The Fourth Stall

The humor of Diary of a Wimpy Kid meets a Godfather-like tale of crime and betrayal in this first book in Chris Rylander's The Fourth Stall Saga. Do you need something? Mac can get it for you. He and his best friend and business manager, Vince. Their methods might sometimes run afoul of the law, or at least the school code of conduct, but if you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can pay him, Mac is on your side. His office is located in the East Wing boy's bathroom, fourth stall from the high window. And business is booming. Or at least it was, until this particular Monday. Because this Monday is when Mac and Vince find out that the trouble with solving everyone else's problems is there's no one left to solve yours. The school setting; fast-paced, cinematic, and funny story; and engaging voice make The Fourth Stall a perfect classroom read. Supports the Common Core State Standards

The life of crime is good.Mac has taken down legendary high school crime boss Staples, business has been booming, and Mac and Vince are getting ready for middle school baseball tryouts. But this can’t last. Mac has always tried to keep his friends close and his enemies closer. But what happens when you can’t tell the difference? This dilemma walks into the fourth stall in the form of Trixie Von Parkway—an eighth grader with a mean look and an even meaner predicament. The new science teacher is terrorizing her, and she needs Mac to get him off her back. Seems simple enough, but as Mac starts to dig deeper, he finds even more trouble brewing at his school, including a new administrator bent on destroying his business, and indications that Trixie isn’t who she claims to be. In the past, the worst thing that could have happened to Mac was that he might lose a little money, maybe catch a beating. In The Fourth Stall Part II, though, there’s going to be much more on the line than that.

From Chris Rylander, author of the breakout hit Fourth Stall saga, comes an incredibly funny and clever mash-up of middle grade school story and spy adventure. There are places in the world where heroes are born. There are places where brave men and women fight a never-ending battle against evil in order to keep our country and all other countries safe. There are places where the fate of our planet is being decided, even at this very moment, the consequences of which will echo through history. None of these places is in North Dakota. Carson Fender, seventh grader and notorious prankster, knows this. He's lived in North Dakota for his entire life, going to the same boring school every day, the same boring movie theater every week, the same boring state fair every year. Nothing ever changes, and nothing ever happens. That is, until today. Because today a desperate man hands him a package with a dire set of instructions. And that package is going to lead Carson to discover that there's a secret government agency operating in his small, quiet North Dakota hometown. And that this agency needs his help.

A boy discovers his destiny could totally stink in this riotously funny fantasy-adventure Risk-averse Greg Belmont is content with being ordinary. He's got a friend--that's right, just one--at his fancy prep school, and a pretty cool dad (even if he is obsessed with organic soaps that smell like a mix of salted pork and Icelandic bog). The problem is, Greg isn't ordinary . . . he's actually an honest-to-goodness, fantastical Dwarf! He discovers the truth the day his dad brings home a gross new tea--one that awakens bizarre abilities in Greg. Then a murderous Bro-Troll kidnaps his dad and Greg is whisked away to the Underground, where Dwarves have lived for centuries right beneath the streets of Chicago. With the help of some awesome new friends and a talking ax, Greg learns all about the history of the Dwarves, which has been marked with tales of epic failure since the dawn of time. However, the return of the magic they once wielded means big changes are afoot, escalating tensions with the Dwarves' sworn enemy: the Elves. Brimming with humor and action, Chris Rylander's The Legend of Greg turns dwarf lore on its head, delivering an adventure readers won't be able to resist.

In this probing study of the growth experience of Fortune 100-sized firms across the past fifty years, authors Olson and van Bever find that great companies stop growing not because of market saturation, government regulation, or other external constraints but rather because of a finite set of common strategy mistakes that appear time after time, across industries, across geography, and across the economic cycle."--Jacket.

From Chris Rylander, author of the breakout hit the Fourth Stall saga, comes the second book in the Codename Conspiracy series, a funny and clever mash-up of middle grade school story and spy adventure. Ever since Carson Fender was let go by the secret agency that had enlisted his services to help foil a nefarious plot perpetrated by one of their former agents, he's been back to hanging with his friends, pulling pranks, and not having to lie to everyone about how he's spending his days. And that's for the best, isn't it? Of course, this was all before a note showed up in his school lunch, informing him that Agent Nineteen had three days left to live, and that there might still be someone inside the Agency working against them. Carson has always been able to rely on his friends—but what happens when there's no one left to trust?

A poetic, gifty offering that combines first love, friendship, and persistent courage in this lyrical immigration story told in verse. Carrying just a suitcase and an old laundry bag filled with clothes, Kasienka and her mother are immigrating to England from Poland. Kasienka isn't the happiest girl in the world. At home, her mother is suffering from a broken heart as she searches for Kasienka's father. And at school, Kasienka is having trouble being the new girl and making friends. The only time she feels comforted is when she's swimming at the pool. But she can't quite shake the feeling that she's sinking. Until a new boy swims into her life, and she learns that there might be more than one way to stay afloat. The Weight of Water is a coming-of-age story that deftly handles issues of immigration, alienation, and first love. Moving and poetically rendered, this novel-in-verse is the story of a young girl whose determination to find out who she is prevails.

From Chris Rylander, author of the breakout hit Fourth Stall saga, comes the third book in the Codename Conspiracy series—an incredibly funny and clever mash-up of middle grade school story and spy adventure, perfect for fans of Gordon Korman. There is a computer program so unspeakably powerful that its mere existence is unknown to all but the most senior government agents. This computer program is capable of controlling every aspect of communication, transportation, and defense on the planet. This computer program must never fall into the wrong hands or civilization as we know it will be utterly destroyed. This computer program is in North Dakota. Carson Fender, aka the retired Prank Master, aka Agent Zero, aka the all-in-one World's Greatest Hero and World's Greatest Screwup, must protect this program, codenamed Exodus. He is paired once again with his best friend, Danielle, aka Agent Atlas. Together, they must expose an enemy agent working from inside their school—an enemy agent with the mandate to stop at nothing to help secure Exodus. Can Zero and Atlas foil this enemy before it is too late? Carson's final mission will test his loyalty, smarts, and courage as never before.