The fog rolled in, wrapping itself around my shoulders like a stale, wet, gray cloak. It gathered deeper and deeper, like an old friend happy to see me after a long absence. And it hid me. It hid my presence from the watchful eyes in the cabin before me. That was fine with me. I needed the concealment more than I needed the sight. In fact, I didn't need to see the cabin at all. I could smell it. And I could smell most strongly the one thing I wanted more than anything else in the world right now. The thing that made my stomach ache with hunger. Sweet, young, tender flesh about fifteen years old. A werewolf's favorite meal. Find out what happens to the people in the cabin in this 15-minute tale of terror. Ages 9 and up. Educational Versions have exercises designed to meet Common Core standards. LearningIsland.com believes in the value of children practicing reading for 15 minutes every day. Our 15-Minute Books give children lots of fun, exciting choices to read, from classic stories, to mysteries, to books of knowledge. Open the world of reading to a child by having them read for 15 minutes a day.

The fog rolled in, wrapping itself around my shoulders like a stale, wet, gray cloak. It gathered deeper and deeper, like an old friend happy to see me after a long absence. And it hid me. It hid my presence from the watchful eyes in the cabin before me. That was fine with me. I needed the concealment more than I needed the sight. In fact, I didn't need to see the cabin at all. I could smell it. And I could smell most strongly the one thing I wanted more than anything else in the world right now. The thing that made my stomach ache with hunger. Sweet, young, tender flesh about fifteen years old. A werewolf's favorite meal. Find out what happens to the people in the cabin in this 15-minute tale of terror. Ages 9 and up. LearningIsland.com believes in the value of children practicing reading for 15 minutes every day. Our 15-Minute Books give children lots of fun, exciting choices to read, from classic stories, to mysteries, to books of knowledge. Open the world of reading to a child by having them read for 15 minutes a day.

Two girls discover a tree house in the woods. They climb the tree and begin to play in the tree house, only to discover they are not alone. They escape from the tree house and race through the woods, only to find themselves at a cabin that is rumored to belong to a witch. She seems nice enough, but then she makes a strange, frightening request. She asks them to return to the tree house and play with the ghost of her long lost daughter. Find out what the girls do, and the secret the tree house holds. Scary Ghost Stories contains a collection of seven 15-minute ghost stories, including: The Haunted Tree House, The Ghost of the Donner Party, The Hobo Graveyard, The Haunted Haystack, The Isle of Death, The Disappearance of Sara Oglethorpe, and The Werewolf of Walther Point These scary stories are designed for older children, aged 11-14. Educational Versions have exercises designed to meet Common Core standards. LearningIsland.com believes in the value of children practicing reading for 15 minutes every day. Our 15-Minute Books give children lots of fun, exciting choices to read, from classic stories, to mysteries, to books of knowledge. Many of these books are suitable for hi-lo readers. Open the world of reading to a child by having them read for 15 minutes a day.

The heart-pounding history of how Pope Pius XII -- often labeled "Hitler's Pope" -- was in fact an anti-Nazi spymaster, plotting against the Third Reich during World War II. The Vatican's silence in the face of Nazi atrocities remains one of the great controversies of our time. History has accused wartime pontiff Pius the Twelfth of complicity in the Holocaust and dubbed him "Hitler's Pope." But a key part of the story has remained untold. Pope Pius in fact ran the world's largest church, smallest state, and oldest spy service. Saintly but secretive, he sent birthday cards to Hitler -- while secretly plotting to kill him. He skimmed from church charities to pay covert couriers, and surreptitiously tape-recorded his meetings with top Nazis. Under his leadership the Vatican spy ring actively plotted against the Third Reich. Told with heart-pounding suspense and drawing on secret transcripts and unsealed files by an acclaimed author, Church of Spies throws open the Vatican's doors to reveal some of the most astonishing events in the history of the papacy. Riebling reveals here how the world's greatest moral institution met the greatest moral crisis in history.

