Stealing First And Other Stories

In the American deep south in 1957, the Redbirds battle the Bayou Braves for the championship. Ronnie LeBlanc, the Redbirds’ pitcher, believes that winning the regional title is his ticket out of a dead-end job at the local sugar mill. When the Redbirds suffer a series of losses, the team’s coach quits, and the sole person willing to take the job is a former Negro League pitcher—the only African-American in a still-segregated game. Ronnie begins to suspect external forces are the cause of his team’s unlucky streak. As he digs for answers, he stumbles upon a secret: Bo Brasseux, the town’s bigoted banker, is scheming to kill the Redbirds’ new coach, throw the championship game, and ruin Ronnie’s family financially. A scout for the Chicago Cubs could be the answer, but will being tapped by the Cubs be enough to thwart Brasseux’s despicable plans against the coach and Ronnie’s family? Based on a true story, “Stealing First” is only one tale in this collection that offers glimpses of small-town politics, snake-handlers, nosey house-hunters, and the making of a murderer. Each story looks at our prejudices and conceits, our loves in all their variations, and the worst and best of us.

Under Platform 13 at King's Cross Station there is a secret door that leads to a magical island . . . It appears only once every nine years. And when it opens, four mysterious figures step into the streets of London. A wizard, an ogre, a fey and a young hag have come to find the prince of their kingdom, stolen as a baby nine years before. But the prince has become a horrible rich boy called Raymond Trottle, who doesn't understand magic and is determined not to be rescued. Shortlisted for the Smarties Prize, The Secret of Platform 13 is an exciting magical adventure from Eva Ibbotson, the award-winning author of Journey to the River Sea. 'This kind of fun will never fail to delight' Philip Pullman

"Paul's charmed life is over. He is about to be kicked out of his flat in gentrified east London and his sister has gone missing after an argument about what to do with the house where they grew up. Now that their mother is dead this is the last link they have to the ever-more-diminished town on the north-west coast where they grew up. He meets Emily Nardini, a reclusive and uncompromising writer. Her books are narrated by outcasts, but she receives him in her home in the wealthiest part of west London. Paul discovers Emily is living with Andrew Lancaster, a famous intellectual who is significantly older than her. Andrew has lived a successful life, and Paul has not. But perhaps this situation should be reversed, thinks Paul, who forms an alliance with Andrew's daughter, Sophie, a journalist gaining attention for her hot takes on sex and revolution. Travelling up and down between the town he thought he had escaped and the city that threatens to chew him up, Paul longs to find where he belongs in a divided country."--Publisher description.

How to Steal a Piano and other stories is a set of intriguing tales of our time – some dark and challenging, others light and comical.

A companion to Making Bombs for Hitler and The War Below, this novel follows a Ukrainian girl who was kidnapped as a child to be raised by a Nazi family. Nadia is haunted by World War II. Her memories of the war are messy, coming back to her in pieces and flashes she can't control. Though her adoptive mother says they are safe now, Nadia's flashbacks keep coming.Sometimes she remembers running, hunger, and isolation. But other times she remembers living with a German family, and attending big rallies where she was praised for her light hair and blue eyes. The puzzle pieces don't quite fit together, and Nadia is scared by what might be true. Could she have been raised by Nazis? Were they her real family? What part did she play in the war?What Nadia finally discovers about her own history will shock her. But only when she understands the past can she truly face her future.Inspired by startling true events, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch delivers a gripping and poignant story of one girl's determination to uncover her truth.

You can't just ask for the chance to fly . . . When his dad announced they were moving to Iowa, Brian looked forward to making some new friends. But on his first day there he makes an enemy instead -- Frankie Heller, the meanest kid in town. Brian needs to hang out with someone cool to get back on track. . . .Alex has always been the coolest guy around, and good with money, just like his dad. But now the family is struggling, and he needs to make some cash to keep up appearances. Then an opportunity falls in his lap . . . .Max is a scientific genius, but his parents are always busy with their own work. Building an actual plane should get their attention -- if only he wasn't scared of heights . . . The answer to all three boys' problems starts with Max's secret flyer. But Frankie and the laws of popularity and physics stand in their way. Can they work together in time to get their plan AND their plane off the ground?

A Study Guide for Liliana Heker's "The Stolen Party", excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Short Stories for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Short Stories for Students for all of your research needs.