Children/Teen Chapter Books

Hidden cupboards behind Henry's bedroom wall unlocked portals to other worlds that Henry and his cousin Henrietta couldn't resist exploring. But they made one terrible mistake--they released the undying witch Nimiane. Her goal? To drain all life from every world connected to the cupboards. Henry must seek out the Chestnut King to defeat her, but doing so will force Henry to make a terrible, irreversible choice. With the fate of the worlds and everyone Henry loves hanging in the balance, will he have the courage to do what is needed to destroy the witch once and for all?

"A must-read series." --The Washington Post

It's a New School Year with New Surprises!

Introducing Book #2 in The Adventures of Nick & Sam!

Who knew the start of the school year could also be the start of so many new discoveries? In no time at all Nick and Sam are caught up in a family mystery, a dig for buried treasure and a secret about guardian angels. Faith-filled and faithful, Hidden Treasures is a collection of fun and inspiring stories about the wonder that surrounds us all.

Nicolas (Nick) and Samantha (Sam) Perry are twins. They moved with their parents, their brother Andrew, and their sister Lizzy, to the Colorado town of Hope Springs. The likeable and engaging characters reflect the sensibilities and struggles of being Catholic in the quirky small town of Hope Springs, and in the many adventures that make the teachings of the Church come alive.

In Trouble with Lent, the fourth book of the Adventures of Nick and Sam, the Perry twins are celebrating Lent at school, at church, and with their family. The family discusses what they will be giving up for Lent, and Nick and Sam experience some struggles with their choices throughout the Lenten season. A new boy, Riley, comes into their class who is obsessed with Big Foot, and he and Nick get into some strange adventures seeking the famous creature. Sam enters the school spelling bee, and she struggles with temptation when someone tries to help her cheat. The kids learn about temptations, sacrifices, poverty, and the love of Jesus along the way. The chapters follow along the calendar for the season of Lent and lead right into the joy of Easter Sunday.

Ages 6 and up.

Nicolas (Nick) and Samantha (Sam) Perry are twins. They moved with their parents, their brother Andrew, and their sister Lizzy, to the Colorado town of Hope Springs. The likeable and engaging characters reflect the sensibilities and struggles of being Catholic in the quirky small town of Hope Springs, and in the many adventures that make the teachings of the Church come alive.

In View from the Top, the sixth book of The Adventures of Nick & Sam series, the Perry twins are looking forward to summer. As the school year comes to an end, Nick and Sam are already caught up in new beginnings. Not only are they packing for a move, but Nick begins to wonder if he's good at anything and Sam struggles to help two people she loves through their troubles. Together, the twins discover that how they deal with inflatable castles, bad throws, and difficult decisions often depends on having the right point of view. It's a lesson for everyone in this exciting and fun-filled story.

Ages 6 and up.

Age Range: 8 and up

Angel stories from the Bible -- for kids

Modern believers may be tempted to look upon angels as one of the more fanciful elements of Scripture, but this illuminating and entertaining collection of angel stories from the Bible shows that there are just too many angels for them to be metaphorical, allegorical, or unimportant.

So that children will come to know and learn to revere angels, Marigold Hunt explains what angels are (and are not!) and gathers here in one volume most of the stories of angels in the Bible, including exciting tales of:

Angel stories from the Bible — for kids

Modern believers may be tempted to look upon angels as one of the more fanciful elements of Scripture, but this illuminating and entertaining collection of angel stories from the Bible shows that there are just too many angels for them to be metaphorical, allegorical, or unimportant.

So that children will come to know and learn to revere angels, Marigold Hunt explains what angels are (and are not!) and gathers here in one volume most of the stories of angels in the Bible, including exciting tales of:

Dive deeper into the world of Narnia with your family, classroom, or small group with A Catholic Guide to Narnia: Questions and Activities for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe! 

Explore the rich Christian symbolism that can be uncovered through engaging discussion questions, activities, and references to Scripture and The Catechism of the Catholic Church. To help Catholics appreciate this C.S. Lewis masterpiece, A Catholic Guide to Narnia can be used with both the book and movie versions of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Families, individuals, and small groups will not only gain a more profound understanding of the amazing world of Narnia, they will also grow in their appreciation of and love for the Catholic Faith. A Catholic Guide to Narnia: Questions and Activities for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe includes:

• 100 fun and interesting questions and answers on the story’s content

• Over 20 activities for families, small groups, or individuals

• Discussion questions to engage in the content

• Bible and Catechism references to see how it is connected to the Catholic Faith

• "For Further Exploration” sections with suggestions on how to discover more about the themes discussed

Book 2 in the Chime Travelers series, exciting new chapter books ideal for children in grades 2-5.