A “superior thriller”(Oakland Press) about a man, a dog, and a terrifying threat that could only have come from the imagination of #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz—nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read. On his thirty-sixth birthday, Travis Cornell hikes into the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. But his path is soon blocked by a bedraggled Golden Retriever who will let him go no further into the dark woods. That morning, Travis had been desperate to find some happiness in his lonely, seemingly cursed life. What he finds is a dog of alarming intelligence that soon leads him into a relentless storm of mankind’s darkest creation...

Sweeping across countries, class and music, Eva Ibboton's classic historical romance, Magic Flutes, is a richly imagined tale of intrigue and identity, with a new introduction from Harriet Evans. In the spring of 1922, young Austrian Princess Theresa-Maria – known to her ancient aunts as 'Putzerl' – abandons her crumbling castle and her royal duties. Disguising herself simply as Tessa, she enrolls as under wardrobe mistress of the International Opera Company and soon loses herself in the intoxicating world of the Viennese opera. But when Guy Farne, an Englishman looking to impress his new fiance, arrives in Austria and employs the Company to perform at his newly purchased Austrian estate, he finds himself fascinated by the under wardrobe mistress, and Tessa finds it increasingly difficult to keep her two lives separate . . . 'I have binged on Eva Ibbotson . . . her elegantly written, witty and well-observed fables' Nigella Lawson, The Times Rediscover Eva Ibbotson, award-winning author of Journey to the River Sea, in her sweeping historical romances, including The Morning Gift, A Song For Summer, The Secret Countess (originally published as A Countess Below Stairs), Madensky Square and A Company of Swans. Magic Flutes was originally published as The Reluctant Heiress.

Forensic science, magic, mystery, and romance mix in this edgy steampunk fantasy—a retelling of the horror classic, in which Dr. Eliza Jekyll, daughter of the infamous Dr. Henry Jekyll—pursues a dangerous murderer in an alternate Victorian London. In an electrified Victorian London, Dr. Eliza Jekyll is a crime scene investigator, hunting killers with newfangled technological gadgets. She will need every advantage available to catch a terrifying new psychopath splattering London with blood. Hidden in the grimy shadows, the fiendish murderer preys on beautiful women, drugging them before slicing off their limbs. Finding the “Slicer” can make Eliza’s career . . . or unmask her darkest secret. Like her father, she has a hidden second self that emerges when she drinks his forbidden magical elixir. Just a few sips, and a seductive and impulsive Lizzie Hyde is unleashed. The members of the Royal Society do not trust Eliza, and they send their enforcer, the mercurial Captain Lafayette, to prove she’s a dangerous sorceress. The careful doctor knows that one wrong step can make her prey to the clever Lafayette, a man who harbors an evil curse of his own. No matter how much she craves the elixir, she must resist. But as the Slicer case draws her into London’s luminous magical underworld, Eliza will need the potion’s power to help her . . . even if it might attract the attentions of Lafayette. . Even if it means setting the wild Lizzie free. . . .

The Darkangel, a vampire of astounding beauty and youth, can only summon his full power when he finds his 14th and final bride. But for Aeriel, whom he kidnaps to serve his brides, there is something about him--something beyond his obvious evil--that makes her want to save him rather than destroy him. The Darkangel--Pierce's first book, originally released in 1982--was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a New York Times Notable Children's Book, a Parent's Choice Award Superbook, and a Booklist Best Book of the Decade.

In May of 2003, Timothy Ryback, the author of "Hitler's Private Library: The Books That Shaped His Life" had an article published in The Atlantic Monthly. In the article he detailed several of the books held in a portion of Hitler's library at Brown University. Mr. Ryback also mentioned some of the passages Hitler marked in these books. One particular passage was worthy of attention: "He who does not carry demonic seeds within him will never give birth to a new world." That passage appeared in the book "Magic: History / Theory / Practice," written by Dr. Ernst Schertel. Schertel was a researcher of alternative sexual practices, nudism, and the occult. After finishing his book Magic in 1923 he sent a dedicated copy to Adolf Hitler. Now, for the first time ever, "Magic: History/Theory/Practice" has been translated into English, with all sixty-six Hitler annotations intact.

In 1920s Austria, no one in the Viennese opera company knows that their wardrobe mistress Tessa is really a princess. But when the dashing self-made millionaire Guy Farne arrives at the opera, Tessa realizes that there may be more to life--and love--than just music.