Short Stories for Winter Nights

 The Winter Solstice is fast approaching on December 21st.  As it is the shortest day of the year, it's a great time to read a short story.  Try one of these . . . .

Dragons at Crumbling Castle and other Tales by Terry Pratchett

An illustrated collection of fourteen short stories featuring "dragons and wizards, councilors and mayors, an adventurous tortoise and a monster in a lake, along with plenty of pointy hats and a few magic spells" written when the author was a teenaged newspaper reporter.

You Are Here: Connecting Flights by Ellen Oh

Twelve young Asians Americans cross paths, meeting challenges and victories, in a busy airport.

Super Puzzletastic Mysteries by Chris Grabenstein and the Mystery Writers of America

Author Chris Grabenstein and his all-star cast of contributing authors team up for Super Puzzletastic Mysteries, a group of interactive short stories that invite the reader to solve the mystery themselves.

More Short Story Collections --

1-2-3 Scream! by R.U. Ginns

The Cursed Carnival and Other Calamities by Rick Riordan

The Foundling and Other Stories of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander

Graven Images by Paul Fleischman

Guys Read: The Sports Pages by Jon Scieszka

Guys Read: Terrifying Tales by Jon Scieszka

The Hero Next Door by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich

Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling

Really Stupid Stories for Really Smart Kids by Alan Katz

The Spook's Story and Other Horrors by Joseph Delaney

Sword of the Samurai: Adventure Stories from Japan by Eric A. Kimmel

That's Ghosts for You: 13 Scary Stories by Mariane Carus

Guys Read

This week I thought I would share some great teen books for guys . . .

Human.4 by Mike Lancaster
Twenty-first century fourteen-year-old Kyle was hypnotized when humanity was upgraded to 1.0 and he, incompatible with the new technology, exposes its terrifying impact in a tape-recording found by the superhumans of the future.

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen
After his parents, two sisters, and he have spent six years in a vast underground compound built by his wealthy father to protect them from a nuclear holocaust, fifteen-year-old Eli, whose twin brother and grandmother were left behind, discovers that hisfather has perpetrated a monstrous hoax on them all.

Dodger by Terry Pratchett
In an alternative version of Victorian London, a seventeen-year-old Dodger, a cunning and cheeky street urchin, unexpectedly rises in life when he saves a mysterious girl, meets Charles Dickens, and unintentionally puts a stop to the murders of Sweeny Todd.

Four Secrets by Margaret Willey
Through journal entries required by their social worker at a juvenile detention center, middle-schoolers Katie, Nate, and Renata relate how they came to kidnap their tormentor, Chase, a star athlete from the town's most prominent family, who surprisingly became their willing victim.

Trapped by Michael Northrop
Seven high school students are stranded at their New England high school during a week-long blizzard that shuts down the power and heat, freezes the pipes, and leaves them wondering if they will survive.


More Teen Books for Guys --
172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
The Convicts by Iain Lawrence
Denton Little's Death Date by Lance Rubin
The Grounding of Group 6 by Julian Thompson
The King's Arrow by Michael Cadnum
Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
Mexican WhiteBoy by Matt de la Pena
Peak by Roland Smith
Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff
Phoenix Island by John Dison
Samurai Awakening by Benjamin Martin
Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
The Story of Owen: Dragonslayer of Trondheim by E.K. Johnston
X: A Novel by Ilyasah Shabazz


Check out these books on display at the Arnold Branch through June 10, 2016.

Dragons at Crumbling Castle and Other Tales by Terry Pratchett

This wonderful collection of short stories includes several stories written by Terry Pratchett when he was a teenager working for a local newspaper in England.  Only a few changes were made to the story to update them a little.  Some of the stories included are . . .

"Dragons of Crumbling Castle"
Ralph is sent by King Arthur to deal with the problem of dragons at Crumbling Castle.

"Hercules the Tortoise"
Hercules decides to become an explorer and leaves the garden for the unknown.

"Dok the Caveman"
Dok comes up with several wonderful inventions including the wheel and fire.

"Father Christmas Goes to Work"
Father Christmas is encouraged by his wife to find a job to give him something to do during the rest of the year.

These and the ten other stories in the collection will be a wonderful read for anybody -- whether they are familiar with Terry Pratchett's books or not.  Also, try listening to the book on audio.

Seek the Unknown

Some of the most exciting books to read are those where the characters set off for adventures into the unknown.  Anything can happen!  Here are some great teen books featuring adventures into the unknown . . .

Nation by Terry Pratchett
After a devastating tsunami destroys all that they have ever known, Mau, an island boy, and Daphne, an aristocratic English girl, together with a small band of refugees, set about rebuilding their community and all the things that are important in their lives.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government.

Above by Leah Bobet
When insane exile Corner and his army of mindless, whispering shadows invade Safe, a secret, underground community of freaks and disabled outcasts, Matthew, traumatized shapeshifter Ariel, and other misfits go to the dangerous place known as Above, where Matthew makes a shocking discovery about the histories entrusted to him.

Every Day by David Levithan
Every morning A wakes in a different person's body, in a different person's life, learning over the years to never get too attached, until he wakes up in the body of Justin and falls in love with Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Accompanied by her daemon, Lyra Belacqua sets out to prevent her best friend and other kidnapped children from becoming the subject of gruesome experiments in the Far North.


More Adventures into the Unknown --
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
Boston Jane: An Adventure by Jennifer L. Holm
City of Beasts by Isabel Allende
The Dark Ground by Gillian Cross
The Dead & the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Enclave by Ann Aguirre
A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer
Heaven Eyes by David Almond
The Obsidian Blade by Pete Hautman
Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony
The Singer of All Songs by Kate Constable

Books for Fans of Doctor Who

Doctor Who is one of my favorite programs on television.  I have heard many teens and adults also express their love of Doctor Who.  So this week, I thought I would share some books for fans of Doctor Who.  These are books that contain elements similar to the Doctor's adventures . . .

Black Hole Sunby David MacInnis Gill
On the planet Mars, Durango and his crew of mercenaries are hired by the settlers of a mining community to protect their most valuable resource from a feral band of marauders.

Stravaganza: City of Stars by Mary Hoffman
Georgia, who loves horses as much as she hates her bullying stepbrother, buys a figurine of a winged horse and finds it has magical powers that transport her from present-day London to the sixteenth-century world of Talia where , in the city of Remora, similar to Sienna, Italy, she finds danger and intrigue as well as friendship and a chance to perfect her riding skills.

Curse of the Romanovs by Staton Rubin
In 1916, teenaged hemophiliac and heir to the Russian throne, Alexei Romanov, escapes into the future to elude the murderous Rasputin, and meets his modern-day cousin, Varda, who is working on a cure for hemophilia and who wants to help change history by saving his family.

POD by Stephen Wallenfels
As alien spacecraft fill the sky and zap up any human being who dares to go outside, Josh and Megs, living in different cities, describe what could be their last days on Earth.

Only You Can Save Mankind by Terry Pratchett
Johnny endures tensions between his parents, watches television coverage of the Gulf War, and plays a computer game called Only You Can Save Mankind, in which he is increasingly drawn into the reality of the alien ScreeWee.