Ben Birdy: 12 books

How is high school reporter Monica going to make a hot guy (Phillip Marin) ask a geek girl (her) out to the Welcome Dance? Inquiring minds want to know!

Poking around her grandmother’s attic, Kate finds the Special Occasions Brush which her gran has always claimed has magical properties. But when Kate sneaks the brush out to use on her own hair, the results are so not what she expected!

From the whimsical to the heart-pounding, here are five adventure stories for teens and under. Watch a kid change an entire town with made-up words in “The Bugabaloo Boy.” Get history raw in “The Girl Who Invented Peanut Butter.” Plus giants (“Axel and the Farmer”), a boy raised by aliens (“A Time of Leaving”), and a frightening rescue mission (“Owl Hunt”).

Nathan Ramses doesn’t like the fact that when he puts a lost tooth under his pillow at night it’s gone the next morning, even if there’s a quarter left in its place. And Nathan Ramses, detective, is going to catch the thief!

The Earl of Sandwich’s invention is a curse for Malaspina, a princess with a mouth and hands so delicate that ordinary sandwiches just won’t do. It will be up to Peter, the stable boy who loves her from afar, to solve her dilemma. A charming short story from the author of "The Bugabaloo Boy."

Tadewi and Arre-Catte, a sister and brother, are left to fend for themselves alone in the wild when their parents die. One runs like the wind. One is afraid of the deep forest but loves to throw stones into it. Together they will learn what it means to face your fears and follow your heart.

When a late night owl scoops up his pet mouse, he’s not going to just let it get away. But the only thing that might be worse than losing the owl is catching it.

Andrew and his parents desperately need a house, but every one they examine feels mean-spirited and wrong. Until Andrew hears a house call to him...

Axel is as tall as a tree, strong as an earthquake, and...smart as a rock. It’s time he learned a lesson or two. A charming short fable from the author of “The Bugabaloo Boy” and “The Girl Who Invented Peanut Butter.”

It was a night to wander to the moon, so Mira loosed her body and slipped, on spirit toes, up through the leaves...

They’ve pillaged Ehan’s adoptive planet, threatening to destroy in their ignorance that which they do not understand. But the plant-spirit Jayanti is wise and, with Ehan’s help, will not let her people be destroyed so easily.

Have some cracked balls and sozzle before you snarkle off to school. But watch out because the town of Little is headed for a big bugaballoo in this charming little story that first appeared in Boys’ Life magazine.