Mikey is the super-competitive young captain of the Hot Diggedy Diner soccer team. He works hard, even if his teammates are easily distracted by anthill investigations and turning themselves into whirlybirds.

After a tough practice, Mikey only wants to practice for the Big Game. Daddy offers to help, but to Mikey’s dismay he keeps bending the rules and telling his impatient son to “just have fun.” After an irresistible ticklefest, however, Mikey finally comes around to Daddy’s way of thinking—and joins him and Socks in the worst, best soccer game ever!

Author Sherry Shahan shows young readers that there is more than one way for kids to play—and enjoy—a game. Illustrator Tatjana Mai-Wyss’s exuberant and whimsical watercolor illustrations reflect the characters’ winning personalities and the upbeat spirit of the story.

An afternoon hike in the Sierra Mountains turns into a struggle for survival when two teenage girls become hopelessly lost in an electrical storm and must rely on their own wits and strength to endure.

Almost a year ago, Erin’s mother Lannie suddenly left home without any explanation. Now Lannie wants to see her, but Erin feels miserable and unsure about seeing her mother again.

After “losing” her bus ticket on the way to visit her mother, Erin hitches a ride with Mae and her older brother, Levi. Along the way, she joins the two siblings for a hike along the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. When a deadly storm suddenly descends upon the mountain and lightning strikes, everyone on the crowded trails scrambles for safety and Erin and Mae become separated from the others. As the days pass, the two stranded and lost girls must rely on their own determination and skills, as well as each other, to survive.

Author Sherry Shahan’s dramatic story displays perceptive insights into the conflicted hearts and minds of teenagers, as well as a thorough understanding of the natural world and technical details of mountaineering. An afterword includes details of Shahan’s own harrowing alpine adventure that inspired the novel.