This fresh yet authentic retelling of the biblical Infancy Narratives sheds new light on the life of the Holy Family. And when at last the Magi arrive, Katie asks Mary, "Are you sure you want all of these strangers around the baby?" Mary smiles. "Strangers are simply new friends, just waiting to be loved." Katie and Patrick think of the Perez family. Can they still make new friends for Christmas?

Book 5 in the Chime Travelers series, exciting new chapter books ideal for children in grades 2-5.

A full-color paperback edition of Prince Caspian, book four in the classic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. This edition is complete with full-color cover and interior art by the original illustrator, Pauline Baynes.

The Pevensie siblings are back to help a prince denied his rightful throne as he gathers an army in a desperate attempt to rid his land of a false king. But in the end, it is a battle of honor between two men alone that will decide the fate of an entire world.

A battle is about to begin in Prince Caspian, the fourth book in C. S. Lewis's classic fantasy series, which has been enchanting readers of all ages for over sixty years. This is a stand-alone novel, but if you would like to see more of Prince Caspian's adventures, read The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the fifth book in The Chronicles of Narnia.

From the famous Vision Books series of lives of saints for young people, this is the inspiring dramatic account of the colorful and courageous life and death of the martyr, St. Edmund Campion, hero of God's underground during the persecutions of the Catholics in England in the 1500s.

Campion, the most celebrated young scholar of his day, was on his way to becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury until a crisis of conscience turned him back to his Catholic faith. He fled England, became a Jesuit priest, and was sent back to be the leader of the underground ministry to the persecuted Catholics until, after a long and frustrated search, the government finally captured him and brutally executed him. His daring and brilliant underground ministry to Catholics all over England, his zeal for the faith, and his great courage and joy in the face of martyrdom are all related in this compelling story for youth.

Cover art by Chris Pelicano

From the famous Vision Books series of lives of saints for young people, this is the inspiring dramatic account of the colorful and courageous life and death of the martyr, St. Edmund Campion, "hero of God's underground" during the persecutions of the Catholics in England in the 1500s.

Campion, the most celebrated young scholar of his day, was on his way to becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury until a crisis of conscience turned him back to his Catholic faith. He fled England, became a Jesuit priest, and was sent back to be the leader of the underground ministry to the persecuted Catholics until, after a long and frustrated search, the government finally captured him and brutally executed him. His daring and brilliant underground ministry to Catholics all over England, his zeal for the faith, and his great courage and joy in the face of martyrdom are all related in this compelling story for youth.   AGES 9-12

Cover art by Chris Pelicano

Of the few who had dared explore this immense waterway, none had lived to return and report where it emptied. If he could travel to the mouth of the "great river", Fr. Marquette hoped to obtain new lands for France and new souls for Jesus Christ. He braved the dangers of tomahawks and tortures to bring the Word of God to the Indians of the New World. Rapids, floods, Indian superstitions, tribal warfare - these are only a few of the obstacles Father Marquette and Louis Joliet encountered in trying to meet their challenge. Illustrated.

Cover art by Chris Pelicano

This Vision book for youth 9 - 15 years old tells the thrilling story of one of America's greatest missionaries who came down from Canada with explorer Louis Joliet to explore the mighty Mississippi River, the "great river" bordered by Indian tribes who killed white men on sight.

Of the few who had dared explore this immense waterway, none had lived to return and report where it emptied. If he could travel to the mouth of the "great river", Fr. Marquette hoped to obtain new lands for France and new souls for Jesus Christ. He braved the dangers of tomahawks and tortures to bring the Word of God to the Indians of the New World. Rapids, floods, Indian superstitions, tribal warfare - these are only a few of the obstacles Father Marquette and Louis Joliet encountered in trying to meet their challenge. Illustrated.

Cover art by Chris Pelicano

This book is now part of Renaissance Learning's Accelerated Reader program. Quizzes are currently available.

A beautiful unabridged 150th Anniversary Edition with 16 illustrations by Reginald Birch

Little Men, or Life at Plumfield with Jo's Boys, was first published in 1871. The novel reprises characters from Little Women and is considered by some the second book in an unofficial Little Women trilogy, which is completed with Alcott's 1886 novel Jo's Boys. This book tells the story of Jo Bhaer and the children at Plumfield Estate School. It was inspired by the death of Alcott's brother-in-law. It has been adapted to film and television.

