New Releases by Kevin Sylvester

A fast-paced illustrated time-travel adventure, from the author of Apartment 713 and the MiNRS series, about a father and son who are part of an elite team from the future who dive into the past to save lost treasures—and who end up in life-changing trouble Caleb Fisher is the right-hand to his time-surfer, scientist father, John. Together on their thick metallic ship, they travel at super speed into the past and rescue treasures that have otherwise been lost—priceless works of art from the torpedoed RMS Lusitania, a crown jewel threatened by a flood in 1216 CE England—all for the good of humanity and for the glory of the ruling Global Council. But there are rules for time surfers. Never bring back anything that could change the course of history. And never, under penalty of death, bring back another human being. John Fisher is haunted by the loss of his wife in a mysterious incident, and he is always looking for a way to go deeper into the past and stay longer. John forbids Caleb to come on one particularly dangerous mission—to save ancient scrolls from the burning Great Library of Alexandria. But Caleb sneaks on board and what happens in 48 BCE returns with the Fishers into the future and changes their lives forever.

Meet six kids a lot like you. Except . . . . . . Benny, Jenny, Karl, Starlight, DJ and Mo got zapped in an evil plot gone wrong — and they became the super-est team the world has ever seen. Starlight wakes up in an alternate reality, although she doesn't realize it right away. She sees kids skating on a secluded pond using ancient equipment. Is she in the past? The kids are secretly playing hockey because it's banned for all but the elites. Plebes who might never make the pros are not allowed to play at all. Only select individuals chosen by Dr. Boom — the supreme leader who has taken over Canada — are given the privilege of playing the game. Starlight must track down the rest of the Super Six so they can defeat Dr. Boom and his horrible minions and restore hockey to its former glory. This is the eighth action-packed, laugh-a-minute book in the Hockey Super Six series.

Meet six kids a lot like you. Except . . . . . . Benny, Jenny, Karl, Starlight, DJ and Mo got zapped in an evil plot gone wrong — and they became the super-est team the world has ever seen. In this new instalment, the Six are awoken from their icy prison only to find out there is a new villain (fallen former superstar Sam Boni, AKA Ned Doosa) on the loose, and he is kidnapping Canada's best hockey players. Why? To control their minds and assemble the best team of all time to win the Snowlympic Gold Medal. Soon enough the Six get themselves into Boni's inner sanctum and must participate in an all-or-nothing game with this new superstar lineup. The losers will be tossed into the collider to create more energy. Can the Six win by losing? Yes. Will there be hockey action and non-stop laughs along the way? Yes and yes. Join the Six in this seventh instalment of their madcap quest to save the world through hockey!

"Night of the Living Zed is quick-witted and zippy, even through the scares. By turns heartfelt, surprising, eerie, and laugh-out-loud funny, the novel is a touching, skillfully crafted story..." – Starred Review, Quill and Quire Zed and Gabe are back to their treasure-hunting, literary-sleuthing ways in this spooky new adventure! After some lackluster cases involving lost books and a missing pet, the two friends have finally come across a mystery worth their attention: the secrets of Glyndebourne Manor, haunted home of a late, great opera designer. Every twenty-five years, the manor hosts a challenge: You have three days and two nights to solve the puzzles in each room before the stroke of midnight. If you leave, you forfeit the game. If you solve the puzzles in time, you win a huge pile of money. Simple enough, thinks Zed. They and Gabe are interested in all things ghoulish. And if they win, they will be able to give their friends Sam and Jo the large wedding they deserve. There’s only one problem: no one has been able to stay in the house for more than a single night. Cue a whirlwind of scary ghosts, moving walls and cryptic letters. The two friends are going to need some help. Which means figuring out who the mysterious figure holding a crowbar is! And how to get out of a room with no doors! But thanks to Zed’s fearless enthusiasm and Gabe’s encyclopedic knowledge of theatre, they might be able to survive—maybe even right some past wrongs.

