Kids Books for a Buck

Most of these are deals at Amazon, but a few are for Kobo, where using the coupon code KoboSpring1 will get your $1 off an unlimited number of books this month.

The multi-award winning Dust ($0.99 Kindle only) is a self-published backlist book by Arthur Slade, whose newest books, like The Hunchback Assignments, are being sold by Random House for $8.99 and up. The cover in this edition is much cooler than the one from the old print editions (and makes me want to open it up to find out how those butterflies came to be pouring out of the kid's mouth). He also has several other titles at $2.99, all aimed at the tween to young adult crowd, it appears. Audience: Grades 8-12.

Book Description
For fans of Stephen King and Ray Bradbury...

Imagine a depression-era town where it hasn’t rained for years. A pale rainmaker with other-worldly eyes brings rain to the countryside and mesmerizes the townspeople, but the children begin to disappear one by one. Only young Robert Steelgate is able to resist the rainmaker’s spell and begin the struggle to discover what has happened to his missing brother and the other children.

Hollowland ($0.99 Kindle ) is the first book in a new series, The Hollows, from the bestselling Amanda Hocking. She was kind enough to send me a review copy and I was up until 4am the first night reading it (I finally gave in to suggestions to turn out the light in bed, though, so finished it the next day). I'd recommend it for the older teen (and any adult) or more mature tween, as there are some scenes that younger readers might find disturbing (most adults are dead, kids on their own), although most eleven year olds can probably handle the fight scenes (boys perhaps more so than their moms, as it seems that these zombies are quite easy to kill, but quite messy). The protagonist has a mission, which she carries forward well, with a bit of romance (kissing and not much more) to spice u what is otherwise teen dystopian sci-fi. She also has a secret, which you may guess at before it is revealed near the end; that secret then becomes the foundation of the ending, which neatly sets the reader up for a next novel in the series (yet, nothing is left unresolved in the end, so the book can be read stand-alone).

This title is cheapest at Amazon, but some of her other titles are lowest on Kobo, after using the $1 coupon code; some titles show up twice in the search, but the duplicates appear to be older editions that were removed (you have to click on both entries to find the one that is still active). You can get both My Blood Approves and Switched (Trylle Trilogy #1) there for free using the coupon. Over at Amazon, the lowest price is 99 cents, but there are six at that price (3 of which are not on Kobo at all; two of which she edited, with co-author credits), as well as the remaining titles in her series at $2.99 each.

Book Description
Hollowland - the first book in the young adult dystopian series The Hollows..

"This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door."

Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies.

This is a young adult title with some language, violence, and mild sexual situations recommended for ages sixteen and up.

Percival's Angel ($1.59 Kindle), by Anne Eliot Crompton, is under a buck using the above coupon code at Kobo (like Amazon, you can buy a gift certificate there and apply to your account, to stop small charges from upsetting your credit card company). The reviews are a bit mixed (but no really bad ones), so I'd say it's worth taking a 79 cent chance upon.

Book Description
Lili, an apprentice of the Lady of the Lake, is the childhood friend of Percy, the boy who will become one of Arthur's greatest knights. But as they grow older, Lili begins to see their differences. She has otherworldly magic while he has the magic that lives within the Human Heart. Lili dreams of knowing human love while Percy dreams of finding the Holy Grail. Neither can succeed without the other.

Once again Crompton weaves together nature, feminist perspective, and Arthurian legend for a tale that is sure to appeal to readers of all ages.

There are exactly ten Horrid Henry books, by Francesca Simon and Tony Ross (illustrator), in the Amazon (and Kobo) stores and that's exactly how many of them you can get for 99 cents each at Amazon or completely free from Kobo, using the above coupon code. I'm going to list each of them below, with the title link going to Amazon and a separate link for Kobo, to make it easier to track them down. The entire series hasn't made it to ebook form yet (these ten are from the first sixteen print volumes), it appears. I've listed them below in order of publication.

About the Authors
Francesca Simon is one of the world's best-loved children's authors. She is the only American to have ever won the Galaxy Book Award, and her creation, Horrid Henry, is the #1 bestselling chapter book series in the UK—with a hit TV show and over fifteen million copies sold! Each book contains four easy-to-read stories and hilarious illustrations by the one and only Tony Ross, so even the most reluctant of readers won't be able to resist Henry's amazing talent for trouble!

Horrid Henry (Kobo)
Horrid Henry and his neighbor Moody Margaret decide to make the most sloppy, slimy, sludgy, sticky, smelly, gooey, gluey, gummy, greasy, gloppy glop possible. Is it the best glop in the world or the worst thing that's ever happened to them? Plus three other stories so funny we can't even mention them here.

Horrid Henry Tricks the Tooth Fairy (Kobo)
When Perfect Peter's tooth falls out, Henry gets a great idea. He will steal the toth and put it under his own pillow so that the Tooth Fairy gives him the reward instead of Peter. Will the Tooth Fairy fall for it? Plus three other stories so funny they are sure to make your teeth fall out. (Okay, not really-)

Horrid Henry and the Mummy's Curse (Kobo)
Horrid Henry indulges his favorite hobby—collecting Gizmos; has a bad time with his spelling homework; starts a rumor that there's a shark in the swimming pool; and spooks Perfect Peter with the mummy's curse.

Horrid Henry and the Scary Sitter (Kobo)
Horrid Henry encounters the worst babysitter in the world; traumatizes his parents on a long car trip; goes trick-or-treating at Halloween (with disastrous results); and emerges victorious from a raid on Moody Margaret's Secret Club.

Horrid Henry's Stinkbomb (Kobo)
Horrid Henry and Moody Margaret are a perfect pair. Henry has a secret club that doesn't allow girls in. Margaret has a secret club just for girls, and both Henry and Margaret love to play pranks. But with Perfect Peter and Sour Susan acting as spies, which secret club will win? Plus three other stories that totally don't stink.

Horrid Henry's Underpants (Kobo)
Horrid Henry makes a deal with his parents in return for eating his veggies; accidentally wears girls' underwear to school; tries to prove he is sicker than his brother; and writes the meanest thank-you cards ever (and makes money on it too).

Horrid Henry and the Mega-Mean Time Machine (Kobo)
Horrid Henry invents a time machine and promises to send his brother, Perfect Peter, to the future (as soon as Peter puts on one of Mom's dresses). But when Peter gets there, it isn't exactly what he had in mind. In fact, everything looks kind of the same- plus three more out-of-this-world funny stories.

Horrid Henry and the Soccer Fiend (Kobo)
Horrid Henry reads Perfect Peter's diary and improves it; goes shopping with Mom and tries to make her buy him some really nice new sneakers; is horrified when his old enemy Bossy Bill turns up at school; and tries, by any means, to win the class soccer match and defeat Moody Margaret.

Horrid Henry's Christmas (Kobo)
In this installment in a best-selling chapter-book series from the U.K., self-centered Horrid Henry wreaks total havoc at the Nativity play, destroys the Christmas tree, and almost ruins the holiday lunch. His irreverent actions are made tolerable through the ridiculousness of the incidents and the appeal to the naughty side in readers' personalities. Ross's mischievous black-and-white cartoon drawings are the perfect choice to carry them off. Large print and simple vocabulary make this title an easy read and a fun read-aloud.

Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman (Kobo)
There's a snowman-building contest in town and the grand prize is a year's supply of free ice cream Horrid Henry just has to beat Moody Margaret and her dumb old ballerina snowman. So Henry makes the biggest monster snowman ever. But Henry might have to use a few last-minute tricks to win this one. Plus three other stories that won't melt.