Royal Fireworks Press Archives - Classical Education Books

The Dragon Charmer

sarah — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 22:36:06 +0000

Since her father’s death early in 2080, thirteen-year-old Cady has been her mother’s right-hand girl. Mom has to work now, and it seems that the only time Cady isn’t worrying about her mother, her younger sister, or herself is when she’s dreaming about dragons. Yet even in her wildest dreams, she never imagined becoming a dragon keeper, a Dragon Charmer, responsible for the care and well-being of a fierce, brave, beautiful, and endangered dragon.

Most dragon literature of the day is defamatory and prejudicial and focused on the fearsome presence of a few mischief-makers. No one has written about dragons melting snow or moving clouds with the breeze from their wings; no one has written about the dragons’ song. So, many years ago, Merlin’s apprentice Maxine established the Society for the Preservation of Dragons, or Dragon Charmers. Members learn that dragons grow slowly and receive a new scale only when a person does an unselfish deed. A magical reference book catalogs the name of the person responsible for the good deed, as well as the time and date of its occurrence. Cady is shocked to see that her father’s name appears in the book many times—and that the last entry was only a day ago. He’s still alive!

Dragon Charmer takes place in a future world where water is in critically short supply, where biblio-vox audio books have replaced the old-fashioned books that had to be read with the eyes, where pets are not allowed, and where schooling is accomplished through group interactive television. In this world, Cady works through the mystery of her father’s disappearance and the dangerous responsibilities of secretly caring for a forbidden creature, and she learns that both her father and her dragon hold a few amazing secrets of their own.

The post The Dragon Charmer appeared first on Classical Education Books.

Legend of the North

sarah — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 22:31:49 +0000

Sample

Amitok is the smallest and the weakest of the pups born to the white wolf family. His brother Skal is strong, and he quickly emerges as the natural leader who will one day take over the job of their father, old Tuluk, to lead the wolf pack. But Amitok is swift and smart, and Skal is proud and reckless, and it is Skal’s foolishness that leads to the brothers’ terrifying encounter with a snow bear. When the battle is over, Amitok finds himself alone on the ice. He drifts for days, until the spirit of his father’s father, Kivvik, appears to lead him to safety.

It was a white man’s gun that killed Kivvik. The man took the hide from his body. Later it was the wolverine who ate the flesh and broke the bones to suck out the marrow. But they did not take the spirit of Kivvik, the great white wolf. Kivvik’s spirit gives strength and direction to Amitok, and Amitok grows from a timid pup into a great wolf able to follow Kivvik. Now far from his family and the land he knows, Amitok must use that strength to make his way home across the great Arctic tundra, a journey that will change him forever. But it is when Amitok and Kivvik come to interact with the men who inhabit their barren land that their story becomes a legend of the north.

This is a mighty fable, a legend of the Inuit that Sullivan portrays artfully.

The post Legend of the North appeared first on Classical Education Books.

Keewatin

sarah — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 22:23:49 +0000

Sample

The massive snow bear has been following Jake for days, but that’s not the only thing Jake is worried about. His plane went down in the vast tundra of Keewatin, a region of the Arctic named for the brutal north wind that blows across it, and now he must walk to the nearest settlement, about thirty miles away. If the bear doesn’t get him, the wolves might, or perhaps hunger and fatigue, or—most likely—the bitter cold that comes on the north wind. He managed to save his rifle, but he only has two cartridges, and he doesn’t want to use them unless he has to.

If only his friend Max were with him! Max would know what to do. Max was taught by an old Inuit hunter named Koluc, and from him Max learned to understand the land, to respect it and the creatures that live upon it. Jake never put much stock in the old Inuit myths, but now the bear, the wolves, the land, and the wind itself are teaching him that he has only a limited understanding of any of it and that he may have been wrong about all of it. Time and again his journey to the settlement is delayed, rerouted, called into question entirely. Jake faces the very real possibility that he will not make it. And always behind him is the bear.

The post Keewatin appeared first on Classical Education Books.

