Juvenile Books

Chane Pili, a gypsy teenager, becomes the accidental possessor of one of the greatest magical weapons in the desert city of Belestria. His only hope to free himself of this deadly treasure lies with Master Alchemist Doctor Griswald Grimm and his apprentice, Fleet. But someone else knows that Chane is the possessor of this coveted magical item, and deadly strangers begin to appear on the street of dreams. Then Chane’s home is attacked by kidnappers, and the alchemist’s friends and allies become involved as a deadly firestorm begins. Who is pursuing them? And did the creator of the ordinaire have other deadly secrets, as well?

Meet the werewolves, wizards, soldiers, and spies of Bob Liddil’s world, as they step out of the pages of “Sorcerer’s Apprentice Magazine” and into a deadly contest of magic.

This story was originally proposed by the late Bob Liddil.

"The Moving Picture Girls" are the adventures of Ruth, age 17, and Alice DeVere, age 15, two young girls who live with their father, a widower and theater actor. After losing his voice, and his lead role, Ruth and Alice’s friend Russ suggests that Mr. DeVere come work as an actor in the moving pictures, but Mr. DeVere considers the moving pictures to be vulgar and cheap.  It is only after the family is served with an eviction notice, and the butcher and grocer refuse to deliver any more food, that Mr. DeVere gives in to the inevitable and accepts work in the "Silent Movies." At first the girls just watch their father and the movie studio people at work, but when a scene must be filmed at a certain time and the two actresses needed are nowhere to be seen, Ruth and Alice are pressed into service. Their initial appearance is well received by audiences and soon the girls are accepted as novice actresses and must learn to deal with the problems of jealous rivals, pompous prima donnas, and inopportune accidents that plague all production studios.

 In  "...at Oak Farm" the film company films a series of plays at Oak farm.  Country life is a welcome change from the bustle of the city; but more than one mystery lurks at the farm. Sandy Apgar and his parents are losing the farm because they can’t afford to pay the mortgage.  Sandy’s uncle had borrowed money from Sandy’s parents, but died before he was able to pay them back, even though, Sandy believes, he had the money to do so. Now that money is needed to pay the mortgage.

Meanwhile, during filming, the actors and actresses fall victim to several mishaps, a mysterious tramp lurks around the farm, and Sandy searches for his Uncle’s lost money box. And what happens when they decide to burn down the barn for an action sequence?

"The Moving Picture Girls" and  "The Moving Picture Girls at Oak Farm" were published in 1914. This volume includes the original frontispiece illustrations.

In "The Moving Picture Girls Snowbound" an unscrupulous man, Dan Merley, accuses Mr. DeVere of owing him $500. Mr. DeVere had paid him back, but Mr. Merley was drunk at the time and didn’t give him a receipt, and now Mr. DeVere cannot afford to pay him another $500. How can they prove their father paid the man? The film company, meanwhile, departs for the northern woods for the filming of several winter plays. While at Elk Lodge, Alice and Ruth experience both danger and adventure. The girls are nearly attacked by a wildcat during the filming of one scene, and on another outing are trapped in an ice cave.  The weather proves to be a hardship after a fierce snowstorm traps the group inside the lodge. And then, while trying to escape bad weather, they see Mr. Merley. Why is he up in the mountains? And isn't he supposed to have been hurt in an accident and can't walk, much less walk using snowshoes?

Ruth and Alice eagerly anticipate warm weather and palm trees in Florida in "The Moving Picture Girls Under the Palms," where they are to film a series of dramas.  They also think of the possibility of reacquainting themselves with two girls from Florida whom they met briefly while traveling to Elk Lodge.  During the voyage, the film company has its usual share of adventures when the ship catches on fire and is disabled. After arriving in Florida, Ruth and Alice feel nervous after reading of two girls who recently went missing from Lake Kissimmee, the very place to where the film company will travel. Once on location, one of the actors gets caught in quicksand, a strange animal in the water attacks their boat, and then the girls get lost in the swamps!

"The Moving Picture Girls Snowbound" and "The Moving Picture Girls Under the Palms" were published in 1914. This volume includes the original frontispiece illustrations.

In  "The Moving Picture Girls at Rocky Ranch" the DeVere family heads out West by railroad to work on a project to contrast life in the West with life in the East. They are followed by spies from a rival film company who are trying to steal Mr. Pertell's ideas. They dodge a tornado and survive a train derailment. Finally, they arrive at Rocky Ranch, where it takes some adjustment to get used to ranch life. Mr. Pertell is taken aback when they discover a recently-hired cowhand has a moving picture camera. Has the rival picture company arrived at the ranch first? And what with the local Indians taking offense at the film company seeing a sacred dance,  a prairie fire that almost toasts them all, and trying to keep their rivals from stealing their scenes, the girls have an exciting time out west.