Louis and Zélie Martin, the parents of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, were the first married couple ever canonized together by the Catholic Church. This inspiring story begins in their childhoods and follows them through their joys as well as their sorrows.

Louis, the son of a French army officer, had desired to be a priest. Instead he became a watchmaker, happy to remain single in service of God and neighbor. Zélie had thought about becoming a religious sister, but she became an expert lace maker and started her own company, doubtful she would ever marry. Then one day they passed each other on a bridge . . .

The Martins married and welcomed nine children, five of whom lived to adulthood and became religious sisters. Their household was full of love, which extended, sometimes heroically, to many others outside their family, including the needy and the enemy soldiers quartered in their home during the Franco-Prussian War.

The secret to their unfailing love was their boundless faith in God. All the challenges the Martins faced, great and small, were met with a profound trust in Divine Providence.

This adventure has Margaret experiencing the prayers, penitence, liturgy, and excitement of Holy Week in the Vatican and Rome--from the joy of Palm Sunday in St. Peter's Square, to foot-washing in a Roman prison, the solemnity of Good Friday, and the expectation of Easter.

She learns about Jesus and the meaning of his Passion, visits important new places such as The Sistine Chapel, where she seems to pray beside the Pope, and the Roman Colosseum, where she learns that many early Christians were martyrs for their faith. Margaret's friends, the Swiss Guards, are watching over her, and she manages to eat (she still loves to eat!) some interesting foods, even though it's Holy Week. Oh yes, and she sleeps a lot.

In 1946, Francesca Cabrini was canonized as the first saint of the United States. This Vision book for 9 - 15 year olds tells the exciting story of this missionary from Italy who came to America to spread the Faith. She founded a new order nuns, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, to teach the Faith and work with the poor in our country. She was a tireless missionary who crossed the ocean 37 times to expand her order across the world to France, England, Spain; in Central and South America; in the United States from coast to coast including New York, New Orleans, Denver, Seattle (where she took the oath of U.S. citizenship) and Chicago, where she died in 1917, a saint of our time.

Cover art by Chris Pelicano

During a class field trip to visit the monastery of the Poor Clares, Katie is unexpectedly swept up into her second Chime Travelers adventure. She finds herself in Assisi, the same city where her twin brother Patrick met St. Francis of Assisi on his last journey through time.

Instead of meeting St. Francis, Katie meets a young woman named Clare. Clare has everything--she's beautiful, her family is wealthy, and she is to be married soon. Katie discovers that Clare also has a secret: she wants to leave everything behind and join Francis and his brothers in service to God.

But Clare's family doesn't want her to go. On the night she leaves, Clare and Katie must run through the darkness and escape through a door only used for funerals, the Door of the Dead. Has Clare made a mistake? Is God really calling her to leave everything she knows behind? And should Katie go with her on this dangerous adventure?

Book 4 in the Chime Travelers series, exciting new chapter books ideal for children in grades 2-4.

Lee and Johnny Scott are back—and so is Old Sam—in this sequel to Old Sam, Dakota Trotter. Despite the disfiguring injury that ended Old Sam’s career as a champion thoroughbred trotter, he is still as fast—and as canny— as ever, an indispensible help for the Scott family in their new home. Then, Old Sam mysteriously goes missing. Johnny figures that any thief who dares to steal that horse will soon be sorry. With the help of Lee and their gang of friends, Johnny soon has things well in hand, finding Old Sam’s track, setting up a communication system that works with mirrors and well-placed minions—and generally running circles around his elders. And, of course, Old Sam does not let his boys down. That Johnny also encounters some sobering moments in his headlong pursuit of justice is a sad, perhaps unavoidable, consequence in a way of life still on the fringes of civilized society.

Both books about Old Sam and the Scott family are based on the author’s true-life, homesteading experiences in what is now the southeastern region of the state of North Dakota.    AGES 11 and up.

Who would have thought that the Blessed Mother would choose to come to Fatima, that remote farming village on a rocky slope in Portugal? No one was more surprised than Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco, the little shepherds to whom she appeared in 1917.

In this 27th volume of the acclaimed Vision Books series for youth, readers will be enthralled by the story of the village and its people, of the scornful neighbors and the puzzled parents. Above all, it is a warm story of three little ones who insisted that Our Lady had indeed come to Fatima, and from whose faith grew one of the greatest spiritual movements of our time. Illustrated.

A series which should be found wherever there are young Catholic readers.
--Ave Maria