Stephanie Spinner: 16 books

Hermes—also known as Mercury, Wayfinder, and Prince of Thieves—has many talents. Wearing his famed winged sandals, he does the bidding of his father Zeus, leads the dead down to Hades, and practices his favorite arts of trickery and theft. He also sees the future, travels invisibly, loves jokes,...

Christmas just isn’t Christmas without The Nutcracker! This beautiful book, which includes a fully orchestrated CD of the score, invites children to dance, prance, and relive the ballet long after the tree comes down. Peter Malone’s exquisite illustrations capture all the magic of The Nutcracker’s...

In the days of knights and castles, one man knew all the secrets of magic. His name was Merlin. Merlin saw the future. He cast powerful spells. He brought King Arthur to the throne and helped him rule England. Together Merlin and Arthur made history—and became legend. Kids who love magic won’t...

WATER SPIRIT DAMOSEL, the Lady of the Lake, glides through Arthurian legend like a glamorous wraith, shimmering and shifting between the worlds of fairies and humans. Her knowledge is vast (magic, metal, men’s hearts) and leads to her greatest honor—and worst mistake. Damosel makes a promise to...

Greek gods and mortals spring to life in this riveting retelling of the myth of Atalanta, the fleet-footed girl warrior who could outrun any man in ancient Greece. Cast off and abandoned at birth, Atalanta– saved by a she-bear and raised by hunters–proves herself to be a superior archer and the...

Richard Bickerstaff and his friend Henry are prisoners on Grax, a hostile planet. Aric, their tiny alien friend, has been taken from them--perhaps forever. And now they're eating lunch in a Graxian jail, face to face with a Turinga Death Machine! Can life get any more dangerous? Kids will love this very funny Stepping Stones HUMOR title!

It's been ten years since Richard Bickerstaff sat down to breakfast and an alien climbed out of his cereal bowl! Join Richard and Aric, a tiny, wisecracking creature from the planet Ganoob, as they battle to save the world from evil aliens in Aliens for Breakfast, Aliens for Lunch, and Aliens for...

When his fortune cookie cracks open and a tiny pink alien steps out, Richard Bickerstaff knows that he's in for more than a Chinese dinner. And he's right! Aric, that bossy extraterrestrial, needs Richard's help. He's got to keep pollution-loving aliens from turning Earth into a Toxic Waste Theme...

Paddywack is a petite nine hands high, and every pony inch is packed full of spunk. It hasn’t been easy, but he now has his rider, Jane, well trained. He’ll trot. He’ll canter. He’ll jump the jumps. He’s a perfect pony . . . when she gives him treats. But on the day of the big horse show,...

In 1977, graduate student Irene Pepperberg walked into a pet store and bought a year-old African grey parrot. Because she was going to study him, she decided to call him Alex--short for Avian Learning EXperiment. At that time, most scientists thought that the bigger the brain, the smarter the creature;...

Since its publication in 1897, Dracula has enthralled generation after generation of readers with the same spellbinding power with which Count Dracula enthralls his victims. Though Bram Stoker did not invent vampires, and in fact based his character’s life-in-death on extensive research in European...

While other kids played sports, Steven Spielberg was writing scripts and figuring out camera angles.  He went from entertaining his Boy Scout troop with home movies to amazing audiences around the world with epic blockbusters. He has directed four of the most successful films of all time and has...

Follow the amazing journey of Pope Francis, whose warmth and humility have made him beloved around the world. Jorge Mario Bergoglio, aka Pope Francis, from Argentina, is the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, and the first from the Southern Hemisphere. Since being elected pope...

You want girl power? Meet Annie Oakley! Born in 1860, she became one of the best-loved and most famous women of her generation. She amazed audiences all over the world with her sharpshooting, horse-riding, action-packed performances. In an age when most women stayed home, she traveled the world and forged a new image for American women.