In "The Moving Picture Girls at Sea" the DeVeres head out with the Comet Film company to film a drama about a shipwreck. Old Jack Jepson, a sailor hired for the film, confides how he was unjustly accused of inciting a mutiny on a ship and was sentenced to prison by the British authorities.  He escaped and has lived on the run for many years, but worries that the British authorities may discover his whereabouts.

Alice sees that Jack seems to know Captain Brisco and one of the other sailors, Hen Lacomb. Jack appears to fall overboard while Brisco and Lacomb are standing near him.  Later, Jack reveals that to Alice that Lacomb pushed him overboard.  Jack refuses to elaborate any further, leaving a mystery for Alice to uncover. Then they discover that the ship they have rented isn't seaworthy and with a storm coming up all are in great danger. And then Russ, trying to get some exciting footage of the ship being tossed by the sea, gets separated from the ship and neither party knows if the other survived the tempest. Jack has a fright when a British Schooner shows up and offers to help them with their stricken vessel.

"The Moving Picture Girls at Rocky Ranch" and  "The Moving Picture Girls at Sea" were published in 1914 and 1915, respectively. This volume includes the original frontispiece illustrations.

The "Submarine Boys on Duty" follows the adventures of Jack Benson, Hal Hastings, and Eph Somer in Dunhaven as they make the acquaintance of David Pollard, a submarine inventor, and Jacob Farnum,  the builder and financial backer. Looking for an interesting and exciting job the boys decide to try to become the crew of this fabulous boat, but first they must deal with the savage hostility of Josh Owen and Dan Jaggers who try to sabotage their efforts, even to the point of sinking the submarine with the boys in it! Then, during tests to prove the submarine ready, a crazy boatswain’s mate tries to kill them, and himself.  They  seize an unexpected opportunity to play a practical joke on one of the big battleships during Naval maneuvers set to test the submarine. They even assist Mr. Farnum in securing the beautiful Grace Desmond as his bride. But do they succeed in capturing the navy's attention enough to build more submarines?

In "Submarine Boys Trial Trip" the boys help defend the submarine company from an unscrupulous financier’ who wants to put his son in as Captain of the submarine with his friends as a crew, forcing Jack and his buddies out.  When his first overture at a partnership fails, he tries to destroy the faith that David Pollard has in them by making it look like they are willing to sell the boat's secrets to the highest bidder. Many other adventures ensue as Captain Jack and his crew attempt to thwart the financier's plots while at the same time trying to entice the U.S. Navy into purchasing their submarine and securing a contract for more. Stopping a mutiny, sneaking up on a Naval gunboat, and devising a method to escape a sunken submarine keep the young men on their toes.

"The Submarine Boys on Duty" and "The Submarine Boys’ Trial Trip" were published in 1909. This volume includes the original eight illustrations.

In "Uncle Sam’s Boys in the Ranks,” Hal Overton and Noll Terry, decide at the age of eighteen to enlist in the Regular Army, and receive their first drillings in the art of being a soldier at the recruit rendezvous outside just New York City. While at the recruit rendezvous the two rookies run afoal of a bitter and over-bearing corporal and then find themselves in the position of trying to prevent the desertion of this same corporal who was in arrest. On the way to their regiment at Fort Clowdry in Colorado an attempt is made to hold up the United States mail train in which they are riding. An Army officer, Major Davis, of the Seventeenth Cavalry, orders them to assist him in resisting an attack on the mail car. In the encounter that follows some of the train robbers are shot, others then surrender to Major Davis.  Once they arrive at Fort Clowdry the young soldiers go through their first experiences of the strenuous side of Army life, dealing with robbers and scoundrels, under fire on a lonely sentry post, and in general proving themselves the sort of American youths of whom the best soldiers are made.

In "Uncle Sam’s Boys on Field Duty" Hal and Noll go further in learning the work of the soldier; with good and highly adventurous work in the practical problems of field life, including supplying their company with meat by hunting, in capturing a desperate character badly wanted by the state authorities, dealing with the difficulties of arresting drunken servicemen on leave who don't want to return to the post, and in other adventures as they work towards getting appointments as corporals. 

“Uncle Sam’s Boys in The Ranks" and "Uncle Sam’s Boys on Field Duty" were published in 1910 and 1911, respectively, and the original eight illustrations are included.          

In "Uncle Sam’s Boys As Sergeants" readers get to see a host of happenings that belong to military life, among them the stirring military tournament in which a battalion of “Ours” took part at Denver (every soldier refers to his battalion as "ours" and other battalions as "theirs"), and the all but tragic results of that tournament in which Hal narrowly avoids serious harm and another soldier ends up deserting the army; the soldier hunting-party up in the Rockies to bring back fresh meat for the camp, in which Hal and Noll thoroughly distinguished themselves both as hunters and as soldiers and commanders when they run into a group of bandits intent on robbing the hunting camp.