The Unforgiving Land

sarah — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 22:19:42 +0000

Sample

As a boy, Inatukk has a vision, and in it he makes a promise to the animals of the Arctic that his people will take only what they need and no more, and in return, the fox, caribou, and seal will be plentiful on the land and will provide for the people well. By the time Inatukk becomes the leader of the people, that agreement has proven a good one. The spirits are happy, and the Inuit are strong and healthy. But then a ship comes to their village, and it brings a trader named Briggs, who gives the people rifles and traps and sends them out to get furs in exchange for the trading goods he’s brought with him. Inatukk worries because the people begin taking too much from the land. The next year, the ship comes back, this time leaving behind the Reverend Joshua Hewitt, an enthusiastic missionary who believes that it is his calling to bring God to the Inuit. And again Inatukk worries.

Sixty years later, Matthew Hewitt sets off on a journey above the Arctic Circle, headed toward a place called Hewitt Sound, named for his late uncle, Joshua Hewitt. He has never been north before, has never even been outdoors much, but he has Joshua’s old letters to Matthew’s father describing the Inuit village and the people and the trader named Briggs. Joshua had written about old Inatukk and his daughter, the beautiful and gentle Utea, as well as his deep respect and regard for the people. Unfortunately, he vanished sometime after that, and so did Briggs, and so did the village, and no one knows what happened to them. Matthew is determined to find out the truth—the ending to Joshua’s story. But the Arctic is far more savage than he expected, and even with the help of an old Inuit hunter named Iudaak to take him north, the risk of simply disappearing, just like Joshua did, is frighteningly high. Matthew must find a strength that he is not sure he has in order to learn the truth of what happened.

This novel is told in a double narrative, following both Inatukk and his daughter Utea and their people on the one hand and Matthew’s journey to Hewitt Sound with Iudaak on the other. It is a revealing look at the Inuit people and their intimate way of life with one another and with the land, and it exposes the harm that white people caused when they came to interrupt that. And yet the characters—nearly all of them—change their opinions about one another, learning and understanding and growing to find a mutual empathy that is at the heart of both stories. The book is about love and loss and human frailty and greed and human strength and endurance. It is about respect, both for the unforgiving land that is the Arctic and for the people who live upon it.

The post The Unforgiving Land appeared first on Classical Education Books.

Strap Bar

sarah — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 22:15:17 +0000

Sample

Bryce is a champion gymnast dedicated to his sport. His dream is to compete in the Olympics, and with the financial and emotional support of his family, he’s on track to do just that. However, his coach, a former Olympic athlete, is increasingly negligent and verbally abusive.

It isn’t long before poor scores and injuries force Bryce and his family to make a decision: Bryce must recover and bring up his scores, or he’ll need to quit. There’s another gym in town, but the coach is a woman, and Bryce has doubts about her abilities. What should he do to enable him to improve enough to go to Nationals and then—hopefully—on to the Olympics?

Bryce is barely a teenager, yet he must make a choice that will shape the rest of his life.

The post Strap Bar appeared first on Classical Education Books.

The Spirit Walker

sarah — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 22:09:47 +0000

Sample

The first time they encountered each other, the old bull elephant had just come upon his herd, freshly slaughtered by a poacher with an unrelenting desire to kill anything that can bring a profit. The elephant had charged the man who was still butchering the cows and calves, had caught him unprepared, and had injured him gravely—but not before the man managed to get off a rifle shot, planting a bullet deep in the elephant’s chest near his heart.

The poacher, Teich, has spent the ensuing years burning with the hatred of revenge. He is consumed with finding and killing the elephant, both to settle the score and to harvest the old bull’s huge ivory tusks. Teich is unkempt, undignified, and ruthless. He enjoys killing, and little else. His hired man, Tebe, does not feel the same. For Tebe, the work is a way to make money so that he can provide for his beloved wife Kopela. Kopela, however, would rather he stop poaching. The risk is not worth the reward, and she has become alarmed at the vast numbers of animals that are disappearing from the African landscape. Soon there will be none.

One day a strange man comes to see them. Masuku, the old African, explains that he can find Teich’s elephant. Teich is immediately interested, but Kopela begs Tebe not to go with them. Masuku frightens her, and recent events have cast ominous shadows over the entire business. But Tebe shrugs off her fears, and he sets out with Teich and the old man to find the old elephant so that they can end the saga once and for all. What he does not know, however, is Masuku’s underlying motive. Masuku communes with nature. He sees the thread of life in all things, and he silently works to bring the two adversaries together in order to allow nature to bring things back into its just pattern.

