Bruce Hale – författare

Stephanie has a whole underwear drawer full of trouble.

A week ago, Stephanie''s biggest problem was finding enough time to complete her homework and study for her Mathletes competition. Now, thanks to her big-mouth brother, Zeke, she has to deal with magical toilet brushes, sinister talking cats, nearsighted sea serpents, singing custodians, feminist pirates, runty freedom fighters, and all the cottony-white weirdness of Underwhere—the world beneath our own where people wear their undies on the outside of their clothes.

It''s tough to be ZeKe.

He''s got his hands full: There is his prissy, know-it-all twin sister; his mean cousin Caitlyn, who''s house-sitting for his missing parents; and a bully making life tough at school (as though it wasn''t hard enough already). And now, thanks to a stinky, scruffy, good-for-nothing talking cat, he''s also got to cope with zombies, midget freedom fighters, devious spies, superstar rappers, and a whole weird world beneath our own where people wear their underwear on the outside of their clothes.

Cats are not meant to save the world.

Fitz the cat is supposed to be enjoying the normal activities savored by those of the feline persuasion—napping (a lot), nibbling on house plants, sharpening his claws on expensive furniture, and, most importantly, never, ever doing what a human wants him to.

But instead, thanks to Zeke, Stephanie, and Hector—those meddling, tuna-hatin'', whiskerless kids who dragged him down to Underwhere—Fitz has bigger fish to fry (though, of course, he prefers his fish raw).

Not only has he started thinking like a human, he''s actually helping them recover the stolen Scepter of Underwhere, battle a wild pack of triceradoodles, outwit a roaming band of savage mice, and foil the plans of the strange new movie director in town, who happens to smell awfully familiar. . . .

Sometimes even sidekicks have to step up.

Here''s the thing: Zeke''s busy being the so-called Prince of Underwhere. His prissy sister, Stephanie, is some sort of pirate queen. But Hector? Everyone treats him like a joker and a sidekick. Well, those days are over. Now only Hector can save the day—if he can survive the swarms of sharp-beaked midget flying dinos, smart-aleck flying horses, angry armies in their undies, a really, really bad hypnotist, and a duel with deadly toilet plungers. . . all the ordinary wedgie weirdness of the tighty-whitie world under our own.

Nate’s best friend Jeremy is missing, and Nate seems to be the only one worried that he’s been captured by hideous creatures that live in the sewers. A short story from Guys Read: Thriller, edited by Jon Scieszka.

Don’t shed a tear, ''cause there’s nothing to fear!

Clark the Shark has a loose tooth and needs to visit the dentist. But he''s heard that the dentist is scarier than a box of blue whales! Uh-oh, and oh no! Can Clark find a way to stay cool when it comes to tooth trouble?

Beginning readers will be entertained and reassured by this clever, funny twist on a dentist visit in this I Can Read story featuring their favorite boisterous shark. The back matter also includes fun, bite-sized facts about shark teeth!

With lively text from Bruce Hale, this Level One I Can Read is perfect for children learning to sound out words and sentences.