John Anderson

"Everyone who wishes upon a star, or a candle, or a penny thrown into a fountain knows that you’re not allowed to tell anyone what you’ve wished for. But even so, there is someone out there who hears it. In a magical land called the Haven lives a young fairy named Ophelia Delphinium Fidgets. Ophela is no ordinary fairy—she is a Granter: one of the select fairies whose job it is to venture out into the world and grant the wishes of unsuspecting...

From John David Anderson, author of the acclaimed Ms. Bixby’s Last Day, comes a humorous, poignant, and original contemporary story about bullying, broken friendships, and the failures of communication between kids.In middle school, words aren’t just words. They can be weapons. They can be gifts. The right words can win you friends or make you enemies. They can come back to haunt you. Sometimes they can change things forever.When cell phones are...

For as long as he can remember, Malcolm has never felt like he was good enough. Not for his parents, who have always seemed at odds with each other, with Malcolm caught in between. And especially not for his dad, whose competitive drive and love for sports Malcolm has never shared. That is, until Malcolm discovers miniature golf, the one sport he actually enjoys. Maybe it's the way in which every hole is a puzzle to be solved. Or the whimsy of the...

"When scientists discover a rare and mysterious mineral buried in the Earth’s crust, they have no idea that it just happens to be the most valuable substance in the entire universe. It’s not long before aliens show up to our little corner of the galaxy offering a promise of protection, some fabulous new technology, and entry into their intergalactic coalition—all in exchange for this precious resource. A material so precious that other alien...

When his gift for pickpocketing is noticed by the mysterious Finn Argos, Colm begins training to become a member of Thwodin's Legions, a strange group of warriors, mages, and hunters who search for treasure.

After his sister - and best friend - Claire leaves home after a fight with their mother, Morgan has one chance to convince Claire to come home and put their family back together, but Claire has her own plan for the day she told Morgan she wanted to spend with him - one that will change things between them forever.

"Rion Kwirk comes from a rather odd family. His mother named him and his sisters after her favorite constellations, and his father makes funky-flavored jellybeans for a living. One sister acts as if she's always on stage, and the other is a walking dictionary. But no one in the family is more odd than Rion's grandfather, Papa Kwirk. He's the kind of guy who shows up on his motorcycle only on holidays handing out crossbows and stuffed squirrels as...

"The election of 1980 did more than break the Democrats' control of the White House and Congress. It also shattered some important assumptions about the character of our voting coalitions and the condition of our political parties. It opened some possibilities for the remainder of the century that had not been there before." These reflections by David S. Broder in the introduction to Party Coalitions in the 1980s are echoed in the essays of the twenty-one...