Charles Dickens is having writer’s block – and he’s short on money, too. The year is 1843, and the man who wrote “The Adventures of Oliver Twist” and “The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby” is struggling to come up with another hit. His newest books are getting bad reviews. His publisher even is threatening to cut him off. “I’ve ...

Auggie is a smart and funny young boy who knows he isn’t – in his words — “ordinary.” He sounds different. He looks different. And when other kids see him on the playground, they run. Born with major facial deformities, he has undergone 27 surgeries to improve his vision, hearing and breathing, but even those operations haven’t made him look ...

Bo is a first-century donkey full of spunk and energy – and he’s determined not to live his entire life inside a Nazareth grain mill. “We were meant for something greater than this,” he says. But … for what? Perhaps that bright star in the sky – a star he gazes at each night – is a sign. Perhaps it’s ...

Hercule Poirot is the world’s best detective, and easily the most popular one, too. With a knack for solving impossible cases – as well as a flamboyant mustache – Poirot attracts attention wherever he goes. Detective work, though, can be tiring, and Poirot needs a vacation. So he takes a multi-day train ride on the scenic Orient Express, confident that ...

Eric Marsh is a 40-something Arizona man who wants only one thing in life: to fight wildfires. But he doesn’t want to be a member of just any firefighting crew. He wants to be part of a “hotshot” team – those elite-and-talented 20-member crews that regularly risk their lives to stop wildfires in their tracks. Marsh trained months and months ...