The Spirit Walker is a heart-wrenching, gut-wrenching look at the evils of poaching and the loss of entire species for profit, but it is also an insightful tribute to the grandeur of nature and the majesty of the African elephant, the Earth’s largest and most powerful land animal. Paul Sullivan writes with an unblinking eye that sees the world as it is, as it could be, and as it will be if we do not step forward to save it.

The post The Spirit Walker appeared first on Classical Education Books.

A Burning of Prayers

sarah — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 22:05:34 +0000

Sample

This exciting and captivating adventure story is set around an unexplored and intact Mayan temple-pyramid in Guatemala. For the team of archaeologists, led by the young and determined Nicki, it is a rich lode of treasures. In fact, it is the only known Mayan site that has not been looted, making it a rare and valuable find. But the country is embroiled in civil war, and both the army and the rebels pose dangerous threats to the safety of the archaeology team.

Between the thieves and spies for both sides, it is impossible to know if anyone can be trusted. If the archaeologists abandon the site, they know that looters certainly will take everything. If they stay in the face of civil war, the army or the rebels might well take their lives. It is up to veteran archaeologist Walker Davis to decide whether to stay or go—to judge when the need to know what lies buried there is worth the risk.

An intriguing subplot allows readers to know the full story of the tomb and its contents, even if the archaeologists may never have that opportunity. The entire novel tells a riveting tale of discovery and adventure but also showcases the grueling realism of the sometimes heart-wrenching choices that must be made while unearthing history in a region of political unrest.

Author Paul Sullivan says that his novel:

“shows how foolish war is. The small valley in Guatemala where the story is set suffered the same kind of conflict a thousand years ago as it did in the 1980s.”

The post A Burning of Prayers appeared first on Classical Education Books.

The Death of Old Man Hanson

sarah — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 22:01:42 +0000

Sample

Old Man Hanson is a recluse, but his orchard has some of the best apples around, and he protects them fiercely from the neighbourhood kids, who never tire of trying to steal some. Getting the apples becomes a duel of wits, and the boys form the G.O.H. (Get Old Man Hanson) club. The adversaries engage in plots and counter-plots, pranks and counter-pranks. It is a duel of wits.

When Old Man Hanson dies, curiosity leads two of the boys into his house. In the midst of their snooping, they experience Hanson’s best prank: they are trapped and must use their creative intellects and quick thinking to escape, and the clock is ticking!

What the boys don’t know is Hanson’s true motivation for all of the pranks—including his last, best one—and when that is revealed, it changes everything they thought they knew about the old man. In fact, they discover, they didn’t know him at all.

Author David Kenneth Mull writes:

“While I was teaching fifth grade, I decided to write this novel for the kids in my classroom. I meant it to be a fun, short, nonthreatening book that they would want to read. It proved to be a wonderful teaching tool and an encouragement for the kids in my classes to be writers.”

The post The Death of Old Man Hanson appeared first on Classical Education Books.

The Glimpsing Book

sarah — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 21:57:19 +0000

Sample

Twelve-year-old Sebastian keeps finding photographs that are eerily similar to one another, despite the fact that they span vast differences in place and time. The common element in them all? A mysterious book. Sebastian’s search for answers, which his logical mind craves, leads him to Carver Middle School and two students who have formed an unlikely friendship over their desire to save the school library.

Henrietta and TP couldn’t be more different, and yet they share having a difficult home life, Henrietta because of the premature death of her mother and TP because of a harsh, authoritarian father. But what brings them together is the safe haven of the school library, which the head librarian wants to “modernize” to include research resources but nothing to feed the imagination. Henrietta loves nothing more than losing herself in a good fantasy novel, and TP finds the library a quiet, secluded place to draw. Neither of them wants to see it remodeled to remove the books and art to be replaced with computers.

