Most Popular Books by Richard Scrimger

A hilarious how-to on creative writing that makes the writing process fun for aspiring middle-school authors. For fans of Writing Radar by Jack Gantos. Interested in writing but don''t know how to get started? Love reading and want to know more about how stories are created? Like ridiculous tales about troublesome sisters, peanut butter and steamrollers? Look no further! Esteemed writer Richard Scrimger is here to answer all your burning questions about writing: whether about plot, character, structure, story hooks or commas. (Actually, don''t ask him about commas, it''s not that kind of book.) Using clever (so he thinks) analogies, (sort of) brilliant examples and funny (well . . .) anecdotes, he will give you (truly) useful tools to start you on your way as a writer. And if that''s not enough, comic illustrations by D. McFadzean are the pepperoni on the writing pizza! (That will make sense once you read the book.) So come, read this book and start your writing journey!

Fred is a sixth-grader reeling from the loss of his beloved dog, Casey. Every day he walks home from school bouncing Casey''s old worn-out tennis ball. One day, the ball falls down a sewer grate, and Fred can''t bear to leave it down there. He pries open the grate and stumbles down. Through the sewer, Fred enters a parallel universe: Casey is alive, his mom and sister are happier, and there''s a version of Fred who''s happier too. Spending time with Casey, Fred feels joy for the first time since his dog''s death, but he slowly realizes that the loss of Casey is masking an even greater loss: the death of Fred''s father. Fred brings his sister, Izzy, to this upside-down world of lost things in the hope of finding their father and bringing him back. Can everything that is lost be found again?

How do you shut up when your nose is doing all the talking? Alan is not big or strong. He hates playing soccer and can barely keep up in math class. Moreover he’s fodder for every bully for miles around. But all that changes the day Norbert, an alien from Jupiter, comes to earth on an exploration mission and moves into – Alan’s nose. Soon Alan isn’t acting like himself, but is Norbert really to blame? Loud, pushy and hilarious, Norbert teaches Alan to stand up for himself, even when the odds are stacked against him.

Bunny (real name Bernard) doesn''t understand why his late grandfather wants him to get a tattoo. Actually, Bunny doesn''t understand a lot of things, so it''s good that his older brother, Spencer, is happy to explain things to him. But this is a task Bunny is supposed to do on his own, and nobody is more surprised than Bunny when, after he gets tattooed, he is befriended by a kid named Jaden and adopted into Jaden''s gang. The gang hangs out at a gym, where Bunny learns to fight, but when it finally dawns on him that the gang is involved in some pretty shady—and dangerous—business, Bunny is torn between his loyalty to his new friends and doing what he knows is right. Bunny''s adventures start in Weerdest Day Ever!, part of The Seven Prequels and continue in The Wolf and Me, part of The Seven Sequels.

In this hilarious sequel to The Nose from Jupiter, Alan is to take his first airplane ride. He is off to New York, where his father will meet him for some “quality time” together. There are one or two snags, though. First, his father isn’t at the airport. Then there’s his cranky seatmate, Frieda, who is almost kidnapped while she’s waiting for her wheelchair at the baggage claim. Sally, an abandoned mutt, joins the scene. And finally, Norbert is back. He is an alien from Jupiter who had previously taken up residence in Alan’s nose when he was on a fact-finding mission to Earth. Alan had been, to say the least, an unwilling host to Norbert, but when you’re lost in New York City being chased by bad guys, you need all the help you can get!

Twelve-year-old Jane Peeler is about to embark on a summer ritual: the family car trip. Along with her two younger brothers, Bill and Bernie, Jane will endure traffic jams, singalongs, and fights over who gets the window on a two-day car trip to New England. With help from her Walkman, it may not be too bad, even if her chain-smoking, grumpy grandmother is coming along. But during a stop at a gas station, the kids meet Marty – a kind, penniless old man with a problem. How will he get to his brother’s funeral in Schenectady the next day? Jane would like to help him out – but how? Bringing a friend along on holiday is one thing, but a total stranger? Readers will delight in the hilarious detours the Peelers must make to get their newest passenger, and themselves, to their destination on time.

