Most Popular Books by Kenneth Oppel

Matt Cruse, a student at the Airship Academy, and Kate de Vries, a young heiress, team up with a gypsy and a daring captain, to find a long-lost airship, rumored to carry a treasure beyond imagination.

From award-winning author Kenneth Oppel a startling, can''t-wait-to-talk-about-it-with-someone novel that defies genre to create a survival thriller unlike any you''ve read before. For fans of Leave the World Behind, A.S. King, M.T. Anderson, and Margaret Atwood. Xavier Oaks doesn''t particularly want to go to the cabin with his dad and his dad''s pregnant new wife, Nia. But family obligations are family obligations, and it''s only for a short time. So he leaves his mom, his brother, and his other friends behind for a week in the woods. Only... one morning he wakes up and the house isn’t where it was before. It''s like it''s been lifted and placed... somewhere else. When Xavier, his dad, and Nia go explore, they find they are inside a dome, trapped. And there''s no one else around... Until, three years later, another family arrives. Is there any escape? Is there a reason they are stuck where they are? Different people have different answers -- and those different answers inexorably lead to tension, strife, and sacrifice. In this masterpiece, award-winning author Kenneth Oppel builds to a heart-stopping pitch in drawing a story that feels very much of our moment, where our very human choices collectively lead to humanity’s eventual fate.

From the Printz-Honor-winning author of Airborn comes an absorbing YA novel about a teen boy whose scientist parents take in a chimpanzee to be part of the family.For thirteen years, Ben Tomlin was an only child. But all that changes when his mother brings home Zan -- an eight-day-old chimpanzee. Ben''s father, a renowned behavioral scientist, has uprooted the family to pursue his latest research project: a high-profile experiment to determine whether chimpanzees can acquire advanced language skills. Ben''s parents tell him to treat Zan like a little brother. Ben reluctantly agrees. At least now he''s not the only one his father''s going to scrutinize.It isn''t long before Ben is Zan''s favorite, and Ben starts to see Zan as more

Matt, a young cabin boy aboard an airship, and Kate, a wealthy young girl traveling with her chaperone, team up to search for the existence of mysterious winged creatures reportedly living hundreds of feet above the Earth''s surface.

In this graphic novel edition of a best-selling story, young silverwing bat Shade is blown off course during his colony''s migration to Hibernaculum, during which he meets other winged loners on his journey back to his family, but with a long and dangerous flight ahead, he must figure out who he can trust.

The royal chef takes Max the dog, the royal taster, on several international journeys to find a dish for the land''s pickiest king.

Devotion turns deadly in this second Gothic thriller from Printz Honor-winner Oppel that is "every bit as thrilling and engaging" ("VOYA") as "This Dark Endeavor."

Included in this edition of This Dark Endeavor, enjoy a free edition of Mary Shelley''s classic Frankenstein. From award-winning author Kenneth Oppel comes an incredible tale of bravery, adventure, and a brotherly love as a young man embarks on a desperate mission to bring his twin back from the brink of death. Victor and Konrad are the twin brothers Frankenstein. They are nearly inseparable. Growing up, their lives are filled with imaginary adventures…until the day their adventures turn all too real. They stumble upon the Dark Library and discover secret books of alchemy and ancient remedies. Father forbids them from ever entering the room again, but when Konrad falls gravely ill, Victor is drawn back to the Dark Library where he uncovers an ancient formula for the Elixir of Life. Victor, along with his beautiful cousin Elizabeth and friend Henry, immediately sets out to find a man who was once known for his alchemical works to help them create the formula. Determined to save Konrad, the three friends scale the highest trees in Strumwald, dive into the deepest lakes, and even make an unthinkable sacrifice in their quest for the elixir’s ingredients. And as if their task was not complicated enough, a new realm of danger—that of illicit love—threatens to end the ordeal in tragedy.

"The perfect book right now for young readers searching for hope, strength, inspiration — and just a little horticultural havoc."—New York Times The first book in a can''t-put-it-down, can''t-read-it-fast-enough action-thriller trilogy that''s part Hatchet, part Alien! The invasion begins--but not as you''d expect. It begins with rain. Rain that carries seeds. Seeds that sprout--overnight, everywhere. These new plants take over crop fields, twine up houses, and burrow below streets. They bloom--and release toxic pollens. They bloom--and form Venus flytrap-like pods that swallow animals and people. They bloom--everywhere, unstoppable. Or are they? Three kids on a remote island seem immune to the toxic plants. Anaya, Petra, Seth. They each have strange allergies--and yet not to these plants. What''s their secret? Can they somehow be the key to beating back this invasion? They''d better figure it out fast, because it''s starting to rain again....