Meet six kids a lot like you. Except . . . . . . Benny, Jenny, Karl, Starlight, DJ and Mo got zapped in an evil plot gone wrong — and they became the super-est team the world has ever seen. Lucky thing, because this time the Six face their toughest challenge yet — all their worst foes have joined together to defeat them once and for all. Thanks to Slapper and Clarence Crosscheck, the Six see their reputation ripped to shreds. And then it gets worse — their powers are stripped away. Their only chance at redemption is a final all-or-nothing hockey game against the GANG. But without all their superpowers, how can they match up? Maybe their true skills were their teamwork and friendship all along? Better hope so . . . The fate of the world, and more importantly hockey, hang in the balance. It's a race against time and the whole universe is at stake in this sixth action-packed, laugh-a-minute book in the Hockey Super Six series. With short chapters packed with action, loads of illustrations and jokes aplenty, the Hockey Super Six series keeps kids gripped, and wondering how their heroes will win the day.

Secret ballrooms, hidden artwork and unlikely friends—welcome to the Regency, where even time moves in surprising ways! Jake Simmons hates his new home. The Regency is nothing more than floor after floor of peeling wallpaper and faded glory. Jake misses his old life. He misses the time when his mother was employed. He misses living in a house where the wind doesn’t make the windows whistle. Loneliness (and a trail of kittens) leads Jake to the apartment of an elderly lady, then to the bowels of the building and then to a part-time job assisting Danny the custodian. With each passing day, the building reveals more of its mysteries to Jake. The occupants grow on him too. Unfortunately, Jake’s feeling of belonging is short-lived: the city plans to demolish the Regency. Jake feels powerless. And then fate throws him a curveball. He’s summoned to apartment 713. An apartment he’s been told is off-limits. But when he opens the door . . . he travels to the past! Alongside Beth, his new friend and guide, Jake begins searching for any clue that might help him save the Regency. As their friendship blooms, the mystery around the building’s makers deepens. The Regency’s own storied past will give Jake the key to saving his own future—if only he knows where to look.

Meet six kids a lot like you. Except . . . . . . Benny, Jenny, Karl, Starlight, DJ and Mo got zapped in an evil plot gone wrong— and they became the super-est team the world has ever seen. Lucky thing, because this time they are sucked into a virtual reality, with a computer program firing the worst bad guys at them in a bid to learn all the Hockey Super Six's best tricks for stopping evil in its tracks. But then the Six and all the evilest evil-doers are tossed out of the game and into real life. Can the Six round them up using their hockey superpowers? It's a race against time and the whole universe is at stake in this fifth action-packed, laugh-a-minute book in the Hockey Super Six series. With short, fun-filled chapters and highly illustrated pages, these books provide just the kind of story today's sports- and humour-loving kids want.

Get ready to go global! Our cellphones, our clothes, our food: All are everyday things we consider essential, but we seldom think of what and who is involved in making them and getting them into our hands. In Follow Your Stuff, award-winning children’s author Kevin Sylvester and business professor Michael Hlinka team up again, this time to tackle the dynamics of the global economy, examining the often-complex journey of ordinary goods from production right to our doorsteps. Using familiar examples, easy-to-follow charts and graphs, and a fun, accessible tone, Hlinka and Sylvester introduce young readers to concepts such as relative value and fair wages and how to think critically about our purchasing decisions. Sylvester’s lively illustrations add even more kid-appeal making this sequel to the critically acclaimed Follow Your Money the perfect introduction to socio-economics and an eye-opening essential read for young people.

Will the Hockey Super Six thwart their enemy's plans for world domination in book two of this action-packed series? In the second book pitting six ordinary kids with super hockey skills against the forces of evil, Jenny, Benny, Mo, Starlight, DJ and Karl desperately need to stay out of Crosscheck's grasp! Their last run-in revealed to evil scientist (and former mediocre goalie) Clarence Crosscheck the scope of some of their secret powers -- powers he can use in his never-ending quest for world domination. Hard at work on a robot army to do his bidding, Crosscheck underestimates how strong the Super Six can be when they work together as a team. Get ready for high-stakes ice battles, non-stop hijinks and never-before-seen hockey action (it's kids vs robots, and some giant lizards too)!