Bunny is in trouble. He’s been kidnapped from the skating rink at City Hall in Toronto, and now he’s locked in a cold basement room, still in his parka and skates. Where is he? And why do his kidnappers keep asking questions about his dead grandpa and some weird national anthem? Bunny may not always know what’s going on, but he has an innocent’s ability to get to the heart of things and find out what it’s all about. When he manages to escape, he skates across hockey rinks and down frozen highways, always a few strides ahead of his kidnappers. He gets help along the way from an assortment of characters—some kindly, some crazy, some scary and at least one that will make your jaw drop. The Wolf and Me is the sequel to both Weerdest Day Ever!, part of The Seven Prequels and Ink Me, part of Seven (The Series).

Norbert, the tiny wisecracking alien from Jupiter, gets an emergency phone call from home. His sweetheart, Nerissa, has been kidnapped by an evil giant and placed in the Lost Tower of Lotubmen. He must find and rescue her, but he can''t do it alone. Norbert has helped Alan through three earthly adventures. Now the tables are turned, and Norbert needs Alan''s help. So Alan, the boy from Earth, comes to Jupiter and finds himself in a strange – and yet in some ways strangely familiar – environment. Richard Scrimger’s The Nose from Jupiter, A Nose for Adventure, and Noses are Red have won avid fans from Illinois to Italy. Alan is truly an everyboy. He is terrible at sports, is living through his parents’ divorce, and has to contend with bullies and even villains. But he has a secret weapon. Norbert, an alien from Jupiter, has come to Earth and established a home-from-home inside Alan’s nose. It’s from there that the wise-cracking, brave, and irresistible Norbert changes Alan’s life.

The story of one boy’s experience with the (not so) sweet hereafter. Fresh from having stolen a piece of fruit and taunting the grocer, Jim, a fourteen-year-old wannabe gangster, bully, and car thief, is run over by a car. What follows is a hilarious, bleak, and ultimately hopeful visit to the afterworld, courtesy of Richard Scrimger, one of the country’s finest writers. This is an afterlife peopled with unforgettable characters that might be drawn from video games: angry Slayers, tearful Mourners, and scary Grave Walkers. Jim meets them all and is given the chance to return to earth with the extraordinary gift of knowing what happens when we die. Now he must deal with living demons, including a neighborhood torturer and a truly creepy older sister. With imagery from the mean streets as well as the arcade, Me and Death is thought-provoking, exciting, sad, and funny — sometimes all at the same time.

Charlie Fairmile’s dad has been accused of bank robbery. Charlie knows he isn’t guilty, but the police are convinced he’s the Stocking Bandit. They have eye witnesses. They even claim to have evidence. His mother says if his father goes to jail, they’ll have to move. So Charlie has to find the real criminal – and fast. With the help of his best friends, Bernadette and Lewis, and his guardian angel, Gideon, Charlie sets out to solve the mystery. But can a blind teenager unravel a crime even the police can’t solve? Introducing Charlie, a smart, confident, and spunky hero, his tough-as-nails best friends, and his quirky and mysterious guardian angel in a satisfying and fast-paced modern-day mystery.

Nominated in the fiction category for the 2004/2005 Red Cedar Book Awards (British Columbia''s Young Reader''s Choice book award) Norbert’s back, and Alan’s got him! In the third of Richard Scrimger’s wildly popular Nose books, Alan is off on a camping trip with his good friend, Victor. Fun, right? Not if the person who is taking you camping happens to be Christopher, your mother’s new boyfriend. And not if you aren’t exactly a fan of the great outdoors, with its bugs and swamps and bears. The woods are full of dangers, and the boys seem to encounter them all in one hilarious misadventure after another. It’s up to Norbert, the alien from Jupiter, to help Alan find his way out of the forest.

