The Thieving Collectors Of Fine Childrens Books

"A genre-bending, heart-pounding middle-grade romp into a potential future. . . . Perry's layered approach makes for a masterpiece that feels both familiar yet wholly new." --Shelf Awareness, STARRED REVIEW "This takes getting lost in a book to a whole new level. I loved it!" --James Riley, New York Times-bestselling author of the Story Thieves series "Once you start this book, you truly can't stop. An adventure full of cheeky charm and delightful whimsy." --Marie Lu, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Skyhunter "A fast, fun, furiously inventive, and frequently frightful read." --Geoff Rodkey, New York Times-bestselling author of the Tapper Twins series and We're Not from Here This clever, fast-paced adventure is a mix of the Story Thieves series and Ready Player One! Oliver Nelson has a terrible secret-he's a thief. But he only steals books from the Garden Grove Library that are old, musty, brittle, or incomplete, like his favorite book, The Timekeeper's Children. No one reads anymore, and surely no one will miss them, right? Wrong. The Pribbles are famous inventors of the most popular toy in the world, alternate-reality goggles. They are also book collectors who are searching for The Timekeeper's Children, so the Pribbles hatch a plan. They invite Oliver, the last person to have checked it out, to their mansion and use special software from their goggles to steal the last remaining copy of the book--from inside Oliver's mind. Now, Oliver is thrust into the middle of the story and must help the main characters steal pieces scattered around the fictional world of Dulum to build a magical clock that can turn back time before the evil sorcerer Sigil takes over. They'll encounter hideous giants, bloodsucking bats, vicious eels, a Nasty Rodent Eater, a gang of wicked children, and a strange, dark figure that follows them from chapter to chapter, all the while with the Pribbles in pursuit. Can Oliver save Dulum before Sigil destroys everything? And will he finish The Timekeeper's Children before the Pribbles steal it from his mind?

The Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris meets Disney’s Hocus Pocus in this rollicking illustrated middle grade novel about two aspiring magicians who stumble upon real magic in their small town. Best friends Duncan Reyes and Emma Gilbert want to be as great as Harry Houdini someday. But when they discover that their neighborhood witch is more than just a local legend, their dreams of stardom quickly turn into a nightmare. After they (accidentally) steal the witch’s magic wand, the duo uses it to put on an impossible new act—which draws even more dangerous foes to town in search of their secret. How are these two friends supposed to defeat the powerful dark forces threatening their town? Well, it may just take some sleight-of-hand, a bit of magic…and (allegedly) a little destruction of public property. The Magicians of Elephant County is told through alternating chapters of Duncan’s and Emma’s hilarious witness testimony—and is paired with full-page artwork of evidence—as local police try to expose the truth about what really happened in Elephant County. Perfect for fans of Natalie Lloyd, Tom Angleberger, and Chris Grabenstein, this debut novel is sure to dazzle young readers and deliver one surprise after another like only the best magic tricks can!

In the mid 19th century, a religious movement called Spiritualism spread across America. Spiritualists believe that the living could communicate with the dead. Complete with ghostly black-and-white photographs, this suspenseful book tells the story of twelve-year-old Liza Carroll and her little brother as they try to find answers and hide a secret while staying at a spooky Spiritualist commune. After twelve-year-old Liza Carroll and her ten-year-old brother John's parents die, they are placed in the custody of their uncle, a traveling photographer named Mr. Spencer. Mr. Spencer, realizing the gift he has in his young relatives, uses them to help create fraudulent spirit photographs, which he sells to the grieving. Chased from one town to another, they arrive at a settlement that is different than the others they've been to-a Spiritualist commune in Pennsylvania named the Silver Star Society. Things feel different here. They are told they are at a Thin Place between the worlds of the living and the spirits. Shadows haunt the halls, and strange forms appear in Liza's photographs. Is this real, or is she the one being tricked this time? As Liza and her brother begin to investigate, the Thin Place begins to break, threatening everyone at the society. Can they fix it in time? And will their secret they've been hiding be revealed?

