Julie C. Dao – författare

A rollicking, action-packed adventure of laser tag and fierce sibling rivalries, Team Chu and the Battle of Blackwood Arena is the first book in a commercial middle grade fantasy series by Julie C. Dao.Clip and Sadie Chu couldn’t be more different. Popular, athletic Clip wants to become his school’s first seventh-grade soccer captain, while brainy star student Sadie is determined to prove that she can do anything her boastful brother can.They have just one thing in common: they love laser tag. Like, really love it.When the Blackwood Gaming Arena comes to town, bringing virtual reality headsets and state-of-the-art courses, they couldn’t be more excited—or competitive. But then a mysterious figure appears and claims to be a part of the game, forcing the Chus and their friends to save themselves from a sinister force lurking inside the simulation. Together, they must fight their way through epic battlegrounds that will test their speed, skills, and smarts . . . but will Clip and Sadie learn that they’re far better off working together than competing for the ultimate victory?A 2023 CBC Teacher and Librarians Favorite

Check out acclaimed author Julie C. Dao''s debut middle grade series, featuring a team of kids ready for any challenge–even saving the fantasy world of Pantaera from dark forces and certain ruin!In Team Chu and the Epic Hero Quest, the popular fantasy video game War of Gods and Men is being adapted for reality television. Team Chu and company are competing for the title of child hero: the young person destined to unite the forces of Pantaera to save it from a sinister fate. Over the next week, they’ll be challenged by sirens, vampires, elves, and more in Tests of Courage, Determination, Humility, Intelligence, and Strength.Popular athlete Clip is confident he’ll take the prize, if it weren’t for that test of humility. And despite claiming not to care about the game, Sadie finds herself pulled into the immersive world of Pantaera and rising to meet the challenges thrown her way. And her best friend, Jeremy, proud nerd and last pick for P.E. teams, wants more than anything to save the world of the game he loves, no matter the cost.Join Clip, Sadie, Jeremy, and their friends on a thrilling adventure through an extraordinary fantasy world to learn who among them has what it takes to become Pantaera''s child hero!

In this Team Chu adventure, Vietnamese-American siblings Clip and Sadie Chu—and friends—must unearth the mystery behind a haunted Halloween carnival.When Iggy Morales''s stylish cat, Tuba, becomes famous on social media, he scores an invite to a star-studded pet fashion show at Spooky World. The family-friendly, Halloween-themed indoor carnival is the place to be on the last weekend in October, so of course Iggy brings all of his friends, including Clip and Sadie. The kids expect to ride thrilling rollercoasters, play games in the midway, and eat fried dough and candy apples, but they encounter a different kind of excitement instead: a ghost called the Weeping Lady, who has haunted Spooky World for decades, appears and asks for their help.The Weeping Lady sends Iggy and his friends on a mysterious, action-packed scavenger hunt all over the sprawling theme park, giving them cryptic clues and communicating with Iggy’s seemingly clairvoyant cat, Tuba. If the kids can piece the story together and complete this wild ghost chase, they might just uncover the truth behind what really happened to Spooky World’s most infamous spirit.

14 Young Adult short stories from bestselling and award-winning authors make a splash in Mermaids Never Drown - the second collection in the Untold Legends series edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker - exploring mermaids like we''ve never seen them before!A Vietnamese mermaid caught between two worlds. A siren who falls for Poseidon''s son. A boy secretly pining for the merboy who saved him years ago. A storm that brings humans and mermaids together. Generations of family secrets and pain.Find all these stories and more in this gripping new collection that will reel you in from the very first page! Welcome to an ocean of hurt, fear, confusion, rage, hope, humor, discovery, and love in its many forms.Edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker, Mermaids Never Drown features beloved authors like Darcie Little Badger, Kalynn Bayron, Preeti Chhibber, Rebecca Coffindaffer, Julie C. Dao, Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Adriana Herrera, June Hur, Katherine Locke, Kerri Maniscalco, Julie Murphy, Gretchen Schreiber, and Julian Winters.