But when a new assistant librarian is hired, she gives Henrietta a book that reveals glimpses of what Henrietta’s future could be, setting the friends on a mission to fulfill the possibilities that are in the book—and also within themselves. Their new pursuit leads Sebastian to them, and the three children discover that the book is more extraordinary than they could have thought possible. Both the book and the librarian hold incredible stories, which Sebastian must allow himself to believe and which Henrietta and TP must allow themselves to carry out.

This story is told in a double narrative, offering readers multiple perspectives on the topics of logic, reason, imagination, and the potential of possibility when people give themselves permission to believe—in the seemingly impossible and in themselves.

Author Steve Loe says:

“It’s my hope that because of the differences among the three main characters—a lonely girl who loves to read, a strong-willed graffiti artist, and an analytical boy who can solve any puzzle—anyone with a love of magic and mystery will enjoy reading this book.”

He is also the author of The Hot Hurry of Mecurial Fleeting.

The post The Glimpsing Book appeared first on Classical Education Books.

The Hot Hurry of Mercurial Fleeting

sarah — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 21:51:04 +0000

Sample

Mercurial Fleeting and her mother are on the run again, once more trying to escape a painful part of their past. Of course, another move means a new school, which does not help Mercurial’s anger issues. She can lose control in ways that no one forgets. But this latest move lands her in a tiny apartment within a self-storage complex and in a school where the kids seem unusually welcoming. Mercurial meets some new friends and builds relationships with a strange set of special clients at the self-storage complex.

However, Mercurial tries too hard to create a permanent place for herself in the world and oversteps the line at her new school. She’s attacked on the soccer field, ends up on crutches, and faces threats of worse to come. Soon these threats extend to the special clients at the self-storage complex, and Mercurial must make a life-changing decision either to skip town or to stay.

Author Steve Loe says that one of his aims in writing the novel was:

“to show that no matter how ugly life can get, keep hoping. If you persist, things will get better. And families come in all shapes and sizes and are the ultimate teams that support individual progress.”

He is also the author of The Glimpsing Book.

The post The Hot Hurry of Mercurial Fleeting appeared first on Classical Education Books.

The Journal of Jenny September

sarah — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 21:47:27 +0000

Sample

Jenny’s teacher has required her students to do a year-long project. Twelve-year-old Jenny decides to keep a daily journal, but her teacher never expected it to be the truly extraordinary document that Jenny turns in at the end of the school year.

At the beginning of the year, her mother leaves, and Jenny and her father are soon homeless. Father and daughter go through several stages of homelessness, first living in a car, then a self-storage unit, and later a bus. At each stage, Jenny writes of the difficulties and problems involved in being homeless.

Through it all, Jenny manages to keep up with her schoolwork. One of the warm safe havens for her is the library, where she can do her homework. But it’s a struggle to hide her homelessness, and Jenny has a difficult time participating in social events with her classmates because of it. She becomes friends at the beginning of the school year with a girl from a prosperous home, but that friendship dies as poverty and homelessness overtake Jenny. She is, however, befriended by a classmate who is homeless and parentless and who knows that Jenny is homeless as well. He introduces her and her father to life under a bridge amid the flowerbeds of a park and a babbling brook.

Throughout the course of the school year, Jenny and her father fight their way through problems, until they are presented with a unique opportunity to change their situation. This novel offers a revealing look at homelessness that will inspire compassion and empathy in readers of all ages.

The post The Journal of Jenny September appeared first on Classical Education Books.

A Good Courage

sarah — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 21:41:43 +0000

Sample

Fourteen-year-old Ty Rainey’s mother has found heaven on earth at a reclusive commune called “the Kingdom.” But Ty soon discovers that the children, separated from their parents, are treated essentially as slaves, and the punishment for defying the rules is harsh. Ty knows that he must find the courage to rebel, but how can he when the price for doing so may be his freedom, his sanity, or even his life?

Ty becomes a popular storyteller with the children, and although education is strictly forbidden, he secretly teaches one of the younger boys to read. He has one ally in Samarah, who, at great cost to herself, pledges to help him. Their “keepers” are truly terrifying, and the punishments are cruel, but Ty’s mother is too caught up in the culture of the place to believe his claims of abuse. If he’s going to escape, he realizes, he’ll have to do it without her.

This is a gripping, complex, and enthralling novel.

A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year!

The post A Good Courage appeared first on Classical Education Books.