People have been collecting—and stealing—books since before Gutenberg invented the printing press. Internationally, according to Interpol, rare book theft is more widespread than fine art theft. Although dealers will tell you “every rare book is a stolen book,” the stories of these heists have remained quiet, shielded by an insular community of book dealers and book collectors that prefers to keep its losses secret. In The Man Who Loved Books Too Much, Allison Hoover Bartlett takes us deep inside the world of rare books, and tells the cat-and-mouse story of two men caught in its allure. Here we meet Bartlett John Gilkey, an unrepentant, obsessive book thief, and Ken Sanders, the equally obsessive self-styled “bibliodick,” a book-dealer turned amateur detective. While their goals are at direct odds, both men share a deep passion for books and a fierce tenacity—Gilkey, to steal books; Sanders, to stop him.

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • One of the most remarkable true-crime narratives of the twenty-first century: the story of the world’s most prolific art thief, Stéphane Breitwieser. • “The Art Thief, like its title character, has confidence, élan, and a great sense of timing."—The New Yorker "Enthralling." —The Wall Street Journal In this spellbinding portrait of obsession and flawed genius, the best-selling author of The Stranger in the Woods brings us into Breitwieser’s strange world—unlike most thieves, he never stole for money, keeping all his treasures in a single room where he could admire them. For centuries, works of art have been stolen in countless ways from all over the world, but no one has been quite as successful at it as the master thief Stéphane Breitwieser. Carrying out more than two hundred heists over nearly eight years—in museums and cathedrals all over Europe—Breitwieser, along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout, stole more than three hundred objects, until it all fell apart in spectacular fashion. In The Art Thief, Michael Finkel brings us into Breitwieser’s strange and fascinating world. Unlike most thieves, Breitwieser never stole for money. Instead, he displayed all his treasures in a pair of secret rooms where he could admire them to his heart’s content. Possessed of a remarkable athleticism and an innate ability to circumvent practically any security system, Breitwieser managed to pull off a breathtaking number of audacious thefts. Yet these strange talents bred a growing disregard for risk and an addict’s need to score, leading Breitwieser to ignore his girlfriend’s pleas to stop—until one final act of hubris brought everything crashing down. This is a riveting story of art, crime, love, and an insatiable hunger to possess beauty at any cost.

Imagine being forced to move to a new planet where YOU are the alien! From the creator of the Tapper Twins, New York Times bestselling author Geoff Rodkey delivers a topical, sci-fi middle-grade novel that proves friendship and laughter can transcend even a galaxy of differences. The first time I heard about Planet Choom, we'd been on Mars for almost a year. But life on the Mars station was grim, and since Earth was no longer an option (we may have blown it up), it was time to find a new home. That's how we ended up on Choom with the Zhuri. They're very smart. They also look like giant mosquitos. But that's not why it's so hard to live here. There's a lot that the Zhuri don't like: singing (just ask my sister, Ila), comedy (one joke got me sent to the principal's office), or any kind of emotion. The biggest problem, though? The Zhuri don't like us. And if humankind is going to survive, it's up to my family to change their minds. No pressure.

A unique story about first—and last—loves from the celebrated and bestselling author of We All Looked Up. Parker Santé hasn’t spoken a word in five years. While his classmates plan for bright futures, he skips school to hang out in hotels, killing time by watching the guests. But when he meets a silver-haired girl named Zelda Toth, a girl who claims to be quite a bit older than she looks, he’ll discover there just might be a few things left worth living for.

Where have all the bedtime stories gone? A delightful addition to the picture book canon about the love of reading One dark, dark night in Burrow Down, a rabbit named Eliza Brown found a book and settled down...when a Snatchabook flew into town. It's bedtime in the woods of Burrow Down, and all the animals are ready for their bedtime story. But books are mysteriously disappearing. Eliza Brown decides to to stay awake and catch the book thief. It turns out to be a little creature called the Snatchabook who has no one to read him a bedtime story. All turns out well when the books are returned and the animals take turns reading bedtime stories to the Snatchabook.