysterious threatening e-mails, a sad sidekick, and . . . country music? Melvin Beederman and his partner in uncrime, Candace, are really in trouble. Once again someone is out to get them, and this time not even the Superhero's Code can save Melvin from a terrible bologna-filled plight. Candace alone can rescue him—if only she can remember the country singer's motto: "When all else fails, sing about your dog." Melvin Beederman has launched himself as a flying success with kids and adults alike. And the sky is the limit with this fourth book!

The three members of the Bad Guy Brotherhood have broken out of jail, and now they're coming after the superhero who put them there: Melvin Beederman! Goofball McCluskey, Max the Wonder Thug, and Calamity Wayne are building a time machine so they can get Melvin before he ever became a superhero. Can Melvin and Candace travel back in time and reach the Superhero Academy to save young Melvin?

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!