From the imagination of one of Canada’s funniest writers comes the story of a young zombie who is integrated into a regular classroom in southern Ontario. Clashes, heroics and hilarity ensue as the community’s tolerance for difference—and narrator Bob''s tolerance for an undead rival—are pushed to the limit in this exciting and surprisingly touching novel.

Readers first met the Peeler family as they went on a hilarious summer road trip in The Way to Schenectady. Now winter has come and with it the school holiday pageant. Jane Peeler, who loves to be the boss at all times, is directing her class production of The Nutcracker. All does not go as well as she planned as she finds the plot of the presentation creeping into her own life. First, there are problems at school, caused by a gym teacher who wants the gym for basketball, not for rehearsal space. Then there’s a budding romance in the cast. At home, Dad has come down with an illness, and Grandma — grumpy, chain-smoking, profane Grandma — comes back on the scene as a reluctant baby-sitter to Jane and her younger brothers Bill and Bernie. The fun that ensues is pure Scrimger, and is sure to delight his legion of fans.

In this middle-grade novel, Bunny ends up caught in a reenactment of the War of 1812 while searching for a stolen cell phone.

A smartly funny and sympathetic story about being different and finding your way. Meet the compelling, charismatic 13-year-old Augustus Constantine, a boy whose mind (and mouth) operate at a different speed than the rest of society. Gus has ADHD, and he’s on medication to help him focus. Misuse of his medication is a recipe for disaster. At the Speed of Gus takes readers through a frenetic, twist-filled day that is the result of that misuse. When we first meet Gus, he’s putting his own special spin on morning announcements, much to the chagrin of school secretary Miss Funn (who’s anything but) and Principal Gorby (who’s getting tired of Gus’s endless jokes and stream of consciousness). After being suspended for three days as a result of these antics, Gus takes up his sister’s invitation to take the ferry to Vancouver Island and meet at her college. Once on the ferry, Gus’s thoughts begin to race. He’s having trouble concentrating and can’t calm down. The ride gets wilder and wilder, and the reader follows along at the speed of Gus’s brain, until it’s hard to tell what’s real from what’s imagined. A cautionary and sympathetic tale, with loads of insight and smart humour, this new novel from middle-grade master Richard Scrimger will reach so many kids who need to see that their brains are a gift, even when (sometimes especially when) they don’t stay in the same lines as others.

Set primarily in Toronto, with brief stops in Philadelphia and New York, Mystical Rose spans from the 1920s to the 1990s. The story is told in flashbacks, revelations from the disordered mind of the elderly Rose, who, confronting death, has entered into a conversation with God. She revisits her life as an English-born girl growing up in the small town of Cobourg, Ontario. When her father returns from the First World War a burnt-out shell of his former self, her family''s reduced circumstances force Rose into domestic service. Shortly after she enters the wealthy Rolyoke household, Rose finds herself married to the scion of the family and transported into a world she struggles to understand. With lyrical, precise prose and haunting images, Richard Scrimger captures the tale of a woman never quite in control of her own destiny, yet determined to deal with all that life presents.

When chubby, geeky Wylder Wallace spills lunch on cool and aloof Addy Crowe at Toronto''s Comicon, she dashes to the bathroom, leaving behind the latest issue of her uncle''s steampunk comic hit: FLYNN GOSTER in GOLD RUSH TRAIN. Wylder, a fan of the Flynn comics, opens this new one eagerly, astounded to see the girl who was just yelling at him inside the comic. Fascinated, he follows Addy into the bathroom, and the adventure begins... Is there a personality conflict? Oh, yes. Addy wants to go home; Wylder wants to stay and explore the world of Viminy Crowe''s comic book. Do things go wrong? You bet they do, from the very start, when Addy loses her pet rat, Catnip, and almost gets shot by a Red Rider. All the while the actual comic book story is going on around them. The train carries a fortune from the Yukon goldfields, and both dashing Flynn Goster (hero of a thousand disguises and thief extraordinaire) and villainous Professor Aldous Lickpenny (criminal genius, aided by malevolent robots but somewhat hampered by doltish nephew Nevins) have plans to steal the gold. There''s romance too -- Flynn''s old flame, the brilliant aviatrix, Isadora Fortuna, is traveling across Canada with her balloon, and her strangely familiar protégée Nelly Day. Addy and Wylder navigate the story with the aid of the comic book itself. Every page turn sends them to a different setting, from the Banff Springs Hotel to an alligator-wrestling arena in Florida. But when they finally find a portal back to the real world, catastrophe follows ... A hilarious thrill-ride of a story that will have kids laughing and on the edge of their seats with every turn of the page.

