Rebecca's dad has a new house by the seaside, in the land of walking stones... He's promised to show them to Rebecca when she comes to see him on summer vacation, and his word is his honor! And while she's there, maybe Rebecca will be able to make a friend or two... It's hard to meet new people, but she'll try her best!

Geronimo isn't the only world-famous adventuring journalist from New Mouse City; introducing his fabulous sister, Thea! The Thea Sisters are five fun, lively students at Ratford College on Whale Island, who want to be real, live journalists just like their hero, Thea Stilton. Between classes and friendships, love and small fits of jealousy, they're finding college life is really exciting! In "The Secret of Whale Island," it's the start of the new school year and the students have arrived at Ratford College. Every year at this time, the whales move off the coast of Whale Island, but this time, a savage killer whale threatens the peace.

Ariol's best friend, Ramono, is a pig. He's also loud, impulsive, irresponsible, and has a big snout that looks like a light socket. Sneaking into a parking garage to play with fuses, carting grandpa's dog around in a wheelbarrow, wrestling matches with his sister; you may have thought Ariol was trouble enough, but you've never seen Ramono on the loose!

When Julie, Lucy, and Alia sign up for rock the new style brings a lot of new lessons, not the least of which is that cute boys don't necessarily make good dance partners. And the girls can't forget their ballet skills, not when Miss Anne has the whole troupe performing The Nutcracker . . . in Russia! Carla, jealous as always, is intent on ruining the show; the girls may need some help from an unexpected place to pull it off this time!

The national competition is coming up fast, and Julie, Lucie, and Alia will need all their skills, all their poise, and a lot of grit and determination to get their routine in perfect shape. The always jealous, ever-scheming Carla is trying to sabotage everything again, but the girls are used to that; what they weren't expecting was their teacher, Mary, falling sick at the worst possible moment! As they struggle to choreograph something on their own for the first time, it may be up to Lucie to step up and save the day.

Julie, Lucy, and Alia are best friends who share the same passion: dance! A new year of classes has begun and this year, in addition to their regular ballet and modern dance classes, the three girls are introduced to a new style of dance — African folk! Powered by deep percussion-based music, this style is unlike anything they've ever tried before. While the girls enjoy their new art form, problems at home and in the classroom threaten to cause them to have to stop taking their dance classes. Can the girls balance their studies and their extracurricular activities, or will they have to give up dancing for good?

What could be better than Christmas? Christmas in London, that's what! Julie, Lucie, and Alia are excited to get a letter from their friend Prune, inviting them to visit her in England. This is going to be the vacation of a lifetime! The only problem is that Prune doesn't exactly have time off in mind; she wants the girls to help her pull off a Christmas musical, which wouldn't be too bad if rival Carla hadn't come along for the occasion, as well. The competition will be stiff, and the girls will have to use all their dance skills to make this a yuletide memory for the ages!

Jon, Garfield, Odie, Drusilla, and Minerva decide to escape a sweltering heat wave in the city by going camping. But once they make camp in the forest, they experience a year's worth of seasons in a matter of hours! Who can be behind this surreal turn of events?

Rebecca is a vivacious 61⁄2 year-old girl whose best friend happens to be a germ named Ernest. He's not only Rebecca's best friend — he's also her partner in mischief, adventure companion, and confidant. In this third volume of the award-winning series, Rebecca and her older sister Coralie are sent to spend the summer in the countryside with their grandparents, away from their mother and father, without Ernest. Lost and scared without her friend, Rebecca misses her parents, experiences nightmares, and misbehaves in order to deal with her anxieties. Things begin to change when Rebecca begins spending time with a dog named "Missile" and her "Grandpa Bug," both of whom want nothing more than to be her friend. The only way for Rebecca to break out of her misery is to accept their offer of friendship, and learn to live without Ernest.

*Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award* *A New York Times Notable Book* *Winner of the Texas Book Award and the Oklahoma Book Award* This New York Times bestseller and stunning historical account of the forty-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West “is nothing short of a revelation…will leave dust and blood on your jeans” (The New York Times Book Review). Empire of the Summer Moon spans two astonishing stories. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second entails one of the most remarkable narratives ever to come out of the Old West: the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood son Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches. Although readers may be more familiar with the tribal names Apache and Sioux, it was in fact the legendary fighting ability of the Comanches that determined when the American West opened up. Comanche boys became adept bareback riders by age six; full Comanche braves were considered the best horsemen who ever rode. They were so masterful at war and so skillful with their arrows and lances that they stopped the northern drive of colonial Spain from Mexico and halted the French expansion westward from Louisiana. White settlers arriving in Texas from the eastern United States were surprised to find the frontier being rolled backward by Comanches incensed by the invasion of their tribal lands. The war with the Comanches lasted four decades, in effect holding up the development of the new American nation. Gwynne’s exhilarating account delivers a sweeping narrative that encompasses Spanish colonialism, the Civil War, the destruction of the buffalo herds, and the arrival of the railroads, and the amazing story of Cynthia Ann Parker and her son Quanah—a historical feast for anyone interested in how the United States came into being. Hailed by critics, S. C. Gwynne’s account of these events is meticulously researched, intellectually provocative, and, above all, thrillingly told. Empire of the Summer Moon announces him as a major new writer of American history.