Trouble At The Arcade

The first book in the chapter book refresh of the classic Hardy Boys series. In Trouble at the Arcade, nine-year-old Frank and eight-year-old Joe Hardy discover trouble lurking at the local arcade and decide they make pretty good detectives—just like their dad!

Travis and Journey are best friends who love going to Arcade World, a mysterious arcade filled with video games no one has ever heard of, so when they learn the danger of the games coming to life they must save the world from pixelated enemies.

When the actor who plays popular comic character Morpho the Morph Monster comes to town for a fan day--along with his famous Morpho Mask and Morph Spork--everyone, including Frank and Joe, is excited to meet the man behind the mask. But at the event, Morpho's Spork goes missing! And until the Spork is returned, the entire event will be put on hold! It's up to Frank and Joe to crack the case--and return the Spork to its rightful owner!

An exciting new middle reader series from a debut author. All twelve-year-old Jaden wants to do is be the best at Cross Ups, the video game he and his friends can’t stop playing. He knows he could be—if only he didn’t have to hide his gaming from his mom, who’s convinced it will make him violent. After an epic match leads to an invitation to play in a top tournament, Jaden and his friends Devesh and Hugh hatch a plan to get him there. But Jaden’s strict parents and annoying siblings, not to mention a couple of bullies and his confusing feelings for his next-door neighbor Cali, keep getting in the way! Tournament Trouble marks the first book in a planned series by Sylv Chiang, a captivating new voice in middle reader fiction. With sharp dialogue and relatable characters, it chronicles the ups and downs of middle school with a relevant, contemporary twist. Accompanied by Connie Choi’s lively illustrations, Tournament Trouble invites readers into Jaden’s world, and will leave them eagerly awaiting his next adventure. Look for Book 2, coming in Fall 2018!

More people are playing video games than ever before, and yet much of the work of their production remains obscured to us. Deploying a Marxist approach, Jamie Woodcock delves into the hidden abode of the gaming industry, unravelling the vast networks of artists, software developers, and factory and logistics workers whose material and immaterial labor flows into the products we consume on a gargantuan scale. Beyond this, the book analyzes the increasingly important role the gaming industry plays in contemporary capitalism, and the broader transformations of work and economy that it embodies. Woodcock also presents game-play itself not as a “deviant activity,” as it is often understood, but as a commentary of estrangement from contemporary forms of work. In so doing, it offers a fresh and much needed analysis of a sector which has for too long been neglected by scholars and labor activists alike.

Frank and Joe bring their detective skills to the athletic arena in this all-new Hardy Boys Secret Files mystery! It’s time for Field Day at Bayport Elementary and all the kids are excited! Whatever grade wins gets a pizza party, and the person with the highest personal score also gets a special prize. But when the field equipment is sabotaged the day before the events are supposed to start, it looks like Field Day might not happen after all—unless someone can find out who is behind the mess of ruined rackets, tangled jump ropes, and flattened balloons. Can Frank and Joe crack the case and save Field Day?

For use in schools and libraries only. Frank and Joe Hardy are excited, it's the final game of the season, and their team has a shot at winning. But before the game, Jason's mitt goes missing. The team is devastated. Can Frank and Joe find the mitt before they lose the game?

Frank and Joe are on a mission to track down a thief in the first book in an all-new, interactive Hardy Boys chapter book mystery series. Have a piece of paper nearby so you can jot down your own ideas and solutions to the case! Bayport Elementary is throwing a fundraiser so they can go on an end-of-the-year trip. Ellie Freeman’s parents have volunteered their house for the event, and neighbors have donated all sorts of prizes to be raffled off including movie tickets and gift certificates to Fun World. But the best prize of all is a brand-new ZCross50000, a video game system that every kid has been drooling over. But sometime during the event, the ZCross goes missing. Can Frank and Jo figure out who took the prize before it’s too late to save the big school trip?