What if you could escape your life with just one click? Bullied by his brother and living in the shadow of his cute, athletic best friend, Jonah is crippled by self-loathing and insecurity. Then a mysterious stranger hands him a disposable camera with the power to transport him into someone else’s body—and someone else’s life. But with a limited number of shots and trouble mounting click by click, will this unhappy boy find a new life? Or will his deepest, darkest secret follow him wherever he goes? Richard Scrimger’s Lucky Me is a hilarious take on a Freaky Friday-esque switcheroo with an outsized identity crisis.

Richard Scrimger is a harried dad. Between trying to dodge the Baba police (black-kerchiefed grannies who haunt his part of town looking for underdressed kids), agitating on the lost Barbie footwear phenomenon (in a million years core samples from all over North America are going to show a Barbie shoe layer just above the limestone and shale) and congratulating himself on a good day (no one died), Richard Scrimger''s definition of sanity is sharply skewed by his four young children. In a collection of incredibly funny, family life musings written at a stream-of-consciousness-my-mind-is-racing-oh-my-god-the-baby''s-eating-the-remote pace that any parent will instantly recognize, Richard Scrimger shares his life of stay-at-home dad-dom His children are typical: Ed, two, has trouble distinguishing between pine cones and other unmentionable objects; Imogen, four, wants to be a boy when she grows up; and the twins, Sam and Thea, display that mystical twin bonding connection by sticking their tongues to the frozen food shelf in the grocery store -- both at the same time. Richard Scrimger is a gifted new talent. Warmly, sometimes crankily funny, and always infused with an infectious joy, deep tenderness and respect for his tiny subjects, Richard Scrimger''s writing is terrific. Still Life With Children is the perfect Father''s Day gift -- guaranteeing laughs and hugs all around.

Two kids from different worlds form an unexpected friendship. Cody’s home life is a messy, too-often terrifying story of neglect and abuse. Cody himself is a smart kid, a survivor with a wicked sense of humour that helps him see past his circumstances and begin to try to get himself out. Autumn is, quite literally, on the other side of the tracks from him. Her home life is loving and secure, and she is “in” with the popular girls at school, even if she has a secret life as a glasses-wearing, self-professed comic book nerd at home. And even if the pressure to fit in at school requires hours of time spent making herself look “perfect.” Returning home from a movie one evening, Autumn comes across Cody, face down in the laneway behind her house. All Cody knows is that he can’t take another beating from his father like the one he just narrowly escaped. He can’t go home, but he doesn’t have anywhere else to go either. Autumn won’t turn her back on him, even if they never really were friends at school. She agrees to let him hide out in her dad’s art studio at night. Over the next couple of days of Autumn sneaking Cody food and bandages, his story comes out. And so does hers. Told in alternating narratives, Autumn Bird and the Runaway is a breathtaking collaboration by two of Canada’s finest writers of books for young readers. Infused with themes of identity, belonging and compassion, it’s a story that reminds us that we are all more than our circumstances, and we are all more connected than we think

As middle child Eugene tries to tell his story, big sister Winifred keeps interrupting.