Sergeants Hal Overton and Noll Terry are two years older than when they first enlisted, and "Uncle Sam's Boys in the Philippines" finds the entire Thirty-fourth Infantry in Manila, stationed there briefly pending details at other points in the islands. Hal and Noll have many troubles with a certain Vicente Tomba, a young Filipino of the Tagalo tribe. Tomba first tries to use Hal as an innocent tool , and failing that attempts to bring about Hal's death. The American soldiers end up in the field fighting the organized foes of the United States, a Moro band of blackmailing land pirates pretending to be insurgents with the backing of the native people. Hal, Noll, and a small group of soldiers are sent to rescue the survivors of a plantation that is under attack by the Moros. Then they discover they are surrounded and out-numbered. How will they escape? and How will they deal with the Datto Hakkut, the leader of this band of scoundrels?

"Uncle Sam's Boys as Sergeants" and "Uncle Sam's Boys in the Philippines" were published in 1911 and 1912, respectively. This volume includes the original eight illustrations.

“Ruth Fielding of the Red Mill” is the story of Ruth’s arrival at Red Mill, and how she manages to save the life of Tom Cameron. After that excitement, she meets her Uncle Jabez, not the easiest man to befriend. How she manages to spread the word of a coming flood, loses all her possessions, befriends the obnoxious cripple Mercy, convinces her uncle to let her attend school, and then offends most of her classmates, all the while keeping her sunny disposition is a wonder to behold. Every triumph seems to come with another tragedy for Ruth, but she never gives up.

In “Ruth Fielding at Briarwood Hall,” to Ruth’s astonishment, her miserly Uncle Jabez sends her off to a boarding school to accompany her best friend Helen. Once there, the Upedes and Fussy Curls, the only two social clubs at the school, vie for their membership. If she doesn’t join the Upedes, she’ll make enemies and alienate Helen, but she really doesn’t like the leader of the Upedes.Will Ruth join, or will she start a new club?  But there are also mysteries at the school: is the fountain in front of the school really haunted? Why is that scary harpist lurking around the school? What is the connection between him and their French teacher? Throw in a late-night candy party, a skating outing that almost ends in tragedy, and a lost letter, and Ruth has her hands full.

“Ruth Fielding of the Red Mill” and “Ruth Fielding at Briarwood Hall” were both published in 1913, and this volume includes the original frontispiece illustrations.

Ruth's adventures continue in Volume 2,  “Ruth Fielding at Snow Camp” and “Ruth Fielding at Lighthouse Point,” as her friends invite her to visit them during school breaks.

“Ruth Fielding  at Snow Camp” takes place during Briarwood Hall’s winter break. With her friends, Helen and Tom Cameron, Madge Steele, Jennie Stone, Belle Tingley, and Lluella Fairfax she visits a winter camp deep in the wilderness, Snow Camp. Between the constant aggravation of Fred Hatfield, runaway horses, fending off not one but two attacks by a cougar, playing and fighting with her friends, there is never a dull moment in the deep woods near the Canadian border of the U.S. And how will the girls fare when they get lost in a blinding blizzard? Will they freeze? And who is shouting for help in the woods besides themselves? 

The school year has just ended in “Ruth Fielding  at Lighthouse Point,” and Jennie “Heavy” Stone has invited Ruth and five others to her home at Lighthouse Point to frolic in the sea. Things are off to a rocky start when Mary Cox falls overboard on the lake-steamer Lanawaxa, then Ruth discovers trouble at home, Red Mill, that might prevent her from returning to Briarwood Hall in the fall. She makes it to Lighthouse Point, but not much later a ship founders on the point, and a daring rescue is attempted! Nita, the girl rescued from the wreck, has secrets to keep and refuses to discuss her past. But someone has found her secret, and uses it to kidnap her while leaving everyone else thinking she ran away. What is Nita’s secret? What has happened to her? Where is she? And who is Bill Hicks?

“Ruth Fielding at Snow Camp” and “Ruth Fielding at Lighthouse Point” were both published in 1913, and this volume includes the original frontispiece illustrations.

Ruth's adventures continue in “Ruth Fielding, Volume 3” with the books “Ruth Fielding at Silver Ranch” and “Ruth Fielding on Cliff Island.” First, Ruth, Mary Cox, Jennie Stone, and the Camerons take up Jane Ann Hicks’ invitation to visit her Uncle’s ranch out West in Ruth Fielding  at Silver Ranch, where the excitement starts quickly: the girls are charged by a bull, a wild-fire breaks out, a stampede begins, and many other dangerous situations arise. How Ruth handles them, and how she gets to the bottom of the Tintacker Mine scandal while unknowingly saving the life of Mary Cox’s brother will keep readers on the edge of their seats in “Ruth Fielding at Silver Ranch”!