The hunt for a dinosaur skeleton buried in the Badlands, bitter rivalries, and a forbidden romance come together in this “fantastic” (The New York Times Book Review) novel that’s Romeo and Juliet meets Indiana Jones. Somewhere in the Badlands, embedded deep in centuries-buried rock and sand, lies the skeleton of a massive dinosaur, larger than anything the late nineteenth century world has ever seen. Some legends call it the Black Beauty, with its bones as black as ebony, but to seventeen-year-old Samuel Bolt it’s the “rex,” the king dinosaur that could put him and his struggling, temperamental archaeologist father in the history books (and conveniently make his father forget he’s been kicked out of school), if they can just quarry it out. But Samuel and his father aren’t the only ones after the rex. For Rachel Cartland this find could be her ticket to a different life, one where her loves of science and adventure aren’t just relegated to books and sitting rooms. Because if she can’t prove herself on this expedition with her professor father, the only adventures she may have to look forward to are marriage or spinsterhood. As their paths cross and the rivalry between their fathers becomes more intense, Samuel and Rachel are pushed closer together. And with both eyeing the same prize, their budding romance seems destined to fail. But as danger looms on the other side of the hills, causing everyone’s secrets to come to light, Samuel and Rachel are forced to make a decision. Can they join forces to find their quarry—and with it a new life together—or will old enmities and prejudices keep them from both the rex and each other?

Celebrate the 10th anniversary of the award-winning aerial adventure that started it all Winner of the Governor General’s Award, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book, and recipient of many other national and international honours, Airborn fired the imaginations of readers around the world when it was first published in 2004 and its popularity has never waned. Airborn was followed by the acclaimed sequels Skybreaker, winner of the Red Maple Award and the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children''s Book Award, and Starclimber, a Canadian Library Association Children''s Book of the Year Award Honour Book.With cover illustrations by Jim Tierney, mark a new decade of soaring adventures for this trio of contemporary classics.

For as long as he can remember, Paul has looked after his younger, weaker brother Sam. But when Sam leaves home to work as a research assistant in Watertown, he disappears into the dark folds of the city''s noxious slum. When Paul goes looking for Sam in Watertown, he learns a dark secret: something in the water is changing the residents of Watertown, transforming them into something inhuman. But can Paul reach Sam before the dark waters get to him first?

Griffin, a young bat, is sucked into the "Underworld," and his father follows to rescue him.

Shade, a young bat, searches for his father and struggles to prevent the eviljungle bat Goth from wiping out the sun.

WITH BONUS MATERIAL: Pages from Victor Frankenstein''s sketchbook and an excerpt from the upcoming sequel, Such Wicked Intent, available August 2012. Victor Frankenstein leads a charmed life. He and his twin brother, Konrad, and their beautiful cousin Elizabeth take lessons at home and spend their spare time fencing and horseback riding. Along with their friend Henry, they have explored all the hidden passageways and secret rooms of the palatial Frankenstein chateau. Except one. The Dark Library contains ancient tomes written in strange languages, and filled with forbidden knowledge. Their father makes them promise never to visit the library again, but when Konrad becomes deathly ill, Victor knows he must find the book that contains the recipe for the legendary Elixir of Life. The elixir needs only three ingredients. But impossible odds, dangerous alchemy and a bitter love triangle threaten their quest at every turn. Victor knows he must not fail. But his success depends on how far he is willing to push the boundaries of nature, science and love—and how much he is willing to sacrifice.

"When wasps come to Steve in a dream offering to fix his sick baby brother, he thinks all he has to do is say yes. But yes may not mean what Steve thinks it means."--

Originally published in hardcover in 2014 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

As the sun sets on the time of the dinosaurs, a new world is left in its wake. . . . Dusk He alone can fly and see in the dark, in a colony where being different means being shunned—or worse. As the leader''s son, he is protected, but does his future lie among his kin? Carnassial He has the true instincts of a predator, and he is determined that his kind will not only survive but will dominate the world of beasts. From the author of the internationally acclaimed Silverwing trilogy comes an extraordinary adventure set 65 million years ago. Kenneth Oppel, winner of a Michael L. Printz Honor for Airborn, has crafted a breathtaking animal tale that reaches out to the human in all of us.