The seven grandsons from the bestselling Seven (the Series) and The Seven Sequels return in The Seven Prequels, along with their daredevil grandfather, David McLean. In these thrilling origin stories Eric Walters, John Wilson, Ted Staunton, Richard Scrimger, Norah McClintock, Sigmund Brouwer and Shane Peacock and their signature writing styles take readers from the heat of the jungles of Central America to the mysterious streets of Stockholm to one very dangerous kayaking trip in Florida. These linked novels can be read in any order. Discover all seven books in this action-packed collection: Barracuda Jungle Land The Missing Skull Separated Slide Speed Weerdest Day Ever!

The bestselling Seven (the Series) continues with The Seven Sequels! All seven authors from the original series have returned with a second set of seven novels that can be read in any order. Eric Walters, John Wilson, Ted Staunton, Richard Scrimger, Norah McClintock, Sigmund Brouwer and Shane Peacock bring their signature writing styles to a series of adventures that take readers from the cobblestones of Cambridge to the beaches of Uruguay. This ebook bundle contains: Sleeper Broken Arrow Coda The Wolf and Me From the Dead Tin Soldier Double You "This unusual series features seven books that are connected but can stand alone as individual adventures. Building upon a plot line first laid out in the “Seven” series, each entry follows one of David McLean’s seven grandsons as he embarks on a dangerous mission in a far flung locale, as per instructions in Grandpa McLean’s oddball will...This thrill-a-minute series will hook reluctant readers as well as fans of James Bond and Jason Bourne." —School Library Journal

Two kids from two different worlds form an unexpected friendship in this lens into the interworking of empathy. Told in alternating narratives, The Other Side of Perfect is infused with themes of identity, belonging, and compassion, reminding us that we are all more than our circumstances, and we are all more connected than we think. Cody’s home life is a messy, too-often terrifying story of neglect and abuse. Cody himself is a smart kid, a survivor with a great sense of humor that helps him see past his circumstances and begin to try to get himself out. Autumn is a wealthy girl from an indigenous family, who has found herself in with the popular crowd even though it’s hard for her to want to keep up. But one night, while returning home from a movie, Autumn comes across Cody, face down in the laneway behind her house. All Cody knows is that he can’t take another encounter with his father like the one he just narrowly escaped. He can’t go home. But he doesn’t have anywhere else to go. When Autumn agrees to let him hide out in her dad’s art studio, Cody’s story begins to come out, and so does hers.

The bestselling Seven (the Series) comprises seven linked novels that can be read in any order. When David McLean, well-loved grandfather and avid adventurer, dies, he leaves behind an unusual will that outlines seven tasks he has set for his seven grandsons. Eric Walters, John Wilson, Ted Staunton, Richard Scrimger, Norah McClintock, Sigmund Brouwer and Shane Peacock bring their signature writing styles to a series of adventures that take readers from the top of Kilimanjaro to the bottom of the Mediterranean. The Seven series bundle includes Between Heaven and Earth, Lost Cause, Jump Cut, Ink Me, Close to the Heel, Devil''s Pass and Last Message. "Richly detailed and satisfying." —Kirkus Reviews "Delivers handsomely with a resolution that satisfies but doesn’t simplify. Happily, there are six other titles in the series." —Booklist for Devil''s Pass

In the tar-melting heat of a suburban summer, everyboy Jules, athletic and handsome Chris, and oddball Corey (he laughs at gravel and anticipates zombie attacks) have lived side by side for most of their lives. Behind their backyards is a ravine through which flows a modest river. This familiar territory is by turns comforting and terrifying. When a tornado brings down a big maple tree, the boys make a raft of the branches and set off downstream. After all, at thirteen they are old enough to take a day trip by themselves. On their way, the boys meet with a series of adventures that are funny at first glance but resonate deeply. They rescue a diabolical dog, confront a hydrophobic gang, and survive a waterfall. They are bombarded by bicycles, hoodwinked by hobos, and bewitched by bikinis. By accident, they crash a funeral, and, by design, they crash a pool party — with tragic results. Urban blight and rural beauty, Into the Ravine is a journey where the geography mirrors the contradictions of the human heart. Renowned author Richard Scrimger draws on his powerful ability to tell a story that can truly make you laugh until you cry.