In “Ruth Fielding on Cliff Island,” September finds Ruth and company returning home in Ruth Fielding  on Cliff Island, where they rescue an injured boy from a train wreck before heading off to Briarwood Hall. Unfortunately, Jane Ann Hicks is not well received by Ruth’s fellow students and she seriously considers returning out West. An exciting series of events ensue before Christmas break arrives, are they enough to change Jane’s mind? Then it’s off to Cliff Island at the invitation of their friend Belle Tingley. Jerry Sheming claims his father’s treasure box is on the island, but Rufus Blent, the island’s former owner, is determined to chase Jerry, Ruth, and their friends away. Fires and winter storms complicate the vacation. Do they find the Treasure Box? Are they going to get lost in the many caves in Cliff Island? Is Rufus Blent really the scoundrel he appears to be?

“Ruth Fielding at Silver Ranch” and “Ruth Fielding on Cliff Island,” were published in 1913 and 1915, respectively, and this volume includes the original frontispiece illustrations.

In “The Rover Boys at School” we meet Dick, Tom, and Sam, who are soon sent to Putnam Hall. On their way there they rescue three girls from a bully, Daniel Baxter, then they get off on the wrong foot with the First-assistant Teacher, Josiah Crabtree, a scheming gold-digger. Then they discover that Baxter is a corporal in their class while they are privates! How will they deal with these two and the plots the scoundrels hatch? They make many friends, and a few enemies, and have quite a few adventures before their first year is over.

In “The Rover Boys on the Ocean” Dick, Tom, and Sam Rover are on summer vacation when they run into their old nemesises, Dan Baxter and Josiah Crabtree, and become involved in a long chase down the coast trying to rescue a kidnapped maiden-in-distress. Skullduggery abounds and shots are fired as our intrepid heroes chase the villains on both land and sea.

“The Rover Boys at Schools” and  “The Rover Boys on the Ocean” were published in 1899, and the original eight Stacy Burch illustrations are included.

The Rover Boys’ adventures continue in “The Rover Boys, Volume 2.”  In “The Rover Boys in the Jungle” a sea captain’s strange letter spurs the Rover boys, accompanied by their Uncle Randolph, to set out for the heart of Africa, the Dark Continent, to find their long-lost father. On the way they find Alexander Pop, who had formerly been a waiter at Putnam Hall. While hunting for their father they run across Josiah Crabtree, who was out with an exploring party from Yale, and with Dan Baxter. What dastardly plots do these two dubious characters have in mind for the Rover boys? Plus, they discover Mr. Rover is a prisoner of a savage African tribe. How do they rescue their father and evade the plots of Josiah and Dan?

In “The Rover Boys Out West” Dick, Tom, and Sam Rover are summoned home from Putnam Hall when their father is attacked by a mysterious intruder. They discover that the thief stole information about their father’s lost mine. Their father can’t do it himself, so the boys head out west intending to find and defend their father’s property from their old nemesis’s, Dan Baxter and Josiah Crabtree. Will friends of Dan and Josiah successfully mislead the boys? Will Dan Baxter  capture the boys and carry through his threats of mayhem? The old west certainly puts the boys to the test!

Continuing the adventures of the Rover  boys, in “The Rover Boys on the Great Lakes” the three brothers go on a summer pleasure tour and, while on Lake Erie, fall in with an old enemy, who concocts a scheme for kidnapping Dick, who had fallen overboard from his yacht in a storm. His brothers fear he is dead, while their enemy plots to use Dick as a bargaining chip in obtaining the deed to a gold mine in the West. The three brothers are only re-united when Tom and Sam are also captured! They try to escape, but only one reaches safety to call upon the authorities for help. Many more adventures follow as the captives try to escape, and their brother tries to find them on the Great Lakes. 

“The Rover Boys in the Mountains” relates the stirring adventures of the three Rover boys in the Adirondacks, whither they had gone to solve the mystery of a certain brass-lined money casket found by them on an island in Lake Huron. Completely by accident they run into their persistent enemy, Dan Baxter, who is also searching for the treasure using a map he discovered on the same island! Facing bears and wolves in the snowstorms of New York’s Adirondack mountains while fending off Dan Baxter is a thrilling adventure for the boys as they search for treasure. 

“The Rover Boys on the Great Lakes” and “The Rover Boys in the Mountains” were published in 1901 and 1902, respectively, and the original eight illustrations are included.