"A hilarious new high-action series from Kevin Sylvester pits six ordinary kids with super hockey skills against the nefarious wannabe genius, Clarence Crosscheck. Hard at work on a robot army to do his bidding, Crosscheck underestimates how strong the Super Six can be when they work together as a team. Get ready for high-stakes ice battles, non-stop hijinks and never-before-seen hockey action (it's kids vs robots)! The winning combination of fast-paced text and art-filled pages makes an interactive and absorbing reading experience great for a range of readers and interests."--

Neil and his friend Larry travel in their new food truck to the Salsa Verde ranch in Arizona to participate in the legendary food-truck gathering, but when Neil discovers that the Verde ranch is in danger of foreclosure, the only hope for the ranch is a treasure map left behind by the very first Verde, a chef who discovered a mine while escaping from a murderous army colonel.

"Twelve-year-old Christopher Nichols and his family live on a new planet, Perses, as colonists of Melming Mining's Great Mission to save the earth. When Landers, as the attackers are called, obliterate the colony to steal the metal and raw ore, Christopher and a small group of survivors are forced into the maze of mining tunnels below the surface of Perses"--

"Christopher, Elena, and the other survivors of the attack on their space colony know two things: their victory over the Landers will be short-lived and a new wave of attacks is imminent."--

Includes an excerpt from "Neil Flambe and the Tokyo treasure."

When Neil arrives in Mexico City to partake in the Battle of the Chefs, he learns that Isabella has been kidnapped and it will take a dose of Aztec history and knowledge of buried ruins to find her before time runs out.

Called Ogood funO by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey, this series about a teen chef detective is a delicious blend of mystery, history, and topnotch cuisine. The first three books are now available in paperback. Illustrations.

Includes an excerpt from "Neil Flambe and the Bard's Banquet."

Not everyone can be an athlete, but that doesn’t stop thousands of others from participating in world-class sporting events. When Patrick Reynolds realized that he couldn’t be a race car driver, he turned his love of cars into a successful career as a NASCAR mechanic. A passion for grass and baseball lead Nicole Sherry to become the groundskeeper at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. Author Kevin Sylvester tells the stories of 20 talented and dedicated behind-the-scenes stars of the sports world. In this new book, the glamour of the frontline athletes takes a backseat to the hard-working people whose jobs are critical to the success of their sport but often go unacknowledged. Readers will discover some very special people who have devoted their lives to supporting the sports they love, including the eagle-eyed baseball scout for the Chicago White Sox, the members of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and the doctor who treats injured players on the Canadian Olympic soccer team. With its real-life stories and lively photographs, GAME DAYwill delight any young sports fan or wannabe athlete.

Cindy Winters loves to play hockey. When her family's basement apartment is flooded and the floor freezes, she's even happy to skate on the concrete. Her parents are too poor to enroll her in a league, but she's resourceful and does odd jobs until she has earned enough money to play. Armed with her mother's old equipment, she is thrilled to join a team. But her happiness doesn't last long. Among her teammates are the horrible Blister Sisters. They make her life miserable. And worse, Cindy's sidelined by the coach, who just happens to be Mrs. Blister. It looks like she'll be spending the season cleaning equipment, instead of playing on the ice. Cindy's luck changes when her Fairy Goaltender appears and saves the day. With its great good humor and hilarious illustrations, Kevin Sylvester's Splinters is bound to become a favorite.

The world's greatest sporting events, chock-full of guts, glory and going for gold. If you want to read about that, you'd better look elsewhere. The gold medals handed out in this book are for inept athletes, shameful scandals, freakish weather, cheaters, chokers and much worse. But it's not all bad. You'll also read about athletes who went from chump to champ and warm your heart to stories of high-stakes heroism and fair play. There may still be hope for humans --- and sports competitions! Read about ? unbeatable runners who tested positive for turtle's blood and caterpillar fungus ? the snowboarder whose hot-dog move cost her a gold medal ? live animal hunting, dueling with pistols and other events now (thankfully) discontinued ? a medal-winning gymnast with a wooden leg ? the sailor who gave up a chance at the gold medal to save a drowning competitor