fiction

Presents interviews with author Roald Dahl, creator of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," in which he shares his perspective on plots, and discusses his writing process, and includes readings from his books, animations and scenes from his plots, and a look at his writing devices.

Explores the elements of Roald Dahl's characters through interviews with the author, readings from his books, animated scenes from his plots, and captioned demonstrations of his various writing devices. Examines Dahl's four rules of writing: make your readers laugh, make your readers squirm, enthrall your readers, and excite your readers.

Encourages readers to write a story by helping a queen answer her mail.

Simple text and illustrations show how making a set of directions can help improve writing skills.

Throughout the twentieth century, Miss Kanagawa, one of fifty-eight dolls made to serve as ambassadors from Japan to the United States, travels the country learning to love while changing the lives of those who need her.

As soon as Cybil grins and crosses her eyes at Simon, he's in love. But the road to Cybil's heart is bumpymainly because of Simon's best friend, Tony, whose outrageous lies keep Cybil and Simon apart.

"While vacationing at the beach with her mother, Sasha Samokhina meets the mysterious Farit Kozhennikov under the most peculiar circumstances. The teenage girl is powerless to refuse when this strange and unusual man with an air of the sinister directs her to perform a task with potentially scandalous consequences. He rewards her effort with a strange golden coin. As the days progress, Sasha carries out other acts for which she receives more coins from Kozhennikov. As summer ends, her domineering mentor directs her to move to a remote village and use her gold to enter the Institute of Special Technologies. Though she does not want to go to this unknown town or school, she also feels it's the only place she should be. Against her mother's wishes, Sasha leaves behind all that is familiar and begins her education. As she quickly discovers, the institute's "special technologies" are unlike anything she has ever encountered. The books are impossible to read, the lessons obscure to the point of maddening, and the work refuses memorization. Using terror and coercion to keep the students in line, the school does not punish them for their transgressions and failures; instead, their families pay a terrible price. Yet despite her fear, Sasha undergoes changes that defy the dictates of matter and time; experiences which are nothing she has ever dreamed of ... and suddenly all she could ever want"--Front jacket flap.

Neville is essentially the last man on earth, and the loneliness of his situation is the central part of the story. Matheson is able to communicate Neville's emotional feelings vividly, making him very real. We gradually acquire the story of the deaths of Neville's wife and daughter, essentially experiencing the pain he goes through when these memories overcome him. We watch him drink himself into a stupor as each night finds him besieged in his fortified house, surrounded by vampires, including his old friend and neighbor, calling for him to come out. We watch him slowly lose his grip on sanity and come very close to giving up.

Defines the features and characteristics of popular reading genres and subgenres, including historical fiction, westerns, crime, adventure, romance, science fiction, fantasy, horror, Christian fiction, and emerging genres, each with a listing of representative titles, and includes essays on the social nature of reading, and readers' advisory.

Contains reviews and recommendations of five hundred books for teenagers, including Australian and international titles; grouped by genre.