In this hilarious, new series, four ordinary kids are about to learn that they are on deck. . . to save the world! If you could have any superpower, what would you choose? What about becoming mesmerizingly persuasive in the blink of an eye? But what if you''re the only one unaware of your charms? Archie O''Kaye mostly rubs people the wrong way. And he doesn''t really care. But when he becomes utterly charming right before everyone''s eyes at his thirteenth birthday party, his family and friends (there are only two, well one, really . . .) begin to suspect that something is up. Meanwhile, it turns out there are forces both good and evil who have had their eyes on Archie and three other "special" kids since their exposure at birth to a mysterious element called reidium. When the evil Boss and her number two, Clementine Clutterbucket, get wind of Archie''s charm, they quickly set to scheming about how to use it in their bid for world domination. Readers will be riveted to this high-adventure, howlingly funny story that never misses a beat. This is the fourth release in a four-book series that can be read in any order. The other books are written by Lesley Livingston (Super Sketchy), Ted Staunton (What Blows Up), and Kevin Sylvester (Mucus Mayhem).

The living room is all decorated for Bun Bun''s birthday. But her sister Winifred thinks the party is for her. Will Winifred learn a lesson about Bun Bun''s birthday?

Eugene, Winifred, and baby Bun Bun are off to visit their uncle who lives in a Great Big Apartment building called Castle Apartments. Could it be a real castle? When Bun Bun, who’s just learned to walk, toddles into the elevator alone, big sister Winifred comes to the rescue. As they go up and up and up in the modern-day tower, they meet a scary monster, a witch, and even a beautiful princess. Or do they?

"Two kids from different worlds form an unexpected friendship. Cody’s home life is a messy, too-often terrifying story of neglect and abuse. Cody himself is a smart kid, a survivor with a wicked sense of humour that helps him see past his circumstances and begin to try to get himself out. Autumn is, quite literally, on the other side of the tracks from him. Her home life is loving and secure, and she is “in” with the popular girls at school, even if she has a secret life as a glasses-wearing, self-professed comic book nerd at home. And even if the pressure to fit in at school requires hours of time spent making herself look “perfect.” Returning home from a movie one evening, Autumn comes across Cody, face down in the laneway behind her house. All Cody knows is that he can’t take another beating from his father like the one he just narrowly escaped. He can’t go home, but he doesn’t have anywhere else to go either. Autumn won’t turn her back on him, even if they never really were friends at school. She agrees to let him hide out in her dad’s art studio at night. Over the next couple of days of Autumn sneaking Cody food and bandages, his story comes out. And so does hers. Told in alternating narratives, Autumn Bird and the Runaway is a breathtaking collaboration by two of Canada’s finest writers of books for young readers. Infused with themes of identity, belonging and compassion, it’s a story that reminds us that we are all more than our circumstances, and we are all more connected than we think."--

Allan s''envole vers New York, où il doit passer la semaine avec son père. Il rencontre Frieda, fille handicapée d''un important homme politique. À l''aéroport, il reste avec elle en constatant, avec désarroi, que son père ne l''attend pas. Or Frieda est poursuivie par des escrocs et Allan va se trouver mêlé à un trafic de statuettes égyptiennes. Les deux jeunes tentent de semer les voyous à travers les rues de New York. Dans cette folle aventure, ils sont bientôt rejoints par une chienne errante, un jeune sans-abri et par Norbert, le drôle d''extraterrestre rencontré dans ##Le nez de Jupiter##. -- Un texte dynamique, des dialogues nombreux et vifs, des personnages colorés font de cette deuxième aventure d''Allan et de Norbert un suspense amusant. [SDM].